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We have a range of fun camps to keep your little and big kids busy this summer.
Register today for our Summer Fun Camps, call Ms. Barbara on 946 5523.
The camps are designed for Tots to Grade 3+ and they will enjoy many activities such as cooking, maths, dance, arts and crafts, water play and lots of fun in the shaded playground too.
There are half day or full day options.
Everyone is welcome! Call today to register your child's place!


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Come join us at The Cumberland Hotel for a complimentary networking opportunity with Signavio! Hear about the latest BPM trends and get insights into how BPM can help you optimize and transform your business with customer and partner presentations. Whether you are just beginning a process initiative or already skilled in modeling, this meetup is the best opportunity to hear from specialists in the field, ask any questions you may have about our product portfolio and take the tool for a test drive. We will round the afternoon off with a drinks reception, offering you the chance to network with other process modelers in your area.
Meet the Speakers:
Using Process Transparency to ensure value led ERP implementation at Maersk Tankers
by Peter Franz – Managing Director and Co-CEO of BPM-Discipline
Keeping a keen eye on the targeted value in a system implementation can be significantly enhanced through a Process-Led approach. Peter Franz has years of experience in realising real value from systems projects and will share this experience with reference to the development and implementation of a new procurement system at Maersk Tankers. This project also enhanced the Maersk Tankers journey to improve the maturity of their process management capability. Peter will share how they did this using the Signavio platform.
Integrating Business Decisions and Processes: Effective Collaboration of DMN and BPMN
by Jan Purchase – Founding Partner and Lead Decision Architect at Lux Magi
Why should organizations model their business decisions? What are the benefits of using DMN and BPMN to capture and define the logic of your business decisions within a business process context? How should you best split business concerns between the process and decisions and what are the pitfalls of interfacing the two? This presentation will examine how process and decisions work together and walk through real BPMN and DMN models from financial compliance explaining how process and decisions have been integrated in projects. Learn proven best practices for overcoming key business challenges: including overly complex rules, improving ROI of expensive processes and agile migration to automated decision services.
The presentation includes case studies showing how these techniques have been applied by major companies to improve the transparency and accuracy of their business operations and includes some live demonstrations of decision modeling.
Jan Purchase has been working in investment banking for 19 years, the last 13 of which he has focused exclusively on helping clients with Business Decisions, Decision Modeling (in TDM and DMN), Business Rules, Business Rule Management Systems (BRMS) and Business Process Modelling. He is a founder of Lux Magi Financial Rules (www.luxmagi.com): a company specializing in delivering, training and mentoring all of these concepts to financial organizations. Lux Magi has been applying Decision Modelling to finance and regulatory compliance projects since 2011 to support their clients in becoming and remaining compliant with ever changing regulations.
Mr Purchase will publish a book Real World Decision Modeling with DMN with James Taylor later in the year.
Process Intelligence – Compliance, Performance, Innovation
by Sven Wagner-Boysen – Signavio Process Editor Product Manager st Signavio
Making process data analytics available for business users, even when dealing with large data sets. This presentation will focus on how to identify process compliance issues between a modeled future state process and the observed current state process. Business users can identify the impact of a compliance or performance violation based on KPIs and trigger follow-up actions.
Sven has been with Signavio since 2009 and has led integration projects with Microsoft SharePoint and SAP Solution Manager. He has a Master of Science in IT Systems Engineering and worked with SAP Australia, before moving on to software consultation. Sven has a strong interest in, and talent for BPM – forming part of the working group with OMG BPMN MIWG which defined BPMN 2.0 – the global standard for BPM.
Want to Join Us?
If you want to learn best practices and expand your process network, please register by emailing: firstname.lastname@example.com.
As this meetup is entirely free of charge, spaces are limited, so please save your space as soon as possible. We are looking forward to meeting you in London!
Event Details:
What: Business Transformation Meetup in London
When: Wednesday, October 12th, 2016 | 13:00 – 18:00
Where: The Cumberland Hotel, Great Cumberland Place, London, W1H 7DL

subset: commoncrawl


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FAMILY and friends acting as foster carers in Huddersfield are to get payments owed for several years.
But the move has been criticised by a lawyer who fought for more cash.
Nigel Priestley, of Huddersfield firm Ridley and Hall solicitors, sought a 2002 High Court ruling which has led to the payments.
The firm has been locked in legal battles with Kirklees Council over payments for foster carers.
Mr Priestley has criticised the council's decision to backdate payments only to 2001.
He said: "Kirklees appears to be trying to short-change carers to accept less back-payment by fixing September, 2001, as the date.
"What happens to families who fostered children before then?
"Relatives and friends do a magnificent job and shouldn't be sold short."
Mr Priestley advised family and friend foster carers to seek legal advice about their entitlements.
Until April last year, relatives and friends acting as foster carers received less money than "stranger" foster carers employed by Kirklees.
Many family foster carers were classed as short-term, so were denied the full fostering allowance.
They were also denied an extra fee for long-term fostering of children aged eight and over, which was paid to "stranger" carers.
Last April, payments for family and friend carers were made equal to those of stranger carers.
But many are still upset about the cash they had been denied in the past.
Now, Kirklees has agreed to pay family and friend carers the difference between their low rate and the higher rate paid to stranger carers. These payments will be made for the period from September 29, 2001, to April 1, 2003.
Family and friend carers who fostered children aged eight and over between September 29, 2001, and April 1 this year will receive cash equal to the amount of long-term fostering fees they should have received between these dates.
A Kirklees spokesman said all the backdated payments would be made at the rate which applied at the time.
He added: "These payments recognise that there were inequalities."
ALTHOUGH the row over back-payments continues, Kirklees Council is confident that a system introduced last month will make sure there are no similar problems in the future.
After a review of the old system, the council abolished the difference in pay rates between long-term and short-term carers.
The two-tier system of a high and low payment rates has also been scrapped.
Now, family and friend carers get the same rate as stranger carers.
Also, both groups receive an increased rate of pay, equalling that recommended by the national Fostering Network.
Rates of pay are now decided according to the age of the child and the skills of the carer.
If a carer goes on a skills enhancement course, he or she can receive increased allowance.
Kirklees spokesman Phil Tomlinson said: "We believe the system is fair and equitable to all carers."


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I don't get tanning, either outside or inside. I've never been a sun-worshipper and can't stand hot summers. I prefer cold – you can always put more layers of clothes on, you can only take so much off. But just because I don't engage in something doesn't mean I don't see a problem when it's targeted by protestors, special interest groups, and especially government; and the tanning industry is the latest to have a government-painted bullseye on its back.
This issue came to my attention when my friend and former co-worker Ryan Ellis wrote about it in the Washington Times a couple of weeks ago. Ryan knows the tax code, he works at Americans for Tax Reform (where I used to work), so he's not a fan of increasing taxes on anything. That he's on the side of the Jersey Shore's Snooki is just a coincidence, and something I include here to tease him.
But Ryan Ellis and Snooki are correct (you have no idea how much I enjoyed writing that sentence): the more you tax something, the less of it you get. And the tax imposed on tanning salons by Obamacare has severely damaged that industry. As Ellis put it, "In the past four years, an estimated 8,000 tanning salons have closed their doors, according to the American Suntanning Association." You may not think that matters, but he continues, "This has cost 64,000 employees and owners of these tanning salons their jobs."
That's a lot of jobs lost in an economy in desperate need of jobs.
The tanning tax was part of Obamacare because, quite frankly, Democrats needed to raise all kinds of taxes on all manner of things to give the appearance that the law wouldn't add to the national debt. At least on paper. Reality, as is often the case, is a different story.
Ellis writes, "The IRS reports that the tanning tax brought in a paltry $15 million in 2010, $86 million in 2011 and $91 million in 2012." I think we could all make the sacrifices necessary to live off of that kind of money. It would be tough, but we could do it. But we aren't government, and no amount is ever enough for government. He continues, "While those numbers are apparently large enough to decimate an entire industry, they are laughable compared to the $2.7 billion the tax was supposed to generate in its first decade of implementation."
That's how government works – pick an industry to decimate, decimate it, and still not get what you claimed you'd get. But, and this is key for politicians, never stop.
As if 64,000 jobs lost weren't enough, Democrats aren't done targeting the tanning industry. New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney now wants the Food and Drug Administration to usurp the authority of parents and ban people under 18 from using tanning beds. New York already does, but she's not content with other states making their own decisions; she wants Big Brother to make that decision for everyone.
She, like most people, associates tanning with skin cancer. Sure, if you regularly bake yourself to a crisp in a tanning bed, you can find yourself being more susceptible to melanoma. But that's also true for people who do the same thing on the beach. But what she doesn't tell you, or doesn't know (or even doesn't care about) is that vitamin D, of which we get plenty from the sun and UV light, is good for you. So good, in fact, that not having enough has been linked to increased risk of cancer and heart disease.
That's not going to stop Maloney because, well, why would it? Remember that next time someone tells you Democrats are the pro-science party. They cite it endlessly when it suits their cause and ignore it when it doesn't. They're pro-science on issues outside of "global warming" like they're pro-choice outside of the abortion clinic.
Similarly, next time you hear the "war on women" mantra from a leftist, remember that of those 8,000 businesses forced to close by Democrats' Obamacare tanning tax, they came in an industry where women own 70 percent of companies. How Republicans managed this sleight of hand and forced Democrats to impose this anti-woman agenda will be a mystery for the ages.
Should you go tanning, either at a salon or on the beach? If you want to, sure. Getting burned is never healthy, but we're all smart enough to know that, plus we need the vitamins our skin is designed to absorb to be healthy. If you want to live under an umbrella, slather yourself with SPF 10,000, and avoid any direct light, that's fine too. It's your life, you should make the decisions in it. That is, of course, exactly what you can't do when the government paints a target on your back. Today it's tanning, what it will be tomorrow is anyone's guess.


