text:
...you're now fired. José Mourinho's getting your job. Have a pleasant day."
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The Angry Geologist does IMPACT Silver (IPT.v)
I fleetingly mentioned the eye-catching drill hits just yesterday, as luck would have it T.A.G. has also picked up on the assay numbers but in his case, has put together a superlative post that interprets what IPT.v seems to have found. Check it out, metalhead, right here.
The top three most visited IKN posts this week are...
...in reverse order:
Third Place: "Mining PRs and the Ottotrans™, Part 94", and one cheer for the good old Ottotrans making the frame. My stars, we're nearly at edition one hundred. I'll buy a cake when we make it, or something. Anyway, this edition was about Lydian (LYD.to) but it didn't stop the stock from putting on 15% from the moment of the NR to the Friday close. WTFDIK anyway?
Second Place: "Dynasty Metals & Mining (DMM.to) 1q16 financials (a.k.a anatomy of a gold mining trainwreck)", in which I did some work for a change and put some charts together to show where this company is headed (hint: Ch11).
First Place: "CEO.ca and the 'protection racket' model of investor relations". By a nautical mile. And my mailbox strongly suggests there are a lot of people thinking the same things about Tommy Humphreys, the only difference is that IKN says them out loud. The truth may hurt, Tommy, but it's not libel. For further comment, we refer you to the reply given in the case of Arkell v. Pressdram.
Gold bullion holdings in the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD)
Which is of course the biggest gold ETF in the world by quite some way and the industry demand benchmark (like it or not, hardcore bugs):
NB: Please note the cut-down Y-axis
- It started 2016 at 642.37 metric tonnes.
- This weekend it holds 869.26 metric tonnes.
- That's a difference of 226.89 metric tonnes.
Or if you prefer, at this weekend's spot price there's an extra U$9.133Bn worth of gold in the GLD vaults. Not shabby.
The Friday OT: The Chemical Brothers (feat. Beck); Wide Open
It's a good track, one of those that benefits greatly from a good set of speakers. Beck does his job nicely too, but the reason it's the Friday OT this week isn't the music, it's the video (here):
Because it's wonderful, a combo of beauty and "how did they do that?"
Dear Tommy
Dear Tommy,
I've just seen the reply you wrote in your chatroom to the IKN post earlier this week (because somebody just sent me the link). A couple of points to make:
1) If it's libel, sue me. Wait, let me re-phrase that: If it's libel, sue me you fucker. It's really easy to squeal and squeak about "being libelled" before you bother to walk into a courtroom, the problem is that if you step up to the plate and do so you're going to lose because my post contains two things: 1) Facts about you and NXE 2) my opinion of your person. Neither of those are libel. Therefore I invite you to sue me after calling my blog "libellous" because if you do you'll lose (and you either know it or you're ignorant of what libel truly is) and if you don't you're just another blowhard. I'd bet large on the latter.
2) The problem with your list of excuses about NXE is that it doesn't explain why you decided to take a personal level potshot against the CEO of NexGen and his wife. As you have now admitted that you'd already fallen out with the NXE people, that shines a very clear light on you and the way you go about your business. Or were you just drunk when you wrote what you wrote, Tommy?
3) You made factually incorrect statements about me. You'll find out about that the day you sue me. That's what happens when you don't fact-check and just shoot your mouth off.
Yours, "Otto".
The cost of capital...
...is not the same for everyone. For example, if I were a shareholder of IMPACT Silver (IPT.v) this morning...
...I'd be feeling a little miffed about this:
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 20, 2016) - IMPACT Silver Corp. (TSX VENTURE:IPT) ("IMPACT" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce a brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of a minimum of $3,000,000 worth of units (each a "Unit"), at a price of $0.57 per Unit (a minimum of 5,263,158 units). Each Unit consists of one common share and one-half of one warrant. continues here
It's also interesting because the last drill hit that came from IPT was a very good one that caught the eye of at least one of my geol pals.
On risk management in metals and mining stocks
The other day in the update to this post I shared a short mail Q&A session with a reader and one of the subjects that came up was Gary Tanashian over that Notes From The Rabbit Hole (NRTRH) and his prowess in risk management of a market, in this case metals and miners.
Since then Gary's really stepped up to the plate by giving us two posts on the subject, the posts being...
These are highly readable and recommended way of spending a few minutes of your reading time this morning if you're serious about stock markets and are adult about the way to participate. For what it's worth, the second one is the better of the two in my opinion and here's an extract to whet your figurative lips:
"But this is not a casino and it is not a game. These are the financial markets and if you do not have a consistent yet flexible approach, sooner or later you will get killed. Yet, if you start trying to guess when you may be in the kill zone (i.e. planning to get out at just the right moment) you will either be left out in the cold or you will get sliced and diced by a whipsaw."But to survive and thrive over the long run you have got to have a plan, parameters to the plan and the ability to subordinate your ego. You are not a genius. Get over it."In this business people make up stories about their performance, they make up stories about their stock picking acumen and they make up stories about how they have a secret sauce (e.g. 'my proprietary momentum indicator' or 'my super secret volume/buying pressure indicator', etc.)."You are the target. Sometimes these geniuses will make you rich and sometimes they will make you poor. It all depends on the environment within which they are plying their wares. It is up to you dear individual investor trying to float your raft in shark infested waters, to take the ultimate responsibility."
Hudbay (HBM) (HBM.to) at Constancia: Yet another truck carrying concentrate crashes
HudBay (HBM) continues to be the single most irresponsible mining company in Peru
According to the report from Peru's OEFA environmental control bureau today, the truck was carrying 35 tonnes of concentrate, about half was spilled in the crash which directly affected a 250m2 area that includes a high country marshland (often the sources of rivers in the high Andes).
According to news reports on the incident, the Mayor of the local town of Espinar is pressing formal charges against HudBay because both he and his town are fed up with the repeated accidents of trucks crashing out of Constancia.
According to IKN this is the eighth crash of exactly this type since Constancia opened. That included the one in January that got the locals so pissed they blocked the roads in and out of the mine for 72 hours.
The funniest though was just last month, when after a crash on April 16th that was officially reported to OEFA, the HudBay CEO Alan Hair went on Canada's BNN biz TV show and denied that an accident had happened on April 29th, two weeks after the event. Will he dare show his face and lie to the cameras again? Time will tell.
In The IKN Weekly this weekend...
...there's going to be plenty happening. As well as following all the usual stories, I detail a new buy call on an exploration stage gold mining company. Also you'll get to hear the details behind the Regulus Resources (REG.v) news release from yesterday because...
...your author gets his information from the best sources.
Chart of the day is...
...copper, weeklies:
Continues to be far more important than gold because it's going under U$2/lb again and you'd better get used t the idea.
