text:
SAINT PRIEST, France—Monsanto SAS has been ranked the 15th best big company to work for in France, according to the annual Great Place to Work® survey. This year, 60 companies have been recognized among the 166 that applied.
The Great Place to Work® Institute France survey rankings are based on a combination of an assessment of employees' responses to a survey about job satisfaction (2/3 of the score) and an independent assessment of human resources management, company culture and well-being at work (1/3 of the score). The big-company category applies to those with more than 500 employees.
"This reward is a remarkable recognition of our 550 employees in France," said Isabelle Zonca-Mérieux, Human Resources Lead for Monsanto in France. "It's also a testament to the company's work culture and focus on personal development."
This prestigious ranking complements the recognition that has been granted to Monsanto Co. for the last 2 years as a Great Place to Work among multinational companies. The company has received similar recognition in Belgium and Romania. Monsanto Co. also recently was named as one of the "World's Most Admired Companies" by FORTUNE magazine and one of the "50 Smartest Companies" by MIT Technology Review.
Monsanto's activities in France include research, development and production of innovative seeds and solutions for sustainable agriculture. The company markets maize and oilseed rape seeds (DEKALB brand), vegetable seeds (Seminis and De Ruiter brands), and herbicides (Roundup brand).
Monsanto has operations at 11 sites close to France's major farming regions. Several seed research stations work on breeding high quality seeds in maize, oilseed rape and vegetables. The seeds are produced in many regions, then processed and bagged in three plants. The seeds are both delivered to French farmers and exported to 30 other countries.
Yann Fichet, Service Presse, Tel. +33 (4) 7214 -4114, Mail: email@example.com
Brandon Mitchener, Corp. Comms., +32 (2) 776-7656, Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
About Monsanto Co.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto is focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit www.monsanto.fr and www.monsanto.com. Follow our business on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/MonsantoFrance , on the company blog, Beyond the Rows at www.monsantoblog.com .
©2002–2018 Monsanto Company - All Rights Reserved Sitemap | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Cookies


text:
The news is EVERYWHERE, so i might as well hop onto the Indy wagon. It's oficial, it's verified and it's the truth: Indiana Jones' IV title will be:
Yup. Honestly, it sounds abit corny but...'Transformers' sounds lame too but it rocked. Hard. So, we got the tile, but have we any clue to what the heck is the latest Indy advanture is all about? Well according to stuff being published on reputable websites, it's basically:
"The crystal skulls turn out to be alien skulls, underneath a Mayan or Aztec pyramid that takes off and thus reveals itself to be a mothership of sorts."
Again, sounds corny. But with Steven Spielberg directing and George Lucas producing, we may still have a gem of a crytal on our hands...
And the guys and girls in the movie are Harrison Ford (of course), Shia Lebeouf, Cate Blanchett, Jim Broadbent, Ray Winstone, John Hurt & Karen Allen. Sounds like a solid cast, hope the movie is just as solid.
Just so you know, I've moved… - … to a new blog persona: http://majidah.wordpress.com Let's meet there:)
10 years ago

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Lady M® Confections is the pioneer of the well-loved Mille Crêpe cake. Its signature cake Lady M® Mille Crêpes, features no less than twenty paper-thin handmade crêpes layered with ethereal light pastry cream, gently caramelized on top until golden. Each handcrafted Mille Crêpes cake is made using only the finest ingredients to a secret recipe that has been perfected over the past 12 years. Visit their 3rd outlet located at South Beach Avenue to try a slice of the exclusive Earl Grey version.
Combining French pastry techniques with Japanese etiquette of precision, Lady M® Confections prides itself on creating the freshest and finest cakes and confectionary delights. Since opening its first 600sq ft cake boutique in New York's Upper East Side in 2001, Lady M® has assembled a phenomenal little black book of fans state-side, from the likes of domestic goddess Martha Stewart, to Supermodel, Linda Evangelista and Japanese fashion designer, Issey Miyake.
26 Beach Road, Unit #01-17 South Beach Avenue
Tel: +65 6702 6735 Email: email@example.com
Aesthéa combines years of expertise with cutting edge technology to bring the best aesthetic medicine and products to modern women and men.
Catering to the fast-paced lifestyle of its customers, Aesthéa understands the need for fuss-free treatments with minimum social downtime.
Dr Christopher Looi, medical director and co-founder of the clinic has over 10 years' medical experience and specialises in all non-invasive procedures from nonsurgical lifting procedures to Botox and fillers.
26 Beach Road, Unit #B1-24 South Beach Avenue
Tel: +65 6386 9639 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
South Beach Avenue marks official launch of 16 dining and lifestyle concepts.
Spanning 32,000 sq ft across the basement, street level and conserved buildings, South Beach Avenue is set to become the entertainment centre of the Civic District.
With direct connections to Esplanade MRT station and City Hall MRT interchange, you can enjoy convenient access to cutting edge dining and drinking experiences in South Beach Avenues' breezy spaces.
Relax in natural comfort as the stunning microclimatic canopy provides shelter and draws in air currents to keep everyone cool.
With a dynamic mix of dining, beauty and entertainment options, South Beach Avenue is the latest lifestyle destination to draw the crowds in downtown Singapore.
26 & 36 Beach Road
Tel: +65 6672 5722 Email: email@example.com
Atmastel is a fast-casual F&B lifestyle concept that wants you to re-discover and fall in love with Mediterranean cuisine all over again. Focusing on subtle, pure and piquant flavours all coaxed from fresh, quality produce; the kitchen is helmed by head chef, Chef Andrea Tarini, with a Two-Michelin-starred background.
Atmastel features an open kitchen, pizza bakery, a crudo (deli) bar with a gourmet produce and wine retail area.
South Beach Avenue, 26 Beach Road, Unit #B1-22
Tel: +65 6581 0085 Email: email@example.com


text:
The New Old-Fashioned Forge Ahead
Members of the New Old-Fashioned visited Kaleidoscope shortly before their debut show. Nearly two and a half years later the band is going strong and beginning to craft new material for a sophomore album. The New Old-Fashioned visited the WYSO studios ahead of a busy August of live gigs including a stint at the Greene County Fair and a performance at Canal Street Tavern with Shrug and Sandwich.
After their live set, the band stuck around to spin songs from some of their favorite local artists and share stories from their early days in the Dayton Music Scene.
The New Old-Fashioned Forge Ahead
The New Old-Fashioned share their favorite local music.


text:
This week's print edition of The Catholic Herald, in this week's Charterhouse column, contains a very remarkable article which you will not have seen on this website. It is a stinging critique, by John Gummer (also now confusingly known as Lord Deben), of the actions of the 11 Benedictine monks of Ramsgate Abbey, and in particular of their abbot. The Ramsgate Benedictines have moved into smaller and more manageable premises: and on doing so, they have put up many of their treasures for sale by auction. (For the Herald's news report, see here.)
"What has shocked many in the Catholic world," says Lord Deben, was "to put on the secular market the sacred vessels made for the abbey or bequeathed to it by generations of the faithful: chalices used by generations of abbots and inscribed by their donors":
I went to the viewing to find heartbreaking examples of impiety. Under a table was a cardboard box full of assorted "silver plates and dishes": the catalogue's misdescription of patens inscribed in memory of those who loved the abbey and the Faith it had nurtured in them… There were altar candlesticks with the Benedictine insignia, monstrances and reliquaries, incense boats and cruets, higgledy piggledy with games trophies, sports cups and school shields.
Yet most outrageous of all were the chalices and patens. A recusant cup… was pushed in on a shelf of holy vessels displayed as if they were of no more account than a range of golf club tankards. Yet once they had held the blood of the Lamb. Given by the faithful, taken by their shepherds, now left to be bought by whoever, for whatever.
"If the monks felt that they no longer needed what they had been given," Lord Deben concludes, "they should have given [it] where it could be used and valued". There is frankly not much more to be said; and many will share his anger and disgust.
How typical of today's religious is this, in my view, astonishing example of secularity? How is one to know? In the nature of things, lay Catholics know little of what goes on behind the closed doors of a religious community. And yet, there are visible signs that must mean something. In the same edition of the paper, we see (p11) a photograph of Archbishop Vincent Nichols with a group of Sisters representing female religious communities of the Diocese of Westminster. Of 14 sisters, only five (possibly six) are wearing habits: the rest just look like ordinary lay women with handbags (what could be more unambiguously secular than a handbag?) and one is actually wearing trousers and a polo neck sweater.
And yet successive popes have appealed to religious to wear their habits. Pope John Paul II, in his Post-Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (1996) says this about the religious habit of consecrated persons:
§25 … The Church must always seek to make her presence visible in everyday life, especially in contemporary culture, which is often very secularized and yet sensitive to the language of signs. In this regard the Church has a right to expect a significant contribution from consecrated persons, called as they are in every situation to bear clear witness that they belong to Christ.
Since the habit is a sign of consecration, poverty and membership in a particular Religious family, I join the Fathers of the Synod in strongly recommending to men and women religious that they wear their proper habit, suitably adapted to the conditions of time and place.
True, he also says that "Where valid reasons of their apostolate call for it, Religious, in conformity with the norms of their Institute, may also dress in a simple and modest manner, with an appropriate symbol, in such a way that their consecration is recognisable." But most of the Westminster ladies in the photograph, even if (which I very much doubt) there are "valid reasons of their apostolate" for them not to be wearing their habit, are wearing no such symbols, nor is their consecration in any way recognisable. The late Fr John Richard Neuhaus wrote that religious should wear their habits, not for tradition's sake or because the dress matters in itself: what matters "is that the world be confronted by their consecrated lives, by the contrast between their radical devotion and the ways of the world: not to condemn the world but to call 'the people of the world' to their own potential for devotion."
That is what generation after generation of Catholic religious have done: they have presented to the world a sign of contradiction, which lay clothes and handbags cannot do: and nor, in my view, can selling sacred vessels to the general public by the agency of secular auctioneers who describe them as "silver plates and cups".
In the words of John Paul II in Redemptionis Donum (1984), his apostolic exhortation to religious on their consecration: "The world needs the authentic 'contradiction' provided by religious consecration, as an unceasing stimulus of salvific renewal. 'Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect' (Rm 12:2)."
It is a question of the unambiguous witness which consecration to the religious life should present to the world. I ask simply, are we necessarily always getting that witness from our religious today? Perhaps there are occasions when they should ask that of themselves.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.


