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About the Canon EOS 60D Kit
It shoots fast and handles smoothly. It's got hands-on SLR features for photography enthusiasts, but it's also as easy to use as any point-and-shoot camera. If you love taking pictures and you want to step up your game, the Canon EOS 60D should definitely be on your short list. You'll revel in the realism and depth of the photos you capture, right from day one. The 60D also boasts a 1080p HD video mode with full manual control of shutter speed and aperture to give your movies the exact look you want. And you can connect it directly to your compatible HDTV with an optional mini HDMI cable to share your freshly filmed clips and pics.
The EOS 60D comes supplied here with Canon's 18-135mm image stabilizing zoom lens. This tack-sharp lens offers versatile wide-angle and telephoto shooting options, plus the superior low-light performance and blur-fighting capability provided by image stabilization technology.
Keep on shooting when the lights get low
This cam's sensitive 18-megapixel CMOS image sensor records breathtaking photos with eye-popping detail. Canon gave the 60D an extra-wide sensitivity range to ensure you'll never miss a shot because of poor lighting conditions. Its extended high ISO settings make it ideal for night shots or indoor settings, where the lack of light would normally make shooting impossible. The 60D also offers Canon's Auto Lighting Optimizer, which automatically corrects the contrast and brightness of your images as they're recorded. This helps preserve subtle photographic details of complex subjects, like sunny highlights on your kids' faces against the deeply shadowed woods behind them.
Flexible LCD design
The EOS 60D is Canon's first-ever SLR with a tilt-and-swivel LCD. This bright, high-res screen lets you preview your camera settings in real time, making it easier than ever to grab fantastic looking shots of fast-moving action. Hold your camera up high or down low when you're composing your shots, and simply tilt the screen toward you so you can see it. This feature works out really well for shooting over the heads in a crowd, or taking low-level macro shots without stooping. Activate the on-screen electronic level to make certain your landscapes have perfectly straight horizons. The screen even flips around face-in to protect it when you travel.
Product highlights:
- 18-megapixel effective recording
- APS-C-size CMOS image sensor (22.3 x 14.9 mm)
- EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens (35mm equivalent focal length: 29-216mm)
- high-def movie mode with sound (up to 1080p at 30 frames per second)
- high-res 3" tilt-and-swivel LCD screen (1,040,000 dots) with live view for composing photos and movies on-screen in real-time
- extra-bright pentaprism optical viewfinder with dioptric adjustment
- top-mounted LCD panel with backlighting displays camera and exposure settings
- DIGIC 4 image processor for exceptional image quality and responsive shooting
- 9-point autofocus system with all cross-type sensors for rapid, precise autofocusing
- 63-zone metering system for highly accurate image exposure
- built-in flash with flash exposure compensation
- warranty: 1 year
- Our 60-day money-back guarantee
Compatible Lenses:
- compatible with all Canon EF and EF-S lenses
Exposure Modes and Controls:
- continuous shooting mode: up to 5.3 frames per second (up to 58 JPEG Large/Fine images, 16 RAW images, or 7 RAW+JPEG images)
- shutter speed range: 30-1/8,000 seconds, bulb
- sensitivity or ISO (film speed equivalent) range: 100-12,800
- shooting modes: auto (stills and movie), creative auto, program auto, shutter-priority, aperture-priority, manual (stills and movie), custom setting
File Formats and Storage:
- still image storage modes: RAW, JPEG, or RAW+JPEG
- top JPEG resolutions (pixels): 5,184 x 3,456 (3:2), 4,608 x 3,456 (4:3), 5,184 x 2,912 (16:9), 3,456 x 3,456 (1:1)
- movie image size: up to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels
- accepts optional SD/SDHC, and SDXC memory cards
Connections and Dimensions:
- high-speed USB interface
- audio/video output
- mini HDMI output (cable not included)
- external stereo microphone input jack (microphone not included)
- PC sync flash terminal
- N3 terminal for optional Canon accessories including RS-60E3 remote switch
- 5-13/16"W x 4-1/4"H x 3-3/8"D (without lens)
- weight (with battery and supplied lens): 42.6 oz.
Supplied Accessories:
- Canon EF-S 18-135mm lens
- rechargeable LP-E6 lithium ion battery
- LC-E6 battery charger
- adjustable neck strap
- USB and audio/video cables
- body cap
- software CD-ROM (PC and Mac)
What's in the box:
Canon EOS 60D Kit owner's manual
- EOS 60D Digital SLR camera body (with attached body cap)
- EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens (with attached rear lens cap and E-67mm front lens cap)
- LP-E6 Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (7.2V/1800mAh) with plastic terminal cover
- LC-E6 battery charger
- 6.5' USB cable with in-line ferrite core (has a USB Type-A connector on one end and a Mini-B USB 2.0 connector on the other end)
- 59" Audio/Video cable with a composite video and stereo RCA connectors on one end and a Mini-B USB 2.0 connector on other end
- Adjustable neck strap (with attached eyepiece cover)
- EOS Digital Solution Disk ver.23.0 CD-ROM
- Software Instruction Manual CD-ROM
- Instruction Manual (English)
- Instruction Manual (Spanish)
- Pocket Guide (English)
- Pocket Guide (Spanish)
- Warranty card (lens)
- Warranty card (camera body)
- Do More with Macro booklet
- Great Photography IS Easy booklet
- "Try My Photo" brochure
- USB Cable caution sheet
- Manual correction sheet
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More details on the Canon EOS 60D Kit
Features & specs
|LCD Screen Size
|Adjustable-angle LCD
|Lens 35mm Equivalent
|Optical Zoom
|Digital Zoom
|Filter Diameter
|Manual Focusing
|Manual Exposure
|Built-in Flash
|HDMI Output
|Internal Memory
|Memory Media
|Sensor Size
|22.3 x 14.9mm CMOS
|Image Stabilization
|Highest Resolution
|5184 x 3456
|4K Video
|Video Resolution
|1920 x 1080, 1280 x 720
|Width (inches)
|Height (inches)
|Depth (inches)
|Weight With Battery (ounces)
|Parts Warranty
|1 Year
|Labor Warranty
|1 Year
Product Research
Recording Features
18-135mm Lens
Play, Edit, and Print Functions
Battery Information
Supplied Software
Image Capacity
Recording Features
Lens Compatibility: The Canon EOS 60D digital SLR camera is compatible with all Canon lenses in the EF and EF-S lineup. This gives you a wide range of lenses to choose from, from ultra-wide angle to super-telephoto lenses. This kit includes the Canon EF-S 18-135mm IS zoom lens.
Viewfinder: The EOS 60D features an eye-level, pentaprism optical viewfinder with approximately 96% coverage. It has a built-in diopter so you can adjust the viewfinder to your eyesight with or without glasses. Separate dioptric adjustment viewfinder lenses (from +2 to -4), available from Canon, can be installed on the camera, if desired. When using the self-timer or remote control, the supplied eyepiece cover, attached to the neck strap, can be used to prevent light from entering the eyepiece.
Vari-angle Clear View LCD Monitor: The EOS 60D features a 3" Clear View TFT color LCD monitor with approximately 1,040,000 dots which allows you to view and shoot real-time images. The monitor swivels out and rotates up to 270° for shooting at difficult angles. The LCD monitor offers 100% viewing coverage and 7 brightness levels to choose from. The LCD monitor's anti-reflection and water-repellant coating provides a clearer and more smudge-resistant surface and a light sensor integrated into the screen enables automatic brightness adjustment in accordance with ambient light.
Live View: The Live View Function enables you to shoot still images or videos while viewing the image on the camera's LCD monitor. The Final Image Simulation function lets you view the effects of the camera's settings on the photo you are taking. You can check the color, white balance, lighting, exposure, depth of field, and aspect ratio before you take the shot.
Dual Axis Electronic Level: The EOS 60D also features a new Dual Axis Electronic Level and tilt display that aids in achieving perfectly level shots, displaying both roll and pitch in 1° increments, either in the viewfinder or on the LCD.
Grid Display: The grid display superimposes vertical and horizontal lines in the monitor during Live View to help you compose your pictures. You can choose from Grid 1 which divides the monitor into 9 sections--3 vertical and 3 horizontal. Grid 2 divides the monitor into 24 sections--4 vertical and 6 horizontal.
18.0 Megapixel CMOS Sensor: The EOS 60D features a Canon-designed 18.0 Megapixel APS-C size (22.3 x 14.9mm) CMOS sensor that captures a high level of resolution so it's easy to crop images for enlargement without concern of losing detail. A major factor in reducing noise, the CMOS sensor assures that images shot at highest sensitivity will be remarkably smooth. The image sensor has a 3:2 aspect ratio with 19-million total pixels (5432 H x 3492 V) and 18-million effective pixels (5200 H x 3462 V).
Sensor Cleaning: The camera has a self-cleaning sensor unit attached to the image sensor's front-layer (low-pass filter) to shake off dust automatically. The dust delete data can also be appended to the image so that the dust spots remaining can be erased automatically by the provided Digital Photo Professional software.
Note: Dust which could not be removed by the automatic sensor cleaning can be removed manually with a blower.
DIGIC 4 Image Processor: The EOS 60D's DIGIC 4 Image Processor ensures that images are captured, processed, and saved with remarkable speed. This improved processor makes possible a new 3:2 multiple aspect ratio, in-camera RAW image processing, creative filters, image resizing with new S2 and S3 image-recording quality. Large 18MP images can be shot at 5.3 fps. The chip's 14-bit signal processing give you excellent image gradation, enhanced Face Detection Live mode, Full HD video recording, and the Auto Lighting Optimizer.
Recording Media: The EOS 60D records images onto SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards. The camera is also compatible with Eye-Fi cards, which allow you to automatically transfer captured images to a personal computer or upload them to an online service via a wireless LAN.
Note: No recording media is supplied with the camera.
Image Recording Format: The camera records still images in JPEG and RAW (14-bit) formats in 3:2 aspect ratio. During Live View Shooting, you can also record images in 4:3, 16:9 or 1:1 aspect ratio. Simultaneous RAW+JPEG recording is also possible. In addition, the camera can record video in the MOV format (Video: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, Audio: Linear PCM). Audio is recorded in monaural using the built-in microphone, or in stereo with an external stereo microphone (sold separately).
- JPEG: You can choose from the following JPEG resolutions: Large (5184 x 3456), Medium (3456 x 2304), Small 1 (2592 x 1728 pixels). For each resolution, you can set the compression to Fine or Normal. Two other image sizes are available in Fine quality (compression) only: Small 2 (1920 x 1280) and Small 3 (720 x 480). Note: Resolutions of images of all aspect ratios are listed at the bottom of the page.)
- RAW Format: The RAW file format records the image data as captured by the camera CMOS sensor without further processing and converts it to digital data and records it onto the card as is. RAW images can be processed in the camera and saved as JPEG images. You can choose from the following RAW resolutions: RAW (5184 x 3456), mRAW (3888 x 2592), or sRAW (2592 x 1728). You can also record a Large/Fine JPEG image along with a RAW or sRAW image simultaneously. mRAW and sRAW images cannot be processed in the camera; you must use the supplied software.
- MOV Format (Video: H.264, Audio: Linear PCM): The EOS 60D supports 1920 x 1080 (30/25/24 fps) and 1280 x 720 (60/50 fps) in HD (high definition) mode and 640 x 480 (60/50 fps) in SD (standard definition) mode. Crop 640 x 480 is also available, providing a telephoto effect of approximately 7x. The camera can record up to 12 minutes of continuous HD video or 24 minutes of continuous SD video in a single clip. Using an optional 8 GB CF card, a total of 22 minutes of Full HD (1920 x 1080) or HD (1280 x 720) can be recorded, and a total of 46 minutes of 640 x 480 can be recorded.
Note: Video recording is only available in Live View Mode using the camera's LCD monitor.
Drive Modes: The Canon EOS 60D offers the following Drive (Shutter) modes.
- Single Shooting: When you press the shutter button completely, one shot will be taken.
- Continuous Shooting: While you press the shutter
button completely, multiple shots will be taken continuously.
- High-Speed: maximum 5.3 shots per second
- Low-Speed: maximum 3 shots per second
- Self-Timer: The camera will record an image 2 or 10 seconds after pressing the shutter button.
Note: The Canon EOS 60D is compatible with the following IR wireless remote controls (RC-1 or RC-5), so you can shoot remotely up to approximately 16.4 feet.
