text:
The Essays of The Man From the North by Rivera Sun
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published December 1, 2013
December 6, 2018
The holidays are at hand. Boycott Season is in effect. As the snow starts to fall, the commercial war of the season asserts its dominance. Our identities as citizens are quickly buried in a blizzard of advertising that defines us as consumers.
We are occupied territory for the corporate regime. Our option is to resist.
Across the nation, members of the Dandelion Insurrection are using the holiday season as an opportunity for active resistance. Due to corporate influence on politics, the struggle for effective political power has shifted out of offices and Congressional Halls and into the capitalistic marketplace. If we wish to undermine the strength of the corporations, we must look away from the corrupt seats of power where special interests are entrenched by campaign financing and lobbyists. Instead, we must look for the places where the corporations are vulnerable. We must study their blind spots and Achilles' heels. We must look deeply into the financial ties of one corporate entity to another. We must examine the consumer supports that prop up their economic power. We must also look for opportunities to Aikido their weighty offensives and bring the corporations to their knees.
One of these is Christmas. The economic driver of a dozen names is a holiday season that embraces diversity as a commercial tactic, manipulating Jews, Christians, and atheists alike to spend money in the pursuit of happiness. Our shared virtues of generosity, charity, and gift giving are held hostage by corporate tyranny. The season sublimates our highest principles into strengthening the destructive, corporate elite. The holidays provide a pillar of support that prop up the year-round manipulations of corporations. We must consciously erode this support and build foundations of our own.
Local businesses, small enterprises, artisan goods, handmade gifts, home made presents, worker-cooperatives, and conscious businesses are the future of a just and equitable American economy. While we strive to end corporate control of politics, we must do our best to grow alternative businesses as a form of support. These kinds of enterprises not only strive toward a vision of sustainable economy, they also provide potential foundations of strength for the resistance to corporate tyranny. For this alliance to develop, shopping for holiday gifts in these alternative businesses must also be paired with a willingness to discuss the reasons for your actions.
We are not sanctimonious, conscious consumers patting ourselves on our goody-two-shoes backs.
We are a coordinated, strategic resistance to the rule of mega-corporations and the empowered wealthy class. We support these alternative forms of business not only out of moral reasons, but also for strategic purposes. We must be prepared to sustain the basic needs and necessities of the people: food, water, energy, shelter, capital, transportation, and communication. This is a necessity of waging successful struggle to shift political power back into the hands of the people. The entrenched corporate elite use economic sanctions and their control of law to repress our efforts. They will systematically attempt to impoverish us. They will cut off our access to support. They will strive to break our movement by demoralizing and "starving us out" both literally and metaphorically.
The establishment of strong alternative social institutions and organizations to provide basic necessities is a requirement for our success.
Furthermore, if we are successful at crumbling current corporate control of basic goods and services, then the alternatives must be ready to step forward and replace them. Our local businesses, regional farms, transportation, energy, and communications services must be able to fill in the vacuum left by crumbling mega-corporations.
The nuts-and-bolts of these lofty strategic ideals can be found in the context of our holiday shopping. Use the gathering of gifts as an opportunity to open dialogue with local businesses. Explain your reasons for supporting them. Tell them how your choices are rooted in an understanding that the socio-political rule of mega-corporations is causing destruction to people and the planet. Let them know that you consider small, local businesses an integral part of the movement to change our untenable situation.
And consider yourself fortunate to be resisting in this way.
This holiday season, our unfortunate – but powerful – ally in the efforts to undermine corporate rule is the grim figure of poverty too many of us face. Nearly 50% of our fellow Americans live at – or below – international standards of poverty. The starkness of this must be grasped. The United Nations statistics are based on "having enough to survive on and a little bit more". Our country is considered one of the wealthiest nations in the world … yet half of our populace does not make enough to survive.
Despite this, corporate tyranny harasses the poor relentlessly during the holiday season. They are subject to shame and inferiority, accused of selfishness and cold-heartedness, humiliated by national leaders for being lazy and not working hard enough, subjected to lectures about fiscal management, and unjustly chastised for being wasteful of money during the rest of the year.
Meanwhile, the mega-corporations and the super wealthy proudly flaunt their charitable donations. They self-righteously laud themselves for providing "affordable options" for the average American. They throw galas and fundraisers and toast to the New Year, draping themselves in extravagance.
Never once do they mention the complicity of their corporations in causing the impoverishment of millions! Never once do they confess to the political policies that stretch soup kitchen lines down the block. Never once do the mega-corporations consider paying their workers a living wage. Never once do the super-wealthy propose tax measures that would reinvest their fortunes into prosperity for all Americans!
Instead, they perpetuate the abject lie that poverty is the result of laziness.
Fifty percent of Americans are not lazy, my friends. I can guarantee that. Poverty is the grim, austere ally in our resistance to corporate domination. Half of our populace can no longer afford to support Christmas. But although poverty has ended much of our nation's willful participation in excess consumerism, the people have yet to give full support to the resistance. Poverty constrains them, frightens them, and forces them into subjugation to the power of the elite.
This is why I urge the conscious resisters of the Dandelion Insurrection to transform poverty's constraints into an active boycott of mega-corporations for holiday shopping. A boycott may be largely symbolic for those who have nothing to spend … but if even a few souls avoid the enslavement of holiday credit card debt, then the reframing of poverty is worth it. A boycott of tyranny strengthens us all, empowering us through a simple switch in perspective. We are not ashamed to be poor non-participants in Christmas … we are proud to be actively resisting the corporations that subject millions to suffering!
And if we are fortunate enough to have some resources to spend, let us apply it to building the foundations for change. For all of us, the holiday season is a major opportunity to wage resistance to the corporate empire's take-over of our nation. Let us not forfeit a moment, a dollar, or a single word of conversation during this time of active engagement.
If you have something, wage an act of resistance: boycott!
If you have nothing, wage an act of resilience: take pride in the fact that you're already boycotting!
And in every interaction during the holiday madness, remember the greatest resistance to tyranny. In all of your words, actions, and deeds … be kind, be connected, and be unafraid!
Author/Actress Rivera Sun syndicated by PeaceVoice, is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection and the sequel, The Roots of Resistance. Website: http://www.riverasun.com
The Man From the North is a fictional writer in Rivera Sun's novel, The Dandelion Insurrection and the sequel, The Roots of Resistance. The novel takes place in the near future, in "a time that looms around the corner of today", when a rising police state controlled by the corporate-political elite have plunged the nation into the grip of a hidden dictatorship. In spite of severe surveillance and repression, the Man From the North's banned articles circulate through the American populace, reporting on resistance and fomenting nonviolent revolution. This article is one of a series written by The Man From the North, which are not included in the novel, but can be read here.
See also:
Buy Nothing Christmas–This year, what kind of Xmas will you choose?
from the archives:
Our Way Of Life Must Die — Another World Is Possible
Capitalism's Failure of the Flesh: The Rise of the Robots by Phil Rockstroh
Tis the Season To Wage Boycotts!
Who Pays the Price for Amazon's Free Shipping? + Alternatives by Lo
Chris Hedges: Manufacturing Culture or Consent
Revolt Against The Shallow Deadliness Of Our Corn Syrup Nation


