Cloud computing is a way to access computing resources that are stored on a network from anywhere in the world . Cloud refers to the computer network that people cannot see physically. This network is consisted of massive servers, computers and can even include individual PCs. Furthermore, cloud computing can refer to people or business who use the cloud to manage, store and implement data. Businesses are able to pay at a low cost to access the computing resources including software, hardware and services (upgrades and maintenances for the hardware and software). Therefore, the cloud computing allows businesses to share and access the resources on the cloud rather than local servers .
Computer scientist John McCarthy proposed that computing should be delivered to the public as a utility in 1961. Later, American computer scientist Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider came up with the idea of "the intergalactic computer network." His idea suggested that everyone should be able to access programs and data from anywhere they wants. This idea of "intergalactic computer network" resembles cloud computing today.
With the development of ARPANet, some leading technology organizations (Apples, Oracle, Microsoft & etc) are formed and even started sharing computing capabilities with other organizations. In 1997, the first Information System professor Ramnath Chellapa used "cloud computing" in his lecture. This was the first time the term "cloud computing" was used in academic field.
The popularity of cloud computing started growing rapidly with web 2.0 and other technologies, a lot of companies start to charge from hardware to cloud services.
Cloud computing services are delivered to users through three different service models, namely software as a service[SaaS], platform as a service[PaaS], and infrastructure as a service[IaaS]. These three service models are tathers towards different users and provides various functions to satisfy users' unique needs.
Software as a service is the model where applications are located on the cloud while the user experiences are delivered via the internet. The cloud vendors are in charge of the platform and infrastructure which includes applications, data, runtime, middleware, OS, virtualization, servers, storage and networking. Google Apps is an example of SaaS where users can log into their accounts and access to applications online to complete specific task. For example, sending email to a friend through Gmail.
Platform as a service is the model where cloud vendors provide facilities and hosting capabilities to cloud users. Cloud users use this platform to build and deliver web applications and services through the internet. In this model, the cloud vendors are in charge of the platform and infrastructure which includes runtime, middleware, OS, virtualization, servers, storage and networking; while cloud users will in charge of the applications and data. Windows Azure is an example of PaaS where users can use Windows Azure platform to develop applications on Windows servers and manage their own data and applications.
Infrastructure as a service is the model where cloud vendors provide and manage physical underlying cloud infrastructure to cloud users. Cloud users control the infrastructure to deploy applications and services through the internet. In this model, the cloud vendors will in charge of platform and infrastructure which includes virtualization, servers, storage and networking . Amazon Web Services is an example of IaaS where Amazon Web Services will hold the websites and applications for its users. Therefore, Amazon Web Services users can maximize its capacity for its own websites' traffic.
There are four different development models for cloud vendors to base their services on. Users can also subscribe to different models based on their own needs.
The cloud is owned by an organization that has exclusive use to the service. The cloud can be either managed internally or by a third party . Private cloud makes the owner of the cloud has more control over the cloud and data. And it also gives the owner the ability to customize their own clouds. However, the private cloud generally has relative high costs compare to other types of clouds. And it requires the owner to maintain the cloud .
The cloud is shared by several organizations since these organizations share the same mission or goals. The cloud can be either hosted internally by these organizations or by a third party . It shares the similar advantages and disadvantages with private clouds.
The cloud is hosted by cloud vendors in order to provide cloud services to the general public through internet . Public cloud is easy to access and reduce costs and time for companies to develop the cloud. However, since the cloud is owned by the cloud service vendor, the users has less control over the cloud .
The cloud is combined by two or more models (private, community or public) . It allow users to access public cloud for non-sensitive information while still remain privacy and security controls over the private or community cloud side .
Hybrid cloud allows users to access public clouds easily and cost efficiently. And at the same time, it also allows users to have private side to keep and operate sensitive information and data on the private cloud side .
Cloud Computing has five essential characteristics which are on-demand self-services, ubiquitous network access, location independent resource pooling, rapid elasticity and pay per use .
On-demand self-service: Cloud users are able to control and manage their own computing resources .
Location independent resource pooling: Cloud providers will use various model according to consumers' demand to provide different physical and virtual resources. Cloud users are not able to know the location of resources that been provided .
Rapid elasticity: Cloud users have the ability to change capacities of cloud service at any time. Cloud services can be scaled larger or smaller upon cloud users' requests .
Pay per use: Cloud users are billed according to their usage of resources .
One of the key determinants for organizations to adopt a new technology is pricing, and cloud computing is no exception. Transitioning from tradition storage and software to cloud services could create considerable sunk costs for companies. Thus, it is vital for companies to know how much it will cost them to use cloud. The main determinants for these costs are the price the vendor charges for their service.
