text:
In this course, you will explore the importance of self awareness and feedback, as well as issues such as bias and imposter syndrome. As a leader, it is important to know when to step in and lead, as well as how to establish boundaries and resolve conflict. This course will equip you with these fundamental leadership skills and will also help you develop your ability to influence others (including your "boss"), measure your impact and enhance your resilience.
This course is part of the Leadership Out of the Box Specialization
Offered By
About this Course
What you will learn
How to increase your emotional intelligence as a leader, manage conflict, and how to increase your influence and authority.
Skills you will gain
- Motivation
- Emotional Intelligence
- Influencing
- Leadership And Management
- Conflict Management
Dr Nigel SpencerProfessor of Education Innovation and Professional Practice
Mike MisterHonorary Professor (Queen Mary University of London), Partner (Professional Service Firms International Llp), Senior Fellow (Human Capital Practice, The Conference Board), CFCIPD, ACIB, MBPsS, MBA, BA (Hons) Psychology
Offered by
Queen Mary University of London
Queen Mary University of London is a leading research-intensive university with a difference – one that opens the doors of opportunity to anyone with the potential to succeed. Ranked 117 in the world, the University has over 28000 students and 4400 members of staff. We are a truly global university: over 160 nationalities are represented on our 5 campuses in London, and we also have a presence in Malta, Paris, Athens, Singapore and China. The reach of our education is extended still further through our online provision.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Understanding Yourself as a Leader
This week we are going to be focusing on you and your understanding of your leadership identity. We shall be asking you to reflect on who you are and to consider some of your strengths before exploring two of the biggest challenges for many leaders: imposter syndrome as you build your identity as a leader, and also the need to leverage your time by learning to let go and using delegation to "achieve through others". We are going to encourage you to step outside your comfort zone, stretch your leadership potential, and consider the types of activity you need to be focussing on to become the leader you want to be.
Stepping In, Setting Boundaries and Productive Conflict
This week we will be looking at how you can know when to "step in" as a leader and how to do this effectively. We shall explore some of the leadership tools and styles that are available to you and consider how you might adapt your approach in response to your context. We will also discuss boundaries and how you might go about setting these, as well as conflict, looking at how you can constructively respond to conflict and how to find the value in such interactions.
Leading and Influencing Your Boss
This week we shall be focussing on your boss's or leader's agenda and considering how you can best align yourself with it whilst also pursuing your own leadership goals. We look at how you can better understand your boss's motives and aims, as well as how you can influence your boss. We will use the "Authority-Presence-Impact" frame of thinking to help you to further develop your ability to lead, and will take you through the process of having challenging, but invaluable, conversations with your leader or boss.
Managing Energy and Motivations
This week we are going to focus on how you can maintain your own energy levels whilst also energising and motivating those around you. We will look at how you can embed self-care and wellbeing into your leadership practices and ways in which you can radiate energy to others. We shall explore what motivates you as well as those you lead, and think about how you can use language to achieve your leadership goals and motivate your team.
About the Leadership Out of the Box Specialization
This specialisation will provide you with a holistic set of tools, skills and frameworks to enable you to step up and lead more effectively. You will develop your own leadership identity, as you explore what it means to lead and learn ways to better manage your time.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
Is financial aid available?
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.


text:
WHAT: Up to 400 students, faculty, speakers, judges and vendors will attend the 61th annual JACC State Convention. Every effort is made to include all aspects of reporting and writing across all platforms—along with photography and video—in our sessions. Professional critiques, information from 4-year transfer institutions, dozens of speaker sessions and deadline contests are open to all students.
WHEN: Thursday, March 17, through Saturday, March 19, 2016.
- Registration is 2 to 5 p.m.Thursday, March 17.
- Contest orientations begin 3 p.m. Thursday, March 17
- Conference Welcome (introductions, overall orientations, short inspirational speech by a JACC alum) is 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 17.
- The event wraps after the Awards Banquet Saturday night, March 19.
WHERE: Burbank Marriott, adjacent to the Bob Hope Airport
JACC Discounted Room Rates $142/night
Hotel Reservation Deadline: March 14, 2016
2016 Registration Fees
Registration is for MEMBER schools only; individuals can not register. All registrations must include a name, twitter and email address for each delegate to be considered valid.
March 1, 2016 March 7, 2016
Regular Member Registration:
$300/ person
Hotel Discount* Registration:
$250/ person
March 1, 2016 March 7, 2016
Late Member Registration:
$350/ person
*HOTEL DISCOUNT. The 2016 JACC headquarters hotel is the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport. JACC has negotiated discounted hotel rooms for attendees of the conference at $142/night in conjunction with the conference. Attendees who stay at the Burbank Marriott for a minimum of one night during the conference dates are entitled to a $50 discount off the cost of registration. Hotel confirmation numbers are required for each individual to receive the registration discount. Please note: there are no hotel discounts after March 7, 2016 as the hotel discount reservations are closed.
GETTING THERE: JACC does not provide transportation to and from the airport or train station. Delegations flying in should use the Burbank airport. The hotel runs shuttles to the airport, but it's also an easy walk. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/burap-los-angeles-marriott-burbank-airport/
WHAT TO EXPECT: A well-planned, motivating, inspiring and educational experience for both students and faculty.
WHEN SHOULD I GET THERE: In plenty of time to check in all your students and plan time to eat. A flyer will be posted online with info on nearby restaurants.
WHAT MEALS ARE INCLUDED: Friday and Saturday breakfasts and Saturday dinner.
- Reserve hotel rooms by the March 7 deadline to receive the JACC rate. Room rates are $142 per night for doubles, with four students allowed in each room.
- Deadline to submit rooming list TK.
- Register your students by the March 7 deadline. Registration is $300 per delegate or $250 for delegates staying at the conference site. Note: this is NOT a fee increase, just a name change for bookkeeping purposes.
- Discounted registration will require hotel confirmation numbers.
- Make sure when registering to spell each student's name correctly and include updated email addresses. Confirmations will be sent directly to students' email accounts.
- Register for on-the-spot contests that need pre-registration. These are the off-site events—details TK— that require bus transit. There is no extra cost.
Details TK on the JACC website and Faculty Facebook page. To reserve rooms, be prepared to provide:
- College name
- Number of rooms needed each night
- Dates of check in/check out
- Payment method (the ultimate payment method)
- ALL Reservations MUST be held with a credit card
- School name
At least one week before the event, the hotel will request a detailed rooming list.
• $19 per night overnight, with in/out privileges
- $19 per day, no in/out privileges
- $27 per night valet, with in/out privileges
The final conference schedule will be posted March 1, with the provision that we will make last-minute changes.
Until then, updates will be posted regularly on the JACC website http://jacconline.org
and the JACC faculty Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jaccfb
We will also post updates on the JACC Faculty Group email list. Closer to the conference, we'll use Twitter and Instagram.
The students also have their own Facebook page, and the student presidents will be posting their updates there.
Follow our Social Media for latest updates about the upcoming convention
Follow us on Twitter – Make sure to @mention us and use #JACC16
Follow us on Instagram – Make sure to @mention us and use #JACC16

subset: commoncrawl


text:
SLO County health commissioners want county supervisors to do whatever they can to "stabilize" the Oceano dunes and warn residents downwind of the popular off-road recreation site they might be at risk.
Commissioners were responding to a particulate study recently released by the Air Pollution Control District, which found that off roading at the state-owned park is kicking up high levels of sand into the air. Though there haven't been any concrete local links between airborne sand from the dunes and respiratory problems, health officials said there are other studies linking conditions like asthma to high levels of such particulates.
It's unclear what power county supervisors have in addressing the issue, but some opponents of four-wheeled recreation in the dunes suggested the county could shut down portions of the park to off-road vehicles


text:
Cambridge, Mass.-based Pegasystems is infusing its customer relationship management (CRM) offerings with new artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic automation capabilities.
The company — which Forrester named a leader in its November assessment of enterprise-grade CRM suites — said the new capabilities will enable its customers to optimize their sales and customer service effectiveness with desktop analytics and machine learning.
Pegasystems: Building on Capabilities
Don Schuerman, CTO and vice president of product marketing at Pegasystems, told CMSWire the company is building on capabilities from its acquisition of Atlanta- based OpenSpan, a privately held software provider of robotic process automation (RPA) and workforce analytics software.
Specifically, it is unifying Pega Workforce Intelligence within the Pega Customer Service and Pega Sales Automation applications "to give organizations an added layer of intelligence that helps them find opportunities for improvement in how their people, processes and technology work together," he said.
The goal is to use AI and robotic automation to help businesses uncover hidden patterns of inefficiency by analyzing millions of actions taken every day on every desktop from any application so they can improve productivity and "coach new behaviors that boost the bottom line."
While CRM applications are now an established part of the enterprise workplace, Schuerman said many offerings are too basic to provide the insights businesses really need. He called Pegasystems the vendor with the only CRM solution that gives actionable advice to overcome these pitfalls and improve the employee and customer experience, noting:
"There's no other CRM solution that combines workforce intelligence directly within CRM applications. Workforce intelligence on its own tells you where your inefficiencies lie in the way your organization works. But now when you layer that information with the performance data in CRM applications – such as customer service representatives with the best Net Promoter score, or salespeople who generate the biggest sales pipeline – you can start to understand why you are seeing success (or not seeing success) in certain areas."
AI Can Improve Productivity
He claims the new capabilities will improve efficiencies by reducing toggling from one application to another, automating routine work, standardizing processes and giving employees a clearer vision of which activities produce optimal results.
Learning Opportunities
"Organizations are forced to live with many inefficiencies in their business simply because they don't know where to look. They may also not understand how they are impacting results or know how to fix them," he said.
"We're using AI and robotics to identify patterns in the way people work that go largely unnoticed, or that perhaps managers had an inkling was there but couldn't put a finger on it. And then we offer up opportunities for improvement that not only solve the inefficiencies but directly improve performance in a real and tangible manner that you can measure."
At the end of the day, it's about better customer experiences, he said. "By engaging current and prospective customers with the right message at the right time on the right channel, businesses can increase customer satisfaction while enhancing customer lifetime value," the company noted in a statement.