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Two weeks after Downieville (in a post yet to come), I made my way to Santa Rosa for the Annadel XC race (a Bikemonkey joint). I figured that it'd be easy after Downieville, right?
Dave Watt and I rolled to Santa Rosa on Friday night, after deciding that paying for a hotel was preferable to getting up at 5am. This was the right move, even though the free breakfast left a little to be desired. Rested and fed, we signed in and and rendezvoused with the SUPERPRO team bus. A huge crowd of soupies made it out, including our fearless ringleader Murphy and his partner-in-crime Emily, Zach, Scotty, Jim, CDB, Sasha, Kelleigh, Adam G and Adam H (finally back on his own working bike), Carrie, May, and a triumphant Sarah H, marking her return to racing in style. Support staff included Simon the dog, Xton the pirate, and Jason the cowboy. There was also a cast of hundreds of familiar and not-so-familiar faces.
The non-neutral rollout
650 racers lined up on 3rd street in downtown Santa Rosa. What could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot, it turns out, as the start was a very hectic place. I took it moderately easy and just concentrated on avoiding [everything]. Some weren't so lucky, I caught a glance of the unfortunate intersection of a rider and a hazard board placed the middle of the road. Otherwise, it was a battle of concentration to avoid getting taken out. There was a police escort to keep us clear of traffic, and it worked at least 50% of the time. Yikes. "Slonie, use your roadie skills!" came the call from a teammate behind.
"I am," I yelled back, "I'm still upright, aren't I?"
Maybe that wasn't such a good idea
The race hit the edge of the park and pavement quickly gave way to a wide dirt climb. But the field was still charging six-wide into the chute, and it was pandemonium. One racer dropped their chain and got of in the middle of a charging field, stepping backwards (!) down the hill as racers were riding up. I put my hand on their bar to guide their bike away from crashing me out whole assuring the owner that everything was okay. Some other random stuff happened, like a guy yelling "let the singlespeeders through!"
I understand what he was getting at, but… What are you gonna do? One problem is that the start didn't have any separate waves, and even if it did, the singlespeeders had it tough on the flat road section leading to the first climb. I did see the full-face-helmet-cyborg dude fly past me, then drift back, alternating between 200rpm and coasting.There's me… Still in the easy part. (Also pictured: Full-Face Cyborg Guy).
There was also at least one part where a bunch of people were hiking, and so it was pretty hard to ride. I got off too, electing to save energy. Of course, this resulted in the groans and protests from the guys who were good enough to ride it. Whatever, get in front next time. On the other hand, I now realize, hiking might be contributing to potential cramps… But we'll get to that later.
Racer Number 9
After clearing Howarth park (which had a cyclocross course feel), we hit Annadel proper. I found myself dueling with a 9 year old racer who was primarily concerned with (and succeeding at) dropping his dad. Future champion, that one. Otherwise, I had things under control. In a couple cases I had to get off due to people stopping in front of me (or to limit losses), but nothing much interesting happened. I got complimented on my lines by the guy behind me, so that was nice (my lines = Trying to avoid the rocks that bounce me around like a pinball, i.e. all of them). By then I had realized that my dark glasses were a liability on rocky singletrack that goes in and out of the trees, so I took them off and suffered through the sun and dust.
Clint Classen's wife was shooting pictures on this trail, and I thought the one she caught of me accruately illustrates the visual acuity I had during the dustier sections of the race (and upon waking up the next day, as well)
As a side note, this video from Murph is a good illustration of the lighting conditions… I was as blind as the GoPro when the light came through the trees. Luckily, I was traveling half the speed, so I didn't get tossed off my bike when a rock or root came out of nowhere, just (further) slowed down.
We hit the Burma climb and I was starting to think about asking for a point-by from the guy in front of me, who seemed to be having issues with his drivetrain, or his pedals, or… His breakfast. He threw up off the bike without stopping. "Are you okay?" I asked, and his reply came quickly "Better now than I was before." I went for the pass immediately after that. I'm putting that one down as a good one to have taken.
And there goes my group…
When I reached the split between the short and long courses, all the people around me turned right and disappeared. They were the smart ones… Another racer caught up to me on the doubletrack, and I asked him for tips on what was coming. He said there'd be a fast descent, then a road climb, then a two-step dirt climb, and that was it for the climbing. Cool.
Got your Bak
Free insulated water bottles! I wish they had electrolytes in them. But at least plain water meant I could dump it on my head. That was the best. But the road immediately turned upwards yet again, on pavement this time. A few roadies on mountain bikes motored away as I tried to once again conserve a bit… I had eaten all the enduralytes that Dave gave me and was trying not to cramp. But I was still passing people whose spirits had been crushed by the heat.
Speaking too soon
As we got back on dirt, the rocky slightly-technical climbing continued. I started to think, and speak, about that free beer at the finish. Big mistake. One moment's inattention and I had to unclip my right foot. Whoops. The cramp hit me, and I had to get off the bike. A few riders passed and asked me if I was okay. I told them I was suffering from "The C-Word," careful not to invoke its actual name lest I get it even worse. Shortly thereafter I was able to get back on the bike and get back on it.
Mergers and Acquisitions
The long course merged back up with the short course soon after, and traffic started to pick up again. The short course riders were really good about getting out of the way, which was nice of them. I guess they'd already been softened up by the entirety of the fast folks plowing through their ranks… I even managed to reel in the guys who had passed me while I was cramping. Yay!
Of course, they may have passed me again at the final aid station, where I made half a banana and a handful of kettle chips disappear in a blink. Whether the salt and potassium would truly help with my cramps or not, it didn't matter. They was glorious. With my newfound power, I
I ended up cooped up behind a guy on a Santa Cruz squishy bike, who was really taking it easy on any section that was smooth and/or flattish. But there really wasn't anywhere to pass him, and he was actually going fast on any part of the trail that was tricky. So I yoyo'd behind him until the road opened up, and lit it up. Never saw him again.
The Last Mile Problem
I was big ringing it down the fireroads towards the finish and didn't know quite how close I was. Now the twinges of cramps on my calfs and quads were making themselves known again, but I had things under control. Then I saw a Superpro kit up ahead. It was Adam H, and he needed a 26″ tube. Nobody has those anymore, right? Except me! Since I knew we were close to the finish, I stopped an handed him my whole Camelbak, then clipped back in ad hammered towards the finish. Oh, right, that means I unclipped again. My right leg immediately started to cramp up again, but I backed off and favored my left leg to until I could will the cramp into submission.
It turns out that I was only a mile or so from the finish… The giant Bikemonkey arch was a welcome sight! I ended up "sprinting" it out with a Luna lady for whatever place. (turns out I actually got 14th in U35 sport, at 2:54 or so)
Back in the finish village, all was not right. Dave came up to me with bloodstains on his elbows and thighs. It turns out he went down near the finish and cut his elbow pretty bad. The medical tent bandaged him up, but strongly suggested that the next stop should be the ER. Caitlin and I attempted to hitchhike back to the start, but neither of us were successful (neither a sob story, nor a cute bike racer would do the trick, apparently), so we rode back to the start to get the cars.
Dave emerged from the hospital a bit over three hours later, with two stitched up lacerations on his elbow, prescriptions for antibiotics and painkillers, and a little souvenir that the X-Ray tech had initially identified as a bone fragment, but was actually a razor-sharp substantially-sized rock shard that had hitched a ride from the race to the hospital inside his elbow. Ow.
PS: Here's the race report from race winner Clint Classen, which not only covers the details of the course much more accurately and in much better detail, but was probably written and posted before I crossed the finish line on Saturday.
And here's his Strava file for the race, in case you want to see what it takes to go 50% faster than me.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Was borne in g. rubtsovske of Altai edge. It finished the Novosibirsk state conservatory of the name Of m. i.Glinkya (Aleksey Levitskiy's class). Since 1994. - the soloist of the Novosibirsk state academic theater of opera and ballet. In 2000 was accepted in the company of Moscow theater new opera under the government of Yevgeny Kolobova. since 2002 is the soloist of the operatic company of the large of teatra. Repertoire The following parties entered in its repertoire in the Bolshoi theater: Moroz ("the snow maiden" Of n. rimskogo-Korsakov -Korsakova) Ivan khovanskiy ("M. musorgskiy's Khovanshchina") columbine ("P. Tschaikovsky's Mazepa") the king of the clubs ("love for three oranges" S. Prokofiev) Of sobakin ("tsarist bride" N. Roman -Korsakova) inquisitor ("fiery angel" S. Prokofiev) Varlam ("Boris Godunov" M. musorgskogo) Ivan Susanin ("Ivan Susanin" M. glinkya) governor Of polkan ("gold cockerel" N. Roman -Korsakova) Of daland ("flying Dutchman" R. vagnera Boris timofeyevich ("lady Macbeth Mtsenskogo district" D.Shostakovicha) Musorgskiy ("the children of Rosenthal" L. desyatnikova) - the first executor (world prem'era) Malyuta ("tsarist bride" N. rimskogo-Korsakova) -Korsakova) Zarastro ("magic flute" V.A. of coachman balag's Motsarta), General Yermolov ("war and peace" S. prokof'eva) During April 2003, after carrying out the party Of farlafa on the premier of opera "Ruslan and Ludmila" Of m. glinkya, was accepted participation in the unique, the based on the principles of authentic ispolnitel'stva, musical- stage project of the Bolshoi theater, for which was specially restored the original author's text of the musical score of this opera (conductor- producer Aleksandr vedernikov). the "living" record of premier plays was realized by the Dutch firm PentaTone and left to three CD in 2004. Also in the repertoire: Konchak ("prince Igor" A. Borodin) Of gremin ("Yevgeny Onegin" P. Tschaikovsky) the miller ("the mermaid" Of a. dargomyzhskiy) Of ramfis ("Aida" G. Verdi) Of kollen, Benoit ("Bohemia" J. puchchini) Abemelekh, old israelite ("Samson Dalila" K. sen-Sans -Sansa) the spectre of the father of Hamlet ("Hamlet" A. Toma) Loredano ("two Foskari" G. Verdi) Of sparafuchil' ("Rigoletto" G. Verdi) Tours With the Novosibirsk theater of opera and ballet left in tour to Portugal, Spain, Thailand. carried out the party of Boris timofeyevich in the opera "lady Macbeth Mtsenskogo district" (world project of Mistislav rostropovich, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Argentina, 2000). Rewards In 1998 became the laureate of reward "the Philipp-Morris- debut" for the best debut in the operatic play of season 1997/98; the reward Of s. i.Bugayev's fund; the reward "paradis" (Novosibirsk). Possessor of the gold medal of "Siberian fair". in 2000 for the performance of the party Of saula in V. kobekin's opera "young David" was honored national theatrical reward "gold mask" (play of the Novosibirsk theater of opera and ballet, season 1998/99).


