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Nations in Transit
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2012 Scores
Democracy Score(1 = best, 7 = worst)
Regime Classification
National Democratic Governance(1 = best, 7 = worst)
Electoral Process(1 = best, 7 = worst)
Civil Society(1 = best, 7 = worst)
Independent Media(1 = best, 7 = worst)
Local Democratic Governance(1 = best, 7 = worst)
Judicial Framework and Independence(1 = best, 7 = worst)
Corruption(1 = best, 7 = worst)
Capital: Bucharest
Population: 21.4 million
GNI/capita, PPP: US$14,290
Source: The data above were provided by The World Bank, World Development Indicators 2012.
*Starting with the 2005 edition, Freedom House introduced separate analysis and ratings for national democratic governance and local democratic governance, to provide readers with more detailed and nuanced analysis of these two important subjects.
NOTE: The ratings reflect the consensus of Freedom House, its academic advisers, and the author(s) of this report. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author(s). The ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 representing the highest level of democratic progress and 7 the lowest. The Democracy Score is an average of ratings for the categories tracked in a given year.
The year 2011 was marked by the fading hope that the global economic crisis would draw to a close and the march toward prosperity would resume. The center-right ruling coalition, which paid a heavy cost in terms of popularity for its implementation of a severe fiscal austerity package in 2010 and 2011, was unable to restore salaries and pensions to precrisis levels despite the approach of the 2012 parliamentary elections. This strained relations between the president and prime minister on the one hand, who advocated "doing the right thing" economically and bearing the political consequences, and their coalition partners on the other, including powerful members of the ruling Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) who would have liked to relax the austerity policies before elections. The opposition seized the opportunity presented by the unpopular fiscal restraints and demanded the resignation of the government and the president.
While the government succeeded in restoring Romania's macroeconomic balance, regaining financial markets' confidence, and implementing important reforms (on labor, education, social assistance, and the judiciary), critics said it acted without sufficient public consultation. Moreover, by the end of the year the government was exploring unorthodox means to reduce its expected electoral losses in 2012, including postponing local elections until late in 2012 and redrawing electoral districts. By-elections held in 2011 for a few vacant seats in parliament appeared to confirm the role of local officials as electoral agents for their respective national parties, with mayors and county councils growing increasingly dependent on financial transfers from the central government due to the squeeze in public budgets.
Civil society and the media were also confronted with economic difficulties, as the traditional international donors have reduced their support and sources of media revenue have dwindled. While freedom of expression did not face major threats as such, the economic crisis left some media outlets more vulnerable to improper influences. Finally, the fight against corruption was stepped up in 2011, with new investigations launched against high-profile figures in the ruling party, the opposition, and the upper levels of the judiciary.
National Democratic Governance. Due to pressure from its international partners to contain the effects of the economic crisis, the main priorities for the Romanian government in 2011, as in the previous year, were debt reduction and budget discipline. Policy targets were mostly achieved, and the government received praise for its economic management, even though its decision making often excluded input from civil society groups and the opposition. A new International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement forced some governance improvements in critical areas, such as the management of state-owned companies and the elimination of a system of discretionary incentives for staff working in public institutions. However, these changes were met with strong opposition, both within the government and in parliament, casting doubt on the legitimacy and sustainability of reforms. The national democratic governance rating remains unchanged at 3.75.
Electoral process. Political parties spent most of the year engaging in preparations and tactical maneuvering related to the 2012 local and parliamentary elections. Various proposals to alter the voting system and the size of parliament were debated, but no substantial changes to electoral laws had been enacted by year's end. In December, the ruling coalition advanced plans, without public consultation, to postpone the June 2012 local elections so that they would be held concurrently with the November parliamentary vote. The move drew objections from civil society as well as the political opposition, which appealed to the Constitutional Court and even threatened to withdraw from parliament over the issue. Due to the government's attempts to alter electoral rules to achieve a political advantage, Romania's electoral process rating worsens from 2.75 to 3.00.
Civil Society. Civil society enjoyed a considerable degree of public trust in 2011, despite adverse economic circumstances, but continued to face difficulties in mobilizing civic participation and local resources. Changes in the legal framework on labor relations negatively affected trade unions, which were also confronted by corruption and integrity questions involving some of the movement's leaders. Other legislative changes that were enacted or under discussion during the year appeared likely to open new opportunities for organizations working in education and social services. The civil society rating remains unchanged at 2.50.
Independent Media. The continued erosion of the economic base of Romanian mass media in 2011, due to the direct and indirect effects of the global crisis, left newsrooms and journalists increasingly exposed to political and economic influences. As specialized investors left the market and the number of jobs in the sector declined, there were serious concerns regarding the ability of the media to ensure fair coverage of the 2012 elections. Some outlets that would otherwise go bankrupt were being temporarily sustained by their owners for the sole purpose of affecting the election campaign. Nevertheless, no direct political pressure or censorship by the legislative and executive branches materialized in 2011. The independent media rating remains unchanged at 4.00.
Local Democratic Governance. The global crisis and its more recent effects on the European region weakened the economic foundations of local governments in Romania. Combined with a traditionally clientelistic political culture and fragile institutions, this increased the risk that partisan forces at the national level could use local governments as political instruments in connection with the 2012 balloting. Bold plans to change the structure of local administrative units were circulated during 2011, but they did not appear likely to be implemented before the next round of elections. Romania's local democratic governance rating remains unchanged at 2.75.
Judicial Framework and Independence. The main issues on the judicial reform agenda in 2011 were the enforcement of a new civil code, the inauguration of newly appointed members of the Superior Council of Magistrates, and disputes over a new system of promoting judges to the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The quality of the rule of law remains flawed in Romania, but due to the progress achieved during the year, the judicial framework and independence rating improves from 4.00 to 3.75.
Corruption. The first months of the year featured a series of high-profile investigations into corruption among border police and customs officials as the Romanian government attempted to win entry to the European Union's passport-free travel zone. Two final convictions on corruption charges were issued against members of parliament in 2011, and two similar convictions were awaiting appeal. Investigations into trafficking in influence were launched in the spring against a Romanian member of the European Parliament and a High Court judge, and in the fall, key political figures from the ruling party were arrested on allegations of bribery. Despite these and other signs of improved enforcement, the overall level of graft apparently remained fairly high. Some corruption cases against politicians and officials began to move more quickly through the courts and administrative bodies, but lengthy delays and statutes of limitations continued to jeopardize their outcomes. In June, the Constitutional Court invalidated two proposed amendments designed to eliminate obstacles to investigating illicit enrichment. Final convictions in major cases were still relatively rare. As a result, Romania's corruption rating remains unchanged at 4.00.
Outlook for 2012. The government is likely to continue implementing fiscal austerity policies through 2012, despite their unpopularity, and follow up on its agreements with the IMF and the European Commission by reforming stateowned companies, a major source of inefficiency and patronage at the expense of the public budget. However, other structural reforms under discussion, such as those concerning health care, territorial reorganization, and reducing the size of parliament, will probably be postponed. The elections will be held on schedule, with local elections in June and parliamentary balloting in November, alleviating the fears of democratic backsliding. The center-left opposition is positioned to win both contests by a comfortable margin. However, the integrity of the electoral process will remain in question due to the usual allegations of vote-peddling by the local party machines. The judiciary will have to confirm its independence through timely and credible decisions in corruption cases against high officials. The rule of law as a whole will continue to be monitored by the European Union, as in Bulgaria, through the Mechanism of Cooperation and Verification (MCV).
Despite serious economic pressures and frequent talk of government reshuffling or even early elections, the ruling coalition remained in power throughout 2011 and continued to implement the austerity and governance reforms sought by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU). However, the momentum of these often unpopular reforms suffered somewhat as the 2012 elections approached.
The reform of Romania's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) was considered the most critical element in efforts to improve public-sector governance, as the companies have been a major source of corruption in public procurement and a means to divert public resources by evading budgetary processes and controls. The SOEs distort the economy through preferential contracts with favored suppliers or clients, and many are effectively bankrupt or have huge arrears. They also pervert the democratic politics of the country, serving as one of the main avenues for party-related clientelism.
The new IMF agreement concluded in March 2011 placed a special emphasis on publicly owned enterprises,[1] calling for a reform of their corporate governance structure that would hold managers accountable for their performance and at the same time shield them from political interference.[2] The relevant legislation (Emergency Ordinance 109) was approved at the end of 2011 and roughly meets the prerequisites of a good corporate governance code, though its effectiveness will be tested when it is implemented in 2012. Other initiatives in parliament threatened to undermine the corporate governance reform. For example, a bill designed to regulate the salaries of managers and establish criteria for the selection of management was not in accordance with government-issued legislation, even though one of the lawmakers behind it was the economics minister.[3]
The other substantial governance reform of 2011 eliminated performance bonuses in several public institutions. In reality, as several past scandals have shown, most of these bonuses were not related to the actual performance of the staff, since performance targets were never clearly defined. Instead, they served as a vehicle for extrabudgetary funds, evading the scrutiny of the normal budgetary process and giving full discretion to the institutions' leadership. The practice allowed the administrators of some public institutions to distribute higher pay in a rather feudalistic manner, with employees personally indebted to their superiors for their raises.[4] After two years of pressure from the IMF and the EU, the government finally eliminated all such discretionary bonuses, though there is no guarantee that they will not be reintroduced once the IMF agreement expires and the external pressure lapses.
Setting aside the role of international institutions, Romania's own system of governmental checks and balances remains rather dysfunctional. While the ruling coalition enjoys a narrow majority in both chambers of parliament, it almost always faces difficulties in passing critical legislation, either because members of parliament (MPs) are frequently absent for important votes or because individual MPs rebel and vote against government initiatives. Even a cabinet minister may support one position in government and vote the opposite way as an MP. The government is routinely tempted to employ fast-track procedures to bypass parliamentary obstacles, but this undermines the legislature's authority and leaves little room for debate. Too often, important decisions are made by means of emergency ordinances, or by assuming "government responsibility," a procedure whereby the government advances a bill under emergency rules and its rejection amounts to a vote of no confidence. This mechanism was employed for many pieces of legislation in 2011, including the new Labor Code. It was also used to ensure the passage of EU-required legislation on the rule of law, including new rules for the promotion of the judges to the High Court of Cassation and Justice.
