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Post workers to be protected from dog attacks
Homeowners will soon be responsible for their out of control dogs if they attack people on their property or private land when the legal loophole is closed.
Currently if a person's dog attacks someone on private land or in their home they can avoid prosecution.
Under proposed changes the police would be given new powers to with dog attacks on private property.
By April 2016 all dog owners must ensure that their dogs are microchipped or face a fine.
Since 2005, eight children and six adults have been killed in dog attacks, many of which occurred in the home.
Thousands of postal workers, nurses, social workers and electricians are injured in dog attacks each year as they go about their work.
Homeowners whose dog atta
cks a burglar will be safeguarded from prosecution, but the Government believes change is needed to protect those who are injured on private lands. It plans to make the changes to the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act 'as soon as Parliamentary time permits'.
The ban on certain types of breeds will still stand but the Government admits that any dog has the potential to become dangerous and ultimately it is the owners that are responsible for their dogs behaviour and these changes are in a bid to recognise this responsibility.
Dog attacks and incidents are rising
and it is wrong that the police cannot investigate because an attack took place on private land.
The Royal Mail say that 3,000 postal workers were injured in dog attacks in the last year, ending April 2012.
It is also hoped that compulsory microchipping of dogs will help to tackle the 100,000 dogs abandoned on our streets every year.
Dog attacks can leave victims with physical scars and injuries along with deep emotional trauma.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a dog attack, you may be able to make a dog bite claim.
Speak to us for a free initial consultation to discuss the possibility of making a claim on 0800 0351 999
Related Articles:
Dangerous Dogs – compulsory microchipping
Three in hospital following dog attack


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If you've been following our blogs a bit, you know we often mention layering lighting. It can be described as the practice of placing lights at various heights, to achieve a balanced level of lighting in your home. Basically, your room will feel a lot more homely and comfortable when you turn the lights on in the evening. But did you know you can "layer" lights in various other ways, too? In particular, you can layer colours, styles, brightness and size. Keeping these 5 home lighting ideas in mind can help you determine which lighting to place where, making the lighting look dynamic and stylish at the same time. So let's not waste any more time and have a look at how to layer lighting the right way!
One of the more familiar design rules is that you need to be layering your lighting in height. If possible, have a mix of floor lamps, table lamps and pendant lights. Practically, having lights at various heights spreads the light throughout the room better, and allows you to place them where particular tasks are performed. But it also makes the room more well-lit in general, creating an overall pleasant level of brightness. This doesn't necessarily mean the whole room has to be super bright. Layering brightness is also important.
In terms of brightness, layering lighting means you have enough lights and options to control the brightness in a space to suit a particular mood or activity. The easiest way to do this is by means of dimmers, which are great to change your general lighting from bright to a more low-key lighting level. If you have lights that aren't compatible with a dimmer, a combination of table and floor lamps or canned lights is great to create softer, ambient lighting. This also gives your room a more dynamic feeling.
Don't be afraid to mix and match colours, but don't overdo it either. What usually works is to choose up to three strong complementing colours or materials that stand out against a more neutral background. With this colour scheme, you can still make a room feel more layered and interesting with a few mismatched items. Pick a floor lamp in a different colour than your table lamps, for example, but let them keep the same shade for continuity. Lamps can make a real statement this way without feeling out of place.
In keeping with the example of mismatched lamps, using different lamp styles can really work to make your interior design varied. With styles, you also layer lighting by going for a different design with one or multiple lights while keeping one element the same to bring everything together. This can be colour, shade shape or material, for example. The example above by Tiltpixel shows two totally different lights – two vintage industrial wall lights on a swing arm and two contemporary pendant lights above the bar in the back. Both fit into the interior because of their similar chrome finish and designating area.
Layering lighting in terms of size means you have to consider the proportions but also the purpose when deciding on a lighting fixture. This is directly related to scale: a large floor lamp over a small occasional chair would work serve its purpose as a reading light but wouldn't work well when it comes to scale. It would look out of place. On the other hand, if your seating is large you should look at medium to large lamp bases. Make sure you have lights of various sizes in your room for a dynamic look, but that all of these fit into their particular 'zone'.
Height, brightness, colour, style and size – these 5 home lighting ideas to layer lighting should help you look at your rooms in a different way. Consider which of these boxes are already ticked in your rooms and which could be improved. Did you learn something new or have some tips of your own? We would love to hear what you think in the comments below!
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subset: commoncrawl


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As if on cue from the weather gods, the fog cleared when I pulled up to the sparkling new Nobu Ryokan Hotel in Malibu. A hidden non-descript wall along Pacific Coast Highway slid open to reveal the intimate oceanfront retreat, instantly taking you away from the hustle of the city and transporting you into a luxurious Japanese hideaway, albeit on Malibu's famed Carbon Beach.
The Nobu Ryokan Malibu recently opened on the site of the former 1950's style Casa Malibu Inn. With only 12 suites and five oceanfront bungalows, Nobu Ryokan has already become the most desired weekend hideaway for the rich and famous.
With stunning design from Studio PCH, Inc. along with Montalba Architects and TAL Studio, the new ryokan style (Japanese Inn) property features the most amazing bathrooms, featuring Jerusalem limestone and Japanese soaking tubs that drain through the wood flooring. Skylights create dramatic light displays, while traditional features of tatami mats, shoji screens and lots of teak are remarkable additions.
The hotel is open only to guests and include meals delivered directly from the neighboring Nobu Malibu Restaurant.I dined on the stunning outdoor deck and enjoyed the Malibu Takumi Burgers (sliders with shitake mushrooms and honey truffle aioli), as well as Grilled Teriyaki Salmon, all created by the expert touch of a Nobu Chef.
Breakfast at the hotel is equally inspiring as you dine in your room or on the oceanfront veranda with amazing items, including my favorite Nobu French Toast (shokupan toast with caramelized bananas and green mango salad).
Oracle co-founder and billionaire Larry Ellison bought the Casa Malibu Inn in 2007, and is a major landowner along the coast. The hotel is the first of the Nobu Ryokan brand, owned by Ellison, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, actor Robert DeNiro, and film producer Meir Teper. While there are other Nobu Hotels in Las Vegas, Manila, Miami and London with many more slated to open in the next two years including; Bahrain, Toronto, Los Cabos, Riyadh and Ibiza, this is the first of the Ryokan brand.
According to Nobu Matsuhisa "Larry Ellison loves Nobu. The first time I met him in one of my restaurants was a long time ago. He loves Japan and he loves Nobu's food—he likes the sashimi and crispy rice best, but really likes everything—so we had something like a marriage. We moved to his property and he supports us."
I chatted with the hotels beautiful and gracious general manager Janelle Eng, who came to Nobu Ryokan from Four Seasons and Auberge. She explained that the greatest priority is to ensure the ultimate in privacy for the guests. There is also no telephone number or reservations department, and all inquiries are through an email submission. This also helps ensure the ultimate in privacy and exclusive clientele.
Part of what I love about the new hotel is that it is truly private and only for guests. No tourists and outside visitors are walking through the property while you are relaxing on the outdoor veranda, or in the well-stocked fitness room with cantilevered glass walls.
While I stayed there this week there was a major young celebrity, a famous music producer and a screenwriter among the guests. They felt comfortable to walk the grounds in their kimono's and bathing suits while never worrying about onlookers.
I toured the rooms including 11 with terraces and ocean views, five have stunning private garden patios. The best room in the house is the Nobu Suite positioned directly on the beach with King bed, living room, two bathrooms, enormous flat screen televisions and two fireplaces, as well as an expansive private deck. I also love the large Ocean King room on a second story corner with walls of glass that slide open to the water and sand. That suite includes a very romantic teak Japanese soaking tub built into the outdoor balcony under the stars.
Rooms are not cheap and range upwards of $3,500 per night in high season depending on location. One of the oceanfront suites is already booked months in advance. Having guests extend their stay once they fall in love with the location has been the most common request and because of the intimate nature of the hotel, it's never a problem.
While there is no restaurant, guests do receive first class access to the famed Nobu restaurant next door. I enjoyed dinner at the restaurant my first night and was given the absolute best table in the house on the oceanfront deck.
We dined on the best sushi in the world, including Nobu's signature dishes such as; Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño, Ribeye with Truffle Butter Sauce and Crispy Maui Onions and Kobe Beef with Crispy Shiitake Mushrooms. I remember the first time I met Chef Nobu at his Beverly Hills location, and his amazing energy and charm quickly made me a lifelong fan. This is truly one of the best restaurants in the world where everyone is treated like a celebrity.
I have been a world explorer for over 30 years, having visited more than 90 countries. I am highly experienced in exotic travel and extreme luxury adventures and have…
I have been a world explorer for over 30 years, having visited more than 90 countries. I am highly experienced in exotic travel and extreme luxury adventures and have been lucky to work with and travel alongside some of the biggest celebrities and billionaires. I love exploring hidden, never before seen locations, revealing exclusive over-the-top destinations and reporting on unique celebrity stories. I am passionate about supporting the environment and animal rights and will always help promote those causes with stories from around the world. Follow me on Instagram: officialjimdobson, Twitter @theluxeworld, or e-mail me with questions or corrections to email@example.com.