text:
Land of the brave!
That's the name of the National Anthem of one relatively young country located in Southern Africa called Namibia. It is also how Namibian people describe themselves. It is a land of many different ethnic groups living together nowadays in peace.
Going on exchange to Namibia was an easy decision after all. I didn't know a lot about the country before I came here, so the decision was spontaneous. I only knew its location, language and a little bit of its geography. Like the photo shows, the whole land is basically a desert. Very few people live there and big cities are not to be found. However, the few people here are very friendly and warm. I never felt as if I wasn't welcome.
Getting bored here is not an option. Even though it might sound like a place with not much to do, it is not the case. National parks with all the animals that you could wish to see, canyons, waterfalls, mountains and coast towns provide numbers of different kind of activities – just to mention a few. Local people love to take you to their homes and introduce you to their way of life, and it is always easy to get to know these laid back Africans.
The daily life is actually very similar to ours. People go to work, study and in the evening they do sports and maybe have some drinks at local bars. Or at least that's the case in big towns. In the countryside you can find what we Finns usually think of as Africa, small villages with many various tribes, people hunting, clay huts and camp fires. Notable is that there is a big number of bars in small towns, with a lovely atmosphere.
Studying in Africa isn't that different either. At least not at the universities. I got the opportunity to study at the Polytechnic of Namibia with approximately 12 000 other students. The classes resemble ours very closely. So called "African time" doesn't exist that strongly there, some of the lecturers are even very strict with the timetables. Topics and the learning plans are just like the Finnish ones, and the premises are also fine. Sometimes projects with local people are a bit challenging due to the laid back attitude of the locals.
(Source, http://intra-acp.polytechnic.edu.na/)
After all, I couldn't be happier with the choice of going on exchange to Africa. Awesome people, many other exchange students, a laid back atmosphere and the spectacular landscape of Africa have made my time here unique.


text:
Myanmar Coffee: from a Yangon supermarket
Posted by TheShot on 24 Apr 2016 | Tagged as: Beans, Consumer Trends, Foreign Brew, Roasting
Myanmar has been in the news a lot lately, and that includes news about its coffee. For example, earlier this month Myanmar coffee made its first-ever appearance at the annual SCAA Conference.
So why the sudden interest in coffee from Myanmar? While it is still more curiosity than serious demand, coffee from Myanmar is still something of an exotic export — despite Myanmar being overshadowed by its neighbors in China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.
The country formerly known as Burma is just now opening up to the world much like Cuba is currently opening up to the U.S. Once a prosperous nation, Myanmar succumbed to a coup d'état in 1962 and it had been under military rule until only recently. Borders were closed, the economy stagnated, civil guerilla wars proliferated among Myanmar's many tribal minorities, and multiple generations of Burmese citizens were lost to an oppressive regime stuck in the past.
That's all changing today — and ridiculously fast. Last month, and for the first time in 17 years, a co-worker of mine and all-around cool guy — Anjo — recently returned to his Burmese birthplace. He witnessed a vastly different place with paved roads, modern construction, saturated trucking routes to and from China, the proliferation of smartphones and $1.50 SIM chips, and local Burmese wearing more Western clothes. In the three weeks he was there, he witnessed Myanmar swearing in its first democratically elected president in 50 years and the opening of a new Myanmar stock exchange.
Anjo also brought me back some coffee.
At first Anjo hoped to pick up some coffee at origin near his original home in the Shan State, where much of Myanmar's coffee has been grown ever since it was first introduced by missionaries in 1885. Instead, he picked some up at a City Mart, a popular supermarket in the former capital of Yangon.
This was even more interesting to me, as it represented what is consumed in the domestic coffee market — not just what's shipped out for export. While the difference between domestic and export market coffee can be dramatic in many coffee-producing countries, Myanmar's history of closed borders likely means the locals have become used to drinking "the good stuff" as its only market.
Italian Coffee Myanmar
The first 200g bag of coffee I tried was simply labeled — in English — "Italian Coffee Myanmar" from Ananda Cocoa & Coffee Ltd. It was 100% organic, 100% Arabica coffee designed for "Italian espresso" shade grown in the Pyin Oo Lwin of the North Shan State at about 1200m. As for the coffee varietal, it claimed to be Kenyan — which coincides with the SL 6, SL 14, SL 28, and SL 34 cultivars introduced to Myanmar in 2004.
Purchased in mid-March 2016, I couldn't help but notice the expiration date stamp of 28-Jan-2017 on the bottom of the decorative bag. Taking a wild guess, that was probably an annual stamp and thus the roast date was probably about 6 weeks prior to purchase. It's also worth noting how much English labeling is on a package of coffee sold in a Yangon supermarket. (Thank you, British colonialism.)
Myanmar coffee is more typically Arabica (two-thirds of its production, the other third being robusta that was originally planted by tribesmen of the Karen minority) and tend to be higher elevation Catimor cultivars — known more for their body and earthiness. Which is why it was a little bit of a surprise — especially on a bag labelled "Italian espresso" — to find a more medium City/Full City roast that barely made the second crack. There was no visible signs of surface oils on the beans. Have Myanmar coffee roasters been following Third Wave hipster protocol all along?
Brewed as espresso, though not on my most meticulous espresso machine setup (a consumer-typical Saeco Syntia Focus), it produced a cup with a medium-to-blonde crema that was relatively slight (6+ weeks since roasting will do that to you). The body was pretty solid but not heavy. The flavor profile lacked sweetness but also that dense, roasted fullness — and thus centered more around the midrange of the palate. I suspect it wasn't quite a single origin, but it was a close approximation for some relatively similar green stocks.
Overall, an impressive coffee if you compare it with anything you could get in a supermarket bag labeled "Italian espresso" in Vietnam, Thailand, or China.
Shwe Yin Mar
The second 200g bag of Myanmar coffee I tried came from Shwe Yin Mar Coffee, a member organization of the Mandalay Coffee Group — and not to be confused its related auto parts, iron, and steel business.
The packaging appeared far more commercial and lacked any designation for coffee origin other than "Arabica from Shan State". While not labelled "100% organic", they claimed their beans were grown without chemical fertilizers. Plus an expiration date also showing January 2017 and what looks like an indicator that it was roasted January 2016.
As a bag labelled "Espresso – whole bean", the roast was more of what I expected for SE Asia supermarket coffee: a dark roast with a sheen of oils. As with the Italian Coffee Myanmar, the beans are a healthy, Arabica-friendly size which you might not normally associate with coffee in this part of Asia.
Brewed as espresso on the same machine as before, it produced a cup with a slightly more blonde crema of weak thickness. The body was decent, not great, and the flavor profile dipped into that burn-the-crap-out-of-my-identity territory: not quite a watery cup of ash, but definitely heavier on the smoke and tobacco with only some midrange and no real brightness to speak of. Which is a shame, because it was essentially roasted to taste like coffee from anywhere else.
In conclusion, I can't say I wasn't fully convinced of the exotic magic of Myanmar coffee. But there was clearly something going on here that I wasn't quite expecting — and that coffee from Myanmar clearly has the distinctive potential to be something that could stand on its own relative to other quality coffee producers around the world. So at a minimum, I've been put on notice for what's to come from this rapidly evolving country.
No Comments »


text:
Each agency as defined under the Archives Act 1983 needs to ensure the safety and proper preservation of the State records that it creates. If an agency decides to use the services of a commercial storage provider, ensure that minimum compliance requirements for the storage of records will be met.
To assist agencies in the understanding and implementation of this obligation, we have written Guideline 13 Certification for Secondary Storage Providers, which sets out minimum compliance requirements for the storage of state records.
Secondary Storage providers are inspected and certified as Approved Secondary Storage Providers (ASSP).
A list of Secondary Storage Providers that have been certified under State Records Guideline No 13 are available here.
If you are a provider of storage services and would like to discuss arranging an inspection as part of the certification process, please contact us.