CEO.ca and the 'protection racket' model of investor relations
After this morning's quick post on CEO.ca and the recent "change in attitude" of Frank Giustra lackey Tommy Humphreys towards NexGen Energy (NXE.v), IKN has been contacted by sources close to the story with a most interesting back-story. But before we get to the exposé, please note that your author has no position or opinion about NXE.v or any other Athabasca stock for that matter. I couldn't be more neutral and what's more regulars round here know my negativity towards the whole uranium sector anyway, it's all for somebody else.
We understand that Tommy Humphreys was a strong supporter and promoter of the NXE.v story on his CEO.ca promo pump hype site. Along with his chat room lackeys, it was one of the stocks he repeatedly put in front of the casual reader's eyes for many weeks and months. However, he didn't have any sort of investor relations or promotion and "sponsored coverage" agreement with the company. Unlike many of the other stocks that pumphouse puts in front of people's eyes that need to pay-to-play, NXE got a freebie, probably because Humphreys was long the stock on the open market and playing a straight pump.
He therefore decided to approach NXE.v and ask them to pay CEO.ca for coverage. For their own reasons NXE decided to decline the offer. And then, all of a sudden, Tommy Humphreys decided that he didn't like the company any longer and started finding excuses to bash the stock at any given opportunity on his website. He also stated that he'd sold some of his shares (which could be 99% of them of course).
Got that so far:
1) Tommy likes NXE
2) Then Tommy asks NXE for money.
3) Then NXE doesn't give Tommy money.
4) Then suddenly, Tommy doesn't like NXE any more.
All facts but sadly that's only half the story as he's now started making very personal attacks on NXE's officers. This is what he said about NXE CEO Leigh Curyer at CEO.ca on May 14th 2016 (at 9:37pm) during last weekend's Metals Investment Forum:
And that's all he wrote, short'n'sweet no editing by IKN. The image of a Canadian junior CEO doing the "Tony Montana look" (aka Scarface) and surrounding himself with a bevy of women is all very cute, but in fact Leigh Curyer was with his wife, with NXE corp dev manager Travis McPherson, Travis's wife and two friends of one of the wives, because it happened to be her birthday. Understandably, when they found out the CEO was being compared to a cocaine baron and his wife some sort of hanger-on floozy the NXE officers were livid with Tommy Humphreys and according to sources close to the story, they have fallen out with the two-faced rat in no uncertain terms. That's not surprising, as they've finally worked out he's the type of Vancouver scum that will pump your company and then ask for money to keep doing so.
Or else.
It's the classic 'protection racket' business model and as he's already shown, he's not afraid of going way out of the business sphere and running smear campaigns on CEOs to the point where their spouses get hit by the collateral damage if he doesn't get his nasty little way and his grubby hands on your money. So, junior mining company boss, be aware of what you're up against when CEO.ca and Tommy Humphreys come knocking at your door offering "sponsored coverage".
Daniel Sturridge's goal
It's half-time in the Europa League final, it's Liverpool 1 Sevilla 0 and we don't know how the match will finish yet, but let us be crystalline in clarity: If Messi had scored this goal for Barcelona we'd be talking about it for years on end:
If you don't catch how good this is on the first showing, wait til the end of this Youtube and the second replay from behind the goal. World-class goal, period.
By the way , this happened while gold dropped on the "hawkish Fed" news. Just another buying opportunity.
UPDATE: And it took 25 minutes of the second half for Sevilla to score three and liquidate the match. Such is the way of Association Football but it's a great match for neutrals to watch and the Sturridge goal will forever be a peach.
UPDATE: And it took 25 minutes of the second half for Sevilla to score three and liquidate the match. Such is the way of Association Football but it's a great match for neutrals to watch and the Sturridge goal will forever be a peach.
Dynasty Metals & Mining (DMM.to) and high compliments: "I never much liked Otto ... but he has been right all along"
But before we get to the sweet talk, let's see how Dynasty Metals & Mining (DMM.to) has been getting on since the IKN post on Monday evening and your humble scribe's call to get out before it's too late on DMM:
Yup, that well. Another public service broadcast by IKN.
And now back to the quote in the title, which was written by a poster on this board who is long DMM (thank you A. Reader for the heads-up) and goes on to say this in the next breath...
"I just think there is too much of an asset base in DMM that Rob Washer can work with to pull the company away from the brink of bankruptcy".
...just to prove how mind-numbingly stupid they are. It all gave me the big laughing merry happy ho-ho feeling on reading it this morning, thank you kindly A. Reader. It's the very essence of stupidity in fact, if we consider that in just a few scribbled words:
1) The authors shows that a like/dislike for the messenger is more important than the message. Ad hom rules.
2) They admit fault in their position and note the counterparty to their call "has been right all along" but immediately return to the "yeah but this time is different" land of hope and desires for the near term future. A phenomenon also known in the brokerage circles as "Retail, the crop that never fails".
3) They show zero understanding of balance sheets. It's not up to DMM to pull the company away, all it will take is one of the creditors to call in the monies owed and DMM goes CH11 on you. Immediately. No ifs no buts no "well let's just talk about this first eh...", assuming a serial bullshitter like Robert Washer is going to save you is the hallmark of somebody who should not be investing in mining companies of any sort, shape or form, let alone this walking disaster.
All that in just a line and a half, that's what I call triple-concentrated dumbassery. Still I do rescue the fact that being called unlikable by a complete dumbass is high praise. Ta muchly, Tad.
Mining PRs and the Ottotrans™, Part 94
Our occasional series is back, the one in which we take the gobbledygook written by mining companies in their news releases and put it into something we mortals can understand. This time the focus is on Lydian International (LYD.to) and its NR out just a few minutes ago on this pleasant Wednesday morning, but today we're running a variation of the normal series format because...
We only need to put the NR headline through Ottotrans™
...so here we go.
"Lydian Shareholders Overwhelmingly Approve $80 Million Private Placements"
And this is what it means:
"Lydian Shareholders Overwhelmingly Approve the financing deal that snatched away all the blue sky upside from shareholders at its Amulsar project just weeks before the gold miner market turned from bear to bull and handed hundreds of millions of dollars of money that should have gone to the company backers as reward for their patience and loyalty to a bunch of suits who got lucky with timing because the people running LYD are dumbasses and by the time the deal was done the original backers didn't stand a chance of making any meaningful protest because they'd been diluted out."
Labels: ottotrans
The only thing you need to know about the mining stocks bull market...
...is right here:
Seller's regret, time and again.
To roll out for the first time (I think) the little ditty I've been using in The IKN Weekly for the past few weeks here on the blog, it's this easy:
Buy. Hold. Win.
Okay, not quite that easy because you don't want to fall into the grasp of one of the many scam stocks out there, but if you're not savvy about the ins and outs of the mining sector you can just buy the ETFs (GDX, GDXJ) and get that weakness reduced to a minimum. You may miss out on a super-mega-triple exploration company that goes through the roof if you do, but safety is its own reward and in the end, you're probably better off by not paying money to the self-styled experts, blowhards and double-agenda ridden snakes we know as newsletter writers. And yes, I include myself in that definition, beats me why people still pay me money to tell them things on a weekly basis, this market is that plug dumb easy.