Despite its frequent circumvention of normal parliamentary procedures and standard democratic practices, the government took some encouraging steps for the improvement of social dialogue and the involvement of stakeholders in policy decisions. For example, it passed a package of legislation to change the structure of the Economic and Social Council (CES)—a consultative body composed of government, business, and trade union representatives—to include a broader range of unions, employer associations, and civil society groups in debates on bills affecting issues like taxation, labor, and the business environment.[5] The success of this reform will not be clear until it is implemented in 2012.
By-elections were held in a handful of counties and municipalities in 2011, with the main local and parliamentary ballots scheduled for 2012. The parties developed their preelectoral coalition strategies, and several major amendments to the electoral framework were debated during the year. The latter were in keeping with Romania's traditionally volatile electoral system; no two consecutive elections since 1990 have been conducted under the same set of rules. But despite media predictions of major changes in the political environment, conditions proved relatively stable, and no significant overhaul of the electoral system seemed likely at year's end.
The electoral reforms under discussion in 2011 included a new parliamentary voting system, a reduction in the size of parliament, holding concurrent local and parliamentary elections in 2012, and the introduction of an absentee voting system. However, the only initiative to win passage was the changed electoral calendar. The ruling center-right coalition, in agreement with President Traian Băsescu, decided at the beginning of December to postpone the local balloting from June until November, so that it would take place on the same day as the parliamentary vote. The ostensible purpose of the change was to save around €20 million (US$28 million) in administrative costs,[6] but critics argued that the national leadership wanted to keep allied incumbents in local offices long enough to act as electoral agents for their side in the campaign. Many technical details were left unresolved. For example, the existing differences between national and local electoral systems and constituencies would make a simultaneous vote difficult. Moreover, the legal basis for extending the mandates of the current mayors and councils by six months, which the constitution allows only in truly exceptional cases such as crises or wars, was questionable.[7] The center-left opposition—the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL)—opposed the merging of the elections, not as a matter of principle, but because they thought it would negatively affect their chances.[8] They appealed to the Constitutional Court, and a judgment was expected in early 2012.
Meanwhile, it remained undecided whether the overall number of MPs would be reduced, and if so, by how much. A census in 2011 showed that the stable population of the country had declined by almost 10 percent over the last decade,[9] so a natural solution would be to similarly reduce the size of parliament. However, in a referendum called by President Băsescu in 2009, a large majority of the population voted in favor of reducing the number of MPs to just 300, from over 450, and abolishing the upper house, the Senate. Such changes would require a constitutional amendment. There is little agreement on how the problem should be tackled, and lawmakers have a strong interest in maintaining the status quo, as many would lose their positions and the accompanying benefits in any reduction.
The debate over the parliamentary voting system was also unresolved at year's end. Under the current compensated uninominal system, a single vote is cast for the candidate and the party. Candidates who win more than 50 percent in their single-member constituencies are elected, and the remaining seats are distributed to the parties according to their national share of the votes for unelected candidates. This led to unexpected results in the 2008 elections, which were contested both by the electorate and by politicians. The main complaint was that the system allowed candidates who ranked third or fourth in their own constituencies to win seats, thanks to party-based redistribution. While all parties appear to agree that improvements are needed, no single proposal is supported by a majority.
In August 2011, Băsescu proposed the introduction of a simple uninominal ballot—a "first past the post" system in which the leading candidate in a constituency wins the seat, either in one round, regardless of the margin, or in up to two rounds, with 50 percent required to win. The largest opposition party, the PSD, publicly supported the two-round version of the uninominal ballot. But its ally, the PNL, has benefitted the most from the current system, as only 49 of its current 93 MPs were ranked first in their respective constituencies; the other 44 won based on the overall party results, sometimes with less than 10 percent of the votes in their districts.[10] The Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR), a party in the ruling coalition that represents the ethnic Hungarian minority, strongly opposed the elimination of the party-based redistribution, as the ordinary uninominal system, which favors large parties, could sharply reduce or eliminate its presence in Parliament.[11]
Parties' preparations to form coalitions for the 2012 elections were another key development in 2011. In February, the PSD, the PNL, and the smaller Conservative Party (PC) formalized a bloc called the Social Liberal Union (USL) and decided to run together on common lists in both the local and parliamentary elections. However, it was unclear whether the parties would agree on all candidates. Some friction was already apparent, particularly concerning the local elections, where individual clout is more important than party affiliation.[12] There was also speculation about whether the parties' core voters would tolerate the coalition, given their ostensible ideological differences and past rivalries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched a draft proposal on absentee voting in early 2011. Under the current system, the sizable Romanian diaspora, concentrated mainly in Italy and Spain, must travel long distances to the nearest Romanian consulate to cast a ballot. As a result the turnout among citizens living abroad has always been very low. The opposition vigorously objected to the proposed change, claiming it lacked sufficient antifraud measures.[13] This stance was also connected to the fact that the diaspora has voted predominantly center-right, and in 2009 accounted for the thin margin of victory in Băsescu's reelection as president.
Growing public frustration with incumbent politicians, combined with the broader international mood of protest exemplified by the "Occupy" movement, led to the formation of various groups that advocated direct democracy and won extensive media coverage. In early 2011, several bloggers and public figures speculated about the opportunity to establish a new party with an anticorruption agenda and different internal promotion rules, as an alternative to both the Social Liberal Union and the ruling coalition.[14] The proposed party did not materialize at the time, but the idea resurfaced in September, when the "New Republic" political movement was set up by a handful of younger people who were dissatisfied with the PDL. The movement had not yet become a formal political party by the end of 2011, but it aimed to attract urban residents who rejected the existing parties and would otherwise not vote.[15] This and similar initiatives on the left and the right will face serious practical difficulties in organizing and running in elections, because the administrative thresholds are quite high: 25,000 founding members from at least 18 of Romania's 41 counties are needed to register a political party.
The number of registered nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) increased by 15 percent in 2011, continuing a trend from the previous years. By and large, the perpetuation of the economic and fiscal crisis undermined citizens' trust in public institutions such as the presidency, parliament, political parties, and the church, but trust in civil society remained relatively steady, though still lower than was the case in Western Europe.[16] Citizens can direct 2 percent of their taxes to an NGO or church of their choice, and about 1.6 million taxpayers used this mechanism in 2011, slightly more than in the previous year.[17]
At the beginning of 2011, the Romanian government changed two important laws regarding industrial relations, the Labor Code and the Law on Social Dialogue. The latter regulates the organization of trade unions and employers' associations; the consultation mechanisms involving the government, labor, and employers; and the collective-bargaining process. The amendment to the Law on Social Dialogue eliminated national collective agreements. The main argument behind this decision was the lack of legitimacy of collective-bargaining partners; the media had raised major concerns regarding the representation of employers' associations in particular.[18] By law, the collective-bargaining partners needed to meet certain thresholds of membership and geographical range to secure representation, which were assessed by a court upon registration. However, the government had no subsequent mechanism to review the associations' representation criteria and thereby ensure the legitimacy of decisions that affected all employers and employees in the country. The existing collective agreements remained in place after the amendment, but only for those companies that were part of the agreement, not for the entire sector.
The legal changes had the overall effect of reducing the role of national federations in collective bargaining, denying trade unions an important instrument for negotiation. For this reason, the amendments triggered massive street protests by trade union members. Tens of thousands of workers took to the streets in the first months of the year. However, despite such opposition, both new laws were enacted through a fast-track procedure, with the government surviving two parliamentary motions of no confidence.
At the same time, criminal investigations damaged the credibility of the trade union movement, with several key leaders accused of corruption and mismanagement of unions' assets. Marius Petcu, the leader of one of the largest trade union federations, was caught receiving a €40,000 (US$56,000) bribe from a contractor. The National Integrity Agency (ANI) found that Petcu could not explain the origins of €700,000 (US$980,000) in personal assets. The vice president of the same federation, Liviu Luca, similarly faced criminal charges for mismanagement of unions' assets and money laundering, allegedly in cooperation with Sorin Ovidiu Vantu, a media mogul who was also under investigation and house arrest. Despite these pressures, Luca was recently appointed as one of Romania's representatives to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), a key consultative body of the EU that brings together trade unions, employers' associations, and civil society.
In another reform during the year, as noted above, the structure of the Romanian CES was adjusted to bring it in line with the European model. NGOs are to replace government representatives on the council, a consultative body that also includes trade unions and employers' associations. However, the functionality of the CES needs significant improvement if it is to become a truly valuable partner in decision making. Its capacity and expertise remain insufficient to provide quality feedback to the government, and the new civil society representatives had still not been nominated at year's end.
NGOs continue to focus on service provision, with less attention given to advocacy for better policies for their constituencies. This is due in part to the lack of available funding. Since Romania joined the EU in 2007, more money has been allocated to organizations providing social services and much less to watchdog groups. The former took full advantage of the opportunities opened by European structural funds, especially under the European Social Fund, but even here the collection of European-funded projects proved difficult and bureaucratic. The rules and requirements have changed frequently and unpredictably, putting a heavy administrative burden on recipients. A group of 18 of the most preeminent nonprofit organizations established an informal Coalition for Structural Funds in 2006 and asked for cuts in the red tape surrounding European programs. The coalition has closely monitored procedural changes and created an early-warning system for grantees to identify irregularities and excessive requirements from the public bodies in charge of managing structural funds.
The government and parliament are currently considering a draft law on social service provision, which allows local authorities to competitively contract out social services either to NGOs or to public providers, and a draft law on social economy, which aims to encourage civil society to establish "social enterprises" that both raise funds and serve a group's mission. NGOs are monitoring and participating in the legislative process through the Civil Society Development Foundation, a Romanian grant-giving organization and resource center for the civil sector.