To determine how much they will charge for their services, cloud vendors will first compute how much it costs them to set up their service. These costs can range from capital expenditures to ongoing costs. Capital costs include facility acquisition, power infrastructure, server network, license and installation. Ongoing costs include payroll, maintenance, and legal fees.
There are factors that affect the pricing of cloud services. One of the key factors that can determine pricing is the type of service provided. The three types of cloud service provide are servers, storage, and applications. After the type of service is determined, pricing structures can be based on several factors such as storage space needed, monthly user traffic, and CPU usage (Cloudtweaks, 2012).
The two main models for cloud computing services are the elastic pricing or pay as you go model and the fixed pricing model.
The elastic pricing model charges users based on the amount of consumption of the service. Organizations, especially smaller businesses prefer this model because it gives the flexibility to manage their costs and only pay what they use (Cloudtweaks, 2012). Usage can be determined by the amount of RAM, storage, servers and users. Vendors often provide usage calculators on their websites for companies to estimate or determine the amount it will cost to use the service.
On the other hand, the fixed pricing model is more traditional and organizations simply subscribe to a monthly or annual payment plan. These plans often indicate exactly how much RAM, storage or users the service can accommodate. The benefit of using the fixed pricing model is that it allows company to budget their costs and forecast future budgets.
Cloud Computing has transformed business processes and the relationships between buyers and suppliers. The advantages of cloud computing can be grouped into six categories: utility, scalability, accessibility, cost, collaboration, and security.
The term utility describes the ease of acquiring cloud services. Taking software for an example, SaaS model allow users to access software immediately through internet by any devices at anywhere if the user has the access permission. Whereas the traditional packaged software installation process required software to be installed on every client computer before usage. This will allow businesses to save considerable amount of time from installing and updating software for each computer. Furthermore, the ease of acquiring cloud services also gives companies the luxury of accessing the services on-demand. This provides advantages to businesses in a dynamic business environment due to quick and easy on-demand access to business tools through cloud.
The ease of acquisition of cloud services combined with the pay as you use model gives businesses the flexibility to manage their cloud storage and software usage. This advantage is extremely beneficial for businesses to better adapt cloud services to fit their current business needs and market conditions. For example, corporations who are downsizing can easily decrease the amount of cloud services in order to cut down costs. Whereas all the traditional software in the corporation will all become sunk costs once they no longer have users.
One of the greatest impacts cloud computing has on organizations is its increased accessibility. Cloud computing provides multi-device support, making its services available for mobile devices, tablets and other platforms that delivered through internet. This provides business professionals more timely access to important files or information because they do not have to be at the office to use cloud services.
Due to its utility, cloud computing is considerably cheaper than many traditional software. Businesses are able to save money from having to install the software on all their devices and cut costs from having their IT departments maintain the system. The pay as you use model also provides business the opportunity to manage their budget on software and storage usage and gives them the flexibility to cut costs or increase usage when it is needed.
Security has been one of the most debated issues with regards to cloud computing. Aside from the risks associated with online security breaches, cloud computing does provide a more secure storage option for some businesses. Businesses who lack up-to-date secure data storages can switch to cloud for better protection of their data. Loss of data can be detrimental to businesses and can be caused by factors such as hacking, natural disasters, and theft. Many cloud services are reinforced through multiple servers and automatic backup. This insures businesses that their data is in the right place and helps these businesses mitigate all the risks associated with data.
Companies using cloud computing are able to collaborate better with their employees and clients. Cloud computing increases interdepartmental collaboration and communication because individuals can easily access co-worker's files and provide their feedback. Furthermore, because employees can see exactly what information is being generated in real time, this will decrease duplicate information. Companies can also collaborate better with their clients by giving their clients some access to the files that relate to the business transaction. This will provide transparency for the client and also give the client the ability to track if everything is on the right track.
Despite all the positive impacts cloud computing can have on businesses, there are still potential risks to this technology. These risks can be divided into security, data-transfers, flexibility, latency, understanding, and integration.
Security still remains a top risks for businesses considering to move into the cloud. This is especially true for organizations with large amounts of important data or organizations that possess sensitive information (Robert. 2013). Social networking giants such as Facebook and Twitter who possess enormous amount of user information require extremely secure servers and software information protection. Any server downtime and security breach could lead to loss or stolen data. Not will these companies suffer tremendous losses from lawsuits, they will also suffer brand damages from losing the trust of their users. This also stands true for smaller service companies such as law firms, where client information must be securely stored. Since security is such an important issue in business, many organizations believe that having their data or information online is more risky than the traditional storage method. This is caused by the fear of online hackers and the wide accessibility of the web. Companies can mitigate this risk by finding a cloud provider with multiple backup servers and reinforced security protocols.