AF System: The EOS 60D features a 9-point, cross-type Auto Focus system. With f/5.6 and faster lenses, all 9 AF points are sensitive to both vertical and horizontal lines. With f/2.8 lenses, the camera's center AF point's sensitivity to vertical and horizontal lines is about twice as sensitive as the other AF points. You can manually select any of the 9 AF points to autofocus.
AF Modes: You can select the AF mode to suit the shooting conditions or subject. In Basic Zone modes, the most suitable AF mode is set automatically. You can choose from the following AF modes:
- One-Shot AF: suited for still subjects, the camera focuses only once
- AI Servo AF: for moving subjects when the focusing distance keeps changing. The subject will be focused continuously while the shutter button is pressed halfway
- AI Focus AF: switches from One-Shot AF to AI Servo AF automatically if the subject starts moving
Manual Focus: When autofocus fails due to conditions or lighting, you can focus manually by setting the switch on the lens to MF and turning the focus ring until the subject looks sharp in the viewfinder.
AF Assist Beam: The camera's built-in flash (or an attached external flash) will fire a series of flashes in a row to assist during auto-focusing in low-light situations. This AF-assist beam is effective up to approximately 13.1 feet.
Shooting Modes: The EOS 60D offers various different shooting modes, which are selectable on the top-mounted Mode Dial. The modes are divided into zones: Creative Zone, Image Zone, and Basic Zone. To avoid accidently changing the shooting mode, the mode dial has a lock, requiring you to hold down the lock-release button while you turn the dial. The Shooting Modes are as follows:
- Creative Zone:
- Camera User Setting: You can register most of the current camera settings, including your preferred shooting mode, menus, and custom function settings, for easy recall.
- Program AE: A general-purpose shooting mode; the camera automatically sets the shutter speed and aperture value to suit the scene's brightness.
- Shutter-priority AE: In this mode, you set the shutter speed and the camera automatically sets the aperture value to suit the brightness of the subject.
- Aperture-priority AE: In this mode, you set the desired aperture value and the camera sets the shutter speed automatically to suit the subject brightness.
- Manual Exposure: In this mode, you set both the shutter speed and aperture value as desired.
- Bulb: When the Bulb setting is selected, the shutter stays open as long as you hold down the shutter button completely, and closes when you release it. Bulb exposures can be used for night scenes, fireworks, or other subjects requiring long exposures.
- Basic Zone:
- Full Auto: During Full Auto mode, the camera automatically selects the settings.
- Flash Off: This mode can be used in places where flash photography is prohibited, such as museums. It can also be used for capturing the ambience of a scene, such as candlelight scenes.
- Creative Auto: The Creative Auto mode enables you to easily change the picture's brightness, depth of field, and color tone; while the camera automatically adjusts the exposure.
- Image Zone:
- Portrait: The portrait setting blurs the background to make the human subject stand out. Skin tones and hair look softer.
- Landscape: For wide shots of scenery, night scenes, or for photos with everything near and far in focus. Greens and blues are accentuated.
- Close-up: For photographing flowers or small items up close.
- Sports: This mode captures moving subjects and freezes the action.
- Night Portrait: For taking portraits at night with a natural-looking background. A tripod is recommended to avoid camera shake.
Exposure Compensation: Exposure compensation is used to alter the camera's standard exposure setting. You can make the image look lighter (increased exposure) or darker (decreased exposure). The exposure compensation amount can be set up to +/-5 stops in 1/3-stop increments, however, the viewfinder and LCD can only display the setting up to +/-3 stops.
Auto Exposure Bracketing: With auto exposure bracketing (AEB), the camera automatically changes the exposure level up to +/-3 stops in 1/3-stop increments for three successive shots. If the Drive Mode is set to Single Shot, you will have to press the shutter button three times. If set to Continuous shooting, the three bracketed shots will be taken continuously.
AE Lock: AE lock enables you to lock the exposure at a different place from the point of focus. After locking the exposure, you can recompose the shot while maintaining the desired exposure level. This feature is useful for backlit and spotlighted subjects.
63-Zone Dual-Layer Metering Sensor: The EOS 60D features a new, 63 zone dual-layer sensor designed to complement the 9-point AF system. By taking into account the color and luminosity surrounding chosen AF points, this new system delivers an entirely new level of accuracy for better results even in difficult lighting situations. Since the metering sensor has a color measurement function, exposure errors and focus errors caused by different light sources are minimized; the EOS 60D gives stable exposure from shot to shot in situations where light changes, such as in a theater or concert hall. This makes the EOS 60D ideal for scenes with extreme difference in brightness such as brightly lit scenes or backlit scenes; the camera balances exposure of the main subject at the background, and exposures are not overly influenced by bright areas in the shot. You can select from the following metering modes:
- Evaluative Metering: The camera's standard metering mode suited for most subjects even under backlit conditions, after detecting the main subject's position, brightness, background, front and back lighting conditions, etc, the camera sets the proper exposure
- Partial Metering: Effective when the background is much brighter than the subject due to backlighting, etc, uses approximately 6.5% of the frame at the center
- Spot Metering: For metering a specific part of the subject, uses approximately 2.8% of the frame at the center
- Center-weighted Average Metering: Metering is weighted at the center and then averaged for the entire scene
ISO Speed: When shooting in the Creative Zone, the camera's ISO speed can be set manually between 100 and 6400 in 1/3-stop or 1-stop increments to suit your shooting conditions. In addition the camera features an Auto ISO setting which allows the camera to automatically set the ISO speed from 100 to 6400. When using the Basic Zone modes, the ISO speed is set automatically. When in Auto ISO, you can set the maximum ISO speed to 400, 800, 1600, 3200, or 6400. ISO Expansion allows you to set the speed to the equivalent of ISO 12800 if needed.
Built-in Flash: The Canon EOS 60D digital SLR camera features a built-in flash, which will pop up and fire automatically in Basic Zone modes. In the Creative Zone modes, you can pop up the flash manually when you wish to use the flash. When Red-eye Reduction is applied, a pre-flash will prevent the red-eye effect for most photos. Flash Exposure Compensation allows you to make the flash exposure darker or brighter +/-3 stops in 1/3-stop increments.
External Flash: You can mount an external flash unit to the camera's hot shoe. The camera is compatible with Canon's external EX-series Speedlites (sold separately). The camera's built-in flash can work as a master unit with Canon Speedlites having a wireless slave feature and wirelessly trigger the Speedlite to fire.
Auto Lighting Optimizer: If an image comes out dark or the contrast is low, the brightness and contrast can be corrected automatically. With JPEG images, the correction is done when the image is captured.
Lens Peripheral Illumination Correction: Due to lens characteristics, the four corners of a picture might look darker. This is called lens light fall-off or drop in peripheral illumination. With JPEG images, the correction is done when the image is captured.
Picture Style: By selecting a picture style you can achieve various effects matching your photographic expression or the subject. You can also adjust the Sharpness, Contrast, Saturation and Color tone of each Picture Style. Picture Style selections include:
- Standard: Image looks vivid, sharp, and crisp.
- Portrait: For nice skin tones, the image looks slightly sharp and crisp, color tone can be adjusted to change skin tone.
- Landscape: Vivid blues and greens, very sharp and crisp image.
- Neutral: Natural colors and subdued images, no sharpness applied. (recommended for users who prefer to process images on their PC).
- Faithful: When the subject is photographed under a color temperature of 5200 K, the color is adjusted colorimetrically to match the subject's color, no sharpness applied. recommended for users who prefer to process images on their PC).
- Monochrome: For black and white images; you can adjust the filter effect of the monochrome setting to Black&White, Yellow, Orange, Red, or Green.
- User Defined 1-3: You can register your own Picture Style settings for Portrait and Landscape modes.
White Balance: You can choose from the following white balance settings:
- Auto: The camera sets the white balance automatically according to shooting conditions, color temperature: 3000-7000 K.
- Daylight: For recording outdoors on a bright day, color temperature: 5200 K.
- Shade: Counters strong blue tones in open shade on sunny days, color temperature: 7000 K.
- Cloudy/Twilight/Sunset: For cloudy days, dusk and dawn, color temperature: 6000 K.
- Tungsten Light: For incandescent illumination, color temperature: 3200 K.
- White Fluorescent Light: Eliminates typical green color casts, color temperature: 4000 K.
- Flash Use: A starting point for studio strobes and Canon Speedlites, color temperature: 6000 K.
- Custom: Enables you to manually set the white balance for a specific light source for better accuracy. By selecting this image, you import the white balance data for the setting, color temperature: 2000-10000 K.
- Other WB Settings:
- Color Temperature: Manually set color temperature from 2500-10000 K in 100 K increments.
- White Balance Correction: You can correct the standard color temperature for the white balance setting. It has the same effect as using a color temperature conversion filter or a color compensating filter. Each color can be corrected to one of nine levels.
- White Balance Auto Bracketing: With just one shot, three images having a different color tone can be recorded simultaneously. Based on the current white balance mode's standard color temperature, the white balance setting can be changed from 0 to +/-3 stops in whole-stop increments.
Color Space: The color space refers to the range of reproducible colors. With this camera, you can set the color space for captured images to sRGB or Adobe RGB. For normal images, sRGB is recommended. In the camera's Basic Zone modes, sRGB will be set automatically.
Histogram: A histogram is a graph showing the brightness of an image. The graph display indicates a bright image when skewed to the right side, and a dark image when skewed to the left side.
Mirror Lockup: The Mirror Lockup feature helps prevent camera vibration when using a super telephoto lens or shooting close-ups.
Multi-Language: The camera's menus system supports 25 different languages including English, French and Spanish.
18-135mm Lens
Standard Zoom Design: The Canon EF-S 18-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS standard zoom lens' focal range gives you versatile wide-angle and telephoto shooting options. It features a wide focal length range equivalent to 29-216mm in the 35mm format.
Optical Image Stabilizer: The lens features an Optical Image Stabilizer for up to 4-stops of effective correction even at full zoom. Since the Optical Image Stabilizer system is in the lens, not in the camera, you can see the stabilized, steadier images through the viewfinder. The Stabilizer switch is located on the barrel of the lens.
Auto/Manual Focus Modes: To shoot in Auto Focus mode, you must set the focus mode switch on the lens to "AF." The Auto Focus adjustment is gear-driven by a DC monitor. To manually focus the camera, you must set the switch to "MF," and focus by turning the focusing ring. The AF/MF switch is located on the barrel of the lens.
Optional Accessories: You can attach optional filters (67mm) to the filter mounting thread on the front of the lens. The following accessories are also available:
- Lens Hood: The EW-73B hood can keep unwanted light out of the lens and also protects the front of the lens from rain, snow, and dust.
- Filters: You can add the optional 67mm UV protector filter or the 67mm Circular Polarizer filter to this lens. In addition, with the use of an optional gelatin filter holder, you can add various gelatin filters for creating special effects.
- Focal Length/Aperture: 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
- Lens Construction: 16 elements in 12 groups
- Minimum Aperture: f/22-36 (applies to 1/3-stop increments)
- Angle of View:
- Diagonal: 74º 20' - 11º 30'
- Vertical: 45º 30' - 6º 20'
- Horizontal: 64º 30' - 9º 30'
- Minimum Focusing Distance:
- At 18mm: 1.61' (327 x 503 mm/12.9" x 19.8" field of view)
- At 135mm: 1.48' (75 x 112 mm/3.0" x 4.4" field of view)
- Magnification: 0.21x (at 135 mm)
- Filter Diameter: 67 mm
- Dimensions: Diameter = 2.965", Length = 4.365"
- Weight: 16.0 ounces