text:
Last week marked the end of an era. Blockbuster announced that on Nov. 9, its doors would be locked, windows shuttered and all domestic operations, including approximately 300 stores and distribution centers, closed once and for all.
For those of you with fuzzy memories, in the days before digital video purchasing sites, like iTunes and Netflix, there was something called a DVD. Think further back and you may even recall the antiquated VHS.
We used to walk eagerly through endless rows at the nearest movie rental store, scouring the shelves to find a film synopsis on a back cover that piqued our interests. Half the fun of renting a video was renting "the" video.
Despite all of the nostalgia attached to Blockbuster, after the company's 2010 bankruptcy, its closure may not come as a shock to many.
Fewer and fewer transactions are being completed in-person. You order a movie and have it sent to you in a matter of minutes through computer wires. The book industry has been transformed since the introduction of the Kindle, CDs have been replaced by iTunes and magazines are available on tablets.
Rapid technological change has been the norm in our generation's lifetime. Soon we will be sending virtual hot chocolate and popcorn to pair with the movies we stream.
You may not have rented a movie from Blockbuster in years. In fact, you may not even have a television in your dorm or apartment, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't care.
Blockbuster was the original version of an on-demand video service. The death of each outdated technology signals that we are growing older as well.
While we may not have the aged wisdom of our grandparents who often reflect on what happened "back in the day," we can certainly say we have made it around the block.
In a way, saying goodbye to Blockbuster is a farewell to our youth. A goodbye to slumber parties, family movie nights and movie browsing memories.
Even if you no longer rent videos, it's about the changing times and its effect on us. We are the tech generation, but are we becoming too used to it? Blockbuster's ultimate demise leaves us to question how technology will impact the job market and the world.
In this case, it led to the end of the block.
Alyssa Jacobson is a junior majoring in advertising and political science.


text:
By Niam Seet Wei, Bernama
Malaysia views Xi'an, the capital of western China's Shaanxi province, as the gateway to enter China's vast halal market, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry. But other provinces around Shanxi are also in need of halal products.
XI'AN (China) — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak says Xi'an is the halal gateway for Malaysian halal products to enter China, the world's second largest economy.
There are about 140,000 Muslims in Xi'an, which makes it an ideal place to promote halal products from Malaysia, he told Malaysian journalists after visiting the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses here today.
Najib is on a six-day official visit to China to mark the 40th anniversary of the Malaysia-China establishment of diplomatic relations.
Meanwhile, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the 3rd Malaysia-Xi'an Halal Food Festival Week is expected to generate RM20 million sales.
"Last year, the sales amounted to RM15 million as compared to RM9 million in 2012, " he said.
Organised by Ismail Sabri's ministry, the minister said sales from the food fair held at Beiyuanmen Street (Muslim Street) increased every year as Malaysian foods were widely accepted by the Chinese visitors here.
Sabri told Malaysian journalists after visiting the Xi'an San Bao Shuangxi (International) Halal Food Trading Mart: "So, we will make Xi'an as the entry point for our halal products to penetrate other provinces and regions".
The number of Malaysian entrepreneurs participating in the fair had also increased to 35 from last year's 30, he said.
"We will soon increase our products to 500 to 1,000 stock-keeping units," he said.
Only 15 Malaysian entrepreneurs took part in the first exhibition held in 2012, he said.
Ismail Sabri said many Malaysian businessmen continued to join the fair as they had received good response from the visitors here.
Sabri said, "Although the Muslims in China have a keen interest for our halal products, the obstacles are the local authorities' rules and regulations. This has prevented our products from entering this vast nation."
"Nevertheless, I believe Malaysia's close relations with China will yield more opportunities for us," he added.
Meanwhile, Sha PengCheng, chairman of the Board of Directors of Xi'an San Bao Shuang Xi Group, said there was huge demand for Malaysian halal products among China's Muslim community.
Hence, he hoped to see more Malaysian products to be introduced in the country.
Among the participants of the exhibition, which began yesterday and will go on until May 31, is Fatihah Frozen Food Sdn Bhd that offered a number of halal products including ready-made frozen food such as curry puffs, samosa, roti canai, popiahs.
Fatihah, who was participating in the fair for the second year this year, told Bernama she had increased her sales target this year to 50,000 yuan from last year's 40,000 yuan.
"I am introducing two new products this year — frozen durian spring rolls and frozen durian puffs.
"The Chinese visitors here love durians," she said, adding that the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight incident has not affected her business.
"They just love our products, the flight incident does not have any negative impact on us at all," she added.
Of the 239 passengers and crew on board the flight that mysteriously disappeared while en route to Beijing from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8, 153 of them were Chinese nationals.
Businessman Alan Tan Cheng Learn, who is involved in the honey industry for nearly four years, said his products received good response from the local visitors.
Tan, who was participating in the fair for the first time this year, said he was surprised over the overwhelming response from the Chinese here.
"Maybe they are more confident in Malaysia-made products than the locally made ones," he added.


text:
Business startup loans represent high risk to many financial institutions. People attempting to secure financing for a new company are often frustrated with the process and disappointed with the outcome. Anyone who is looking for a loan to start a new business can eliminate some of the obstacles by doing the proper homework.
When starting a small business, any entrepreneur must first calculate how much money is needed in addition to whatever capital is already on hand. After determining how much money to borrow, the future business owner must prepare the proper documentation to present to potential lenders with the loan application. These documents should include a detailed plan for repayment of the loan. There are several things an entrepreneur can do to increase the chances the lender will approve the loan.
- Take the time to prepare a well thought out business plan. The lender must know exactly how the business owner plans to spend the money.
- Prepare an updated resume showing the experience and skills needed for running a small business. Many lenders will request copies of various financial documents including bank statements and income tax returns dating back one or two years.
- Starting up a new business requires applying for the proper permits and licenses. Every location has different requirements, so it is important to get familiar with local regulations. These documents should also be included in the information presented to the lender. Include any legal documents required for operating a business in the area.
Most business owners will need business startup loans to get the doors open. The process of applying for a loan is time consuming but with the proper preparation, the entrepreneur has a much better chance of obtaining the funds needed to get going. This kind of meticulous preparation will be worth the time and effort when the lender approves the loan.
Related articles
- Bad Credit Business Loans: Offering Solutions (debt-consolidation-2u.com)
- Are there loans for small businesses? (debt-consolidation-2u.com)


text:
So, Xpelli started as a seemingly one-off spark: fotopelli, a combination of word play and placing Kokopelli into a 21st century setting. And I thought that was that, silly me. Add inspiration from my good friend Lee Shiney who, when shown fotopelli, suggested "xpelli" that would incorporate Pelli in any situation. Great idea, thank you, and I promptly bought the domain name and set the whole idea aside for awhile. "Awhile" as in nearly two years. (Note to self: We must constantly ask ourselves what are we waiting for...)
On a walk last fall, my wife Judit and I began talking about Xpelli and its possibilities. We talked about how we could share the concept of Kokopelli with his magic, mirth and mischief to a wider audience; how we could encourage others to embrace these traits for themselves. Hey, we thought, Kokopelli has been relevant for 3000 years so let's help spread the magic!
We broke out our drawing pencils and paper and began sketching ideas, situations, phrases and names:
Now, a few short (and, at times, long!) months later, we've launched Xpelli with a website where we can share the concept as well as the first couple of designs. We have dozens completed already and are drawing more all the time. We'll add them on a regular basis to the collection so please check back and - if there's something you'd like to see - just drop us a note!
Enjoy the moment!
Comments will be approved before showing up.


text:
HP MV2120 Media Vault home server - now with Internet accessible goodness!
This particular Media Vault product adds to it the ability to make files accessible from anywhere where you have an Internet connection. Furthermore you can set up your own little Flickr on the server with their online picture gallery software that they have built in.
For some reason this seemingly large external, network attached storage device only packs in 500GB of storage space, and offers up RAID 1 functionality in that space, what a waste. Anyways, you can backup and share data, media, and system backups across your home's network as well as stream media files to HTPC's or possibly gaming systems.
There are two USB ports on the device that can be used to expand the storage capacity of the unit or to backup the contents of the drive for safe storage off site depending on the importance of the Media Vault's contents. They are also releasing the MV5100 Pro series with 1TB and 1.5TB capacities, with it being targeted as small businesses.
[via gottabemobile]


text:
Colorado recently became the first state to sell marijuana for recreational use. The historical move has prompted other states such as Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana and Nevada to push for legalization. Twenty states, including Colorado, already allowed it for medicinal purposes, but the recent step taken by Colorado is raising eyebrows as well as questions about the harmful affects of smoking marijuana.
Proposed medical benefits
New York's Governor Cuomo also plans to legalize medical marijuana, joining a total of 20 states who have taken this step based on medical benefits such as relieving certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by illnesses like multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS.
According to Harvard Medical School, there have been no reported cases of lung cancer or emphysema attributed to marijuana. However, the British Lung Foundation disagrees. They state that "3-4 Cannabis cigarettes a day are associated with the same evidence of acute and chronic bronchitis and the same degree of damage to the bronchial mucosa as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day."
The risks stated with the use of marijuana include harm to the heart, lungs, brain, endocrine system, and eyes, impaired lung function from smoking, increased heart rate and a decrease in blood pressure from smoking marijuana, decreased appetite, sleep difficulty, weight loss, and more.
What's the difference between Marinol and legal marijuana?
Marinol, used in those states that allow marijuana use for medicinal benefits, is different than smoking the marijuana plant. Marinol uses one pure, FDA-approved pharmaceutical in stable known dosages. The marijuana plant has an unstable mixture of over 400 chemicals. Because they have not been studied, they could pose a health risk.
How do hospitals view the medical use of marijuana?
Most all the top hospitals across the country either refrain from taking a position on the use of marijuana, do not recommend its use to treat health conditions (Cleveland Clinic), warn of the risks involved (Mayo Clinic, University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers) or state that they will not be participating. One fact is certain. The views on this issue will be highly debated by the medical profession and state governments across the country for a long time to come.