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Avoided the crowds but still looking for some amazing Cyber Monday deals? The Oral-B 7000 has you covered!
Disclosure: I am partnering with Oral-B. All opinions are my own.
Oral-B 7000
I am a lover of all things teeth and dental health, so when Oral-B approached me to share their Cyber Monday deal on the Oral-B 7000, I was all in. The Oral-B 7000 is one of their awesome rechargeable electric toothbrushes. It features 6 high-performance brushing modes and sophisticated pressure-sensor technology alerts that alert you if you are brushing to hard. It has a sleek design and quality construction. This is an investment that you are going to want to make.
The Cyber Monday Deal
The Oral-B 7000 is on sale today for just $104.99, down from its original price of $179.99 (that is a $75 savings!). You can snag this awesome deal directly on the Walgreens website and do not need a promo code. Also when you purchase at Walgreens, you will get 5000 points (Buy 1, get 5000 points) and there is also a $20 clip coupon! Do not miss this awesome deal.
Are you gifting Oral-B this year?


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Well, looks like we're off to a slow start again.
Episode 1 of Go Big or Go Home was viewed by 551,000 people and received a 0.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Hopefully this goes up because the next episodes will not be on holidays,
Also, the Aftershow was viewed by 404,000 people and received a 0.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic.


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Monday, 11 June 2012
I'm still alive
well still no laptop but with the help of Tianna's iPad, which by the way is a nightmare to use, I am composing this post. To say I have missed blogging is a massive understatement, I've done so many fun things and taken lots of pictures that I'm looking forward to sharing. Last weekend I even managed to leave Daniel and have a night out. My friends and I went to a bar called tart bar, in my opinion one of the worst venues I've been to in a while. It would have been ok had it been a private function as the back rooms were nicely decorated and the dance floor was intimate. Apart from the group we were out with there were probably 5 others in attendance so we created our own vibe and ended up having a good laugh. I missed the children but coming home to find Daniel sat up watching tv and Tianna knocked out next to him was the highlight of the night because I could tell that she had taken over looking after him and was exhausted, so much for daddy day care! I now know that contrary to popular belief (or just my belief) Daniel is more than capable of surviving without me :) Anyway I will be back soon to Write more posts and fill you in on my recent goings on" pictures included! Watch this space xxx
4 comments:
I was just thinking about you today. Hope your laptop gets fixed soon. Can't be long til Barbados now either....ReplyDelete
Really hope you get everything sorted out soon - have missed you on my blogger reading list. I know you'll have loads to write about when you're up and running again - but just to let you know I've tagged you for (another) meme ! Honestly only do it if and when you want to, absolutely no pressure. Thankfully it's not as long as the other one !ReplyDelete
Take care x
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text: Cogmed is a bottom up approach to computerized Cognitive Training. Posted on March 13, 2018 by charles.shinaver This means that Cogmed involves training an underlying skill. That skill is working memory, what one can hold in his or her mind and manipulate or re-organize. What are commonly called instrumental ac... Read More


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Throughout literature, authors have developed characters with varying mental states. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the main character, Prince Hamlet, is depicted a young man on the brink of insanity. Whether or not Hamlet is truly mad is a mystery, but there are numerous instances supporting and disputing his madness.
Throughout the play, many characters find themselves questioning the sanity of Prince Hamlet. Ever since the death of his father, Hamlet has become increasingly melancholic. Still dressed in black clothes, Hamlet has not yet ceased mourning his late father. In the height of his grief, his mother decides to marry the new King, Claudius. This propels Hamlet even further into depression, which may have been the catalyst to his mental breakdown. "The root of it is a warped reaction, including rejection, to the death of his father and of his mother's hasty remarriage (Delville)." Other character's, such as Polonius, view Hamlet's madness as a result of his unrequited love for Ophelia.
"Polonius sees Hamlet's conduct as a result of disappointed love (Delville)." Although, no one seems to be able to get inside Hamlet's head, Claudius believes that his madness is attributed to some harmful temperament. "There's something in his soul/O'er which his melancholy sits on brood (Act 3, Scene 1)." Overall, Hamlet's spontaneous actions and speeches lead many character's to believe that he is indeed insane.
On the contrary, many scholars believe that Hamlet was in perfectly good mental health throughout the entire play. Possibly, Hamlet simply uses this so called "insanity" as a shield, under which he is able to do whatever he pleases without anyone thinking twice about it. "It allows him the freedom to transgress the court's rules of etiquette and obedience (Delville)." Many of Hamlet's actions are ignored based on the...


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Why "Gender 50/50" Is An Important Challenge and Commitment for the Tech Industry
BY Micah L. Sifry | Tuesday, April 23 2013
I'd like to take my hat off and give Toby Daniels and his team at Social Media Week (SMW) a salute for the email that just landed in my in-box. Titled "Gender 50/50: Help Us Address the Challenge of Gender Balance," (here's the accompanying blog post) it marks the start of the speaker and panel submission process for next September's international SMW with an admission and a commitment.
The admission: "We have largely failed in our efforts in being balanced. We do not have fair representation, and we have not achieved a 50/50 balance in men and women participating in our events."
The commitment: "My team and I are 100% committed towards making a fundamental change to how we approach diversity, starting with gender balance."
Daniels, who has built SMW into a global juggernaut that in 2012 gathered 65,000 attendees in 24 cities across 16 countries, relies heavily on local partner organizations to host thousands of individual events and thus has less control over their content than say we do here at PDM. So his email doesn't promise a quick fix to the problem of male-dominated tech conferences, which is probably wise. Instead, he is calling on his co-curators "to ensure [that] your events have half or more female participation," and promises to reward those that do by working "with out media partners to highlight the best and most balanced events."
SMW's Gender 50/50 commitment is a terrific response not only to the general problem of male speaker privilege, but a hopeful answer to the endemic pattern of sexist and exclusionary behavior prevalent in many parts of the tech industry. (See also Deanna Zandt and Andrew Rasiej's "One4One" effort to get people thinking about those silly "top 100" lists that so often come out dominated by men.) Adria Richards' firing for calling out bad behavior at the PyCon conference a few weeks ago was just the latest reminder of that deeper issue; feminist commentators were right to use that incident to point to this timeline of sexist events in geek communities, which runs all the way back to 1973.
If I have any criticism of Daniels' email and post, it's that he dodges around a discussion of why we as organizations, communities and, indeed, society at large, keep reproducing old, sexist (and other discriminatory) ways of behaving. And if we don't try to have that conversation--as painful as it can be--we won't get very far.
Contrast SMW's approach to the poorly-named "TechCrunch Disrupt," which is bringing its self-congratulatory brand of industry boosterism to our fair city of New York this weekend. After Hacks and Hackers founder Jenny 8 Lee turned to Twitter to criticize an early line-up announcement from TechCrunch Disrupt that was literally 21 men and no women, TechCrunch co-editor Alexia Tsotsis responded, "FFS we haven't announced all our speakers yet." She also told Lee that she was "not the biggest fan of speaker affirmative action, doing things for optics" and declared that "announcing the women first because of 'optics' is affirmative action." That led some to imagine that when the full line-up was rolled out, it would have more women. And indeed it does: a total of ten out of the fullline-up of 64 speakers. That's a lower ratio than the 20 women US Senators. It's pathetic.
Three years ago, we made a conscious and public commitment to make sure that PDF would do its best to break this terrible pattern, and as a result we are doing better on most fronts. Right now, as we go about finishing the planning for PDF 2013, we've so far announced 23 women and 25 men as speakers. That number is going to grow rapidly as we finish finalizing breakout sessions, but we're committed to achieving as diverse and balanced a speaker list as we can, and I appreciate the help of a number of people who have been equally conscientious in sending us good suggestions and networking. Ten out of those 48 are people of color, which is also an improvement over our past conferences, but not nearly as inclusive or diverse as we would like. I'm also not happy with our political balance, which still tilts left--though as you will see when we roll out our breakout line-up, our policy sessions should have a good mix of differing viewpoints, in part because we've deliberately reached out to some conservative and libertarian advisers to help expand our network.
Why do we pay attention to these metrics? Because we believe all people can make enormous contributions to society, but that certain people--men, for starters--have constructed and benefited from all kinds of societal structures that artificially block and reduce the chances for everyone else to make those contributions. And if we want to ensure that all of those contributions flower, some who have had more privilege need to make room for others who have had less--and those of us who curate these events have a responsibility to take affirmative action to make that happen. Conscious, committed effort is required, because otherwise all the hidden hydraulic pressures that keep pushing more men forward than women will keep winning.
Tsosis apparently disagrees. She argues to Lee and Jacqueline Kazil, another female tech geek who took her to task on Twitter, that the goal should be to have the best speakers, of either gender."
@jackiekazil @jenny8lee The goal should be to have the best speakers, of either gender.
— Alexia Tsotsis (@alexia) April 12, 2013
That is a dodge. The goal should be to have an equal number of great male and female speakers, and a better and more enriched conversation as a result. (See Cheryl Contee's amazing talk from last year's PDF, where she took the "digital divide" head-on, as a powerful example of how much better a conference can be when you do this.) The fact is that if you are putting on an event with say, 64 or 128 speaking slots, there are easily hundreds of great male AND female speakers who can fill every one of those slots. If you don't know who they are, ask for help (as Daniels is doing) rather than acting like you are omniscient (like Tsosis is). Most of us currently know more great male than female speakers because our skewed society has rewarded more of them with fame, up til now. And while not every speaker has the same presentation skills, one of the ways they get to be better is by being invited to speak, and where useful, coached on how to present well.
It's 2013. This shouldn't be so hard.