Environmental organizations are among the few that have managed to mobilize the public in large volunteer efforts. For example, in 2011, the Let's Do It Romania campaign gathered 250,000 volunteers to clean up the environment in a one-day annual event.[19] However, for more complex matters of civic concern, including multifaceted ecological issues, the general public has shown very low levels of interest in NGO-led activism.
Education is one area where civil society seems more developed, as 7.5 percent of declared NGOs work in education. These groups hire almost 20 percent of all people employed by civil society organizations, and their revenues represent 22 percent of the total for the NGO sector. In 2010, educational organizations were mainly concentrated in the area of higher education,[20] and included private universities. But the year 2011 featured an expansion of other organizations focused on extracurricular activities, optional courses, community projects, entrepreneurial education, or leadership training. This trend is likely to continue, as the new Education Law, enacted in January 2011, bolsters the role of parents' and students' associations in the supervision of school management and grants them representation on school boards. The students' associations had already been vibrant and active for several years, and the new law could provide an opportunity for parents' associations to become similarly active. However, as very few schools have organized parents' associations, it could lead to the creation of nonfunctioning groups designed to meet the legal requirement.
In early 2011, the German media group WAZ, one of the few specialized foreign investors still active in the Romanian media sector, announced that it would leave the domestic market, where it had held a national flagship newspaper and a number of smaller publications for well over a decade. WAZ president Bodo Hombach stated that the withdrawal was driven in part by the economic distortions caused by powerful business magnates in the sector.[21] These owners pump large subsidies into unprofitable media outlets to serve their political and other business interests, undercutting normal, self-sustaining media operations. The Swiss media group Ringier had similarly sold assets in Romania the previous year, and the WAZ departure only added to growing fears about the independence and diversity of journalism in the country.
Romania is a large potential media market, but it has long suffered from low readership and internet penetration rates when compared with neighboring countries.[22] Newspapers and other traditional media outlets have also been hobbled by the migration of more affluent news consumers to the internet and the collapse of advertising revenue associated with the ongoing economic crisis. Many print and electronic media had to cut back on staff in 2011. Print media have also reduced press runs, the number of pages per issue, and the frequency of publication. A record number of print outlets have moved online in the past year, even in niches such as economic and financial journalism. In fact, "moving online" has become a euphemism for downsizing, with only a handful of writers retained to ensure the perpetuation of the brand. Online media saw a slight increase in market share at the expense of television and radio in 2011, but all these shares are fractions of a steadily shrinking pie. Overall revenues for online media in 2011 were on track to amount to 20 to 25 percent of the level during the peak, pre-crisis years.[23] Journalists' salaries have been cut, after years of increases, and the flow of news anchors and reporters from private to public television channels has continued, as public outlets seem to offer more stable jobs and pay. But these same outlets have been criticized for their alleged progovernment bias, stemming from the fact that their boards of directors remain politically appointed. The depoliticization of the state-owned television and radio broadcasters did not materialize during 2011, and proposals issued the year before were shelved.
The cumulative effect of these trends is that the whole media landscape is weaker than ever and more likely to be affected not only by the business cycle, but increasingly by the electoral cycle. It is quite common for mass media owners to be more interested in exerting political influence than building a profitable media operation. Depending on the result of the 2012 elections, many of the remaining outlets may be shut down by their owners once their political missions are fulfilled. The fact that there were no significant mergers or consolidations in the sector in 2011, despite the dire economic situation, indicates that considerations other than the search for audiences and profits continue to prevail.
The declining value of media assets has created opportunities for investors with no previous interest in or knowledge of the sector. The most obvious example is the breakup of Realitatea TV, one of Romania's two most influential private television news channels, in the fall of 2011. The investigation of its owner, Sorin Ovidiu Vantu, for alleged financial fraud and money laundering left the unprofitable business without financial backing, and it was sold in April. Then, amid confusion and mutual recriminations, the staff, equipment, and broadcasting rights were split between the two new owners, one from the information technology industry and the other from real estate. Insiders detect the usual political maneuvers behind these developments, namely two rival wings of the PSD struggling for control over the media group, which will be useful in the upcoming electoral campaigns.[24]
This was probably the most spectacular, but far from the only example of obscure local businesspeople serving as fronts for political interests, on both sides of the political spectrum. Journalists' professional associations and trade unions, weak even before the crisis, were not able to counterbalance the year's negative trends or to effectively represent the interests of their members.
The rise of social media has been a source of hope for independent voices in this bleak landscape. Websites such as Hi5.com, Facebook, and Trilulilu.ro together attracted almost three million Romanian users.[25] Other popular sites are the forums portal Softpedia.com, a rare example of an international platform owned by a Romanian company, and the self-explanatory eJobs.ro. There has been an explosion of personal blogs, including many with political commentary. But there is little evidence that these new forms of media can effectively replace traditional outlets. The most visited sites are utilitarian in nature, and the most popular blogs belong not to upstart journalists or commentators, but to celebrities from the world of entertainment. Some political actors, especially new entrants, plan to use social media for social or political mobilization in the 2012 electoral year,[26] but their potential has yet to be proven in Romania.
The more mainstream Romanian news websites, such as Hotnews.ro, have a smaller audience than the portals mentioned above and rely partly on EU projects to bolster their revenue stream. The best known and most active media-monitoring NGOs—the Center for Independent Journalism, a training organization, and ActiveWatch—also rely on grants from the EU or other foreign donors. The very survival of such organizations in the adverse circumstances of the last few years qualifies as a major success. In addition, state authorities did not take any measure or action that could be interpreted as censorship or an attack on freedom of expression in 2011. As expected, a number of restrictive bills drafted by individual lawmakers in 2010 were dropped.[27]
As in most of the rest of Europe,[28] especially in its south and east, local governments in Romania were in crisis in 2011. The local budgets shrank even more than the central budget, indicating that the central government applied pressure to the local and intermediary tiers so as to create fiscal space at the center. Facing demands from financial markets and international partners including the EU and the IMF, the central government was tempted to pass financial burdens to the local level, either by cutting transfers and local borrowing or by forcing local governments to run operational surpluses. There are strong signs that this was a deliberate strategy in Romania.[29]
The government introduced stringent limitations on spending and transfers that in some instances amounted to micromanagement from the center. These included caps on material and investment costs, salary cuts, and draconian hiring restrictions.[30] While the necessity of strengthening budget discipline at the local level was undeniable, the manner in which these changes were implemented was not exactly in line with the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and reflected a lingering centrist political culture in Romania. There was little technical preparation and almost no consultation with the local government associations. Sometimes the decisions came overnight and had retroactive effects, which increased the uncertainty of the budgeting process.
The political effects of this local economic weakening are a serious concern. Two-thirds of the 2,860 rural communes are currently unable to cover their own salary expenses, leaving them very susceptible to political pressure from the center ahead of the 2012 local and national elections. One example of a financial transfer that is regularly used to keep local authorities in line is the Emergency Fund. The sums not spent from this fund, which is deliberately increased at the programming stage to ensure a substantial surplus, are distributed at the end of the fiscal year, mainly to municipalities and counties, with no clear criteria for allocation. In spite of repeated criticism and evidence provided by watchdog organizations that the distribution is discretionary and politicized,[31] no corrections were made in 2011, and the practice continued unabated. A generous sum was earmarked for the Emergency Fund in the budget for 2012.
The by-elections held in 2011 demonstrated how the local authorities will be expected to "deliver results" for their respective national parties 2012. In the most important and visible contests, including one at the very end of 2010, the candidates were relatively unknown or tainted by allegations of wrongdoing.[32] Nevertheless, the dominant county-level political machines ensured victory for their candidates more often than not. All parties claimed irregularities, such as carousel voting and other forms of electoral fraud, but the complaints were not thoroughly investigated and did not yield any change in the results.
It was not completely clear in 2011 whether the 2012 local elections would be held using the current structure of local governance. Under strong pressure from President Băsescu, the PDL floated various proposals to (i) create large regions with their own elected councils, at an intermediate level between the national and county governments;[33] (ii) change the structure, and perhaps the administrative limits, of the city of Bucharest by centralizing the city budget and splitting the current six districts into smaller units; and (iii) reduce the number of financially unsustainable rural communes by merging them into larger units.
The last proposal would be probably the most beneficial for Romania, from the point of view of both administrative efficiency and political accountability. However, the merging of communes would face opposition among local elites and substantial segments of the population. On the other two proposals, many details were left unaddressed by their sponsors. Moreover, the changes would entail amendments to the constitution, making it unlikely that they could be implemented before the next round of elections.
Over the past several years, Romania has embarked on an ambitious project to reform the cornerstones of its legal system: the Civil Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Criminal Code, and the Criminal Procedure Code. The new codes were drafted with the help of international experts, and parliament has discussed and adopted them. While the latter three were not set to enter into force until 2012 or 2013, the Civil Code took effect in October 2011. During the year, the Ministry of Justice contracted an impact study to assess the practical effects of the four codes. The preliminary findings indicated that the Civil Code would be the least cumbersome to implement, and would respond to a real need to modernize the legislation. The previous Civil Code dated back to 1864 and had been amended extensively over the years, with the most significant changes made under the communist regime. The new Civil Code also brings together provisions that were previously included in the Commercial Code and the Family Code.
While the necessity of reforming the civil legislation was widely acknowledged, both the judiciary and civil society groups have criticized the lack of preparatory measures to ensure a smooth transition to the new code. Only a handful of seminars were organized for judges, lawyers, bailiffs, and public notaries; the responsibility for digesting the new legislation fell largely on the shoulders of each individual. One of the new members of the Superior Council of Magistrates, Judge Cristian Dănileţ, has taken upon himself the task of coordinating the various training efforts conducted by the representatives of each legal profession, in part so that resources are fairly shared among them. In addition, the Ministry of Justice has established a website to post information on the new legislation and the main changes it brings about. Some trainings were carried out for the other new codes in 2011, but the need for further efforts remains substantial. The Civil Procedure and Criminal Procedure Codes in particular deserve significant attention, since they will change profoundly the way in which the judiciary operates.