Whenever a company moves their data from storage to another, the loss of data during the transfer is always an issue. The same holds true when companies decide to move their data from hardware storage to the cloud. Not only are data-transfers susceptible to data loss, this process can also be very time consuming (Roberts, 2013). To mitigate this risk, companies can choose to move their data onto a portable storage first and physically deliver it to the datacenter for uploading (Roberts, 2013). Another option is for companies to upgrade their internet connection which will facilitate the data-transfer process.
Due to the fact that cloud computing is still fairly new (Robert, 2013); many cloud services do not have the flexibility to change according to the business environment. Companies can suffer from data losses during upgrades or have undesirable upgrades on their systems. Another major issue is the risk of suffering from data lock-in. This occurs when the organization cannot move their data out of the system. This can be either caused by the lack of control over the data or the data transfer procedures set out by the vendor does not allow the transfer. Companies need to make sure that their service level agreement (SLA) clearly indicates the procedure of transferring data and what data belongs to which party.
Like all of the server based technologies, latency has always been an issue. Latency is the time that server takes to respond to client computer (Robert, 2013). Latency problem occurs when the system does not perform at the desirable quality or the system shuts down due to server failure. The causes of latency include spikes in user traffic, proximity to data center and weak internet connection. Latency can pose major problems to organizations because if one important business process is slowed down, it might create a chain reaction that affects all the other processes. To prevent latency, businesses need to plan out how much capacity they need the server to handle.
Many organizations still do not understand the implications of cloud computing, especially when the service is handled by a third party (Robert, 2013). Many companies still do not understand the ownership of data so it is important to make sure maintain strong SLA agreements so organizations do have control over most of their data. The lack of understanding and transparency of cloud services could also put companies in a vendor lock-in. The best solution to mitigate this risk is to have a data mitigation strategy to prevent vendors who withhold important data (Department of Broadband, 2013).
Although multi-device support is one of the key advantages of cloud computing, some cloud services do not support other devices. Thus it is important for companies to make sure the service does support the devices they will be using on before using the service. Furthermore, some of the company's existing resources might not be able to integrate with the cloud service. This can include printers, emails, and portable devices (Robert, 2013). This might create challenging for companies whose devices do not support cloud, and will require them to put in additional efforts to make changes.
Pinterest is an online SaaS that allows businesses to create and manage image themed "pinboards". Each image is called a pin. Users can browse through different pin boards and re-pin images on their own boards. Pinterest also allows integration of its service with the company's own website. This enables users to pin images from the company's website directly to their own pinboards.
Pinterest provides a unique user experience where users are able to enjoy browsing images boards on their interests instead of reading long reports. Thus, pinboards often attract more customers than traditional social networking sites. Furthermore marketers are able to get their message through faster because images communicate more effectively about the brand and what the businesses have to offer.
In addition, Pinterest has advanced features for businesses such as rich pins that can automatically update all information related to the pin. They also have web analytics that gives businesses the tools to track the number of re-pins and what kind of viewers the businesses' current pinboards are attracting.
Having the initial boards set up on Pinterest will cost businesses a one-time fee of $200-1500 depending on the number of advanced features it require, such as analytics. However, there are other costs that might be associated with marketing using Pinterest. The administration fee of Pinterest which includes managing pinboards and followers will cost $300-1000 a month marketing companies that help businesses create more effective promotions using Pinterest tend to charge a one-time fee of $200-$1500 (Norwood, 2013).
Whole Foods was able to Pinterest to levitate their brand and values very effectively. Currently they are managing over 50 thousand followers and using 970 pins to promote their products (Cruz, 2013).
Social networking is playing a vital role in today's marketing. Hootsuite Dashboard is a SaaS that manages all of a business' social networks. Some of the networks that can be integrated into the system include Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+ and etc. Marketers are able to post their message to multiple social networks at once, saving them considerable time. They can also keep a better track of the activities of all their networks instead of checking each one separately.
Hootsuite is currently free to use for its basic features. They also offer a pro version for $9.99 per month for every 2 users. Additional users cost $10 per month. The pro package includes enhanced analytics, reports, ads opt out and others. On top of all that, Hootsuite added features that range from $10-50 a month. For example, users can pay $50 for analytics from Google Analytics and Facebook Insights that enable users to create more advanced reports (Benefits of Hootsuite Pro, 2013).
Whistler Blackcomb uses Hootsuite to manage over 9 different social networks to promote their campaigns and promotions (Cruz, 2013).