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Chelsea striker Diego Costa is moving closer to joining former employers Atletico Madrid, accoring to Marca.
As per Marca, Chelsea were keen to secure a replacement before allowing Costa to leave the club. That box has now been ticked with the imminent arrival of Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid.
Marca believe that Atletico boss Diego Simeone sees Costa has a priority signing this summer, and representatives of the two clubs are now set to meet to discuss his return to Madrid.
The Spanish outlet believe that Costa is so desperate to push through his return to Atletico that he is prepared to not play until January, rather than go out on loan for the first-half of the season.
Costa came to England and he conquered, if he leaves, he will leave a Premier League champion. If Marca are correct in reporting that he is eager to return to Atletico, then fingers crossed he gets his wish before the end of the transfer window.


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I've written a post with my PR cap on. This time, I'm writing it with my media cap on since I have a ridiculous amount of media education.
I find it interesting whenever I see a character on television or in the movies who has an allergy, asthma or more rarely eczema. So, I've taken a quick look at some television allergics and atopics. I can't say that I like what I see.
1. Being Erica – This show, about a time-travelling Toronto girl (in a very un-multicultural Toronto, might I add), had a lead character with a hazelnut allergy. She ends up in the ER in the first episode because she accepts a sample of coffee which turns out to have hazelnuts in it. Erica ate out, but never mentioned her allergy and she certainly didn't carry an auto-injector around with her. It was just a lazy, plot device to make her life seem even worse. At least she wasn't a stereotype like the following examples.
2. Big Bang Theory – I enjoy this show, though I don't go out of my way to watch it. I get the shirts that Sheldon wears and I giggled girlishly when Neil deGrasse-Tyson made a guest appearance. What bugs me about this show is that allergies and eczema are seen as part and parcel of being a geek or nerd. Leonard has lactose-intolerance which makes for some boring fart jokes. Sheldon has eczema which is seen as part of his anal attitude. Wolowitz has a severe peanut allergy (and yet no auto-injector), which resulted in a very disturbing ER scene which was meant as a joke.
3. The Simpsons – Poor, gawky, geeky Milhouse carries around his blue puffer like an addict. Any little thing could set him off and he has to take a dose. On one episode, Bart steals Milhouse's puffer to use like an oxygen tank. I won't even bother trying to critique that one. On another episode, Bart develops a temporary eczema-like condition on his scalp and it just contributes to his transformation into a geek.
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Geeky and a member of the wanna-be villainous Trio in the latter seasons, Jonathan is allergic to methane. My unscientific guess is that you can't be allergic to methane, but a hyper-sensitive geek has to be allergic to something. I can't even imagine how you'd test for that. Plus, depending on the parts per million, methane is a toxic gas. Therefore, it will kill anyone. Sorry Joss Whedon! I mostly love your stuff, but try again.
5. VEEP – White House employee and impossible to like Jonah is fructose-intolerant. No, it's not an allergy and yes, the condition does exist. Funny that the most annoying character has it. Not funny that the reaction from his co-workers is "Just when you thought he couldn't get any weirder, he did" since allergic and atopic conditions don't make one weird.
Whether or not you watch a lot of television everyone has an image of the coke-bottled little geek puffing away from his blue inhaler or a nasally-voiced child whining that he can't eat peanuts, shellfish and a million other things that make him sound like the last person you'd want at your party. The kid with eczema is always just kinda gross.
Allergies and atopic conditions are becoming increasingly common and it would be nice if television writers could do their jobs and be creative and funny. Out-dated stereotypes as fodder for "humour" are boring and cheap. If writers can't use their imagination to write funny yet responsible portrayals of people with allergies and atopy, best not to write them at all.
While my examples are shows geared towards older teens and adults, I don't think it's fair for this kind of ill-informed stigma to be placed on young children. These aren't choices made in order to be difficult or to annoy people. No one would choose to have a life-threatening reaction to a Montreal-style bagel with cream cheese and lox; so, I cannot fathom how writers and some viewers are able to find humour in something that can cause pain, suffering and death.
Further Information:
How Kids With Asthma are Stigmatized by the Media


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Friday, August 20, 1999 Published at 18:01 GMT 19:01 UK
Business: The Company File
Hitler shelved by Online bookshop
The book was available only on BOL's English and French services
Hitler's Mein Kampf has been taken off the shelves of the BOL Online bookstore after accusations that the company was selling hate literature.
BOL, which is owned by German media giant Bertelsmann, has never actually sold the book on its Dutch and German services, as it is banned there.
But it has decided to withdraw it from its English and French outlets to prevent Germans buying it.
The case highlights the problems of publishing material on the Internet, a medium which ignores national boundaries.
Hitler's autobiographical manifesto was written in prison in the 1920s, several years before he led the Nazi party to power in 1933.
However, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles had filed a complaint with the German Justice Ministry about the selling of such books Online to German customers.
It accused Barnesandnoble.com - Bertelsmann's US Online bookselling partner - and rival Amazon.com of violating German law.
'Historical responsibility'
But Bertelsmann decided to withdraw the book, saying that as a German company it had a historical responsibility.
"We are aware that we are operating on the thin line between a publisher's responsibility and the accusation of censorship," said spokesman Christof Erhart.
He added that he was not aware of BOL ever selling a copy of Mein Kampf.
Amazon.com continues to offer the book on its site - although the company said it had not sold it through its German-based service - and it is also available from other Online booksellers.
Some right-wing organisations even publish the text in full on their Websites.
The Company File Contents


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British Columbia's special envoy on the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber dispute is distancing himself from Premier Christy Clark's threats of trade retaliation.
Former international trade minister David Emerson, who was appointed in February to represent the province in Washington, said in an interview he was not consulted on Ms. Clark's bid to block shipments of thermal coal in a tit-for-tat measure in response to the new punitive softwood lumber tariffs imposed on Canada's softwood exports to the United States.
"I have not participated in searching for retaliation measures," he said Friday. "I've been aware of the thinking going on, but candidly I got a call this week that indicated it was a go."
Read more: Christy Clark vows to take softwood lumber fight to Washington
On Wednesday, Ms. Clark asked Ottawa to impose a ban on U.S. thermal coal shipped through British Columbia's ports. The federal government has indicated it is supportive of B.C.'s request and is looking into it, a B.C. official said Friday.
Ms. Clark has vowed she is prepared to act unilaterally if Ottawa doesn't. She said the province could use its Emergency Program Act to levy an "onerous fee that would be so high on the shipment of American coal, that it would no longer make any sense." However, because Ms. Clark is in the middle of an election campaign and the legislature is not sitting, any such action would have to wait until after B.C. voters go to the polls on May 9.
Mr. Emerson said both sides in this dispute will need to be cautious about inflaming public opinion on either side of the border.
However, he noted that a certain amount of posturing is expected, recounting his time in the cabinet of Liberal prime minister Paul Martin during a previous round of the long-running softwood battle: "Some of the political rhetoric of the day was egregious, it was so stridently anti-American. It didn't really stop the negotiations. The bedrock of Canada-U.S. relations tends to operate under the radar," he said.
"It's my view this will be largely under the radar, but to the degree that Canada and the U.S. are concerned about a political backlash on both sides of the border that could undermine the tone of the relationship, then things like this can have an impact."
Mr. Emerson is a veteran of the Canada-U.S. trade wars over softwood lumber. He is a former chief executive officer of Canfor – one of the province's largest lumber exporters – and held the federal international trade portfolio when he signed the deal that brought the last Canada-U.S. softwood-lumber dispute to an end in 2006.
Ms. Clark was in full rhetorical swing on Thursday when she told reporters: "I am not going to be a sucker for Donald Trump and accept the bad deals the Americans have offered so far."
The "bad deal" she referred to was proposed by the Americans last fall, in the final days of the Obama administration. The United States floated a plan for a new softwood agreement that would cap Canada's share of the American softwood lumber market at 22 per cent – a significant drop from the 34-per-cent share that was contained in the last agreement, which expired two years ago.
Mr. Emerson said the figures emerged from talks between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then-president Barack Obama in 2016, before the U.S. election.
"In the course of those discussions there were some – I won't even dignify them as term sheets, but very rough term sheets exchanged around a market-share-based framework for a solution," he said. "There was some recognition that 34 per cent was not sustainable, so there were some exchanges of market-share anchor points in an possible agreement, and the gap was wide."
He would not divulge Canada's proposal, but said there was little willingness in the Obama administration to invest any political capital in a deal.
This week, B.C. NDP leader John Horgan blasted Ms. Clark for giving up on a deal with the Obama administration: "Christy Clark's failure to get a deal is putting thousands of jobs at risk," he said.
A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said any notion of there being a deal on the table is "completely false."
"The proposals were never anything that would be acceptable to Canada."
Susan Yurkovich, president of the BC Lumber Trade Council, said the U.S. proposal was roundly dismissed by federal and provincial governments, as well as by industry.
Canada exported close to 15 billion board feet of lumber to the United States in 2016 and a one-third drop in market share would cost thousands of Canadians their jobs, she said. "It would be devastating. It would have a very significant impact on the Canadian industry, including British Columbia."
The impact of such a deal would be felt most harshly in B.C., which makes up 60 per cent of all of Canada's softwood exports to the United States. Last year, B.C. sold $4.6-billion worth of softwood to the United States.
Ms. Yurkovich said the industry has no regrets that Canada didn't take what it could get from the Obama administration, even as it now faces down a highly protectionist government under President Donald Trump. "It was not a serious offer and it was rightly turned down," she said.