text:
In a recent post – The End of Retail – Scott Sumner writes:
During the early stages of the recession there were all sorts of "structural" theories of unemployment. One popular theory claimed that housing had been overbuilt, and hence the job losses in home-building were due to "reallocation" of labor, not falling AD. That idea never made much sense as an overall theory of unemployment, as aggregate employment held up well during the great housing crash of January 2006 to April 2008.
The idea that there was a house building "frenzy" in the 1990s and 2000s is illustrated in Chart 1. The somewhat cyclical pattern of house starts is broken in 1990, after which starts increase almost continuously for the next fifteen years to 2005.
As Chart 2 indicates, that is consistent with the rise in the rate of population growth, which rose form 1% in the 1965 to 1989 period to 1.2% for the next 10 years. A substantial portion of this rise was due to immigration, with the number of immigrants doubling from an average of 500 hundred thousand prior to 1990 to 1 million thereafter.
Chart 3 shows that the house stock population ratio reached a 'steady state' in the late 1980s. It appears that the rising trend in house starts was just sufficient to maintain the house stock-population ratio constant.
Chart 4 shows that after house construction peaked in early 2006, the fall in residential construction employment was partially compensated by the continuing rise in non-residential construction. Nevertheless, the after-recession pattern of overall construction employment is very different from the pattern of private employment or even retail employment shown in Charts 5 and 6, respectively.
Chart 7 illustrates the behavior of the 'forcing variable' – NGDP. "Structural excuses" are just a cop-out for Fed incapacity to keep nominal spending at an adequate level! By not doing anything to offset at least part of the previous drop in nominal spending, we get the so called 'new normal' But as shown, that´s the responsibility of the Fed!
Chart 8 explains the dearth of residential construction employment. Residential investment has only recently begun to slowly pick up. Chart 9 helps explain why non-residential employment also languishes. Non-residential investment is mostly being determined by equipment & software investment, not by nonresidential construction.


text:
Export 9 results:Author [ Title] Type Year
Filters: Author is Brzozowski, J. [Clear All Filters]
Alfven mode stability and wave-particle interaction in the JET tokamak: prospects for scenario development and control schemes in burning plasma experiments, Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion 746 (2004) S59-S79.,
Density peaking in low collisionality ELMy H-mode in JET, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 1246 (2004) 1877-1889.,
ELMy H-modes in JET helium-4 plasmas, Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion 346 (2004) 519-534.,
Expanding the operating space of ICRF on JET with a view to ITER, Nuclear Fusion 246 (2006) 391-400.,
Fusion Energy-Production from a Deuterium-Tritium Plasma in the Jet Tokamak, Nuclear Fusion 232 (1992) 187-203.,
Overview of JET results, Nuclear Fusion 1243 (2003) 1540-1554.,
Plasma rotation induced by directed waves in the ion-cyclotron range of frequencies, Physical Review Letters 2392 (2004),
Proton-triton nuclear reaction in ICRF heated plasmas in JET, Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion 848 (2006) 1233-1253.,
Towards the realization on JET of an integrated H-mode scenario for ITER, Nuclear Fusion 144 (2004) 124-133.,


text:
We're here for you. Call us at 1-877-632-6789 1-877-632-6789 or
request an appointment online.
request an appointment online.
Let's get started. Request an appointment online.
Skull Base Tumor Symptoms
Skull base tumors may not produce symptoms until they grow large. Symptoms vary from person to person depending on where the tumor is and how fast it is growing.
Skull base tumor symptoms may include:
- Facial pain or numbness
- Facial weakness or paralysis
- Headache
- Recurrent sinus problems
- Stopped-up nose
- Loss of sense of smell
- Nosebleeds
- Vision loss
- Double vision
- Hearing loss
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Dizziness, vertigo or loss of balance
- Shortness of breath
- Hoarseness, losing your voice
- Difficulty swallowing and frequent choking
- Lumps on the neck
Having one or more of these symptoms does not mean you have a skull base tumor. But you should talk to your doctor if you have any of these signs. They may mean you have other health problems.
Clinical Trials
MD Anderson patients have access to clinical trials offering
promising new treatments that cannot be found anywhere else.
Knowledge Center
Find the latest news and information about skull base tumors in our
Knowledge Center, including blog posts, articles, videos, news
releases and more.


text:
Job description
Our team members in Vietnam reflect the character of our CMS through a flexible, friendly, and open culture that is both inspiring, fun, and filled with challenges.
You will work as a Senior Java Developer on web-based application projects in Java-related and open-source technologies.
What you will do
- Analyze system requirements
- Participate in system design and implementation
- Perform as a key member in technical problem resolution on projects under experienced team leaders
- Be able to act as a team leader, managing a small number of developers on specific projects.
What you bring in
- Education: Bachelor of IT or equivalent
- Communication skills: Intermediate-level English (good in all areas, especially writing and speaking)
- Strong knowledge in Java Web & Enterprise (EE) technologies, system design, technical troubleshooting, and problem-solving
- Servlet API, JAX-RS (REST), JSON-P; Apache Tomcat, JBoss AS/Wildfly, etc.
- Java SE 8 (lambdas, streams, interface evolution), APT, Lombok, Groovy, JUnit 4 and 5, Mockito, Hamcrest matchers
- Experienced in IoC (Spring Framework or Google Guice) and service design Templating (Freemarker, Handlebars, Velocity)
- Rapid application & UI development frameworks (Vaadin, SpringBoot), Sass, JavaScript
- Strong in database design and programming (MySQL, H2), as a plus, JCR 2.0 (Java Content Repository), Jackrabbit, Lucene
- Experience with Maven, Git, CI/CD, Jenkins Pipelines, Docker, Selenium
- Knowledge of cloud-based development is a plus
- Experienced in open-source solutions such as CMS, CRM, E-commerce, Portal, and social networks is a plus
- Solid soft skills: group discussion leading, teamwork, problem-solving, presentations
- Must be independent, responsible, and self-motivated with the ability to learn and achieve superior results
- Possessing strong methodologies when researching new technologies
What we offer you
- 13th-month salary, 1-month bonus in 3rd year, 2 months bonus in 5th year and day-off
- Private health care program for you and your family members
- English training with a native English teacher
- Potential opportunities for exchange program to Europe as 2 off-weeks
- Telecommuting if needed
- Whoopie Fridays where people can meet, chat, and exchange knowledge
- A refrigerator fully stocked with snacks, fruit, and beer
- Monthly team building activities, outings, and luncheon meetings for knowledge sharing
- Stylish office, equipped with a 15" Macbook Pro and 27" Apple Thunderbolt Display for each employee
About Magnolia
Magnolia International Ltd. is a privately held company, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. The company has offices around the globe, and customers in over 100 countries.
Magnolia Vietnam adventure started on August 1, 2014 with a small group of staffs. Two years later, we have a full-stack office of more than 20 members involved in Product Development, Support & Services, Consulting, Training and become The Hub of Asia APAC.
At Magnolia, we are passionate about working with great people and having amazing time building long-term, holistic solutions to help our clients to achieve their goals. We are all driven by the desire of getting the best out of Magnolia, which is reflected in our core values.


text:
Toddlers put everything in their mouths; it's an important stage of development and exploration. Unfortunately, as one mom from Russia recently learned, this can also be a very scary and trying phase for parents.
The mother of a 16-month-old toddler walked into her kitchen after leaving her little boy alone for just a few minutes. It was then that she discovered that there were magnets missing from the refrigerator. Worried that her little boy had swallowed them, she panicked and rushed her little boy off to a local clinic where doctors performed a scan.
"The child had been in the room alone with the magnets, and now they were gone," a clinic spokesman told Daily Mail. "She thought he must have swallowed them."
After reviewing the scans, doctors confirmed the mother's worst fears; the tiny tot had swallowed a total of 42 little round magnets. The clinic then rushed the tot to a nearby hospital in Chelyabinsk, Russia. There, surgeons performed emergency surgery to remove the magnets from his digestive tract. Thankfully, all 42 magnets were removed. Nikolay Rostovtsev, the surgeon who performed the surgery, said this was the most magnets he'd ever removed from a child.
"Over the years, I had to take a variety of foreign bodies, including magnets, from young patients," Rostovtsev told Daily Mail. "Once I removed about 20 of them, but this incident of our little patient has broken all records."
The tot is now at the hospital, recovering from his surgery. His incident has prompted doctors to remind parents of just how important it is to baby proof their homes. They say that parents should be aware of what their children can reach, and when it comes to dangerous items (like magnets, batteries, chemicals, medications, furniture, and more), parents should either place the items well out of reach or secure them so they can't be removed.
Most importantly, parents should be careful about leaving toddlers alone for even a few moments. It only takes a few seconds for a toddler to sneak something into their mouths. But rest assured that the stage doesn't last forever; doctors said that most children will stop putting everything in their mouths right around their fourth birthday.
Related Articles:
- Doctors 'Freeze' Preemie to Save His Life
- Study: Most Doctors Fail to Recognize Underweight Children and the Potential Complications
- Fox Attacks Sleeping Newborn Baby in London