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Scaling The Wal
This story appears in the January 1998 issue of Business Start-Ups magazine. Subscribe »
It's the day every small manufacturer dreams of, works for and fantasizes about. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest retailer, has just agreed to carry your product. Welcome to Easy Street!
No, welcome to reality. "I thought I would become a millionaire," says Steve Kendall, whose Cutting Edge Opener System, a device that opens shrink-wrapped CDs, audiotapes and videotapes, is sold in Wal-Mart stores. "I didn't come anywhere close to that."
Just because your product is sitting on Wal-Mart's shelves doesn't mean you can sit back and relax. You need to work just as hard to make your product successful in Wal-Mart as you did to get it there in the first place.
Karen Axelton, former articles editor for Entrepreneur magazine, is a writer in Long Beach, California, who specializes in business topics.
Ready Or Not?
For many entrepreneurs, Wal-Mart is the Holy Grail of retailing--and the process of winning its business can be as long and arduous as the search for that mythical chalice. You'll need patience, professionalism and persistence for this journey. Begin by asking yourself three key questions: Is Wal-Mart right for your product? Is your product right for Wal-Mart? Is your company ready for Wal-Mart?
"Start by deciding if this type of mass merchandiser is appropriate for you," says Liz Tahir, owner of New Orleans-based retail consulting firm Liz Tahir Consulting. Is the Wal-Mart customer your customer? How does Wal-Mart fit into your overall distribution strategy? "It's very idealistic to think you can sell to Wal-Mart and then turn around and sell the same product to [a high-end retailer like] Macy's," says Tahir.
Determining whether your product is right for Wal-Mart takes research and legwork. Paul Cantrell, 31, put in plenty of both and was rewarded by landing Wal-Mart as his first retail account. A background in sales and marketing with Procter & Gamble (P&G) helped, including three years working exclusively on P&G's Kmart account. "I gained good insight into what it takes to make a product successful in that retail channel," says the Matthews, North Carolina, entrepreneur.
Offering something unique is important. Cantrell's product, the Utilitote, is an adjustable bed-liner that fits in the back of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), minivans and station wagons. In early 1996, when the Utilitote was ready for mass production, Cantrell started studying Wal-Mart parking lots, where he saw plenty of SUVs and minivans. Assessing Wal-Mart's automotive department, however, he saw a product mix focused on cars and trucks. "The product clearly had an ability to reach consumers they weren't targeting," Cantrell says.
Last but not least, is your company ready for Wal-Mart? "You've got to have production patterns to get the product out the door to meet ship dates," says Steve Wurzel, a Franklin, Tennessee, consultant whose company, Marketforce Inc., specializes in helping businesses sell products to mass retailers. "The little guy working out of his garage isn't going to get in [Wal-Mart] in a billion years."
Steve Kendall, whose homebased SMK Marketing is a one-man company, is a little guy who beat the odds. Even so, he agrees with Wurzel. "The biggest mistake people make is that as soon as they come up with an idea, they try to get it in Wal-Mart," says Kendall, 46, who had 20 years of corporate marketing experience under his belt before approaching the retailer. "Don't even think of selling to Wal-Mart with just a prototype or sample."
Kendall got his break in the spring of 1995, when QVC saw his CD opener during a national search for new products. The shopping channel persuaded him to go ahead with two other ideas, a videotape opener and an audiotape opener, then packaged the three together and put them on the air. The St. Louis entrepreneur gained national exposure, then started wholesaling to distributors, who placed the products in retail music stores. That experience helped when, soon after, he approached Wal-Mart through its Minority and Women-Owned Business Development Program (see "Step By Step" above).
Perhaps the key to getting your product into Wal-Mart--and keeping it there--is a willingness to build a partnership with the company. That attitude paid off for Charles and Patricia Monte, whose Monte Babe line of appliqued clothing for girls has been in Wal-Mart stores for about a year. "It was an open-book situation," says Charles, 49, of the Bay City, Michigan, company's initial meetings with Wal-Mart two years ago. "They wanted to know about certain aspects of our business--our facility, our financials. At the same time, they were open with us as to what they expect from a vendor."
Be ready to meet those expectations--fast. "When Wal-Mart sent us their first order, they wanted 24- or 48-hour turnaround; otherwise they would cancel," says Paul Cantrell. "We had to decipher the purchase order, ship through 17 different distribution centers, get all the invoices done correctly--all in [a short time]. It was quite a challenge, but it was a great feeling of success watching those trucks roll out."
Selling Points
Savor your success for a moment . . . then get ready for the next challenge: "Just because [your product is] in Wal-Mart doesn't mean it's going to sell," says Cantrell. At least, not without your help.
There are no hard-and-fast rules about how long a product stays on Wal-Mart's shelves; Wurzel has one client whose product has weathered 13 years. Suffice it to say, though, there's stiff competition for those slots. Wal-Mart buyers review each product's performance on an ongoing basis and make suggestions for how to improve sales. But that doesn't mean you can sit back and let them do all the work. This is a partnership, and you've got to take an active role.
Start by monitoring what is going on with your product. One way to do this is through Electronic Data Interchange, which allows the exchange of purchase orders and invoices between Wal-Mart and vendors, or through Wal-Mart's Retail Link, a software program that provides a direct link to the company's merchandising and sales data. Also, visit stores to see how the item is merchandised and whether it looks appealing. Pretend you're a customer: Are the product's benefits clear? Can you tell what it is? Does the packaging make you want to buy?
Don't expect the consumer to learn about your new product through Wal-Mart's advertising. "Advertising, for Wal-Mart, means their monthly circular," says Cantrell. "They're not going to put a new, untested item in there because that's not their strategy. Their strategy is to convey that they're the low-price leader--and if it's a new item, there's nothing to compare its [price] to."
Besides the monthly circular, Cantrell notes, "there aren't a lot of avenues within the Wal-Mart structure for anyone, even a Procter & Gamble, to advertise." That means you need your own advertising strategy--and budget. Cantrell, for example, is planning a six- to 12-month ad campaign on cable television that will show the Utilitote in action.
If your product hits a slump, think about ways to remedy the situation. "Is there a giveaway, promotional activity or special event that can help?" asks Tahir. "Offer to go in and work the shelf space yourself, hire someone to do it, take another flight to headquarters--whatever is necessary."
The Wal-Mart Mystique
You've negotiated the complex process of getting into Wal-Mart. You've carefully nurtured your product with marketing support, on-time delivery and smart merchandising strategies. You're seeing sales beyond your wildest dreams. Now what?
"Too many entrepreneurs get into Wal-Mart and want to coast," says Wurzel. "The rest of their business drops off. Then Wal-Mart finds [a cheaper version of] your product somewhere else. People go out of business because of that mistake."
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket," agrees Cantrell, who was courting several other mass merchandisers in addition to Wal-Mart. His clients now include discount retail chains and auto supply chains like Paccar Automotive.
Smart entrepreneurs make Wal-Mart part of an overall distribution strategy. A good rule of thumb, Wurzel suggests, is to never let Wal-Mart account for more than 25 percent of your total business. Charles and Patricia Monte had accounts with Mervyn's, Montgomery Ward and Sears before landing Wal-Mart, which now makes up 20 percent of their company's more than $4 million business.
Shouldn't landing other retail accounts be a snap once your product has passed the Wal-Mart test? That's conventional wisdom, and in some cases, it's true. "Being able to say, `Hey, we're in Wal-Mart now' is certainly a door opener," says Wurzel. "It's that `me too' mentality--if people see it doing well in Wal-Mart, they'll want it in their stores, too."
But not always. "Once I got into Wal-Mart, many other [retailers] shunned me," says Steve Kendall. "I went back to Kmart [and other mass merchandisers] I had approached before, and they said, `If your product is in Wal-Mart, then why do people need to buy it from us?' "
How can you avoid this Wal-Mart backlash? One solution is to diversify. If you have several products or product lines, you can sell one to Wal-Mart and others elsewhere.
Another idea: "Get Wal-Mart to put its private label on your product," says Kendall, who did just that with the Cutting Edge Opener System. "Then you can still sell it under your own label elsewhere, and it won't be directly comparable to the Wal-Mart item." Kendall uses this strategy to sell his product via the Internet.
Learning Curve
Whether you can leverage the Wal-Mart cachet to boost sales elsewhere is not necessarily the point. The real benefits of working with Wal-Mart go deeper than that. "The exciting thing is that in dealing with Wal-Mart, you become a better company," says Charles Monte. "You learn how to sell to a mass merchandiser, and that's a benefit some companies may not recognize."
Whether their products succeed or fail in Wal-Mart, entrepreneurs who have worked with the retailer value the education they've gained. "One thing we learned from [our experience with] Wal-Mart was to focus on our marketing plan," says Paul Cantrell. As a result, he's changing the company's distribution focus from mass retailers to automotive stores: "That's where our customer shops."
If you see Wal-Mart as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, or the finish line at the end of the race, you're thinking's all wrong. Instead, think of it as training for a marathon. You may win first place, or you may drop out halfway through. But however far you get, you'll likely be in better shape when the experience is over than you were before you began.
"Wal-Mart is a learning experience, and we're still learning," says Charles Monte. "It's a challenge, and we choose to rise to it."
Step By Step
To become a Wal-Mart vendor, start by calling corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, at (501) 273-4000. Operators will refer you to the appropriate department for the information you need. Or visit Wal-Mart's Web site (http://www.wal-mart.com) for step-by-step instructions on preparing and submitting your application package.
In addition to following these steps, you must have your financial information listed with Dun & Bradstreet, apply for Universal Product Code (UPC) Identification Number(s), meet applicable liability and workers' compensation insurance requirements, pass quality assurance testing, and meet packaging and labeling requirements.
Wal-Mart says it responds to all product applications within 90 days. If your product passes the initial application phase, it will be recommended to a buyer. In most cases, you'll need to visit corporate headquarters to make a sales presentation.
Wal-Mart has two programs designed to help small businesses become vendors:
* The Support American Made Program is a joint project of Wal-Mart and Southwestern Missouri University. Entrepreneurs with an American-made product receive a product evaluation form to fill out when they submit their application. The university's business experts assess the product's potential and either recommend it to Wal-Mart buyers or offer suggestions for improvement. For more information, contact Wal-Mart headquarters.
* The Minority and Women-Owned Business Development Program offers a variety of services to businesses that are at least 51 percent owned, controlled and operated by women or members of minority groups. To participate, companies must be certified as minority- or women-owned by regional affiliates of the National Minority Suppliers Council or the Women's Business Enterprise National Council. For more information, contact Wal-Mart headquarters, call the Minority and Women-Owned Business Development Center directly at (501) 277-1770 or (800) 604-4555, or e-mail email@example.com.
Good Answers
To do business with Wal-Mart, you've got to know your product and market intimately. Don't approach the retail giant unless you can answer the following questions:
- Where is future growth in this market/industry going to come from?
- How will your product or service help position Wal-Mart to take advantage of this growth (gain market share and control costs)?
- Who is your customer (age, income, median family size, geographical location and population size)?
- What is the overall size of the market/industry, and who is your competition?
- What added value does your product or service have over your competition?
- How will your product or service impact other related products or services in Wal-Mart stores?
Contact Sources
Liz Tahir & Associates, 201 St. Charles Ave., #2500, New Orleans, LA 70170, (800) 506-1670
Marketforce Inc., 131 Third Ave. N., #107-108, Franklin, TN 37064, (800) 509-9961
Monte Babe Inc., 1400 S. Lincoln Ave., Bay City, MI 48708, (517) 895-7020
SMK Marketing, 9648 Olive, #115, St. Louis, MO 63132, (314) 991-4441
Utilitote Inc., 3371 Smith Farm Rd., Matthews, NC 28105, (704) 821-6199
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 702 S.W. Eighth St., Bentonville, AR 72716, (501) 273-4000