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2020 Botanical Wall Planner - Black and White
Regular price £10.00 Sale price
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Who doesn't want to be more organised?
Get more organised in 2020 with our beautiful Botanical Wall Planner.
This portrait calendar runs from JANUARY 2020 - DECEMBER 2020 and would be perfect for anyone running a business, starting a new course, planning a wedding, or organising a busy home-life.
The wall planner is available as A1 (594mm x 841mm) or A2 (420 x 594 mm) to ensure there is enough room to write on and is printed on 170gsm matt coated stock.
The planner comes rolled in tissue paper in a tube.
PLEASE NOTE: This international wall planner features months, dates and days of the week and does not include any significant occasions or public holidays.


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Jenna VanLeeuwen
Financial Planning Assistant
[email protected]
As a financial planning assistant, Jenna works with the Financial Planning team to design, prepare, and implement Element clients' financial plans. She supports our team by aiding in implementing investment strategies and by preparing comprehensive portfolio reviews. Jenna also prepares comprehensive financial planning advice under the supervision of our senior advisors.


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Salted Caramel PotBack to recipes
- Pour Macphie Chocolate Pot into a saucepan and bring to boil.
- Pour into bottom of glass pots and chill (approx. 1 hour).
- Pour Macphie Crème Brulee into a saucepan and bring to boil.
- Add OTT Salted Caramel to hot crème brulee then pour onto set Chocolate layer.
- Chill for approximately 2 hours until set.
- Finish with a layer of OTT Salted Caramel, whipped GlenDelight and chocolate shavings.
- 1 litre Macphie Chocolate Pot
- 1 litre Macphie Creme Brulee
- 200g O.T.T. Salted Caramel
- GlenDelight (whipped)
- Chocolate Shavings


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Deutsche Börse (the German stock exchange)is seeking a solidarity with a number of Swiss companies in order to expand the ecosystem for digital assets.
The tradability of digital assets in traditional marketplaces has been difficult. With some exceptions, digital assets such as cryptocurrencies can only trade via exchanges.
But the trend is increasingly towards integration into traditional markets. Finally, one realizes that measured by the return on investment, bitcoin investments are one of the most lucrative investments of the past two years. You can not miss that.
Reading time: 1 min


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Going All Out for Global LGBT Equality
Watch the video below, produced by All Out in collaboration with our friends on 5 continents—from Buenos Aires to Beirut, Kathmandu to Capetown to Tokyo and beyond. All Out is bringing together people of every identity - lesbian, gay, straight, transgender and all that's between and beyond - to build a world in which everyone can live freely and be embraced for who they are. You can join the Movement and Go All Out by visiting www.allout.org
Michael Irvin champions equality
Former Dallas Cowboys player Michael Irvin Champions Equality in Gay Magazine Out
Former Dallas Cowboys great Michael Irvin appears shirtless on the cover of this month's gay men's magazine Out and discusses his passion for equality issues.
Irvin publicly acknowledges that the impetus for taking a stand comes from his relationship with his gay brother, Vaughn, who died of stomach cancer in 2006. Irvin had not spoken publicly about his brother previously, according to the magazine.
Irvin says that his father, Walter, helped him learn a tolerant form of Christianity because the elder Irvin accepted his gay son and encouraged him to love his brother unconditionally.
Irvin now believes the African-American community should support marriage equality.
"I don't see how any African-American, with any inkling of history, can say that you don't have the right to live your life how you want to live your life," he said, according to the magazine. "No one should be telling you who you should love, no one should be telling you who you should be spending the rest of your life with. When we start talking about equality, and everybody being treated equally, I don't want to know an African-American who will say everybody doesn't deserve equality."
Watch the video from ESPN below and read the entire article here.
New York Governor Signs Same-Sex Marriage Bill Into Law
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the state's marriage equality bill hours after it passed the Republican-controlled Senate on Friday night, making it the sixth state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage. Watch the video below and read the entire article from CNN
Coretta Scott King speaking at the 1996 Atlanta Pride Festival
Mrs. Coretta Scott King speaks at the 1996 Atlanta Pride Festival in Piedmont Park in Atlanta Georgia.
ATLANTA PRIDE (www.atlantapride.org)
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Educational Awareness Project about the prevention and risk reduction of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs).
January 2019