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After months of trials and rebooting, Gamers Campaign opens to the public. Our mission at Gamers Campaign is to provide Gamers the ability to expand upon their own Brand with a customize Merch line. There are several POD companies that allow anyone to create a Merch line and sell on their own website, (Assuming you […]Read More
January 10, 2019 By expertlevel Uncategorized No Comments on Gamers – Merchandise


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Dozens of people had their plans ruined by squabbling MPs today after the most powerful select committee in Parliament was cancelled.
A Labour MP called in sick and National refused to make up the numbers. They're scrapping among themselves and refusing to apologise to the submitters.
Marete Marsters-Grubner's time is precious.
"I discovered last year three weeks after my husband died that I had Stage 4 terminal cancer."
- National plunges to worst result in over a decade - Newshub poll
- NZ prefers Judith Collins to Simon Bridges as Prime Minister - Newshub poll
She was meant to make a submission to MPs today about the health system and funding cancer drugs. It was so important to her, she cut short her holiday
"I could've stayed away longer but had to get back for this."
But squabbling MPs meant the select committee collapsed, the submissions were cancelled and she wasn't even told.
"I was waiting for an hour and a half. It's saying that they don't care."
Nearly 50 submitters were cancelled, including Alzheimers NZ, the Mental Health Foundation, Child Poverty Action Group, Disability Action, and the Pike River Recovery Agency.
Sonya Rockhouse lost her son Ben in the Pike River disaster, and Anna Osborne lost her husband Milton. Ms Rockhouse says the cancellation is ridiculous.
"So childish and silly - it's just stupid."
They know all about the sacrifices people make to come to Parliament, Ms Osborne says
"They forgive a day's work, childcare responsibility; they organise all sorts of things - then to turn up and be kicked in the guts [and] not have their say is really disrespectful."
The cancelled Finance and Expenditure Committee is one of Parliament's most important committees.
Thirteen MPs sit on it, and seven of any party are needed to make a quorum - the minimum number for a meeting to go ahead.
The Government had six MPs in there - it was missing one.
National MPs chose to make a political point - waiting outside the meeting room rather than go in to give the committee a quorum.
Simon Bridges says his party will not apologise.
"It is the Government Members of Parliament who should be apologising - no ifs, no buts."
Labour MP Tamati Coffey was a no-show, he called in sick.
National MP David Carter said this is not a one-time thing.
"This is a frequent occurrence by this select committee. Labour members are lazy and disorganised."
The Prime Minister then threw her own MPs under the bus, saying it was unacceptable.
"They've made mistakes we need to own - that can't happen again."
But despite the mea culpa, even Jacinda Ardern refused to apologise to the submitters.


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The Best-Rated Food for Puppies in 2019 In today's market, there are varieties of foods and The Best Puppy food brand are available. Everyone wants to provide the best food available in the market for
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my photo
Michele from Cowboys & Custard, who correctly guessed five out of the six mystery plants I asked you to name? Well done Michele, you have got the birdie, and she will be winging her way to you next week. Luckily the birdie hasn't had too much time to settle here in my garden, although she had enough time to earmark a very comfortable, if not rather small, nesting box!
The answers are:
a) lamium maculatum (deadnettle) - an evergreen ground cover with yellow flowers
b) geranium (cranesbill) - a hardy perennial with small pale pink flowers
c) sedum spectabile - a succulent foliage with pink clusters of flowers
d) echinops ritro - a spiky-leaved architectural plant with purple thistles
e) potentilla (cinquefoil) - a strawberry-like leaved perennial with red flowers
f) centaurea montana (knapweed) - a clump forming perennial with deep blue cornflower-like flowers
Michele has created a beautiful garden on a slope in Bath, using a very well thought out landscape design with well stocked borders, which contain some very healthy-looking plants. Take a look at Michele's latest post where she has some photos taken from different vantage points. Lovely!
Thank you to everyone else for having a go, you all did very well!
Louise x
12 comments:
- Cowboys and Custard said...
Woweeeeeeee... oh thank you Louise... I am so chuffed to have won the birdie and so suprised too.. I was convinced that I had got f. wrong and e. right..
I think it is customary on winning a prize to make a speech.. so I would just like to say 'THANK YOU'..to
you, dear Louise, for your wonderful giveaway quizz and my dear belated Pa.. who inspired my love of plants at a very young age and gave me this passion for gardening!
Oh I am a very happy bunny now... thank you.
- 4 May 2008 at 09:43
Congrats to Michelle!
Thanks for a fun competition!
That's an adorable birdie she won!
- 4 May 2008 at 16:14
- Lavinia said...
Louise, I didn't enter...I didn't have a hope, not being able to name most plants... (d'oh!)
But it was a nice contest and I love the prize....
- 4 May 2008 at 21:22
- Gina said...
Congrats to Michelle and thanks for sharing a link to her incredible garden! Gx
- 5 May 2008 at 04:56
- kari and kijsa said...
Congratulations to Michelle! Have a blessed Sunday!!
kari & kijsa
- 5 May 2008 at 05:20
- Simone said...
Hi Louise I thought I would come and join you in the garden! I thought I was quite knowledgable about plants but I would only have guessed the hardy geranium correctly. Looks like I have some swotting up to do!
- 5 May 2008 at 12:16
- Lavinia said...
Hi Louise,
Thanks for you comment...I hopped over here to see the statue that you mention in your comment..and there he is...he is so cute! What a sweet old fellow, and I like where he's palced, sheltered by the stone....
What are those plants around him? Looks a little like parsley...
- 5 May 2008 at 15:48
- Lavinia said...
Hi Louise,
Thanks for you comment...I hopped over here to see the statue that you mention in your comment..and there he is...he is so cute! What a sweet old fellow, and I like where he's palced, sheltered by the stone....
What are those plants around him? Looks a little like parsley...
- 5 May 2008 at 15:48
- Rhondi said...
Congratulations to Michele. That little bird sure would have looked good at my house though! I love the lithodora in the photo, my favorite color blue.
I am going to opo over to mIchele's right now and see her garden.
Happy gardening
Hugs, Rhondi
- 6 May 2008 at 14:11
- kari and kijsa said...
Congrats to Michele- well deserved!!! Have a great one!
kari & kijsa
- 7 May 2008 at 03:40
- Elizabeth said...
Michele must be a very sophisticated plant-lover.
Some of these were fairly obscure.
The other day I was thrilled to see you feature the dreaded Euonymous - I needed it for a story!
All best wishes
- 7 May 2008 at 08:42
great post. I would love to follow you on twitter. By the way, did anyone know that some chinese hacker had hacked twitter yesterday again.
- 18 January 2010 at 06:01