subset: commoncrawl


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Make Your Own Chocolate Bar! Fridays (CHINATOWN)
Madre Chocolate
Event Details
Learn about the origins of chocolate and how it is made bean-to-bar in Hawai'i by tasting it in 3 forms: the delicious lychee-tasting fruit juice of cacao, a fresh roasted cacao bean, and a flight of 5 of our most popular chocolate flavors. Finally, make your very own chocolate bar using Hawai'i grown and made chocolate, choosing from a delicious selection of fruits, nuts and spices to flavor your bar, from toasted coconut to spicy chipotle pepper or Hawaiian sea salt. You will get to try Oahu's award-winning chocolate and see how we make it, in this delicious, informative tour!
We close ticket sales a few hours before the event so please make sure to purchase tickets in advance! If you do need to sign up last minute (or have any other questions) please email email@example.com.
Cancellation Policy:
We offer a full refund, minus a $5 booking fee, if you cancel prior to 2 days before the event date. For cencellations occuring within 2 days of the event, we can offer to rebook you for another date or apply your credit to chocolate.
Madre Chocolate reserves the right to cancel any event due to inclement weather, farm conditions, failure to meet registration minimums or any other reason seen fit.
Have questions about Make Your Own Chocolate Bar! Fridays (CHINATOWN)? Contact Madre Chocolate


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If Lines are busy, please call again
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- We provide a D4 Form with every Medical however you can download a form here DVLA D4 Medical Form
- Got a Question? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page
- Call Free on 0300 3030 668
Please see our FAQ's section for more information, any other queries you might have and to download a D4 form if required.
To view our full terms & conditions please follow this link: D4 Drivers Terms of Use
To view our privacy and cookies policy please go to https://www.d4drivers.uk/privacy-policy.
All driver medicals are carried out by our Doctors in accordance with current DVLA Group 2 guidelines. All of our Doctors hold full registration with the GMC (General Medical Council).
We accept card payments over the phone and online during booking. A receipt and appointment booking confirmation are sent out on every booking.
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Member of Freight Transport Association (FTA), membership no. 302996.


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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Large runs from Morehead State prove to be too much for Tennessee State as the Tigers fall to three-time defending OVC champion Eagles 3-0.
Freshman outside hitter Arijana Anderson recorded 13 kills on the day to pace the Tigers attack. The Muncie, Ind. native saved her best for last as she posted seven kills in the final fame with a .700 hitting percentage.
Senior Naomi Wells and junior Ileanushka Maldonado recorded 17 digs apiece on the defensive end to lead TSU. Erika Moss once again led the team in assists picking up 29 on the afternoon.
After Tennessee State (3-9, 0-2) claimed the first point in the opening set, Morehead State (11-5, 2-0) rallied with a 9-1 run to jumpstart their attack. Allowing Morehead State to gain the 9-2 advantage. Tennessee State would claw back into the set behind an offensive attack headed by junior Taylor Swayzer and senior Naomi Wells. A Wells kill would cap off an 11-4 run to knot the set at 13. Morehead State would go on to close the set on a 12-6 run winning the opening frame 25-19. Swayzer lead the way for TSU racking up four kills in the set with a .667 hitting percentage.
With Morehead State leading the second set 6-3 Tennessee State would use a 4-0 run to take the lead 7-6. The Eagles would surge back in front outscoring the Tigers to regain the lead 20-13. Coach Kathy Roulhac's ream would answer with a 4-0 run of their own but it would prove to be too late as Morehead State would prevail and take the second set 25-19.
In the third stanza each team would trade runs with Morehead State taking the slim 18-17 lead. Anderson led the way for the Tigers in the frame racking up seven kills to pace the Tigers against the Eagles. Morehead State would then close out the set on a 7-2 run to win the decisive frame 25-20 and the match 3-0.
Laura McDermott paced Morehead State with 12 kills posting a .345 hitting percentage to go along with two blocks. The win would extend the Eagles OVC regular season winning streak to 24, with Morehead State's last lost being to Eastern Illinois on Oct. 28, 2011.
Tennessee State returns to action on Tuesday when the Tigers entertain cross-town rivals Belmont with first serve slated for 7 p.m. in Kean Hall.