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A French court has fined eBay €1.7 million (US$2.5 million) for failing to comply with an earlier ruling that required the online retailer to prevent the sale of certain brands of perfume to French consumers on its sites.
The ruling is related to one of three lawsuits brought by LVMH, a company that controls brands including Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton and Givenchy. The suits charged eBay with unlawful marketing of perfume brands that included Christian Dior, Kenzo and Givenchy as well as the sale of counterfeit items on eBay.
In June, the Commercial Court of Paris ordered eBay to pay damages of €35.5 million related to the cases about counterfeit sales and €3.05 million for unlawfully selling items in breach of selective distribution network agreements. LVMH uses such agreements to limit the sales of its products to selected outlets.
The court also issued an injunction ordering eBay to stop allowing the genuine products to be sold to French consumers and said it would issue a €50,000 fine per day each time one of the products is found on an eBay site accessible to French consumers.
The Monday ruling fines eBay for failing to comply with the injunction.
EBay says that it uses state-of-the-art filtering software to check the millions of listings it receives daily for products bearing the LVMH brands. Between July 2008 and July 2009, eBay blocked and removed more than 20,000 listings, it said.
EBay has appealed all three of the cases with hearings for the cases scheduled in May.
In a statement, eBay said it believes the higher courts will overturn the ruling. "The injunction is an abuse of 'selective distribution'. It effectively enforces restrictive distribution contracts, which is anti-competitive," Alex von Schirmeister, general manager of eBay in France, said in a statement.
LVMH lauded the court's decision. "Selective distribution ensures the security and quality of products for consumers. It generates numerous jobs and contributes to the ongoing worldwide success of European luxury goods brands," it said in a statement.


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As part of GigaOM's Structure:Data Conference (taking place in New York City on 20-21 March), Jo Maitland and I are going to host a Mapping Session on Data Marketplaces. What are they, what are they doing, why do they matter, and how does their future look? The session is intended to be highly interactive, so attendees should come armed with questions, opinions, data, and perspectives to share. It is free to registered Structure:Data attendees, but space is limited so sign up here if interested.
About a year ago, I began a series of podcasts to explore the scale and nature of the opportunity facing a growing collection of so-called Data Markets. I spoke with the most visible champions of the idea such as Iceland's DataMarket, Infochimps, Factual and Microsoft, as well as smaller companies like AggData with different perspectives to share.
Some of the conclusions from the series appeared in a report (subscription required) for GigaOM Pro, and I've continued to watch the space, and to provide more detailed assessments of it to several clients.
Companies like Factual and DataMarket continue to grow. Factual adds new data and products with regularity, whilst DataMarket has opened a US office and – with their new energy portal – begun to demonstrate that vertical sites may ultimately prove more appealing than one-size-fits-all repositories of mixed data.
Another early entrant, Infochimps, is still going strong, but shows every sign of pivoting away from provision of a data market toward offering Big Data management and processing tools. Every time I visit the site, the data seems harder to discover (keep scrolling; it's at the very bottom of that looooonnnggg home page). Infochimps, clearly, is finding more customers willing to pay for software and services than for boring old data. It is possible that they're right, and mainstream adoption of the data market idea will require far more emphasis upon the delivery of services and outcomes, with the data becoming a necessary foundation rather than an end in itself. At the end of the day, that might well be a healthy change of emphasis.
Kasabi, of course, has gone altogether, after parent company Talis (see disclosure) prematurely decided to focus its attentions elsewhere. And then there's Microsoft. The Azure Data Market is still there, and it's still steadily gaining data, but it doesn't look to me as if Microsoft is actually trying very hard. The company's offering just seems to be bubbling along gently. If Microsoft really focused effort, attention and money here they'd be far more visible by now.
So, as you'd expect, we've seen some successes, some failures, and some really odd decisions in the past year. Outside of tightly defined verticals such as Finance, prospective providers and consumers of data remain confused as to the worth of data. Everyone has a vague idea that money can and should exchange hands for these ephemeral bits and bytes, but providers are – frankly – guessing how much to charge. One of the biggest opportunities for a data market is as an aggregation of data created by others, but to be truly effective that aggregation requires effort. Someone has to harmonise the data, someone has to document metadata, data acquisition methodologies, etc. Someone has to create and maintain a mechanism to describe the relative merits of one (expensive) dataset of New York delis over another (cheaper) one. Someone has to reconcile the '123 Market' in one data set with 'Flat 6, 123 Market St.' in another, and 'Apartment 6, 121-123 Market Street' in a third. That is where the real value lies, but it's also where many of the most intangible costs lurk. How much is cleansing and harmonisation worth? Without it, though, they're not data markets; they're data jumble sales.
More explicitly focusing on vertical markets, as DataMarket has begun to do, clearly creates opportunities to build and sustain communities of interest. The trick is getting a community that is focused enough to cohere whilst remaining large enough to deliver revenue. Subsuming the data beneath services also has potential; there may be more interest in a service to help you select the best energy provider for your needs than in a site that lets you download a spreadsheet of energy price fluctuations.
And finally, one area that none of the data markets have really touched upon is the whole opportunity around personal data and data lockers. We all know that personal data has value (both monetary and other). We also recognise a growing sense of discomfort with the ways in which commercial organisations take and reuse data about ourselves and our interactions with their services. But there are a growing number of startups (and Government projects!) looking at ways to return control of the data to the individual, and to offer money, services, and features in return for sharing some of that data with others. As these ideas develop, how might they play in the data market landscape? Watch this space, I think.
So, if any of that is of interest, or if you'd like to discuss some other aspect of the data market world, then do join us in New York next month.
Structure:Data fills Wednesday 20 March and Thursday 21 March for me. I get in from the UK on the evening of Monday 18 March, and still have some gaps in my schedule for Tuesday 19 March. So if you're in or near Manhattan and want to meet up, please do get in touch.
And, given the conference venue, I should get a welcome opportunity to revisit the High Line…
Disclosure: I am a former employee of, and current shareholder in, Talis.
Photograph of New York's High Line Park by Flickr user A. Strakey
Related articles
- GigaOM Research makes bold predictions for future of big data and cloud computing (virtual-strategy.com)
- Open data economy: Eight business models for open data and insight from Deloitte UK (radar.oreilly.com)
- Vague Goals Seed Big Data Failures (informationweek.com)


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CASABLANCA, MOROCCO–(Marketwired – Oct 1, 2013) – Bombardier Aerospace today celebrated the opening of the Midparc Casablanca Free Zone, in Nouaceur, with a symbolic groundbreaking on the site of the future Bombardier manufacturing facility in the presence of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Canadian Ambassador to Morocco Sandra McCardell, representatives of the Moroccan government, representatives of the Moroccan aerospace industry and members of the Bombardier Aerospace leadership team.
"Bombardier is honoured to celebrate this milestone in the presence of his Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco, as we move another step closer to the establishment of our permanent facility here in Nouaceur" said Hugo Brouillard, General Manager, Bombardier Aerospace, Morocco. "As part of the celebration of the official opening of the the Midparc Free Zone, we are pleased to be surrounded by our partners and peers in the industry who are developing a strong aerospace presence here in Morocco, and we are dedicated to contributing to the success of what promises to be a thriving aerospace cluster in Casablanca."
In January 2013 Bombardier began operating out of a transitional facility located at the Mohammed V International Airport in Nouaceur in the Greater Casablanca region, where the company is currently producing simple structures including flight controls for the CRJ Series aircraft, and will employ over 100 workers by the end of December 2013.
Construction of Bombardier's 150 000 square foot (13 935 square metres) permanent facility began earlier in September 2013, and is scheduled to be completed around mid-2014. Bombardier Aerospace intends to invest approximately $200 million US in equipment, buildings and start-up costs. By the end of 2020, employment at the Morocco facility is expected to reach 850 skilled and trained workers.
"This event is an important recognition of Bombardier's investment in the Moroccan aerospace industry," said Souad Elmallem, Chief Country Representative Africa, Bombardier Aerospace. "Since making the decision to establish our facility in Morocco in November 2011, we have been encouraged by the growth of the aerospace cluster, and the engagement of all stakeholders in the region. We are confident that there is a bright future for Bombardier, and the whole aerospace industry in Morocco."
About Bombardier
Bombardier is the world's only manufacturer of both planes and trains. Looking far ahead while delivering today, Bombardier is evolving mobility worldwide by answering the call for more efficient, sustainable and enjoyable transportation everywhere. Our vehicles, services and, most of all, our employees are what make us a global leader in transportation.
Bombardier is headquartered in Montréal, Canada. Our shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD) and we are listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indexes. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, we posted revenues of $16.8 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.
Note to editors
Follow @Bombardier_Aero on Twitter to receive the latest news and updates from Bombardier Aerospace.
Bombardier, CRJ and The Evolution of Mobility are trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Haley Dunne
Bombardier Aerospace