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Posted: 5/2/2001 4:18:46 PM EDT
You guys hurt my feelings, cause the shit eatin` guy got a better resonse than my stupid jokes did....(wahhh...wahhh...wahhh)...i think i`ll LEAVE THIS BOARD, and tell them somewhere ELSE....SO THERE.......[grenade]
AND....YOU GUYS MADE ME MISS PART OF THE HOCKEY GAME!!!!!!........SABRES=STANLEY CUP!!!!![pyro]
Sorry, no offense intended, but we've had all the pissing and moaning from NY we can stand, if you know what I mean. LOL
You got the point of this thread bud.....[smoke]
Originally Posted By thebeekeeper1:
Sorry, no offense intended, but we've had all the pissing and moaning from NY we can stand, if you know what I mean. LOL
We seem to have more folks looking for fistfights than firearms advice. Does the phrase 'divide and conquer' mena anything?????
we're ready....
O K....Here`s the serious part...you guys have apparently realized why i put this up here. MY problem is that even though we all agree on at least one issue, (RKBA) some seem to take the board too damn serious, as maybe we all should on occasion, but keeping in mind that freedoms (speech..religion...opinion) does NOT give anyone the right to use up board time to purposely endeavor on a mission of puposeful irritation on a repetitive basis, and for what end?...as far as i`m concerned, as the old saying goes, there are no enemies here, only friends i hav`nt meant....that`s been my approach to this website and still is...however damaged that attitude has been, i still respect anyones right to thier opinion and to the fact that they may call me asshole if they please..(easy now)..i also believe the moderators are extremely lenient on letting members have thier say on any subject, where i often felt maybe it should have been otherwise (not up to me) in short...fighting on this board is B/S!!! and YES...there ARE mountains in new york, just not REAL BIG ones.......B&G...(it`s full moon time again)....[smoke]