text:
Organic, a key claim in chocolate confectionery
Organic chocolate today is moving from niche to mainstream, capitalizing on persistent consumers' interest in organic products. There are more and more organic offerings on the confectionery shelf, from established iconic brands and fancy boutique producers to own labels. Retailers have started recognizing the potential.
Discover the various dimensions of how organic can manifest itself in chocolate confectionery and get inspiration for your own product range.
Organic chocolate market dynamics
Organic chocolate has been around for decades, with brands like the UK Green&Black's ('green' standing for organic, and 'black' for dark chocolate) entering the space in the early 90s. The claim has consistently grown into a 30-million euro market in Western Europe, and is expected to continue gaining share at 3% year on year. Almost 30 years after its entrance,G&B's has turned from a start-up into a prominent brand and has a broad number of competing offers. This is not surprising, considering organic is by far the No. 1 claim among new launches in Confectionery. (Source: Innova, 2015-2017)
Maximizing the impact
As seen in "Organic, from hype to a new lifestyle", the organic claim has a wide halo of associated consumer perceptions, as it's becoming more of a lifestyle and value system. As a result, organic rarely stands alone and is often supporting a more complex initiative, typically appearing in 3 main directions:
Fairtrade. As chocolate's main ingredient, organic cocoa and its sourcing often go hand-in-hand with sustainability and fairness.
Free-from. Vegan is another booming lifestyle choice and fits well with the better nutrition trend, perfectly complementing organic.
Better-for-you (healthier ingredients). Organic implies 'coming from nature' and is therefore seen as more natural and healthier. To enhance that perception, various better-for-you claims such as healthier sugars or superfoods are a no-brainer solution.
Chocolat Stella goes all-in with its organic & fair range which is also vegan and uses special nut nectars in the recipe.https://www.barry-callebaut.com/sites/default/files/styles/paragraph_image_gallery_full/public/2019-01/Chocolat-Stella-organic-vegan-fair-chocolate.jpg?itok=WFBWL4hf
The raw chocolate co taps into the health trend with its organic chocolate nibbles with superfood cores.https://www.barry-callebaut.com/sites/default/files/styles/paragraph_image_gallery_full/public/2019-01/The-raw-chocolate-co-chocolate-nibbles-superfoods.jpg?itok=E6DN55J8
The raw chocolate co taps into the health trend with its organic chocolate bars.https://www.barry-callebaut.com/sites/default/files/styles/paragraph_image_gallery_full/public/2019-02/webheader.newgroup.simple_0.jpg?itok=RLVIMXiC
Premium quality
Today we're observing a strong less-but-better trend in chocolate confectionery. Consumers are cutting down on chocolate consumption because of its reputation of being unhealthy, and are switching to higher-quality products, which taste better, are more sophisticated or are better for you. All of those are products are typically accompanied by a higher price tag, but consumers are willing to accept it, driving the premiumization trend.
Organic propositions in chocolate today charge an average of 30% premium vs the market, as it ticks many of the 'higher quality' boxes. To get your share of that juicy pie, you can choose between many strategies:
Launch a 'base' organic chocolate range, where all of the ingredients have to be sourced organically, from chocolate to nuts to others. Highlighting the cocoa percentage in the recipe will further strengthen the quality credentials.
Explore smaller portions and thinner formats to dial up the healthier perception. Trade up even more by using a sophistication approach through single origins (direct link to organic cocoa) or exclusive ingredients (such as local, or special provenance inclusions).


text:
The Invisible City Kakuma
The Invisible City Kakuma | Lieven Corthouts | Kenya | 2016 | 74 min
Kakuma refugee camp, built in the middle of the Turkana desert (Kenya), is the fastest growing city in the region. Many of its new arrivals are children sent out of conflict zones by their parents. Against all odds, these children grab all opportunities in the camp to rebuild their life. While waiting for her mother to return from South Sudan, Nyakong (8) starts to go to school. Slowly she creates a new home in the camp. At the age of 17, teenagers like Claude and Khadijo consequently compete for international scholarships, get a job, even build their own house.
Award of Excellence, Impact Docs Awards


text:
On the spatial literacy site you can find a classification of "neighbourhoods using data about our levels of awareness of different information communication technologies, how we use them, and how we think they might improve our quality of life." (in Great Britain).
The 8 main categories are:
1. E-unengaged
2. E-marginalised
3. Becoming engaged
4. E-for entertainment and shopping
5. E-independents
6. Instrumental E-users
7. E-business users
8. E-experts
It's not really linked to age-differences, though from the group of e-professionals it is said these are mostly young people. It demonstrates the wide range of comfort levels and uses of technology. Again, it's not really linked to type of access, yet I remember seeing a graph indicating how internet use changes with the change from dial-up to broadband. (and ofcourse this is different from use from cybercafes or other joint facilitaties).


text:
Call Our Pvt Ltd Consultants +91 7299972500 . We are here to provide services of Incorporation Of A Private Limited Company In India. Private limited company in India is considered as one of the most viable options to set-up business in India today. India has now become one of the fast-growing destinations for businesses and the corporate sector in the world due to its favorable legal atmosphere, cheap labor, inexpensive cost of the property, liberalization of trade, and many other conducive factors. Private limited company incorporation in India offers various attractive benefits to foreign investors like – low capital requirement, easy registration process, easy functioning of the management, exemption from some of the cumbersome formalities like stamp duty and other indirect taxes, exemption from some of the requirements like income tax, stamp duty value addition, income tax return filing, etc.
The entry of a Private Limited Company in India has become easier due to the reformed laws of the country. Earlier, the Indian Companies Act permitted limited liability company formation. However, the recently passed laws have changed all that. Now, even a private limited company needs to register itself under the Companies Act 2013. To know the regulations for this purpose, an Overview of Company Formation in India is given below:
Company Formation in India – How To Form a Company In India?
There are different approaches to company formation in India. These include registered office system and non-registered office system. In India, it is important to comply with the local laws of the place of business. After registration of the company, the next step is to open a registered office at which all the official mails will be dispatched to the concerned person.
Registration Of Business Name
The company name needs to be registered before functioning. This process needs to be completed at the state level as well as at the national level. Registered offices of the company should be located in places where the business will operate. At the state level, a company needs to file its Articles of Association along with the statutory declaration of its status.
Accessibility of Public Company Offices
Limited liability companies are not allowed to have their own branches or offices. A registered office can be used to access the official business records at any time. The limited company can make use of the address of the registered office of the company. In case, the business is established at the national level, then a bank facility may be available for storing the official documents.
Corporate Structure of a Company Registration
There are many types of businesses that can be incorporated in India. The limited company formation in India has some similarities with the international format of company formation. However, in the case of a limited company in India, the company formation needs to follow certain guidelines. For instance, a nominee director will be mentioned in the Articles of Association of the company. It is important to note that the nominee director does not have the power to direct the business.
Transfer of Control of the Company
All the powers of the management of the company are transferred to the owner after it becomes a public company. Thus, there is a transfer of management control of the company at any time. The power to issue shares is also transferred to the shareholders of the company. However, the shareholders will not enjoy the right to vote. As a result, all the shareholders of the company have no share ownership.
Contact our Company Formation Consultants in Chennai India
It is very easy to start your company in India. We are here to support you at all times. Private limited company registration in India offers the best opportunity to Indian businessmen to capitalize on the enormous potential of the Indian economy.
Call Our FilingPoint Experts +91 7299972500 Incorporation Of A Private Limited Company In India


text:
Devi coffee was established in 2011 in Goa. It is the leading authentic India Gourmet Coffee brand, DEVI Coffee uses the highest quality green beans consistently.
Sourced from all distinct coffee growing regions in India in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The beans are roasted at the Sussegado factory in Goa in special drum roasters and in small batches to ensure the most even and balance roast.
Contribution to Society
Majority of DEVI Green beans (i.e. the raw material) are sourced directly from farmers. Direct sourcing allows farmers to earn more and retain maximum margins leading to sustainable coffee farming. All DEVI coffees are completely natural and free of additives. There all coffees are naturally flavoured and rare coffee includes Cinnamon Verum, Madagaskar Vanilla, Ivory Coast Mocha, etc.
AnnaMaya food hall, located at Andaz Delhi in Aerocity retails one of the best artisanal coffee and also serves one of the best coffee in Delhi NCR.


text:
Technical Architecture
Airport Analytics (AA+) is an analytics and reporting solution designed to fulfil all the information needs of Airport industry. The solution is technology agnostic and works seamlessly with all leading platforms like SAP, Oracle, Pentaho, Microsoft and so on. Airport Analytics (AA+) solution comprises airport-specific enterprise data warehouse and business intelligence suite, incorporating an integrated stack of sophisticated components like score-carding, dash boarding, ad-hoc analysis, actionable reporting, advanced analytics with data mining engines and data integration.
Data Model
The Airport Analytics (AA+) data model consists of the following
Staging Area
Data warehouse
Data Marts
From the source systems, data is extracted and staged in the Staging Area for cleansing & transformation in order to map it to the airport data model in data warehouse. Cleansed & transformed data in the data warehouse holds historical data for low level analysis. Data from the data warehouse is aggregated into relevant marts for high level analysis
Data Integration
The approach as defined below is used to load all the relevant data from enterprise transactional systems and 3rd party sources in the data warehouse and accessed through Airport Analytics (AA+) platform. The key benefits of this data integration approach are:
All complex computation logic will be handled in the ETL processing
The master and transaction data load automation is scheduled based on the customer OLTP timing & data volume
Maintain alert mails for success and failure of jobs/process chain
Schedule Automated reports for data profiling, data quality and data validations
Deployment Strategy
While deploying Airport Analytics (AA+), there are a number of options. It is necessary to make sure that right choices are made for deployment in order to meet requirements, such as, is the system easily maintained, is it resilient, is it secure, does it support planned user base and can it be easily expanded to accommodate additional users. Clearly 3 different deployment modes emerge whereby the Airport Analytics (AA+) system can be deployed across different numbers of physical servers for different type of environments like Development, UAT and Production.