So just buy, hold and win. And find something more interesting to do than watching squiggly lines move up and down all day. IKN lifestyle advice complete, have a pleasant Wednesday.
UPDATE: Reader T mails in with this (very slightly edited to brush up and a link added, but really as-is):
For what it's worth, here's what I wrote back to reader T:
UPDATE: Reader T mails in with this (very slightly edited to brush up and a link added, but really as-is):
"I like the chart you just put up on IKN....nuff said! The hardcore technicians are still waiting for confirmation of the bull market in PM mining shares. I stopped reading Gary T(anashian of Notes From The Rabbit Hole) a few months back. I know everyone's situation is different but is he still underinvested and waiting for a sizable correction after the run up from Dec/Jan? He did help me keep my port mostly intact during the bear, but aren't the technicians going to be left in the dust during the bull phase, in your humble opinion?"
For what it's worth, here's what I wrote back to reader T:
These are difficult questions (name redacted). I'll say here that I have the greatest respect for Gary Tanashian and his work, he's one of the best in the business. I'll also say that I run my own portfolio and I don't have a clue how under/over he is right now. You'd have to ask him, but I do know he's first and foremost a risk manager rather than a speculator. Risk management keeps you away from the worst of the losses but also, by the nature of the beast, means you don't get to grab the best of the gains...risk is risk, upside or downside. QED.In short Gary T is "smart money", but one thing that invariably happens at turn points in a market is that the smart money becomes dumb money and vice versa, at least for a limited period in time at the most dynamic part of the market turn (what we've just been through). Dumb money by its own definition doesn't think much, has entrenched views, tends not to overanalyze or consider both sides to a story. When any market (not just gold/metals/miners) goes bull that's exactly what you need to make dem big bux, you need to be stupid and be one of those "Hey Ah Wuz Right! Look at me!" people who quickly forget their losses and never seem to learn from their mistakes (the ones that stop them from becoming true successes). It's unfair, even plain wrong, to criticize Gary for being prudent at this point, he's the type of person who helps makes you the big money in the long run. The stuff that counts.
Dan Steinhart has a message for you
The message is, "I am a prostitute and I work for Porter Stansberry". Here's the beginning of latest scam pump mail from Casey Research (out this morning and forwarded to your humble scribe by A. Kindreader:
It then goes on and on. He's calling it "America Ground Zero" this time and any similarity between the message of impending doom about to be delivered by Doug Casey and the messages of impending doom he delivered in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 is of course purely coincidental and has nothing to do with ripping off the naive and filling his own back pockets at their expense.
Chart of the day is...
...the gold/silver ratio...
...which still hasn't managed to beat its low score of October 2015. According to the headless chicken brigade it was guaranteed to blast down though 70X in this movement, but the recent stall and reversal doesn't quite fit into the narrative.
PS: Copper dumped to new lows this morning.
PS: Copper dumped to new lows this morning.
Not all CEO.ca readers are stupid
Some are observant and can see the underbelly of the scams, such as reader 'm' who informs IKN this morning...
Course of events as seen from a naive lurker over there1)Tommy starts bashing NXE.
2) Tommy declares he has trimmed his position quoting the stock plan amendment and a BMO analyst.3)LIX options 50% of its property to a company run by FCU CEO DevHmmmmmm
Hmmm indeed, m. IKN also likes the way David Sidoo has got himself involved, the waiter turned failed oilman. North South...East West...geddit?
"Nothing about Venezuela, Otto?", is the cry...
...from readers of this humble corner of cyberspace. In fact we are following the rapidly deteriorating situation in South America's finest corner of FUBAR, but the comments are for IKN Weekly subscribers. Such as this, last weekend in IKN366 (slightly edited to keep the company name in question for the eyes of subbers only, respect the hand that feeds and all that):
Venezuela: A 60 day State of Emergency declaredOne of my "Ten Random Predictions for 2016" back in December 2015 (17) was this:6) Venezuela's government to implode. Maduro won't be President this time next year. It's likely to be very messy too. Venezuela has been the butt of annual "teetering on the brink" type of op-eds and articles every year for the last ten years with the right-wing press getting it wrong every time, but this time around things are obviously deteriorating and the opposition victory in the December elections just gone is a telling moment. Oil prices where they are could be straw that breaks this camel's back as China won't be so quick to bail them out this time. I don't know whether the PSUV party will fall from government, but the call is "govt implode" and "Maduro out", that's the thing.The events in Venezuela this week suggest that I might be right. President Nicolas Maduro has declared a 60 day State of Emergency (18) shortages for basic consumer goods have increased, the well-documented queues to buy food etc are getting longer, crime is spiking with inflation (estimated at 700% per annum).All very interesting I'm sure, but unless you have a political soapbox it's not going to affect your life unless you (or loved ones) live there. The reason it's mentioned today is for the classic "buy when blood on streets" principle, because if the Maduro left wing government falls and Venezuela goes through a period of bigtime political turmoil, we the mining investors may unfortunately have an opportunity to do just that. Most people know the names Gold Reserve and Crystallex when it comes to Venezuela exposure in mining projects, Rusoro might come to mind too. But one I have in mind is
(section edited out)
If Venezuela falls to pieces, it may be an alternative to (what I believe to be the untouchable and wholly crooked pairing of) Crystallex and Gold Reserve. It's certainly cheap enough and could be snapped up by some smart junior looking for a quick way in to Venezuela mineral acres. Not one to buy today, just a ticker to stick in the back of the mind if/when Venezuela's current government goes down the tubes.
Meanwhile, Latin America Daily Briefing had an excellent overview of the downhill path of the country and the Maduro government in its post today. Just about all the need-to-know points in one shot, both sides of the argument covered. That's right here, well worth it.
Posting will be light today
For secret reasons.
Dynasty Metals & Mining (DMM.to) 1q16 financials (a.k.a anatomy of a gold mining trainwreck)
Dynasty Metals & Mining (DMM.to) reported its quarter this evening and oh what fun we'd had here at IKN, so here are some charts to help spread the glee and happiness.
This one shows revenues, costs and gross profit. Bringing in $3.533m in 1q16 sales when it costs $5.972m to do that (including $4.854m in on-site mining and processing costs)....well, it isn't good business.
And when you subtract the other things you need to run a company, G&A and so forth, it gets worse:
We know that production was very low due to the workers going on strike. That's because DMM decided not to pay them (they owe over $1.7m in back pay to workers, and over $5m to their suppliers). The result was just 2,221 oz of gold production in the quarter but somehow DMM managed to sell 2,785 oz of gold, a full 564 oz more. As this chart shows they managed the same trick in 4q15 as well:
...and they're unlikely to be able to repeat the trick in 2q16.