text:
Are you serious about changing your money situation?
This is Part Three in a series of posts about managing your money better by creating a budget. If you have not read Part One and Part Two already, read them first, then come back.
So far, you decided to create a budget and researched your typical monthly expenses. Then you assigned each expense to a category and filed it under the type of expense it was; Fixed, Flexible or Irregular. Up next, you will learn to use envelopes and freedom accounts to help you decrease your spending and stress levels.
Setting up a budget takes time and effort upfront, but less to maintain once the initial work is complete. Choose a time when you can focus without too many distractions. Use pencil for everything because the numbers may change.
Here's a brief example of what you should have by now. I won't include everything. Yours will have different categories and amounts.
- Fixed Expenses
- Rent 700
- Electric 75
- Phone 70
- Netflix 18
- Car payment 300
- Flexible Expenses
- Groceries 300
- Household supplies 100
- Gasoline 200
- Entertainment 200
- Variable/Unpredictable Expenses
- Clothes 75
- Auto Maintenance 25
- Medical 25
You are now ready to start using the two things that are going to completely change how you handle your money.
Envelopes & Freedom Accounts
I take a two prong approach to managing my flexible and irregular expenses with envelopes and freedom accounts.
Envelope System
The envelope system may be the quickest way to break your overspending habits.
I've been using envelopes for my flexible expenses for over ten years. I got started after reading Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover, which I highly recommend. It changed my life. I wouldn't keep doing this if it didn't work.
Using cash in envelopes has kept my combined food and household budget to under $450 a month for myself and two teenagers. This includes their lunches during the school year as they both pack lunches every day as well as all other groceries, eating out and anything we buy at Walmart or other discount stores. That could mean anything from furnace filters and garden supplies to pet food, toiletries and groceries.
Studies have shown people spend more when they use plastic, 12-18% more.
That really adds up!
You think about cash differently than plastic. Once cash is gone, it's gone. If you go over budget when paying with a card, it seems like it doesn't matter, it just gets added to the debt and you still have your card to keep buying.
If you only have fifty dollars in your envelope you pay attention to what you put in your cart or risk being embarrassed at the check out counter and having to put something back.
To use the envelope system you simply put the cash amount you have budgeted for your flexible expenses into envelopes and only pay for those items from them. Label each envelope with the name of the category it is for.
No debit or credit cards. No debit cards either because they are plastic and therefore, you'll probably overspend, then at the end of the month come up short for some other bill. Use mailing envelopes or the envelopes the bank gives you cash in.
If carrying cash in envelopes sounds too difficult for you then maybe you're not ready to make a change. Just don't complain to me when you don't have any money.
Freedom Accounts
Freedom accounts are the second prong in my two prong approach. They are where you will budget for irregular expenses.
Freedom accounts decrease stress when unexpected expenses arise. Who wouldn't want that?
I first learned about freedom accounts about ten years ago when I read The Complete Cheapskate: How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out, and Break Free from Money Worries Forever by Mary Hunt. Freedom accounts are imaginary "accounts" on paper where you keep track of money set aside for irregular expenses. When an irregular expense comes up, you will have some, if not all the money needed available. You do not have actual separate bank accounts for each category of irregular expenses just a separate sheet of paper. All of the money (which is not imaginary) can be kept in a single account.
How you track your deposits and withdrawals will be up to you, but you need to do it somehow. It may be a spreadsheet, an online money program like Mint or with pencil and paper. I do mine the old fashioned way
in a notebook with pencil and paper. It's where I keep my entire written budget as well as freedom account records. I've tried to use Mint, but it won't sync with my accounts correctly. Online records can be out of sight, out of mind for me and I like tangible things like my notebook. I refer to it often.
It matters more that it is done, not what it looks like.
To set up a freedom account, at the top of the page write the category name, such as "Auto Repairs/Maintenance". Then make columns for the Date, Description, In, Out and Balance. In the corner I write how much money is budgeted to be deposited in the category each month. Each month, I add it to the balance.
When I need money from the account for an expense, I subtract it from the balance and take the amount of cash from the freedom account to pay for it. Hopefully, there is enough in the balance to pay for the expense. If there's not, then I either don't spend the money if that's possible or get creative with how to pay for the rest.
Add the amounts you are depositing in each separate freedom account and set this money aside in some fashion. This could be a separate bank account you have easy access to or if you can handle keeping cash around without spending it on other things, you can keep it in a safe place at home.
The main rule is that you do not take money from the freedom accounts to pay for things other than what they are specified. You don't dip into the freedom accounts for a night on the town, (unless you've set up a "night on the town" account).
The beauty of the freedom accounts is the feeling you will have when something unexpected comes up and you actually have money set aside for just such a purpose. It's wonderful and eliminates stress.
Here are the categories I use in my freedom accounts.
- Auto repairs/maintenance
- Car tags & taxes
- Clothing
- Trash bill (pay quarterly)
- Kids' school
- Home repairs/maintenance
- Gifts
- Pets (Veterinarian expenses, not pet food.)
- Vacations (I would not have this account if I still had debt.)
- Hair Cuts/Styling
- Charitable Donations
It took me a year before I had all my freedom accounts figured out. The first year as things would come up, I'd think, "Oh, I need a freedom account for that." and add one the next month. Then I'd see what money I could budget for it. I've had many more separate accounts for things needed at times, but these are the ones I currently use.
If you only have a few months until an annual payment is due, you would divide the total amount needed by the number of months left. Then after you've paid this year's, you can divide the amount by twelve and your payments to your freedom account will go down. The first year should be the only time this occurs unless you forget something.
Freedom accounts can change your life and eliminate stress.
If I want to go clothes shopping I take a look at my clothing account and see how much is in it, take the cash and go shopping. I don't have to worry about paying a bill later and I don't risk overspending. It eliminates guilt because that money has been set aside for clothes.
I have a vacation account in my freedom account because it's a priority for me. I budget for vacations and set aside money every month. This way, I can pay cash for them. If I had credit card or other debt, besides my house, I would not do that until those were paid off.
Ready to determine exactly what you can afford, start saving and reduce your stress?
Up next is the final step, How To Build a Zero Sum Budget pulling it all together and subtracting your expenses from your income to determine if it all works.
Will you have some leftover to save for that trip you want to take or need to make cuts?
You've worked hard to get this far, be proud of yourself.
The rewards will be great! 🙂
Have you ever used the envelope system?
Do you save for irregular expenses already and if so, how? Let me know in the comments!
Subscribe now if you haven't already so you don't miss out. It's free and just means you will get an occasional email from me letting you know a new post has been added.


text:
National Strategy on Human Rights Protection approved
Today, the Government approved the forth National Strategy on Human Rights Protection and the 2020-2022 Action Plan deriving from the Strategy developed by the Ministry of Justice. According to Deputy Minister of Justice Kristinne Grigoryan, the Strategy assesses the current state of human rights and the previous Action Plans and earmarks the main principles and priorities for the next three years.
The Action Plan targets important issues such as the following:
- issues of protection of the right to life of persons who are under state care and persons who have found themselves in life-threatening situations. Firstly, this concerns military servicemen, persons deprived of liberty, persons in closed or semi-closed institutions, as well as victims of domestic violence.
- Actions related to prohibition of torture are aimed at eliminating legislative gaps, strengthening the effective institutional mechanisms for prevention and investigation, ensuring the necessary logistics and building the capacities of those responsible in the sector.
- With regard to protection of the right to fair trial, taking into consideration the fact the Strategy for Judicial and Legal Reforms has already envisaged systemic steps, the actions envisaged by the Action Plan for Human Rights Protection are aimed at strengthening the legislative base for investigative and procedural actions directly related to human rights, improving the practice of collecting evidence, encouraging the adversarial principle in pre-trial proceedings and reinforcing the professional abilities of the key players of proceedings.
- With regard to freedom of assemblies, the main actions are of both legislative and capacity-building nature and are particularly aimed at excluding the use of disproportionate force by the police. Special attention has been paid to the issues of protection of the rights of participants of assemblies and representatives of mass media providing coverage.
- With regard to freedom of information, the Action Plans mainly include actions aimed at improving the legislation on freedom of information. Perhaps the most discussed and urgent actions are the following: it is envisaged to introduce mechanisms for revealing real owners of mass media outlets, which is aimed at ensuring competitiveness of the mass media and transparency of their activities.
- Another important issue is related to the measures to be implemented against hate speech, including study of the mechanisms for liability and the application of those mechanisms also on-line.
- Specific actions are envisaged for raising public awareness about services that are available for maintenance of the right to health, both for early prevention of diseases and improvement of opportunities for persons to protect their rights within the framework of medical aid and services.
- With regard to labour rights, the major actions are related to the issues of working conditions, maintenance of freedoms and rights of workers, as well as the creation of an extra-judicial body for protection of labour rights.
- With regard to the right to education, the integration of fundamental information on human rights in educational curricula, teacher training, access to pre-school educational institutions, as well as the issues related to protection of the rights of children left behind in education, academic integrity, including through improvement of the legislation, have been addressed.
- With regard to protection of the right of ownership, filling the legislative gaps related to the issues of fair compensation in the cases of alienations having taken place for the overriding public interest are targeted.
The Action Plan envisages actions that are also aimed at ensuring legal equality, prohibiting discrimination and protecting different vulnerable groups. Actions aimed at protecting women's rights, protecting children from violence and other actions are envisaged.


