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Recent figures have shown that British shoppers are switching to cash or debit cards to pay for goods and are abandoning credit cards in an attempt to avoid building up debt.
The statistics are courtesy of the British Retail Consortium, which includes nine out of ten of shops and they have reported that purchases paid for with credit cards slumped by 12.9% while debit card use climbed by 15.8%. The total number of cash transactions also fell but the total value of each purchase went up by 13% to make an average of £12.93.
The declining use of credit cards is a win-win scenario – well for everyone but the credit card firms. Retailers are not fans of credit cards as they are the most expensive kind of transaction to process, with each purchase costing the retailer 37.1p. This is peanuts compared to some of the additional charges which customers have paid over the years on items such as cinema tickets and airline seats, but some retailers charge customers no extra for paying via credit card. A debit card transaction costs the retailer on average 9.2p whilst taking payment in cash will mean transportation and banking charges of just 1.7p. Overall, despite credit cards only making up 10% of transactions, they ate away a disproportionate 44% of costs charged to retailers for processing.
Avoiding accumulating debts is not the only benefit customers will feel from avoiding the use of credit cards. Any transaction paid for with a credit card will take an average of 39.4 seconds compared to a far speedier cash payment, which takes just 27.2 seconds.
The director of the BRC said the public were sending out a clear message that they would not be spending money they did not possess and described the trend as 'cash remains king.'

subset: commoncrawl


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Town Hall Theater Presents Premiere of GREEN MOUNTAIN UPSET: THE MOVIE & HICK IN THE 'HOOD, 3/28-29 & 3/30
Town Hall Theater will present the premiere of Green Mountain Upset: The Movie on March 28. Sports writers have called Middlebury Union High School Tigers' 1983 championship win "the greatest upset in Vermont High School sports history." The extraordinary journey has been chronicled in a film, including archival footage and present-day interviews. The premiere on Friday includes a reception with the champions, food, & drink. The film will also be shown on Saturday, March 29. Tickets, $30 on 3/28, $10 on 3/29, are available by calling 802-382-9222, at www.townhalltheater.org, or at the box office Monday-Saturday, noon - 5:00pm.
Town Hall Theater will also presents Mike Sommers in Hick In The 'Hood on March 30 at 2:00pm. A rosy-cheeked Middlebury, Vermonter bumbles into a notorious West Coast neighborHOOD... and buys a house. Mike Sommers plays all 30 characters in this uniquely funny, autobiographical one-man play, from his father and grandfather to thegreat-grandmother with Parkinson's and her saintly (if criminal) son! This show is rated Pg-13. Tickets, $10, are available by calling 802-382-9222, at www.townhalltheater.org, or at the box office Monday-Saturday, noon- 5:00 pm.


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GAINESVILLE - Hall County authorities are looking for two suspects in connection with an attempted home invasion Tuesday morning.
According to Hall County Sheriff's Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks, two men, described only as black, tried to force their way through a window in the 1000 block of Black Drive before 9:00 a.m.
Wilbanks said the suspects never entered the residence, but pointed guns at the resident and demanded money through the window. They took off without getting any money and no one was hurt.
Tracking dogs trailed the men to an area where witnesses saw them take off in a gray passenger car.
Check back for updates to this story


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So you're invited to a party and decide to make chocolate chip cookies because you are that nice.
What's the next step? Do you:
- Head to the store, buy a Toll House refrigerated log of awesomeness and eat half the unbaked cookie dough as you slice and bake your way to cheap, easy cookies?
- Stop by any supermarket to pick up your basic ingredients — eggs, butter, chocolate chips — in whatever brands that store carries (the cheaper, the better)?
- Go to several markets to buy high-end ingredients: gourmet chocolate chips, European-style butter, pure bourbon vanilla extract from a far-off land like Madagascar?
Here's why I'm asking. I'm an ingredient snob, loud and proud. I believe in the basic principle that good-quality ingredients add up to a better product. When I bring food to a party, it's as organic, high-end and homemade as I can make it. Invariably, I end up placing my fancypants baking creation/science experiment alongside a dish that looks like someone just took a bunch of stuff and let it melt all over a plate. And usually? People ooh and ahh equally over both dishes.
So it got me thinking. Am I wasting time, money and effort making my baking extravaganzas? I enlisted the always helpful, usually hungry Evite team to help me find out.
Here's how it all went down.
The test: I printed out the original
Toll House cookie recipe and bought two sets of ingredients: what you'd find at any supermarket and a high-end equivalent (like imitation vanilla flavor and pure vanilla extract). And, of course, I bought a log. I baked everything according to the directions and brought it to work, setting the cookies out on identical plates. I told my coworkers there were three kinds of cookies and let them eat, guess which was which and comment on the look, flavor and texture.
The results: Decidedly mixed. There was no clear favorite, and very few people guessed correctly. The people who were used to the log seemed to like it best. Those who tended to eat high-end ingredients favored the expensive cookies. And people were pretty happy with the supermarket cookies too.
The conclusion: Know your audience. If you're cooking for foodies, splurge. And if you know people will be inhaling the cookies without even really chewing, skimp. Also, know yourself. If you like to bake and want to make something decadent, do it. But if time and money are tight, don't feel guilty if you skip a few steps or get the log.
More important conclusion: People love cookies. Bringing cookies to a party or work makes mouths happy. Are you reading this, friends and coworkers? Bake! More! Cookies!
Below are some of the comments Eviters had about the cookies I made. For every "yum!" there was a "bleah." But all of those cookies were gone pretty quickly.
Toll House refrigerated cookie dough
Look: Flatter than the others, looks store-bought.
Flavor: Most balanced flavor, not distinctive taste, a little dull, delish.
Texture: Chewy and gooey, smooth, soft.
Toll House cookie recipe, supermarket ingredients
Look: Puffy, thick, homemade but not as elegant.
Flavor: Buttery, too sweet with some aftertaste, kinda dry.
Texture: Dry, crumbly, bready, cake-like, light.
Toll House cookie recipe, high-end ingredients
Look: Homemade-looking, fluffy, more sheen.
Flavor: Buttery, heavy, spicy, bitter, a little salty.
Texture: Chewy, slight crunch, thick but crumbly.


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Three viral video logs for the October 15th release of Paradox Alice can be found within – offering a bit of insight into the character known as "Kat."
The Orchard, in association with Mako Pictures and Fabrication Films, is releasing the sci-fi/thriller that takes place in 2040 and stars Amy Lindsay (Star Trek: Voyager), Jeneta St. Clair (The Appearing), Ethan Sharrett (Homecoming), and Stewart W. Calhoun (The Eves).
A group of astronauts have been sent on a dangerous mission to retrieve water from Europa, one of the several moons orbiting the planet Jupiter. After narrowly escaping the moon to head back home, the team discovers that a nuclear war has left earth uninhabitable. While the remaining male astronauts come to grips over their losses, one of the crew members spontaneously transforms into a woman.Each character tries to uncover the mystery of this horrific event.
Was it an act of God, or a biological reaction for keeping the human race alive? As the men vie for the last female in existence, they begin to turn on one another. All of the questions come to a head in a shocking finale
The Orchard will be releasing Paradox Alice for sale and for rental in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand across all major online video services including iTunes, Amazon, Hulu, X-box, Playstation, and Vudu as well as through Cable VOD on October 15th with a DVD release to follow.
Stay up to date with the latest horror news by "liking" Shock Till You Drop's Facebook page and following us on Twitter!


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WASHINGTON (Jun. 3)
Christian and Jewish clergymen called on President Nixon and the U.S. government today to intervene more actively with Soviet authorities on behalf of Russian Jews. The clergymen addressed about 500 persons attending a prayer vigil for Soviet Jews at a park three blocks from the White House. The vigil was organized by the Synagogue Council of America in cooperation with the American Jewish Conference on Soviet Jewry. Similar rallies and vigils also took place in Chicago and New York. (See separate New York story). At the Washington vigil, the Rev. Dean Louis, of the United Presbyterian Church, urged Christians in the Soviet Union to become more concerned with the fate of their Jewish fellow citizens. He appealed to President Nixon to "use his good offices and intervene" for the release and restoration of full civil rights to Soviet Jews imprisoned or facing trial. He also asked the World Council of Churches to "raise this concern with fellow Christians in the Soviet Union."
Rev. Metz Rollins, executive director of the National Committee of Black Churchmen declared that "Nixon has been strangely silent on this issue. He should speak out." Father John F. Hotchkin, executive director of the U.S. Bishops Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the U.S. Catholic Conference, referred to fellow Christians when he said, "May they not cease to make their voices heard in increasing numbers, may they call for the liberation of their fellow men caught in this captivity." Rabbi Solomon J. Sharfman, president of the Synagogue Council, asked President Nixon to instruct the State Department to "promptly take vigorous measures to convey to the Soviet authorities this government's outrage at the trials in Leningrad, Riga and Kishinev." Rabbi Sharfman said the issue "has not yet been raised by our government in its contacts with the Soviet Union with the seriousness it deserves." Jews in Chicago today observed a Prayer Day for Soviet Jews proclaimed by the Chicago Board of Rabbis. They were asked by the rabbis to send messages to all responsible American and Russian officials expressing outrage at the trials of Jews in the USSR.