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If it weren't for the Star of David around his neck, Temuri Yakobashvili might not be alive today. So says Georgia's new envoy to the United States, and the first openly Jewish ambassador ever to represent any former Soviet republic in Washington.
During an interview last month, Yakobashvili recalled the incident that nearly cost him his life back in early 1991, at the height of Georgia's struggle for independence 20 years ago.
"It was right after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and we were in a civil war. A curfew had been declared by the opposition, and I was visiting friends who lived in the center of Tbilisi," he told The Washington Diplomat. "When I went out on the street, a group of men with guns saw me. I thought they were enforcing the curfew, so I handed them my documents, but they were pro-regime. They said, 'Aha, you support the curfew. That makes you our enemy and we're going to kill you.'
"But in the photo on my identity card, I was wearing a Magen David visible from under my shirt. When one of them saw that, he said, 'Oh, you're Jewish. Only because of that we are letting you free. You're on the wrong side, but you're good people.'"
To say that this Hebrew-speaking, onetime Zionist youth activist wears his Judaism on his sleeve would be an overstatement. But it's clearly an important part of Yakobashvili's identity — along with his fierce Georgian national pride and his outspoken, candid and somewhat undiplomatic demeanor.
"He's a true force of nature. He's one of Georgia's top strategic thinkers, and he's blunt and frank in a way that's refreshing," says Damon Wilson, executive vice president of the Atlantic Council, calling his longtime friend Yakobashvili "the right person to be representing Georgia" on Capitol Hill. "He's got to build a bipartisan constituency that backs this audacious vision of Georgia in the West, and I think he's got the fortitude and the intellect to do so."
Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, says Yakobashvili has a solid reputation as an intellectual with a tough personality.
"He's had a very distinguished career in Georgian foreign affairs and he set up one of their first and most important think tanks. As a result, he has the potential to be very effective," said Hill, predicting that Tbilisi's new man in D.C. "is not going to be a faceless, colorless diplomat who just represents the Georgian government."
Colorless he is definitely not. The Washington Jewish Week recently described Yakobashvili, who was raised in a secular Jewish home, as "a broad-shouldered man with the build of an ex-rugby player" who once got himself arrested for dancing "Hava Nagila" in Moscow's Red Square during Hanukkah. The newspaper's Adam Kredo says he's "still seen by some as the consummate political malcontent, an outspoken critic who's more at home on a picket line than in an embassy."
On the job less than five months, the 44-year-old diplomat is a physicist by training and comes to Washington with a long resume. A graduate of Tbilisi State University with a degree in physics, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs upon Georgian independence in 1991 and held a variety of senior positions, including director of the Department for the U.S., Canada and Latin America. In addition, Yakobashvili is co-founder and executive vice president of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, and co-founder of the Atlantic Council of Georgia as well as the Council of Foreign Relations of Georgia.
He's also a passionate collector of Oriental and modern Georgian art. Hanging on the walls of his spacious office at the Georgian Embassy fronting Massachusetts Avenue are two works by Georgian painter Irakli Sutidze; one depicts a Roman soldier, the other a tax collector. There's also another painting, "Man on a Horse," just outside his office — and another 52 pieces of Georgian art on the walls of his residence. "Wherever I work, I have pieces of art from my collection," the diplomat said.
We asked Yakobashvili how he sees his role in Washington, representing a Caucasus nation of 4.7 million that many Americans tend to confuse with the Peach State of the same name.
"I'm relatively new here, but what I see is that 95 percent of people's attention are on domestic issues, and only 5 percent on international relations. And within that 5 percent, you have almost 200 countries that must compete for attention," Yakobashvili explained as he leaned back, enjoying a cigarette.
"These days, the role of ambassador is different than what it used to be. Nowadays, journalists can be much more informed than ambassadors. Since this also allows greater transparency, the notion that an ambassador lies on behalf of his country is not true anymore. You cannot lie. People can check things out very quickly."
And these days, people are openly questioning whether Georgia's stridently pro-Western president, Mikheil Saakashvili, is exhibiting some decidedly un-Western governing tendencies.
On May 26, Georgia marked its 20th anniversary of independence from the former Soviet Union with a military parade down Tbilisi's Rustaveli Avenue attended by Saakashvili, a graduate of Columbia Law School who took power after a bloodless coup in 2003. But the parade took place only after anti-riot police — using tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets — had dispersed hundreds of opposition supporters from the parliament building after five days of antigovernment rallies.
Saakashvili has said the protesters were instigating violence against the police, while protesters in turn accuse the president of amassing power and trying to silence the opposition. A dominant figure in Georgian politics, Saakashvili remains fairly popular while the opposition remains largely in disarray, leading to speculation as to what will happen in 2013 when Saakashvili must step down as president.
Hill of Brookings said that Georgia under Saakashvili is far from being the "full-fledged democracy" he pledged it would be after the 2003 Rose Revolution that swept him into office.
"A lot of us who have been watching Georgia's progress have been somewhat disappointed in the last few years," she told The Diplomat. "Georgia, like the Baltic states, had the potential to really move forward quickly. But in my view, it's much more difficult than people assume. It's not just an issue of parties and having elections. They're building new states at the same time they're moving toward democracy, and these states — unlike the U.S. or Europe — have become dependent on the personality of the president. Georgia has also been beset by the problems of the last changes of government, which have taken place on the streets and through revolutions. So in many respects, Georgia still has a long way to go."
In his defense, Yakobashvili says his country is working hard to prove the critics wrong, noting that Georgia now tops Transparency International's list of countries fighting corruption and is rated the safest country in Europe.
"Seven years ago, the World Bank ranked us 163rd in terms of best places to do business. Now we are in the top 15," he told us. "Nobody's immune from mistakes, but we're also quicker in fixing mistakes. I would seriously challenge the notion that we're backsliding. I don't see any indications of that. In fact, our electoral system is improving, and our media laws have significantly improved in the last year or so."
The ambassador added: "Popularity is a very tricky issue. It cannot increase when you are conducting reforms. You'll be remembered not by how much you tried to stay popular, but by how much you spent on the population to improve their lives.
"There are ups and downs, but now in postwar Georgia, the government is still popular because the people see how much we're doing to address their concerns. Obviously, our major challenges are the economy, jobs, health care and education. Our birthrate has increased and we have more people returning to the country than leaving, because they see more opportunities."
Yakobashvili also offered a philosophical approach to his country's 20th anniversary of independence.
"Post-Soviet Georgia is, in a certain sense, a classic case of a liberated colony, but unlike the other colonies that were liberated when other empires collapsed, Georgia has had 3,000 years of statehood. We are trying to reinvent ourselves as a modern nation-state and a modern country that has to find itself in a globalized world," he said. "And a big part of our success is due to U.S. support. I can say without any exaggeration that without U.S. support, Georgia would not be an independent state."
Yet America's so-called reset in relations with Russia has left pro-Western former Soviet states wondering if they'll be left out in the cold. And as much as Georgia tries to reinvent itself into a modern country, it can't seem to shake the past when it comes to its huge neighbor.
Much of Georgia's preoccupation — some say obsession — with Russia stems from its brief but bruising war with Russia that killed about 400 Georgians and created some 30,000 internal refugees, although those numbers are disputed by both sides.
According to a European Union-led independent fact-finding mission, the August 2008 war was sparked when Saakashvili ordered an attack on separatists in South Ossetia, one of two disputed territories with Russia (Abkhazia being the other). The president denies instigating the attack, saying a Russian invasion was already under way in the separatist enclave. But most outside experts agree that Saakashvili probably miscalculated — badly — giving Moscow an opening that it took ruthless advantage of as it quickly routed the overwhelmed Georgian forces and seized control of the two breakaway regions, which today remain under Russian occupation.
The EU inquiry report said that "years of provocations, mutual accusations, military and political threats and acts of violence" on both sides led to the war, which had its roots in the early 1990s, when South Ossetia and Abkhazia gained de facto independence from Georgia after the Soviet collapse.
Moscow though seized on the report to lay the blame squarely on Saakashvili. Pure Kremlin propaganda, counters Yakobashvili.
"Georgia's war with Russia was a reflection of Russian sentiments to restore the Soviet Union. This war was not about Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It was about attacking Western interests," he argues. "Those who say Georgia fired the first shots are either naïve, or misinformed, or trying to hide their impotence. It's very interesting to blame Georgia when Russia attacked a neighboring country by six different means including land forces, ballistic missiles and cyber warfare. So all this talk about who fired the first shot is a spin that Russia is promoting."
Yakobashvili in fact previously served as deputy prime minister and state minister for reintegration in the Georgian government. In that capacity, he orchestrated Georgia's "engagement strategy" for improving ties between his country and Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
But the fundamental problem, wrote Guardian columnist George Hewitt in a February 2010 column, is that neither South Ossetia nor Abkhazia "have the slightest wish to be 'reintegrated' into a unitary Georgian state." Reminding his readers that Iosep Dzhugashvili — better known to the world as Joseph Stalin — was from Georgia, Hewitt added that the war was "sparked by Saakashvili's assault on Tskhinvali" and that "it is precisely because of repeated Georgian attacks over many years that the Abkhazians and South Ossetians have no trust in Tbilisi."
In the meantime, Russia has been pouring money into the two breakaway republics to solidify its hold on them, while Georgia tries to keep the world interested in an issue that's long faded from the headlines and settled into a de facto stalemate.
Still, to date, only three countries besides Russia itself have formally recognized the "independence" of Abkhazia and South Ossetia: Venezuela, Nicaragua and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru — an eight-square-mile coral atoll with 11,000 inhabitants that survives on exports of phosphate formed by ancient bird droppings. Since its December 2009 decision to establish ties with the two breakaway republics in exchange for $50 million in Russian aid, not a single country has followed Nauru's example.
"This is a huge diplomatic blow to Russia," Yakobashvili said. "Not even the closest allies of the Russian Federation have recognized them."
Georgia and Russia themselves severed diplomatic relations after the 2008 war and there's no Georgian Embassy in Moscow. Rather, the two countries communicate through the protection of Switzerland.
There have been some EU-mediated talks in Geneva since the war, but the acrimony between Georgia and Russia remains as palpable as ever, with sporadic border clashes and, most recently, Saakashvili accusing Russian military officers in Abkhazia of trying to plant bombs inside Georgia, while Russia denounced Georgian special forces for raids inside Abkhazia. Tbilisi also regularly accuses Moscow of espionage, and last month Saakashvili had three photographers, including his personal photographer, arrested on charges of spying for Russia. (Georgia subsequently released a statement by one of the photographers admitting he'd been coerced by Moscow into cooperating, although his supporters have questioned the confession.)
Moscow dismisses the affair as Georgian paranoia, but Yakobashvili counters that Russian money has been used "in a nasty way" to manipulate internal Georgian politics and sow fear in his country.
"This is not homegrown, it's Russian-instigated. We have solid facts and our public is aware of these facts. I'm not talking about speculation, but court-approved intercepts of telephone conversations and videotaped materials," he insisted. "We've had more than 10 terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure, including the U.S. Embassy last February, and we have hard evidence that Russia is behind this — not some junior officer taking the initiative but coming from Moscow."
For this reason, one of Georgia's top priorities — aside from joining NATO, the prospects for which took a severe beating after the war with Russia — is the procurement of defense-weapons capabilities from the United States. Aside from supportive rhetoric though, neither the Bush nor Obama administrations have given Tbilisi what it really wants: air defense and anti-tank systems to protect itself against Russian "aggression."
Saakashvili recently told Newsweek that "Russia has occupied 20 percent of our territory. Russia keeps embassies not in Tbilisi but in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. They refuse to deal with our elected government. We are willing to talk to Russia at any moment about anything, but they haven't been willing to get into a bilateral dialogue. Now they've deployed S-300 [surface-to-air] missiles to Abkhazia."
Yet Damon Wilson of the Atlantic Council says Washington has no intention of "opening the floodgates of weapons" to Saakashvili, who some speculate was under the — apparently false — impression that the United States would back him militarily in the South Ossetia conflict.
"The U.S. has never been a leading arms supplier to Georgia," Wilson told The Diplomat. "Most of our equipment is either too expensive or not compatible. What's important is a normalization of military relations. This signals to the rest of the world that the U.S. is on board."
Inaction on the part of the White House, he added, "has had a cascading effect on all NATO allies," leading Georgia to buy weapons from its more traditional arms supplier like the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Israel.
"At the end of the day, what Georgia wants from the United States is a real sense that we're with them on this audacious journey. This is a former Soviet republic that wants to join NATO. That entails a lot of risks, and they fundamentally want to know that we want to help them down that path," said Wilson. "If we want to help it meet NATO standards and fight with us in places like Afghanistan, we need to be in there helping them do that, just as we did for other countries. This doesn't mean giving them offensive weapons or arming them to the teeth. But Georgia has a right to self-defense like any other country."
Similarly, Yakobashvili points out that Georgia not only participated in the liberation of Iraq but also ranks as the world's largest per-capita contributor of troops in Afghanistan, although in the same breath he insists there shouldn't be any quid pro quo for its contributions.
"Despite our population we have 1,000 troops there, and we're adding another contingent of more than 200 soldiers," he said. "We do it for ourselves, not because we expect something from the United States. We have an enormous stake in the success of the Afghani operation, because what's at stake here is the future of NATO and the West. We look at this from a strategic point of view, not from what Georgia can get in a quid pro quo manner. If, God forbid, the U.S. fails in Afghanistan, that will mean the U.S. will retreat from many areas, exposing Georgia to threats and increasing our vulnerability."
The ambassador added: "There's an excessive focus on Georgia trying to buy weapons. What Georgia wants is security, and how this security is achieved, I think, is the larger picture. Weapons are a very marginal part of it, and obviously every sovereign nation needs weapons to defend itself. Unfortunately for us, we are not geographically located in a place like Switzerland that can afford neutrality."
Yakobashvili scoffed at a May 10 article in the Atlantic titled "Georgia's Dangerous Quest for American Weapons," in which Joshua Kucera reported that Yakobashvili's predecessor, Batu Kutelia, was relieved of his duties "because of his failure to get arms" from the United States.
"My predecessor is now deputy head of our National Security Council, so it's silly to comment on that," said the ambassador. "People who spread that kind of information are smoking bad-quality hash or they have illusions — or they're deliberately inventing stories out of the blue."
In that same article, Kucera wrote that "Georgia spent about $1.5 million on four top D.C. lobbying firms last year alone, far outpacing comparable countries. Those lobbying efforts include an aggressive press campaign arguing that the State Department is enforcing a 'de facto embargo' by quietly blocking Georgia's attempted arms purchases, although there is no evidence of such an embargo."
Yakobashvili insists that his government spends "no more than $1 million per year" on K Street lobby shops, and currently employs only two such firms: Orion Strategies and the Podesta Group.
"The good thing about lobbying in Washington is that anybody can check how much we spend," he said. "Having a lobbyist in the U.S. is not such a strange or bad thing. And if we're trying to compare things, right after the [2008] war, 11 employees of very prominent lobbyists were laboring for the Russian government on Georgian initiatives. Are we that stupid or naïve that we wouldn't have our own tools? Can we afford not to react? In the modern world, if you don't have your voice out there, you do not exist."
As part of that strategy, the embassy under Yakobashvili has also been trying to highlight other aspects of Georgian life — beyond relations with Russia — and recently held a wide-ranging cultural showcase at the National Portrait Gallery that attracted hundreds of people. The event featured concerts, a performance by the Georgian National Ballet, photography show of Georgians in the American Wild West, a three-dimensional art exhibit and massive wall projections to celebrate the 20th anniversary of independence.
Along those lines, Yakobashvili says he'll also lobby for Georgia to be featured in a next year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival because it would benefit from positive press — in the same way Colombia, which was featured in this year's festival, is attempting to erase the drug-related stereotypes of the 1980s by focusing on the country's biodiversity and rich cultural heritage.
Yakobashvili clearly hopes to make a big splash in Washington, touting his nation's progress in moving beyond its Soviet past — something he sees reflected in his own two children, George and Miriam.
"I'm quite confident that we made a huge step forward and there's no way back," he told us. "We all hope that at least our kids will never have to go through what I experienced and what my parents experienced: the oppressive regime of the Soviet Union. I want them to have a free choice."
The tough-talking ambassador added: "I remember one of the very rare occasions I was speechless was when my son asked me, 'Who was Lenin?' I was so happy he was ignorant on that issue."
About the Author
Larry Luxner is news editor of The Washington Diplomat.
Last Edited on June 19, 2014