Over at the balance sheet, we can see just why DMM decided not to pay the people who work for the company or bring them supplies:
And if you think the lack of cash is bad, just wait til you see the working capital position:
This company owes $13m net/net in the next 12 months, with over half of that to the people who keep the company running. The people they haven't paid are still on strike, production is going to be even worse this quarter than the last one and there's no inventory left to prop up sales. And these jokers think they can being in contract workers to fill in for the strikers?
Meanwhile, this stock bizarrely doubled recently when DMM announced they'd got a $0.5m loan from a company that was going to start digging up the mineral at a deposit they'd never developed before. Pray tell, how much damage does half a million dollars of cash do to a $15m current liabilities position? The only people who bought this stock are people who don't even know where to go to find the company financials, let alone open them, let alone understand what's written inside them.
This company is going bankrupt and no amount of pretend fixed asset value on the sheets can hide the cruel reality, get that into your head and if you own any of these shares, make like a shepherd* right now before your paper moves to its true intrinsic value of zero dollars and zero cents.
*get the flock out of here
Richmont's (RIC.to) (RIC) feeling defensive
IKN is amused at the news from Richmont Mines (RIC.to) (RIC) this afternoon about the C$27m bought deal that's basically a C$31m deal because the overallotment is probably fully taken already. So, just under 3m shares added to the pile, but the funny bit is the reason Monsieur Adams gives for the raise:
"The Corporation intends to use the net proceeds to aggressively expand the current exploration program as well as potential organic growth opportunities at the cornerstone Island Gold Mine."
To quote Blackadder:
Blackadder: You see, there was a tiny flaw in the plan.Baldrick: What was that, sir?Blackadder: It was bollocks.
As at March 31st 2016 RIC had C$61.192m in cash treasury and a working cap of C$54.306m. It's probably got even more than that now, what with being half way through Q2 and running a very profitable mine. But apparently 61 large just isn't enough to run an aggressive exploration program, it desperately needs another $31m or so in order to pay for drill rig teams without feeling strapped for cash.
Or more seriously, if you can't see a defensive move by a board trying to stave off buyout bids (from at least Tahoe Resources, maybe others) staring at you in the face, then there's not much hope for you as a mining investor. It'll be interesting to see how GMP spins this bot deal in its notes to clients mañana.
Readers of IKN are worried about gold today...
...according to my mailbox, at least.
The way it's suddenly "crashed" and "dumped". Manipulation by expert teams of financial crooks, or something. Okay, after all...
...the human brain it set up to find something to worry about. Have a pleasant day.
Focus Ventures (FCV.V) updated PFS
Out before the bell Monday, a very decent improvement in project economics including a 26.4% IRR and capital payback in less than four years.
The IKN Weekly, out now
IKN366 has just been sent to subscribers. Its main event is an update and a new price target on the Top Pick stock that saw its price target hit last week. Interesting situation. At least I think so. Well, after spending two days to write an article about a single mining stock, it has to be interesting else you just fall asleep putting the piece together.
Labels: otto, the IKN weekly
Godwin's Law states that the UK will stay in the EU
The Brexit side of the argument have been looking increasingly desperate in the last couple of weeks but now we can confirm that The UK will not leave the European Union.
Boris Johnson just lost the debate.
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text:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Speraw Named U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team Head Coach
B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Communications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
USAV Facebook - @USA_Volleyball
Photo Gallery - Video Press Conference
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 25, 2013) – John Speraw, a two-time Olympic assistant coach for the U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team, has been named the program's head coach for the next Olympic Games quadrennial culminating at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, USA Volleyball Chief Executive Officer Doug Beal announced on Monday.
Speraw, 41, will also continue as the head men's volleyball coach at UCLA in a dual role with the U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team. He accepted the head job at his alma mater in June 2012 and is completing his first campaign with the Bruins.
"I am very happy that John has accepted our offer to be the U.S. Men's head coach," Beal said. "He's the right person for the job for this quad at this time. He's a terrifically talented coach who has had a remarkable level of success at the college level. He knows the current U.S. Men's player pool very well from his experiences over the last two quads. He has mentored under both Hugh McCutcheon and Alan Knipe."
Speraw said he felt ready for the challenge of leading two men's volleyball teams.
"Now that I've been at UCLA for almost a full season, it is apparent that (coaching both teams) is doable," Speraw said. "The support and resources at UCLA are beyond what I have imagined. I have two great assistant coaches (at UCLA) in Brad Keller and Andrea Becker and an amazing staff.
"I am excited to take on this new role with USA Volleyball," Speraw said. "I am honored to have been selected to coach this elite group of talented U.S. players and I appreciate UCLA's support in allowing me to pursue this tremendous opportunity."
"I congratulate John Speraw on his appointment as head coach for the U.S. national team," said Dan Guerrero, UCLA athletic director. "UCLA volleyball has always had strong ties with USA Volleyball and I look forward to John's success with both programs."
There will be media availability with John Speraw at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday (March 26) at the American Sports Centers in Anaheim, Calif. Media who cannot attend can contact B.J. Evans so they can call in by telephone.
The U.S. Men's National Team moved to Anaheim in 2006 and it is now the Official Host City for both the U.S. Men's and Women's National Volleyball Teams.
Speraw joined the U.S. Men's staff in 2007 under then head coach Hugh McCutcheon. In 2008, he traveled with the U.S. Men to the Olympic Games in Beijing where they won the gold medal. After 2008, he worked with the U.S. Men as needed, including a stint as the head coach of a young team that finished fifth at the 2011 Pan American Games.
In 2012, Speraw returned as the assistant coach for the FIVB World League and filled in as head coach for the 2012 World League team for four overseas pool play matches while then head coach Alan Knipe was dealing with a family emergency. The U.S. Men went on to win the silver medal in the FIVB World League Final Round.
Speraw assisted Knipe at the 2012 Olympic Games in London where the U.S. Men placed fifth after winning its preliminary pool with a 4-1 record. The U.S. Men go into 2013 ranked fifth in the world by the FIVB.
Clay Stanley, who played at opposite on the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympic teams and has served as the U.S. Men's team captain since 2011, was happy with the choice.
"I am surprised and pleased that John Speraw will be the new U.S. Men's head coach," Stanley said, "He is obviously a great choice for the job, having served as an assistant coach for two Olympics. I know the players will be excited to work with him and his staff."
Rich Lambourne, who has been the starting libero for the U.S. Men since 2005 and is a two-time Olympian, echoed Stanley.
"I'm extremely excited to work with coach Speraw and his staff," Lambourne said. "He brings almost a decade of experience and familiarity with the international game and with the USA Volleyball culture. I look forward to his guidance and tutelage as I know of his tireless work ethic and wealth of teaching ability."
Speraw served as head coach of the U.S. Men's Junior National Volleyball Team that won the silver medal at the NORCECA Men's Junior (U-21) Continental Volleyball Championship in 2005. He served as an assistant for the U.S. Boys' Youth National Team (1998 and 2001), the World University Games Team (1997 and 1999) and the Pan American Games Team (1999, 2007).