The beginning of 2011 marked a new start for the Superior Council of Magistracy,[34] with a new membership chosen at the end of 2010. However, some former members were reelected to serve on the council despite the one-term limit established by law. After parliament appointed all the elected members, the Constitutional Court was asked to determine whether their situation was fully in line with constitutional requirements. Unsurprisingly, the court decided (i) to invalidate the mandates of three elected magistrates who had served before, and (ii) to invalidate the mandate of one of the representatives of civil society, on the grounds that he held two positions at the same time, and ban him from public office for three years.[35]
New elections were organized for the posts vacated by the Constitutional Court's decision, and replacement magistrates were finally installed by midyear. To allow the council to operate in the meantime, the government modified the rules regarding the quorum needed for the body to take various decisions. Nevertheless, the disruption and legal struggles marred the institution's public image.
Changing the system of promotions to the High Court of Cassation and Justice to ensure transparency, fairness, and a merit-based decision-making process was one of the electoral promises of the reformist members of the Superior Council of Magistrates.[36] The main component of the existing system is an interview before the council, and it has been widely criticized for relying on excessive discretionary powers in the absence of any firm selection criteria. The council introduced some changes at the beginning of the year, but the courts invalidated them on the grounds that they exceeded the council's legal authority. The main actors in the judiciary—the Superior Council of Magistrates, the High Court of Cassation and Justice, and the Ministry of Justice—failed to agree on the details of a new promotion procedure being debated by parliament, and as a result the bill was rejected and the old procedure remained in place.
A series of high-profile cases in 2011 illustrated the depth of the corruption problem in Romania, the various obstacles that frequently hamper or derail prosecutions, and the ongoing efforts of certain institutions to improve detection and punishment of graft in spite of these obstacles.
In an unprecedented, far-reaching investigation, the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) indicted more than 200 police and customs officers during the year, most of whom were arrested on corruption charges. Special investigative means, such as undercover work and surveillance techniques, were deployed to build these cases. The General Directorate for Anticorruption, a unit within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was also involved in the operation. Another DNA investigation into the port of Constanta targeted the secretary general of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a member of parliament from the PDL.
Separately, a media investigation conducted by British journalists showed that at least three members of the European Parliament (MEPs)—among them Adrian Severin of Romania's PSD—were willing to advance certain pieces of legislation in exchange for money. The DNA sought to follow up on the media reports, but it first had to overcome Severin's immunity as an MEP. The European Parliament had to lift the immunity even for prosecutors to be able to investigate him, and had to grant a warrant for his office and computer to be searched. Notably, Severin was the only accused MEP who had to have his immunity lifted, as the others either resigned from office after the scandal broke or did not enjoy any immunity according to the laws of their own countries.
Another investigation with international implications centered on Gabriela Barsan, chief justice of the Administrative Litigation Section at the High Court of Cassation and Justice. Her husband, Corneliu Barsan, is a judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Gabriela Barsan was accused of influencing her colleagues to make decisions that favored a particular businessman from whom she received various benefits. Romanian anticorruption prosecutors asked for a search warrant for the couple's home, and the warrant was issued by the High Court of Cassation and Justice, with the prior approval of the Superior Council of Magistrates.[37] After the search was conducted, however, Gabriela Barsan produced a letter from the president of the ECHR, who expressed concern that the search might not have taken into consideration the immunity of Corneliu Barsan as it extended to the family domicile. The Romanian authorities decided to formally ask the ECHR to lift its judge's immunity so that the investigation could continue. The court ultimately complied, but it also upheld the general principle that the immunity of an ECHR judge extends to his or her spouse, who cannot be investigated or searched without the prior approval of the court.
In the autumn of 2011, two high-level corruption cases came to light in Cluj, the constituency of Prime Minister Emil Boc. They involved Radu Bica, the vice president of the Cluj county council, and Sorin Apostu, the mayor of Cluj, both of whom were powerful members of the PDL. They were arrested on bribery charges, causing turmoil in the ruling party, but PDL members largely acquiesced to the criminal proceedings against their colleagues. This contrasted with another case earlier in the year, when opposition politicians protested the arrest of PSD member Constantin Nicolescu, president of the Arges county council.
There were also four convictions against members of Parliament in 2011, two of which were finalized and two of which were still subject to appeal, as well as a visible acceleration of high-level corruption proceedings against ministers and MPs at the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The new management of the High Court, and of the criminal section in particular, was attempting to avoid triggering the statute of limitations for these cases, which had already dragged out for years. While the decision to hold more frequent hearings was welcome, it remained to be seen whether the effort would come too late for the pending cases. With respect to other corruption cases before the courts, the positive effects of a recently introduced mechanism for facilitating guilty pleas could already be seen in the overall shortening of trials.
The ANI, the body tasked with the verification of public officials' declarations of assets and interests, has continued to refer cases to the Wealth Investigation Commissions attached to the Courts of Appeal, or directly to courts. In one such case, Labor Minister Ioan Botis of the PDL was forced to resign in early 2011 due to conflict-of-interest allegations. The ANI conducted investigations of MPs, mayors, and heads of various administrative institutions. However, among other difficulties, the agency faced serious challenges in securing an acceptable budgetary allocation from parliament for 2012.
In June the Constitutional Court reviewed proposals to amend the constitution and invalidated two of the most important changes for rule of law and anticorruption: (i) the limitation of the immunity from prosecution enjoyed by cabinet ministers and members of parliament and (ii) the elimination of a constitutional provision that blocks the investigation of illicit enrichment. The immunity rule has shielded senior politicians from corruption investigations in the past, and the constitutional assumption that all personal wealth is acquired legally has protected unexplained fortunes from scrutiny and seizure. The Superior Council of Magistrates had issued an opinion just before the Constitutional Court ruling, arguing against the elimination of the wealth rule despite the fact that the topic lay beyond the limits of the council's competence.
[1] International Monetary Fund, Romania: Letter of Intent, and Technical Memorandum of Understanding, (Bucharest: IMF, 14 September 2011), http://www.imf.org/external/np/loi/2011/rou/091411.pdf.
[2] Claudia Pirvoiu, "Raport critic al Bancii Mondiale" [Critical World Bank report], HotNews.ro, 18 July 2011, http://economie.hotnews.ro/stiri-energie-9445264-exclusiv-raport-banciim....
[3] Claudia Pirvoiu, "Cum vor fi platiti managerii privati de la companiile de stat" [How to pay the private managers of state companies], HotNews.ro, 12 September 2011, http://economie.hotnews.ro/stiri-companii-10104329-cum-vor-platiti-manag....
[4] Ovidiu Maricea, Roxana Preda, and Mariana Bechir, "Miniştrii marionetă şi stimulentele nesim-ţite de la Finanţe" [The puppet ministers and immoral bonuses in the Ministry of Finance], Adevarul.ro, 18 October 2011, http://www.adevarul.ro/actualitate/eveniment/Stimulentele_si_sistemul_cl....
[5] "Law on Social Dialogue #62/2011 removed the national and branch level of collective negitiation," European Labour Law Network, http://www.labourlawnetwork.eu/national_labour_law/legislative_developme....
[6] "Ioan Oltean, secretar general PDL: Alegerile comasate vor avea loc in noiembrie 2012" [Ioan Oltean, PDL Secretary General: merged elections will be held in November 2012], HotNews.ro, 9 September 2011, http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-politic-10077058-ioan-olteansecretar-general....
[7] Laws 215/2001 and 286/2006 provide for such a possibility only in justifiable cases of emergency, which strictly speaking do not apply here.
[8] A national PSD leader said his party would agree to merged national-local elections provided they are held early in 2012, and not in November. "Dan Sova, la TVR Info: Vrem alegeri comasate in luna iunie, nu in noiembrie [Dan Sova, TVR Info: We want merged elections in June, not November], HotNews.ro, 8 December 2011, http://revistapresei.hotnews.ro/stiriradio_tv-10891159-dan-sova-tvr-info....
[9] This was due in part to negative natural growth, but mainly to outward migration.
[10] George Sava, "Vot uninominal, intr-un singur tur de scrutin, la alegerile din 2012" [Single vote in a single round in the 2012 elections], Paginiromanesti.ca, 19 August 2011, http://www.paginiromanesti.ca/2011/08/19/vot-uninominal-intr-un-singur-t....
[11] "De ce se teme UDMR de votul uninominal pur" [Why UDMR fears a pure, first-passthe-post vote system], Evz.ro, 30 August 2011, http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/de-ce-se-temeudmr-de-votul-uninominal-pu....
[12] "Declinul PC: fără candidaţi şi marginalizat in USL" [Declined PC: no candidates and marginalized in USL], Romanialibera.ro, 3 October 2011, http://www.romanialibera.ro/actualitate/politica/declinul-pc-fara-candid....
[13] "PRO și CONTRA privind votul prin corespondenţă pentru romanii din diasporă" [Pros and Cons of vote by mail for Romanians living abroad], Adevarul.es, 29 January 2011, http://www.adevarul.es/stiri/actualitate/pro-contra-privind-votul-coresp... "PSD și UDMR au rezerve serioase faţă de votul prin corespondenţă" [PSD and UDMR have serious reservations about voting by mail], Romanialibera.ro, 6 September 2011, http://www.romanialibera.ro/actualitate/politica/psd-si-udmr-au-rezerve-....
[14] Cristian Ghinea, "Reţeta pentru noul partid. Caţi v-aţi băga?" [Recipe for the new party. How many of you would join?], Contributors.ro, 18 February 2011, http://www.contributors.ro/editorial/reteta-pentru-noul-partid-cati-v-at....