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Project Description
Wild Goose Breast with Orange Glaze
"This is a great recipe for that wild bird you're not sure what to do with. Sweet and tangy at the same time."
4 wild goose breasts
salt to taste
1 dash dry vermouth (optional)
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 orange, juiced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Rinse the breasts in cold water, and place in baking dish. Splash with vermouth, then season with salt; set aside.
- n a medium bowl, combine orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, garlic and soy sauce. Season with mustard and caraway. Pour glaze over breasts in baking dish.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices run clear. Baste at least twice during baking.
Credits: ALIGORN / World Wide Trophy Adventures
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What's The Point?
Like the title of this post says, what's the point? What's the point in collecting all these bonuses from HOF if I can't collect the boxes that have $5000, $7500, or $10000 and have sat there for no more than 6 or 7 hours since being posted? Who in the hell is just rifling through these bonus collectors by taking the high-end bonuses and leave me with all these smaller amounts that I may or may not be able to collect from? To the webmaster here at gamehunters.club, this needs to be looked into, and to those who tend to get a little greedy, KNOCK IT OFF!!! If I find the idiot that is doing nothing more than STEALING from other players in this manner, I will personally see to it that you're permanently BANNED from this specific website. The last thing we need around here is a thief who don't give a shit about anybody but him/herself...
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Founded in 2014, Zhonghao Hotel Group is a hotel rover founded by a group of international and domestic senior hotel elites with an international perspective and a philosophy that represents a new urban lifestyle. It owns three major sub-brands and eight mid-to-high end hotels (under construction and under construction) including S Hotel (Luxury Hotels of Light), City of Dreams (Medium Luxury Hotels) (Light luxury hotel entry, high-end).
With continuous exploration of the modern lifestyle concept of "luxury" and the new hotel management approach, Zhonghao Hotel Group has gradually built up a series of products and services that are "Boutique, Benefits, Brief, Balmy The '6B Lightweight System' with core values of 'warm service', 'Bright' and 'Bazaar' is designed to provide a more sensational experience and quality to the modern taste. Enjoy life, currently in Shenzhen, represented by the first-tier cities in China set off a "luxury lifestyle," a new wave of becoming a modern city business travel "luxury lifestyle" leader.
We are fortunate to have in-depth cooperation with China Hao Hotel Group and gain recognition and praise from customers. The following for us to complete some of these projects


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Take a further look into pain and what it means in this 2-day workshop exploring the clues available to Bowen practitioners presented by our clients' posture. We'll explore lower back pain in depth.
This workshop explores:
- Pain – types, causes, origins, what it means
- Posture and what it tells the Bowen practitioner
- Common Pathologies
- A closer look at Fascia and theory
- Explore lower back pain in depth
- Review of all lower back procedure
Presented By: Chris Reed
Pre-requisite: Module 7
Duration: 2 days
Continuing Education Units: 16 hours CE


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As parents, we spend a fair amount of time agonizing over our mistakes. Certainly, we would have done many things differently. If only we hadn't been grown children ourselves when we made our relationship choices and eventually married. Most of us had no idea our marriages would end. If we had, we wouldn't have walked […]
I walk with my neighbors. Our morning ritual visiting while our dogs visit.
I tell my neighbor how much motherhood suits her daughter. How the light in her smile reflects the ease with which mothering comes to her.
I tell them about the joy I felt after my first son was born just two years after losing both of my parents. How I reveled in having that mother-child relationship back in my life, even though it was the reciprocal of it. I would drive around in the car with my Tommy in the backseat and wonder what brought me joy before his arrival.
Even I didn't grasp just how much motherhood lit up my world. Until one day…
My two-year-old Tommy came bouncing into my bedroom a smile spread wide across his face.
"Wake up Mommy! It's a beautiful day outside!" he announced.
He had just gotten his big boy bed and though I heard him up, I still rested in my own bed vying for a bit more sleep.
In that moment, I realized that I had walked into his room every morning since he was born saying those exact words.
"Wake up Tommy! It's a beautiful day outside!"
I initiated this divorce for many reasons.
One of them that I wanted my children to know the mother and the person that I had been my whole life. Not the sad, stressed, frustrated, and unhappy version staying in a marriage too long had created.
I wanted them to remember the mother who sat in the car singing every rainy day song she could think of on gloomy, rainy days. The mother who made ordinary days seem extraordinary by silly little celebrations. The mother who left them notes all over the house. The mother who let them skip dinner in favor of junk for family night movies. The mother who gave them ice cream for breakfast on their birthdays (my sister's joyful influence) and hid their presents all over the house. The mother who woke them up before school to go on a donut field trip. The mother who rode bikes with them. And more, so much more.
I wanted them to continue to know the mother that was full of joie de vivre.
I remember one day during this divorce, my sweet youngest son Danny saying, "You're not the same anymore."
I don't often choose to ignore something but the truth is I didn't want to know exactly what he meant. I just wanted to strive to get back to the mother he knew his whole life. I wanted to get back to the three of my boys snuggly sitting in the back seat, while my impish, happy middle son, Billy simply delighted in the adventure and not even our destination.
I'm not completely there yet. I'm getting closer.
I know that I am happy that I left a bad relationship. My children deserve no less than the very best of me and only I could make that happen. This divorce has been rockier than my marriage. It has shown a less than favorable side of me to my children. A reaction to the games and stress and worry that I have for them.
I am getting closer.
To reintroducing my children to the mother who knew immediately just how much motherhood suited her.
And that every day with them is a beautiful day!
(Photos courtesy of Pexels)
Follow me on Facebook @Colleen Orme National Columnist
on Twitter @colleenorme
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E-mail: email@example.com