text:
Hope you will like these inspiring photographs where you have seen many new techniques of photo manipulations and other creative effects, conceptual photography most use in news paper and television ads, this is an modern trend to market your brands, so that's why i think we sharing really helping stuff to all graphic designers and media artists, we like to introduce the personality who did great job as you seen listed Montages.
Ben Goossens worked for 35 years in his native Belgium as an ad agency art director. After retiring, Goossen's turned to creating photo montages with a distinctive Surrealism style reminiscent of his fellow countryman, Rene Magritte.
Goossens' images have received awards in a number of prestigious international photography competitions including Gold and Silver medals at the Trierenberg Super Circuit, the world's largest annual photography salon. Goossens has also seen his work widely published, including an in-depth 10 page exposition in the March 2007 edition of Photo Art International. His composite photos are remarkable for their seamless yet painterly renderings of Surrealism dreamscapes.


text:
Both functional and stylish, the Ronill Life Crop Running Tights sport a head-turning print and technical properties to keep you performing for longer. A moisture-wicking fabric treatment keeps you dry and comfortable by drawing excess moisture away from the surface of the skin and the breathable fabric keeps air circulating so your temperature stays regulated. These crop tights are cut in a supportive skin fit but the fabric has excellent stretch and recovery to provide great freedom of unrestricted movement in all directions during exercise. Finished with an offset back pocket with auto-lock zips to ensure your valuables stay safe and secure. Care Instructions Wash at 30 degrees. Wash with like colours. Do not bleach. Do not tumble dry. Warm iron. Do not dry clean. Do not iron print. Do not use biological detergents. Do not use fabric conditioner. Dry away from heat.
Black/Mono Ripple / 10
Artikelnummer: 109751319
Hersteller: Ronhill
Grundpreis: / /


text:
Turnaround Time:
Wait time for complete assemblies is 6-12 weeks.
Wait time for complete assemblies is 6-12 weeks.
Try our Cerakote "Stainless" finish. It looks identical to bead blast, but doesn't soak up oils or scratch easily.
If you placed an order via credit card or PayPal, the fees charged to us by our merchant account or PayPal will be deducted from your refund.
Custom barrels are warrantied but not subject to full refunds.


text:
Everybody Dance!
Doesn't it feel like dance is everywhere these days? Last night I found myself toggling between America's Best Dance Crew and So You Think You Can Dance; Best 15 Routines. My parents can't enough of Dancing With the Stars. Ever thought you'd see Tom DeLay do the Paso Doble?
Now I've always been a fan of dance. My first exposure to performing arts was taking ballet lessons as a preschooler at local dance studio. The first ticket I ever bought to a live performance was to Houston Ballet as a teenager. Through my love of ballet, I discovered modern dance, musical theater and movie musicals. But I was a geeky, arts-obsessed teenager that dug through the classic movie section at my local video store to find movies with Fred Astair and Cyd Charisse dancing.
But these days, I feel like I don't have to go looking for dance. It's everywhere! Dance competition shows get huge ratings across demographics. America's Best Dance Crew is clearly a teen market. Dance Your Ass Off is pushing weight loss through dance on Lifetime, television for (old) women. And of course the hugely popular shows on the bigger networks. So it looks to me like this isn't just a niche audience.
So how is all of this dancing on TV affecting dance in the outside world? In spite of all the financial trauma at Oregon Ballet Theater, attendance was high last year. Portland Center Stage's best selling show last season was Guys and Dolls . Up on the silver screen we have the upcoming releases of Nine and Fame that are positioned to be blockbusters.
Being relatively new to Portland, I'm still learning about the local dance ecology. I've seen amazing work by companies like BodyVox and NW Professional Dance Project. I'm looking forward to exploring more. But I'm wondering if the popularity of these dance shows is trickling out to our smallish local companies?
What about participatory dance? Are the ballroom studios full of people who think if that guy from Seinfeld can foxtrot surely they can give it a try?
4 comments:
- Stephen said...
No matter what you think of these shows on TV, isn't it an amazing phenom that America, in the new century, can't get enough of dancing? I had a boyfriend in college who was a dance major & I thought that his training helped our relationship a great deal.
- MightyToyCannon said...
Our household got hooked on "Dancing with the Stars (sic)" for a few seasons, and ignored a few. I became particularly skilled at predicting the judges' scores. The shows are great, entertaining fun, though I wish they spent a little more time talking about each dance and what they are looking for as judges. Like you, I'm curious how the prevalence of dance shows on TV has translated into more folks taking dance lessons.
As for you Stephen, I won't ask what aspects of your college bf's movement training were most helpful to the relationship. I think I can guess.
- David said...
For us, it's "So You Think You Can Dance"...the choreography is brilliant, and we've become inured to the screaming girls and inane chat between numbers.
As for the local dance scene, I've just this moment returned from seeing OBT's presentation of an excerpt from Balanchine's "Serenade" at Waterfront Park in conjunction with the Oregon Symphony's full evening of live concert music. The music and dancing were wonderful!
I don't have any hard numbers, but it seems like more people are signing up for OBT's intro-to-ballet workshop series. I assume that makes for better informed audiences, which has got to be good for dance companies around town, large and small.
- Jenny Wren said...
I'm a "So You Think You Can Dance" fan. Nigel's a lecher and Mary's screams make you just want to grab her by the ear and say, "Hush, woman!", but the dancing is top notch. Some of the dance shows are really shlocky, but I don't mind so long as they can get people interested in dance.
I took a salsa class a few years back and the class was packed. Latin dances seem to be especially popular. But I guess it all comes in waves. When I first moved to Portland, swing was all the rage.


text:
- By:
- In: Comics
"Tokyo Ghost: Volume 1 – Atomic Garden" Trade Paperback Review
Written by James Ferguson
Published by Image Comics
Originally released as Tokyo Ghost #1 - #5
Written by Rick Remender
Illustrated by Sean Gordon Murphy
Colored by Matt Hollingsworth
2015, 138 Pages
Trade Paperback released on March 9th, 2016
It's easy to imagine a future where humanity is addicted to technology because we're basically already there. Tokyo Ghost from Rick Remender, Sean Gordon Murphy, and Matt Hollingsworth takes it to an extreme. Set in the year 2089, mankind is little more than those fat people at the end of Wall-E, shuffling around looking for their next digital fix. Technology and entertainment are drugs controlled by gangsters, and Constables Led Dent and Debbie Decay serve as their enforcers. All that glitters is not gold though, as the pair are sent to the one tech-free country on the planet for one last job that could tear them apart literally and metaphorically.
The future presented in Tokyo Ghost is both beautiful and tragic. The opening pages feature Led whizzing through the Isles of Los Angeles on his motorbike with an informant in tow. Debbie sits casually behind him while Led watches dozens of holographic screens, not unlike what is seen in Idiocracy. The backdrop of what's left of LA is gorgeous. Murphy's artwork is filled with fine lines and minute details that give you an immediate sense of the world these characters live in...or what's left of it.
Hollingsworth's color brings Tokyo Ghost to life in crisp features. While just about everything is neon and glowing, it has a muted tone to it, like you're seeing it through a fog. Where Los Angeles is dreary and dark, Tokyo is bright and vibrant, teeming with life.
|Click images to enlarge
The relationship between Led and Debbie is a driving force in Tokyo Ghost. Debbie is perhaps the only tech-free person in LA, while Led is pumped so full of nanotechnology he can barely function without being plugged in. He'd probably throw up at the mere thought of going camping. Debbie holds on to him, even though the man she loves is buried so deep beneath all this tech and distraction. She hopes to someday put Led through a detox and bring back her old flame. That's easier said than done.
You get the sense that Led still deeply cares for Debbie, although he doesn't outright show it. He's quick to come to her rescue, but when she tries to thank him with some impromptu loving, things don't go quite as planned. It's a heartbreaking scene to witness as Debbie is reminded of the inhumanity her love has become.
Murphy's designs for these characters are perfect. Debbie has this light, casual look to her that hides the sadness lurking just beneath the surface. Meanwhile, you can tell that she's tough as nails and ready to jump into a fight if need be. Where Debbie is full of life and energy, Led is bulky and immobile. He's a rock focused on his shows beaming right into his eyeballs nearly every waking moment. When his helmet is removed, it reveals a pair of sunken eyes that probably haven't blinked in hours if not days. It's a cold, emotionless mask of a face.
|Click images to enlarge
Tokyo Ghost features what could be my favorite villain of recent memory in Davey Trauma, a millennial douchebag who had his mind downloaded into the internet, giving him the ability to jump into anyone with nanotech in their system. He leaps around like a homicidal imp, literally moving people around like a video game while yelling stuff like, "YOLO, Bitches!" He goes on a murder spree on a hoverboard with spinning blades on the bottom that leaves behind a mess of gore a mile wide. The whole action sequence is exciting to read. It has a terrific pace with some brilliant visuals.
Led and Debbie's trip to Tokyo has a glimmer of hope to it, like they just might escape the awful existence that was Los Angeles. Of course, nothing is ever that simple and the horrors of that place will haunt them wherever they go. Tokyo is a stark contrast to LA, filled with peace and tranquility. This makes the startling events in the final chapter all the more shocking. Everything rushes to a crescendo that will leave you with your jaw hanging open.
The future presented in Tokyo Ghost may seem dire and downright depressing, but the fact of the matter is that it's not all that unrealistic. You can kind of see this happening and that makes it all the more frightening. This is a smart, character-driven comic with gorgeous artwork in every single panel. I cannot say more good things about this book. Just read it.
This page includes affiliate links where Horror DNA may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.