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AEM Forms workspace is a part of AEM Forms. Workspace facilitates rendition of HTML Forms in addition to PDF forms. Now you can engage in business processes from mobile interfaces and web applications.
Also, AEM Forms workspace is highly customizable using the standard HTML and JavaScript™ development methodologies. It is a component-based software that easily integrates with your other web applications.
For more information, see Introduction to AEM Forms workspace.
To be familiar with the end-to-end process of creating a forms application to automate a business process, follow the walkthrough. You can create, manage, and test an application using Workbench, Designer, and AEM Forms workspace after following the walkthrough. For implementation details, see Creating Your First AEM Forms Application.
You can use AEM Forms workspace to perform the following tasks:
Start a business process: AEM Forms workspace categories your processes as designed and set up by your organization. You can favorite the frequently used categories to access the categories quickly. When you start a process, you typically fill a form to start a business process that forms workflow controls. For more information, see Starting Processes.
View and act upon tasks: When you view your To-do lists, you see tasks from a business process that are assigned to you, or to any groups that you belong to, or are the shared tasks of other users. You can open, work on, and complete the tasks as required. Typically, completing a task involves providing information, approving a form, or rejecting a form. For more information, see Working with To-do lists.
Track tasks: To track your tasks, you use the Tracking tab of AEM Forms workspace. You can search for active or completed processes that you started or participated in. You can view the tasks, assignments, and forms that were part of the process. You can also start new processes using form data from a process that you previously initiated. For more information, see Tracking processes.
Support for bulk approval of tasks:
You can approve multiple tasks of the same type. Once you select one task for approval, only the tasks with the same process, with the same task names, and the same route options remain enabled. See Working with To-Do lists for implentation details.
What continues to work
AEM Forms on JEE also deploys Flex Workspace by default. It continues to work as before and all your existing processes and customizations continue to work.
Migrating existing processes to AEM Forms workspace:
In AEM Forms workspace, the default render and submit services, in the default action profile, associated with XDP forms have changed and new services have been introduced. For details, see New render and submit service. To migrate your existing processes, that work with XDP forms, to make use of these services, you can follow these steps.
Mapping Flex Workspace customizations with AEM Forms workspace:
The mapping between various types of customizations in both the workspaces is as follows.
|Type of customization
|Customizations covered
|Corresponding AEM Forms workspace customization scenario
|Localization customization
|Theme customization
|Layout customization
Some of the features of Flex Workspace that are not available in AEM Forms workspace include: messages and notification, welcome page, approval container, and option to manage column headings. For a complete list, see Features of Flex Workspace not available in AEM Forms workspace.
AEM Forms workspace supports a wide variety of customizations to update the layout of the user interface, its appearance, functionality, and much more. The customizations involve updating one or more of the following:
The customization article explains the types of such customizations.
AEM Forms workspace deliverables include a CRX package deployed on CRX, an SDK archive that contains the complete source code, third-party JavaScript libraries, and build scripts of AEM Forms workspace. Use these to set up the developer environment to perform the customizations mentioned above. For more details, see Building AEM Forms workspace code.
You can customize a major part of the interface and core functionality such as, fonts, color scheme, logo, login screen, error dialogs, integration with third-party applications, and reuse of components in third-party application. You can also enhance the contents displayed on the Task Summary page, show images for task route actions, and even modify the low-level Backbone Models and Views that create the AEM Forms workspace application.
By default, for a new process, an XDP form is rendered in PDF format on a desktop and in HTML format on a tablet. It is possible to render an XDP form in HTML format always. For details, see New Render and Submit Services.
Mobile Forms feature, that works with profiles, enables HTML rendition of XDP forms. By default, the 'Render New HTML Form' uses
default.html profile, that you can change. You can also add custom changes that happen before rendering an XDP form in HTML format.
To work on your business processes on a mobile device, you can use the AEM Forms workspace app offering of AEM Forms. For more information, see the AEM Forms workspace app overview.


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211 N. East Street | Mason, Ohio 45040 |(513) 398-0474
Mason City Schools' Diversity Council was formed in 2004. The council, made up of parents and staff, meets monthly, and has subcommittees and building level teams. Our vision is to continue to build an equitable learning community which values and respects the dignity and uniqueness of all students, staff and members of the community while empowering diverse learners' achievement.
We strive to:
Each winter, the Diversity Council hosts "Taste of Mason" to showcase our community's diversity. At the Taste of Mason, you can sample a new dish, catch up with old friends, and be mesmerized by incredible talent!


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Editorial | People | Travel | Corporate | Advertising Cleveland Oh - Worldwide
Hookahville #49
Saturday night of the best damn festival in the land, Hookahville! The weather was just right, the mud was at a minimium and the best people, with smilin' faces were everywhere to be found. The music was right on point, Ekoostik Hookah always brings thier A+++ game! Looking forward to #50!Read More


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Spring 2012 Temecula Rod Run - Web Exclusive
This year's Spring Rod Run in Temecula was the biggest in recent memory. It is always a huge event in the Inland Empire for rodders, classic car and truck enthusiasts, and people looking for a fun time and this year's was no exception. It is held on Front Street in Old Town Temecula every year and consists of a night cruise on Friday night and a show and shine on Saturday. Old town Temecula was closed down and hundreds of classic cars and trucks filled every inch of the street and parking lots. Several live bands and radio stations were on hand providing the tunes, while the local venders were selling products hand over fist, especially drinks, as the temperature hovered around 85 all day Saturday. The CHP and Riverside County Sherriff's Department were in attendance providing water and shade for people to get out of the Southern California sun. Other sponsors included the P&R Foundation, the City of Temecula, Q 103.3, infinity Arts, Paradise Chevrolet, and many more. For more information on next year's Rod Run, go to rodruntemecula.com.


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"There's a complete variety of real clothes and sort of larger-than-life clothes," Viva Forever! designer Peter McKintosh says of his costumes for the new musical, which opens today in London's West End.
With a script by Jennifer Saunders—who plays Eddie Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous—and a songbook devoted to Spice Girls hits like "Wannabe" and "2 Become 1," the London show is fit for any pop-loving theater-goer. And because a production influenced by the Spice Girls really has to step it up in terms of style, the award-winning McKintosh has been hard at work creating looks that include hand-jeweled pieces and light-up frocks. Here, ELLE.com talked with the designer about what's in store for audiences.
More From ELLE
ELLE: What was it like working with Jennifer Saunders on this project?
Peter McKintosh: It's interesting, because at the beginning of my process, which is mostly with the director, I didn't really have anything to do with Jennifer. It wasn't until we finished that I presented it to her. I wanted her to like it, but she hadn't been a part of the process. It was a slightly nerve-wracking experience. But she was delightful and has continued to be.
ELLE: Roughly how many costumes are involved in the entire production?
PM: I think it's somewhere between 200 and 300. It's so fluid at the moment—it could be 300 today and 250 tomorrow.
ELLE: Do you have a favorite?
PM: I have a few favorites, actually. The show's partly based around a reality TV program, and all of the things that the judges wear make me laugh. [The costumes are] lovely, and they're big.
ELLE: Which of the show's outfits was the most time intensive to make?
PM: The curtain call costumes were all hand-jeweled, so in terms of labor intensity, those were the biggest. And there are lots of funny things and silly costumes that light up. Those are more intricate, and they keep breaking at the moment, so they're probably quite labor intensive, because we keep having to send them back to the maker to be fixed.
ELLE: Obviously the Spice Girls have a huge impact on the show. Do you have a favorite from the group?
PM: I don't think I can say that! I was lucky enough to meet four of them at the launch, and I just think they're all so individual and so confident. I love all of them. They all have a certain style. As a group I love the fact that they embrace the boldness.
ELLE: What about a favorite Spice Girls song?
PM: Oh, it's hard. It's interesting, because in the show, the songs are set differently to how the Spice Girls sang them. They're the same songs, but they're put into the context of a show. I think probably that right this very minute "Forever" is my favorite.
Viva Forever! opens today. See
here for ticket info.


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TRENTON (AP) – The Democrat seeking to unseat Gov. Chris Christie has joined others in calling for a higher minimum wage in New Jersey.
Barbara Buono and her running mate Milly Silva were among several lawmakers, community activists and workers who spoke Monday at a news conference in Trenton organized by Working Families United for New Jersey's 'Raise the Wage' campaign.
New Jersey voters will be asked in November to consider a constitutional amendment that would boost the minimum wage by $1 to $8.25 and link it to automatic annual adjustments to the Consumer Price Index.
Christie vetoed legislation that would have increased the wage by $1.25 and provide automatic yearly increases.
Christie offered to raise the wage by $1 per hour over three years instead.