[15] "Miscarea Noua Republica" [Movement New Republic], Evz.ro, 4 November 2011, http://www.evz.ro/multimedia/video/filtrare-dupa-tag/tag/miscarea-noua-r....
[16] European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Life in Transition Survey: After the Crisis (London: EBRD, 29 June 2011), http://www.ebrd.com/downloads/research/surveys/LiTS2e_web.pdf.
[17] Data from "Asociatia pentru Relatii Comunitare" [Association for Community Relations], Doilasuta.ro, http://doilasuta.ro/continut/index.php/rezultatele-campaniei/rezultate-c....
[18] Adelina Mihai, "Inflaţia de 'patronate fără patroni' subminează reprezentarea businessului romanesc" [Inflation of 'employees without employers' undermines the representation of Romanian business], Zf.ro, 26 September 2010, http://www.zf.ro/analiza/inflatia-de-patronate-fara-patroni-submineaza-r....
[19] "Let's Do It Romania" campaign, http://www.letsdoitromania.ro/.
[20] Mihaela Lambru and Ancuţa Vamesu, Romania 2010. Sectorul Neguvernamental: profil, tendinte, provocari [Romania 2010. NGO sector: Profile, trends, challenges] (Bucharest: Fundaţia pentru Dezvoltarea Societăţii Civile [Civil Society Development Foundation], 7 October 2010), http://www.fdsc.ro/library/conferinta%20vio%207%20oct/Romania%202010_Sec....
[21] William Totok, "Bodo Hombach: "Mass-media din Romania, in mare parte in miinile unor oligarhi" [Bodo Hombach: The media in Romania is mostly in the hands of oligarchs], Rfi.ro, 11 January 2011, http://www.rfi.ro/articol/stiri/social/bodo-hombach-mass-media-romaniama....
[22] "Internet Usage in Europe," World Internet Stats, 30 June 2010, http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats4.htm.
[23] Discussion with owners of news portal operations.
[24] Mircea Marian, "Război civil in PSD pentru Realitatea TV" [PSD's civil war for Realitatea TV station], Hyderpark.ro, 24 October 2011, http://hydepark.ro/articol/articol/razboi-civilin-psd-pentru-realitatea-....
[25] Information from European Journalism Center, "Media Landscape," www.ejc.net/media_landscape.
[26] "Miscarea Noua Romanie" [New Romania Movement] and "Impreună 2012" [Together 2012] are two such initiatives launched as manifestos on Facebook.
[27] These bills, advanced by PSD senator Olguţa Vasilescu, PDL deputy Silviu Prigoană, and PNL deputy Ioan Ghişe, had aimed to introduce state monitoring of the internet for obscene content, extend the regulatory supervision of print media to electronic media, and enforce "politically balanced" news coverage on television.
[28] Council of Europe, Local Government in critical times: policies for crisis, recovery and sustainable future (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 2011), http://www.ccre.org/docs/Local_Government_in_critical_times.EN.pdf.
[29] Discussions with mayors during the Balkan Local Governments conference in Borovets, Bulgaria, June 2011.
[30] A 7:1 rule was applied to the whole public sector: one new person could be hired only if seven other positions were terminated.
[31] See "Concluziile raportului anual SAR 2011" [SAR conclusions annual report 2011], Societatea Academică din Romania, http://www.sar.org.ro/concluziile-raportului-anual-sar; "Prin deciziile privind Fondul de Rezervă, Guvernul joacă rolul Parlamentului. IPP cere Parlamentului să preia dreptul suveran de a decide asupra destinaţiei cheltuielilor din bani publici" [By deciding on the Reserve Fund, the government plays the role of parliament. IPP ask the parliament to take the sovereign right to decide expense of public money], Institutul pentru Politici Publice, 29 November 2011, http://www.ipp.ro/pagini/prin-deciziile-privindfondul- de-rezerv.php.
[32] "Rezultate Finale. Alegeri Neamt: PDL caştigă in faţa USL 56% la 44%" [Final results. Elections in Neamt county: PDL beats USL by 56 percent to 44 percent], Evz.ro, 22 August 2011, http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/pdl-sau-usl-cine-a-castigat-parlamentare....
[33] Romania already has eight such regions, but they exist only as virtual statistical units.
[34] The council is composed of 19 members, of whom three hold their seats ex officio (the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the prosecutor general, and the minister of justice) and two are representatives of civil society selected by parliament. Nine judges and five prosecutors directly elected by their colleagues account for the remaining members. All are appointed formally by the parliament.
[35] Victor Alistar, head of Transparency International, Romania.
[36] Horatiu Dumbrava, Adrian Neacsu, Cristian Danilet, and Alexandru Serban.
[37] In Romania, search warrants for the residences of judges and prosecutors can only be issued by courts with prior approval from the Superior Council of Magistrates.


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According to basketball expert, Brian McCormick, Tim Duncan has a problem – a consistency problem. While you don't hear much about it, Duncan only shoots 60 to 70% from the free throw line, despite being one of the NBA's best players. What's really interesting, however, is WHY Duncan struggles from the line.
According to McCormick, it's because Duncan has added movements to his shot that actually overcomplicate his shot making. McCormick says Duncan "comes to the line and takes a deep breath with the ball near his waist and his hands on the side of the ball. To shoot, he rotates the ball DURING his shooting motion. His shot, therefore, has a natural flaw; he incorporates inconsistency into his shot. Instead of simplifying, he adds a greater degree of variance which results in his poor (below 70% career) free throw shooting."
The solution to better performance for Duncan is the same solution for us in sales and business development: Simplify the process and leverage the Power of Consistency.
Often times in sales and business we overcomplicate the process and fail to do the little things on a consistent basis. Instead of focusing on doing just one or two things exceptionally, we become obsessed with doing everything perfectly. The result is frustration and lack luster sales performance. The key to success in sales is to identify one or two small things we can do well and do them consistently.
As the incomparable Jim Rohn once said, "Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well."
Weldon Long grew small company from $0 to $20,000,000 in 60 months by focusing on doing one simple thing extraordinarily well – one simple thing done on a consistent basis.
That one thing was using the Tom Hopkins "intention statement" on every sales opportunity. Weldon focused on using this technique on EVERY call. He didn't use it occasionally. He didn't use it when He felt up to it. He used it consistently on EVERY CALL.
Because the intention statement sets the ground rules for the sales call with the prospect and because it creates the expectation that the call will come to a completion at a specified point, Weldon didn't waste time chasing down deals that were never going to happen. He didn't get strung out by prospects who didn't have the courtesy to "just say no."
As a result, he moved from sales opportunity to sales opportunity without the brain damage of looking over his shoulder hoping that older calls were going to magically turn into sales commissions. he stayed focused. he kept my attention ahead of me instead of being distracted by the past.
The key was using this technique on every call. The key was consistently doing one small thing exceptionally well and doing it every time. The key was focusing on one thing and doing it well on a consistent basis.
Far be it from me to give NBA great Tim Duncan advice; but if he asked (which I seriously doubt he will) I would tell him to focus on two things: simplicity and consistency. Keep it simple and do the little things on a consistent basis. It works in sports and it works in sales and business development.

subset: commoncrawl


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'Humble Indie Bundle' Raises Money for Charity By Slashing Video Game Prices [VIDEO]
The fourth edition of the 'Humble Indie Bundle' offers a bunch of hit indie video games all for a great cause.
The fundraising drive regularly offers several popular indie games as part of their "pay what you choose" plan, but this latest batch offers the best deal yet for even the most average gamer. It includes the insanely addictive 'Super Meat Boy,' the classic throwback 'Bit Trip Runner' and the ultra violent (and therefore insanely cool) run 'n slash sidescroller 'Shank.'
Other games in the bundle include 'NightSky HD' and 'Jamestown' available for the first time on Linux. Those who give a little extra can also take home copies of 'Cave Story+' and 'Gratuitous Space Battles.'
Part of the proceeds benefit the American Red Cross and Child's Play, a charity that provides video games and consoles to children's hospitals for the benefit of their patients.
[Via Humble Indie Bundle ]


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Derek Norris drove in three runs with a pair of doubles, Scott Kazmir outpitched Martin Perez and the Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 9-3 on Tuesday night.
The A's went ahead to stay on Norris' two-run double in the first off Perez (4-1), who had pitched 26 consecutive scoreless innings over his previous three starts. The left-hander had thrown three-hit shutouts his last two games, including at Oakland six days earlier.
Kazmir (4-0) tied for the AL lead in wins. He needed 95 pitches to get through five innings, but left with a 9-3 lead. The lefty struck out four and walked one.
When Norris added an RBI double to make it 4-0 in the third, the A's already had six hits off Perez, who started the night with an AL-best 1.42 ERA.
Perez allowed eight runs in 4 2-3 innings.


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I'm struggling a bit with how to review the new autobiography by Dustin Rhodes, Cross Rhodes: Goldust, Out of the Darkness. On one hand, it's an insightful look into Rhodes, and his personal battles, but it really doesn't go in-depth enough into the workings of the business or his career to really give it a thumbs up.
Maybe it's because I was pissed off right from the first paragraph, which started off great before annoying me.
"I started writing this book years ago while sitting in my pickup truck with a handful of pain pills circulating through my body and a bottle of vodka on the passenger seat," Rhodes starts off, explaining his reasons for writing. "I was looking for the truth about me, drug addiction, and the old-school world of sports entertainment that grabbed me as a small child and has never let go."
What do you want to bet that in his original notes it doesn't say "sports entertainment"?
Sports entertainment is not "old-school," and Rhodes, despite the at-one-point daring and controversial Goldust character, is one old-school dude.
At 225 pages, less a bunch of photos (all black and white, alas), Cross Rhodes is pretty weeny for your $16 US ($18.99 in Canada).