Netsuite is a company that provides a variety of SaaS products such as ERP, CRM and ecommerce. Netsuite's ERP system has many features that can benefit accounting and finance professionals. These features include financial management, inventory management, and financial analytics and reporting. Netsuite highlights the fact that because their services are cloud based, companies who use Netsuite's products are able to make better decisions due to on-demand access. Furthermore, Netsuite mentions that their products are accountable because they provide high traceability. This means they make efforts to keep track of all of the company's data produced by their systems to mitigate the risks of data loss.
Netsuite provides different software service packages for business of different sizes. Small business packages range around $99 a month per user; $49 for additional users. Its advanced ERP and Ecommerce software costs $399 a month per user; $99 for additional users. The rest of Netsuite's financial and inventory management software all cost around $200 a month per user (Netsuite Exposed-Products and Pricing, 2013).
Taulia is a similar company to Netsuite as they also provide management and inventory related SaaS. However, Taulia's software focuses mainly on buyer and supplier relationships. The system can be integrated with existing SAP ERP through modules. These modules allow the company to better track their payment invoices, purchase orders and purchase history. Taulia's software also allows the suppliers access to the buyer's invoices, this way suppliers no longer have to call to check the status of the invoices.
By better manage their invoices and supply chain, companies can take advantage of supplier discounts or dynamic discounting. Dynamic discounting are discounts given to buyers by suppliers for paying on time or early. This practice gives buyers the incentives to pay early and enjoy discounts that cover up some of their payment expenditures. Furthermore, this investment is often risk free and creates better relationship with the suppliers. For suppliers, dynamic discounting allows them to better forecast their cash flows reduce the ambiguity in upcoming payments. Additionally, suppliers are able to reduce the cost of AR financing options.(ICG Consulting, 2013). Taulia charges its customers $500-1000 a month (Dreamsimplicity.com, 2013).
There are also many cloud computing companies that provide SaaS for human resource professionals. CATS is a recruitment and applicant tracking software that facilitates the hiring process. This software allows recruiters to post their job openings to various job boards and allows recruiters to collect resumes. Recruiters no longer have to spend hours searching job boards and posting available positions. CATS also provide an applicant customizable screening questionnaire that will automatically rate applicants based on their answers.
Furthermore, one of the most useful functions of this software is its customizable workflow. This function allows recruiters to manage the entire hiring process of all their candidates. It provides activity updates of each hiring process and triggers to indicate what needs to be done to move onto the next task. This workflow saves recruiters considerable time to keep track of all their activities. CATS has a fixed monthly pricing of $69 a month per recruiter or hiring manager (Catsone.com, 2013).
Emportant is a company that provides businesses of all sizes with all kinds of HR related SaaS. The software features include leave management, payroll and attendance, compensation and self-service. Emportant helps HR professionals to keep better track of their employee performance to make employee appraisal easier. The other functions also decreases the amount of workload involved in documentation.
One of the key features of Emportant is its employee self-service. Employees are able to access their attendance and performance indicators so they can better manage their work effort and behavior.
Emportant provides four different pricing packages for companies of various sizes. Its Freedom package with basic features is free and can accommodate 25 employees. The Starter package can accommodate 25-200 employees. It has a $19,000 upfront installation cost and a $2400 monthly charge. It provides best HR practices and automates certain HR processes. Emportant's Advanced package accommodates 200-1000 employees. It has an installation cost of $34,000 and monthly charge of $4500 per month. The Enterprise edition can accommodate more than 1000 employees. Its installation costs $49,000 and has monthly charges of $9000 per month. Advanced package provides additional complex workflow management and attendance tracking. The Enterprise edition includes all of Emportant's most advanced features such as online employee training administration and performance management (Emportant.com, 2013).
1-888-JUNK-VAN was founded in 2008 by Marcus King, who saw a business opportunity in the junk-removal industry and started up a household waste collection business in London, Ontario. As an entrepreneur understanding the challenges for a small start-up, he was motivated to create a business model that aims for low overhead costs in order to stay competitive in the market. They had no physical office to avoid paying rent and utility bills (employees work remotely) and communicated solely through emails. As the business expanded in 2009, 1-888-JUNK-VAN faced several issues that required for them to find a new IT strategy to create a system that can keep up with the operational needs of the company. This case study will discuss the current issues 1-888-JUNK-VAN is facing and the approach to choose a new IT strategy .