Speraw said one of his first priorities will be choosing a staff to help guide the U.S. Men's Team over the next four years. He will also need to choose rosters for the 2013 FIVB World League and the 2013 Pan American Cup within his first few weeks on the job.
"Hiring a great staff is going to be key to making this endeavor successful," Speraw said. "After that, our immediate goals will be World League and the Pan American Cup."
Speraw's record at UCLA is 15-9 and his overall collegiate head coaching record is 214-115 including 10 previous seasons as the head coach at UC Irvine. This week the Bruins are ranked fifth nationally and have won four straight and six of their last seven matches.
Al Scates, who coached the UCLA men's volleyball team for 50 seasons, has worked with Speraw when Speraw was a player for the Bruins and an assistant coach.
"John has assisted with our last two Olympic Teams and I know he is a great hire for USA Volleyball," Scates said. "I commend Doug Beal for having the foresight to wait until John became available and Dan Guerrero for allowing John to take the position."
As UC Irvine's men's volleyball coach, Speraw transformed the program into a national power. Under his direction, the Anteaters won three NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship titles in the last six years and advanced to the NCAA Championship four times, won two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) regular season titles and a pair of MPSF Tournament championships.
In 2008, Speraw received a Pillar Award, which showcases outstanding achievement in ethical leadership at the12th Annual Ethics in America Awards. In 2011, he was given the U.S. Olympic Achievement Award, an honor that recognizes the colleges and universities whose coaches and student-athletes have won Olympic medals in the past two Olympic Games.
Prior to UCI, Speraw served in various roles with the UCLA men's volleyball program for 12 years. He played middle blocker for the Bruins from 1992-95 and was a member of two national championship teams. He was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team in 1995 when he had 11 kills and eight blocks in the championship victory over Penn State.
Speraw became a volunteer assistant coach with the Bruins before assuming a full-time assistant's position in 1998. He graduated from UCLA in 1995 with a bachelor of science degree in microbiology and molecular genetics.
Speraw is the co-author of the book "Exercise for Your Muscle Type: The Smart Way to Get Fit."
Other quotes on the hiring of John Speraw to be the U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team head coach.
Reid Priddy, outside hitter and three-time Olympian on the U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team: "John has experience in the international game, has relationships with the current national team players and has direct exposure to the next generation of players, which are a few of the many reasons that make John a good fit to take charge of the national team."
Mark Pavlik, head coach of the Penn State men's volleyball team: "John Speraw is one of the brightest young coaches in the men's game today. His history of success with his teams and his great passion for the game at all levels along with his past affiliation with the USA Men will no doubt serve him and the program well. He will continue to build on the foundation of success which the USA Men enjoy. I look forward to watching our national team with John as the head coach!"


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Yannis Mameletzis
A rare combination of a scientist and gastronomic genius, Chef Yannis (as he is affectionately known) recently completed his Ph. D in molecular epidemiology at the preeminent University of Oxfords St. Peters College in the UK. Prior to his doctoral studies at the Oxford, Chef Yannis obtained his Masters in Public Health from Yale University and previous to that, had doubled majored in Biology & Religion at the University of Rochester as an undergraduate. Because man cannot live by science alone, he worked as a pastry chef for one of Britains most celebrated chefs, Jamie Oliver (The Naked Chef) at Jamies Italian in Oxford. During his Oxford years, Chef Yannis also served as the President of the Oxford University Gastronomy Society, where he promoted the culinary arts to both undergraduate and graduate students in Oxford. He is currently living in Geneva and working as a public health consultant. As a chef, Chef Yannis has a passion and expertise in Mediterranean cuisine and Greek pastries. As a public health scientist, he is an advocate of the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet and keen to spread the gospel of authentic Greek whole foods to communities across America.
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Contrasts can teach us a great deal. In the mornings, one of my first activities is letting my two puppies out of their crates so they can go outside. It does not matter how early it is, they are always glad to see me. I am greeted with wagging tails and doggy smiles.
The last thing I see at night before going to bed are two little guys sitting in their crates waiting for me to give them their nightly treat. The evening ritual is especially fun to watch. They look like tiny soldiers marching to the barracks as they head for their crates from the sunporch where we have spent the evening. Into their crates they go, side by side, turning around in perfect formation. They sit there quietly watching as I head for the closet where the treats are stored.
The morning and evening rituals always cause me to smile.
In contrast are the images of some pictures I saw in recent editions of the Shelby Star - dogs 'behind bars� at an animal shelter. Sad looking, wistful eyes portrayed a picture far removed from the one I just 'painted� for you of my happy little pets.
For some reason as I drove to work one morning recently, those contrasting images of dogs in crates entered my mind. And in my spirit came a resounding message reminding me that many people are also trapped in their cages or prisons, longing for someone to show them the way out.
The kinds of prisons are many and varied as are the people in them: bad marriages, addictions of many kinds, financial stress that seems unsolvable, illnesses, loss of loved ones, dashed dreams. Abuse, abandonment, rejection, betrayal and even anxiety (better known as worry) are other crates from which many feel helpless to escape.
Some crates are of our own making, while some are thrust upon us when we are young and helpless. Some prisons are the result of our bad choices, while other cages engulf us because of the choices of others.
Some do not even consider that there may be a way out of their entrapment, that there may be a better life than what they know. Others experience such shame and love-deprivation that they fear their plight is hopeless because they are hopeless. Perhaps saddest of all is the fact that some consider their life quite normal and have no desire to be free at all.
Years ago I volunteered at an agency whose primary goal was abuse-prevention. While interviewing some men who had been court-ordered to our anger management program, I learned that each of them felt their own childhood was 'normal.� I soon learned upon further questioning that their �normal" also included violence and abuse.
�Lord, help me to understand what normal is, to check to see if I am in a cage of some sort. And help me be someone who helps others out of their prisons. You indeed came to set the prisoners free!"
Dr. Alice Cullinan, Professor Emerita of Religion, Gardner-Webb University, is Spiritual Enrichment Leader/Greater Cleveland County Baptist Association. She is the author of three books and 21 devotional guides.


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2. Is it versatile? Our very first project was our puzzle blocks. The puzzles were meant as a way for our kids to connect with their great-great grandparents. It wasn't long before we realized that there were as many different puzzle options as there were people making the puzzles. We now try to look at each project and think of the many ways that they can be used. It's our way of igniting your creativity. {We made sure that the designs looks equally well vertically as they do horizontally. Each board comes with predrilled holes so you can hang it if you want. Or, it sits perfectly in an easel. }
4. Do we love it enough to display it in our own homes? Yes, oh yes! Here's the way we're currently featuring the board at our house. My twelve year old can't wait to turn 13. You might think that an advent calendar isn't a big deal by this age, but you'd be DEAD wrong! First thing every morning another buttons comes off as he gets closer to the BIG DAY!Thanks Beth for sharing your gorgeous pictures for this project. Be sure to check out Beth's Photo Studio here.