text:
The New York Yankees have a power problem. Yes, they lead the majors with 163 home runs this season. But two of their biggest bats landed on the disabled list this week. Right fielder Aaron Judge is out at least three weeks with a broken wrist. Catcher Gary Sanchez could be out until September with a groin strain.
General manager Brian Cashman has been busy before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, picking up reliever Zach Britton from the Baltimore Orioles and starter J.A. Happ from the Toronto Blue Jays.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is not resting on his laurels as the July 31st MLB non-waiver trade deadline approaches
Now, Cashman could be looking for a bat, per Fancred's Jon Heyman:
Yankees have considered Mike Moustakas. See the asking price as high for now.
CONTINUE READING, by Mike Rosenstein
The heavy shopping appeared done for the Yankees once they added J.A. Happ to Zach Britton.
But now that Aaron Judge is out at least three weeks with a chip fracture in his right wrist, Brian Cashman said the Yankees will at least go through the process of seeing what is available in the market.
He described where the Yanks are at in that process "as the premature state" Friday morning. He also made it sound like if the Yanks do anything, it will be on a level that when Judge returns, they have a bench piece – so think Jose Bautista level (if the Mets and Yanks could ever make a deal) more than Bryce Harper. CONTINUE READING, by Joel Sherman
On paper, the Yankees' package for J.A. Happ doesn't look too favorable on Brian Cashman's side of the ledger. Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney — a pair of major league-quality, controllable position players — for a two-month rental of Happ, a No. 3 1⁄2 starter who comes to the Bronx with a 7.41 ERA this month.
Seems like a lot, and it was.
If you're the 29 other teams. Just not for the Yankees.
No wonder Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins finally acquiesced to Cashman's last, best offer for Happ. And when Cashman spoke before Thursday's game, he gave the obligatory nod to how much talent the Yankees surrendered in the deal.
"It doesn't come without a cost," Cashman said. "Thankfully we're in a position to be in a buyer's position, and with that you have to push some chips in the middle of the table if you want to play the game."
That conjures up the image of the Yankees' GM sitting at a green felt table, with tall stacks of even more chips rising high above his head. And what he tossed at the Jays barely felt like a dent.
Cashman traded for Drury at the start of spring training as a hedge against the uncertain timetable of youngsters Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres. He was concerned about Andujar's glove at third base and figured Torres had to knock some rust off after time missed because of Tommy John surgery. CONTINUE READING, by David Lennon
Podcast: Play in new window | Download


text:
Your shopping cart is currently empty.
16,000 lbs. Tandem Electric Brake Axles with Air Ride Suspension
From racehorses to race cars, Ridewell's 8,000 lb. capacity Featheride Suspension will protect the value of your load as it softly cushions the trailer ride. Engineered with proven Ridewell design features, the Featheride Suspension is a lightweight, low maintenance unit that will satisfy you for many years with its ease of maintenance, streamlined design and superb ride quality.
Low Maintenance: Simple, Slotted Alignment, Huckbolt® at pivot eliminates retorquing, Self-contained shock absorbers, Contoured weld-on axle seat, and No u-bolts to maintain
Compact Design: Accommodates 31" axle spacing and 3 1/2" O.D. 4" drop axle for low ride height to fit standard fender dimensions.
Ease of Use: Set up for standard automatic load leveling valve, Optional dump valve exhausts air springs and lowers floor height for loading and unloading, and Utilizes standard air springs and shock absorbers This kit includes the following: 2 - Air Ride Suspensions, 1 - Air Compressor with height control valve & fittings, 2 - Dexter drop axles complete with electric brakes, hubs and drums, and 1 - Electric dump valve to exhaust air springs


text:
Russia is particularly assertive in this process. After the occupation of Georgia and the annexation of Crimea, Russian leaders claim that Europe has a different map now, with some new states and new borders. Russia no longer considers itself bound by any formal international agreements, allowing its military presence almost anywhere in the world. In addition, Russia is in blatant violation of both the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, which are fundamental and important for stability and security all across Europe.
In addition to direct military aggression, Russia ignited and fueled conflict in Eastern Ukraine using proxies, as it had done in Georgia and Moldova before. Russia also pushes countries into the Eurasian Economic Union, to keep them attached to its own inefficient and corrupt market system. It is increasing pressure on Belarus, which could lead to the elimination of Belarusian sovereignty. There is also constant pressure on Georgia. While moving artificially created borders and expanding occupied territories, the Russian military and its local proxies are escalating violations of basic human rights of ethnic Georgians inside the occupied territories, thus trying to humiliate the Georgian state and exacerbate existing divisions.
All of these facts and many other developments indicate that nations in the Russian neighborhood are under increased pressure on an almost daily basis. Most of them have had historical experiences with Russian military invasions, losing their sovereignty to imperial or Soviet Russia. Because of their fears of Russia, they are responding to the pressure. Meanwhile, messages from democracies in the West are baffling.
French President Emmanuel Macron says that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is brain dead. The United Kingdom is trying to leave the European Union, and prospects of the union are also in question. The United States is distracted with impeachment, and officials who need to be substantively thinking about the sovereignty of these countries are occupied with investigations. Internal political dynamics in the United States impact its credibility as a strategic ally, while leaving many of the small sovereign countries, which are loyal friends of the United States, vulnerable in times of such great need for American leadership. Russia is clearly a winner in this geopolitical struggle, at least for the time being.
For those who ask why the United States should be engaged, I would ask them to consider Ukraine. In 1994, Ukraine gave up its significant nuclear arsenal in exchange for guarantees of security and territorial principles, affirmed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Along with the strategic interests in supporting a country that can assist in balancing Russia, the United States has a moral obligation to support a responsible international actor that agreed to weaken its position against potential aggression to follow what appeared to be the international rule of law.
The notion that the United States should not spend its resources on the security of its allies is wrong for several reasons. Most importantly, the cost of supporting sovereign nations now will prevent higher American costs in the future. The costs of preventing major European wars and balancing an increasingly assertive Russia now will be lower than the costs of potential new military operations. There is no time to waste.
Russia is a powerful military state with large nuclear stockpiles. It is also an adversary which challenges American interests around the world. But low energy prices and Western sanctions made an impact on the Russian economy, and its economic output is smaller than the state of Texas. In this challenging environment, the Black Sea plays a critical role as an export gateway for Russian energy resources and other products. This opens the door for collaboration, but also for pushback and deterrence. What is required is American leadership, a clear strategy, and appropriate policies built on strong political will. In these times of turmoil, Congress can and must provide this international leadership before it is too late.
Mamuka Tsereteli is a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council.


text:
Cardplayer Cruises Isn't Just Cruising! Get On One!
Cardplayer Cruises is something you have likely heard about or seen during your time as a poker player. If you are lucky enough to have been on a Cardplayer Cruise than there is always the 2019 Cardplayer Cruise schedule for you to read so click below to go to theirRead More →


text:
A regular helping of curry could prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, a scientist has claimed.
Presenting his theory at the annual meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Professor Murali Doraiswamy, from Duke University in North Carolina, said that a curry ingredient called curcumin may help to prevent the spread of amyloid plaques.
These protein plaques are thought to contribute to the onset of dementia.
Professor Doraiswamy revealed: 'There is very solid evidence that curcumin binds to plaques, and basic research on animals engineered to produce human amyloid plaques has shown benefits.
'The next step is to test curcumin on human amyloid plaque formation using newer brain scans, and there are plans for that.'
Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer's Society, noted that Indian communities where large quantities of curcumin are eaten tend to have a 'surprisingly low' incidence of Alzheimer's disease.
She added: 'Alzheimer's Society is keen to explore the potential benefits of curcumin in protecting the brain and we are conducting our own research into this area.'


text:
There's a fierce battle between vendors to control the virtualisation market and (by extension) the future of how cloud systems are deployed. By Gartner's reckoning, that battle comes down to two key players: Microsoft and VMware.
Battle picture from Shutterstock
VMware remains the dominant provider, with an estimated 75 per cent of the general virtual machine space, compared to around 20 per cent for Microsoft. However, Microsoft has made major inroads with Hyper-V, Gartner analyst Thomas Bittman noted in a presentation today at the Gartner Infrastructure, Operations & Data Centre conference in Sydney. (I'm attending the conference as part of our ongoing World Of Servers series.)
Expanding purely by adding extra virtual machines won't be the main game. "The virtualisation market is about 61 per cent penetrated right now," Bittman said. "We've started to see a slowdown in the market and fewer opportunities. The workloads aren't as easy, time frames are longer and competition is forcing prices down. We think that between VMware and Microsoft, the competition is only going to increase over the next few years."
Both sides face challenges in expanding. For VMware, converting its existing virtualisation users to its higher-level tools is a necessity if it wants to maintain growth rates. "Virtualisation is doing very well but its not growing like it used to grow, so for VMware to continue to grow they'll have to do something else."
"Microsoft is going to leverage its installed base to expand. I don't think they're going to be as big as VMware but they are going to be big."
A challenge for both sides is that managing the apps running within a virtual machine is now more important than simply managing the VM deployments. "If you want to deliver on service levels, it's not good enough to have virtual machine management -- you need to manage what's going on inside." Given that the majority of virtualised workloads run on Windows, that gives Microsoft one potential advantage, but VMware retains an edge in terms of having larger workloads deployed, Bittman said.
"The average density of a VMware enviroment is 12 VMs per dual-cycle server. The average for Hyper-V is about six. It's not because it's less capable of density; it's more a statement of market maturity."
From a customer perspective, Bittman said, the battle will keep prices down from both vendors. "This is good. Choice is good. Pressure is good. Competition is good."
Lifehacker's World Of Servers sees me travelling to conferences around Australia and around the globe in search of fresh insights into how server and infrastructure deployment is changing in the cloud era. This week, I'm in Sydney for the Gartner Infrastructure, Operations & Data Center Summit, looking for practical guidance on developing and managing your IT infrastructure and using virtualisation effectively.