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Early last month, Bell sold three 412s to Global Vectra, bringing to 18 the number of helicopters in the fleet of the Mumbai-based aviation firm. Separately, the government of Karnataka has leased an Indian-built HAL Dhruv. Early last month, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy was the first passenger.
Late last year, Canada-based CHC announced it was to acquire a 49-percent stake in an Indian venture. Dubbed CHC Helicopter Services India, the company represents the first foreign investment in a non-scheduled air service in India, the Financial Express daily reported. Finally, last fall, the Indian government issued a request for proposals aimed at buying VIP passenger transport helicopters, Forecast International reported recently.


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Charmza of the week: Gift of the Givers
THE provision of food parcels and other essentials like blankets and soap by the Gift of the Givers to more than 700 starving Aurora mineworkers can't go unnoticed.
The many donors to the Gift of the Givers charity are charmzas in their own right and need to be commended for giving hope to the poor.
Aurora is owned by, among others, President Jacob Zuma's nephew Khulubuse Zuma and former president Nelson Mandela's grandson Zondwa Mandela. Greed!


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The A Bathing Ape Pirate initiative has started to ramp up as of late with A Bathing Ape looking to hit various different aesthetics and markets. From their URSUS collection to their outlet-style Pirate collection, the brand has looked to capitalize on the pirate theme with its own range seen here. The graphic-dominant collection includes t-shirts and crewnecks and is available through Anytime.
Anytime CWB
Ground Floor, 522 Jaffe Road
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
p: 852.2311.7390


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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Talk submissions close on February 3rd and thus far we have had over two dozen submissions and we want more. This is your chance to get that talk that you keep meaning to give accepted! Some of the current talk topics include: * PostgreSQL Win32 in the enterprise * SQL/XML for developers * Postmodern PostgreSQL Application development (python/sqlalchemy) * PostgreSQL Operations: looking under the hood of Solaris * Logic and Databases And that is only a small sampling! To submit your talk please visit: http://www.postgresqlconference.org/talk_submission/ Also registration is now open: http://www.postgresqlconference.org/ Lastly thanks to our current (and growing list of sponsors): Afilias: http://www.afilias.info/ CMD: http://www.commandprompt.com/ Continuent: http://www.continuent.com/ OTG: http://www.otg-nc.com/ Sun: http://www.sun.com All registrations and sponsorships are donations to PostgreSQL via Software in the Public Interest, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. Sincerely, Joshua D. Drake - -- The PostgreSQL Company: Since 1997, http://www.commandprompt.com/ Sales/Support: +1.503.667.4564 24x7/Emergency: +1.800.492.2240 Donate to the PostgreSQL Project: http://www.postgresql.org/about/donate SELECT 'Training', 'Consulting' FROM vendor WHERE name = 'CMD' -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFHmkj/ATb/zqfZUUQRAkjfAJ9utf2fOxAGMPEeSkyLY0REVunhTgCfUp45 AJ6c/JhoLLjqcBJhdPNtgBA= =rC2D -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Next: From: David Fetter Date: 2008-01-28 01:27:55 Subject: == Postgres Weekly News - January 27 2008 == Previous: From: Enrico Date: 2008-01-23 15:14:19 Subject: Pgtheme: PostgreSQL theme for drupal 5.x and 6.x


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Contained Places
Wirt County is a county located in the State of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,717, making it the least populous county in West Virginia. Its county seat is Elizabeth. The county was created in 1848 by the Virginia General Assembly and named for U.S. Attorney General and presidential candidate William Wirt. The county is serviced by one high school, Wirt County High School.
Wirt County is included in the Parkersburg-Vienna, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH Combined Statistical Area.
Population History
Wirt County was formed in 1848 from Wood and Jackson Counties.
Research Tips
http://wirtcounty.net/Cemeteries/index.htm Cemeteries of Wirt County, West Virginia
http://wirtcounty.net/history/index.htm Wirt History page by Mark ___?___.


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This was originally published in April of 2007…..
Recently, a friend wrote a very funny post about her attempt at making something difficult and pretty much outed me as an overachieving Ubercrafty bitch, a label I wear with pride! Here's the thing: I don't do things I am not good at. I don't see the point. I'll try lots and lots of different things, but if I can't succeed well, I don't bother. Also, I am entirely self-taught. I was the kid in school that wasn't the best, but by doing very little work, I managed to get Bs, so why bother wasting time studying to get As? I watch a lot of TV. A LOT. I admit it. But I watch HGTV, Life, Food network, any and every show that *shows* you how to do something. I buy magazines and I read books. And I figure stuff out.
I blame my parents for this. They are both *do-ers*. My father, an engineer, has rarely hired anyone to do something for him. Electrical, plumbing, heck, he once fell off the roof of the cottage while changing it from a flat roof to an A-frame! His brother is still the go-to guy in our family to build decks, even though he's had a stroke. My mother came from a sewing mother. She always sewed. I always sewed. My mother also suffers from Constant Redecorating Syndrome. If my father was out of town on business, she would repaint a room (by herself), move the piano from one room to another (by herself) or re-design the entire landscaping of the property (by herself).
So you see, it's totally not my fault! I can't help it, it's in my genes. So I embrace it. I sew and and scrapbook and I built things with power tools and I re-paint an re-wire, decorate cakes (which my mother also did when we were kids).
But I don't want to be in-your-face about it, so I've decided to separate the crafting from the regular blog. That way, only people who actually want to see my handy work will be subjected to it!


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Hi Guysi wanna make a game that work on ios and android platforms1. what is the design resolution that work for most of android devices and ios devices2.what is the art work design resolution that work for most devices with safe frame that make background cutted from all side not only right left or up down
when i work on ios devices i use 1.Design resolution 568 3202.I use background with resolution 2727 1536 for iphone5 i resize it by 2.4 to be (1136 640)for iphone4 i resize the background by 2.4 and cut the canvas from middle with resolution (960 640)for ipad i cut the canvas of background to 2048 * 1536 from middlethe problem here is the cut is from left and right i need the cut to be from all side to make cut left right smaller
Can you just place your background based on the center of the screen?
parentNode->setPosition(ScreenWidth/2, ScreenHeight/2);


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Subscriptions to magazines, newspapers, journals, newsletters, and similar publications can be a deductible expense. This includes Internet-based subscriptions for websites. Subscriptions can be deducted in various ways, depending on your purpose for the subscription.
If you own a business, subscriptions to professional, technical, and trade journals that deal with the business are deductible as a business expense. Make sure the subscription is related to your business. This is a matter of common sense. For example, an accountant could deduct the cost of subscribing to the CPA Journal, but not to a daily newspaper or general interest magazine. On the other hand, a freelance journalist could deduct subscriptions to newspapers and magazines to which he or she has, or wishes to, sell articles.
If you subscribe to investment newsletters or magazines, the cost is deductible as an investment expense. Many investment publications are quite expensive, so this can be a good deduction.
However, such expenses are deductible only as miscellaneous itemized deductions. This means that an investment subscription is deductible only if, and to the extent, it along with your other miscellaneous itemized deductions exceeds 2% of your adjusted gross income.
If you work as an employee and you subscribe to publications useful for your work and your employer does not reimburse you for the cost, you may deduct the cost as an unreimbursed employee expense. As with investment expenses, these expenses are deductible only as miscellaneous itemized deductions, subject to the 2% of AGI floor.
If you're looking for a job and you subscribe to publications that aid you in your search, you may deduct the expense as a job search expense. These expenses are deductible only as miscellaneous itemized deductions, which means they are also subject to the 2% of AGI floor.
If you have a hobby for which you subscribe to a publication, the cost is deductible only against any income you earn from the hobby. For example, a painter who subscribes to an art publication can deduct the cost only from any money he or she makes from selling paintings.
If you prepay for a subscription for more than one year, you must prorate the cost for each year. You can do this by determining what you pay per month for the subscription. For example, if you pay $240 for a two-year subscription that starts in July, you may deduct $10 per month over the life of the subscription. You would get a $60 deduction the first year, a $120 deduction the following year, and a $60 for the final six months of the subscription.