Connecting with some of our favorite linking parties!The Creative Girl | Skip to My Lou | Twice Remembered | A Soft Place to Land| Keep it Simple | Sumo's Sweet Stuff | A Soft Place to Land | Reinvented | My Frugal Family | Blue Cricket Design | Life in the Pitts | My Backyard Eden | Some What Simple | Life as Lori | Fingerprints on the Fridge | Infarrantly Creative | Creative Jewish Mom


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Visweek 2011 – Perception and Cognition for Visualization, Visual Data Analysis & Computer Graphics
I had mentioned in an earlier post that this tutorial promises to be an amazing one and so it was. Here is an outline of the workshop.
Bernice E. Rogowitz covered fundamentals in human perception and cognition, and discussed how they apply to visualization. She covered a huge array of topics, ranging from the pupil being partially responsible for our depth perception, all the way to color theory and how it relates directly to the biology of the human eye.
The presentation had a great flow, starting at a very high level to give everyone an idea of what questions they would be able to answer at the end. As the talk progressed, she covered detailed biological details of the human eye, and progressed to the intersection of perceptual issues and computer science.
In the biological portion, we learned that there are five layers of cells in the retina, each responsible for different tasks. Much of the interesting stuff happens at the very beginning (photoreceptor distribution) and then further into the process at the ganglion cells. She went over how lateral inhibition is caused by the spatial distribution of the photoreceptors connected to a single ganglion cell, and how this is the reason for several of the optical illusions we perceive. She did a great job of explaining the connections between biology and perceptual issues.
Cultural differences were also addressed. The eye movements we have are actually learned when we learn how to read. Cultures with different reading directions have substantially different reading directions.
The section on the Striate Cortex was especially interesting. This is the first time in the visual system that images from each eye are merged (the point where depth perception occurs). This section sends output to 60% of the brain! This is a huge amount, and makes the visual system incredibly important to the decision making process.
This tutorial had a huge quantity of useful information and was really well put together! She concluded with a great summary of four things to remember:
- There are different response rates for different stimuli, how well do you want to convey magnitude information?
- Color and luminance mechanisms have different spatial sensitivities.
- Certain visual information is perceived "pre-attentively" such as color.
- How the world is perceived depends on what the user is trying to accomplish.
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Merger complete
Western Dynamo and Southern Stallions have merged.
Captains, Mister Wright of the Stallions and Bugssy of the Dynamo, to decide who take the position in the newly merged club.
Stallions had 6 players signed in and Dynamo 5. 8 players have been retained for the new team with 3 being moved to the Fury.
East Coast Fury had 5 players signed in and were lucky to avoid merger consideration due to their position as reigning CW Premiership Champions.
Current sign-ins
Dynamo/Stallions (8)
Fury (8)
Swell (8)
United (9)
Power (8)
The 6th Team in the CW Premiership to be made up of free agents without clubs from around the world. This team is to be named Nixontown Nomads.
The new Dynamo/Stallions merged team will have the choice of 3 names
a) Dynamo Stallions
b) Southern Dynamo
c) Western Stallions
The squads for all teams have been set. 17 players currently with each team getting 2 rookie sign ins and 3 draft picks. At the start of the season each team will have 22 players total.


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This post, from February of 2012, speaks to my current concerns.While cruising the web I came across a 1996 book by Brain Cantwell Smith, On the Origin of Objects. Smith is a computer scientist who was, in fact, in search of a theory of computation but found himself smack in the middle of metaphysics. Interesting, no? Just what computing is, is not exactly clear. And with folks, such a Stephen Wolfram (and he wasn't the first), proposing that the universe is, beneath it all, a giant computer of some sort, well, you can see how chasing down the nature of computation could be interesting.
The publisher's blurb was provocative:
Everything that exists - objects, properties, life, practice - lies Smith claims in the "middle distance," an intermediate realm of partial engagement with and partial separation from, the enveloping world. Patterns of separation and engagement are taken to underlie a single notion unifying representation and ontology: that of subjects' "registration" of the world around them.
That had just a whiff of object-oriented ontology about it, though the book's date puts it before the term was coined.
I found an ontology site that had excerpts from the book, from critics, and from Smith's reply. It had this bit from the book's conclusion:
Overall, the project was to develop what I called a successor metaphysics, one that would honor the following pretheoretic requirements (345-246):
1. Do justice to what is right about:
a. Constructivism: a form of humility, or so at least I characterized it, requiring that we acknowledge our presence in, and influence on, the world around us; and2. Make sense of pluralism: the fact that knowledge is partial, perspectival, and never wholly extricable from its (infinite) embedding historical, cultural, social, material, economic and every other kind of context. The account of pluralism must:
b. Realism: the view that adds to constructivism's claim that "we are here" an equally profound recognition that we are not all that is here, and that as a result not all of our stories are equally good.
a. Avoid devolving into nihilism or other forms of vacuous relativism, and in particular not be purchased at the price of (successors notions of) excellence, standards, virtue, truth, or significance; andTwo additional criteria were applied to how these intuitions are met:
b. Not license radical incommensurability, provide an excuse to build walls, or in any other way stand in the way of interchange, communion, and struggle for common ends.
3. Be irreductionist -- ideologically, scientifically, and in every other way. No category, from sociality to electron, from political power to brain, from origin myth to rationality to mathematics, including the category "human," may be given a priori pride of place, and thereby be allowed to elude contingency, struggle, and price.Along the way, the account should:
4. Be nevertheless foundational, in such a way as to satisfy our undiminished yearning for metaphysical grounding. That is, or so at least I put it, the account must show how and what it is to be grounded simpliciter - without being grounded in a, for any category a.
5. Reclaim tenable, lived, work-a-day successor versions of many mainstay notions of the modernist tradition: object, objective, true, formal, mathematical, logical, physical, etc."
That site, in turn, sent me to an interesting and curious review of the book by R. P. Loui, that appeared in Artificial Intelligence, 106: 353-358, December 1998. Early on we find this:
ORIGIN OF OBJECTS is thus an important book, even a beautiful book. It reasserts its author as one of the deepest and erudite thinkers of computing. It is also, to this reviewer, an intellectually uninteresting book and thoroughly frustrating to read. These are two separate points: First, the book is a meditation on some metaphysical questions posed by symbol systems, and the author admits repeatedly that this is a purely metaphysical exercise (I would have demanded an apology rather than an admission). The problem is that metaphysics is a love-it or hate-it area of philosophy that has no practical implications (unlike, for example, epistemology which is crucially involved in explicating formal criteria for knowledge and belief). Second, the book frustrates this reviewer because the author, as is his reputation from prior work, is incapable of getting to the point. It is not just that Brian Smith seems to lean toward the semi-literary style of, for example, Friedrich Nietzsche. It is probably due to a mismatch of interests between writer and reader (a mismatch I suspect Brian Smith will have with most readers in AI). Both of these points are developed below.