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Welcome To AlbumLinerNotes.com
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Lady Gaga
The Fame Monster
Lady Gaga
Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Glamorously gaudy, a self-made post-modern diva stitched together from elements of Madonna, David Bowie, and Freddie Mercury, Lady Gaga was the first true millennial superstar. Mastering the constant connection of the internet era, Gaga generated countless mini sensations through her style, her videos, and her music, cultivating a devoted audience she dubbed "Little Monsters." But it wasn't just a cult that turned her 2008 manifesto The Fame into a self-fulfilling prophecy: Gaga crossed over into the mainstream, ushering out one pop epoch and kick-starting a new one, quickly making such turn-of-the-century stars as Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears seem old-fashioned, quite a trick for any artist to pull off, but especially impressive for an artist who specialized in repurposing the past -- particularly the '80s -- for present use, creating sustainable pop for a digital world.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given her flair for grand gestures, Lady Gaga has deep roots in drama. Born Stefani Germanotta on March 28, 1986, the future Gaga played piano as a child and pursued musical theatre in high school, regularly auditioning for New York-based television shows, notably landing a background role for a 2001 episode of The Sopranos. At the age of 17 she enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in their Collaborative Arts Project 21. As she studied, she continued to eke her way into show biz, winding up with an appearance on MTV's short-lived post-Punk'd reality show Boiling Points in 2005. Not long afterward, she left school so she could concentrate on her music, fronting a band called SGBand, which released two EPs prior to splitting. Germanotta then teamed with producer Rob Fusari, a collaboration that produced not only her stage name Lady Gaga, but recordings that led to her signing with Def Jam in the fall of 2006. Her association with Def Jam was short-lived: the label dropped her early in 2007. Gaga rebounded by working with performance artist Lady Starlight, the two developing the Lady Gaga & the Starlight Revue, a tongue-in-cheek neo-burlesque act that gained positive press and proved to be her last stop before signing with Interscope later in 2007. While at Interscope she created a bond with Akon, who convinced Interscope head Jimmy Iovine to have her co-sign with his Kon Live imprint, and then Gaga began working with producer/songwriter RedOne, a union that led to the songs that would bring her fame: "Just Dance," "LoveGame," and "Poker Face." These songs formed the foundation of The Fame, the debut album that appeared in August 2008.
Initially, Lady Gaga had greater success in Europe, thanks in large part to the "Just Dance" single, which earned club play in the U.S. and chart placement in other territories. Gaga's march toward the top of the American chart was slow but "Just Dance" reached the peak position in January 2009, followed swiftly by "Poker Face," the single that firmly pushed her into the mainstream, its popularity growing so large it often functioned as a punch line on TV in addition to winning a Grammy for Best Dance Recording. "LoveGame" and "Paparazzi" also appeared as singles before Gaga released The Fame Monster in time for the holiday season of 2009. The mini-LP, available separately and as a package with The Fame, contained the single "Bad Romance" whose popularity soon rivaled "Poker Face" and helped kickstart a stellar year for Gaga in 2010. That year, the hit singles "Bad Romance," "Alejandro," and the Beyoncé duet "Telephone," along with the successful Monster Ball Tour, put Lady Gaga front and center with the public as she worked on her sophomore album, announcing the May release of Born This Way on New Year's Day 2011. The steady march to its summer unveiling was preceded by the release of three singles --"Born This Way," "Judas," and "The Edge of Glory"-- all leading up to the highly anticipated Born This Way. Arriving to mixed reviews, the album was a hit but didn't quite live up to its high expectations, yet it produced more genuine hits with "Marry the Night." A full remix of the album, naturally called Born This Way: The Remix, appeared at the end of the year, as did a holiday television special called A Very Gaga Thanksgiving and an accompanying EP, A Very Gaga Holiday.
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Random gene mutations blamed for many mental disabilities in new study
BERLIN – More than half the cases of severe intellectual disability caused by genetic defects are the result of random mutations, not inherited, a European study published Thursday suggests.
The findings of the small-scale study give hope to parents of children born with a severe intellectual disabilities who are worried about having another baby with the same condition, said Anita Rauch, a researcher at the Institute of Medical Genetics in Zurich who was one of the study's lead authors.
It examined the genetic makeup of 51 children, both of their parents and a control group. The study concluded that in at least 55 percent of cases there was no evidence that parents carried faulty genes responsible for the disability.
"The average chances of having another child with the same disability are usually estimated at eight percent, but if we know that it was caused by a random mutation the chances of recurrence drop dramatically," Rauch said.
Hans-Hilger Ropers, the director of Berlin's Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, who was not involved in the study, said the basic science appeared sound but noted that it excluded children whose parents were blood relatives and so the results could be biased toward random mutations.
Ropers said a larger study that included subjects from parts of the world where marriage between blood relatives is more common could produce different results.
But he added that the study helped explain why the frequency of children born with intellectual disabilities is stable at about 2 percent. If most disabilities were inherited then they would be expected to diminish in frequency because people who suffer from them are less likely to have children.
"Since mentally handicapped people rarely have children, the frequency of the responsible gene defects would be expected to diminish over time," Ropers said. "Since there is no evidence that it does, the loss of genetic defects must be compensated by novel mutations."
The study was published online by the journal Lancet.


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(Visit London Blog, 26 June 2013)
London is home to a bustling network of trains and Tubes – including Britain's busiest train station, Clapham Junction. As Londoners celebrate the 150th anniversary of London Underground, explore the history, present and future world of trains in the capital. And remember, if you arrive into London by National Rail you can enjoy 2FOR 1 entry to top London attractions.
London Transport Museum
London Transport Museum is the obvious first step for any train enthusiast visiting London. Its current exhibition, Poster Art 150 – London Underground's Greatest Designs, showcases iconic and fascinating graphic posters commissioned by London Underground. But there's plenty more to see in the permanent collection, from the oldest surviving electric Tube locomotive in the world to hundreds of old photographs.
London's Abandoned Stations
While many of London's abandoned train and Tube stations are inaccessible, remnants exist above ground such as the Aldwych station façade on The Strand and Down Street in Mayfair, which was occasionally used as a war bunker by Winston Churchill and his Cabinet during World War II. For more tips, guides and little-known facts, visit dedicated blogs such as Abandoned Tube Stations, Underground History and Disused Stations. And put a date in your diary to visit London Transport Museum's Lost & Found: A Secret Underground Journey show at Aldwych Station, which opens this September.
Epping-Ongar Steam Train
As part of the Tube150 celebrations, step back in time and travel by steam train on the Epping Ongar Railway (in service from 28 June to 1 July). You'll take a seat in a 1892 Jubilee coach (number 353) onboard the newly restored steam locomotive Met No 1 as it travels on a former part of the Central Line – the closest heritage railway to the capital. Two 1920s 'Dreadnought' compartment coaches, one 1950s coach from the North Norfolk Railway and and two guest steam locos will also be making an appearance.
London Underground and Tube Tour
Inside London's London Underground and Tube Tour packs a lot into two hours. As well as learning about the fascinating history behind the Tube's design and construction, you'll see the ghost station at the British Museum, the original plans for the Tube and and great architectural gems.
London Transport Museum Depot
The London Transport Museum Depot in Acton, West London, is a treasure trove of transport history and memorabilia – housing more than 370,000 transport-related objects. Once a month it opens its doors to the public with an organised behind-the-scenes tour, which gives visitors exceptional access to everything from ticket machines to rare vehicles and even bus and rail sheds. Look out for the depot's occasional themed Open Weekends too.
Orient Express's British Pullman & Northern Belle
While many people know of the Orient Express from the book by famed British crime writer Agatha Christie, it's the trains themselves which hold the pull for rail enthusiasts – not whodunit. Trains like the British Pullman, whose carriages date as far back as 1925, or the Northern Belle – a 1930s-style service that actually made its maiden voyage in 2000. On many of the Orient Express's day-trip or longer-stay packages you can enjoy a five-course dinner, Champagne and amazing views of the British countryside – there's even a Murder Mystery Lunch option.
Hampton & Kempton Waterworks Railway
While Kew Bridge Steam Museum goes under refurbishment (the museum is still open at weekends), it has kindly lent its Thomas Wicksteed steam train to the Hampton & Kempton Waterworks Railway at Kempton Steam Museum, where it will be "steaming every Sunday" along the Hanworth Loop until the end of August. Built in 1916, the railway once transported coal from the river in Hampton to the water pumping engines at Kempton – and the plan is to restore the full line and eventually transport visitors to the Kempton Nature Reserve. Contact before visiting to arrange entry.
The Deptford Project: The Train Carriage Café
Less than a minute from Deptford Railway Station sits another rail carriage, The Deptford Project, but this one isn't going anywhere. The 35-tonne reclaimed carriage, transported 45 miles from Shoeburyness in Essex to South London at a snail paced two miles an hour, today houses a small but quirky café. While some purists may not approve of the modernisation, you can't help but be won over by the Elvis-themed loo, delicious homemade food and buzzing, community-minded events calendar.
St Pancras Renaissance Hotel
In 1873, the Midland Grand Hotel opened – a railway hotel of the finest order, designed in High Victorian Gothic style by architect George Gilbert Scott. After a somewhat disastrous history, which saw it nearly demolished in the 1960s, the hotel underwent a £150million facelift and emerged in 2011 as The St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. However, the railway remains at the heart of the hotel – with the stunning former Booking Office now serving as a restaurant and the incredible view from some rooms of Barlow's famous train shed arch and even the tracks themselves.


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ACSM 030-333 Exams Dumps - Practice Test Questions
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Certification(s): ACSM-Certification
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House of Shadows
Signet, Apr 2003, 6.99, 352 pp. ISBN: 0451208331 During a successful showing of her photographs depicting her home country of Canada, Wesley Marshall of Barbados Consulate offers artist Vivien Shaw a job. He wants her to come to his island home to collaborate with a renowned local writer, whose name he refuses to provide at this time, on a book about the island. Vivien says she does not do coffee table books and needs to know who is writing the...