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Organza bag, 12 x 9 cm, 25 pcs
Item number: 519.373.43
fine jewellery sachet made of transparent shimmering organza and silky pull strap, ideally suited as a wedding gift or party favour, price per pack of 25
- Dimensions: 12 cm x 9 cm (H x W)
- colour: silver gray
- Price plus Shipping costs
- 1 pack £8.90 VAT excl. £5.31 VAT excl. £6.32 VAT incl.
Item x added
Overview of your shopping basket


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RICHMOND (WRIC) – Mayor's Dwight Jones' budget proposal was released Thursday, but many are not happy with what they heard.
If the proposal is approved by city council, utility rates could on average rise by about $6 a month.
Many people are not happy with that proposal, but that isn't the only think in the mayor's budget that has people talking.
8News caught up with Richmond City resident Ivan Hinnant as he was walking inside City Hall to pay his current utility bill.
"Waste Water… Storm Water… Gas Tax… it's already enough extra charges on there and this is outside of what I pay for just using the service," he says.
The thought of adding new charges to that bill every month has him angry.
"I mean, I understand for paying for what we use, but what is all the extra coming from?"
He thinks an increase in money should only come with an increase in services.
"And what are we getting for it? The same services for more money."
However, the mayor did reject a recommendation to increase the storm water fees. But the raise in utilities isn't the only thing that has made folks mad in the Mayor's budget.
"That's not going to be able to provide the raises that we were trying to give."
Richmond School Board member Kim Gray says aside from a small one percent raise last year, Richmond City School Staff have not had a raise in more than eight years.
"We asked for an additional $4.7 million in the budget in order to meet the salary increase expectation," She says. "We are getting I think about a million dollars from the Mayor's proposed budget."
Despite the lack in funding for teacher raises, the Mayor's budget does include $18.2 million, over five years, to help with school maintenance.
School Board members say they aren't done fighting for their teachers just yet. They hope to begin a dialogue between themselves and City Council to reach something more than a million dollars.
Copyright 2014 by Young Broadcasting of Richmond
Related Stories:


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With 1.7 million freelancers, we'll match you with the perfect talent.
GeoTech is a software development company based in Kolkata, India. Our services include Website design, Web Application development, IT & ITES Consultancy, Software Testing & SEO & SEM. We also specialize in Facebook Application Development and complex Data Migrations.
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Shopping Malls"
September 24, 2008 5:08 AM
Selling 2.0 - Let The Customer Do The Communicating tagged "Shopping Malls"
What does it really take to sell something online? Think about this for two seconds: You go to your favourite e-commerce site that sells books to check out the latest marketing book. You're about to buy it, but before you... Read more


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Thursday, November 17, 2011
Monktail Composers Series, Vol. 7
Monktail Creative Music Concern presents a performance of their improvising big band Non Grata. This season's performance features conduction, spontaneous composition, and full group improvisations featuring Bill Monto, Darian Asplund, Paul Hoskin, Bill Jones, Stephen Fandrich, Steven Bell, Mark Ostrowski, Bill Horist, Stephen Parris, David Milford, Paul Kemmish, John Seman and more.
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Re: Clipping wings/Mkay
Posted by Debby on 4/04/06
MKay, you are absoulutely right, I didn't mean to leave out any of the
precious birds. You know I have more then Macaws, I kinda just used them
as an example. ALL of my birds have feelings and emotions, and different
personalities. Im truly blessed to have all of them in my life.
> Macaws are not the only ones! Lora, you're really missing out. I
> wonder, what type of birds do you have?


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Mark Kennedy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published Tuesday December 4, 2012 at 6:00 am
Here is how you woo Debra Winger — the apparently reclusive, seemingly skittish Debra Winger — to Broadway: You don't play games.
The playwright who managed to do it didn't first call Winger's people to find out if she'd say yes if he offered her a role. He just threw his play in an envelope, sent it to her and followed it up with a call.
"I got a script in the mail and a phone call that said 'Please do my play,' " says the actress. "Right there, you're 50 yards down the field. You're like, 'Wow, I could hang out with this guy. He knows something about human nature.' "
It helps, of course, that the playwright in question is David Mamet. And it helps that the play in question, "The Anarchist," is a debate about if one can forgive someone's radical past, an issue close to Winger's heart.
So it didn't take long for the "An Officer and a Gentleman" star to say yes, an act that has bedeviled so many others. The actress rather famously decided to stop working in the 1990s rather than do what she considered mediocre projects, inspiring Rosanna Arquette's 2003 documentary, "Searching for Debra Winger."
Winger, 57, is making her Broadway debut in Mamet's play and is both exhilarated and freaked out. But you get the feeling that that's precisely what she's been waiting for.
"I think that's part of my deal — if it doesn't scare me, why do it? There must be something in there to mine, to plumb, if I have this feeling," she says. "That's why in the scary movies you're all yelling 'Don't open the door!' It's these things that we're compelled to do, I think, that holds something for our life."
It's actually not the first time Winger and Mamet have worked together. He was an extra in her 1987 movie "Black Widow." Winger played an FBI agent and while shooting a poker scene in Seattle, director Bob Rafelson asked his buddy Mamet to help out.
"I said, 'I don't know how to play poker,' " Winger recalls. "He said, 'They'll teach you.' And in walks Mamet. We spent half of a day together playing poker."
Fast-forward a quarter of a century, and the new Mamet-Winger collaboration is appropriately a little like a high-stakes poker game: Winger plays a prison warden interrogating an inmate who wants to be released and who is loosely based on former Weather Underground member Judith Clark.
The two women — Winger co-stars with Patti LuPone — circle each other to find truth. Is the ex-revolutionary sincere in her repentance? Can people change? What is justice?
Jeffrey Richards, who has produced several Mamet works, including this season's revival of "Glengarry Glen Ross," says Winger, who has been in only a few plays, seems at home.
"I'm struck by how naturally she's adapted to the stage," he says. "To do a two-hander is practically one of the most difficult challenges an artist faces and from Day One, she has been spot-on — intense, focused and thoroughly absorbed."
While the role of a prison warden might be a personal stretch for Winger, who veers left in her politics, the role "feels like a good fit," although she acknowledges her stiff warden is "not exactly someone that you'd want to take home and cuddle with."
The irony is that Winger herself has met with and championed the release of Judith Clark, who is serving a 75-years-to-life prison sentence after being convicted as a getaway driver in the 1981 robbery of an armored truck in which a guard and two policemen were killed.
In the past 25 years since Winger and Mamet worked together, there's been a significant shift in the playwright's world view. Mamet has increasingly come out swinging at the left, attacking the New Deal, liberal education and income redistribution, among other targets.
Has that affected Winger and "The Anarchist"?
Not at all, the actress says. "I see his heart and his heart is good," she says, admitting that she also gets fed up with liberals. "It's not in his work. His work still understands the balance."