text:
Your cart is currently empty.
© 2022 Earasers by Persona Medical
Use the promo code DentalGroup30 at checkout to receive 30% off orders over $200 for Dental related products.
RIGHT SIDE ONLY ; Earasers Peace and Quiet Earplugs
So you lost the right side and still have the left one? You don't feel like contributing to Don's boat fund (Don is the owner of Earasers :) and you want to order just one side? OK, no worries.
Just an idea here though….. offer the left one on Ebay as an ear-ring. You know how many people have mis-matched holes, or lost only one ear-ring? Wow! We're always thinking. All you would have to do is make up the difference and then you can buy a whole new pair. Don will even invite you on his next fishing trip!
© 2022 Earasers by Persona Medical
| POS and Ecommerce by Shopify


text:
Bal Harbour Shops has launched the Bal Harbour Shops Marketplace, marking the tony south Florida center's entry into online selling.
"Bal Harbour Shops Marketplace is unique because it's intended to be a store-level solution not a whole new e-commerce platform," said Matthew Whitman Lazenby, president and chief executive officer of Whitman Family Development LLC, which owns the shopping center.
"The marketplace is fully integrated into balharbourshops.com. It's seamless," Lazenby said in an interview with WWD. "There continues to be tons of editorial content, lots of videos and pictures on the website, but now there is also a button that says 'shop the look' on some of the editorial content," which typically could be a designer profile, a story on fashion trends, or a feature on a new store.
Within certain of the stories, clicking on an image will prompt visitors to either call the store, make a private appointment at the store or buy online. There's also a microsite with an assortment of merchandise that can be purchased online.
The main idea behind the marketplace, Lazenby said, is to encourage visits to the stores at Bal Harbour Shops. "We are not trying to compete with Farfetch or Mytheresa. This is very much Bal Harbour Shops-centric," Lazenby said.
Since launching the second week of June, about half a dozen retailers have begun providing online ordering on Bal Harbour Shops Marketplace. "We had some early adopters eager to sign on," including Ferragamo, Kiton and Morgenthal Fredericks, Lazenby said. "Not everybody is participating. There are brands that just don't do e-commerce, and some will do it under their own online platforms."
Nevertheless, Lazenby said there has been plenty of positive reaction to the marketplace and scores of brands are likely to eventually participate.
"Truthfully, the easy part has been in having conversations with brands. The hard part is how the product is displayed, and figuring out who gets displayed next to whom," Lazenby said. Designers and brands are very picky about how and where they are depicted on virtual marketplaces.
Asked whether designer stores at Bal Harbour Shops were already geared up to ship orders from shops, Lazenby said, "Some larger brands already have e-commerce warehouses and wish to fulfill out of their own systems, but the majority are fulfilling out of their own boutiques.
"We spent a lot of time figuring out if we could do digital in a differentiated way," Lazenby said. "Our valued tenants have taught us that they want each of their stores to have its own perspective and to offer an experience singular to that location and expressly not duplicated from every other one."
Subscribers to the Bal Harbor Shops newsletter, as well as members of the center's Access loyalty program, will receive a shoppable e-newsletter twice a week. The Bal Harbour Shops Instagram handle will also introduce a shopping component, though not every post will be click-to-buy. "We're continuing with posts that are in the same vein of what we have been doing, which is connecting with our consumers and transporting them to the shops," said Lazenby.
According to Antony Barran, who was recently hired as head of the Bal Harbour Shops Marketplace, "With Marketplace, we can bring Bal Harbour Shops and its world-class collection of luxury brands to customers who have never been to The Shops.
"People have been predicting the death of brick-and-mortar retail for more than two decades, but we see that our customers want online as well as in-person," added Lazenby. "The Shops now gives them the best of both worlds."
Bal Harbour Shops Marketplace isn't purely a reaction to the rise in online shopping amid the stay-at-home lifestyle induced by COVID-19. Prior to the pandemic, Lazenby spent time in Latin America, notably Brazil, with executives at shopping centers developing e-commerce. "We met with a few of the people trying it out. It was a rough start. There were a lot of logistical issues to overcome, but we saw a real potential there."
Lazenby did come up with a plan for his center which he said was accelerated by the pandemic. "What started as simply a way to drive business to Bal Harbour quickly became something of an amenity customers were getting very used to."
Lazenby said that traffic at the stores "was bad" up until January this year, with the exception of restaurants. There's a lot of seating for outdoor dining at the center. "Even in the height of the pandemic, Bal Harbour Shops was a safe haven to eat at a social distance and feel pretty comfortable. The restaurant category persevered the best."
Since January, however, "The biggest heritage brands are just doing unbelievable numbers, so much so they're actually ahead now in June by double digits versus June 2019. But everybody else is not up like that. There are still a lot of tenants struggling."
During the pandemic, Bal Harbour Shops did extend rent relief to tenants. "We were on the phone with just about every one of our tenants to ease their pain and suffering and also to partner with them on the future. While they were asking for some form of rent relief, in return we asked if they would be willing to commit to [relocate] stores in the expansion" of the center, which is ongoing. A number of existing tenants have agreed to relocate. The expansion is 60 to 70 percent leased, Lazenby said. Without the negotiations, the percentage of space leased wouldn't have been nearly as high.
The expansion is expected to be complete and open for business by the first half of 2024, Lazenby said. With the expansion, Lazenby expects to at least double the number of restaurants in the center to about 12.
A new parking garage is being built. Once completed, the old garage will be demolished and the expansion will continue from there with the building of a new retail wing. Lazenby said the project has been slowed due to the pandemic, with delays in planning reviews. In total, the luxury center will have around 700,000 square feet of space when the project is completed, compared to the existing 450,000 square feet.
Also ongoing is the lawsuit with Saks Fifth Avenue over unpaid rents, which Lazenby said hasn't been resolved and is caught up in jurisdictional issues. "Nothing substantive has happened. Saks remains a tenant and hasn't paid rent in well over a year."
Representatives for Saks Fifth Avenue, however, noted that the retailer has paid rent for its Bal Harbour location since February 2020 to the present, paying it to the registry of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida due to the ongoing litigation.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the current status of the litigation between Bal Harbour and Saks, and the rent payments.


text:
This Sunday at Five Facts
Photo Credit: GPOakland.com
In this week's #SmarterEverySunday post, we're going across the Bay Bridge to talk about the Bright Side of the Bay. "Bright Side of the Bay" is one of many nicknames that belong to Oakland. According to City-data.com, Oakland has earned the nickname "bright side of the Bay" because of its sunny skies and moderate year-round climate. (You're welcome for the extra fact.)
Due to the high amount of facts we want to share with you, we will have numbers of Five Facts posts about Oakland. Without further ado, let's get right into our first edition of Five Facts: Oakland.
The City Across
Photo Credit: BayAreaTownCar
1. The trade center of the Bay Area Oakland, is the eighth largest city in California and the 45th-largest city in the U.S. with a population of 413,775 as of 2014. According to Cassel SF, the city is the only city in the world to have a natural saltwater lake within its city limits.
Photo Credit: RememberSeniorMoments
2. Lake Merritt is a beautiful large tidal lagoon located right in the center of Oakland; surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. Lake Merrit is known as United States' first official wildlife refuge. The lake has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1966.
Photo Credit: OaklandNorth
3. Speaking of Lake Merritt… Have you ever heard of the tales of Oak-ness Monster? There are many tales and even some serious articles that claim there was once—and maybe still is—a monster that lived—or lives—in Lake Merritt! According to a local expert Dr. Richard Baley, the monster was—or is—black, big and had spikes on its head.
The monster was first spotted in 1940s, and the last rumored sighting was in 2011. If you would like to read more, here's a detailed article on Oakland North.
Could this be real?
Photo Credit: CBS Sacramento
4. Oakland is the only city in California with three of its own professional sports teams: the Golden State Warriors (Basketball), the Raiders (American Football), and the A's (Baseball).
There is a major misconception about Golden State Warriors. Many people think that Golden State Warriors is based in San Francisco and that the bridge on their logo is Golden Gate Bridge; however, they are wrong. Golden State Warriors, in fact, is based in Oakland, and the bridge on the logo is Bay Bridge.
Today you learned. 🙂
Photo Credit: FoundMagazine
5. Let's end this edition of Five Facts with a fun fact. Many resources state that the American slang "Hella" was originated in Oakland. While there are no official statements on the exact location of the word's origin, it is currently recorded as the Bay Area. According to Wikipedia, Hella has likely existed in "California English" since at least the mid-1970s.
Hella is a contraction of the phrase "hell of a" or "hell of a lot (of)"; it means "very" or "extreme".
Wrapping up
We hope you enjoyed reading the first edition of Five Facts: Oakland. We have many more interesting facts to share with you; so stick around to keep becoming #SmarterEverySunday. If you still haven't checked out our website's newest feature the "Categories Section", make sure to check it out by just scrolling down all the way on any page, and picking a category of your choice!
We are really appreciating the amount of views we have been receiving since the launch, and your feedback means the world to us! Please contribute in this brand new 4 question survey to let us know a little bit about your thoughts. You can also let us know what you think of GGU Social so far, and submit the topics and features you would like us to include by e-mailing us at email@example.com!
Until Wednesday,
Tarik A.