The necessary details are all there: growing up the son of the legendary Dusty Rhodes, and the subsequent difficulties they have had; getting into the business and training; his WCW days; his WWE days; his half-brother "Dashing" Cody Rhodes; marriage difficulties; battles with pain killers and alcohol. His awkward, brief tenures in latter-day WCW (1999-2001), and TNA (2004-05, 2007-08) are perhaps justifiably neglected.
In the end, it all feels so compressed.
At his heyday in WCW, he was a kick-ass babyface, standing up for what was right, and willing to take a beating in the process. His four-year run, from 1991 to 1995, is mentioned, yeah, but not to the extent I would have liked. We get no real analysis of the characters or people there, or why things happened when they did. I recognize that say, Arn Anderson, is a great wrestler, but why? What made him so? What discussions went into making the matches? How did he compare to Larry Zbyszko?
Even the details of the famous bout with Blacktop Bully (Barry Darsow) on the moving semi left me feeling unsatisfied, wanting more.
The insight into the Goldust character is a little better, naturally, since he is still doing it (though on the injured reserve list at the moment). "I wondered if Vince hadn't come up with this character for me to take my dad down a notch," questioned Rhodes.
But in the PG-world of the current WWE, he was probably limited in how much he was able to really talk about the questionably entertaining antics of the "Attitude Era."
I do have to say, though, that anyone going back to look at the infamous Hollywood Backlot Brawl with Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 12 in Anaheim, Calif., will never look at the match the same way after learning about all the issues and injuries involved in pulling it off.
And you will be exhausted by just the description of a typical week's travel plans for a WWE star.
The bar has just been raised so high with autobiographies these days, with the likes of Gary Hart ("Playboy" Gary Hart: My Life in Wrestling with a Little Help from my Friends), Bret Hart (Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling), and Chris Jericho (A Lion's Tale: Around The World In Spandex) delivering deep, personal, involving -- and fun -- books.
Maybe that's what is missing -- fun.
In constantly returning to his trials and tribulations with drugs and alcohol, Cross Rhodes comes off as a confessional rather than disclosing, personal rather than personable.


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Bangladesh vs South Africa 2nd Test Preview
Bangladesh vs South Africa 2nd Test 2015 will start on Thursday, July 30, 2015 at 10am in Mirpur Stadium, Dhaka. This will be the 2nd & final Test match between Bangladesh & South Africa. Though the weather forecast for the upcoming days are not promising for full day Test Cricket, both teams are well prepared for the battle of pride.
South Africa have not lost an away Test series since 2006, and they have always won in Bangladesh. The home side, however, will hope to build on the advantage they wrested during the Chittagong draw to end the recent string of successful results at home with another unprecedented outcome.
The history between these two sides has been overwhelmingly one-sided in South Africa's favour, but the Chittagong Test – though marred by rain – was different. Having picked four bowlers instead of the usual three, Mushfiqur Rahim's side dismissed South Africa for only the second time in their bilateral contests. It was the first drawn Test after eight massive defeats for Bangladesh.
Mohammad Shahid, Jubair Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman bowled impressively before Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan batted well enough to take a first-innings lead. Rain washed out the last two days of play but Bangladesh had done just enough to claim dominance.
That there were a number of performers apart from the usual ones was an encouragement for Bangladesh. For example, Shahid's string of 50 dot balls had a huge impact on slowing South Africa down after they cruised the first session of the Test. Liton too impressed by batting solidly on the third day.
South Africa's concerns will be their batsmen not staying long enough and also Quinton de Kock's form. The SG ball softening up quicker has worried Morne Morkel but their group is perhaps the best bowling attack in the world and is expected to bounce back. The weather is also a problem. Plenty of rain is forecast, but unlike in Chittagong, entire days are unlikely to be lost in Mirpur. There will be plenty of interruptions, though, which will be frustrating for the players.
Bangladesh & South Africa Form guide for last 5 Test matches
- Bangladesh DDLDW
- South Africa DWDWW
BAN vs SA 2nd Test – Players to watch
Tamim Iqbal batted for nearly four hours to make 57 off 129 balls and then got out to part-time spinner Dean Elgar. His innings was of immense value to Bangladesh and he said he would like to bat longer next time.
Dale Steyn was made to wait for wickets in the first Test but now he is one away from 400. It will be a momentous occasion for the best fast bowler of his generation.
Bangladesh vs South Africa 2nd Test Team news
Soumya Sarkar's exclusion from the first Test was a surprise but after Bangladesh's impressive performance in Chittagong, it will be hard to include him in Mirpur. Nasir Hossain and Rubel Hossain could also find themselves on the bench if there are no last-minute injuries.
Bangladesh Players List (final): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), 5 Shakib Al Hasan , 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Litton Das (wk), 8 Taijul Islam, 9 Jubair Hossain, 10 Mohammad Shahid, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Of the three South Africa batsmen to play all six games on tour, Quinton de Kock averages the lowest, but South Africa captain Hashim Amla indicated changes were unlikely. Dane Vilas is in the squad should they have a change of mind.
South Africa Players List (final): 1 Stiaan van Zyl, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Hashim Amla (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Temba Bavuma, 7 Quinton de Kock (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Simon Harmer, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne Morkel
Bangladesh vs South Africa 2nd Test 2015 – Mirpur, Dhaka – Pitch and Weather conditions
The Mirpur stadium pitch will offer more bounce and a bit more pace than the one in Chittagong stadium. The fact that it has been mostly under covers in the week leading up to the second Test will also play a role in how it behaves. The forecast is for more of the same: rain and more rain.
BAN vs SA 2nd Test Day 1 Weather – July 30 – Heavy thunderstorms; cooler, Hi 30° , Lo 25°
BAN vs SA 2nd Test Day 2 Weather – July 31 – Heavy rain and a thunderstorm, Hi 30°, Lo 25°
BAN vs SA 2nd Test Day 3 Weather – August 1 – Showers and a heavier t-storm, Hi 30°, Lo 26°
BAN vs SA 2nd Test Day 4 Weather – August 2 – Cloudy, a thunderstorm; breezy, Hi 32°, Lo 26°
BAN vs SA 2nd Test Day 5 Weather – August 3 – A thunderstorm in the afternoon, Hi 32°, Lo 26°
BAN vs SAF Stats and trivia
- Steyn is one wicket away from becoming the second South African – and the 13th overall – to take 400 Test wickets.
- Shakib Al Hasan is three wickets away from becoming the 17th player to take 150 wickets and score more than 2500 runs in Tests.
Quotes on Bangladesh vs South Africa 2nd Test
"Our challenge will be to stop their pace attack. We did well in the last game, which gives us confidence. We will try to cross the pace hurdle."
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim


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This is a very exciting year for National Geographic Maps, as we are launching our new series of maps designed specifically for the kids. Our new graded-series of maps are the first to address the unique needs of K-12 students as they advance their understanding of our World.
Unlike other classroom poster maps, ours utilize the Winkel-Triple projection, which provides the best combination of size, shape, and distance giving the student the best visual representation of the Earth's surface. This solves the effect seen on other maps where Greenland appears larger than South America.
Our new maps start early elementary kids off right. Our Beginner Series, grades K-3, contains an easy to read maps of the World and United States.
Scale = 1:30,000,000
|Product #
|National Geographic Maps


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by Louise E. Wright
Should Cathy Hozack ever tire of painting, she might turn her talents to architecture or even urban planning. The 32-year-old artist, whose works are on display this month at Campbell's Place, creates abstract watercolors in which she strives to reconcile the civilized world with the natural one.
Bridges, aqueducts and windmills figure prominently in her landscapes, and she counts the city skyline among her favorite subjects. Hozack, however, can't resist improving on what she sees. "We have a lovely city," she acknowledges, "but there are certain things that can be blended or included in a way that I choose." She offers skyscrapers like the Comcast Center as an example. In her paintings, Hozack prefers to integrate them with their environment rather than permit them to tower over it. "I can make those buildings cooperate with the surrounding land and weather patterns," she explains.
Appreciative of the city, Hozack prefers to gaze at it from a distance. Places like the roof top of the Drake Apartments or the Schuylkill River Path allow her to enjoy the urban scene, comfortably distanced from its noise and commotion. "I have to avoid those kinds of things if I'm going to produce art work," explains Hozack, who is epileptic. "Distractions for me are what people deal with everyday."
In her Chestnut Hill studio, Hozack experiences the excitement of creating without distractions, "except maybe a kitty," she concedes, alluding to the five felines who share a home with her and her mother, Ann, who grew up in Germantown.
Yet, if a stress-free environment allows Hozack to create, the very act of creation has a soothing effect. Feeling angry or stressed, she retreats to her studio where, absorbed in her work, she forgets her problems. "In that case, having a short-term memory loss is a good thing," she jokes, referring to one of the effects of both epilepsy and the brain surgery she underwent five years ago to reduce her seizures.
Similarly, while taking classes at the Woodmere Art Museum and studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA), Hozack remained seizure-free. In 2006 she graduated from the Academy with a certificate in painting, having spent a semester abroad at the Burren College of Art in Ireland.
Hozack, who has lived in Chestnut Hill since she was 9, began her studies in middle school, doing a little bit of everything, but it wasn't until two years after graduation from Delaware Valley Friends High School that she decided to pursue art as a career. Encouraged by her teachers at Woodmere, whom she describes as "very patient," she applied to PAFA.
Her portfolio consisted of portraits, watercolor landscapes and drawings but no oils. At PAFA, however, she received classical training, which meant working with oils. "When I got to choose my medium," she declares, I went straight back to watercolor."
Hozack describes watercolor as "a fun thing" and has a natural gift for it. Although initially lacking formal training in the medium, "I understood instinctively how to go about the process." Learning the accepted techniques later on "helped me understand which were important to me. That was when I began defining my own style."
At present, Hozack directs her energies toward creating large abstract works on canvas using liquid acrylic, something she thinks of as "watercolor in a larger bottle." She's a regular customer at Kilian's Hardware, where she buys disposable 3 1/2″ brushes, the kind used to paint houses.