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PRZOOM - /newswire/ -
Oakland, CA, United States, 2009/08/11 - Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP, the countrys first certified green law firm, has been named to The National Law Journals (NLJ) inaugural Midsize Hot List - Wendel.com.
Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP, the countrys first certified green law firm, is one of just 20 law firms in the United States and one of only two California law firms named to The National Law Journals (NLJ) inaugural Midsize Hot List.
The 2009 Midsize Hot List highlights law firms with 50 to 300 attorneys that have demonstrated creative, innovative strategies to stay competitive. The 20 firms selected after an extensive nomination review process exhibit novel approaches in recruiting, practice area development and operational management. Those listed, notes the publication,
have shown the nimbleness and adaptability that come from lean operations and strong client ties.
The Hot List designation is further confirmation of what Wendel Rosen clients already know a high quality, creative and agile midsize firm can provide the kind of focused business and legal guidance that will help them succeed in todays challenging economy and help them realize their own business goals in the years to come, said Daniel Rapaport, the firms managing partner. Further, as a long-time green business leader, we share our clients values. Whats important to them is important to us.
Recognized for its forward-thinking green business acumen, practices and influential attorney roster, Wendel Rosen became the first certified green law firm in the country in 2003 and shortly thereafter launched its Green Business Practice Group. Wendel Rosens green certification, writes NLJ, has boosted the firms profile and given it credibility in counseling clients whose business involves green initiatives.
Founded in 1978, NLJ has the largest paid circulation of any weekly publication serving the legal community. The NLJ is published by Incisive Media. The Midsize Hot List was featured in its June 29 edition.
About Wendel Rosen
Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2009, Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP (wendel.com) serves a diverse clientele of business, public and individual clients located throughout California and the United States. With offices in Oakland and Modesto, California, the firm advises clients on transactional and civil litigation matters in several related fields of law, including real estate; business/corporate; construction; creditors rights/bankruptcy; eminent domain; employment; environmental; estate planning, trusts and probate; green business; insurance; intellectual property; land use; taxation; and technology.
Lydia Bednerik, Marketing Director
Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP
P: 510-834-6600 - E: lbednerik[.]wendel.com.
Agency / Source: Blattel Communications
Availability: All Regions (Including Int'l)
Traffic Booster: [/] Quick PRZOOM - Press & Newswire Visibility Checker
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Champagne breakfast, afternoon tea and evening canapes are all included in a stay here, while dinner can be enjoyed at the acclaimed Daphne's Restaurant. The beachfront dining venue serves Italian cuisine and hosts weekly theme nights which allow guests to sample Bajan dishes and local ingredients. Light lunches and snacks are served throughout the day from the bar, where sofas extend onto the deck enticing guests towards loungers under palm trees on the beach.Guests can indulge in spa treatments in beach cabanas or can visit The Spa at the neighbouring Tamarind, one of The House's sister hotels. This is also where range of complimentary motorised and non-motorised water sports are available, including kayaking and sailing. Guests also have access to the restaurants found at the other properties in the Elegant Hotels group, although The House remains exclusive to its own guests - find out more about the other Elegant Hotels of Barbados.
The House will be undergoing renovations during its summer closure period in 2017. Improvements will include the redesign of its oceanfront lounge area and the current dining area, updates to the outdoor space including the addition of a small yoga pavilion, the reorientation of the existing bar to make the most of the sunset views, the refurbishment of the pool area and the creation of a new spa area.
Entering through the fort style gates, into the lush centre gardens with waterfalls trickling around me, I was instantly in Caribbean holiday heaven. If the surroundings aren't enough to make you relax, every guest is treated with a post flight neck and shoulder massage. From here you can treat yourself to some daybed time on the beach, or a delicious meal at the attached well-known Daphne's restaurant .
The House is designed in a U shape with majority of the suites located on the beachfront side, with great views of the blue-green ocean, leading from the central garden to the beach is the dining, lounge and bar areas which have a chilled ambience. I loved the newly refurbished suites, which have a clean luxurious feel with the large feather topped beds, and the marble bathrooms.
If you are struggling to choose between a small intimate hotel and one with more facilities, book your holiday here, as you can also use the facilities such as restaurants, pools, activities of neighbouring sister hotel Tamarind along with the other Elegant hotels on Barbados, but don't panic those guests cannot invade your holiday at The House as their facilities are exclusive to residents.
- Joni
For more information about The House or alternative resorts, take a look at Joni's Barbados Trip Diary.


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Sox brass admire fruits of their labor
February, 19, 2011
By Gordon Edes | ESPNBoston.com
J. Meric/Getty ImagesRed Sox CEO Larry Lucchino, principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner were cheered by players at Saturday's team meeting.
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Mark Teixeira may have declared the New York Yankees underdogs, but Red Sox ownership isn't buying it.
"I don't see us as such a clear favorite,'' said majority owner John W. Henry, who was not responding specifically to Teixeira's comments but a broader perception that the Rd Sox have the edge over their archrivals. "I see the teams as fairly evenly matched still. We've got our work cut out for us to win the division.''
Henry's partners, Larry Lucchino and Tom Werner, fell in line.
"I feel the same way,'' CEO Lucchino said Saturday. "There are other teams in this division that are improving. This is not just a mano-a-mano, two-team match. There are other teams building solid teams. The AL East will still be the rough-and-tumble AL East, make no mistake about that.''
"John Farrell is a terrific manager,'' chairman Werner said. "I think Toronto is going be stronger. I don't discount Tampa. Adding [Manny] Ramirez was a very smart move, Johnny Damon. We don't want to focus too much on the Yankees.''
Still, after a morning in which Sox owners were accorded a standing ovation by their players when introduced at the first meeting of the full squad, their buoyancy was self-evident.
"Everyone knows hope springs eternal every spring,'' Lucchino said. "We just have to make sure we're healthy, and that the good luck and randomness of the game falls into our favor as well. But there's an atmosphere here that is extremely positive, confident and upbeat, and that's very encouraging.''
Henry noted with satisfaction that this was the 10th year for the "new ownership.'' In the interim, there have been $285 million in renovations done to Fenway Park (according to Lucchino, engineers have said Fenway will remain structurally sound for another 40 to 50 years), two World Series titles, six postseason trips, forays into NASCAR and soccer, with groundbreaking for a new state-of-the-art spring training facility scheduled in two weeks.
"We feel extraordinarily lucky to be healthy, to be together, the three of us, with Theo [Epstein], Tito [Francona],'' Henry said. "The one thing we're trying to accomplish with Liverpool is what we were able to accomplish here: stability, having a long-term manager, a long-term general manager. We just feel in many ways very proud of what we've accomplished in the last 10 years.''
And the pieces are all in place for a grand 2011.
Click HERE for the full story.
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The Belfast Giants need just 13 points to clinch the Elite League title or seven wins from their final 14 games. And with every victory or defeat from the teams below them in the standings, that figure gets smaller.
Paul Adey's side have two home games this weekend at the Odyssey Arena against the Hull Stingrays on Friday night and Fife Flyers on Saturday followed by an away double-header at the Nottingham Panthers next week.
It's a big ask, but if they were to win all four then potentially they would return home for a pair of games against the Coventry Blaze on the 21st and 22nd February with the championship in their sights.
For that to become a reality one other thing needs to happen – the Dundee Stars need to drop a point in their games between now and then and former Giants coach Dave Whistle, now looking after the Cardiff Devils, could do the Giants a big favour by beating the Stars when the two sides meet on Saturday night.
It's fun to speculate and predict what might happen and such has been the dominance of the Giants this season that even at the start of February the only question left to answer is when and where the championship will be won.
None of that talk is coming from the locker room however, not even with a 19 point lead at the top of the table and after reaching the Challenge Cup final earlier this week. It's business as usual according to coach Paul Adey.
"Two more big games this weekend, they're all big right now. We're counting the games down in the league and we need the points," he said.
"We have a massive lead right now and it's the trophy everyone wants to win. If you win the league you're crowned the national champions and so every game is like a play-off game because every team wants to knock you down, but we've coped with that pressure really well.
"The guys we have in the room are very experienced and very professional and they work hard and most importantly they don't like to lose."
The Giants have now gone 19 games without losing in regulation.


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NEW YORK, June 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Dipexium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NasdaqCM: DPRX), today announced it was included in the preliminary list of additions to the Russell Microcap® Index according to information posted by Russell Investments on June 13, 2014. The final 2014 reconstitution of the Russell Indexes will take place after the market closes on June 27, 2014 and final membership lists will be posted on June 30, 2014, with trading in the reconstituted indexes commencing that same day.
According to Russell, annual reconstitution of Russell Indexes captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization to create the Russell 3000® Index and Russell Microcap® Index. Inclusion in the Russell Microcap® Index will remain in place for the ensuing 12-month period. The Russell Indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for active investment strategies. Approximately $5.2 trillion in assets currently are benchmarked to Russell Indexes. http://www.russell.com/indexes/americas/indexes/default.page.
About Dipexium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Dipexium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NasdaqCM: DPRX) is a late-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of Locilex® (pexiganan cream 0.8%), a novel, broad-spectrum, topical antibiotic peptide. Initially, Locilex® is targeted for the treatment of mild infections of diabetic foot ulcers. Based on a compilation of available clinical and microbiology data, Locilex® is also considered a promising product candidate to treat other mild and moderate bacterial skin infections in superficial wounds, including infected decubitus ulcers, infected burns, infected surgical wounds and nasal colonization of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). For additional information about the company, please visit www.dipexiumpharmaceuticals.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and any statements of representatives and partners of Dipexium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the "Company") related thereto contain, or may contain, among other things, certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties. Such statements may include, without limitation, statements with respect to the Company's plans, objectives, projections, expectations and intentions and other statements identified by words such as "projects," "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "potential" or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and those that relate to the Company's ability to leverage the expertise of employees and partners to assist the Company in the execution of its strategy. Actual results (including, without limitation, the timing for and results of the clinical trials and proposed NDA submission for Locilex®) may differ significantly from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on various factors (many of which are beyond the Company's control). The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
Company Contacts:
David P. LuciPresident and Chief Executive OfficerDipexium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. firstname.lastname@example.com
David GarrettVice President, Finance and Corporate DevelopmentDipexium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. firstname.lastname@example.com
© 2014 Dipexium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved.
SOURCE Dipexium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.