text:
Deliver Hope Will Use Grant to Support At-Risk Youth Program Hope House
CONWAY, Ark.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Deliver Hope today received a $16,000 Partnership Grant Program (PGP)
award from First Service Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
(FHLB Dallas). The funds will be used for operating expenses to support
one of its four initiatives, Hope House, which provides services to
youth between the ages of 18 and 21 who have aged out of foster care.
Established in 2013, Deliver Hope provides ministry and self-improvement
services to at-risk youth between the ages of 13 and 21 in Faulkner
County, Arkansas, through four programs: Juvenile Justice Ministry,
Mentoring, Her Hope, and Hope House.
Conway Mayor Tab Townsell applauded FHLB Dallas and First Service Bank
for facilitating access of self-improvement services to Faulkner
County-area at-risk youth. "The Partnership Grant Program is an
excellent vehicle through which great change can occur," said Mayor
PGP grants are offered annually through FHLB Dallas' member institutions
via a lottery system. Funds may be used for research, organizational
capacity-building, grant- and funding-application assistance, or
contractual services.
Deliver Hope Founder and Executive Director Daniel Tyler said the grant
will help his clients in more ways than one.
"The grant will help us strengthen our programs for at-risk youth,
specifically our Hope House program," Mr. Tyler said. "Thanks to this
financial investment, homeless youth will be afforded not only resources
to excel but also a safe place to call home."
Through the PGP, member institutions contribute $500 up to $4,000 to a
community-based organization (CBO). FHLB Dallas matches the
contributions at a 3:1 ratio, which provide up to $12,000 in grant money
to a CBO. In 2016, FHLB Dallas awarded $225,000 in PGP funds to assist
23 CBOs. Combined with the $96,200 from member institutions, a total of
$321,200 was awarded this year.
"First Service Bank is proud to support the work of Deliver Hope through
the PGP," said First Service Bank Conway Market President Lori Case
Melton. "We believe in the work Deliver Hope does to benefit the
under-served youth of Faulkner County."
FHLB Dallas Vice President and Affordable Housing Program Manager Bruce
Hatton said the PGP showcases the power of partnership between FHLB
Dallas and member institutions.
"We're proud to support First Service Bank and the work of Deliver Hope
through the PGP," Mr. Hatton said. "In partnering with FHLB Dallas,
First Service Bank is providing added value to their partnership with
Deliver Hope and in effect the greater community."
About First Service Bank
First Service Bank has locations in Greenbrier, Conway, Marshall,
Mountain View, Dermott, Shirley, Yellville, Flippin, Clinton, and Little
Rock with its headquarters in Faulkner County. A family owned and
operated bank for over 50 years, First Service employs 110 people at 10
locations around the state of Arkansas. For more information, visit 1stservicebank.com.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the
FHLBank system created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total
assets of $54.4 billion as of June 30, 2016, is a member-owned
cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing
competitively priced advances and other credit products to approximately
850 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas. Visit fhlb.com
for more information.
Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
Corporate Communications,


text:
Lewisville — Don't let the name fool you. LakeCities Ballet Theatre (LBT) is much more than a pre-professional ballet company, and they proved that Saturday night with Music In Motion at the MCL Grand Theater in Lewisville, ending their season on a high note. Known for their exuberant story ballets and exquisite technique, it may have surprised some to see the company attacking other dance styles such as modern, jazz and contemporary with the same boldness they do classical ballet.
The show opened with a flirty, baroque-fashioned pointe number choreographed by LBT staff member and Juilliard alum Deborah Weaver called Les Oiseaux de Ville. Weaver's trained ear picked up on all the instrumental nuances in Aram Khachaturian's composition which added new vigor to the art form's unchanging technique. For example, pique arabesques finished with flexed palms and bourrees executed with fluttering hands drew attention to the music's various instrumental phrases. The gold-laced, fingerless gloves which matched the 12 dancers' gold and white knee-length tutus boosted the visual appeal of these movements. Weaver's expanding and contracting formation changes and explosive cotangent sequences were also visually stunning.
Shannon Beacham's Urban Perfume was the biggest surprise of the evening. Set to music by Sven Helbig this contemporary jazz number, performed in soft shoe, featured daring leaps, aggressive runs and simultaneous head and body isolations. The piece started with the six dancers stepping into second position with a contracted torso and arms thrusting down and away from the body. The phrase was repeated as the dancers switch places. As the music built the running became more frantic till the dancers exploded into fouette arabesque leaps and head-whacking battements. Beacham's time with Texas Ballet Theater and the Bruce Wood Dance Company showed through his quirky, yet controlled body movements and the opposing tempos he assigned each dancer during certain sections. The dim lighting and shimmering biketards added to the suspense of the piece. Even through the ending was a little underwhelming with the dancers simply running off stage, the core material of the work was still edgy and inspiring.
Pulling double duty as choreographer and performer, Beacham and his wife Christa were phenomenal in their roles as Romeo and Juliet in the ballet's balcony Pas de Deux. Every caress and assisted lift exuded passion. The trust between the two was undeniable as Christa catapulted herself into Beacham's arms only to be pressed up into a standing position above his head. The traveling steps for the pair may have been simple but the assisted pirouette turns and alternating ponche arabesque holds were anything but. Sergei Prokofiev's heart-wrenching composition only enhanced the couple's star-crossed love for one another.
LBT 2 Director Shannon Tate's Where the Sun is Silent challenged the dancers with its modern verbiage and dramatic storyline. Dressed in black liturgical dresses the 10-member group started clumped together arching back and reaching in different directions. The movement encompassed various modern dance techniques, including Martha Graham's signature contractions and back hinges as well as Lester Horton's lateral T's and general ferocity.
The first act ended with LBT Assistant Director Nancy Loch's rock ballet Move It! which the company premiered in 1998. Dressed all in black with music by Church of Rhythm this funky pointe number transported the audience back to the 90s'. This 17-person ensemble moved with The Rockettes precision as they shifted into a straight line and moved clockwise around the stage on pointe. The walking which made up a majority of the piece was accompanied by hand gestures resembling Madonna's 1990 Vogue video.
In the second half LBT revealed what they do best in Joseph Mazilier and Marius Petipa's Paquita. Known as one of the most technically challenging 19th century ballets, Paquita demanded serious control, technical brilliance and unending endurance from the LBT dancers. The first thing audience members noticed was that in many sections the corps mirrored the movement of Principal Dancer Mackenna Pieper. While one or two arabesque holds where not quite aligned with the rest overall the corp gave a strong unified performance. Ali Honchell, Michelle Lawyer and Beacham excelled in the multi-tempoed Pas de Trois. The female's solos were filled with complex entrechats (a weaving jump from fifth) with multiple beats, double pique turns and grand jetes which they handled with poise. And Beacham seamlessly maneuvered both dancers through a series of composed arabesque and attitude holds.
Guest Artist Steven Loch was a powerful force in the pas de deux, but the shining star of the evening was Pieper as Paquita. Tall and leggy Pieper gave each slow developpe arabesque its due. Pieper also managed the quick pirouettes and cabriole soutenu sections with exemplary control and fiery spirit. Overall Paquita was a great match for LakeCities Ballet Theatre. The ballet's detailed classicism, specifically the proper epaulement (upper body positioning), is one of the many skills Artistic Director Kelly Lannin has drilled into her dancers' bodies with great results.
Katie Dravenstott is a freelance writer and dance instructor in Dallas. Visit her blog at www.kddance.wordpress.com


text:
Rambha's Prathi Kshanam release on April 27
Rambha is ready to thrill Telugu audience with her film Prathi Kshanam, where she plays the protagonist, which is being produced by Pallavi Srinivas under the banner of Parijay Creations and directed by Vyas.
Prakash Raj plays a very important role in this suspense thriller which has been shot extensively in Sri Lanka and in and around Hyderabad.
The shooting of the film is completed and the post-production work is in progress. The music for the film has been composed by Taj Noor.
The makers of the film plan to launch the audio next week and release the film on April 27.


text:
Tub Daze in Port Burwell
Friday, July 31, 2015 (All day) to Sunday, August 2, 2015 (All day)
Summer weekend family fun and tourist celebrations including beach volleyball, swimming, boating, fishing, great food and music. Fireworks on Sunday, August 2nd at dusk.
Visit the Marine Museum, Historic Lighthouse& HMCS Ojibwa submarine. Fireworks on Sunday August 3rd at dusk.
Friday - Evening
Saturday - All day
Sunday - Fireworks at dusk
Location: Port Burwell East Beach
Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com for details or visit www.bayham.on.ca
All Ages


text:
The Wellesley Teacher's Association
Who is in UNIT A and UNIT B?
Unit A consists of full-time teachers and regular part-time classroom teachers (except Department Heads), guidance counselors (except the Director of Guidance), librarians, curriculum resource teachers, physical education teachers, counselors and learning disabilities teachers, reading specialists, art teachers, performing arts teachers, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, instructional technology specialists, and certified athletic trainers.
Unit B includes all Assistant Principals, Directors, Coordinators, and Department Heads.