Hozack characterizes her pictures as "multiple layers of transparent colors that move back and forth." Blues and greens dominate her palette, although recent canvases have "more red, more warm colors, strong colors."
Occasionally, Hozack reverts to her formal training. One day, she recalls, after working on a large abstract piece, "I decided to sit and draw a grapefruit in the sun." Exercises such as this not only relax her but also allow her to "check back" on her abilities.
One of Hozack's cityscapes recently graced the cover of the journal "Epilepsy & Behavior." Through Jim Chambliss, the driving force behind Sparks of Creativity, an organization devoted to studying the influence of epilepsy and migraines on the arts, Hozack contacted the editor. In doing so, she hoped to garner attention, not only for herself but for epileptics in general.
Hozack talks openly about epilepsy, regretting the general public's ignorance of the condition. References to seizures in the news cause some listeners to "cringe," she points out, while some epileptics "are still ashamed." Her goal is to generate publicity for epilepsy "in a positive way, in a way that makes people want to listen more."
What epilepsy needs, she concludes, "is a young spokeswoman like me that people will recognize and connect with." Indeed. Who better than Cathy Hozack?
Hozack's watercolors are on view at Campbell's Place from Feb. 6 through March 3; the Pierre S. duPont Arts Center Gallery in Wilmington will host a solo exhibition of her work in November. For more information, visit www.cathyhozack.com


text: Mahindra Max, Made for Chores February 16, 2012 03:08 AM Tweet The new subcompact tractor series from Mahindra USA, will be ready to become your chore hand later this month. The tractors in the Mahindra Max series are small in size but big in capacity. "Big in backhoe capacity, big in loader capacity, drive over mid mount deck, turn around seat on the backhoe, all of this can be factory installed," says Mac Payne, director of sales at Mahindra USA. "We're very excited about the product." Three machines make up the new lineup from Mahindra; the Max 22, Max 25, and the Max 28 XL that the company is calling a mid-compact tractor. The Max 22 and Max 25 have a 900 lb. loader capacity to the top of the lift. The Max 28 XL exceeds a 1400 lb loader capacity. "When you've got a true frame and a heavy frame you can put a larger loader on there and have a bigger loader capacity," he says. The tractor's large loader capacity makes it a good option for moving product, hay and manure around the farm. It has the backhoe capability to do digging and a fabricated deck for mowing. A true three point hitch on each machine in the new Max series allows farmer to use any tool they choose with the tractor and that is flexibility according to Payne. "It has a full size three point hitch so box blading, rotary cutting, any of those kind of jobs are very well suited for the max," Payne says. "It's a true tractor in that compact size." Payne says that the tractors attachments, mid mount mowers, loaders and backhoes, allow farmers a lot of versatility on the farm. "I think that's where the Max fits into the best, it's a very versatile tractor," he says, "because it's a true tractor, with a heavy frame and bigger tires gives us better stabilization and better traction." He says the machines which made their official debut earlier this month in Galveston, Texas will be on the farm ready to work come spring. Back to news


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Iron Man, Captain America, Wolverine & Spider-Man Family Car Decals
How super is your family?
- 50 decals per set, enough for multiple cars!
- Iron Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Spider-Man
- Parents, kids, and even pets are included
Your family is too cool for those stereotypical family decals. After all, you have super powers! Dad is a super soldier, fighting the good corporate fight in CubeVille. Mom is a techie wizard, able to automate nearly everything in the home. Big Sister is always hanging out high, high up (and nobody knows just how she got up there) and Little Brother shakes off scratches and cuts and just keeps on playing. No ordinary stickers will do for you!
Marvel Superhero Family Car Decals are the product of a partnership between ThinkGeek and Marvel. One package contains 50 decals, plenty to decorate multiple cars and your wee geeks' bedroom windows. Four characters are included: Iron Man, Captain America, Wolverine, and Spider-Man. Each character comes in six versions: Dad, Mom, Daughter, Son, Dog, and Cat. Assemble your team of heroes and proudly display them wherever your Fantasti-Car may take you.
Product Specifications
- Family car decals for fans of Marvel superheroes
- 50 decals in all, 2 sheets of each set
- Ironman (Dad, Mom, Boy Child, Girl Child)
- Captain America (Dad, Mom, Boy Child, Girl Child)
- Wolverine (Dad, Mom, Boy Child, Girl Child)
- Spider-Man (Dad, Mom, Boy Child, Girl Child)
- Pets (Cat & Dog versions of Ironman, Captain America, Wolverine, Spider-Man)
- Marvel logo
- Stick easily to any clean, flat surface
- Officially licensed Marvel collectible


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Liberty News
Constitution Day speaker defends our nation's founding principles
Bestselling author and president of Westminster Theological Seminary Dr. Peter A. Lillback spoke to students at Friday's Constitution Day convocation about the relevance and importance of the Constitution.
"He is a leading expert on the foundational history of the United States, the intersection of faith, politics, government, and the public square, and on the separation of church and state," Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. said when he introduced him.
Lillback, who has also been a pastor and professor, is a frequent guest and spokesperson on television, radio, and in the mass media.
Lillback and Falwell met when they appeared alongside each other on the Glenn Beck TV show on FOX News twice this past summer. Streaming video of Friday morning's convocation was available live on Glenn Beck's Insider Extreme Network, www.glennbeck.com/extreme.
Lillback began his message by quoting Second Thessalonians 5:19: "Do not put out the spirit's fire." He used his knowledge of the life and legacy of George Washington to illustrate the passion and "fire" that Americans need to have for Christ and the Christian principles the founding fathers intended the United States to have.
"We need to hear again about the sacred fire, a burning passion that cares about what God has called us to do as a Christian people living in, in many ways, an unbelieving and secular world," Lillback said.
Lillback is the author of national bestsellers "George Washington's Sacred Fire" and "Wall of Misconception – Does the Separation of Church and State Mean the Separation of God and Government?" His children's book, "Lessons on Liberty – A Primer for Young Patriots," received a Silver Medal from the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards.
Lillback is passionate about defending the values America was founded on. He has spent many years researching our nation's founding fathers and the history of the Judeo-Christian heritage of the United States. He also serves as president of The Providence Forum, a non-profit scholarly organization committed to preserving, defending and advancing the faith of our founding fathers.


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It's time for Jose Melendez's KEYS TO THE GAME.
1. Jonathan Papelbon picked up a six out save last night.
Think about that. Jonathan Papelbon picked up a six out save last night. Dick Radatz got six out saves, but Jonathan Papelbon? Not so much. If it didn't stretch the limits of his endurance, it was only a 28-pitch outing, it at least pushed the limits of tradition. In fact, the precedents for such a brazen rejection of traditional boundaries are limited. Jose has done a little research and come up with the following comparables:
• 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt seeks, and wins an unprecedented third term as President.
• 1996 Jasmin St. Claire, rather than stopping at having sex with a virginal 250 men in a day, goes all the way to 300.
• 2001 Takeru Kobayashi does not stop after breaking the world hot dog eating record of 25 in 12 minutes, but continues to eat until he has doubled the 12-minute record.
What all of these feats have in common is that they required competitors to push themselves a little harder than normal, to take some risks in order to master the task at hand. Jose has no doubt then when Ms. St. Claire pursued the sex record, many of you were screaming "Get her out of there Tito, let Daniel Bard finish this one off" but sometimes that's not how it works. Sometimes a champion just has to… extend… him or herself to do what needs to be done, and last night Jonathan Papelbon did just that.
The exception, of course, is the 2003 ALCS, when Grady Little asked Pedro to do more than was possible, infuriating sox fans and online sports bettors alike. That was like asking FDR to run for a fifth term post mortem, insisting that Jasmin St. Clair go for 500 or insisting that Kobayashi should replicate his feat with foot long dogs.
There's good crazy (note: the kind that leads to slashing prices) and bad crazy (the kind that leads to slashing wrists) and it's not always clear until after the fact what kind of crazy one is looking at.
2. Jose is much angrier in America then he is in Africa. Jose won't say that he is happier at home, per se, just less angry. In Uganda, if there is electricity in the wires, water in the pipes and no parasites in the intestines, it's going to be a good day. But almost as soon as Jose got off the plane in Boston a few weeks ago, his ability to take solace in the flow of electrons dissipated. Here, you see, we have baseball. And baseball, it turns out, makes Jose an angry man.
Leigh Montville, as Jose recalls, once wrote that every day he looked at the front page of the paper to makes sure we weren't at war and then went to the sports. Jose has a similar philosophy. Every day, Jose looks at the front page, discovers that we are at war, twice, gets angry, and then goes to the sports section, where if the Red Sox have lost, he gets really angry. If they've won, his mood is moderated, maybe he's even happy, but if they're lost… look out. Angry, angry, angry.
Sometimes Jose will even get angry about being angry, but that's a negative feedback loop, bad things leading to bad things, which lead to more bad things. It's kind of like a Nick Green at bat.
This is where Jose should preach about how in living in a poor country made him see things differently and not only appreciate the little things, but reject foolish passions like sports and celebrity. But here's the thing: It didn't. If anything it made him appreciate the need for escapism, the need to, from time to time, substitute the emotions of others for one's own. Do you think that the villagers in Uganda are any less in need of escapism then we are? In Uganda, people pay what little money they have to sit on hard wooden benches in a sticky, airless room and watch a soccer match. Do you think even Red Sox fans would do that for a ballgame? Well, yes, they do it at Fenway 81 times a year, but do you think they'd do it to watch the game on TV? Well, not the pink hats anyway.
The point is that people, all people, want escapism. We want to live vicariously at least some of the time. All of the accoutrement of the modern sports fan, the fantasy sports the online betting, they are but catalysts, enzymes of the mind designed to accelerated and intensify the vicarious thrill. But to live vicariously is to live dangerously, to cede control of a tiny portion of one's personal sovereignty to something over which one has no control. Jose may not have much control over the electricity in Uganda, but at least Jose can juice up while the power is on; Jose can prepare for darker days ahead. But as a Red Sox fan, Jose has no choice but to live with the consequences of the actions of others. And this powerlessness, is infuriating; it is intoxicating.