text:
This may be a phrase you've never heard before – dental caries. Don't be alarmed, this isn't a new disease that was just discovered! Dental caries is another name for tooth decay or cavities, or the breakdown of teeth due to acids made by bacteria.
Most folks have heard of cavities before; they're most often caused by poor dental hygiene after eating and drinking foods and beverages high in sugar or that tend to get stuck between your teeth. Of course, with tooth decay comes a way to prevent it, and that's what were here to discuss today! Tooth decay is extremely preventable; even if you've had dental caries in the past, you can still protect your teeth from further damage today.
What Can Cause Dental Caries?
Dental caries is almost always caused by the consumption of sugary snacks and drinks with improper oral hygiene afterward. The sugar reacts with the bacteria already present in our dental biofilm (also known as plaque) to create an acid, which then eats away at the enamel (the hard, shiny white layer that we see on our teeth) and into the softer pulp beneath, which makes up the protective layer around the nerves in the root of the tooth.
The exposure of these nerves is what causes the tooth sensitivity that has become widely recognized as a sign of dental caries. The fancy word for the enamel loss we experience is called demineralization since the acid literally erodes calcium and phosphate from the enamel, which gives it the hard texture we recognize.
What Can Be Done to Resolve Dental Caries?
If your dentist discovers cavities caused by dental caries, the first course of action is generally to drill out the decay and put in a filling, usually comprised of composite materials (holistic dentists are committed to using biocompatible materials, meaning that the materials will not react with your body's organic functions).
In some cases, a crown may be necessary to completely block the tooth from food or drinks that may cause tooth sensitivity. Extreme cases may see the tooth being extracted altogether to prevent further infection.
Before dental caries reaches that point, it is important to maintain strong oral hygiene habits. Brushing at least twice a day and flossing once a day will greatly reduce your risk of dental caries, as well as regular visits to your dentist. Our team at Susquehanna Dental Arts is committed to promoting your dental hygiene and helping you prevent dental caries, or restore your oral health after experiencing dental caries. Give us a call today at 717-684-3943 to make your appointment!


text:
Every time we come across the same question: how do I find the right social media marketing firm? This is the most important question that comes in the minds of all the businesses who are looking forward to market and promote their business via social media.
Once you start looking you will come across tons of social media marketing companies that can help you build your online presence in the most effective way. The social media marketers are the saviors that are helping the businesses with a successful and noticeable online presence on any of the social media platforms. You can benefit from these social media marketing firms in tons of ways such uploading more pictures, speed texting, and holding the cell-phone just in place for the right selfie to post on Instagram.
They might seem meaningless to many people, but in reality, they help you focus on your goals and targets instead of having you worried about the posting and uploading activities as well. Finding the right social media marketing firm who understands your preferences is one of the best ways to make use of the latest tools. These approaches will market your products and services easily and in the best manner. Here are the tips to help you find the right social media marketing firm for your business:
1. A Critical Thinker
Marketers who know how to do a good job always analyze risks and test the factors in order to get the best results. The competition of the marketplace makes them implement strategies according to that. The company you are willing to choose should have hypothesis testing experience so they can get on with the best results.
2. A True Marketer
Finding a true marketer matters a lot. The firm you go for should be a genuine marker who is aware of all the marketing tools and approaches. The firm having enough experience in this industry should be availed.
3. Check Their Social Media Channels
Always choose the person or the social media marketing companies with experience. Check their own blogs or personal brand. Go through their personal feeds and check how they have kept the followers and built the engagement between them.
4. A Perfectionist
An idea is not always very appealing unless it is executed. The company with enough experience and knowledge will always make use of the best approaches and strategies to get the results desired. The online presence can be created and promoted when the right ways are adopted. A good marketing firm you will choose will surely have all these qualities.
5. Hire and Stay Involved
Once you have hired the social media marketing firm it does not mean that you hire and just leave everything up to them. Be involved and put your effort and ideas in it too.
Choose from the top social media marketing companies so that you can promote your business in the most effective way. You can choose Search Engine Projects for promoting your business online and call at 888-669-6961 for further queries.


text:
The last 2 days I attended Hackbay 2019, which is an exciting hackathon organized by Zollhof. But what exactly is a hackathon? In this case, big German companies (Siemens, Schaeffler, HUK Coburg, Nürnberger Versicherung, VAG) presented business challenges they are currently struggling with. Small hacker teams of 4-8 people chose their challenge, thought about a creative and innovative solution, and then tried to wrap it in a business model and working prototype which, at the end of the hackathon, was presented as a pitch in front of a jury. This all happened in 2 short (or very long?) days.
Hackbay offered 5 challenges:
- Damage Claim made easy – Data Discovery Track, by HUK Coburg
- Let's shape the future of mobility – Data Discovery Track, by VAG
- Get on the bike of the future – Augmented Logistics Track, by Schaeffler
- Activity-Based-Working is the new thing – Smart Workspace Track, by Nürnberger Versicherung
- Shape the workspace in industrial production – Smart Workspace Track, by Siemens
At the start of Hackbay, these challenges were presented, and afterward, all hackers could choose their favorite challenge. I decided to participate in HUK Coburgs challenge, because their pain point was very easy to understand (current damage claim process for car owners is very inefficient, takes a long time and a lot of manpower + the insurance struggles with extreme weather, such as hail, wherein lots of customers are trying to contact them).
All hackers that were interested in HUKs challenge gathered in one room (about 30 people) and brainstormed ideas for tackling this challenge. Once the first ideas were exchanged, people that believed in similar concepts started forming teams. This is how our team of 8 people slowly evolved. Then it took another 2 hours until we were all on the same page and knew what we would like to achieve within these 2 days.
Many other teams tried to focus on making the damage claim process easier by using chatbots or app ideas that would guide you through the damage claim process. But we wanted to completely automate this whole process and make it as easy as possible for the insurance and its customers. This is how the idea of the Claimbox (also our team name) was born.
Claimbox is a small device with a variety of sensors (acceleration, vibration, microphone, gps, …) which gets attached to your car and is powered by a battery. It always runs, even when the car is parked. And it was exactly this which was our main use case: The car is parked, it storms outside, hail is falling down and your car gets damaged by hail.
Usually, this is a horrorific scenario for every car insurance company and their customers. The insurance has hundreds of people trying to call them and claim their damage. In addition to that, they have to start organizing appraisers because for such a big scale event it isn't easy to get individual appointments with appraisers. Right now this process is very slow and the customers are very annoyed because they don't know what to do with their car and they can't reach their insurance company because many other customers are trying to call them after the hail damage. They grow impatient and mad at the insurance because they are paying lots of money monthly, yet when they are finally in need, they experience bad service.
Now with Claimbox, every customer has a device in their car which automatically detects if the car got damaged. Once damage is detected, Claimbox sends this information to the insurance company and the insurance company can instantly act on it and proactively contact the damaged customers with a solution for their problem. This is a classic win-win. The insurance doesn't have to ramp up their service center because way fewer people will be calling due to the automatic contact they receive, instructing them on how to proceed with the situation. This way, the insurance company can save a lot of money, meaning the customers have to pay less per month. So on the customer side, people are happy because of the lower fees and because of the excellent service (no more hour-long waits on the phone; now one can be certain that the damage gets taken care of).
How did we implement our prototype?
We used a Raspberry Pi and attached different sensors. A vibration sensor and a microphone (at least in theory – unfortunately, we didn't have a microphone that could connect to the Pi). For each of these sensors, we coded algorithms for the hail detection. The vibration sensor works with a simple threshold implementation and the microphone sound outputs are analyzed by a Neuronal Network, which we trained on YouTube hail sound data and Kaggles Urban Sound Classification dataset.
If both Sensors detect a certain damage type (in our case hail, but we can also imagine many other damage detections, e.g. minor collisions when your car is parked), the data is sent to a Flask-based web server. The server receives the cars insurance number, the damage type, the cars location, and the timestamp. It uses this information to double check with weather services about whether or not it actually hailed in this area. If it did, the insurance company is informed about the hail damage immediately. This process takes about 5 seconds – from the hail damage happening, to the insurance company knowing about all damaged customers. Currently, insurance companies need about 2-3 days to estimate how big the hail damage is in a certain area, but with Claimbox they can do it within minutes.
This process also triggers an automatic notification to the customer. The customer gets informed about the damage, receiving that everything is taken care of by the insurance, making it so that he never has to worry about what to do with his damaged car.
At the end of Hackbay, each team had 5 minutes to pitch their idea and 3 minutes for a Q&A session. As mentioned earlier, although other teams that participated in this challenge worked on chatbots or innovative app ideas, we were able to convince the jury with our idea and won the HUK Coburg challenge. Great team!
All in all, it was a super interesting event where you could meet many like-minded people, work on stuff you are interested in, and create something that could actually improve a current, real-word situation. Great job, @Zollhof, for organizing this event. It was a challenging event within a great atmosphere, big recommendation for everyone who is interested in tech and innovation.
Matthias Seidl
I help companies with data analysis, business intelligence, machine learning and many other data related fields.
- Bundestagswahl 2021 – Twitter Analyse
- Tableau Dashboard: How to get your Vitamins in Winter
- My Interactive CV
- Where are Germans Flying?
- Domestic Flights in Germany – Facts Overview


text:
(CNN) - When Rob Portman signed on to the Mitt Romney campaign in January 2012, he was seen as a key supporter - a rising star in the Republican Party, a swing state campaigner and a staunch conservative who could protect Romney on the right.
For the next 11 months, Portman zipped around the country, pitching the candidate he said was "exactly what our nation needs."FULL STORY
Why not mention it during the election cycle? The winds of politics.
I'm happy that Portman's had his eyes opened. What I find interesting is that so many GOPers–Cheney coming around after his daughter came out; the Nancy Reagan anti-stem cell reversal when Ronald's brain went; and, now Portman's reversal–seem unable to understand what others are going through until it hits them in a personal way.
That lack of empathy is striking to me, and has become a defining characteristic for an increasing number of modern day GOPers.
Still, good for Portman. And now the cannibalism will begin...
the media keeps pounding these stories at the american people hoping to wear down everybody ... hoping people who have relgious views will just give up...people who feel this is a sin will not give in...
If only Republican children could be born poor, they might have some empathy for the 'least of us'.
I am a VERY religious Christian and don't understand why it took Portman so long to conclude that government has no right interfering in the private lives of its citizens.
People who think the Bible justifies hatred of homosexuals don't understand the Bible. Tell me again where Jesus says homosexual are bad people?
So what, there are a lot things people are uncomfortable with. everyone, love the libs its all great til its in thier backyard
HIV was god's gift to gays. I understand he is working on his next gift.