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BP Comment Quick Links
|Strength of Schedule Report
April 3, 2008
Under The Knife
Word Games
J.J. Putz (20 DXL)
Jorge Posada (0 DXL)
Pedro Martinez (30 DXL)
John Lackey (45)
Mark Prior (90 DXL)
Scott Kazmir (20 DXL)
Chris Duncan (2 DXL)
Victor Martinez (5 DXL)
Tim Lincecum (0 DXL)
Tom Gorzelanny (0 DXL)
Quick Cuts: I never, ever thought I'd hear the day where a MLB general manager said "Grade II hamstring." Ever. The hammy in question belongs to Elijah Dukes, who will miss a month and be brought back carefully. ... Just sad, this story about Corey Koskie. ... Kelly Johnson should be back in the lineup quickly after a couple of days off to help heal up a minor knee injury. ... Conor Jackson left last night's game due to an illness. He's not going to miss much, if any, time. ... Marco Scutaro is headed for images on his hand after being hit by a pitch. It swelled up significantly during the course of the game. ... Hey look, the Cubs won something. Though I'd argue it's Tampa Bay. ... I had the chance to sit alongside my pal Scott McCauley yesterday as he called the Butler vs. Marian baseball game from Victory Field in Indy. The telecast is archived, if you'd like to make fun of me.
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A love of snakes and photography led former teacher Larry L. Miller and his wife, Suzanne, to establish Kansas Heritage Photography, headquartered at their Wakarusa home.
Their images range from personal portraits to nature and wildlife photographs.
"I grew up near Portland in Sumner County and spent much of my free time outside hunting, fishing, hiking and just exploring our small farm and the land we rented," Miller said. "Obviously, I liked the farm, but I always loved science and knew I wanted to be a teacher from an early age."
Miller said his love of science dates back to the ninth grade, where his teacher made science fun by incorporating experiments, stories and demonstrations into lessons. He graduated from Wellington High School in 1967 and in 1971 from Southwestern College in Winfield.
A science and math teacher at Southwestern College fueled Miller's interest in photography and herpetology, the study of reptiles, turtles and amphibians. The instructor also explained how photographs are beneficial to classroom teaching.
Miller taught at Caldwell Elementary School until 1990 before being hired as a science teacher at Topeka Collegiate School, where he stayed through 2001. He then was hired to teach science at Northern Hills Junior High School in Seaman Unified School District 345.
Miller retired from teaching in 2008. His wife retired from the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library a couple of years ago.
"We both like animals and nature, and especially like photographing nature," Miller said, describing how he and his wife turned a hobby into a professional photography business.
Miller particularly likes taking images of snakes. He has been involved with the Kansas Herpetological Society since 1974, when he met its founder, the late Joseph T. Collins, founder of the Center for North American Herpetology and former instructor at The University of Kansas.
"Over the years, I traveled to at least 20 states with Joe, doing herpetological research and documenting the events with my photography," he said. "Most of our work was in Kansas and Florida."
Photographs were always a part of Miller's teaching process. As students and others became aware of his abilities, he was called on to photograph sports events and school activities, as well as graduation portraits and weddings.
Later, he began taking family portraits and images at rodeos.
Miller said he has seen considerable changes in photography in the past 40 years.
"It was largely black and white when I started doing my own developing and printing. Then, major national slick publications required colored slides, and that was mostly what I shot for a number of years," he said. "Digital photography has been the most dramatic improvement, even though some people initially contended it would never work."
"Making a living as a professional photographer is much more difficult than it used to be," he said. "These quite inexpensive digital cameras will produce high-quality images, so sometimes there isn't the demand there used to be for photographs, even by major publications."