It is what makes Jose love being a Red Sox fan, and it is what makes him angry. But it is a good kind of anger, a pleasantly impotent rage, a substitute for staring at the madness of this world, at Darfur, Burma or Afghanistan and going daft from the righteous anger raised by man's inhumanity to man. It does not deaden Jose's concern, but it does deaden his pain, and enables him to think rationally about the needs and the horrors of the world. Jose gets angry at the Red Sox so he can think clearly about the war, so that anger, an irrational emotion, spends its time directed towards an irrational game while the logical focuses on all the trouble in the world.
3. Congratulations to Jon Lester, who last night set the Red Sox record for strikeouts by a lefty in a single season. While setting any record for a baseball franchise that has existed for more than 100 years is impressive, this one is special. Setting a left handed pitching record on a team that has had, among its stars, a pitcher actually named "Lefty" is extraordinary. Really, they don't call someone "Lefty" because he's only okay with his left hand.
Think about it this way. Jacoby Ellsbury setting the Red Sox single season steal record was impressive, but it would have been so much more impressive if Tommy Harper had been nicknamed "Two Legs" Harper. (Note: As Jose recalls, Ellis Burks' nickname should have been "Three Legs" Burks.) Or what if David Ortiz had taken the single season home run record from a man named "Gigantic Freaking Biceps" Foxx. Hell imagine if Julio Yugo had set an errors record by beating out Edgar "Girlie Arm" Renteria. Yes, Jose knows that the previous record did not belong to Lefty Grove, but the argument still holds. If you set a record at anything and beat out a guy who is named for the critical body part in the record setting act, you've done something pretty special.
I'm Jose Melendez, and those are my KEYS TO THE GAME.
Wednesday, September 2
Just Like Roosevelt
Posted by Jose Melendez at 11:54 AM 1 comment: Links to this post
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Two Point Hospital: Pebberley Island, all new content for Two Point Hospital is Now Available on Steam!Blaze a sterilised trail through a tropical island for an eccentric millionaire in search of a fabled source of death-defying water
Happy Equinox! With this latest turn of the yearly wheel on March 20th I've decided to present a guest article by J. Duval, editor-in-chief at Edelwyn.
Looking at a Washington DC chart for this Equinox we see the Moon in Virgo rising which is perfect
A World Championship. A career-best result. For Joanne Reid of the US Biathlon team in Östersund, Sweden, the recently concluded IBU World Championships were a highlight. It was a fine series of races for the twenty-six year old last week — it was a
Heading into the final weekend of World Cup racing, the U.S. Ski Team will be allotted a greater number of starts. Starting with Friday's sprint, racing will be organized in Québec, Canada. Not technically the U.S., but it is North America. The Internatio
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I demand a trailer!!!
You are here: Home ‹ Board index ‹ Movie Discussion ‹ All Other/Older Movies ‹ (2009) Disney's A Christmas Carol
Expect Trailer to be Released Soon
Discuss this movie. Available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Must I really say it again? You'd think with all this new stuff such as the train and the poster we might get a trailer!!!
Sorry. I had to get crazy there for a second.
To God, every living being is beautiful... Except for you.
This is Charlie Brown:
To God, every living being is beautiful... Except for you.
Good news everyone ... it has been confirmed that the trailer for "A Christmas Carol" is attached too the Disney/Pixar movie "UP"! (after first screenings "Up" is already called 'the movie of the year', btw) There's no doubt that it will show up on the internet soon.
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- This event has passed.
The Water Cave Adventure
11/04/2018 @ 09:30 - 14:30
| Price: 55€
|Recurring Event (See all)
Weekly on the same day until 31/10/2018
Event Navigation
Hiking + Abseiling + Sea Caving
A day full of emotions that will not leave anyone indifferent!
Impressive adventure tour in the area of Calas de Mallorca. This tour combines hiking with caving, and adds an interesting touch with an optional 25-meter abseil.
|meeting point
09:30 h. Cala Romàntica (Manacor)
39.5172815, 3.3084976 (mapa)
|4-5 hours
|approximate distance
|4 kilometers
|recommended minimum age
|10 years old
|entrance from the sea, inland lakes, 25 meter abseil
Book this activity now
Important: If it is less than 24 hours before the activity, please call us so we can confirm there are still places available.
The activity is not considered confirmed until you receive our response.
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Si8710CC-IP Optocoupler Replacement Isolator
The Si8710CC-IP isolator is pin-compatible, single-channel, drop-in optocoupler replacement with data rates up to 1 Mbps. This device isolates high-speed digital signals and offers performance, reliability, and flexibility advantages not available with optocoupler solutions. The Si8710CC-IP is based on Silicon Labs' proprietary CMOS isolation technology for low-power and high-speed operation and is resistant to the wear-out effects found in optocouplers that degrade performance with increasing temperature, forward current, and device age. As a result, it offers longer service life and dramatically higher reliability compared to a traditional optocoupler.
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Default Output State: Hi-Z
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SOURCE: Panda Express
January 28, 2013 16:45 ET
Free Serving of Panda's New Premium Shrimp Entree on Feb. 13
Free Serving of Panda's New Premium Shrimp Entree on Feb. 13
ROSEMEAD, CA--(Marketwire - Jan 28, 2013) - Panda Express, the world leader in Asian dining experiences, introduces its latest premium entrée, Tangy Jumbo Shrimp, on Jan. 30 just in time to celebrate Chinese New Year and ring in the Year of the Snake. Tangy Jumbo Shrimp combines crispy, extra-large shrimp, fresh sugar peas and sweet red bell peppers, wok tossed in a new tangy Asian seafood sauce. Guests are invited to enjoy a free single serving of the dish on Feb.13.
"Chinese New Year is a traditional time to honor loved ones and celebrate with delicious and symbolic food. Our Tangy Jumbo Shrimp, made with unique and premium ingredients, is our way of celebrating this joyous time of the year with our guests," said Andy Kao, Executive Chef at Panda Express. "Shrimp symbolizes happiness and good fortune and with our Tangy Jumbo Shrimp, Panda Express wishes our guests a prosperous New Year."
According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the first moon signals the beginning of Chinese New Year, which is on Feb.10th and is celebrated for 15 days. Traditionally, families gather on New Year's Eve to enjoy a special meal, where entrées have symbolic meanings for well wishes in the upcoming year. This meal bears such importance that if a family member cannot attend, an empty seat is kept in place to symbolize their presence.
According to the Chinese zodiac, those born with the sign of the snake are said to be insightful, determined and loyal.
Tangy Jumbo Shrimp will be available at participating Panda Express locations nationwide on Jan. 30 as well as on the catering menu, perfect for guests hosting Chinese New Year parties.
Ring in the New Year with Panda Express and enjoy a free single serving of Tangy Jumbo Shrimp by downloading a coupon from the Panda Express Facebook page or the company's Website. The coupon will be available Jan. 30 and is redeemable only in participating locations on Feb. 13.
About Panda Express
2013 marks Panda Express' 30th Anniversary. Founded in 1983, with close to 1,600 locations in 42 states, Panda Express is part of Panda Restaurant Group, the world leader in Asian dining experiences. The successful chain of concepts includes Panda Express, Panda Inn and Hibachi-San. Panda Express is best known for its wide variety of original recipes including their famous Orange Chicken®, SweetFire Chicken Breast®, Award Winning Honey Walnut Shrimp™ and Shanghai Angus Steak™. For more information visit, www.pandaexpress.com, or become a fan on Facebook.
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Charlamagne Tha God Blasts Mims For His Lyrics: "One & Half Hit Wonder. Dont Put Yourself In The Same Lane As Clowns Like Yung Berg & Ching" Calls In To Speak To Mims On Radio [Late News][Audio]
WSHH is late on this one. Charlamagne Tha God & Mims on Lip Service
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The are several ways to use the calendar on your iPhone, including syncing with other devices (including computers) and with the cloud (via a variety of services). You can also keep just one global calendar for everything, or separate ones for work, school, hobbies, family, training, etc.
- You can just use the calendar app right on the iPhone all by itself. It's not the fastest when it comes to data entry, but if you really want to keep your agenda in your pocket you can just hit the plus (+) key, add an event, and keep on keeping on (time that is).
- You can sync your calendar(s) over from Outlook on Windows or iCal on the Mac using iTunes and the USB-Dock cable that came with your iPhone. This makes sure both your desktop/laptop and iPhone calendar stay roughly coordinated (not instantly, but updated whenever you tether up and sync). Even if you intend to leave the desktop for the mobile, syncing over at first is a great way to start.
- You can sync from cloud services like Google Calendar, Apple's MobileMe, or a Microsoft Exchange server via ActiveSync. All three (if you're using GoogleSync, at least) will "push" changes back and forth between your online and on-device calendars, and if your desktop is linked to the same account, you can keep all your calendars automatically and up-to-the-minute accurate. (Pro users might even set up links between MobileMe and Google Calendar or Exchange via desktop or third party tools for cross-cloud sync). -You can subscribe to online calendars shared by others via CalDAV, which is useful for keeping track of public holidays, your favorite sports teams, special projects, or other group events on small or grand scale.
In iPhone OS 4, developers will have access to the calendar so we'll likely see movie ticket apps that automatically add the show time for you when you buy a ticket. Until then, let us know how you're using your iPhone calendar. On device, synced from your desktop, and/or in the cloud? If in the cloud, what service do you use? Any tips or tricks you care to share?


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Only hotels in 62060 zip code are listed below. Search for cheap and discount hotel rates in Madison, IL for your upcoming leisure or conference / group travel. We list the best 62060 hotels and motels so you can review the Madison hotel list below to find the perfect lodging. Hotels in Madison county and area code 618 are also listed.
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