text:
Trichocereus pachanoi 'Matucana' (cactus)
Out of stock
Trichocereus pachanoi is a South American cactus species used traditionally for divining purposes. Named after Professor Aberlardo Pachano who travelled with Dr. Rose, the original western collector, in 1918 (Trout, 2005). An upright species to 6 metres tall. Also an excellent grafting stock. Seed collected from Matucana in central Peru. Cacti from this region have a long history of traditional use as healing sacraments.
Care and Cultivation of Trichocereus pachanoi 'Matucana'
Trichocereus cacti are native to regions of Ecuador, Peru and into Bolivia. Other species have a more southern distribution, several as far as Argentina. They dislike high humidity and tend to grow best in the more southern areas of Australia, the best specimens are in Victoria and South Australia. They also do very well in arid and subtropical situations. Use a soil mix like you would for a normal garden plant, ie. not cactus mix. We top dress with 5-7mm gravel. Regular applications of fertiliser and dolomite lime keep growth strong. Water when dry or more frequently, they are pretty adaptable! They can be planted into a well drained part of the garden in full to part sun.
1 cactus cutting (100mm length)
10 reviews for Trichocereus pachanoi 'Matucana' (cactus)
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.


text:
"I Knew I Had It In Me!"
Name: Jennifer Berg Age: 30 Height: 5'4" Weight before: 168 lb Weight now: 125 lb Location: Denver, CO Occupation: Real estate broker Favorite clean meal: Turkey burger and sweet potato chips Favorite move: Shoulder press Favorite calorie burner: Interval training
Jennifer Berg knows exactly how to keep her swimsuit from going up her rear - butt glue! "When you're in competition, you glue your bikini to your butt so you don't get a wedgie," laughs the 30-year-old real estate agent who lives with her husband, Michael, and daughter, Emmerson, in Denver, Colorado.
Two years ago, "butt glue" wasn't part of Jennifer's glossary. Her weight usually hovered around 150 pounds, but mindless eating paired with pregnancy and the sleepless nights that come with a newborn sent the scale soaring. "I just thought it was normal to be tired all the time and generally feel crummy," confesses Jennifer, whose weight peaked at 168 pounds. "It was time to start looking after me."
No More Skinny Fat
Jennifer shed the first 25 pounds the old fashioned way - she cut her calories and kept a food journal. "Portion control is key," she stresses. But it was her sister-in-law, Tiffany, who dropped 50 pounds and competed in a figure competition, who inspired Jennifer to take her eating and training to the next level. Wanting to look toned, not twiggy, she cleaned up her diet, cutting out processed foods and alcohol in favor of lean meats, whole grains, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables, and hired a personal trainer to whip her into shape for her first figure competition. "Knowing my ultimate goal was to wear that competition suit was a huge motivation!" she says.
Getting Fit with Weights
Jennifer's relationship with weights wasn't love at first sight. "I honestly didn't know if I was going to be able to stick with it," says Jennifer, who committed to personal training sessions three times a week combined with cardio five times a week. But then she began to see results - and not just on the scale. "I had muscles I'd never seen before and it was wonderful!" she says. Her trainer taught her new moves and helped push her through her last set, but Jennifer was her own biggest cheerleader. "I have programmed alerts on my iPhone, little sayings that keep me motivated," she adds.
The payoff? Four months in, Jennifer did her first pullup (she can now do three sets of 10!) and three months after that she bought her first pair of size-four pants. The ultimate reward, though, was when a 120-pound Jennifer stepped onto the stage in her first figure competition and took eighth place - butt glue and all!
Muscle Matters
Jennifer shaped up her body with strength training. Here are her best strategies for getting fit with weights:
- Use drop sets: Lift your max weight for 15 reps (or until fatigued), then reduce the poundage and reps for the last set.
- Perfect your posture: Pay attention to your form for better results.
- Mix it up: Try multiple exercises for the same body part to avoid plateaus.
Get Motivated!
Need some inspiration? Follow Jennifer's suggestions:
- Hire a trainer: "I like to be accountable to someone and I knew working out with a trainer would help push and motivate me."
- Spread the news: "I told everyone I knew my fat-loss goal and figure-competition goal so I couldn't give up and I'd have a support system to cheer me on."
- Shop til you drop: "I just love to shop so being able to fit into all the stuff I could never wear is a big motivation."


text:
The announcement that Himouto! Umaru–chan R would be streaming exclusively on Amazon's Anime Strike this season has not sat well with anime fans. While Anime Strike's fifteen subscribers were overjoyed, fans hoping to enjoy the show without going through the two subscriptions the service requires expressed their frustration; many fans claimed they will simply go without watching the show at all.
However, other critics praised the move calling it "the best thing that could have happened aside from Himouto! Umaru–chan R not being released at all".
"I was really looking forward to when I was going to be able to see more Umaru-chan," long time Umaru fan Natalie Hoffman stated. "But I really don't want to pay Amazon twice in order to see it. When I think about what Umaru would do, I think she would be too lazy to manage two subscriptions as well."
Sentai Filmworks defended their decision to keep Himouto! Umaru-chan R on Anime Strike. "When determining which platforms to release our shows on, we strive to match each series with the most appropriate service," a Sentai Filmworks official stated in a press release.
"In this case we felt that garbage such as Himouto! Umaru-chan R was most appropriate on a garbage streaming service such as Anime Strike."
Other anime fans are reportedly planning to watch something else entirely or do something more constructive with their time.
"Maybe I'll just watch good anime like Food Wars instead," said Himouto! Umaru-chan season one fan Blake Gaunchell. "Or maybe see what all the hype is over this Love Live Sunshine I keep hearing about."
"Getting into that should be cheaper than two Amazon subscriptions."
For fans still holding out for an official release in other outlets, Sentai Filmsworks announced plans to unnecessarily dub the second season of Umaru-chan and release the Blu-ray sometime in 2019, hoping most anime fans will have long forgotten about the series by then.


text:
|McDonald's Japan Daigaku Imo Fries (大学いもの味) - Okinawa, Japan - February 2017
|Daigaku Imo Box (大学いもの味)
Consumed on 20 February 2017
Location - McDonald's Kokusai Dori, Naha, Okinawa, Japan
Combo Price - 330JPY - $2.87USD ala carte. 60JPY - $0.52USD with a meal.
Calories - 503kcal
|McDonald's Japan Receipt February 2017
A couple weeks ago when I was able to review the Chicken Taruta (チキンタルタ) I paid the 60JPY add-on to get myself an order of the Daigaku Imo Fries alongside my burger. Daigaku Imo roughly translates to "College Potato" and it's traditionally a candied sweet potato snack which is supposed to be a cheap, calorie-dense meal for students on a budget. Unlike McDonald's Australia and Singapore, McDonald's Japan didn't want to give proper sweet potato a try, so they topped their standard fries with the Honey-Sesame sauce that usually glazes the original...but at least they didn't try to make it into a pie!
Like the rest of their previous "squeeze fries" items, the fries are served in a small low lipped box, completely unseasoned, to which you need to break the seal on the sauce packet (by folding it backward and squeezing) and spread it all around. These unique packages were released a couple years ago with the American Vintage Cheese & Bacon, and I've had them a couple other times over the years, but most recently in with the McChocolate Potato (マックチョコポテト) when it was McDonald's Japan first attempt with a sweet sauce flavour. Last year around Halloween they had a Pumpkin and a Chocolate Pumpkin flavour, but apparently sweet, but I wasn't lucky enough to try (or get someone to send me) either flavour.
As expected, the fries are just standard McDonald's fries, so really the only thing I can speak about is the sauce. The sauce was mostly honey, but clearly not 100% honey as it was less thick, and noticeably less sweet than just honey would have been. I couldn't find a full ingredient list anywhere online, but it didn't seem like it was cut with any additional sugar or fructose as it wasn't sickeningly sweet, so it was likely the sesame paste included gave it that consistency and subtleness. The problem was that the honey hid pretty much any other flavour in the sauce. I tasted absolutely no sesame flavour even when I tried to pick out some of the whole black sesame seeds to eat them individually. I suspect the strong honey flavour was because they used low quality honey, and when I looked it up online I found that it was actually from China, which explains that, but interestingly enough the black sesame seeds come from Myanmar, and the sesame paste comes from Paraguay of all places. The honey didn't even wash out just the sesame, but also the fries in general. Every bite tasted only like the sauce, whether or not you had a small drop worth, or your fry were covered in it. I wonder if the sauce for College Potato that you'd eat outside of McDonald's used slightly higher quality ingredients than this, as I was pretty disappointed, especially for Japan.
This is definitely one of those items that sounds interesting on paper and probably only to get people to pay the 60 Yen to give it a try once, but I couldn't find any redeeming quality from it. Maybe there's something nostalgic about it that only Japanese that grew up eating the real College Potato could understand, but three of us tried it that afternoon, and not a single one of us wanted to eat more than a handful of fries...so we threw out more than 1/2 the portion.
Rating - 1.5/5
McDonald's Japan even has 6 different box designs for this fry. I don't think previous editions went anywhere near this far, so I'm not sure what prompted this. With the stickiness of that sauce, it's not like you could collect them. Speaking of which - one big change from previous fries was that the plastic fork they provide was 100% necessary for this version as that sauce was sticky, and you didn't want it anywhere near your hands.