In 2008, Kingo invested $500 for a truck to start his business in London, Ontario and made a revenue of $300,000. In 2009, 1-888-JUNK-VAN had 5 trucks now expanding to Kitchener and Hamilton which raised $600,000 of revenue. Kingo's plan is to expand its business by opening franchise into new cities. However, the simple model of electronic communication and information technology could no longer keep up with the expansion of the business .
The main issues for 1-800-JUNK-VAN include, inefficient system given that there are too many data and each data formats had different format which created inconsistency when inserting, retrieving, or updating data; Data are being transmitted through email in multiple formats; and there is a large amount of inefficient manual work.
For example, Drivers took a lot of time on administration tasks such as collecting payments which affected the Data Clerks who receive data from the Drivers. The data collected did not follow any format, so it was time consuming for the Data Clerk to understand the data. Furthermore, the Data Clerks accidentally send wrong versions of the database to Morning Operator, which makes the previously booked jobs no longer available. Since this job is not recorded on the Driver's spreadsheets, they would not perform the jobs.
These issues leads to unsatisfied customers, damage on company's reputation, and revenue loss.
In order to satisfy Kingo's future plan to expand the business into different System must improve the current operational efficiency to increase the ability to handle more customers, and facilitate expansion to maintain the level of quality for their service.
Microsoft Access Database – A database management system that helps you store information for reference, reporting, and analysis. It can help you manage large amounts of information in Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet applications .
Custom Application - Software programs that are developed by the company that is tailored to their service. This can be in the form of Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) depending on the company's needs.
Google Docs – A Software as a Service (SaaS) solution in the form of a free app where you can create different kinds of online documents, work remotely from smart phones and PCs , and store them in your Google Drive online .
Platform as a Service - A cloud computing platform where you can rent hardware, operating systems, storage and network capacity over the Internet. The service offerings facilitates your application which eliminates the process of managing the hardware and software yourself .
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System - A Software as a Service (SaaS) tool in the form of a business management software that allows that integrates applications to manage the different aspect in your business .
• Approximately from $300 to $600/month depending on storage space, number of user licenses and applications, etc.
TrackVia satisfies most of 1-888-JUNK-VAN's requirements and is a suitable IT system for Kingo to implement in his business. It costs $249/month with $25/month each for additional users . As a result, this service allowed 1-888-JUNK-VAN to not rely on emails anymore, improved process efficiency, data accuracy, and execution confidence.
A company that just started-up would face various constraints that hinder them to achieve their goal. In order to keep up with the operations, adopting an information system that is specifically tailored toward your business can help the company have competitive advantage as well as staying cost effective. It allows you to be more flexible when your business expands in the future. Therefore, small to midsize businesses need to consider both their specific needs and constraints in order to choose their cloud services wisely, whether it is a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Identifying different IT solutions can help give you a rough estimate of the cost of implementing the new system as each service is tailored to a specific case.
When an up-to-date innovation comes out, people are unlikely to accept it right away. Based on Roger's bell curve, people are in the early majority stage of cloud computing technology . Organizations continue to evolve cloud computing and take tentative steps to optimize their business processes. They keep track of their business process model to coordinate the execution into cloud management. The cloud is considered as a primary, permanent, and sustainable technology that will make substantial contributions to enterprise computing infrastructure by 2020. Experts forecast the global cloud market will increase from 35 billion in 2011 to over 150 billion by 2020 . There will be a huge increase in the demand for cloud from global companies as well as the development of support clouds. The following are three ways in which the cloud will be radically different in the future than it is today.
Cloud-based virtual marketplaces will provide a brand-new operating model for standardized companies to transform into fully networked enterprises. Such networked enterprises will generate new marketing opportunities by engaging strategic partners, suppliers, and customers in an open, transparent, and user-friendly cloud based network environment. Previously, cloud computing was considered a high-end service that was only available to global enterprises for commercial uses . Now, however, the speed of innovation has changed the way people think and brought the cloud to end-users. The cloud can achieve maximum economic scales and monitor business projects by controlling budgets and planning completion time cycles, thereby improving business execution and streamline processes at every level. However, fraud poses a threat to online transactions including payments, logins, and registrations in future cloud-based networked enterprises. Therefore, networked businesses should provide a cost-effective solution to ensure transactions are completed in a swift, reliable, and consistent way. By doing this, cloud-based enterprises can offer greater customer services and evolve their demands to cater to virtual market needs.