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E-marketresearch launched a report titled as ""Global Flexible Waveguides Market 2019″". E-marketresearch has completed the in-depth study on the Flexible Waveguides Market industry and the comprehensive report focus on the current trends of the market and also predicted the future market. The detailed analysis provides data regarding this market rate, and it also predicts the future market growth rate.
Request for a FREE sample of Flexible Waveguides market research report @ www.e-marketresearch.com/request-sample-29963.html
This research Study provides you forecast from 2019 to 2025 with comprehensive information with analytic data that will back up the prediction. A report is incomplete without having the knowledge of the key players or competitors within the market. Many vital factors build the market that drives the expansion of associate degree trade or an organization. E-marketresearch has pointed out some significant driving factors provided in-depth data on Flexible Waveguides Market with analytical knowledge.
Key market players in Flexible Waveguides market: L-3 Narda-ATM, Fairview Microwave, Penn Engineering, SAGE Millimeter, A1 Microwave, Aerowave, Apollo Microwaves, Channel Microwave, Flann Microwave, Flexiguide, Mega Industries, Microtech Inc, Microwavefilters & TVC, The Waveguide Solution
Global manufacturing companies launchs new products once in a few months and E-marketresearch listed down information on the outcomes of the Flexible Waveguides Market.
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The E-marketresearch expert team accepts questions yet, so you can contact on the official website, and you can order a custom report for break-in or expanding your business. If you're trying to find additional details on the report, please fill the Inquiry over with the subsequent link @E-marketresearch


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Topic: Text Size?
Is it just me or for the last few days has the text size of the thread titles and forum section titles been very huge? And the search box is big too. I can take a screenshot of this if it's just me. It's not a problem with my browser's text size being off, because this is the only site it does this too. And I just tried turning the text size down but it still looked weird, and then everyone's posts had tiny text. So I turned it back up to normal, but the words are so big on the thread and section titles that it's hard to read.
[url]http://www.townparkradio.com[/url] - Video Game Remix Music


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By Father Scott M. Lewis, SJ
Special to Catholic News Service
The Gospel of John holds a special and rather exalted place in Christian tradition. Our theology and spirituality draw heavily on its lapidary but enigmatic verses.
We immediately recognize "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" as descriptive of Jesus. The dramatic insistence in 1:14 that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us is the foundation of our theology of the Incarnation.
But it was not always so. This Gospel was not universally accepted in the earliest church. It was viewed with suspicion because of its enthusiastic use by Gnostic groups — overly spiritualized groups who denigrated the flesh, creation, and involvement with the world.
The Gospel shares some of the dualism of Gnosticism — a sharp contrast between light and darkness, good and evil, truth and falsehood. In an ironical turn that John would truly appreciate, by the fourth century this Gospel was considered the epitome of orthodoxy and was a rich source for many of our Christological doctrines.
But there are problems. Since the Gospel of John is a faith document, we have to confront three problematic areas if it is to continue to speak to people in the 21st century: 1) its anti-Judaic bias; 2) its relevance for the poor and marginalized; and 3) its exclusivism in a world that is increasingly pluralistic.
John was written at the end of the tumultuous first century A.D. — around 90 or so — and in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. There is harsh anti-Judaic polemic throughout the Gospel, and the term "the Jews" was used repeatedly to refer to those opposed to Jesus. Chapter 8 contains the infamous passage in which Jesus seemingly calls the Jewish people offspring of the devil. This had tragic consequences for it fueled theological and popular anti-Semitism for centuries to come.
We must remember that the author of the Gospel and those of his community were also Jews. John has often been accused of having an excessive concern with coming to faith — "getting saved" — and precious little to do with social justice, the poor and engagement with the problems of our world. It is true that John is extremely reticent on specifics. But as we will see, his one commandment — to love one another — is deceptively simple on the surface but comprehensive and demanding when it is unpacked and applied.
John is rather sectarian in his outlook — there are very sharp and clear boundaries between those who are "in" and those who are "out." In his three letters, John's harshest words are for those who were formerly members of his community. He reserves the epithet "Antichrist" for them.
He is uncompromising in his view of salvation — in 3:16 there is the well-known and beautiful statement about the extent of God's love for the world and his sending of the son. But if we read a bit further, there is harsh judgment and condemnation for those who refuse to receive him. In fact, John has a simple explanation for those who will not come to faith in Jesus: quite simply, they are evil and never belonged to God in the first place. John was adamant that his particular interpretation of Jesus Christ was the only valid one.
We must remember that the fourth Gospel is a mixture of the beautiful and sublime with the very human and the negative. John's community felt itself threatened and under siege. Inspiration is always mediated through human consciousness and historical circumstances. Interpretation of the text should always be done with an open mind and a compassionate and generous heart.


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MSI has made some modifications to its Wind line of Small, Cheap Computers, upping the storage capacity of the standard model and introducing a cheaper model.
MSI's Wind U90: smaller screen, lower price
The low-cost Wind matches the spec of its pricier stablemates but comes in at £269 ($485/€332) instead of £329 ($593/€406) by coming pre-loaded with Linux and sporting an 8.9in, 1024 x 600 display instead of a 10in screen.
The new model, dubbed the U90, comes with an 80GB hard drive. The current, 10in model, the U100, immediately gets a hard drive upgrade, to 120GB - the better to compete with rival SCCs, most notably Acer's Aspire One.
It's cheaper in pink, too
If 120GB's too much for you - or the price is - but you still want a 10in display, then how about the new pink U100, which swaps hard drive capacity for price. It's an 80GB model but costs £10 less than the U100: £319 ($575/€393).
All the machines come with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of memory, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, three USB ports, an Ethernet connecter, VGA out and an SDHC card slot.
Related Mini Laptop Reviews
Advent 4211
MSI Wind U100
Acer Aspire One A110
Asus Eee PC 901
Asus Eee PC 900
Vye mini-v S37B
Sponsored: Ransomware has gone nuclear


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What's that you're doing, Mr. Ernst?
Michael Ernst, 30
Innovation Project Manager
… has been with Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg for 14 years
"I'm inspecting the work our repair robots have done. My team and I developed them in connection with the research project AutoRep. They repair things like hairline cracks inside an engine combustion chamber. The first one mills out the damaged section. A second robot then welds on a perfect patch. Our previous project, AutoInspect, makes this possible. As the name suggests, it's an automatic inspection process for generating digital data about components and the damage they have suffered, which form the basis for automatic repair work. Find the damage, record it, repair it – done. Robots can take care of the entire process today, so that human specialists are only needed to repair damage that is very complex. The AutoRep project has now been concluded, and the next step is to incorporate the AutoRep process into regular repair operations – and also to develop them further, so that they can be applied to other components, as well."


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I recently took several bunches of green garlic home from the farmers market and made it into a simple but delicious soup. Green garlic is basically immature garlic, which is generally pulled to thin the crop in the spring. Mature garlic is generally harvested in the summer. Green garlic has not formed into a bulb yet, and it resembles a green onion. It still has a garlic flavor, but it's much more mild.
Green garlic is generally only available at farmers markets, and only in the spring, so if you'd like to enjoy it, do so soon! I find this to be a wonderful ingredient, and perfect for celebrating the spring weather. Here are a few tasty recipes to get you started in your green garlic enjoyment.
1. Green Garlic Pesto: Instead of using mature garlic cloves, why not use green garlic for making pesto? You can use that pesto for topping pasta, adding to bowls of soup, or spreading on sandwiches.
2. Spinach and Green Garlic Soup: Green garlic is a natural in soup. Like the mature bulb, it can be added to any soup, but this particular soup really highlights its simple flavor.
3. Pancetta, Mizuna, and Tomato Sandwiches with Green Garlic Aioli: Here homemade aioli is spiked with green garlic, and then used in a flavorful sandwich.
4. Sockeye Salmon with Fava Beans and Green Garlic: This showcase recipe uses three spring ingredients, salmon, fresh fava beans and green garlic. The dish is finished with fresh lemon zest and lots of black pepper.
5. Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Chicory and Green Garlic: This simple recipe allows fresh flavors to carry the day.
Do you have any favorite recipes to share using green garlic?


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New York, July 12, 2012--Authorities in the Maldives must ensure journalists are able to cover ongoing political demonstrations in the country without fear of being attacked, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
At least four journalists have been attacked by protesters and police during demonstrations in the capital, Malé, that began Sunday, according to news reports. Supporters of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have pledged to demonstrate until President Mohamed Waheed Hassan responds to their demands to hold elections. Former president Mohamed Nasheed, an MDP founder, resigned in February but said he was coerced, and called for a new presidential vote. Hassan has said the country is too unstable, according to international news reports.
"We are deeply concerned that journalists are being attacked by both protesters and police," said Bob Dietz, CPJ Asia program coordinator. "All sides must respect the role of news outlets and allow journalists free and safe access to cover the protests as they continue to unfold."
On Wednesday evening, Murshid Abdul Hakeem, a journalist for the local news website Sun Online, lost consciousness after being struck in the head by a stone believed to be thrown by a protester, according to Minivan News and local press freedom group the Maldives Journalist Association. Ahmed Zahir, president of the association, told CPJ that Hakeem had been treated at a hospital for his injuries and that he was unaware if the stone had been thrown deliberately at the journalist. Minivan News reported that Imthiyaz Fahmy, a spokesman for MDP, was "saddened and concerned" by the journalist's injury.
The journalist association, citing the local private DhiTV station, said protesters also attacked one of their presenters, Mohamed Ameeth, and knocked him to the ground on Tuesday, but did not give details on his injuries. DhiTV has historically reported negatively on the MDP, according to Minivan News. However, Nooshin Waheed, a MDP supporter who was present at the protest, told CPJ that Ameeth was passing a group of protesters on a motorbike when they recognized him and began to call him a traitor, but that he was not beaten. CPJ's emailed request to DhiTV for comment was not answered on Thursday.
Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, the MDP spokesman for international affairs, told CPJ in an emailed statement today that he was "deeply concerned about attacks targeting journalists" and called on "members and supporters to ensure a peaceful environment" to allow news coverage.
Two journalists reported being attacked by police on Wednesday. Ahmed Shanoon, a cameraman for the private station Raaje TV, suffered a collarbone injury after being struck by a baton, news reports said. The MDP-aligned Raaje TV has accused police of targeting its journalists in the past, according to Minivan News. The association also reported that police attacked Ahmed Haisam, a journalist for the Minivan Daily, but did not report further details. (The Minivan Daily newspaper is not affiliated with Minivan News).
A police spokesman said that police "would not deliberately carry out targeted attacks on any media personnel," the local newspaper Haveeru reported. The official also said that any journalists working in an unspecified "secure zone" would be allowed to freely cover the protests, the paper said. Maldives Police Service did not immediately return CPJ calls and emails seeking clarification.
CPJ's coverage of two journalists briefly detained by police on Monday has drawn a storm of comments from individuals on both sides of the conflict. In a phone call with CPJ today, Zahir from the journalists' association responded to two commenters who said his organization was biased toward the government. "I'm not aligned with either the previous government or the current one," Zahir said. "I am not aligned with anyone."
- For more data and analysis on the Maldives, visit CPJ's Maldives page here.