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School of Mission: Missions Week in Bulgaria
School is in Session: Young Leaders Ministry Retreat with Special Focus on Missions
It is Missions week in Bulgaria following Thanksgiving. A time to meet with Bulgarian missionaries who travel abroad, discuss their needs and pray for the success of their respective ministries. Our Thanksgiving weekend involved a ministry team retreat in the Balkan Mountains as part of the education program initiated several months ago by our Bible School initiative for the Bulgarian Church of God. As usual, this event was dedicated to training young ministers and their teams and this time the focus of our meeting was missions. Ministry teams represented the Plovdiv, Yambol and Sliven regions. A missionary from Spain was also present for the training.
Keynote speaker of the event was the president of the Bulgarian Missionary Network (BMN), Rev. Ivo Shatrovsky, who shared his calling from God for missions and a personal vision for Bulgarian missions abroad. In his address, he presented several valuable lessons he has learned in his own missionary experience in the West Indies. Two workshops on the topics of Conflict Resolution and Structuring for Growth were further presented by our team. And while various activities were taking place in the midst of extensive discussions, sharing on the part of the missionaries and strategic planning for the future of the represented regions, the time of fellowship turned to a prayerful reflection on God's calling upon our own lives.
For the mission of the church cannot exist apart from God. It is a calling, not merely a career. It is a cost, not simply a concern. It is a burden, not just a belief. Its focus is care and compassion. And yes, even in the 21st century, it still remains a Holy Ghost uttering, through which one remains blind for the world around until obeying to the vision of heaven (Acts 26:19) and begins seeing the world through the eyes of the Savior.
Mission Bulgaria Week 31
NEWS – Week 31 – March 18-24, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
This morning Bulgaria woke up covered with snow. The temperatures are in the 20s, but the weather is expected to be very warm by the end of the week. This is a usual March weather for Bulgaria.
On Thursday and Friday I traveled to the Yambol area where several churches are in revival. We had a really good time rejoicing in the Lord. The trip coming back was more difficult as a strike of 10,000 Bulgarians had gathered in downtown Sofia to protest against the politics of the present government. None of the politicians at the Bulgarian Parliament came out to speak with the crowd, which stayed for hours under the pouring rain. This is perhaps only the first of many strikes, which are expected to follow.
On Saturday, March 23 the ministers of the Sofia region gathered together at the Bulina Livada Church of God to take important decisions on the development and the future of the region. The Sofia region includes 1/3 of the total membership of the Bulgarian Church of God and extends to an area of approximately 20,000 sq. km. The Sofia region includes 37 churches and more than 5,000 members.
A new strategy was developed for providing for the needs of the churches, and a regional government was elected. It included 14 men plus the regional overseer. Among them were elected men to work with the Roma communities in the region, Social Work Regional Pastor, Evangelism Regional Director and Educational Regional Director.
I was elected for the position of Educational Regional director for the Sofia region. This election comes in time with the organization of the first of its kind round table for Evangelicals. It will occur on March 29, 2002 in the Aula of the University of Sofia as Orthodox and Protestant scholars and pastors will present lectures on "The Influence of the Protestant Missionaries for the Spiritual Upbringing and Political Liberation of the Bulgarian Nation."
Mission Bulgaria Week 30
NEWS – Week 30 – March 12-17, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
This Sunday marks the 50 days (actually 7 weeks) before the Orthodox Easter (Easter in Bulgaria this year will be on May 5th). This also marks the beginning of the Easter fast which starts on Monday. As an old national custom tonight every household in Bulgaria gets together and has a nice big dinner in preparation for the fasts. The tradition also includes a request for forgiveness from relatives, friends and enemies. While as Protestants we do not observe the Orthodox holidays, in our church today we did request forgiveness for our mistakes, errors and sin. We had a wonderful time of seeking the Lord, worshiping and calling upon Him.
The week was exciting for our ministries. I finished teaching the three-weeks systematic theology module at the Department of Pentecostal Studies at the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute in Sofia. I praise the Lord for this opportunity and the successes of the students. Our studies on Pneumatology, Ecclesiology and Eschatology ended with a revival service that moved from Sofia to the Pravetz Church of God, where we went with 2 vans loaded with students and ministered to the people there.
On another note, Pastor Doneva just came back from Yambol on Friday, where they had revival services with prayer and fasting at the churches she pastors. The church in the village of Polyana, where they shot at Mom and her team, officially reopened for services. Filled with great joy the people have restored the building to its original state and are having three services a day. I am planning to travel there this week and participate in the revival, which is going on there.
Mission Bulgaria Week 29
NEWS – Week 29 – March 4-11, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
Our ministry was again mentioned in the chaplaincy report Church of God Chaplaincy Commission. However, the best news is that the church, which I asked you to pray for, has its building back. Not only that the man who wanted it gave up on the idea, but he and the mayor will personally give the keys to the congregation this week. My mother is traveling tomorrow for the service at which this will be done. We are praying that the church will have the opportunity to purchase the building for the price at which it was originally offered.
Again I had the opportunity to speak 19 times this past week. It has been a time of self-examination and consecration as the whole institute, students, teachers and administration have devoted ourselves to prayer and fasting through the week. The time of seeking God continues as more pray for afresh anointing, power from above and a vision of the glory of God. We are also planning a trip to Pravetz on Thursday, with some 10 students who have had a desire in their hearts to travel with me.
Mission Bulgaria Week 28
NEWS – Week 28 February 24 – March 3, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
What an exciting week we have had. Our ministry has found place in the reports of both Church of God World Missions, the Church of God Chaplaincy Commission and the Church of God FaithNews Network.
This week I began teaching Systematic Theology in the Department of Pentecostal Studies at the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute. This week we had three lectures a day on the subject of Pneumotology. The class ended with a debate on 1 Corinthians 14 on Friday in which professors and first, second and third year students participated.
We also had a wonderful service on Wednesday as I perched a sermon called "… and don't' you be afraid." The altar call lasted for more than an hour as we ministered to the people with needs. On Thursday we again traveled to the town of Pravetz and held a service in the Church of God there. On Saturday our crusade services continued. I preached a sermon called, "There is power." Although the attendance was a bit law due to the soccer game in town, we had a very good service as many pastors from Sofia attended with their families and congregations.
So far I have preached 50 times this year and have spoken 19 times only this past week. I am physically exhausted, but I rejoice in the Lord for what He is doing and I personally feel fulfilled in what I am doing.
My mother Eva Doneva traveled to her churches and gathered the congregations for a three-day of fasting and prayer. They received good results on one of the buildings they wanted to purchase for a church auditorium. The men who pretended for the building, has brought them the keys of the building himself. He declared that he does not wish to purchase the building any longer and that they can use it for their services. The mayor has approved this settlement and now the church in Polyana has a real opportunity to buy the building for a church.
Mission Bulgaria Week 27
NEWS – Week 27 February 16-23, 2002 Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
Indeed this is a report of a blessed week. We had a very successful Chaplaincy Seminar with the participation of Dr. Crick and Dr. Popejoy from Cleveland, TN. More than 60 people attended and listened to the lectures during the week. These were people actively involved in military, hospital and prison ministries, students and church members. The seminar helped greatly and was a stepping-stone for the development of the Chaplaincy Ministry in Bulgaria, and served as a beginning point of the structural development of the department of chaplaincy and caregivers in the Bulgarian Church of God.
I also must report and outstanding outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Wednesday evening service as we finished the expository preaching on the Epistle to the Galatians. At the altars people prayed and cried out to God for hours. Some were slain in the Spirit, and several reported that they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.
A National Presbyters Meeting was held in Sofia on Saturday with the purposes of electing a new central leadership of the Bulgarian Church of God. Pastor Pavel Ignatov was reelected for a National Overseer. A significant detail of the meeting was the election of two assistants to the national overseers instead of one. This was done with the purposes of larger representation of the minority groups within the church (Roma, Gipsy, Turks, Pomaks, etc.). Again for the purposes of equal representation the same reason 2 Roma people were added to the 11 members of the Presbyters Council. Total of 269 pastors and deacons were present and represented 25,422 members of the Bulgarian Church of God.
I was able to prepare small 40-page booklets with the 20 Sunday School lessons in a 6,000 circulation. The books were freely distributed to all ministers present at the meeting.
Mission Bulgaria Week 25
NEWS – Week 25 – February 3-10, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria: The new crusade/evangelization Saturday service was given an extraordinary start. The meeting was held in an auditorium called "The Bulgarian-Soviet Comradeship" in the building of what used to be called the Russian Club, a building used by the Communist party before the fall of the Berlin Wall. This past Saturday a great more than 340 attended a Pentecostal worship service there. The crusade meetings purpose to gather predominantly teenagers and young families and provide for them Christian fellowship on Saturday. It offers a more alternative style of worship and preaching that targets specific needs and problems of the young people. On Sunday we held a Communion service in the Pravetz Church of God. There, the more traditional for the Bulgarian Church of God style of taking Communion is still preserved, as it includes foot washing and a special prayer for the sick with anointing. After the service two reported instant healing. More than 40 attended, and I am personally encouraged by the church that is being revived by God before my very eyes.
Mission Bulgaria Week 24
NEWS – Week 24 – January 17-February 2, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
What an exciting and busy week. On Tuesday our regular service for English-speaking people met with great success. On Wednesday we started the service with a new worship team of seven musicians and singers and then I preached on Galatians chapter three. During the altar service we witnessed a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit as many cried, prayed and received miracles from God. On Friday a service was held in the town of Kustendil, about 100 miles south of Sofia in the Bulgarian part of Macedonia. Several at the meeting reported deliverance from the influence of demons. On Sunday the lesson was on "Ministries and Praxis." The afternoon service in Pravetz was good as many attended from the towns and villages around.
Another good report came from the small village in the Rodopi Mountains (Southern Bulgaria). The village is close to the Turkish border and it is completely Muslim. The only three Christian converts were Pentecostal. In the beginning of this week they were approached by the Muslim imam (local chief of the town mosque), who asked them of their faith. As they explained what they believed, the imam who was in a wheel chair said, "If your God is real he can heal me now, can't He?" The Christians prayed for him right on the small city squire in front of the mosque and the village people. The imam was instantly and completely healed. It was reported that by the end of the week the mosque was closed because no one attended any longer.
At 5 p.m. on February 9 we are planning a large non-denominational evangelization crusade at the Auditorium of the Bulgarian-Russian Friendship, a building that during the Regime was used for youth meetings Communist Party. It has only 400 seats but we expect many more to attend.
Mission Bulgaria Week 23
NEWS – Week 23 – January 21-27, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
The pope will also visit Bulgaria in May, a week after he turns 82. That trip will be part of his efforts to improve relations with Orthodox Christians, a visit the Vatican hopes will pave the way for a hoped-for trip to Russia. Church officials are also discussing possible trips this year to Belarus and Croatia and a possible stop in the summer in John Paul's native Poland. Italian press reports suggested that the pope has expressed a desire to visit Ground Zero, the site of the September 11 terrorist attack against the World Trade Center in New York. The Vatican, however, said such a stop was not under consideration.
On Sunday, the Bulgarian Church of God called its ordained ministers in Sofia city and the area. More than 30 churches were represented by their pastors and deacons. Seven of them are newly started. A total membership of 4, 594 was reported for the churches from the denomination in the Sofia area which has an approximate population of 1,5 million people. Compared to the past 5 years, the membership in the Sofia area has doubled and it now represents almost 27% of the membership of the Bulgarian Church of God nationwide. Only 4 of these churches have their own building, while the rest are renting auditoriums in all regions of the city. A decision was taken to begin crusade meetings on Saturday afternoon for evangelization purposes.
Mission Bulgaria Week 22
NEWS – Week 22 – January 13-20, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings form Bulgaria:
Just wanted to report with a great joy a few new developments in the ministry here in Sofia. On Mondays we have a home group that meats in a suburb of Sofia and studies Pentecostal events and practices in the Bible. On Tuesday we started an English speaking service for foreign students and immigrants who go to our church, but needed some special pastoral care in a language they could understand without any problems.
After finishing the expository series on the book of Revelations, I started a new one on Galatians on Wednesday. The series contain 6 lessons, one on each chapter.
On Thursday nights as well as Sunday afternoons, I have been traveling to the town of Pravetz, where I am now pastoring the local church since the leave of the pastor last December. Pravetz has been on my heart as the town where I preached my first sermon and received my first assignment with the Church of God as a youth pastor in 1990-1993. The church experienced revival in the spring of 1991 and more than 200 young people were saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately after 1995 the revival quieted down as many of the students graduated and left town.
This past Sunday Pastor Pavel Ignatov and myself traveled to Pravetz together for a coordinating meeting with pastors and members from the area. In the small upper room 64 were present not only from Pravetz but also from the towns of Botevegrad, Yablanitza, Etropole and I brought a short message on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, after which we had prayer for healing. People were coming to the front crying and kneeling wherever they found a place to receive prayer by the pastors. There was hardly any room to walk around the pulpit, as God poured out His Spirit and many were touched.
The Sunday School Pilot program is also continuing and increasing its influence. We have reached the number of 15 thematic Bible lessons, as more than 28,000 individual copies have been distributed. Beside in the more than 50 local churches, the lessons are now taught also in the Sunday morning service at the Central Prison in Sofia. This past week, I turned the lessons in for editing and publication as a book. Meanwhile, some of them have been reprinted in different magazines.
In March, I will be teaching three seminars in the Systematic Theology class at the Bulgarian Theological Evangelical Institute in Sofia. The seminars will be on the topics of Ecclesiology, Pneumatology and Eschatology. This coming Friday morning, I am also giving a brief lecture on Preservation of Pentecostal Primitivism.
Finally, an article, which I wrote in 1999 about the first Bulgarian graduate from Harvard University, will be published in the February/March issue of the "Bulgarian Theology" scholarly magazine.
For all of the above I praise the Lord with all my heart. I thank you for your continuous support, Please pray for us.