In 2013, organizations have been gaining valuable insight into the potential that the Glocal Cloud can provide, as they need to think and act globally while serving their partners, customers, and employees locally. The "Glocal" Cloud refers to the union of the international cloud with the local cloud and aims to enhance localized business demands and overall management efficiency by taking privilege cloud computing's benefits to the international level. Cloud vendors can use remote machines to provide global services without requiring services from excess software, hardware, and IT experts . By doing this, global enterprises can address business concerns and expand into new markets with minimal potential risks; therefore, companies can quickly launch several business projects in the short run. According to Gartner's research, organizations invest over $200 billion into the global cloud and will continue increasing expenditure by 2016 . Companies are more comfortable with "Glocal" cloud benefits and the associated risks that cloud brings. Currently, the top cloud-related challenges facing businesses and IT leaders have evolved from concerns about performance and acknowledge to future implementation. As a result, organizations make efforts to expand usage and gain experience by focusing on implementation, and operational and governance challenges. However, by accepting the "Glocal Cloud" it will not take a long time before regulators start to enforce new principles that have a significant impact on the use of clouds in enterprises worldwide.
Cloud datacenters automate the provisioning of infrastructure and applications by trading software resources with companies and creating databases for customers. Cloud datacenters should combine abstracted software and commodified hardware to provide unified platforms that optimize entire database ecosystems and support all workloads . As it can overcome IT difficulties and meet companies' needs by delivering new social media, real-time applications of data volumes will grow by more than 50 percent per year in the future. Cloud datacenters will launch patching and updating equipment automatically to deliver virtualization for computing and memory. In addition, the next generation of cloud centers will help corporates turn time, distance, and geography into opportunities so that they can trade without constraints.
This page was last modified on 8 August 2013, at 18:17.


Home › The Candida Forum › Candida Questions › Seeking crunchy snacks!
BB 5 years, 7 months ago.
I'm a girl who likes her snacks. I tend to stress-eat as well and crunchy food is just the best possible thing for me when I'm in a certain state of mind. Does anybody have any suggestions that aren't nuts or kale chips? I'm willing to do some cooking as well!
I'm the same as you! I used to eat entire boxes of dry cereal before starting this diet!
homemade yogurt that has been drained overnight in a cheese cloth mixed with olive oil and salt makes a nice dip, taste like cream cheese. celery sticks to dip in, crunchy as.
I don't have a reaction to these but others might….
I love chickpeas (garbanzo beans) baked in the oven. Just open a can, drain, spread out on a flat cookie sheet. Add olive oil, salt, pepper. Bake for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees. Give or take depending on how crunchy you like them. I like my REALLY crunchy so I wait till they are almost dark brown. Delicious!
The topic 'Seeking crunchy snacks!' is closed to new replies.


MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Marseille has signed veteran left back Patrice Evra from Italian champion Juventus, the French club's first significant signing under its new ownership.
Marseille said on its website Wednesday that Evra had signed an 18-month deal, giving no further details. He was in the final six months of his contract in Italy.
The 35-year-old Evra won two league titles with Juventus after eight years with Manchester United, but he started only three league games this season.
Evra, who has 81 caps for France, returns to the French league after 11 years away. He played for Monaco from 2002-2006 before joining United, helping Monaco reach the Champions League final in 2004.
Marseille, which is in seventh place in the French league, was bought last October by American businessman Frank McCourt - the former owner of baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers.
Evra's experience will prove useful for a shaky defense that has leaked in the past two league games, losing 4-1 at home to Monaco and 3-1 away to Lyon.
Marseille is at home to Montpellier on Friday.


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The noose, in the words of Alexis Tsipras, is getting tighter and tighter around the Greek government. The last tranche of the aid program (7.2 billion euros) has still not been released as the Brussels Group (the ex-Troika) has not accepted the conditions on the aid plan. The Greek state is therefore on the brink of default. It might be thought that this is simply one more episode in the drama that Greece has been acting out with its creditors and that, once again, at the last moment the money needed will be found. But if Greece has managed to meet its deadlines up to now, it has been at the price of expedients that it is not at all certain can be used again.
While tax revenues since the start of the year have been almost one billion euros behind the anticipated targets, the expenses for wages and pensions still have to be paid each month. This time the wall is getting closer, and an agreement is needed if the game is to continue. In June, Greece must pay 1.6 billion euros to the IMF in four tranches (5, 12, 16 and 19 June). On 28 May an IMF spokesperson confirmed the existence of a rule that would make it possible to group these payments on the last day of the month (a rule last used by Zambia in the 1980s). Since it would then take six weeks for the IMF to consider Greece in default, the country could still gain a few days after 30 June before the deadline with the ECB (with 2 tranches for a total 3.5 billion euros by 20 July 2015).