text:
Lord, I will wait patiently for You.
I will be brave and courageous.
Yes, I will wait patiently for You, Lord.
Psalm 27:14
I will put my hope in You, Lord.
I will travel steadily along Your path.
Psalm 37:34
I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and He turns to me and hears my cry.
Psalm 40:1
Lord God, I know that patience is better than my pride.
Ecclesiastes 7:8
I will glory in my sufferings,
because I know that suffering produces perseverance;
Romans 5:3
I will not get tired of doing what is good.
I trust you Lord, that at just the right time
I will reap a harvest of blessing
if I don't give up.
Galatians 6:9
Lord God I pray that you will strengthen me with all of Your glorious power
so that I will have all the endurance and patience I need.
Lord, fill me with Your joy.
Colossians 1:11
I will keep loving others as long as life lasts,
in order to make certain that what I hope for will come true.
I will imitate those who through faith and patience inherited what has been promised.
Hebrews 6:11, 12
I will consider it pure joy when I face trials of many kinds,
because I know that the testing of my faith produces perseverance.
I will let perseverance finish its work so that I will be mature and complete,
not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4
I will be patient as I wait on you Lord.
James 5:7
Lord God, I know that you will preserve me from final destruction
because I have obeyed you and patiently endured.
Revelation 3:10


text:
Ready to learn? Nassco is your go-to resource for all things productive! Visit us here anytime you are looking for ways to get your work done — procedures, processes, step-by-step instructions, and other "How-To" information. Educate yourself on how to clean facility mats, how to measure a box for packaging, how to choose floor finish for your facility, or how to clean spots and stains on carpeting.
We've also assembled topical information for you in our Articles library. Here you can learn about specific ways to create healthier, safer, cleaner, more efficient spaces and places.
Our Productivity FACTS hub is a place where we've logged fun and interesting facts about productivity and its impact on your business. Click around and explore the many ways that, together, we can help your organization improve productivity. We've also taken productivity to the streets, where you'll see the same FACTS on the backs of our delivery trucks!


text:
Don't be divorced from reality over pensions
Women are still losing out because they fail to claim their share of their spouse's savings in financial settlements, writes Jeff Salway
Women are still losing out because they fail to claim their share of their spouse's savings in financial settlements, writes Jeff Salway
Divorce settlements are still putting women at risk of hardship in retirement as they continue to overlook the value of their spouse's pension savings.
It's the busiest time of year for divorce solicitors, who will face increasingly complex financial settlements after April's pension reforms take effect.
And with the average age of divorcing couples in Scotland on the rise, according to government figures, the matter of pensions is at the heart of financial settlements more than ever before.
But experts warn that women in particular are losing out in divorces because they fail to claim their share of what is usually the biggest financial asset in a relationship – the highest earner's pension.
That tends to be the male, who will typically retire with a pension pot around 27 per cent higher than the average female, who is paid less and is more likely to have taken a career break to raise children.
Women are working longer as the state pension age is increased, but the pensions gender gulf remains stubbornly wide.
That helps explain why a fifth of women in their fifties and sixties told a Scottish Widows survey last year that they expected to rely on their spouse's pension for their retirement income.
Yet the same study found that 84 per cent of divorcing women fail to bring pensions into consideration when working out financial settlements.
Sarah Tory, financial adviser at Shepherd and Wedderburn Financial in Edinburgh, said: "Pensions are in most cases our biggest asset outside the family home.
"Someone who has been making pension provision for many years can have accumulated several tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds in pension funds."
This is often overlooked because it's less tangible and immediate than property and cash savings, she believes.
There are three main ways of dealing with pension assets in Scottish divorce settlements.
Pension sharing orders are an increasingly common method, whereby courts split the main pension into two pots and award a monetary amount to the spouse.
"They then receive those funds as pension and take them to their own pension fund for investment," said Tory. "This is a clean break and requires a court order. It also requires the receiving party to receive advice on what the most suitable pension and fund is."
The most popular option previously was offsetting, which allows a spouse to take a larger share of another asset (such as the property) as compensation for leaving the pension. This entails the value of the pension being set against those other assets.
"The advantage for both parties is that this achieves a clean break and does not require a court order, but the disadvantage is that they are left without diverse assets," said Tory.
"The party who kept the house may find that when they want to retire they have to downsize considerably to generate income and the pension owner may struggle to get on the property ladder with no liquid assets."
Another arrangement is known as "earmarking", a court order which sets out the proportion of the pension assigned to the spouse when the main pension holder retires. It's less complicated than splitting the pension, but there are certain pitfalls. Having to wait until the spouse retires is a significant drawback, while the arrangement can also be undone by the early retirement or the premature death of the main pension holder
"Acrimonious splits can lead to the deliberate delaying of retirement or even a deliberate choice of poorly performing funds to reduce the other's amount when it is eventually paid out," according to Tory. "It also means that parties will have to be in some form of contact, albeit through a third party, when payments are to be made."
The complexity of pension settlements in divorce is set to become even greater after April, when new rules will give people aged 55 or over much more freedom with their pension savings.
This is likely to trigger significant changes in the way pension entitlements are allocated in divorce cases, Tory predicts.
"Instead of a proportion of pension being awarded there could now be a cash award," she pointed out, warning that this approach would create a host of new questions in divorce disputes.
"Is the recipient better off to receive cash or should they be looking to their longer-term future and not take the quick option, for example? Would it be better to award the split and then make the cash sale? And what about death benefits from the pension pots and inheritance tax consequences of receiving cash rather than pension?"
Divorce trends in Scotland may also add to the complexity of financial settlements, according to Judith Scott, director of forensic accounting with BDO.
Couples who had been married for at least ten years accounted for two-thirds of Scottish divorces in 2012/13, she pointed out, meaning substantial assets will have often been built up.
"These assets may not just be in property but could also be in business interests, pensions, investments and inheritance," said Scott. "The value of these estates is likely to be considerably larger, and more complex, due to the length of the marriage relationship. There may, therefore, be a lot to sort through in order to determine how much is due to each partner in the relationship."


text:
Illinois' automatic voter registration delays worry experts
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois' top leaders trumpeted the benefits of automatic voter registration when signing a bipartisan plan in 2017 to change how the state finds and signs up eligible voters. But Illinois hasn't lived up to its promise, rolling out automatic voter registration far behind schedule and struggling with other changes in the law.
Interest in automatic voter registration has surged since Oregon became the first state to approve it in 2015. Nearly 20 states have approved some form.
However, problems in Illinois illustrate challenges in implementing the increasingly popular voter reform.
Delays have experts and advocates worried, particularly with a rollout closer to 2020.
Voter rights groups say the delays have meant Illinois missed some elections where more people could have been able to participate.


text:
This administration's scandals just roll off the tongue at this point.
--Obama told lie, after lie, after lie while attempting to sell ObamaCare to skeptical Americans,
--The IRS was caught red-handed targeting and harassing conservative political opposition to Obama,
--the betrayal of longtime American ally Hosni Mubarek in Egypt in favor of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood,
--the purposeful failure to protect the mission in Benghazi (after helping Al Qaeda elements in Libya to overthrow Muamar Qaddafi),
--the subsequent clumsy LIES repeatedly told by Susan Rice in the next two weeks on the major networks and the Stalinist style arrest of an innocent filmmaker to cover their tracks,
--spying on the Associated Press and the concocted criminal charges against Fox News reporter James Rosen to justify their Unconstitutional police state behavior,
--repeated abuses of power by the EPA under Obama crony Lisa Jackson, and the subsequent cover up in the e-mails scandal,
--Obama's failure to fire Eric Holder, who has repeatedly committed perjury in Congressional testimony in two separate scandals,
--the ATF "Fast and Furious" scandal where the Administration purposefully armed Mexican drug cartels in an attempt to make as big a mess as they could on the border. U.S. Border Agents were killed and harmed in the ensuing violence; with American weapons!,
--Kathleen Sebelius strong-arming companies for "donations." Some of the same companies that come under HHS purview! She would then use this ill-gotten money to promote Obamacare,
--the Pigford Scandal started as an ill-advised (idiotic) Agriculture Dept. attempt to monetarily compensate black and female farmers who supposedly faced past discrimination based on race and gender. It turned into a gravy-train of theft and corruption by thousands of people who had NEVER been "discriminated" against,
--the Obama Administration's steadfast refusal to prosecute members of the New Black Panther Party for obvious violations of the Voting Rights Act; for racial reasons,
--tens of BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars going to failing "Green Energy" companies like Solyndra and Fiskar to name a few. GE is by far the biggest recipient of taxpayer loot. We used to have a simpler name for this criminal behavior: Money laundering!
What does Obama deserve kudos for? Ordering the capture and kill of Osama bin Laden. Period. Rumor has it that his advisor Valerie Jarret forced his hand. Left to his own devices, he may have even passed on that golden opportunity?
Here's the main point; even a destructive and misguided leftist (like Jimmy Carter or Woodrow Wilson) would occasionally do something good and useful for America if that were their honest intention. By sheer luck alone, they'd get something right.
Barack Obama's six year record is one of near-perfect destruction! He's caused a staggering amount of economic ruin, 17 TRILLION dollars in debt (almost $150,000 per taxpayer), unemployment which is honestly above 12% when you consider the TRUE workforce participation rate, welfare dependency at all-time record levels, a foreign policy that's caused unheard of levels of hostility from long-time allies in addition to rampaging islamic jihad across the Arab world, and a systematic dismantling of America's cherished institutions here at home.
On October 30, 2008 the newly elected Obama said "we are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America", and he's done so in a thoroughly lawless way that brings to mind a wrecking ball or demolition dynamite.
We're truly past the point where Obama's motives and intentions can be seen as high-minded, laudatory, or beneficial; this guy's out to do harm!