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Tea Stick Bamboo, Pseudosasa amabilis
Bamboo flowers rarely and for many species this is a once in a century event or more. Consequently, seed is largely unavailable. Try Ms. Lihua Jiang at Yunnan Bamboo Nursery
To grow more bamboo, the same original plant is continuously divided up and spread around.
Bizarrely, when a bamboo species flowers, it does so in unison world wide. And once a bamboo flowers the plant usually dies.
A clue to deciding where a species of bamboo originated is that, in this particular place, not all of the same species flower at the same time.
Pages: 1 2


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Addressing a roundtable discussion on US-Vietnam investment cooperation in New York on May 30 (local time), Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the time is ripe for US businesses to engage more strongly in Vietnam's economic restructuring, especially in banking and finance and State-owned enterprise (SOE) equitization, the Vietnam News Agency reports.
Held by Harbinger Capital and the Asia Group, the roundtable attracted executives of more than 20 leading US financial groups, investment funds, and enterprises.
The PM, who is on an official visit to the US, highlighted the fact that the US has become one of the leading investment partners of Vietnam, with 835 projects and total registered capital of over $10.2 billion. Many leading US enterprises have been present in the country for many years and are operating successfully. With bilateral trade exceeding $47 billion in 2016, the US is Vietnam's third-largest trade partner.
He briefed the US entrepreneurs on the country's socioeconomic situation after more than three decades of reform, its opening up and its integration process, emphasizing that Vietnam has recorded significant achievements and become a middle-income country with increasingly extensive economic integration and close partnerships with almost all economies in the world.
It is promoting mergers and acquisitions in association with the equitization of SOEs in such fields as transport, infrastructure, food, telecommunications, agriculture, services and tourism, the PM noted.
Regarding trade, he said that US exports to Vietnam are on the rise and expressed a belief that cooperation documents to be signed during his visit will help the two countries achieve a trade balance and optimize their respective advantages.
"Trade supports both," he said. "For example, Vietnam imports machinery, equipment and some other products from the US, while exporting food that US consumers prefer, like fish, shrimp, fruit, and footwear."
US entrepreneurs at the roundtable said that Vietnam has rich investment potential in various spheres, abundant human resources, social and political stability, increasing integration into the world, and a strong resolve to promote the growth of the business community.
President of Harbinger Capital, Mr. Philip Falcone, who invested in the $4.2-billion Ho Tram Strip project in the southern province of Ba Ria Vung Tau, pledged to continue pushing US investors and businesses to pay more attention to Vietnam, contributing to the enhancement of bilateral economic, trade, and investment cooperation in the future.
He hoped the Vietnamese Government would create more conditions for US enterprises to make long-term and stable investments.
Mr. Charles Kaye, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Warburg Pincus, described Vietnam as a destination of investment opportunity with favorable infrastructure for investors to access retail services, healthcare, and new technologies.
The KKR Global Institute said it is preparing a fund of over $9 billion to invest in emerging markets, including Vietnam, a market with a young population, high GDP growth, and attractive global competitiveness.
Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, who is accompanying the PM during the US visit, said it is time for US businesses to make quick decisions on implementing programs and projects on the basis of recognizing investment opportunities in Vietnam, which possesses distinct advantages.
Vietnam encourages US businesses to join in the equitization of SOEs, supplements capital for business development, and promotes the transfer of technology, he said.
PM Phuc expressed his appreciation of the open discussions with the executives, especially their recommendations to improve the investment environment. The government will take into account those suggestions when building policies, he said.
He quoted President Theodore Roosevelt: "Believe you can and you're halfway there", and said the 20-year-old cooperative relations between Vietnam and the US are strong enough to overcome challenges to achieve greater targets.
The PM told the executives that with open and attractive policies and human resources and development potential, Vietnam will continue to maintain its position as a gateway to the dynamic ASEAN region, a strategic investment destination for foreign investors and an important link in global supply chains.
With its door open wide and visible opportunities, Vietnam welcomes and encourages investors in such areas as infrastructure development, high-quality services, energy, manufacturing, tourism, and, especially, the capital market, which is in high demand in the country.
The government will continue its efforts to build an action-orientated and facilitating government, which is friendly to businesses and creates the most optimal conditions for businesspeople and investors, including those from the US, to quickly access business opportunities in Vietnam on the basis of mutual benefit.
He said he welcomes US businesses to invest in Vietnam's pharmaceuticals market in a more competitive manner that favors the people.
Vietnam is ready to welcome US businesses to engage in the stock and bond markets and develop information technology, education and training, aviation, and other fields, he added.
The PM also met with executives from leading US economic groups that are launching major investment projects in Vietnam, such as Exxon Mobil, Coca-Cola, Nike, and Harbinger Capital.
He reiterated the country's economic reform and international integration policy and briefed them on economic policies and renovations aimed at making it easier for domestic and foreign enterprises to do business in Vietnam.


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If you have ever attended a worship gathering in a local Vineyard church setting, you may have noticed a few things during your experience. As the musical part of the worship began, you sensed anticipation in the congregation. As those gathered began to sing, you observed the expression of love freely being offered up by the worshippers, and the music taking a secondary place. As the songs played on, you thought that the people seemed to be aware of God being present with them, that the worship was interactive. If this was true of your experience, then you've just begun to taste the heart of what it means to us – as a Vineyard family – to worship.
In What Is Worship?, we'll look at who we worship, why we worship, and how we worship – all from a Vineyard perspective. Then, we'll weave all those ideas together as we look at worship through the unique values of the Vineyard movement.
Part of The Distinctives Series: What Is Worship? is one of six booklets with reflections from over 25 contributors from around the Vineyard. These booklets will connect your congregation with key ideas central to our shared Vineyard mission. The Distinctives Series is for every pastor, leader, and individual member of your congregation.
Written in an accessible and passionate style, the What Is Worship? booklet will inspire your church members to engage with God through worship, in a fresh, powerful way.
Booklet Includes:
25 Contributing Authors To The SeriesBrian and Thora Anderson | Christena Cleveland | Christian Dunn | Mark and Karen Fields | Homero Garcia | Brenda Gatlin | Jeff Heidkamp | Bill Jackson | Dianne Leman | Caleb Maskell | Derek Morphew | John and Eleanor Mumford | Rich Nathan | Steve and Cindy Nicholson | Rick and Becky Olmstead | Jay Pathak | Lance and Cheryl Pittluck | Jim Pool | David Ruis | Adam Russell | Jamie Stilson | Rose Swetman | Phil and Janet Strout | Mike Turrigiano | Jamie and Michelle Wilson | Dan Wilt | John Wimber


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A gallery of vintage toy drums and percussion: page 1
Hello friends, Samm Bennett here. Toy drums and xylophones and such are what you'll find plenty of here. I'm drawn in these items for their visual interest, of course, but I've also used toy drums and percussion on many an occasion to make... actual music! Not
toy music! Hope you enjoy the gallery.
toy music! Hope you enjoy the gallery.
A very old combination horn and rattle.
Off to war, little tykes, off to war!
This drum from the 1940s is rather large: 16 inches in diameter. And note the spurs this was the bass drum to a toy drum set.
These are quite handsome old toy drums from England.
Note the wing-nut tenability. Nice!
Boy Scouts are pictured on this old toy drum. via
A rather fancy, regal-looking toy xylophone, quite old.
Here's an old toy drum kit with a cowboy motif:
Love the serene look on the cowboy's face. Like he's meditating.
Them crazy hillbillies!
Now let's look at a few of the old-school crank toys. These usually have a 4, 5 or 6 note melody that sounds when you crank the handle, much like the familiar Jack-in-the-box when it plays Pop Goes the Weasel. The sound is often very similar to a sanza or likembe (sometimes called "African thumb piano") since the keys inside are metal prongs not unlike the ones you'd find on the African instruments. I have a few of these that I picked up years ago in Amsterdam (there's a photo of them below). They sound great!
Sometimes they came in animal shapes. via
Here are three from my own collection, purchased years ago in Europe. I use them from time to time. Still going strong!
OK, that's enough crank toys, back to some drums...
The next few pictures feature a delightful old Japanese toy drum...
Here's a rather unusually long toy drum. Handsome in red!
Just below is a nice little selection of old party noise makers: that is, percussion toys for adults,
not children! I love these things, and in fact I have another whole page here at the site devoted exclusively to them. If you want to see more, go HERE.
not children! I love these things, and in fact I have another whole page here at the site devoted exclusively to them. If you want to see more, go HERE.
I'm constantly adding pictures to this gallery, so check back in again sometime! Or, back to Samm's Photo / Image Historical Galleries


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Jan the old one wrote:I'd phone the parking shop
http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200072/parking wrote:The parking shop is now closed. All on-street parking transactions are available online or via phone on 0844 800 2736.
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From a wonderful shoot with the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Dwight Ball, his lovely wife Sharon, and their first grandchild.
professional photographer • keeper of two cats and a dog • wife to dru • one half of cunningkennedy.com • supporter of all things coffee + chocolate + breakfast.
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© 2018 | candace kennedy photo|ProPhoto theme | La Lune Creative


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A robbery scheme that targeted a number of Apple retail stores around the Bay Area has ended with eight arrests and nine arrest warrants issued, authorities said Thursday.
The scheme involved large groups entering Apple Stores throughout the state with hoodies and snatching phones and other products, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said. Stores in 19 counties across the state were hit, he said.
Authorities did not immediately release the identities of those who have been arrested. Seven were arrested on Wednesday and booked into the Santa Rita Jail. Authorities issued arrest warrants for another eight suspects.
One suspect already was in custody in Sonoma County.
They all will be charged with conspiracy to commit grand theft, Becerra said.
"Organized retail thefts cost California business owners millions and expose them to copycat criminals. Ultimately, consumers pay the cost of this merchandise hijacking," Becerra said in a statement. "We will continue our work with local law enforcement authorities to extinguish this mob mentality and prosecute these criminals to hold them accountable."
According to an Oakland police statement Wednesday, officers assisted another police agency in arresting multiple people sought on criminal warrants.
"The successful collaborative efforts of law enforcement has resulted in dismantling a large criminal ring," Oakland Police Chief Anne E. Kirkpatrick said in a statement.
The latest of similar thefts happened about midday Tuesday in Emeryville.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.