Historically very few countries have failed to honour their payments to the IMF (currently only Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe are in arrears to the IMF, for a few hundred million dollars). As the IMF is the last resort in case of a crisis in liquidity or the balance of payments, it has, as such, the status of preferred creditor, so defaulting on its debt may trigger cross defaults on other securities, in particular, in the Greek case, those held by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). This could make them due immediately. A Greek default with the IMF could well jeopardize Greece's entire public debt and force the ECB to reject Greek bonds as collateral in the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) operations, the only firewall remaining against the collapse of the Greek banking system.
The legal consequences of such a default are difficult to grasp (which says a lot about the modern financial system). An article published by the Bank for International Settlements, dated July 2013, whose author, Antonio Sainz de Vicuña, was then Director General of ECB Legal Services, is very informative about this issue in the context of the Monetary Union.
– "Credit institutions controlled by the public sector, which may obtain central bank liquidity on terms identical to private credit institutions." This exception appears explicitly in paragraph 2 of Article 123 of the TFEU.
This second aspect has attracted our attention because it is little known to the general public, it does not appear explicitly in the Treaty and it could be a solution, at least in the short term, to avoid Greece being put in default by the IMF .
The financing by the European Central Bank or the national central banks of obligations falling upon the public sector vis-à-vis the International Monetary Fund or resulting from the implementation of the medium-term financial assistance facility set up by Regulation (EEC) No 1969/88 (4) shall not be regarded as a credit facility within the meaning of Article 104 of the Treaty.
The justification for this article is that: during quota increases in the IMF, the financing by the central bank was accepted because It had as a counterpart an asset comparable to international reserves. In the spirit of the law, financing Greek borrowing from the IMF by a credit from the central bank (the ECB or the Bank of Greece) should not be permitted. The obligations falling upon the Greek state probably only concern, according to the spirit of the text, the contribution to the IMF quotas. Nevertheless, the spirit of the law is not the law, and the proper interpretation of the phrase "obligations falling upon the public sector vis-à-vis the International Monetary Fund" could open another door for Greece. Given the consequences of a default with the IMF – in particular the continuity of the ELA – invoking this could be justified as preserving the functioning of the Greek payment system, a role falling within the mission of the ECB.
Beyond the legal possibility of a central bank financing Greece's debt to the IMF, which would certainly be challenged by some governments, this action would open up a political conflict. A MemberState could be accused of violating (the spirit of) the Treaties, even though that is not a reason to exclude it (according to the ECB's Legal Services). But is this really an obstacle in view of the importance a default on Greece's debt would have for the sustainability of the single currency?
Greece's cash flow problems are not new. Since January, the government has been financing its expenditure through accounting transactions that allowed it to offset tax losses. In particular, on 12 May, the Greek government was able to repay an IMF loan tranche by drawing on an emergency fund that was essentially international reserves. The Eurosystem was able to use this exception to give Greece extra time in order to continue the negotiations and avoid the accident.
 Article 104 became Article 123 in the TFEU.


Blogging is the act of posting content to the web in the form of a journal. If you are interested in running a blog, you should try to find websites that specialize in hosting blogs, and offer simple tools along with customization options. By selecting such a blog host, you will be free to create a great blog. This article has further tips, so read on!
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Thoroughly research the topic of each post you are going to blog about. Failing to gather the right information can cause you to write blog posts that are factually incorrect. Having a firm understanding of your topics will also allow you to answer questions intelligently.
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You can blog as little or as often as you'd like to, whether that's a few posts each month or updates every day. If you want to draw a large number of visitors to your site, you should make sure you post regularly. Keep what you've learned in mind, and your blog will be successful in no time!


text:
Off with their heels! Dior leads footwear revolution
Paris (AFP) -Off with their heels! Dior had fashionistas rocking back on their stilettos Monday by taking footwear down to earth with a bump in its Paris haute couture show.
Citing a famous quote that high heels "were nothing but a modern version of Chinese foot binding", proudly feminist designer Maria Grazia Chiuri went full tilt for the liberating power of flats.
She took a saw to the tottering stiletto to create black elasticated spartan sandals that almost doubled as tights, giving them "a couture allure that also frees up movement so you can be in contact with nature," she told AFP.
On a day when women creators dominated the Paris catwalks, the Dutch designer Iris van Herpen also sheared off her heels, cantilevering the stilettos that went with her stunning ethereal creations which are unlike anything else in fashion.
The big innovations in Dior's almost entirely black autumn winter collection were the gothy thigh-length sandals, punky feathered tights and a series of embroidery dresses that echoed body art at its classiest.
Chiuri, the first woman ever to lead the iconic French house, said the idea was to question what we wear.
Indeed, the opening look -- a white classical tunic worn by her muse, the British model Ruth Bell -- carried a quotation by social historian and design guru Bernard Rudofsky, "Are clothes modern?"