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DELAND, Fla. (Dec. 1, 2011) – A nightmarish start to the second half doomed the ETSU men's basketball team Thursday night inside the Edmunds Center, as the Stetson Hatters used a 24-7 offensive run to build a 22-point lead and ultimately drop the Buccaneers 73-65 in the Atlantic Sun Conference opener for both teams.
The Buccaneers (3-3 overall, 0-1 A-Sun) dropped their second straight game on this current three-game road swing, while Stetson improved to 4-3 overall, 1-0 in A-Sun play.
"This was obviously a very disappointing game and effort," said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow. "Sometimes you lose and it's because the other team plays better than you. That was the case at Virginia Tech, and then at Troy when they made a lot of plays to beat us in that game.
"But tonight our first half offensively was abysmal. We just didn't play well. Then the first eight minutes of the second half … I just don't know what to say. A three-point game turned into a 20-point game quickly. I always say that at this point of the year you don't worry as much about the record, but what I am worried about is how we played tonight."
In the first half, ETSU struggled to find a rhythm offensively and Stetson used the Bucs' slow start to build a lead of as many as nine points at 25-16, thanks primarily to a 7-0 offensive run late in the half. However, ETSU clawed its way back into the game by outscoring the Hatters 9-3 to make it 28-25 at the break.
The second half started as a nightmare for the Bucs, as the Hatters went on a 10-0 run early on and ultimately used a 24-7 spurt to make it 58-36 with 9:12 left in the game. From there, Stetson maintained a 20-point plus edge until the 7:26 mark, but at that point ETSU did manage a rally thanks to a 17-2 run that made it 67-60 with 30 seconds left in the game.
But from there, Stetson hit a basket and went 4-for-4 from the foul line to complete the eight-point victory.
For the game, a key stat that hurt the Bucs' effort was in the paint, as Stetson held an impressive 45-28 advantage on the boards. Meanwhile, Stetson shot a blistering 46 percent (11-of-24) from 3-point range, as ETSU struggled at the foul line with a 54.2 percent (13-of-24) clip.
The Bucs also committed 16 turnovers, compared to Stetson's 23.
Individually, the Bucs got a team-high 20 points from senior forward Isiah Brown (Miami), while senior guard Adam Sollazzo (Tampa) pitched in 13 points, and junior guard Marcus Dubose (Hartsville, Ky.) added 11.
Stetson got a team-high 20 points from Aaron Graham, who led four Hatters in double figures.
The Bucs will return to action Saturday afternoon at FGCU, with the tip set for 5:15 p.m., in another Atlantic Sun Conference matchup. For more on ETSU men's basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's hoops link.


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Warner Bros. had half the right idea with their Buffy the Vampire Slayer remake. It's about time somebody picked up the baton Joss Whedon dropped seven freaking years ago. But we don't need more Buffy, just more heroes like her.
After I heard about the plans for a new Buffy movie without Whedon's involvement, I had profoundly mixed feelings, which it's taken me a while to sort through. I mean, I had the same feeling of "a disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out of terror yadda yadda" that everybody else had. I mean, Buffy is one of the great stories of our time, and a lackluster remake without the creator involved just obviously seems like bad news.
But after more consideration, I had a more nuanced feeling about this remake. First of all, the absence of Whedon's involvement is a symptom, not the cause, of the likely suckitude. Second of all, we need more heroes like Buffy — but more than that, I desperately want to see what the next thing after Buffy is. And third of all, there hasn't just been a shortage of strong female heroines since Buffy went away — there's been a shortage of strong heroes and stories about heroism, period. We're in a weirdly cynical era where we have tons of heroes but not much heroism.
So taking those one by one:
The absence of Joss is just a symptom.
You could make a great Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie without Joss Whedon's involvement — it's not likely, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility. It's not as if there's a secret Buffy formula that only Whedon knows — plenty of other writers have handled the character well, and there's much about her that's a tad generic, including the "there can be only one" thing.
Imagine, for a second, that Warners had hired writer extraordinaire Jane Espenson to write a Buffy movie script, instead of novice screenwriter Whit Anderson. Would you be as upset? I know I wouldn't.
And sweet muppety Odin knows, some of the recent Buffy season eight comics have had me wondering if Whedon himself still has any idea what to do with the character who made him famous.
But at the same time, we live in an era of cynical, dumbed-down remakes. Studios are constantly digging through the scrapheap of old stories, looking for pieces of IP that they can break down and sell for parts. They don't see anything unique about Buffy, any more than they do about Total Recall or any of the tons of other remakes they're pushing through. They're just brands that haven't been drained dry yet. They have some name recognition and a smidge of nostalgia value, which can be turned into money before they're tossed back on the heap. In other words, to the studios, Buffy is Mr. Peanut.
Where remakes have worked, it's been because the creators were willing to go back to the source material and really engage with it. Like in the case of the surprisingly good Let Me In — Matt Reeves was determined to go back to the original novel by John Ajvide, to create a fresh take on the novel's themes and ideas, instead of just doing a bad copy of the Swedish film. But that just brings us back to the fact that the source material of Buffy is in Whedon's head, if it's anywhere.
And looked at in that light, the decision to shut out Whedon feels cynical. How hard would have been to rope him in, in some kind of producer role? The absence of the character's creator, combined with the decision to hire a novice writer, just sounds suspiciously like a quick and dirty assembly-line remake, to mine the last bit of value out of the old girl.
And Anderson's comments to the L.A. Times also didn't fill me with confidence — they sounded like a summary of the movie and TV show by someone who'd seen a few episodes, but didn't really get the themes of sacrifice and strength of character that Whedon instilled into Buffy Summers. In particular there was a lot of talk about "duty and destiny" and the conflict between Buffy's responsibility to save the world and her reluctance to do it — which seems like a charcoal sketch of the character's conflict, not the rich character study that Whedon created.
So yeah, a Buffy movie without Whedon could be okay — but it probably won't.
We're still waiting for what comes after Buffy
Jeez, Hollywood. Buffy the Vampire Slayer went off the air in 2003. And we're still waiting for someone to take it to the next level.
Buffy made a bold statement in the context of 1990s pop culture: What if this tiny blonde girl, who looks like the victim in every horror movie ever, is actually the monster-killer? What if she's badder and tougher than everyone else? What if she's secretly grappling with the weight of the world because she's the only one who can save us all?
Whedon often talks about the idea for the original Buffy movie coming from the image of a girl running from a monster, like in every other horror film — but then it turns out she's actually hunting the monster, and she catches it by surprise. Because she's not just your typical sacrificial cheerleader.
That was a radical idea in 1992, and even in 1997. I would be very sad to think it would still be radical in 2012, or whenever this film comes out.
A lot of the themes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ought to feel dated, even if they don't. The whole idea that even though she just looks like a regular cheerleader doesn't mean she's not something special, for example — we got another dose of that from Heroes, except it was stripped of all its humor and, well, heroism. The novelty of "a young girl who's not just a victim" definitely ought to have worn off by now.
Mind you, the theme of being torn between duty and your personal desires is fairly timeless and intrinsic to the "hero" thing — but Buffy did bring something special to it. Especially after the first season and a half, Buffy learns the value of sacrifice, and gains strength of character from making tough choices. She's not just permanently struggling against her destiny, and heroism doesn't just drag her down, it also enriches her life — it's complicated. And it's that complication that I'd love to see taken to the next level.
A lot of my favorite Buffy moments, not surprisingly, are the "fuck yeah" moments where you think Buffy's finally going to give up, but then she comes back twice as strong or does something surprising and awesome. People used to talk about how empowering Buffy was, and it's really true — at its best, the show was inspiring, and there hasn't really been anything like that since then.
So what kind of female heroes have we gotten after Buffy? It hasn't been a particularly great time, at least on screen. The best you can say, for the most part, is that women have graduated from "damsel in distress" to "sidekick who sometimes needs rescuing." The distinction is a subtle one, but it does carry some weight. Look at Theresa Palmer's character in The Sorcerer's Apprentice — she's mostly the love interest, but she does get to do something to help defeat the baddie. Similarly, I feel like a lot of action/adventure movies now have a role for the female badass who's not quite as awesome as the male hero, but still gets to do some stuff — like Helen Mirren in RED or Theresa Palmer (again!) in I Am Number Four.
So actually the way to get the kind of surprise that Buffy served up in the 1990s would be to have a female character who you think is going to be the "butt-kicking sidekick," but actually turns out to be more awesome than everyone else.
Actually, what may really rule — if we're incredibly lucky — is the upcoming Hunger Games movie. If the movie version of Katniss is half as great as the book version, she could really be our next Buffy.
But yeah, Buffy the Vampire Slayer seems like a trick you can only pull once — and then you really ought to find a new trick. As Whedon himself told Entertainment Weekly a couple weeks back in its big Wonder Woman article, we shouldn't necessarily hope for a Wonder Woman movie — but we should be clamoring for more wonder women.
We're not just lacking strong female heroes, we're lacking heroes
Can you name any other popular story of the past decade that's dealt with the cost — and the glory — of heroism and saving people the way Buffy the Vampire Slayer did? I can't, not really.
I really think Heroes, deep down, wanted to tell a story about heroism, but let's not talk about how that turned out. Lost flirted with the idea of showing someone becoming a hero, but we never quite got there. Most superhero movies are all wish fulfillment and shininess, with no real heroism depicted on screen. Just as we're suffering from a villain recession, we also haven't had a hero who sacrifices, and does the right thing in spite of the cost, and saves people. Not in a while anyway.
There have been hints of these themes a few times — Avatar, for all its faults, does show us Jake Sully making hard choices to become the hero who can save the Na'vi. The Dark Knight deals a fair bit with the idea that being Batman comes with a heavy cost, and Bruce Wayne pays that cost because people need Batman. The short-lived show The Middleman was starting to say some really interesting stuff about the sacrifices that Wendy Watson makes to save the world, when it was yanked off the air by network fish zombies. (Edited to add: And people have mentioned some other great recent stories about real heroism in comments, notably Harry Potter and Supernatural.)
But mostly, we have spectacles with cookie-cutter heroes, who aren't particularly heroic, or even interesting for that matter. Our heroes either don't struggle with their responsibility at all, or they whine about how the burden of responsibility is crushing them. The themes of Buffy — like wanting a "normal life" in spite of having awesome superpowers — have degraded into a sort of dull whine of entitlement. We get the flashiness of having power, and the cost of having power — but nothing about how great it is to do the right thing.
The "refusing the call of heroism" portion of the "hero's journey" story has become the whole story — it was the entire arc (if there was one) of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and most of the arc of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, to name two random recent movies. Watching squirrely young dudes mope for an hour because they don't want to hang out with awesome giant robots or learn how to do cool magic any more may be your idea of fun, but it's not mine.
I know we live in a cynical age, and we don't feel like any one of us can make a real difference, because every war is a quagmire and every politician is bought and sold, yadda yadda. We see evil everywhere, but it's indistinct because it's systemic and we all, as grown-ups, consent to it to some degree because otherwise we'd have to go live in a hut somewhere. To some extent, our heroic power fantasies are meant to help us escape from this reality — if only we had a magic ring, we'd fix all these problems right quick! — but our heroic stories are also supposed to make us think about the real meaning of heroism. The hero's quest is not meant to be easy or always glamorous — but that makes it more heroic, not less.
With Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Whedon issued a challenge to storytellers everywhere — not just to tell better stories about heroic women, but to tell better stories about heroism, period. The challenge has not been answered. A rehash of Whedon's own vision is not an answer to his challenge — it's just more dumb profiteering. Step up, Hollywood — it's time to give us the next generation of Buffys.