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THE PHONE CALL came to Valmik Thapar's elegant home in the diplomatic district of Delhi, India, just a week before the new millennium. A government sales tax inspector in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of Delhi, had stopped a truck traveling toward the Nepalese border--a known smuggling route into China. In a routine inspection looking for illegal garments, the inspector instead was shocked to find stacks of contraband tiger and leopard skins.
Senior officers with India's Ministry of Environment and Forests had called Thapar--known to many as "the Indian tiger's best friend" because of his many years of fierce advocacy for wild tigers--and asked him to accompany them to inspect the seizure. Now on the predawn trip by car to Ghaziabad, Thapar grew anxious. He had seen many such seizures of tiger parts bound for illegal trade in neighboring Asian markets, but something about the magnitude of this one disturbed him. And well it should. Entering the forest officer's house, he found the skins of 3 Bengal tigers and 50 leopards.
It was painfully easy for Thapar to imagine what had happened. From the good condition of the contraband, he reasoned that the tigers had been recently killed--probably in the last six months. As there were no bullet holes or trap marks on some skins, he suspected the cats had been poisoned, a favorite choice for poachers as it is inexpensive and quiet. He could imagine the agonizing death these animals had experienced upon eating a carcass laced with rat poison, strychnine or insecticide: intense abdominal pain, massive internal hemorrhaging, convulsions and seizure. As the skins had been professionally tanned and waxed, he knew this was the work of a well-organized gang. He wondered about the extent of its criminal operation, and how many other animals had been killed.
A few weeks later, the terrible answer came. In January 2000, acting on a tip from the Ghaziabad seizure, police in the town of Khaga, in the border state of Uttar Pradesh, seized the skins, claws and bones of approximately 50 tigers and 1,400 leopards--perhaps the largest seizure ever. More raids of illegal processing factories followed over the next few months, and the toll mounted.
Photo: © Jay Ulall (Stern / Black Star)
SEIZED CONTRABAND goes on public display after officials found skins of 50 leopards and 3 tigers during a routine raid at Ghaziabad, near New Delhi, two years ago. Poaching, combined with depletion of prey animals and fragmentation of habitat, has put tigers at risk.
Thapar knew that the people behind these criminal operations, if ever apprehended, would spend little time in jail. And worse, that this was only the tip of the iceberg. As in other illicit smuggling, authorities estimate that for every unit of contraband seized, perhaps ten more go un- detected. Hundreds of tigers were being killed each year in India, perhaps as many as one a day.
Standing amidst such mute testimony to the tragedy unfolding, Thapar thought of his early years watching tigers play and hunt, of their sublime power and grace, and their perfect fit into the fabric of the biosphere. He thought of his decades of day-and-night effort to save India's wild tigers, and of what he so wanted to believe would be a hopeful end to a disastrous century for them. But now, all this had vanished. In his view, India's central government and its ministries, its states and nongovernmental organizations--and even he himself--had failed utterly.
This new poaching epidemic was an added, perhaps lethal, blow to the species. Tigers were already reeling from continuing loss of both their forest habitat and their prey. And more fundamentally, the country's political resolve was withering in the face of its skyrocketing human population (India has one-sixth of the world's people crammed onto three percent of its land). All these converging pressures foretold a bleak future for the tiger, Thapar feared.
As perhaps the most charismatic person involved in the battle to save tigers, Thapar, a fierce and imposing man, stands out. There are scores of other dedicated biologists and conservationists in the fight as well, some of whom feel more optimistic about the prospects for the species' survival. To be sure, people have been predicting the imminent extinction of the cat for many years and so far have been proved wrong. But Thapar, along with many others, sees the tiger in its most severe crisis ever. Against that backdrop, the story of Valmik Thapar is a testament to the tiger itself and to one man's heroic effort to save the quintessential symbol of the wild in the face of overwhelming human challenges.
During the two million years since it diverged from other cat lineages, the tiger has radiated into more diverse habitats than any other large mammal, except for humans. Tigers spread across Asia from the flooded mangrove forests of the Sundarbans on the Ganges and Brahmaputra Deltas to the arid forests of western India; from the tropical rain forests of Indonesia and Malaysia to the eastern steppes of Turkey and Iran and the frigid subarctic taiga of eastern Russia.
Across this broad range, tigers exhibit significant variation in physical characteristics--body size, skull shape, stripe patterns, color and tooth size. This led biologists to believe there were eight subspecies. But recently geneticists have found tigers to have a remarkable degree of genetic similarity, persuading some scientists that there may be just two or three distinct subspecies.
Essentially, tigers successfully occupied virtually any area in which were found substantial populations of large ungulates such as wild cattle, deer and boar--regardless of temperature, altitude, vegetation type or amount of precipitation. Each individual needs to eat about 6,600 pounds of prey in a year. That translates to about 40 to 50 kills--60 to 70 for a tigress with cubs--and requires a stable prey population of about 400 to 500 hoofed animals. As tiger biologist Dale Miquelle mused, the key to tiger conservation is to "love thy ungulates."
The big cats are arguably the most finely adapted stalk-and-ambush hunters in the animal kingdom. Their striped coloration blends into shadows of forest edge and dry grasses. Their sinuous bodies enable flexible responses to the contortions of escaping prey. Padded feet, keen night vision and sensitive whiskers enable silent movement through dense undergrowth at night. Extraordinary hearing, powerful jaws and legendary canines for seizing the throat or neck of large prey are designed precisely for killing--all abetted by powerful muscles capable of strong but short bursts of up to 100 feet.
Both the Bengal and the Amur tiger of the Russian Far East can grow to 12 feet in length and weigh up to 650 pounds. And given adequate prey densities, their numbers can increase surprisingly fast. Such resilience comes from their basic biology: early breeding (age 3 to 4 for females), short gestation period (about 100 days), large litters (3 to 4 cubs), short inter-birth period (2 to 3 years) and a long life span (potentially 10 to 15 years).
Such characteristics are necessary considering that up to 50 percent of cubs will die in their first year from starvation, disease, flood, fire and infanticide by adult male tigers. And, another 20 to 30 percent of the non-breeding transients will die each year from competition with other species, accidents and injuries while hunting.
The precipitous decline of tiger numbers is legendary. Although it is impossible to know precisely, some speculate that a century ago, there may have been 100,000 tigers roaming their historic range, with one early naturalist guessing that about 40,000 were in India alone. Most estimates suggest that today there may be only 5,000 or so remaining in the wild. (There are also about 6,000 tigers in captivity in zoos, circuses and private collections throughout the world, but most biologists do not believe that reintroduction of these tigers into the wild is a viable option.)
The wild tigers are scattered across 160 or so discrete, disconnected areas of Asia. These "Tiger Conservation Units" (TCUs) are essentially habitat islands surrounded by human-dominated landscapes that are intrinsically hostile to tigers. Although ecologists dream of reestablishing corridors--wild passageways that would allow tigers to disperse from one TCU to another--such connectivity is not likely to exist again in most places. It is feared that such isolation may ultimately lead to inbreeding, gene loss and reduced fitness.
While the twentieth century began with eight distinct geographic populations of tigers, it ended with at least three of those extinct: the Balinese (1940s), the Caspian (1970s) and the Javan (1970s). The South China tiger is probably extinct as well, though some believe 20 to 30 may be left.
The remaining four are: the Amur, or Siberian, tiger--with 350 to 400 in the Russian Far East, North Korea and northeast China; the Sumatran--400 to 500 on the southeast and northern tips of the equatorial Indonesian island of Sumatra; the Indochinese--1,200 to 1,700 in the Southeast Asian nations of Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam; and finally the Bengal, or Indian--perhaps 2,000 to 3,000 in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Tibet and Bhutan. As tigers are notoriously difficult to count, many biologists question the reliability of such population estimates. At best, the numbers convey a sense of relative population size, as well as the magnitude of the tiger's decline.
Humans and tigers have coexisted interchangeably as hunter and hunted throughout Asia for millennia. In the past, with greater tiger numbers, the big cats killed hundreds of people per year. Today in India the toll is perhaps 30 to 40 annually--fewer than those killed by elephants, crocodiles, snakes or leopards. In the 4,000 square miles of mangrove forests in the Sundarbans, where the overwhelming majority of these attacks on people occur, tigers have been known to swim 18 miles across the Ganges Delta, and some have gained fierce reputations as man-eaters, even snatching fishermen from their boats.
At the same time, few animals have been afforded such omnipotence and reverence in Asian religious beliefs. Some Indian mythologies hold that tiger and man were born of one mother, and thus are to be considered brothers. Ancient paintings depict holy men riding tigers in resolute opposition to evil. And throughout India today, the tiger is the official national animal and is widely regarded as the symbolic heart and soul of the country.
Despite such reverence, the tiger's decline reflects a familiar pattern of interaction between humans and large predators. Even before guns came to India in the eighteenth century, tigers had been extensively displaced from historical habitats by the conversion of lands for agriculture.
Under two centuries of British rule, sport hunting, or shikar, became a legendary favorite pastime for British and Indian nobility alike, the hunters often employing hundreds of beaters to flush a tiger from its forest home toward gunmen waiting atop elephants. Astonishingly, some Indian maharajas boasted of killing more than 1,000 tigers in their lifetimes.
From "Tiger Shooting in India" by Lt. William Rice, 1857, London, photographed by © Diane Ward (Peter Arnold Inc.)
SPORT HUNTING of tigers was once a favorite pastime for British and Indian nobility. British army officer William Rice (above, on the right) prepares to shoot a tiger mauling a companion.
Even when India gained independence from Great Britain in 1947, the central government maintained an official bounty, encouraging villagers to shoot and poison tigers to support its "Grow More Food" campaign. As a result, by the end of the 1960s, fewer than 2,000 tigers remained in India, according to the government's first-ever comprehensive tiger census.