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Some athletes who compete in the 400- and 800-meter runs will say the 800 is the easier event because the shorter race often is a long, all-out sprint.
Rancho Bernardo's Alex Grigoriev disagrees.
"They both are the worst pain ever, but it's worth it in the end," said the senior who captured the 800 in 1 minute, 54.41 seconds Saturday in the Bronco Invitational at Rancho Bernardo High.
Grigoriev was one of the section's top 400-meter runners a year ago, cracking 50 seconds before he suffered a groin injury that cost him a month of training. Though he returned, it became obvious his endurance was what suffered the most.
When Grigoriev became the No. 1 runner on his team in cross country, it didn't take a lot for the RB coaches to talk him into moving up to the 800.
In both invitationals this year Grigoriev has taken the lead only for Westview's Alex Gronotte to push him every step of the way. Again Gronotte moved alongside Grigoriev with 100 meters remaining only for the RB runner to inch ahead at the finish line.
Gronotte ran a fine 1:54.54 as both improved two seconds.
"I want to run 1:50 or 1:51 at the worst by the end of the season," said Grigoriev, who admittedly really wants to crack the 1:50 barrier.
Other outstanding early-season marks were recorded by La Costa Canyon's Emma Abrahamson in the 3,200, Mt. Carmel's Alexis Hernandez in the 400, Canyon Crest's Anne Charles in the girls 800 and Granite Hills' Jacob James in both hurdle races.
Abrahamson ran with her sister, Elle, for the first five laps and then took off to win in 10:54.76.
"I was pretty happy with that," said Emma, a junior, "because at the end I was running by myself and that's hard. I just want to get personal bests in the 1,600 and 3,200 by the end of the year, but I'd be really happy if I could get a section record (4:42.71 in the 1,600 and 10:18.92 in the 3,200)."
Hernandez clocked a strong 57.92 in winning the 400 and, like Grigoriev, will run some 800s this year. But by the end of the season, she is looking to make some noise at the state championships, where she hopes to eclipse the school record of 54.29 after clocking a 55.42 last year.
Charles will focus on the 800 and 1,600 and she showed her speed in the half as she won by almost three seconds in 2:16.72.
As for James, he's just happy to be running at all.
Playing football last fall, James broke a foot and just three weeks ago returned to the track seriously out of shape and promptly came down with bronchitis.
"This was just a workout," he said of the wins in the 110 highs at 14.71 and the 300 intermediates at 40.70. "I'm training as hard as I can to get back into shape.


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To CELEBRATE the launch of our custom banners and also to CELEBRATE that we have reached 6,000 Facebook Fans, I just created this FREE Printable "CELEBRATE" Banner for you!
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Thank you all for your feedback and for being loyal fans!


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by Clark Groome
During the Phillies 4-19 post-All Star Game slide out of playoff contention, a wise Phillies fan emailed me with the suggestion that the Phillies post signs outside their entrance gates quoting Dante: "Abandon hope all ye who enter here."
Clearly it was that run, coupled with the remarks made by several of the key players, that led General Manager Ruben Amaro to fire Charlie Manuel and appoint Ryne Sandberg as interim manager for the rest of the season.
Now that we've had a week to adjust to, or recover from, the shock, sadness, anger, disappointment or whatever you felt about Manuel's axing, it has become increasingly apparent, as is not unusual with sports teams led by the same manager or head coach for a long period, that while the timing may have been painful, the move itself was just what the doctor ordered.
Manuel was a great manager. He was also a wonderful human being whose loyalty to his players more often than not paid dividends for the team. What happened is that Manuel could no longer energize his players.
While he wasn't the softie many felt him to be – he would criticize players in no uncertain terms when they needed it, although never in public – the team, from all the evidence available, had simply given up.
For some players it was evident that if the game didn't matter then why bother to go all out. For others, who still wanted to win, they may have been trying too hard rather than just playing their regular game.
What Sandberg has done it to make sure that everyone is part of the team. He has made it clear privately and publicly that this team needs to play as a unit. They need to support each other. They need to work together, cheer their mates and stop complaining about things when they go badly.
Unlike some managers who criticize players in the media, Sandberg has an analytical and positive approach to what needs fixing that while clear shouldn't prove offensive to those about whom he's talking.
His first project was to get Jimmy Rollins to go all out for the sake of the team. When Rollins was asked if he would be willing to be traded – he has a no-trade clause – he said, basically, "no way." Fine so far.
He then went on to explain that he had a number of Phillies records he was close to achieving and wanted to stay here so he could be the best Phillie in whatever category ever. "Me. Me. Me. Me." Sandberg made it clear to the press, and I'm sure to Rollins, that he was here for the team and whatever individual goals were reached was secondary.
Sandberg also let it be known that two of the team's biggest pieces – pitcher Cliff Lee and closer Jonathan Papelbon – needed to be less vocal about their disappointment in the team and individual players' performances.
Lee famously said in a huff, "I came here to win." Clearly he wasn't happy the team was in a funk, and the implication was he'd leave to go somewhere else to win.
Papelbon, the beneficiary of the largest contract ever for a closer, said, on several occasions, "I didn't come here for this." He made it clear by his words and actions that all that mattered was what he wanted. I guess $50 million wasn't enough.
Sandberg noted that they should just go out and do their jobs and that the winning would then, in all likelihood, follow.
His latest remarks were about the injured Ryan Howard. Since the team is not in a playoff hunt there is no reason, Sandberg says, to bring Howard back from knee surgery this year. He needs to lose weight, get in baseball shape and really heal before spring training 2014 begins in February.
The players are now required to show up for work four hours before game time. They are all to be in the dugout for the National Anthem, and they are to be supportive of each other. There's a lot of chatter coming from the dugout as the games unfold, a lot more than there was when Manuel was in charge.
I am not being critical of Charlie. While it's hard to accept the timing of his dismissal, the evidence from the period since he left is that he had lost the room. All of the players loved and respected him.
Even Roy Halladay, who said that things needed to change, wasn't really criticizing Manuel. He was basically saying that the team needed a goose and that the new voice, specifically Sandberg's voice, would be good for the individual players and for the team. He's right.
Sandberg's first 10 days have been impressive. They're 6-4 through Sunday, with four of those six being won in the Phils' last at bat.
As hard as it is to accept, the Phillies seem to have been right to make the managerial change when they did. The team seems happier, more like a team.
What's most apparent is that a Phillies game is no longer as painful as it was a couple of weeks ago. Those signs quoting Dante needn't be erected, and that's the best news to come out of Citizens Bank Park in a very long time.


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STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- An entire village like those inhabited by the hobbits from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" is planned for a Stockholm island, its developers say.
"Living in a hobbit house is the smart and sustainable way to live in the future," John Higson, co-founder of the project, told The Local.se.
Higson and his wife co-founded Dromgarden on the island of Musko, a self-sustainable and eco-friendly farm and village, in 2011 but the idea to build hobbit houses didn't come until Higson heard about one built in Wales by a man named Simon Dale.
"Seeing Simon's houses blew me away. They're beautiful, unique and completely sustainable, and what a fantastic way to live," Higson said.
"I've always enjoyed living a little bit differently. The idea of just a hobbit-style village came from talking to other people interested in being part of Dromgarden," he said.
The Swedish hobbit houses will be constructed with natural materials like straw, clay and timber and erected on the edge of a forest overlooking some fields, The Local.se reported.
The first house is to be completed by the end of the year, with about 15 more houses being planned under Dale's supervision.
"People will be invited to join Simon Dale to plan their houses but we're debating as to whether it would be a good idea to build a pub first," Higson said.
"You can't have a hobbit village without a pub."


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with older evrsion i used to play scummvm games on T5, especially monkey island 2 and indiana jones 3 worked without any problems and i remember trying but not playing some more
now on lifedrive all games cause reset as soon as i launch them. fatal exception is shown in <unknown application>.
information show that i have 4589kb free dynamic memory (from 6144) and 10682kb of storage (from 66844) and stack total is 3kb
i tried to switch off audio, set scummvm to use larger stack and os5 advanced mode - nothing helped
here on forum i see people have some problems with lifedrive, but most of them made games work..i can't. sometimes in rare cases game doesn't crash immediately but shows debugger with some error message (message depends on game, in monkey island 1 it was something about actors, in maniac mansion its 'o2_dosentence: unknown subopcode 191) and crashes when i try to do something there
any idea what can be wrong? maybe 4.5mb of free dynamic memory is not enough? but as i recall T5 had even less then that....
every game crashes on lifedrive (scummvm 0.11)
Subforum for discussion and help with ScummVM's Palm port
Moderator: ScummVM Team
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CHICAGO - Motorists tempted to illegally park in shopping mall spots reserved for the disabled will be the target of Illinois Secretary of State police this holiday season.
The agency's seventh-annual disability parking sting started Friday at shopping malls statewide and will continue through the Christmas season. Last year, the agency issued 31 citations over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend alone and 187 citations through the season. Authorities confiscated more than 100 illegally used placards.
"We're out to send a message to ask people to leave the accessible spots for people with disabilities," said Bill Bogdan, disability liaison for the Illinois Secretary of State's office.
Police will be stationed at shopping malls in the Chicago area and cities like Carbondale, Champaign, Marion, Peoria, Rockford and Springfield. Their goal is to make sure motorists legally are parking in spots reserved for the disabled.
Used properly, the person who received the placard must be in the vehicle and have gotten in and out of the vehicle when it was parked.
There's a $500 fine for illegally using a placard or disability license plates. Offenders also can have their licenses suspended. Fines for wrongly parking in a disability space can go up to $350.
"We ask people to respect the space," Bogdan said. "Don't abuse the program."