The remarks about not getting to the point and writing a literary style, they might prick up the ears of my continental philosophical friends. Smith's problematic appears to be this:
What is the idea? Basically, Brian Smith believes that there is one "real world out there" (his "metaphysical monism") while there is an apparent arbitrariness in how we symbolize it (our "ontological pluralism" p. 375). He feels that this mismatch of monism and pluralism is an intolerable situation which must be remedied.
To deal with this problem Smith has recourse to the aforementioned middle distance:
At this new level, there is "registration." It is a level at which reference to the world can be made, but not through linguistic commitment or through symbols that have intentionality (reference). It is the level that philosophers of science might call pre-theoretic: there is an observer, but there are not yet data, since data are not theory-neutral. This level is made possible by the embedding of an observer in the "real world", and of course, Brian Smith aims to permit that observer to be an AI program as well as a biological system.
And so forth and so on. I can't keep going on like this because I'll end up quote most of the review, which doesn't make much sense when you can go there and read it for yourself. Loui concludes by asserting that the book "has catapulted Brian Smith, for a time (as long as the philosophy of computing is mistaken to be the modern philosophy of mind), ahead of all who would today claim to be computing's principal philosopher." He is surely correct in his parenthentical; whatever the philosophy of computing is, it cannot be considered to be a philosophy of mind, real or artificial.
I'll conclude with three (from over a dozen) quotations Loui culled from the book:
... designers, playwrights, artists, ... are drawn into the act ... . Few fields, if any, are being left behind; ... it would be a mistake to think that these people are just users of computation. On the contrary, they are participating in its invention. ... The line between specifically computational expertise and general computational literacy is fading ... (p. 360)
... notions of mathematical proof [are] being revised ... . Other distinctions are collapsing, such as those between and among theories, models, simulations, implementations ... (p. 360)
... we are post-Newtonian, in the sense of being inappropriately wedded to a particular reductionism of scientism, inapplicable to so rich an intentional phenomenon. Another generation of scientists may be the last thing we need. Maybe, instead, we need a new generation of magicians. (p. 361)


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Winter Tourism: Life on Sifnos island after the summer crowds go home
- 1) Attica region municipalities mark World Bicycle Day 2020 on June 3
- 2) Mt. Athos in Northern Greece reopening to visitors and workers under conditions
- 3) International production to start filming on Greek island of Amorgos on June 20
- 4) Provocative recitation of Quran in Hagia Sophia of Constantinople (videos)
04/06 00:03
Increased police measures to apply on Pentecost long weekend in Greece
03/06 23:04
AP: Cyprus hastens end of coronavirus lockdown by three weeks
03/06 21:11
Aegean restarts flights abroad from Athens and Thessaloniki on June 15
03/06 20:42
Associated Press: Italy opens borders ahead of neighbors welcoming tourists
03/06 20:30
Mayors and minister ride around Athens on World Bicycle Day (video)
03/06 19:57
03/06 19:52
Greece, Cyprus and Jordan at trilateral meeting to expand cooperation
03/06 17:46
Greece sells successfully six-month bond raising €1,3 billion
03/06 15:32
Development Minister announces further easing of lockdown measures in Greece
03/06 15:25
03/06 12:11
Attica region municipalities mark World Bicycle Day 2020 on June 3
03/06 00:06
New digital platform for culture connects public to events in Greece and abroad
02/06 13:24
All vehicles permitted to move freely in Athens traffic ring until July 17
02/06 11:45
State Minister: We have a very organized and professional plan in tourism
01/06 20:59
Third day in a row without coronavirus-related fatalities in Greece
01/06 20:49
Mt. Athos in Northern Greece reopening to visitors and workers under conditions
01/06 20:48
Civil Aviation Authority on two-tier June rules on international flights to Greece
01/06 20:39
01/06 20:32
18th Special Advisory Committee for SNF Heath Initiative in Athens
01/06 20:20
Affluent Russians flew with private jets to Cyprus during COVID-19 lockdown
01/06 20:17
Greek Prime Minister visits primary school in Kallithea suburb of Athens
01/06 19:26
First export of Kozani saffron ready to ship from Greece to China
01/06 18:11
01/06 15:04
Government spokesperson: Reopening of primary schools based on advice of experts
01/06 13:35
Greece's Foundation for Research & Technology EIT Climate-KIC partner
31/05 14:16
Environment Minister: Greece to ban disposable plastics as of July 2021
31/05 14:07
Big Fat Greek Wedding returns on Facebook with livestream coronavirus campaign
31/05 14:03
President: Greece is a country of creativity, equality and respect of human rights
31/05 13:56
International production to start filming on Greek island of Amorgos on June 20
31/05 13:50
Seven new Covid-19 cases since Friday and again no new fatalities in Greece
31/05 13:43
Cyprus expects post-COVID-19 increased August arrivals of up to 600,000 tourists
31/05 13:39
New draft bill raises A/V production subsidies and extends digital services in Greece
31/05 13:38
Call on South Africa's government for financial relief to airline sector
31/05 09:21
Media report: Lesser-known travel destinations in a reopening Greece
30/05 15:02
International Air Transport Association: Airline debt to soar by 28%
30/05 14:59
Greek Minister: Hagia Sophia belongs to world heritage and must be respected
30/05 14:54
30/05 14:23
Provocative recitation of Quran in Hagia Sophia of Constantinople (videos)
30/05 14:21
30/05 13:32
Reduced ticket prices in public transportation in Greece as of June 1
30/05 12:17
Greek Minister presents amendment for boosting domestic tourism
30/05 11:53
Athens and Epidaurus Festival to announce its program in Greece next Tuesday
29/05 22:06
29/05 21:07
"Trip to Greece" film promotes destination in most critical tourist phase
29/05 20:40
Greek train services expand while iconic routes at Pelion and Kalavryta restart
29/05 18:44
No deaths from Covid-19 again in Greece during the last 24 hours
29/05 15:53
Greek government: Turkish 'fiestas' outside Hagia Sophia 'annoying'
29/05 15:34
Celestyal: Reopening of cruise sector to follow adoption of EU rules
29/05 13:39
Greece to open its borders for inbound flights to these 29 countries from June 15
29/05 11:23
International Documentary Festival on Castellorizo island on August 23-30
28/05 20:22
AP: Austria takes Covid-19 precautions as it awaits summer tourist season
28/05 20:06
Muslims pray in front of Hagia Sophia to revert historic monument into Mosque
28/05 19:47
Brookings webinar with Greek PM on Greece's COVID-19 response (video)
28/05 19:41
Greek government's plan on re-opening of tourism sets five priorities
28/05 19:18
AP: Europeans soak up the sun but Coronavirus travel rules a puzzle
28/05 19:04
US to donate €2.9 million for refugee unaccompanied minors in Greece
28/05 18:23
Greek police forces in Evros to be reinforced by 400 officers
28/05 18:12