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I've decided to change the cover for my new release, Red Hot Fantasies boxed set. Isn't this one much hotter? 🙂
Blog Archives
New Release: Red Hot Fantasies boxed set (Volume 1)
I know, I just released Hot Ride yesterday, but I wanted to release this set a couple of weeks ago and was held up on the cover, so here it is!
The Red Hot Fantasies boxed sets consists of: The Male Stripper, The Stranger, and The Office Slave. All are available individually as well as in this set.
What if your deepest sexual fantasies could come true?
Bad boys, alpha males, and dominants… three red hot fantasies.
It all began with a bachelorette party. Three women, three red hot fantasies!
While Becca's friends fantasize about multiple men and erotic situations, Becca longs for something more down to earth—a sizzling night with the male stripper she hired for her friend's bachelorette party.
For Jan, the idea of sex with a stranger is her biggest turn-on. Not a one night stand, but someone who is totally anonymous.
Sylvia loves to read erotica, and after her latest read, she's developed a sizzling fantasy about submitting to the sexual whims of four incredibly hot business partners.
Becca finds the perfect opportunity to make her fantasy come true when her sexy male stripper shows up at her door later that night—and with a hunky friend in tow. After having her fantasy come true, Becca decides to make her friends' fantasies come true as well.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1m5dlBm
B&N: http://tinyurl.com/RHF-OC-B
Kobo: http://tinyurl.com/RHF-OC-K


text: As funds become available, the Foundation provides one-time annual grants on a matching basis to United Methodist congregations in the Tennessee Conference of The United Methodist Church. These grants are used to assist older adults in the conference with a variety of living or cost-of-care expenses such as food, rent, utilities, medical care and devices, and prescriptions. Some congregations use the grant money to build wheelchair ramps or make other home modifications, offer special assistance such as cleaning services, or work on home maintenance projects.


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Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing paragraph, Skydive4Charity does not warrant that:
– this website will be constantly available, or available at all; or
– the information on this website is complete, true, accurate or non-misleading.
Nothing on this website constitutes, or is meant to constitute, advice of any kind. If you require advice in relation to any [legal, financial or medical] matter you should consult an appropriate professional.
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These limitations of liability apply even if Skydive4Charity has been expressly advised of the potential loss.
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Without prejudice to the foregoing paragraph, you agree that the limitations of warranties and liability set out in this website disclaimer will protect Skydive4Charity's owners, officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries, successors, assigns and sub-contractors as well as Skydive4Charity.
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Avocado Oil*, Kawakawa Infused in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Macadamia Oil*, Thomson Manuka Wood Smoke NZ Whisky, Virginian Cedarwood Essential Oil, Lemon Essential Oil *Certified Organic
CREATORS NOTES: I am a foodie at heart and a whisky lover. I'm interested in the idea of combining flavour profiles to develop and refine the scent of a blend. We were looking to create our first product for both bearded and unbearded men. I thought that using the whisky as a toner would create both a cool, masculine aroma and work well with the type of scent profile I wanted to round out the range.We're passionate about collaborating with other companies who have turned a devotion for their craft into a business with depth and meaning. We reached out to Thomson's to provide the whisky and discovered that Matt Thomson, owner and master craftsman at Thomson's was bearded. We're very proud to be working with Thomson's who not only have fantastic products but are also committed to honouring and preserving their craft.


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Priceless Writing Tips4 New Writing Techniques: Become a Better Writer Today!
Albert Einstein said, "Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler." However, keeping things simple is not easy at all when it comes to freelance writing. That's why I dug through the web, searching for the latest scientific findings which might help. Here's what I've found – these 4 innovative writing techniques:
Make It Faster – Use Bright Fonts and Backgrounds
The easiest way to boost your productivity is to add colors to your routine. A recent study conducted at the University of Essex revealed that using sunlight colors, people might boost their performance by at least 25%. So, why not try it? Just don't forget to change it all before sending to the client.
Change Scenery – Write from a New Place
If you're struggling with routine, the comfort of your usual working place is your enemy. Whereas usually changing the surroundings can be rather distracting, sometimes working from a park or a café can be like a breath of fresh air and a good source of inspiration.
Use a Second Monitor – Work Faster
There have been several studies which proved that buying an extra monitor can boost productivity by up to 50%. The only disappointment is the fact that most of these studies were conducted by IT companies, which are definitely interested in persuading more people to buy extra monitors. However, numerous writers confessed that using one monitor for doing an online research and another one solely for writing and formatting boosted their productivity. Sure, this writing technique is somewhat costly, but those who use it say it's 100% worth it.
Develop Your Second Hand – Boost Your Creativity
This one is my personal observation (which however has some solid scientific ground). Once I read that the easiest way to activate both of my brain's hemispheres is to do some daily activities with my left hand (I am right-handed). Using this simple trick which actually required only some time (as it was harder to do even the simplest things with an untrained hand) and patience. And amazing things happened. I could generate interesting and sometimes unexpected ideas in record time.
So, these were 4 effective writing techniques you could start using right now. Have you ever tried any of them before?


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Real Estate Appraiser Business
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Appraiser is a person who estimates the worth or value or quality of things officially. In other words you can say that an appraiser is the one who is responsible for setting the values upon properties, real or personal.
Actually the real estate appraisers are those who estimate the value of real property whenever it is sold, mortgaged, taxed, insured or developed. They have vast knowledge of environment and also some other concerns that may affect the value of the property. They can also take some pictures or can photograph all the exterior of the building.
Some of the best tips and ways to start this business are
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These best tips and ideas will help you to start your own business of real estate appraiser. There is big money in this business that you can easily earn by starting this business. That means that there is money in any business whether you start it with less investment or with big investment.


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A break last week as you know, the view then was wonderful, the hills of the Lake District in the distance the wet sands of the bay as the tide had gone out or was on the way out as some large runnels of water were still to be seen all in glorious sunshine. I sat out with the others who had got up early and we spent the time talking, then as the morning proceeded we devoured our rolls on sausage and tattie scone with brown sauce, a Scottish delicacy. After this having no inclination to do anything remotely involving effort we had a musical interlude and sang some uplifting songs accompanied by my wife on the ukulele and my nephew on the guitar, my nephew of course is younger and I am out of touch with music now that Top Of The Pops is no longer de rigueur but I asked him several times if he didn't know a happy or upbeat song we could enjoy. Gin and Tonics appeared about 10.30 but I manly held off until lunchtime, we were also buzzed by a pilotless drone which took pictures of our hedonistic antics. As I said before a great gathering of the Clan.
This morning the view of course is very different but sunny I can see as far away through the gap as I have ever done, Ingleborough is a dark mass and the horrid windmills are spinning away, so the wind is still with us. Washington House is still on the market and I have not noticed any interest so far, so dig into that nest egg if you want some history and a headache. I do notice that someone has been out chalking yellow lines on the pavement again, which of course is illegal and no one takes a blind bit of notice of them anyway, and as you can imagine with our weather they need renewing almost every other day but it affords a chuckle now and again.
It would seem that the offer of using the Post Office as a huge wargame/study is now about to be signed in blood and therefore made legal or at least given the prominence that it can be brought up in an argument and thrown back with the "but you said!" retort. We have now decided that unless we get a huge lottery win we are staying put here in Warton so we are now putting the house right and getting it how we want it and not how it was left. We have put in a new bathroom and laid two wooden floors but now we are putting in a wood burning stove and a new kitchen, I think only the latter is really required but what do I know. The fire and the attendant work involved along with some remedial work on damp will upset the downstairs for several weeks the kitchen ditto and both projects are eye-wateringly expensive but surely that's it then.
While we were looking at kitchen stuff the young lady asked for our details so that their rep. could come around and spoil our day with actual prices and said a curious thing "Mr and Mrs? I am not judging." Why would she feel the need to let me know she wasn't judging and judging what exactly, did she get a lot of eloper's or BLT's in wanting to put two fingers up to polite society or accepted values by putting in an overly expensive kitchen?
None of this work will be done tout de suite either, that no longer happens, so this work starts at the end of September and may not be all complete until around February. Unless you go to Ikea (Swedish for rubbish) no one will sell you something right there and then, "it has to come from our factory on Pluto see" or "we only build to your requirements" which of course translates as we do nothing until your cash is in our bank. I always wondered how much money I would have made if I had taken that attitude when I had the shop, so you want that Mars Bar, well let me make a call and see if I can get it here for next Tuesday between one and four as that one is only for show.
Why do people put YouTube tutorials up without speaking, if you are tech savvy enough to film your computer doing something and then upload it, put a bleeding voice over on it so I don't have to keep stopping the thing to find where the mouse arrow is!
Along with many other big events I have never watched an Olympic Games, Wimbledon or Budget Report in my life and up until last night that list included the Proms, but I was at a loose end having wasted another couple of hours on a pointless movie (Fantastic Four) I flicked the switch and sat for thirty minutes or so and enjoyed the sheer enthusiasm and eccentricity of the audience along with of course the music as the show was coming to an end. What a wonderful in your face enjoyment of Britishness, that's not something you can stamp in a passport or have a council wallah grant you in a registrar's office, magnificent and no wonder there was tears at the end.