text: Download Android Yes Movie(Pro) Apk - Watch Latest Tv Shows, Latest Movies on Android June 07, 2017 ANDROID LIVE TV APP Edit DOWNLOAD YES MOVIE ANDROID APK Direct Download Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google Plus About sunni This is a short description in the author block about the author. You edit it by entering text in the "Biographical Info" field in the user admin panel. RELATED POSTS


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Sunanda Pushkar death case transferred to crime branch
Delhi Police's Crime Branch is to investigate the mysterious death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of union minister Shashi Tharoor, and would question him and other family members as well as hotel staff, a police official said Thursday.
Six days after Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in her room at the Leela Palace hotel in Sarojini Nagar area of south Delhi, the case was finally handed over to Crime Branch Thursday.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav, told IANS that Pushkar's case was handed over to his department Thursday.
"We will look after the matter from the beginning as earlier it was being handled by local police," he said.
Another crime branch official said that they would first get the probe report from the local police and then "we will take our next step".
"Shashi Tharoor, his family members, the hotel staff and the relatives of Sunanda will be questioned if we find it necessary," he said.
The autopsy report of Pushkar has attributed her death to poisoning due to drug overdose. Sources termed the injury marks on her body as "scuffle marks" and as minor injuries.
Her "upper extremity" - hand, an arm, chin, and neck - was dotted with over a dozen injury marks, and these were termed "scuffle marks".
However, the scuffle marks may impact the investigation as Delhi Police was directed by the sub-divisional magistrate to probe whether the death was a suicide or a murder.
Police meanwhile urged the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) to speed up on Pushkar's viscera report, which might have clues to the reason for her death.
NCP leader D.P. Tripathi had Wednesday demanded that Tharoor must quit till the investigation is over. Tharoor has been named a party spokesperson.
However, the Congress has rejected any such remark, saying there was no question of resignation.
Congress spokesperson Randip Surjewala, at a party briefing had said: "Tharoor is in a responsible ministerial position. He is also an inseparable part of Congress. There is no question of his resignation".
Pushkar's son from her second marriage, Shiv Menon had Tuesday issued a statement, denying any possible role of Shashi Tharoor in his mother's death.
"Do not believe that Shashi was capable of harming her, let alone the speculation that he could have taken her life."
Pushkar was found dead just a couple of days after an open spat on Twitter that threw spotlight on the couple's personal life and Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar. - IANS


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HOCHTIEF ViCon have bagged yet another massive Building Information Modelling project – they'll be BIM Managers for a four-year wastewater treatment project in the Qatari capital of Doha.
The central section of the Inner Doha Re-sewerage Implementation Strategy – also known as the easier-to-say, abbreviated pseudonym IDRIS MTS02 – will receive the HOCHTIEF treatment, work that will include a BIM Executive Plan and BIM modelling strategy.
BIM's utilisation will support design coordination, quantity take-offs and scheduling and progress monitoring from Q3 2015 till Q4 2019.
The entire press release issued can be seen below for more information.
HOCHTIEF ViCon was awarded to implement, manage and execute BIM on the central section of the Inner Doha Re-sewerage Implementation Strategy – IDRIS MTS02. The contract was signed with the SHP Joint Venture consisting of Al Sraiya Strabag for Roads and Infrastructure, HOCHTIEF Solutions ME and Petroserv.
ViCon will deliver BIM Implementation and Management services for the entire project duration supporting all construction phases. Furthermore, ViCon's scope of work will include a BIM Execution Plan together with a BIM Modeling Strategy. BIM shall be used to support the processes design coordination, scheduling and progress monitoring and quantity take-offs.
The construction of the 14.7km long central tunnel section with related access and work shafts is part of Ashghal's 10 billion QAR key program to provide a long-term wastewater treatment solution and vital drainage infrastructure for the southern parts of Doha. The main trunk sewer divided in three construction sections will be approximately 45km long, with internal diameters ranging from 3 to 4.5 meters, and depths ranging from 20 to 55 meters. The project will start in Q3 of 2015, and is expected to be completed in Q4 of 2019.
For more on HOCHTIEF ViCon, click here to visit their Twitter feed.
RELATED: BIM Brunch: René Schumann


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KVM came back to running in front of VirtualBox when looking at how long it took to compile Apache with GCC 4.4.5 in the four different test configurations.
When running the Bullet Physics Engine in the virtualized Ubuntu Linux installations, KVM was again faster than VirtualBox 3.2/4.0.
Particularly with Bullet's Prim Trimesh workload, KVM did not suffer much performance wise compared to when the test was running on the actual hardware, but with VirtualBox, its performance was nearly halved.
With the Convex Trimesh workload from Bullet there was not as much of a performance hit with VirtualBox, but it was still big with it being a 20% difference.


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|GIL .. BIOSCI/Bionet News .. Biosequences .. Software .. FTP
Dear netters, we would like to stably transfect PC12 cells with an EGFP fusion protein using the Clontech pEGFP vector and Geneticin as selection antibiotic. Transient transfections work nicely and we get nice green fluorescence. Is it true that it is better to linearize the vector for stable transfection protocols and if so where should we cut the vector? We would be very happy about a protocol that has worked well in a similar setting. Thanks for your time and help Soenke


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Ah, modern medicine...
Two antibiotics that I've had some recent experience with: the pharmacokinetically-curious macrolide, azithromycin, and the venerable (but still rather potent) tetracycline, doxycycline.
Azithromycin, commonly called 'Zithromax' or 'Z-Pak', is currently very popular as a broad-spectrum antibiotic that kills both Gram-positive (hard cell wall) and Gram-negative (outer membrane) bacteria. It does this by binding to the bacterial ribosome and interfering with the elongation step in protein synthesis, leading to cell degradation and death. Because bacterial and human ribosomes have slightly different structures, only bacterial cells are affected. Azithromycin is 'semisynthetic'; it is produced commercially by chemically-modifying erythromycin, another antibiotic that is produced by one species of actinomycete bacteria.
The odd thing about azithromycin: it is usually given as a single (rather gigantic) one-gram dose in powder form, but it remains effective for up to a week(!) afterwords. Like all macrolide antibiotics and many other drugs, azithromycin is involved in enterohepatic circulation: it is absorbed very readily in the small intestine and transported directly to the liver via the hepatic portal vein, where it is excreted in bile back into the duodenum (first section of the small intestine). For the chemical engineers out there, the hepatic portal-gall bladder-bile duct loop is just a recycle stream, and because it's running at a very high recycle ratio and the rate of azithromycin breakdown in the body is so low, it's easy to see how azithromycin can remain at therapeutic levels in the body for a long time on a single dose. Another form of recycle circulation further improves its half-life and effectiveness: azithromycin is preferentially taken up by white blood cells, which actively transport it to the site of infection and release it while consuming bacteria. Ion trapping and azithromycin's high lipid solubility keep its concentration at the infected site many times higher than in the blood plasma. Combined with its long half-life (68 hours) in the body and the fact that the patient doesn't have the option to discontinue the drug when they start feeling better, this helps to prevent the infecting bacteria from developing antibiotic resistance.
NEVERTHELESS, any given antibiotic will only kill certain bacteria. Azithromycin didn't work for me, so a week later I was back for a second round.
8 years ago


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Effective August 6, 2012, the VA loan Limits for Orange County, CA were increased. This is an unexpected bit of good news. For most of 2012 the VA loan limit in Orange County was $621,000. While that sounds great, it was actually a drop from the 2011 limit of $700,000. But now, with Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 being signed into law, the new 100% financing limit in the great OC is $675,000.
Zero Down to $675,000 with VA Financing in Orange County
There is sometimes confusion about what the VA loan limit is and what it means. When a VA loan limit is mentioned, it typically is in relation to the amount of down payment required, in this case $0 down payment. There is actually not a maximum loan amount for a VA loan. But what lenders allow and what VA allows are two different matters. Some lenders allow VA financing up to $729,750, some to $1,000,000, and some as high as $1,500,000. But when the purchase price is higher than the 100% financing limit for the county then a down payment is required.
Jumbo VA Loans
A Jumbo VA loan is the term given to VA loans that are greater than the 100% limit. For example, in Orange County, where the new limit is $675,000, it is still possible to buy a much more expensive home. The Veteran must have a down payment equal to 25% of the difference between the purchase price and the $0 down loan limit. If John Major wants to buy a home in Irvine for $775,000, then he would need a down payment of only $25,000. He'll be able to get a VA loan of $750,000. ($775,000 - $675,000 = $100,000 difference. 25% of $100,000 is $25,000 down payment.) So for only 3.23% down payment, a Veteran in Orange County can buy a home. And best of all, VA 30 year fixed interest rates are very low and there is no Monthly Mortgage Insurance like on any other type of financing with less than 20% down payment.
Refinance from Conventional to VA Loan to 100% Loan to Value
It is important to note that VA financing is great for refinancing as well as purchasing. An eligible Veteran who currently has a Conventional loan but less than 20% equity in their home may find that a refinance to a VA loan is their best option for saving money. Lenders will allow cash out refinancing to 100% loan to value. It is also possible to combine a 2nd or Home Equity Line with a Conventional 1st mortgage up to 100% loan to value. The first step is to find a local Orange County VA loan specialist who can prepare custom VA loan scenarios.
Authored by Tim Storm, an Orange County, CA VA Mortgage Loan Officer MLO 223456– Please contact my office at Home Point Financial for more information about an Orange County, CA Mortgage. 949-829-1846. www.OrangecountyVALoans.com
Contact us for your Orange County VA Mortgage:
949-829-1846 | tstorm (at) ochomebuyerloans.com