Greek Tourism Minister: Our target is to be ready to welcome every tourist
28/05 18:02
AP: EasyJet and American Airlines to reduce workforce amid Covid-19
28/05 16:22
PM: Greece secured €32 billion as a result of the government's consistent work
28/05 16:00
COVID-19 Observatory: Greece's good course even more firmly established
28/05 15:41
No coronavirus lockdown Swedish tourists welcome on Cyprus yet
28/05 14:56
Health Minister: Single management and protocols for all Greek islands
28/05 14:42
European Best Destinations: Monolithi Beach in Greece the safest in the whole of Europe
28/05 13:12
WTTC presents first global safety stamp for 'Safe Travels' protocols around the world
28/05 01:37
Greek firm concludes first phase of construction works in Agia Napa Marina
28/05 01:24
Greek island medical staff being trained to deal with potential coronavirus cases
28/05 01:11
GNTO and National Theatre in Athens to promote cultural tourism in Greece
28/05 00:34
Greek Prime Minister welcomes European Commission aid proposal of €750 billion
27/05 23:40
Aegean airline resumes foreign flights from Thessaloniki June 15
27/05 22:12
Athens Open Air Film Festival offers unforgettable nights to movie fans
27/05 21:55
European Union Covid-19 Recovery Fund to allocate €33.4 billion to Greece
27/05 20:53
No new deaths from coronavirus pandemic in Greece since Tuesday
27/05 20:19
Greece to invest its portion of the EU Recovery Fund 'prudently and responsibly'
27/05 19:27
Telegraph praises Greece for moving early and decisively to keep Covid-19 out
27/05 16:35
The New Orthodox Observer multimedia content now completely online
27/05 16:25
Cyprus pledges to cover costs for coronavirus-hit tourists and families
27/05 13:19
Greek doctors: Vitamin D levels correlate to outcomes in coronavirus cases
27/05 13:15
27/05 11:59
Unstable weather to continue in Greece during the next 24 hours
26/05 23:03
Greek cruise operator Celestyal Cruises stops all voyages until July 30
26/05 22:34
Cyprus ends 14-day coronavirus quarantine in tourism re-opening
26/05 22:29
Jerusalem's Holy Sepulcher reopens following Covid-19 closure
26/05 22:08
CNN joins World Tourism Organization on #traveltomorrow campaign
26/05 21:41
26/05 21:15
International Air Transport Association chief at media briefing on COVID-19
26/05 20:15
Greece's Piraeus becomes top container port in entire Mediterranean
26/05 19:23
Greece records ten new coronavirus cases throughout the country
26/05 19:06
Greek PM to Bild: We will open tourism to countries with similar Covid-19 data
26/05 18:56
Survey: One in three Greeks will always carry antiseptic from now on
26/05 16:37
26/05 15:49
Grecotel hotel chain sends message of optimism for tourism this summer
26/05 15:30
FM: Greece has proved that it can protect our borders, the borders of Europe
26/05 12:55
Deutsche Welle: Germany prepares to open up to 31 European countries on 15 June
25/05 23:04
25/05 22:10
AP: Repatriated Cypriots cause rise in coronavirus cases after lockdown eases
25/05 22:04
Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism Scholarship available by Faith
25/05 21:10
25/05 20:41
Weather to change with rain, winds and hail in Greece till end of the week
25/05 20:29
UNWTO President issues special message to celebrate Africa Day on May 25
Greece, Cyprus and Jordan at trilateral meeting to expand cooperation
Increased police measures to apply on Pentecost long weekend in Greece
Greece sells successfully six-month bond raising €1,3 billion
Aegean restarts flights abroad from Athens and Thessaloniki on June 15
Average full-time monthly and daily wages in Greece at €1,182 and €51.28
AP: Cyprus hastens end of coronavirus lockdown by three weeks
Mysterious skeletons found near Indian lake believed to belong to Greeks
Moody's: Greece's B1 rating supported by its 'Moderate' economic strength
Minister: News in September on flights to Cyprus and German market
The secret natural wonders of Nemouta village in Southern Greece
Development Minister announces further easing of lockdown measures in Greece
Media: EU citizens in UK fear freedom of movement end by government
Australian Embassy's spox notes strong friendship between Greece and Australia
Greek government: Higher collection rate for property tax offsets revenue loss
Greek NGO wins world's largest humanitarian prize by Hilton Foundation
Speed boat operator arrested off Greek island of Spetses for drunken driving
Professor Ioannis Lianos nominated for Competition Committee chief in Greece
AP report: Pilots Union announces dates for British Airways strikes
Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age findings in Cyprus offer insight to inhabitants' lifestyle transition
Investments on agenda of Greek and French leaders meeting on Thursday


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Compare cheap flights from Cairns to United States
Compare and book cheap flights from Cairns (CNS) to United States with Skiddoo. Use the Skiddoo flight explorer to find the cheapest time to fly to United States from Cairns on a range of leading airlines. Save with our exclusive Cairns to United States flight deals online today.
What to do in the United States of America
The Unites States of America is a huge country in North America. Home to 50 states, you'll find endless places, cultures, and fun reasons to love the US. It has so much to offer that's it's always included in every traveller's bucket list.
One of the main reasons tourists flock to the US is to see and take photos of iconic landmarks. There's the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building when you fly to New York, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the bean-shaped Cloud Gate in Chicago, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, and the White House in Washington to get you started.
Of course, you shouldn't miss the best national parks in the US. Enjoy the great outdoors at the Everglades in Florida, Wyoming's Yellow Stone National Park, and Big Bend National Park in Texas. If you're after the kind with roller coasters, you can't miss Walt Disney World, Busch Gardens, Islands of Adventures, Cedar Point Amusement Park, and Six Flags Magic Mountain.
There are literally thousands of things you can do here, that you won't run out of places to visit. Fly to Las Vegas and test your gambling skills. Go on a food trip in famous cities and visit their awesome museums and art galleries. Choose Hawaii to leave your troubles behind, or have a ball with your own version of New York and LA Fashion week as you shop all over the country.
When to visit the United States of America
As a huge country, the best time to visit the US depends on what your travel plans. But with so many destinations you can go to, it's always great to travel to the US.
Just prepare your Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) so you can visit the United States for up to 90 days. And don't forget to exchange your Australian Dollars for US Dollars.
Travelling to and around the United States of America
You can easily fly from Australia to USA since they have plenty of airports all over the United States. Travelling around the country is fun too by plane, train, bus, or taxis within the cities. For the most scenic ways to explore the country, you should fly across the US or enjoy long train rides.
So hit the open road and start travelling the United States of America. Pack your backs and book your flights to Los Angeles with us today!