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The Gulf Caf�©: Virtually the best seafood in town
A new seafood restaurant is opening in Charlottesville, featuring some of the best seafood dishes from the waters of the Gulf Coast, including hush puppies, oysters, jumbo shrimp and baked flounder. Now, before you start salivating– sorry if you already are– Dish has to tell you there's catch: The Gulf Caf© has no physical location and serves no real seafood.
The virtual restaurant, which will open on the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina at www.thegulfcafe.com, is an attempt to bring awareness and financial support to those affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill. The site will allow seafood lovers with a desire to help those who bring it to our tables to place "virtual orders" off an extensive "virtual menu" specific to the Gulf region. All proceeds will go to non-profit organizations in the Gulf region that are mitigating environmental damage and assisting those in need.
While the caf© won't satisfy our appetites for shrimp gumbo and oyster po' boys, founder Chuck Moran hopes it will be a fun way for foodies to satisfy their appetite for charity.
"The effects of the spill are so devastating," says Moran, a local web designer and marketing expert who founded the website with a staff of volunteers. "I felt I had to do something to help the people, the animals and the environment. This spill truly impacts all of us."
So how does this work? Well, browse the Gulf Caf©'s menu of pictured items, select how many you'd like to order, then press checkout to enter your credit card information. Currently, all proceeds will go to the Greater New Orleans Foundation.
"Commercial fishermen face unemployment short-term and possibly long-term, which is why the first grant from our Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund went to support a center where fishermen can go for business help," says Marco Cocito-Monoc, a Greater New Orleans Foundation director.
The Gulf Caf© also features an "Oil Spill" page with up-to-date news and video on the cleanup and effects of the disaster. Visitors can also interact with The Gulf Cafe staff and community via Facebook (search The Gulf Cafe) and Twitter (twitter.com/TheGulfCafe).
10 comments
What is there a moratorium on spell checking too?
Cute idea, but reality dictates that we hold those accountable for this egregious violation of the gulf.
Great, well has been capped for 6 weeks now, but thousands are still out of work.
Virtual charity sites are a way to sanitize guilt.
Real issues demand real solutions and real accountability.
I'm with Chris. Some of you seem to miss the point. Based on the theory "it's BP's problem", why should I help my homeless shelter? Let Countrywide take care of them. Why should I volunteer at my local SPCA? Let the American Kennel Club deal with it. Why should I donate to the Red Cross for hurricane or flood relief?My tax dollars have already gone to FEMA. Let them fix it all.
Ain't no such thing as "unemployed." Anyone in this country without a job is just too lazy to get out of bed and compete for work with the 5 million illegal aliens who cross our southern border every hour. Fox News now, Fox News tomorrow and Fox News forever. Amen.
Good idea. Let's just rely on BP to "make it right." While we're at it, let's ask Goldman Sachs to fix the problems with the financial markets ... "Heck of a job, Brownie!"
...Shall I go on with the ways corporations and the government have failed real people in crisis. Grassroots programs like the Gulf Cafe and the Greater New Orleans Foundation are our only real hope ... if we have any hope at all.
Financial reparations should come from BP, not from donations. I will purposely not donate to this "cause" when there is a multi-billion dollar corporation that is on the hook (forgive pun) for damages.
The gulf seafood industry isn't coming back for a decade, if ever. The general public will never receive truthful, accurate information about the Gulf Coast from BP nor the US federal gov't. Anybody who believes this is a short term issue is a fool.
I tend to agree with Mr Bucks that charity should begin with the drill-baby-drillers.
Clever campaign idea though. Maybe we can look forward to a G. Huguely legal defense fund virtual sporting goods store (or handbag boutique?) someday soon.
What about the 23,000 people out of work because of Obama's ill-conceived drilling moritorium?
Perhaps, but you left out some commas, you grammar-hating maroon.
If that's all you have, you have nothing.
deleted by moderator


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Mom sparks backlash for breastfeeding at graduation
Some calling Facebook photo 'gross' and inappropriate
It was supposed to be a sweet shot captured by a classmate.
But a photo of a mother in California breastfeeding her baby during her college graduation has sparked controversy and backlash online.
Karlesha Thurman, 25, shared the photo on the Facebook page for Black Mothers Do Breastfeed.
When the group re-posted it, it went viral.
While many comments were supportive, others were more critical and called the move "gross" and inappropriate.
Thurman said she never posted the photo to get attention, and it's since been deleted from the group's Facebook page.
"Nobody there had a problem with it," she told ABC News about her May 22 graduation ceremony at California State University in Long Beach. "I was facing the other graduates. The crowd couldn't see me."
Click here to see the photo.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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What is the particular judgment? How is it different from the general judgment? Why do we need two judgments?
The Church believes in both of these judgments because Scripture and tradition speak of them. In the Creed, we affirm our belief in the resurrection of the dead.
Particular judgment for each individual right after death seems logical. Why wait? Christ opened the gates of heaven by his death and resurrection so souls don't have to wait in a sort of limbo like those who died before Christ. This judgment is like a private affair between God and the individual person who is recompensed for faithfulness to God in this life.
Luke 16.19-31 gives us the story of Lazarus, who, while begging at the gates of the rich man, longs for the food scraps given to the dogs but to no avail. Luke tells us that at death, each is judged in a particular judgment and sent to the place merited by one's life.
The rich man, in a torment of fire in Hades, begs to have Lazarus, who is in Abraham's bosom, sent down to alleviate his suffering, at least slightly, with a cool touch of water. He is told that a great gulf exists which prevents anyone going from one side to another.
A confirmation of this immediate judgment and reward is Jesus' response to the good thief on the cross: "This day you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23.43).
However, some scholars today believe "this day" does not mean "today" as within the next 24 hours, but is a formal pronouncement of a future event.
The Gospel of Matthew (5.31-46) gives us a striking panorama of the Last Judgment with the victorious Jesus appearing in all his glory. I envision it as a grand assembly of all of God's creatures who come together to worship and praise God from whom they received life and grace and redemption in Jesus Christ.
Yes, all of creation awaits redemption as Paul tells us in Romans 8.19-23 "the whole of creation has been groaning in labour."
This includes all of creation, not only humans. And all of creation praises God as expressed so well by many of the psalms: Praise the Lord, sun and moon, heavens and earth, fire and hail, snow and frost, mountains and hills, wild animals and cattle, creeping things and birds.
In this appearance, Jesus is called the Son of Man, his favourite title for himself in the Gospels. He is not called by this title by others, except Stephen in Acts 7.56 "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand."
This fulfills the prophecy of Daniel's vision of the future Messiah "one like a son of man" coming on the clouds who receives dominion, glory and kingship and the service of all nations and peoples and an everlasting dominion (Daniel 7.12-14).
The Gospel of John corroborates this Last Judgment vision: "God has assigned all judgment to the Son because he is the Son of Man . . . all those in their tombs shall come forth. Those who have done right shall rise to life" (5.27-29).
In his letters, Paul also speaks of the rising of the dead at the end.
All the marvellous works of God's people will be revealed to show the glorious gifts God has bestowed on them through Jesus Christ. Everything hidden will be made known: "will reveal the secret disposition of hearts" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 682).
The catechism continues to tell us that we will understand "the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation. . . . The Last Judgment will reveal that God's justice triumphs and that God's love is stronger than death" (n. 1040). "At the end of the world, Christ will come in glory to achieve the definitive triumph of good over evil which, like the wheat and the tares, have grown up together." (n. 680).
So both judgments serve their purpose. The particular judgment, at the time of death, deals with each individual's destination while the general judgment is a manifestation of God's glory in Jesus Christ and a confirmation before all of the work of redemption and of the destiny of all humankind.
(Questions? email@example.com. Please note email change.)


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Bark Mobile Mayberry Mall
Call (336) 789-9841Directions
Get directions to thisWebsite
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location on Google Maps.
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Bark Mobile Mayberry Mall is located in Mount Airy, NC.
Business Hours
Monday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed


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Next Week - Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Technology Thursday
Visits (10321)
Last year, I presented "The Future of Storage" in seven cities across Australia and New Zealand. Then, back in August, I presented "The Future of IT Storage" as an [InfoBoom Webinar] from Calgary in Canada.
This was a big success, and triggered the idea from our mid-market events team to have me travel across United States and meet with clients face-to-face in an informal setting. This started with a [Lunch-and-Learn at Indianapolis].
Next week, I will be in Atlanta. I will be presenting "The Future of IT Storage" at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce [Technology Thursday]. Here are the details:
Contact Catherine Pearson (no relation) at (404)586-8429 if you want to register!
technorati tags: IBM, the Future of Storage, Atlanta, InfoBoom, Technology Thursday


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I am having a problem and dont know where to start on this one, my experience in c# programming is average and was hoping for some advice on this subject. I have a disc image (an exact duplicate of a 40gb hard disc drive) the format is a dd image.
My task requires me to programmatically read through the files on this image, compare file extensions and recognise certain file types on the drive. Is this possible? I cannot find anyone who has attempted this on the internet and would appreciate any guidance to get the ball rolling.
Thank you


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Aumentar fonte:
In this section you'll find the main presentations about the Federal Public Debt in various events. Among them, one should highlight the Investor Presentation, a weekly updated publication that present the main economic indicators of the country and the elements of the Federal Public Debt management.
Investor Presentation
Other Presentations
Public Debt Management under Non-Conventional Conditions on Debt Markets - Moscow


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back to products
Basico Panti Arena
€79,95 Incl. tax
beige sneaker
Slick, sharp, simple. Like the Clasico, the Basico portrays the beautiful colour spectrum of the Peruvian culture. This handmade canvas sneaker displays lovely colours which are accented by South American textile designs on the heel of the sneaker.
- Premium handmade quality sneaker with padded collar
- High quality vulcanized rubber sole with MIPACHA print
- Embossed MIPACHA leather logo patch on tongue and heel
- Fits true to size


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We try to protect our kids through good parenting and by educating our kids to prepare them for the future. Parents do their best to instill values in their kids while the law does its best to keep kids in school. Both of these are important ways to ensure the safety of our youths. However, the consequences can be devastating when, despite all our efforts, children are made to feel unsafe at school due to bullying.
There are students in our schools whose mental and physical safety are under siege every day because of the bullying they endure. Even with the best work of students, teachers and administrators, bullying remains a daily threat that diminishes our students' safety at school. This in turn decreases their willingness to attend school and their success at school.
While Longmont is a wonderful place to raise kids, it is not immune from the issues that are being confronted by youths all over the country. This is shown by responses given by St. Vrain Valley high school students in 2011 to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The survey was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a way for local governments to receive reliable data about risks being faced by local youths. In part, the 2011 St. Vrain Valley survey tells us that in the 12 months before the survey 28 percent of surveyed students admitted to being harassed at school and 3.6 percent of the students admitted to not going to school on one or more of the previous 30 days because they felt they would be unsafe.
Find the St. Vrain Valley Safe Schools Coalition on Facebook to learn more about what you can do to support our schools in the fight against bullying.
The Rev. Luke Grobe
First Congregational United Church of Christ
Chairman, St. Vrain Valley Safe Schools Coalition