text: "I got my oil changed this weekend at your Glenwood location and was very impressed. Friendly staff and enjoyed watching the football game from my car during the service. I could tell your staff knew their stuff and could make competent suggestions about the additional products and services. Congrats on a first class operation." -JJ-


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Unlock the door by entering your 4-8 digit pin code and create unique pin codes for friends, family and neighbours. Delete pin codes whenever you need to with just a few stepsThe Assure Lock SL is simple to install on standard doors and replaces your existing deadbolt in minutes with just a screwdriver The lock even has voice guidance to walk you through set up and customizing settings
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Effective March 14, 2016, a final rule published in February 2016 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implements the 60-day rule included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (31 U.S.C. § 1320a-7k(d)). ACA requires providers and suppliers who receive Medicare funds to report and return overpayments by the later of either (1) 60 days after the date on which the overpayment was identified, or (2) the date any corresponding cost report is due, if applicable. Hospitals must also notify in writing the Secretary of DHHS, the state, an intermediary carrier, or contractor to whom the overpayment is returned of the reason for the overpayment. In addition, ACA provides that any overpayment retained by a person after the deadline is a violation that potentially triggers the provisions of the Federal False Claims Act, with substantial civil penalties plus treble the amount of damages sustained by the government due to the acts of that person, Civil Monetary Penalties and exclusion from federal health care programs.
The final rule addresses several concerns raised by providers about the proposed rule published on February 16, 2012. It clarifies the meaning of overpayment "identification" that triggers the 60-day period for the reporting and repayment of overpayments, and it reduces the "lookback" period for overpayments to providers from 10 years to six years. At the same time, it serves as a wake-up call for hospitals to implement these particular requirements of the ACA as enunciated in the new rule. We will answer some of the most important questions about the significance of the final rule for hospitals in this article.
To What Providers and Overpayments Does the Final Rule Apply?
The final rule applies only to Medicare Part A and Part B providers and suppliers, including hospitals. CMS has previously published separate rules covering the reporting and returning of overpayments for Medicare Part C and Part D, and a final rule concerning Medicaid overpayments has not yet been published. For hospitals that file cost reports with the Medicare program for Medicare Part A inpatient and outpatient services, the overpayments must be reported and returned by the date any corresponding cost report is due. For other services such as physician, lab, CORF and home health services reimbursed under Medicare Part B, the overpayments must be reported and returned by 60 days after the date on which the overpayment was identified.
The rule defines "overpayment" as any funds that a person has received or retained under the Medicare program to which the person is not entitled to retain. It includes payments for claims that lack sufficient documentation or medical necessity, primary payments by Medicare when a primary payment from a non-Medicare payer has been received, and even overpayments caused by a Medicare contractor or that were otherwise outside of the provider's control.
When is an overpayment identified?
For Medicare Part B services, CMS in its commentary indicates that the 60-day time period begins either (a) when the provider has completed reasonable diligence in investigating a potential overpayment and "identified" an overpayment, or, (b) if the provider failed to conduct reasonable diligence but had in fact received an overpayment, the day the provider first received credible information of a potential overpayment. The final rule provides that a provider has "identified" an overpayment "when the person has, or should have through the exercise of reasonable diligence, determined that the person has received an overpayment and quantified the amount of the overpayment." It thus clarifies that the process of determining and quantifying an overpayment must be completed before the 60-day period begins. CMS also indicates that reasonable diligence and a timely, good faith investigation of credible information may require up to six months from receipt of the credible information before the overpayment is "identified." Added to the 60-day period, this permits a total of up to eight months for due diligence, and CMS has acknowledged that extraordinary circumstances may require additional time. Written documentation of this process should be retained to demonstrate compliance with the rule.
What does the "reasonable diligence" standard mean in identifying overpayments?
"Reasonable diligence" according to CMS requires both (1) proactive compliance activities conducted in good faith by qualified individuals to monitor for the receipt of overpayments, and (2) investigations conducted in good faith and in a timely manner by qualified individuals in response to obtaining credible information of a potential overpayment. To exercise reasonable diligence under this standard, CMS considers it necessary for a hospital to have an effective compliance program that monitors the accuracy and appropriateness of the hospital's Medicare claims.
What does this standard mean from a practical standpoint?
CMS indicates that when a hospital or other provider receives information about a potential overpayment, the provider has a duty to make a reasonable inquiry. Such information may include, among others things, notice from a government agency, the hospital's discovery of a billing error that results in increased reimbursement, the discovery of services provided by an unlicensed or excluded individual, or an increase in the provider's Medicare revenue for no apparent reason. If the reasonable inquiry reveals an overpayment, then the provider has 60 days to report and return the overpayment. If the provider fails to make a reasonable inquiry conducted with all deliberate speed, then the provider could be found to have acted in reckless disregard or deliberate ignorance of whether he or she had received an overpayment. Failure to conduct reasonable diligence per se is not a violation of the statute, but failure to report and return an overpayment in fact received, and that the provider should have identified, renders the provider liable. Providers need to calculate an overpayment amount that is reliable and accurate, and may use statistically valid sampling methodologies and extrapolation to calculate the overpayment amount.
For Medicare Part A services, a hospital normally must return the overpayment at the time the cost report is filed. Sometimes CMS makes interim payments to a hospital through the cost year and the hospital reconciles these payments with covered and reimbursable costs at the time the cost report is due. The final rule creates the following two exceptions to the rule that the applicable reconciliation occurs with the hospital's submission of a cost report:
- When a hospital receives more recent CMS information that affects the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) ratio used in calculating the disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payment adjustment, the provider is not required to return any overpayment resulting from the updated information until the final reconciliation of the hospital's cost report occurs; and
- When the hospital knows that an outlier reconciliation will be performed, the hospital is not required to estimate the change in reimbursement and return the estimated overpayment until the final reconciliation of that cost report has been settled.
However, if a hospital self-identifies an overpayment after applicable reconciliation and the filing of a cost report, the hospital must follow this rule and return the overpayment within 60 days by the filing of an amended cost report.
What is the significance of the six-year lookback period?
The final rule establishes a lookback period of six years after the date the overpayment was received, a change from the 10-year lookback period in the proposed rule. A hospital must report and return the overpayment only if the hospital, using reasonable diligence, identifies the overpayment within six years of the date the overpayment was received. It is important for hospitals to review and revise their policies as needed to address this lookback period because the current Condition of Participation for hospitals regarding medical records retention only requires a retention period of five years. CMS has indicated that it will also amend its reopening rules so that a contractor will be able to reopen and revise its initial determination related to any overpayment reported and returned during the six-year lookback period in this final rule. This means that upon receiving findings of a Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) audit (or other Medicare audit) that identifies overpayments, a hospital may have a duty to determine and quantify overpayments going back six years, prior to the three-year period covered by the RAC audit. Similarly, if a Medicare Administrative Contractor identifies an overpayment during a cost report audit, the hospital has a responsibility to conduct reasonable diligence on other cost reports in the lookback period to determine if it has received an overpayment for years not covered by the audit.
How are physicians to report and return overpayments?
The final rule states that hospitals should use the existing, most applicable process, including claims adjustment, credit balance (for hospitals), self-reported refund, or other appropriate process, to satisfy the obligation to report and return overpayments. The most applicable process could also include amending or reopening a previously filed cost report. Hospitals may request a voluntary offset from the contractor instead of submitting a check with the overpayment reporting form.
Although several of the changes made to the proposed rule are favorable to providers, the final rule creates a duty of reasonable diligence requiring providers to proactively monitor receipts and practices, as well as a duty to respond to credible information of a possible overpayment in a timely manner. Hospitals must incorporate these duties into a strong compliance program or risk substantial penalties if overpayments from any source are ultimately found.