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One of the most important figures in Stockholm telecommunications in the 1880s was Henrik Thore Cedergren, mentioned earlier as the owner of a jeweler's store. Stockholm-born Cedergren was six years younger than Lars Magnus Ericsson and came from a totally different world. As a young man, Cedergren had taken over his father's jewelry business and also set up in the then-booming building industry. Cedergren's businesses included a brickworks on Södermalm.
Cedergren, who had also graduated as an engineer from the Technology Institute, had come into contact with the pioneering telephone experts during several study trips to the US. It was said of Cedergren that if he saw a sign saying "No entry", his comment would be "Let's go in. There's something interesting here!" To cap it all, Cedergren had vision and a nose for business, as well as "outstanding organizational and administrative talents", according to Ericsson historian Jan Kuuse.
As a Bell subscriber, Cedergren worked out both that the company was overcharging and that it would be more successful if it charged less and gained more subscribers. He got in touch with Bell management but they had no interest in altering their business approach. Cedergren then began investigating the possibility of competing in the telephone business.
L.M. Ericsson & Co.'s errand boy, Gabriel Bildsten, may have played a role. One day in the spring of 1881 he was sent to Cedergren's jewelry store to buy silver for electric contacts. Inside the shop he caught sight of a telephone and cheerfully said, "Well, my boss makes much better ones!" Cedergren quickly donned his coat and followed the boy back to the workshop, where he met Lars Magnus Ericsson for the first time. And indeed, Lars Magnus could make better telephones.
The upshot of Cedergren's calculations was that a telephone in Stockholm need not cost more than 100 crowns for a year's subscription. One requirement was an assurance that the quality of the telephones and exchanges was at least as good as Bell's – and he saw that L.M. Ericsson & Co. could provide this. In comparison, Lars Magnus was at first more cautious and non-committal. It is also widely known that he was skeptical of "engineers on paper" – which is what Cedergren was, after all.
But irrespective of what their discussions were like, the two ended up signing a partnership agreement. In February 1883, Cedergren issued a prospectus for the establishment of a new, independent Swedish telephone company, Stockholms Allmänna Telefonaktiebolag (SAT), which would offer "public telephone connections at a lower price and the use of Swedish equipment". It aimed to provide "telephone lines in every building and for all the tenants in them". L.M. Ericsson & Co. had to undertake on its part not to supply telephones or any other equipment to any other telephone company in Stockholm.
Cedergren successfully lobbied the Stockholm Property Owners' Association – telephone lines had to be drawn across rooftops and this often led to major practical problems. The association adopted the view, however, that the company should be "encouraged in every way" and permission to cross the rooftops was often granted free of charge.
Stockholms Allmänna Telefonaktiebolag [Stockholm Public Telephone Company] was founded in April 1883 and began operations on May 15; by the end of June more than 600 shares had been taken up. On October 31, 1883, it opened its central telephone exchange at Oxtorgsgatan 6, Norr-malm, in north-central Stockholm; on December 1, another at Urväders-gränd 9, Södermalm; and on March 1, 1884, one at Svartmangatan 6 in Gamla Stan.
A 1,200-line gantry was erected on the roof of the central exchange, which was built to cope with 3,000 subscribers.
The partnership with SAT was to be the making of L.M. Ericsson & Co. In 1883, Lars Magnus and Cedergren jointly exhibited telephones, "automatic changeover switches" and Ericsson switchboards at the major International Electrical Exhibition in Vienna. And SAT was ordering more from Ericsson than ever before: in 1883, for example, it ordered 1,000 telephones. This meant that Ericsson could celebrate the production that same year of its 5,000th telephone.
This eliminated any doubts Lars Magnus may have had about his company expanding, and it soon acquired proper premises of its own. Work started in late 1883 on a new factory on Tulegatan, with production shifting there in the autumn of the following year. From then on the factory was continually being extended up until the end of the century.
Author: Svenolof Karlsson & Anders Lugn


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Although the popularity of baroque music has surged in recent decades, with the rise of the period instrument ensemble and numerous revivals of lesser-known composers, it is still in danger of seeming a historical curio, adorned for its evocation of the past. Over numerous concerts and talks, Baroque Unwrapped seeks to be lie to such perfidious ideas, and reveal the period's full wildness, diversity and experimentalism.
The full line-up is thrillingly varied and unfailingly high quality. The year-long season opens on 10 Jan with the ever-brilliant Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, now resident at Kings Place, presenting instrumental and choral gems from early masters Monteverdi, Cavalli and Grandi, followed by one of the same group's beloved Night Shift late concerts. Less than a week later, on 16 Jan, the Aurora Orchestra – also based at the venue – will explore the baroque's final evolution in a programme that links Bach to Mozart.
Highlights abound, and cater to all levels of familiarity with the music. Purists can look forward to Fretwork's quartet of viols (12 Feb), a French-focused evening with baroque violin doyenne Elizabeth Wallfisch (6 Mar) and a Levon Chilingirian-led Musical Offering (13 Nov). Those seeking adventure can look towards Thomas Gould and Gwilym Simcock (21 Apr), who together will bridge the paths separating baroque from jazz. The Geneva Camerata plan to add Balkan folk to the mix (19 May), while Sweden's O/MODERNT Kammarorkester will intersperse Vivaldi with orchestrated heavy rock (22 Oct).
At the start of April, Martin Feinstein's long-running Bach Weekend will come to the venue for the first time, with eight events juxtaposing the devotional with the secular. Fans of Handel will well-served as well – as well as King's College Choir performing the Brockes-Passion (22 Apr), The Sixteen will present Acis and Galatea (7 May) while the Dunedin Consort will cap the year with Messiah (20 Dec). It looks to be a jubilant end to a celebratory year.
|Baroque Unwrapped, Kings Place
|Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG | MAP
|Nearest tube
|King's Cross St. Pancras (underground)
14 Jan 16 – 20 Dec 16, 12:00 AM
|Click here to book via the Kings Place website


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Significant events handled by Manteca Police recently:
• MARIJUANA CULTIVATION ARREST: On Oct.18, the Street Crimes Unit concluded a narcotics investigation by serving a search warrant on Woodward Avenue in Manteca and Tracy Boulevard in Tracy. During service of this warrant, they located 183 marijuana plants, 21 pounds of processed marijuana and an illegally possessed firearm. Manpreet Singh, of Tracy, was arrested for the allegedCultivation of Marijuana, Possession of Marijuana for Sale, Illegal Possession of a Firearm Due to Conviction and Driving While on a Suspended License.
• SHOTS FIRED: On Oct. 21, Officers were dispatched to the 1200 block of Hunt Road for shots fired in the area. The reporting party advised two vehicles were fleeing the area and shell casings were in the roadway. Officers arrived and found shell casings and broken glass in the roadway. No injuries were reported. Gang Suppression Unit Detectives Johnson, May and Doty responded and inspected the scene. There is no suspect information at this time and the investigation continues.
Significant events handled by Manteca Police recently:


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Three Tips to Make a Good Character Reference Stick
A written character reference for court can help a judge or magistrate make a more informed legal decision. A good character reference can also lead to a better outcome for the person who is accused of committing a crime.
We've previously covered how to write a character reference in the article 'A good character reference is easier than you think'. Now, let's go a step further and look at three ways you can make your character reference as sharp and as helpful as possible.
1. Keep it simple and to the point
It may be tempting to write a lengthy character reference for your friend or family member that goes into great detail about their good qualities or any negative circumstances in their life that may have influenced their behaviour.
However, it's vital that your letter is brief and to the point. Judges and magistrates can be very busy and if your letter is simple and to the point, they could respond to it more favourably than a long, waffling piece. Think about keeping the length to one side of a standard A4 sheet of paper, unless you've specifically been asked to write more.
2. Use concise, formal language
A character reference should stick to the facts about the person in question and avoid emotional or sentimental arguments.
The judge or magistrate will not know very much about the accused beyond what is told to them by lawyers and the police. Your character reference will help paint a more detailed picture.
It's important to keep your language very formal to have maximum effect. For example, a simple sentence saying the person is "a trustworthy individual whom I have employed for many years" followed up with a highly relevant example and/or supporting fact can be more effective than an entire paragraph detailing examples where the person has acted well at work.
3. Check your character reference thoroughly
The character reference you provide can make a big difference. So read over what you've written several times, even aloud, to pick up any spelling or grammatical errors.
You could also have someone you trust read it over – often our own mistakes can be invisible to our eyes. If you're unsure, getting some expert legal advice on how to construct a suitable character reference can be helpful, and will ensure the reference you deliver can make a positive impact.
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Your security and that of your family is vital and should be a priority for everyone. At most times, you cannot control things that will ensure paramount safety for your family. There are however several measures devised to ensure there is something you can do to ensure the safety of your home. One of those
Author: rojonengram
There are great tech gifts for everyone on your gift list, and you should check out these suggestions below. These are some of the best tech Christmas gifts for you to give this year. 1. Smart TV Everyone can use a smart TV, and if you know someone who doesn't yet have one, or who
Whereas every business needs effective cybersecurity, not all have installed cybersecurity which works excellently. It may be somewhat surprising,particularly so since most businesses see cybersecurity as a way of increasing business cost rather than an investment. Therefore, with that factored in, to improve margins, customer loyalty, and revenue growth, below are the five best methods
Maintaining up-to-date information with your prospects, contact is an essential task for any business enterprise. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems assist by monitoring everything linked to your clients: contacts, past emails and calls, visits, and the advancement of individual earnings or bargains, and much more. But whatever you are after, we have compiled a listing
Throughout the night, we have seen indications of a prospective upswing but many are left wondering what could have resulted in such a huge fall in the purchase price of both Bitcoin and other currencies. However, below are few explanations of these phenomenon. 1. Market Corrections Much of bitcoin's strange increase rate in the previous