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CSU Los Angeles excels in serving a diverse population. The university is ranked first by U.S. News & World Report in awarding bachelor's degrees to minority students. CSU Los Angeles also is noted for the quality of its undergraduate business and engineering degrees, as well as for its extensive music and cultural enrichment programs, which benefit not just students but also the entire Los Angeles region.
Having established the nation's first Chicano Studies Department in 1968, today, CSU Los Angeles is a top source of bachelor's and master's degrees for Hispanic students in California.
CSU Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032, Phone: (323) 343-3000


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If you're too late to get under the mistletoe and need to take your mind off the credit card bills you've racked up, director Carl Rinsch's "47 Ronin" is sure to remind you what Christmas is all about: love, deception, swords, CG and, of course, ritual suicide. The deception comes in before you even step into the theater with the posters and trailers leading you to believe that Keanu Reeves is the star, but I guess that's another story.
"47 Ronin" is based on a legend of 47 rogue samurai who avenge their fallen master. In this version, the story begins as a tween half-breed demon Kai (and he's often reminded of it) is found fleeing from an unknown force in the forest. Despite his assistant Oishi's (Hiroyuki Sanada) insistence on killing the exhausted Kai, Lord Asano (Min Tanaka) brings him back to the village. Although Asano treats Kai (played as an adult by Reeves) with respect, the rest of the village treats him like a second-class citizen.
Kai's humble life of servitude (and secretly sharing glances with Asano's daughter Mika, played by Kou Shibasaki) is interrupted when Shogun Tsunayoshi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and his delegation come to visit. He brings with him the maniacal Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano), who, along with a beautiful witch (Rinko Kikuchi), concoct a scheme to trick Asano into attacking an unarmed Kira, a crime punishable by execution or a more honorable ritual suicide called seppuku. Adding insult to injury, the Shogun allows Mika a year of mourning, at which time she must marry Kira.
No sooner does the Shogun leave town does Kira makes his presence known by banishing the samurai, selling Kai into slavery and setting out to mentally and physically destroy Oishi. Before you can say "Didn't this happen in '300'?" Oishi sets out to get the old band of samurai back together for one last battle to avenge his fallen master and free Mika from Kira's clutches. He's outnumbered, outgunned… I mean, outsworded, and his only chance is reuniting with the man he looked down upon, Kai.
Samurai movies may not be everyone's favorite yuletide entertainment, but there's something to be said for "Ronin 47." Lost in the inevitable detractors focusing on why a film rumored to cost north of $200 million was given to a first-time director is a story with noticeable flaws, but a background so enticing that you'll almost overlook them.
"Ronin 47" touches on everything from love, to loyalty, to racism in its lengthy 119-minute running time, but sometime in covering that much ground, they forgot to make some key stops. Despite the love story of Mika and Kai being at the heart of the film, they're never onscreen long enough to show any real chemistry. The theme of fighting for honor for honor's sake is likely to lose many audience members, not to mention those turned off by suicide, no matter how much it's draped in the archaic definition of honor. Audiences may be a bit annoyed by Keanu getting the marquee, despite him not being the main character of the film. It's clearly Oishi's story, although Keanu isn't just there for the ride. Nonetheless, whether it's ethnocentric or star-driven marketing, it's bound to irk more than a few.
The fight scenes are a bit underwhelming at times, as when Oishi first encounters Kira's men, but brilliant in others, such as the final battle. That unevenness can only be chalked up to letting a less experienced hand in the director's chair.
Keanu's been a bit of a martial arts movie icon since the "Matrix" trilogy, but despite his fondness for martial arts and the zen mindset that often goes along with it, "47 Ronin" is his second martial arts film this year where he's a bit too stoic to fully connect with the viewer. Just as in the well done "Man of Tai Chi," he unfortunately replaces brooding for a performance that's emotionally moving. Lack of onscreen humor aside, his sword moves in "47 Ronin" will remind you (just as in "Man of Tai Chi") that at 49, he's in better shape than most guys half his age.
Countering Keanu's onscreen stiffness is Rinko Kikuchi as the evil witch that sets all the pieces in motion. Her fluid and teasingly wicked moments touch on the mystically erotic, leaving no doubt that she can turn any saint into sinner. Kikuchi is the best kind of temptress, powerful and constantly moving as she verbally tortures Mika every chance she gets. It's almost a disappointment when she has to give way to her costly CG-based incarnation.
The 3D effects won't blow you away, and this is also where the topic of a first-time director and a bloated budget will become a topic of conversation. As a revenge drama, "47 Ronin" more than fills the bill, but as the intended epic it was marked to be, it comes up short, making Hollywood look more incompetent in giving foreign epics their due.
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Posted in: Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies
Tags: 47 Ronin, Carl Rinsch, Keanu Reeves


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Bird's eye view
The whole world has gone wild about hygge, the embodiment of the Danish lifestyle: coziness, tranquility, intimacy. Now, the trend appears to have reached Africa – albeit in the luxury version: This bird's-nest-inspired mini hotel is set at the heart of the Laikipia Plateau in Kenya on the grounds of the exquisite Segera Retreat. Two can sleep here, sheltered or under the open sky, and enjoy the stunning 360° view.


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I bet many times you want to have some messages appear on your page to notify users something such as: which time your system will go to maintain! Or you want to tell user go checkout your lastest product,...! Yeah, SweetNotify makes you really easy to set it up!
- Set up notification for whole of site!
- Set up notification for specified post (Just appear when you go to that post)
- One-time(just appear on the first time see page, auto disappear on next visiting time) or always-on(always appear on top of page) or user-hide(appear till when user click hide button) notification
- Support 3 positions: top, bottom, center& 4 notification types (info, warning, error, success) with 4 colors and icons!
- Display notification as dialog box, on top or bottom of page, or even in the top or bottom of post!
Note when testing
When u clicked close button to dismiss the message and want to see it again! U must clear your cookie! If you don't know how to clear your cookie, just append ?reset-sweet-notify=1 to url to Sweet Notify clear its cookie for you!
DemoMain plugin page
Only global message for whole site
Global message and notification message of single page
Global message at top& single post message at bottom.
Another demo with error box type and global message! Both of message are at the top.
I used some icons from http://wefunction.com/2008/07/function-free-icon-set/
I used notification template from http://grafisia.com/freebie/psd/web-notification-boxes/
You can go to here http://support.axcoto.com/ and post your question into correct category! I will reply there to help you! I'm happy to assist all of my buyers !


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By Ed White and Mike Householder
Associated Press
HOWELL (AP) -- A man who turned a Michigan fall into a season of fear by firing at about two dozen vehicles near a busy highway was convicted of terrorism Wednesday as a jury rejected his claim that the shootings were the impulsive result of wild, uncontrolled delusions and paranoia.
The jury deliberated over parts of two days before returning a verdict against Raulie Casteel, 44, of Wixom, who faces up to life in prison when he returns to Livingston County court on March 3.
"The victims of his shooting spree received justice," state Attorney General Bill Schuette said.
Testifying in his own defense, Casteel admitted that he repeatedly fired his gun at vehicles in four counties near the busy Interstate 96 corridor between Lansing and Detroit, over a three-day period in October 2012.
No one was hurt, but the hunt for a gunman dominated headlines for days, persuading travelers to change their habits and even forcing many schools to keep children inside at recess.
"I can't testify to the number, but I did fire at cars, yes," said Casteel, who kept a handgun on the floorboard near his right leg.
Casteel, a geologist, told jurors Monday that he was consumed with anxiety while in traffic, most likely from undiagnosed delusions. He said he believed drivers were part of a government conspiracy against him.
Casteel said he never thought about the consequences of the shootings, only that he wanted "to send a message to back off." Defense lawyers pleaded for an acquittal on the terrorism charge, arguing there was no premeditation as required by law, but the jury disagreed.
As the verdict was read, Casteel's sister sobbed loudly in the courtroom. Later, one of his victims said the outcome brought her a sense of relief.
"I'm just happy that everybody can be safe now. ... Imagine being shot at. It's not fun," Jennifer Kupiec told reporters.
Jurors considered an attempted murder charge against Casteel for shooting at Kupiec's car but instead convicted him of a lesser charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. He didn't contest five gun charges after police matched the weapon to bullet fragments recovered from vehicles.
After the verdict, Casteel's defense team accused prosecutors of piling on charges.
"We're disappointed. We contested this because we thought this was an overcharge," attorney Doug Mullkoff said of the terrorism charge.
In a separate but related case, Casteel is due in Oakland County court on Tuesday to be sentenced for shootings that occurred in that county. He pleaded no contest but mentally ill to assault and firearms charges last year and faces up to 12 years in prison. No terrorism charge was filed by the county prosecutor there.
A no contest plea isn't an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.
Casteel is a St. Johns, Mich., native who lived in Taylorsville, Ky., before returning to Michigan in 2012 to live with his wife's family.
Police in Kentucky said they had no contact with him until June 2012 when he became agitated and complained about aircraft flying too low over his house. No one else had reported low-flying planes.
Kupiec's mother, Kelly Kupiec, said Casteel may never have the honor of watching his daughter get married, depending on the length of his sentence.
"His whole family is destroyed," she said. "I don't have sympathy for him. I have sympathy for his family."
Published: Fri, Jan 31, 2014


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ASEAN has been expanding, but shortfalls in infrastructure investment limit its growth: According to the Asian Development Bank, US$92 billion more in infrastructure investment is needed for the region to maintain its growth momentum and eliminate poverty. This gap in investment needs is increasingly being addressed by the various countries: For example, Vietnam leads Southeast Asia in infrastructure spending of 5.7% of GDP, while the Philippines Government has said it aims to spend 7% of GDP on infrastructure over the next three years.
Upcoming infrastructure projects allows the private sector increased opportunities for development, with multiplier effects for the economies and increasing the attractiveness of individual countries to foreign investment. On the real estate front, these projects allow for decentralised commercial clusters, more affordable and accessible housing options, and tourism growth. In the logistics sector, trade flows are expected to improve as a result of shorter transport times and lower costs.
These development opportunities work on several levels. For cities, metro lines will help ease congestion; for countries, it can make possible the growth of secondary cities. It will additionally help the region move towards economic integration, in line with the aims of the ASEAN Economic Community.