In light of these startling population numbers and the growing global sympathy for wildlife protection, the situation for India's tigers began to improve in the early 1970s, albeit modestly. Under the passionate leadership of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the Indian government first recognized the challenge and responsibility to protect its remaining wild tigers. In 1971, it banned the hunting of tigers, the first tiger range state to do so. Other nations quickly followed India's lead. And in 1973, the Indian government established "Project Tiger"--a bold new network of government reserves intended to protect the tiger, its habitat and its prey.
Project Tiger reserves were intended to insulate core tiger habitats from all human interference. In addition, the cores were to be surrounded by buffer areas allowing only limited human access. At the time, these reserves were well managed, as there was strong support from the prime minister that permeated out to the well-disciplined forest guards protecting the reserves from poachers, graziers and woodcutters. But a resulting tiger recovery was short-lived. After Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984, and as India's population and its socioeconomic problems continued to increase, the protection of tigers began to evaporate.
Raised in the innermost power circles of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Valmik Thapar learned early on how government does and doesn't work. His parents were well-known journalists and social activists throughout the years of turmoil leading to and following India's hard-won independence from Britain in 1947. But by 1975, at the age of 23, Thapar--known to his friends simply as Valu--was growing increasingly disillusioned with what he later described as his "vacuous existence" in the abstract political world of Delhi. A piece was missing from his life and he decided to find out what. As something of a spiritual quest, he hopped an early morning train south to the small village of Sawai Madhopur next to the just-established Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. It was a trip that would change his life forever.
Viewed from its periphery, Ranthambhore rises like an enchanted island out of the vast, arid plains of the state of Rajasthan on the eastern edge of the great Thar Desert. Although the total area of the reserve in the ancient Aravalli hills is just over 500 square miles, its critical protected core is small--about 100 square miles. Within its boundaries are the ruins of the enormous fortress of Ranthambhore, built more than 1,000 years ago, along with ancient mosques, water catchments, crumbling temples and old stone palaces. It had been protected as a hunting reserve for the maharajas of Jaipur for well over a century, shielded as a wildlife sanctuary in 1955, and in 1973 designated one of the first nine Project Tiger reserves in India.
In contrast to the human-dominated land around it, Ranthambhore is an oasis--an artifact of the ecological Eden this land must have been. Marsh crocodiles sunbathe on the shores of lotus-covered lakes. Troops of langur monkeys scamper across limbs of ancient banyan trees. Leopards, hyenas, jackals, sloth bears, cobras, pythons, mongooses and monitor lizards move silently through its forests.
But the main story is the tigers and the ungulates. Grazing Ranthambhore's rich grasslands and forests verdant from the summer monsoon are several thousand spotted deer, or chital; elk-sized sambar deer; blue bulls, or nilgai; chinkara gazelles and wild boars--a hoofed smorgasbord for the tigers.
Here, on his first night in the park, Thapar would unexpectedly find precisely what he had been missing. He was crouched at a small campfire with forest staff on the shores of one of the park's placid lakes, listening to the haunting sounds of the night-forest--crickets, owls and bats overhead. The stillness was abruptly shattered by a loud alarm call from a sambar deer. Then the staccato warning of the chital, closer yet to the group huddled around the fire. It was unmistakable: Somewhere just outside the glow of the fire, a tiger prowled. The large predator passed by unseen, but in the tension of that trancelike instant, Thapar felt, for the first time in his life, completely alive and connected. Ranthambhore was to become his second home. The tiger was to become his teacher, his purpose and his entire life.
Throughout Thapar's first few years at Ranthambhore, tigers were a rare sight. They remained largely nocturnal. Occasionally, he and his "tiger guru," Fateh Singh Rathore, then on the reserve staff, would bait tigers by staking out a young buffalo, one of the only easy ways at the time to observe these shy cats. Rathore and Thapar would even walk through the reserve with cow bells to attract tigers, once being startled when a tiger leapt from a ravine, right over their heads.
At the time the reserve staff, under Rathore's leadership, was in the process of relocating several villages from inside the park in order to make way for the tigers. Thapar recalls one long night in the spring of 1977 huddled around a small fire, watching and listening in awe as Rathore argued to persuade angry leaders of the village of Lahpur to move their homes. Such village relocations, although difficult in terms of their human toll, have been key in tiger protection throughout India.
As a result of the relocations and the hunting ban, Ranthambhore's tigers began to be seen much more frequently in the 1980s: Their numbers had increased, but more interestingly, they were becoming less shy around people. Visitors watched them in broad daylight lunging at sambar in lakes, relaxing on roadsides, teaching cubs to stalk and even stealing deer carcasses from the mouths of mugger crocodiles in the lakes. Ranthambhore became known as the best place in the world to observe tigers.
Rathore intended to keep things that way, repelling would-be graziers, firewood cutters and poachers with an iron hand. His tough tactics did not sit well with local villagers, however. One day, Rathore and his driver came upon a group of 50 villagers illegally grazing their buffalo in the reserve. When he confronted them, Rathore was beaten mercilessly with stones, axes, sticks and fists. The attack almost killed him, breaking ribs, both hands, both legs, and splitting his skull. After his three months in the hospital, villagers apologized. Still today, Rathore recounts, "You have to be strict if someone is doing wrong."
Over time, it had become increasingly apparent to Thapar and others that some of the chief threats to tigers at Ranthambhore and elsewhere were spawned by the growing pressures on the reserves by people living in surrounding villages. Relocating the villages from inside the reserve was one thing, but within a six-mile radius just outside of Ranthambhore there were still 170,000 people living in some of the poorest conditions imaginable. Few had electricity, clean water, adequate food or health care. Most had literally no other option for survival than to use the reserve, and an estimated 85 percent remained entirely dependent upon its resources for meeting many basic needs: firewood, fodder, grazing land, meat, timber and building materials.
To address this concern, Thapar started the Ranthambhore Foundation in 1987 under the on-the-ground leadership of Dr. Goverdhan Singh Rathore, Fateh's son. The idea was to reduce human pressures on the tiger reserve and to help local people see the tigers as an asset rather than a competitor.
The foundation supported many simultaneous approaches to improving life for the villagers: a health service offering free immunizations; family planning and voluntary sterilization in local villages; a women's cooperative to produce handicrafts for export; a literacy education program; a tree-planting program around the reserve to reduce future pressures on the park's forests; workshops on sustainable agriculture; a school of art where local artists create tiger art for sale. It also launched a pilot dairy development project to grow fodder for the villagers' cattle and buffalo (which graze the same forage as the tigers' prey) in the hopes of reducing grazing pressures inside the park. And to reduce the need to collect firewood from the park, it put 50 or so small-scale bio-gas generators into local villages to produce gas from cattle dung as an alternative to wood.
Some observers of this effort suggest that it is naive to think that human development alone can help save tigers. They argue that the focus instead should be on protecting the reserves from incursions and direct assaults on tigers and their prey. Others, reflecting efforts to include humans in conservation plans worldwide, cannot imagine tigers surviving without such development initiatives. At Ranthambhore, the results have been mixed. Although the foundation's efforts have improved the lives of local villagers to some extent, even Thapar concedes that this community work has yet to translate into significant benefits for tigers.
Efforts to increase protection for those on the front lines of tiger protection have proved more fruitful. Thapar's foundation, along with other local and international conservation groups, have provided forest guards with four-wheel-drive vehicles, motorcycles, elephants, radios, binoculars, uniforms, even snake-proof boots (not a trivial concern, as snakes kill more than 20,000 people in India each year). And as guards face a daily threat of murder by poachers and others (50 forest guards die and 100 are seriously injured in the line of duty across India each year), they have set up an insurance policy to care for the families of incapacitated or deceased forest guards. Thapar also initiated a program to award forest guards for exceptional performance.
Shortly after the community development work of the Ranthambhore Foundation began in the early 1990s, the tiger story in India took a dramatic and unexpected turn for the worse. News started trickling in that tiger sightings at Ranthambhore had decreased. By 1992, the number of tigers in the park had declined from perhaps 50 to something like 15. Fateh Singh Rathore and others feared poaching was to blame.
The extent of the crisis was clarified with the confession of a poacher apprehended just outside the park. He confirmed that at least 15 to 20 tigers had been killed over the preceding two years. The wave of poaching also raged across the rest of India and other tiger-range nations. Between 1990 and 1993, as many as 1,500 may have been taken by poachers from India, perhaps a third of the entire population.
Because the tiger had become so rare, it had become an extremely valuable commodity in the black markets of Asia. What was worth a few hundred dollars to a poor farmer-turned-poacher in rural India could now bring hundreds of thousands of dollars on the city streets of East Asia. Live tiger cubs could be sold as exotic pets. Tiger teeth, claws and skins could be made into handicrafts. But most importantly, virtually every part of the tiger was considered valuable in age-old Asian folk medicine.
Every manner of therapeutic effect was ascribed to tiger parts: eyeballs to treat cataracts, blood as a strengthening tonic, tails for skin disease, whiskers for toothache, brain to treat laziness, tiger fat for hemorrhoids, testes for tuberculosis, skin to treat mental illness and nose for epilepsy. Tiger penis and other parts are also used for their purported effects in boosting sexual stamina.