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Apple has announced it is striking data deals to offer 3G connectivity with its forthcoming iPad, and we've spoken to UK networks about whether a similar plan will be in place.
Orange, O2 and Vodafone have issued us all with a resounding 'No comment', which means it's unlikely that we'll be seeing the iPad on our shores for a while.
However, The Carphone Warehouse has issued a statement that seems to hint that it is planning to offer the iPad on our shores:
"Smartphones have become increasingly popular over the last year as more and more people access the internet on portable devices built for entertainment as well as business use. Slates/Tablets haven't made a huge impression on the public yet," said Andrew Harrison, UK CEO of The Carphone Warehouse.
Track record
"For the category to succeed, the iPad really needs to capture people's imagination and act as a catalyst for a whole new 'pad' format. Apple has the best track record in doing this as we have previously seen with both the iPod and iPhone.
"We are really excited aboutall the Slate/Tablet products currently in the pipelineand look forward to providing our customers with additionaloptions for connecting and consuming content in the future."
Steve Jobs said at the announcement that he is planning to begin discussions to offer the 3G version of the iPad internationally in the immediate future, with a likely release in June or July.
However, he did mention that the iPad is unlocked and can be used with 'GSM Microsims' although we've yet to confirm whether this is the same as a standard SIM card.
The iPad will be sold without a contract, and users in the US will be paying $14.99 (£9) per month for 250MB of data, or $24.99(£16) per month for unlimited internet use.


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August 7, 2013– Just weeks after releasing a Glen Garioch single malt matured in Virgin Oak, Morrison Bowmore has done it again…this time with a Virgin Oak malt from Auchentoshan Distillery near Glasgow.
The new Auchentoshan, as with the Glen Garioch, was matured entirely in new American Oak casks. It will be available in limited quantities initially in the UK, with a possible US release later. While the number of bottles to be available has not been announced, the suggested retail price is £69.99 ($109 USD) for a 70cl bottle.
Links: Auchentoshan


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Iron Deficiency Anemia in Children
What is iron deficiency anemia?
The most common cause of anemia worldwide is iron deficiency. Iron is needed to form hemoglobin. Iron is mostly stored in the body in the hemoglobin. About one-third of iron is also stored as ferritin and hemosiderin in the bone marrow, spleen, and liver.
What causes iron deficiency anemia?
Iron deficiency anemia can be caused by:
Diets low in iron. Iron is obtained from foods in our diet, however, only 1 mg of iron is absorbed for every 10 to 20 mg of iron ingested. A child unable to have a balanced iron-rich diet may suffer some degree of iron deficiency anemia. It can happen in infants around one year of age. This is mainly due to larger than normal consumption of cow's milk and an inefficient iron-rich diet.
Body changes. An increased iron requirement and increased red blood cell production is required when the body is going through changes, such as growth spurts in children and adolescents.
Gastrointestinal tract abnormalities. Malabsorption of iron is common after some forms of gastrointestinal surgeries. Most of the iron taken in by dietary route is absorbed in the upper small intestine. Any abnormalities in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract could alter iron absorption and result in iron deficiency anemia.
Blood loss. Loss of blood can cause a decrease of iron and result in iron deficiency anemia. Sources of blood loss may include GI bleeding, menstrual bleeding, or injury.
What are the symptoms of iron deficiency anemia?
The following are the most common symptoms of iron deficiency anemia. However, each child may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
Abnormal paleness or lack of color of the skin
Lack of energy or tiring easily (fatigue)
Increased heart rate (tachycardia)
Sore or swollen tongue
Enlarged spleen
A desire to eat peculiar substances, such as dirt or ice (also called pica)
How is iron deficiency anemia diagnosed?
Iron deficiency anemia may be suspected from general findings on a complete medical history and physical examination of your child, such as complaints of tiring easily, pale skin and lips, or a fast heartbeat (tachycardia). Iron deficiency anemia is usually discovered during a medical examination through a blood test that measures the amount of hemoglobin, or number of red blood cells, present and the amount of iron in the blood. The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends universal screening for anemia at one year of age with a hemoglobin test, and an assessment for risk factors associated to iron deficiency. In addition to a complete medical history and physical examination of your child, diagnostic procedures for iron deficiency anemia may include:
Additional blood tests for iron
Bone marrow aspiration and/or biopsy. A procedure that involves taking a small amount of bone marrow fluid (aspiration) and/or solid bone marrow tissue (called a core biopsy), usually from the hip bones, to be examined for the number, size, and maturity of blood cells and/or abnormal cells.
Treatment for iron deficiency anemia
Specific treatment for iron deficiency anemia will be determined by your child's doctor based on:
Your child's age, overall health, and medical history
Extent of the anemia
Cause of the anemia
Your child's tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
Expectations for the course of the anemia
Your opinion or preference
Treatment may include:
Iron-rich diet. Eating a diet with iron-rich foods can help treat iron deficiency anemia. Good sources of iron include the following:
Meats, such as beef, pork, lamb, liver, and other organ meats
Poultry, such as chicken, duck, turkey, (especially dark meat), and liver
Fish, such as shellfish, including clams, mussels, and oysters, sardines, and anchovies
Leafy greens of the cabbage family, such as broccoli, kale, turnip greens, and collards
Legumes, such as lima beans and green peas; dry beans and peas, such as pinto beans, black-eyed peas, and canned baked beans
Yeast-leavened whole-wheat bread and rolls
Iron-enriched white bread, pasta, rice, and cereals
Iron supplements. Iron supplements can be taken over several months to increase iron levels in the blood. Iron supplements can cause irritation of the stomach and discoloration of bowel movements. They should be taken on an empty stomach or with orange juice to increase absorption. They are much more effective than dietary interventions alone. In cases of malabsorption or intolerance, IV iron may be needed.
The following is a list of foods that are a good source of iron. Always consult your child's doctor regarding the recommended daily iron requirements for your child.
Iron-rich foods
Approximate iron
3 ounces
Beef liver
3 ounces
Prune juice
1/2 cup
2 ounces
1/2 cup
Ground beef
3 ounces
1/2 cup
Bran flakes
1/2 cup
Pork roast
3 ounces
Cashew nuts
1/2 cup
3 ounces
1/2 cup
3 ounces
1/2 cup
Lima beans
1/2 cup
Kidney beans
1/2 cup
Turkey, dark meat
3 ounces
1/2 cup
Roast beef
3 ounces
Green peas
1/2 cup
1/2 cup
Sweet potato
1/2 cup
Green beans
1/2 cup


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Long time, no posts. My apologies and thanks for hanging in with me. Get it? Ornaments, hanging? ANYWAYS . . . here are a few of my lame excuses: An extended trip of Europe. New home shopping out of state. And now getting ready to move. In the winter. Really poor planning, wouldn't you agree? None of these have left tons of time for proper baking or blogging. Or working on my book. Since it may be a while before I'm up and posting for real again, I thought I'd share a quick project you might want to try.
I made these last Christmas and they came together pretty quickly. Especially since I did each step at my leisure and then glued them together with white chocolate just before delivery. Is there any glue better than white chocolate?
These tiny ornaments were made from a peanut butter truffle mixture dipped in white chocolate. Any type cake pop or could be substituted. Red velvet might be nice.
The topper is a mini Reese's dry brushed with silver luster dust. The hanger is a small piece of a cellophane rice noodle. These can be purchased in Asian markets. They are sometimes called bean thread or glass noodles and look transparent.
The snowflakes were punched from wafer paper and given some sparkle with luster dusts. Each treasure was tucked in a mini cupcake liner and sent off to spread some joy.
Hope that you are enjoying all of the warmth and wonder that the season has to offer. Happy Holidays!