text:
Christys' Taller Hat Box
No Christys' headwear purchase is complete unless you have our signature Red Hat Box to store your hat.
This is our Taller size hat box – for one hat only. Suitable for Dressage, Top Hat, Bowler, and most styles with a narrow brim and average crown height of 16cm
IMPORTANT: Please read carefully the description of your hat to check the brim width will fit in our standard hat box.


text:
She kind of doesn't
want him to want her
in this skirt
she has carefully selected
because it hugs
her ass
She kind of hopes
that he can resist
letting his eyes linger
for too long
on her breasts
in this shirt
that JCrew must have created
just to frame their
She refuses
to overly fuss
with her hair
Hair she may have once or twice imagined him brushing aside so that he could… gently… plant a kiss on the back of her neck. The thought
of which may or may not have made her feel like Audrey Hepburn for
reasons that both escaped and enthralled her. She might have,
possibly, noticed a slight "Mmmmmm" sneak past her lips at the mere
idea of it.
She won't make those lips
just so
that they will be
She doesn't want him
to want her
you know
She just
wants him
to get there


text:
By Spike Eskin
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Khalif Wyatt thinks Lebron James is the best basketball player of all time, and he doesn't care what you have to say about it.
The Temple star, and Atlantic 10 Player Of The Year was obviously watching Wednesday night's Heat vs. Bulls game when he tweeted the following:
@KhalifW05: Bron best ever.. please don't come in my mentions with your opinions.. Thanks lol
He was then questioned, with an obvious reference to Michael Jordan, and Wyatt suggested if championships are the measure of greatness, then the greatest isn't Jordan:
@KhalifW05: Bill Russell the GOAT then.. RT @Hunitproof: He need six more rings to be the greatest
Truth be told, I'm mostly writing this because I'm a fan of Lebrons and I'm glad Wyatt is taking a stance.
James won his fourth MVP award in five years this season, joining Jordan, Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to win four MVPs.


text:
This year has not been good at all for anyone planning a trip to either Ladakh or Spiti via Manali. First the opening of the roads was delayed and then there was unrest in Srinagar. ILP was reintroduced in Ladakh with revised charges in May; then there was a dispute between Len and Manali rental unions; and if that wasn't enough, a new restriction has now been implemented for permits to cross Rohtang Pass; limiting the number to only 800 per day.
Why this was done? Well the reason is to stop people from misusing the Rohtang Tourist permits. To give a brief background, two kind of permits are issued for Rohtang Pass. One is the tourist permit which is applicable for anyone wanting to visit Rohtang from Manali and return the same day. There was a daily limit for this kind of permit; limiting the number of daily vehicles to 1200 per day; broken down in to 800 petrol vehicles and 400 Diesel run engines.
The second one is called Travel Permit. This one applied to anyone wanting to cross over Rohtang towards Lahaul & Spiti valley or heading towards Ladakh. There was no daily limit for this kind of permit and these were issued on daily basis, as many as required. This decision was taken by NGT a few years ago in order to control the number of vehicles traveling the Rohtang La and to keep pollution level in check.
Now the number of vehicles traveling to Rohtang for tourism purpose was way higher than the number of vehicles crossing over. Last year, on a daily basis about 600-700 vehicles crossed Rohtang towards Lahaul or Spiti valley. The number of vehicles visiting Rohtang Pass however was well over 1200 per day.
This resulted in a complete chaos and proved to be a hard blow for local taxis operators. Tourist permits were issued on first come first served basis and a lot of people had to wait sometimes more than a day in order to get a permit. What this eventually led to was misuse of Travel permits. Anyone was not able to get a tourist permit will just get a travel permit; posing as wanting to cross Rohtang. After getting the permit, they will just travel to Rohtang Pass and return back to Manali. Number of vehicles traveling towards the pass thus remained the same as before and they very purpose of the permit was defeated.
So to avoid this misuse, this year onward, the number of travel of permits too will be limited. Now on a daily basis, 1200 tourist permits and 800 travel permits will be issued. Both will be on first come first served basis and if you missed your chance; you will have to wait in Manali an entire day or maybe two before you could get a permit. A friend of mine was in Manali this Monday and had to wait two days. He finally managed to get a permit on Tuesday afternoon and crossed Rohtang over on Wednesday. He was on a motorcycle so this 800 number includes both cars and motorcycles as well as private and commercial vehicles as well.
The complete chaos in Manali post which Section 144 was implemented was due to this only. Several of the local taxi operators were found misusing the travel permits post which their vehicles were barred from traveling towards Rohtang altogether. This is what the taxi union was on a strike against.
For other details on the permits, read Rohtang Pass Permit Status 2017
I am not sure who does this impact more, the local tourism industry or travelers like you and I. For now. if you are planning a trip to either Ladakh or Spiti in near future; my honest advice would be to avoid traveling via Manali. Take the Srinagar route to reach Leh; Shimla route to reach Spiti and return via Manali. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section below or at our Community Forum and I will be glad to answer.


text:
Shek O Beach turned on a great morning for the Dragon's Summer Series training race and all participants had a great morning once again.
Simon Porter's injured foot, the Matabungkay Bike Race and the absence of Jarek meant that the race was wide open. The swim was lumpy but clear meaning that there was a great challenge going on during all stages. The cookie monster proved way to strong for a very keen Hendrik Pedersen in the first two events and, due to an early departure, Chris Cook had the final race sewn up from the bike leg.
Full results below.
Results >


text:
Shoppers at the Potomac Village shopping center may have noticed some moving trucks on April 30. The GAP store there ceased operations.
"They just decided they didn't want to renew their lease," said Elie Pisarra-Cain, Potomac resident and a partial owner of the property.
The center's management company, Randall Hagner, Ltd., is currently seeking a new tenant. "We've had a few prospects that have come close," said George Voris, senior vice-president for Randall Hagner.
Although a nearby property which now houses the Imaginarium sat empty for approximately one year, Voris is optimistic. "We have a feeling that it's going to go soon," he said. "We have no other vacancies."
The space is 3,840 square feet, and while the rent is negotiable, Voris says it is in the range of $60 per foot or $230,000 per year. "Even though the economy in general has been rather rough, the retail market has remained strong, particularly in Potomac," Voris said.
Like much of Potomac, space costs more than in other parts of the region. David Cravedi of the Ezra Company commercial realty says he looked at properties in Washington's affluent Cleveland Park neighborhood that lease for $50. "That was on Connecticut Avenue," Cravedi said.
Space in Bethesda would also lease for about $40-50 according to Susan Arrowsmith, a principal at Asset Strategies commercial real estate. Arrowsmith estimates that other parts of the county such as Silver Spring might lease for as little $20.
"Potomac has such a finite amount of space, $60 sounds about right to me," she said.
Although the management company is not in active negotiations with a prospective tenant, some hope that the store goes to a smaller operation.
"I would much rather have mom and pop stores," said Adam Greenberg, a member of the board of the Potomac Chamber of Commerce.
Smaller, locally owned businesses are more in keeping with the character of the town, Greenberg said. "Hopefully, they'll be able to find a local person to open something there."


text: The Birth to Kindergarten program will hold a one day conference on Exploring Science with Young Children on Friday, March 11, from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm at the WCU University Center. Registration is $35 for WCU students, $45 for all others. Visit the conference website for registration information: http://goo.gl/gL9jhN


text:
Sunstar Floss also known as GUM ButlerWeave is a uniquely woven dental floss designed to remove dental plaque from areas between the teeth most commonly missed by tooth brushing alone.
If dental plaque is not removed frequently it can cause inflammation of the gums and lead to gum disease. GUM ButlerWeave is a strong, smooth, shred-resistant dental floss that reaches between the teeth and under the gumline.
Between-teeth cleaning is recommended by dentists and dental hygienists to remove the dental plaque that toothbrushes alone cannot reach--between the teeth.
Instructions: Step 1:
Take about 18 inches (50cm) of floss and loosely wrap most of it around each middle finger (wrapping more around one finger than the other) leaving 2 inches (5cm) of floss in between.
Step 2:
With your thumbs and index fingers holding the floss taut, gently slide it down between your teeth, while being careful not to snap it down on your gums.
Step 3:
Curve the floss around each tooth in a "C" shape and gently move it up and down the sides of each tooth, including under the gumline. Unroll a new section of floss as you move from tooth to tooth.
At first, flossing might feel awkward. But stick with it! With just a little patience and practice, it will begin to feel as natural as brushing your teeth.