But beyond such Asian folklore, it is tiger bone--Os Tigris--that is generally recognized in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for its anti-inflammatory value in relieving symptoms of rheumatism and pain, and as a muscle strengthener--effects owed perhaps to its content of the amino acid ossein. Others say aspirin works just as well. Tiger bone is taken as wine, gelatin, pills, soups and tonics. A bottle of tiger bone pills can sell for $27,000 in Japan, a country that didn't ban domestic trade in tiger parts until just last year. And because of their soaring market value, tigers are now being bred in tiger farms and tourist exhibitions in China, and bones from those that die of "natural causes" are finding their way into the black market trade, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Several discrete elements can be seen to have caused the recent tiger poaching crisis. The stockpile of tiger bone (accumulated in China as a result of Chairman Mao Zedong's edict to eradicate the South China tiger as a pest in the mid-twentieth century) was running out by the late 1980s, and tiger-bone traders turned to India to continue supplying this age-old market. Although most tiger-range nations had outlawed the trade in tiger bone by the early 1990s (China itself banned use of tiger bone in 1993), the soaring Asian economy supplied plenty of surplus cash.
The political situation in India had changed, too. While the tiger states in India had been controlled in the 1970s and 1980s by one political party with a conservation agenda, control had now become fragmented into more than eleven different political parties with other priorities. As a result, the will to protect tigers, in Thapar's words, "totally dissipated."
Pulivahanna ("Tiger Vehicle") Poster Courtesy of Hinduism TodayThe Hindu God Ayyappan rides a tiger, a conveyance that implies respect for animals.
In an effort to combat the poaching epidemic head-on, two conservationists, Belinda Wright and Ashok Kumar, formed the Delhi-based Wildlife Protection Society of India to document, investigate and help prosecute wildlife crimes throughout India. During a six-week period in early 1994, Wright, posing as a buyer, was offered the sale of 49 dead tigers. Today, their small group is active in more than 100 court cases regarding wildlife crime. Although it is well known who the three largest traders are, Wright says today, the government can't seem to apprehend or prosecute them. "The tiger has no secure future in India," she concludes. "We've lost, and I think we know we've lost. It is a tragedy of enormous proportion."
The disintegrating situation for tigers in the early 1990s marked an important turning point for Thapar. What innocence he had enjoyed in previous years simply watching tigers was now not enough. If tigers were to be saved, he would have to aggressively engage government and the international community. And so he did. His mantra became "debate, dialogue, discussion and argument."
Thapar became involved with virtually every committee of the government of India dealing with tigers, chaired the South Asian committee of the Cat Specialist Group of the IUCN--The World Conservation Union, wrote eight books and hosted a popular television documentary on tigers. He became India's "ambassador for the tiger"--a catalyst and provocateur, as ferocious as his tigers, and a passionate and articulate spokesman for them.
With his large stature, booming baritone voice, laserlike eyes, finely honed intellect and combative temperament, Thapar became tiger incarnate. He was the living embodiment of Shakespeare's admonition in Henry V to "imitate the action of the tiger, stiffen the sinews, disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage."
Still, coming to grips with the renewed poaching crisis was not easy. After emerging from what he described as a "deep depression," Thapar recharged and decided he had to expand his fight. Last year, he stepped down as executive director of his Ranthambhore Foundation to allow time to zero in on the looming tiger crisis throughout India. His focus is now inescapably on reforming governance.
Although India's constitution states that the government "shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country," the existing Ministry of Environment and Forests, Thapar observed, spent virtually no time on its duty to protect 20 percent of the land area of the country's forests and wildlife. The government, he charged, seemed more intent on facilitating commercial "looting" ($12 billion in minerals, timber, energy and wildlife is liquidated every year) than in protecting the land upon which the tiger walks for future generations.
By its own admission, the government seems powerless to correct the problem. In a stunning self-critique filed as an affidavit with the Supreme Court, the ministry essentially agreed with Thapar and asked the court to intervene on its behalf. Among the problems: Perhaps 40,000 of its 160,000 field positions remain vacant--as high as 50 percent in some reserves.
And with the ever-present enticements from bribery and corruption, much of the money designated for tiger protection not-so-mysteriously disappears--the tragic alchemy of bureaucratic inefficiency and decay. Today, many believe that rampant corruption, involving complicity throughout Indian society, is India's most serious and intractable problem. "It is a plague that envelops us," Thapar says.
To begin to correct such an entangled mess, Thapar has campaigned for the past few years to have the Ministry of Environment and Forests split into two new ministries--one for environment, the other for forests and wildlife. This, he argues, would give due attention to India's forests and wildlife, strengthening authority over the states and elevating wildlife conservation to a national priority.
In the field, Thapar and others feel that tiger conservation all boils down to one preeminent principle: Keeping the right man in the right job. The deputy field director today at Ranthambhore, for instance, the indomitable G. V. Reddy, has reversed years of official apathy toward grazing, woodcutting and poaching in the park. He is resolute and committed--precisely the sort of person Thapar says is essential to make tiger reserves work.
Since coming to Ranthambhore in 1997, Reddy and his guards have stood their ground in numerous violent confrontations with graziers, sometimes armed with only bamboo staffs. For the first time in years, they've prevailed. When asked how they punish offenders, he answers with a smile, "First we give them a good bashing, then we prosecute them."
At the national level, P. K. Sen, until recently director of India's Project Tiger, sees a "doomsday scenario" for the species. Although the program helped initially to raise sympathy for tiger conservation, today, he says with unusual candor, "No one really cares whether the tiger survives. With 1 billion people and 800 million cattle, saving the tiger is simply not a priority in this country."
Despite Thapar's lobbying efforts--which include pushing for a new wildlife protection "strike force"--little has happened. So poaching continues unabated. In a poignant example of how flagrantly out-of-control it has become, poachers recently broke into a zoo in Andhra Pradesh at night, killed a caged tiger and made off with the tiger's skin, bones, organs and even its blood, all right under the noses of zoo officials.
Concludes Thapar, "We live at the moment in a nightmare, and the best we can hope for is to have perhaps 1,000 wild tigers remaining in India." But if present trends continue, he fears, there may be just 500 or so left within five years in 10 to 15 sanctuaries.
Not everyone agrees with Thapar's dire predictions. Among them is Ullas Karanth, a tiger biologist with the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society. Karanth feels the tiger has a good chance in India--better than anywhere else in Asia except perhaps Nepal. Although tiger habitat has been greatly reduced, he notes, India still has some 115,000 square miles of it, with about ten percent of that area in well-protected reserves. He points to several conservation success stories at reserves such as Khana, Nagarahole, Bandipur and Kaziranga. "Tigers are not yet a lost cause," he says.
Like many of his colleagues, Karanth is less concerned about tiger poaching, suggesting that there is an "annual surplus" that will die anyway. Thus, tiger populations can withstand some pressure from illegal killing, he feels. Ranthambhore, for instance, recovered from the poaching of the early 1990s and now boasts a tiger population of perhaps 45 or more. Depletion of the tiger's prey base is a more serious threat, Karanth argues.
Others see the cumulative loss and fragmentation of habitat as the greatest worry. Timber harvest (both legal and illegal), mining, road construction, dams, irrigation projects, power plants, quarries, agriculture and grazing are all problems. Many cite ill-conceived industrialization financed by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and others as the main culprit. On this note, Karanth sees "sustainable use"--a model currently championed by various international development and conservation organizations--as one of the most pernicious long-term threats to the continuation of strictly protected tiger reserves, and thus to the tiger itself.
Despite such disagreement, the chief threats to the survival of the tiger--habitat loss, prey depletion and poaching --continue. Underlying these human-induced dangers is the ever-present possibility of natural catastrophes from fire, flood, drought and disease. But whether one is optimistic or pessimistic, one thing is certain: The power of the tiger continues to push and pull at the very essence of our basic human nature and provides troubling insight into the present human condition.
Through it all, Thapar carries on. Early in his quest to save India's wild tigers, he had heard about a site in the Himalayas of Nepal where Buddha is said to have given his life to feed a starving tigress and her cubs. A few years ago, he decided to make "the pilgrimage of a lifetime" to visit the place, which is known as NamoBuddha.
It was an evening Thapar would never forget. As he arrived, a setting sun and hundreds of flickering candles cast a mystical light upon the monastery, the doors of which had been painted with bronze tigers. Buddhist monks chanted hypnotically in the deep blue twilight, multicolored prayer flags blowing in the stiff Himalayan winds. Yellow flowers were spread across the red stone that depicted Buddha's last act.
The story suggests that at this very spot, Buddha had come upon a starving tigress with two cubs, all near death. In a supreme sacrifice, he offered his own life to them, and they consumed him. This is said to have been one of Buddha's preparatory stages to enlightenment--his destiny was the tiger's destiny as well, no more, no less. At NamoBuddha, the intertwined destiny of humanity and tiger resonated with Thapar. But it was now the tigers that were being sacrificed, to the insecurities and indulgences of modern humans. For what enlightenment could this possibly be a preparatory stage?
He remembered his first fateful trip to Ranthambhore and the night around the fire as the tiger approached--that moment when his own life had become wondrously entangled with the great cat. He remembered instances where he felt happiest, most whole in his life, and they were times, he saw clearly, that were spent with tigers.
Although he suspected he might be fighting a losing battle, he also knew that his effort had spared the lives of perhaps hundreds, if not thousands, of these magnificent animals, and that he had found purpose through the fight. Such transcendent, unconditional reverence left him with a sense that even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, there still just may be a chance to save his beloved wild tigers of India. At least he could hope.
Rick Steiner is a professor at the University of Alaska Marine Advisory Program. He traveled to India for International Wildlife to interview Valmik Thapar and other experts to report firsthand on the status of tigers.


text:
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©2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Alexander Janzer (P)2015 Alexander Janzer
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