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The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
Wednesday, 20th July 2005 by Alex Turnbull
Here's the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, because it's been a while since we had a bridge. Er, I mean tunnel… no, wait, two bridges! Or is that two tunnels?
The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel is a combination of two bridges and two tunnels, connecting Hampton and Norfolk in Virginia (I think that's right anyway, but perhaps the Wikipedia entry can clear it all up for you).
Anyway, it's pretty cool – lots of cars on there coming in and out of either end (or is that either middle?).
Oh sod this. I give up.
Thanks to Tiger, Brad, DanielMaui, John Drummond and Ben.


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In a private meeting with Woodrow Wilson (US President 1913 – 1921) Colonel Edward Mandell House predicted the banksters' plans to enslave the American people. He stated:
"Very soon, every American will be required to register their biological property (that's you and your children) in a national system designed to keep track of the people and that will operate under the ancient system of pledging. By such methodology, we can compel people to submit to our agenda, which will affect our security as a charge back for our fiat paper currency.
Every American will be forced to register or suffer being able to work and earn a living. They will be our chattels (property) and we will hold the security interest over them forever, by operation of the law merchant under the scheme of secured transactions. Americans, by unknowingly or unwittingly delivering the bills of lading (Birth Certificate) to us will be rendered bankrupt and insolvent, secured by their pledges.
They will be stripped of their rights and given a commercial value designed to make us a profit and they will be none the wiser, for not one man in a million could ever figure our plans and, if by accident one or two should figure it out, we have in our arsenal plausible deniability. After all, this is the only logical way to fund government, by floating liens and debts to the registrants in the form of benefits and privileges.
This will inevitably reap us huge profits beyond our wildest expectations and leave every American a contributor to this fraud, which we will call "Social Insurance." Without realizing it, every American will unknowingly be our servant, however begrudgingly. The people will become helpless and without any hope for their redemption and we will employ the high office (presidency) of our dummy corporation (USA) to foment this plot against America."
– Colonel Edward Mandell House.


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Restaurants in Santa Clara, CA
Restaurants • Convenience Stores and Delis • Fast Food Restaurants
2855 Stevens Creek Boulevard,
Store # A272
Santa Clara , CA 95050 UNITED STATES
Your local Santa Clara Subway® Restaurant, located at 2855 Stevens Creek Boulevard brings delicious ingredients and mouth-watering flavors in billions of sandwich, salad and wrap combinations to you. An alternative to traditional fast food, we offer freshly cut veggies, toppings, protein and freshly-baked bread to create perfect the meal with freshly baked cookies all at a great value! All Subway® Restaurants are independently owned and operated by business owners who employ talented Sandwich Artists™ that are ready to take your order in person, online, in our Subway app, or for delivery.
Worldwide > United States > Santa Clara, CA > Convenience Stores and Delis


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Vans Slip-On Beauty Skull Skate Shoe - Black
Add a skele-ton of style to your look with the new Slip-On Beauty Skull Skate Shoe from Vans! There's no bones about it, this graphic skate sneaker is a rad addition to your skate style with its sturdy canvas uppers, dual elastic gore for easy on and off, and vulcanized sole with signature waffle tread for premium traction.
Color: Black
Style ID: 497699
- Breathable canvas upper with allover skulls and floral graphics
- Padded collar provides comfort and support
- Dual elastic midfoot goring for easy on and off
- Cushioned footbed delivers shock-absorbing comfort
- Durable rubber outsole with signature Vans waffle tread delivers flexible grip and traction
Vans® is the original action sports footwear and apparel brand. Since day one, Vans® has celebrated the lifestyle and creative self-expression of musicians, artists, and athletes on boards and bikes all around the world. From timeless footwear, apparel, accessories, and snowboard boots, to progressive events like the Vans Warped Tour® and surfing's most prestigious contest, the Vans US Open of Surfing®, Vans® continues to support today's innovators and those who live "Off the Wall".
Point the camera at your feet to see the shoes!
Show Us Your Style
Show us your style by tagging us @journeys on social media.


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Story by
Josh Ong
Josh Ong is the US Editor at The Next Web. He previously worked as TNW's China Editor and LA Reporter. Follow him on Twitter or email him a Josh Ong is the US Editor at The Next Web. He previously worked as TNW's China Editor and LA Reporter. Follow him on Twitter or email him at [email protected].
Tencent has nearly saturated the Chinese Internet market with its impressive 90 percent adoption rate among users, so it's only natural that the company is looking to emerging markets for the next phase of its growth.
QQ, Tencent's IM service, is almost 14 years old and boasts more than 700 million active users. That base has provided a solid foundation for products like the Qzone social network, which now plays host to 150 billion photos, and the Tencent Weibo micro-blog. The company has also seen strong interest in its Weixin chat client and recently added free calls to the service.
In an interview with paidContent, Sophia Ong, Tencent's GM for national ad planning, said that the rapid growth of the Chinese broadband market may be starting to taper.
"Since this year, we're starting to sense the signs of a slowing down," she told the publication, adding that Tencent faces some economic pressures, but remains confident in its growth. "We are not only investing ourselves in one certain category – we are multi-platform, multi-dimensional – so we are relatively safe."
As it looks overseas, Tencent is primarily focusing on emerging markets. The company has invested in Thai web firm Sanook and Russia's Digital Sky Technologies.
Tencent keeps its hands in a lot of services, but gaming remains one of its target industries. In June, it announced a deal to acquire a minority stake in Epic Games, which makes "Gears of War" and "Infinity Blade".
Sheer user number growth might not be possible in China at this point, but Tencent does see itself as becoming more of a platform for other players. Products like QQ Login and QQ Open Platform are a start at encouraging growth of a robust third-party ecosystem on top of its services.
"It's not the case that only the strongest should survive – everybody should share the same sky," the executive said. "As the largest technology company in China, we would love to play that role. We have started to open our API to many of the players in this industry – everybody can leverage that resource in terms of the payments service, or streaming technology – all of the benefit can be shared with our partners."
The bulk of Tencent's revenue actually comes from users, rather than advertising. The company uses a virtual QB currency for micro-transactions like upgrading an avatar. QQ alone has 30 million members paying 10RMB per month, Ong said. paidContent reports that 80 percent of Tencent's income is derived from user payments.
Though rival Sina's Weibo service has attracted more media attention than Tencent's own, Tencent Weibo actually has more users. Those numbers might not amount to actual activity though, as one recent analysis found Sina Weibo to have received more visits and online time during the Olympics.
Tencent views its approach to micro-blogging as radically different from Sina. According to Ong, Tencent takes a "bottom-up" strategy that prioritizes individual users and their contacts.
"Sina's strategy is mostly the media type of operation, everything from the top down. They recruit lots of celebrities and key opinion leaders to spread their messages (on Weibo)," she said.
Another difference between the two is the process of monetization. Whereas Sina has rolled out premium membership and sponsored messages, Tencent says making money off its Weibo service is not the company's "first priority," though it has experimented with social ads.
Ong's comments are the first time that Tencent has tipped its plans to head overseas. In March, the company revealed that it is looking into e-commerce and search while simultaneously eyeing emerging international opportunities. Mergers and acquisitions will also continue to play a part in Tencent's strategy for expansion.
Of course, Tencent's not the only Chinese Internet company looking abroad. Search leader Baidu is planning to bring in most of its revenue from outside of China by 2020 and has begun forays into Southeast Asia and South America. Meanwhile, Alibaba recently restructured, giving new leadership to the English-language division of its ecommerce site.
Read the full interview over at paidContent.
Image Credit: Flickr / Jawen
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Smeal Graduate Distinguished Achievement Award Guidelines
Number of Awards
One award is given each year, assuming the nominees are approved by the selection committee.
Smeal alumni with a graduate degree who are not current At-Large Directors of the Smeal Alumni Society Board.
Honors a graduate alumnus/alumna whose career achievements have brought distinction to Smeal.
Nominations are solicited from Smeal faculty, staff, student organizations, and current members of the Smeal Alumni Society.
Selecting Body
The selection committee includes, but is not limited to, the Smeal Alumni Society Board's Executive Committee, the At-Large Directors, and Smeal's Director of Alumni Relations.
Nominations are typically sought in the early fall. The award is presented to the recipient in a formal ceremony during the annual Smeal Alumni Society Board's Awards program held each spring.
Smeal's Alumni Relations Office
Phone: (814) 865-7831
E-mail: email@example.com