text:
Ku Hye Sun Plastic Surgery Before and After
Ku Hye Sun is a popular Korean actress. You must already know Boys Over Flowers. In this Korean Drama, she played alongside Lee Min Ho and Kim Hyun Joong. Talking about Ku Hye Sun's appearance, many people love her so much. She got a cute baby-face.
You will never feel bored to see her, especially when she is smiling. You might wonder how she kept her beauty pretty well. She looks like 20 years old girl, even though her age is actually 30 now.
There's a big possibility that she went under some plastic surgery procedures. The surgeries included nose job and jaw surgery. Besides, she might do something to refresh her eyes as well.
Nose Job
The sign of the nose job can be seen clearly on the before and after picture. Hye Sun used to have pig-nose shape. After the nose job (rhinoplasty), now she got a more pointed one. The change is quite significant. Of course it change her face a bit as well. She looked more attractive with her new nose.
Jaw Surgery
Beside the nose job, the change on her jaw line should be seen. Compare to the previous look, her current facial shape looked more oval. it should be the jaw surgery. It reminded us to Park Min Young (city hunter). The jaw surgery had refined her face nicely.
How's her eyes? It's actually just a speculation. we noticed that her eyes looked having surgery. It might be double eyelid. Her eyes looked a bit wider and sweet. But it might also be caused by the effect of make up.


text:
The United Nations will never recognise a Palestinian state, primarily because
If you can't beat them…try going it alone.
That seems to be the new motto in the Palestinian camp. The idea is to get the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders. Intense diplomacy is underway to get member states to onboard with the idea – so far a handful of Latin American countries (known to be sympathetic to the Palestinian cause) have lent their support.
The Europeans, quelle surprise, are wavering. They've gone for the less controversial option of upgrading the Palestinian Authority diplomatic status.
What does that mean?
It doesn't really matter. This whole exercise is the epitome of futility.
As the diplomats lobby for recognition, Salam Fayyad, Palestinian prime minister, tries to build the institutions of this upcoming state. Not to rain on the Fayyad parade (I was a fan of 'Fayyadism' too back in the day) but the PM is managing the occupation not ending it. The institutions he is trying to fix are considered illegitimate and there is little he can do without knowing the fate of Palestine and its borders – it's like trying to furnish a house before you build it.
Happy New Year Palestine
Now for some Christmas cheer. The Israelis have been franticly sending diplomatic cables (have they learnt nothing from WikiLeaks?) to countries abroad in an effort to get them to thwart the Palestinian plan.
But the Israelis know full well the US will veto any such attempt (they've said so publicly and privately), so what is Israel so worried about?
Last week, a Palestinian lawmaker hinted the Palestinians are also going to try and bring the issue of settlement-building to the UN Security Council.
This has the potential of once again embarrassing Israel, pitting it against its BFF, the US. The one thing the two allies get fiery about is the legality of building Jewish homes in the West Bank, including (and most importantly) in East Jerusalem. America can scuttle its way out of recognition of a Palestinian state on the basis that it "is not conducive to peace" but will it veto a resolution on settlements it has said are illegal and a huge obstacle to peace?
Either way this will not lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, at least not in 2011, because Palestinian independence means an end to Israel's occupation.
As my friend and colleague Karim Lebhour puts it, Israel is married to the occupation. It may flirt with other ideas, it may even cheat on it if the opportunity presents itself. But it will never leave it because it's invested too much in making it work.


text:
With the April 2 shooting at Ft. Hood–the second such shooting at that base in five years–it is important to remember that military gun-free zones were implemented under President Bill Clinton.
As Breitbart News reported on September 17–the day after Aaron Alexis opened fire on unarmed personnel in the gun-free DC Navy Yard–military bases became gun free zones just months into Clinton's presidency.
To be fair, the original directive (5210.56) relating to military gun-free zones was issued during the last months of President George H.W. Bush's presidency. Then, a regulation (AR 190-14)–which revised and implemented 5210.56–was issued just months into the Clinton presidency.
Because of this, The Washington Times reported that "one of President Clinton's first acts upon taking office in 1993 was to disarm U.S. soldiers on military bases." They reported this on November 11, 2009–six days after Nidal Hasan pulled a gun in the military gun-free zone at Ft. Hood, killing 13 and wounding 31.
On April 2, 2014, Army Spc. Ivan Lopez brought a gun into the military gun-free zone at Ft. Hood, killed three soldiers, and injured 16 others before killing himself.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins Reach him directly at firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Zach Kouwe fired again
In February, a NYT blogger, Zachery Kouwe, was fired for plagiarism. The proximate cause of the firing was a complaint from the WSJ, but he'd had run-ins with other publications in the past, including nicking a memo from Dealbreaker without attribution. That didn't stop Dealbreaker hiring Kouwe in April. Which seemed a bit odd at the time, and which in hindsight was certainly a mistake, since now they've gone and fired him. But it wasn't for plagiarism, this time.
I spoke to Matt Creamer, the executive editor of Breaking Media, Dealbreaker's parent. He sent me this statement:
Zachery Kouwe was a freelance contributor on Dealbreaker for just over two months. We ended the relationship on Thursday after it came to our attention that he wrote emails to Dealbreaker commenters referencing their workplaces. Our readers and commenters trust us with personal information and we take that responsibility very seriously. Anyone who registers on our sites should feel confident their information is secure.
For the backstory, read the comments to this blog entry — the last one that Kouwe posted on the site. One anonymous commenter — and Dealbreaker prizes its commenters' anonymity greatly — wrote that "Kouwe e-mailed me the other day to tell me he 'knew' where I worked", and later posted a screenshot of the emails in question. It seems that Kouwe obtained the commenter's email address — presumably through his privileged access to the commenter login system — and then emailed the commenter to tell him exactly where he worked. And this didn't only happen once, as a different commenter explained:
It crosses a line when Zach sends unsolicited emails to posters (which I can bear witness too although in my instance it was entirely harmless). Many of us work at shops where unapproved communication with media outlets quickly leads to termination.
Dealbreaker's editor, Bess Levin, replied:
What happened is NOT condoned by Dealbreaker and you can rest assured we've taken the necessary steps to ensure it will not be happening again.
The necessary step in question was, clearly, firing Kouwe. (Officially, Kouwe resigned from the NYT, and he was only ever a freelancer at Dealbreaker, so if you're splitting hairs you can make the case that he wasn't technically fired either time. But he was fired both times.)
Kouwe declined to comment on the situation, but it seems that two months of aggressive needling from Dealbreaker's commenters finally got to him. There's no doubt that the commenters on the site — who are not representative of its readers, and who can be extremely mean — applied a lot of negative pressure on Kouwe from day one.
But at a site like Dealbreaker, commenter anonymity has to be non-negotiable. The problem is that complete anonymity can result in incoherent chaos, and as a result the editors encourage a move to pseudonymity instead:
A great many of our commenters have a quite reasonable fear of publicly writing on the site. Wall Street is notoriously ill-humored about unauthorized comments. This is one reason we make such a big deal of promising to keep comments and tips anonymous for those who don't want to read their names among the pixels of DealBreaker. But it sometimes becomes confusing with so many people writing under the same name—Anonymous. We'd like to gently suggest that each of you chose a pseudonym and try to stick with it. It's a small step but one that we think will greatly improve the comments section.
The danger with this system is that if you sign up for a pseudonym using your personal email address, and then post a comment from your work IP address, Dealbreaker's editors, if they're feeling aggressive, can use that information to find out where you work. As a result, it's imperative that Dealbreaker's commenters trust its editors not to do that kind of thing. Clearly, in Kouwe's case, they couldn't.
Kouwe himself, interestingly, never left a comment on the site. I said after he was fired from the NYT that he simply didn't understand what blogs were all about, and this episode only reinforces that judgment. One of the biggest differences between journalists and bloggers is that journalists often have a bizarre phobia of making an appearance in their own comments sections, while bloggers feel that's an important part of what they do daily. But if you're a journalist who feels constrained from engaging with commenters directly, then maybe that helps push you towards less kosher means of engagement.
Kouwe isn't evil, but he clearly isn't cut out to be a blogger, either. There can be a lot of pressures in the world of professional blogging — pressures to come up with stories, pressures from commenters — and when faced with those pressures, Kouwe seems to have a habit of buckling and doing something unethical. It's a personal weakness, and it's sad, because Kouwe is a genuinely well-liked guy. I wish him all the best, in some area outside blogging.


text:
Cosmetic surgery clinic, a ten bedded unit to start with in 1984 has grown to thirty beds with two well equipped modern operating rooms. This hospital in Vijayawada handles all types of Plastic & Cosmetic surgical procedures headed by Dr.Lakshmi Saleem, M.S., M.Ch. (Plastic) who acquired her qualifications and skills from Chandigarh, U.K. and U.S.A. She is ably assisted by Dr.M.A.Saleem, M.S., FICS., who has similar surgical experience along with a team of dedicated staff.
Cosmetic surgery caters not only the city of Vijayawada, with a population of about 1,000,000, but attracts patients far and wide from the rest of the province of Andhra Pradesh and from some neighbouring states too. Incidentally, this is the only unit of its kind in the province.
Salaja Cosmetic Day Care Centre is unique Surgical facility where surgery is done for a normal healthy individual who can be sent home on the same day with appropriate medication for the post-operative care.
Already, VASER Lipo has been the choice for thousands of men and women. It's an ultrasound liposuction procedure that offers a highly successful way to remove unwanted fat on just about any part of your body, including.
You can read about the benefits of VASER® Lipo that thousands of men and women have experienced - such as smooth results, precise contouring, minimal pain and fast recovery time.
Ultrasonic energy has been used for years in a wide array of medical applications – from catching that first glimpse of a baby to cleaning your teeth. Now the gentle power of ultrasound has evolved to fat removal.