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Melbourne Youth Orchestras offers educational programs for over 1500 young musicians annually. We are a community focused, not-for-profit organisation and our workplace offers a comfortable and social working environment surrounded by like-minded people whose focus is delivering the best for the young musicians we support.
As a small organisation, our roles allow us to work across a wide range of duties in an environment that allows us to develop strong personal and professional networks in the arts, education and not-for-profit sectors.
In combination with competitive remuneration packages, our staff have flexibility in working hours and a quality work-life balance, with access to generous leave entitlements and professional development opportunities.
Bring your passion for music and education to MYO, where you'll oversee the planning, evaluation and ongoing improvement of MYO's programs including the Ensemble Program, Summer School, special projects, concerts and events.
Applications are invited for the role via email to email@example.com by 5pm Monday 28 October 2019. Confidential enquiries can be made to Dorian Jones, CEO on 03 9376 8988 or email@example.com
Please refer to the position description for more information
Melbourne Youth Orchestras is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified instrumental teachers who would like to join our education team.
Your participation as an instrumental tutor will not only see you unleash the creativity of more than 1200 students who participate in our programs but also give you access to the collegial environment at Melbourne Youth Orchestras where you can network, share ideas, support your colleagues and foster closer working relationships within the music community.
We welcome expressions of interest from tutors of all instruments and at all levels.
Please email firstname.lastname@example.com with your instrument/s, contact details, a brief covering letter and Curriculum Vitae. You may like to include your preference for ensemble type or student level to assist us with matching you to the right ensemble.


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This soft lightweight elastomer facepiece, cradle suspension and easy-adjust headstraps facilitate a proper and comfortable fit. A low-profile, swept-back design provides greater field of vision and allows normal use of glasses or goggles. The P100 cartridge filters and the XP100 pancake filters are both effective against all particulate aerosols. NIOSH Approved. Sold in pairs.
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As mobile computing outpaces traditional PC computing, the need to print from any device at any time will become more important.
The biggest barrier to printing from mobile devices, according to research from InfoTrends, is "technical connectivity problems to the printer."
Many office workers don't print from their mobile devices because they don't think they can.
What if I were to tell you that's not actually a problem? As everyone says these days, there's an app for that – at least in the business world. There's an app for printing from smartphone devices. A quick caveat here; for personal printing at home, connectivity and printer support does vary widely. That said, for office workers wanting to increase productivity by printing needed documents directly from phone or tablet, you can. After all, as work becomes un-tethered from a specific office location (and location within the office), not everyone will have immediate access to a networked PC and printer.


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D-Day vet became state district judge
Jack R. King, the former state district judge whose tenure included a civil case of heated labor violence and a politically charged scandal involving a state senator, died Friday. He was 95.
King, a Port Arthur native, also took part in the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, and suffered severe wounds a month later in fighting that took him out of World War II, earning him a Purple Heart decoration.
King also found himself in a a re-election run in 1988 that was, at the time, considered to be one of the most expensive in Texas history and acrimonious against an incumbent judge.
"Judge King was the real deal," said David Bernsen, a Beaumont lawyer in private practice and a former elected and appointed state official who ran King's 1988 re-election campaign.
"He had never had an opponent," Bernsen said. "Who runs (against) a judge? At the start it was just me and him, lookin' at each other."
The Democratic primary challenge in March 1988 arose from a civil case in King's 136th District Court in which a plaintiff had sued a labor union for causing him to suffer serious wounding in an unsolved attack against him in October 1982, stemming from his crossing a picket line at an area refinery the union had struck earlier that year. The victim said the gunshot attack against him was retaliation because he returned to work.
In 1986, a jury in King's court ruled for the union and denied the plaintiff's claim of conspiracy against him.
A member of the law firm that represented the union filed to run against King, winning endorsement from then still-powerful labor unions and lawyers who represented them. Both sides spent about $480,000 in that election, a dizzying amount for the time that featured TV ads using a "granny" to describe King, then 64 years old.
In announcing his candidacy for re-elevction, King said, "This court belongs to the people of the state of Texas. Courts must remain free of outside control so every litigant will be assured he will receive a fair and impartial trial. If justice does not prevail for everyone, it does not prevail for anyone."
Bernsen said King showed there was "fight in him" for re-election
"I respected and admired what his generation stood for," Bernsen said. "He was a true warrior in every way."
On June 6, 1944, King, a soldier in the U.S. Army's 29th Infantry Division, clambered out of a landing craft onto Omaha Beach, the most deadly of all the invasion beaches that day.
"It was all such a mess," King said in a June 6, 1946, interview with The Enterprise along with two friends from Port Arthur who also took part. The three were then students at then-Lamar College.
"All I thought about was getting in and then I was worried about getting out again," King said two years after the invasion.
On July 15, 1944, a German motor exploded near King during the Battle of St. Lo, causing him a grievous head wound and shrapnel hits along is left side.
He spent the next year in hospitals to recover.
King earned his law degree from Baylor University in 1950, worked in private practice and spent four years as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas and in 1977 was appointed to the 136th Court bench by Gov. Dolph Briscoe.
King won election in 1982 and three years later found himself in the midst of a wide-ranging case of suspected political corruption that had at its target then-state Sen. Carl A. Parker.
The district attorney at the time, James McGrath, and his chief investigator, Calise Blanchard, encouraged grand jurors to indict Parker on two occasions for the probe into drug trafficking and promotion of pornography because a man at the center of the operation used a house owned by Parker.
A state prison inmate provided McGrath and Blanchard with lurid details in a letter. The inmate was brought to Jefferson County unbeknonst to Parker's and others defense attorneys.
When word got out the inmate was in Jefferson County, a defense attorney called King to alert him that the district attorney was trying to pressure the inmate to sign a 17-page document, but the inmate had refused. King convened a hearing early in the morning of the Fourth of July in 1985 and heard from the inmate, who did not sign the statement and was returned to state prison near Houston.
McGrath tried to pursue a rarely used legal tactic called a "court of inquiry" to force secret testimony into the open. The gambit failed. The case fell apart and the two-year legal and political maelstrom ended.
King also strongly advocated what he considered was good in Jefferson County and chided news media for not telling that story.
He served as director of Boys Haven, the organization that provided a good home for lost boys.
In an interview with The Enterprise in July 1986, King said of the kids who might have come from broken homes that "our kids are not bad kids. They are not problem kids, but kids with problems. We let them know that someone loves them and we give them the essentials of life."
King's funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Trinity United Methodist Church, 3430 Harrison Ave. with internment at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Groves.


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Map of the Salish Sea & Surrounding Basin, Western Washington University, 2009.
The southern part of the Salish Sea is Puget Sound while the northern part is The Strait of Georgia in British Columbia. There are no clear dividing lines except for political borders.
In Part 1, I made the case that eelgrass (Zostera marina) and other sea grasses are critical to local estuaries and near shore areas as well as to the health of the planet in terms of all of the myriad of ecological functions they serve. I also noted that they are among the world's most threatened ecosystems. In part 2, I review the current status of eelgrasses, the numerous threats to their viability, and many conservation and restoration efforts currently underway both locally and worldwide. Most emphasis is on eelgrasses in Puget Sound and the Pacific northwest but most of what applies here is applicable elsewhere.
Seagrass coverage is being lost globally at a rate of 1.5 percent per year. That amounts to about 2 football fields of seagrass lost each hour. It's estimated that 29 percent of seagrass meadows have died off in the past century.


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Beechs Milk Chocolate Turkish Delight.....natural rose flavoured Turkish Delight coated in Beechs luxuriously smooth milk chocolate....great gift or treat yourself!!
Made in the UK.....Beechs Fine Chocolates since 1920


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SIXT is proud to be a partner of S7 Priority, the frequent flyer program of S7 Airlines.
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As a S7 Priority member, you will receive:
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Simply present your frequent flyer card at the rental location to receive miles credits.
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