It was also from the Austrian author of "The Unfashionable Human Body" that Chiuri took her inspiration to cut the heel down to size -- wearing the spartan sandals herself -- although a few low-flying kitten heels did creep in.
This was perhaps the Italian's sharpest collection since she became the first woman to head the iconic French house in 2016.
Chiuri took Dior's New Look classics and gave them a controlled punky elegance for Generation Z, draping every model in black net veils or little fascinator berets by British milliner Stephen Jones.
Dior's headquarters, a 19th-century mansion not far from the Champs Elysees, was turned into a black-and-white surrealist landscape for the show by the British-born feminist surrealist Penny Slinger.
With "The Handmaiden's Tale" star Elisabeth Moss sharing the front row with singer Celine Dion and actress Priyanka Chopra, Chiuri upped the feminist vibe with a tribute to the caryatids, the female forms which hold up so much classical and neo-classical architecture, in a series of tunic dresses.
"They have always shouldered the weight of the world," she said.
In the final look, she hammered home the point again, with a model wearing a gilded maquette of the building as a tribute to the women who work in its studios.
- Hypnotised by Van Herpen -Van Herpen's breathtaking collection which she called "Hypnosis" was all about lifting us into another realm of lightness.
The gravity-defying genius of her iridescent creations have often been compared to the silvery transparent creatures of the deep.
And this time she outdid herself in what she called "the hypnotic visualisation of nature's tapestry".
The show was staged around a staggering piece of moving sculpture called "Omniverse" by the American artist Anthony Howe, that echoed the shimmering anemones and squids that her high-tech gowns evoke.
Celine Dion took her place in the front row wearing one of Van Herpen's earlier creations.
Like everyone else, the Canadian watched goggle-eyed as Van Herpen premiered a new "Hypnosis" technique developed with British neuroscientist Professor Phillip Beesley, where satin is cut into thousands of exquisite "0.8mm (0.03-inch) waves, with each interlinked and designed to move faster than the eye can follow".
The show finished with an "Infinity" dress with its own moving mechanism designed along with Howe which mimicked his installation.
Categories: Lifestyle/Fashion

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Is there something in the water? Located along Michigan's Lake Huron, Blue Water Pregnancy Care Center has experienced an astounding number of twin pregnancies just two months into the new year.
In 2018, Jennifer MacDonald, Blue Water's executive director, says the center saw a total of four sets of twins. By mid-February—or just six weeks into 2019—the center had diagnosed three women with twin pregnancies via ultrasound.
"We're excited to have our ultrasound machine to be able to show moms and dads their babies," said MacDonald.
According to What to Expect, twin pregnancies in America have "jumped more than 75 percent in the past 30 years." Sometimes learning you are carrying twins is happy news. But many times, especially in cases of unplanned pregnancies, the discovery is less exciting.
The women who have come to Blue Water Pregnancy Care Center and learned they are carrying twins have been surprised, MacDonald said.
Assessing her as abortion-minded, staff have not been able to reach her for follow-up.
"That's still a matter for prayer," MacDonald said.
Located in Port Huron, an hour north of Detroit, Blue Water serves a county comprising nearly 150,000 people and is a 30- to 40-minute drive from the nearest abortion clinic.
Which makes ultrasound even more important.
The center expects to receive a new ultrasound machine by the end of the month. The current six-year-old machine will be replaced, thanks to the local Knights of Columbus chapter. A dedication event is planned for April 10, consisting of a short program and tours of the facility. MacDonald said she and her staff are looking forward to receiving this special gift.
MacDonald and her staff, which includes a nurse manager and a job-share volunteer and client services coordinator position, see about 50 new clients a month. On average, 46 women come in for pregnancy tests and the nurse manager conducts 35 to 40 ultrasounds monthly. Most client advocates and some of the nurses are volunteers, MacDonald said, and those who give of their time are equally important to serving clients and their guests.
Volunteer nurses teach the center's prenatal classes and assist the nurse manager with client follow-up. The nurse manager conducts all the pregnancy tests and ultrasound scans. She also provides, through the medical director's protocol, prescriptions for prenatal vitamins, which clients can often have filled for free at a local grocery store pharmacy.
Soon to be renamed "Spero Center," the Bluewater Pregnancy Care Center has been serving women in the community since 1986. MacDonald says the name Spero comes from the Latin word for "hope, which is what we offer our clients" and the center's phone number, which has been "985-HOPE" for the last 32 years.
MacDonald assumed the helm as executive director in 2005, right as the center was introducing medical services to its list of offerings. She is the first to serve in this capacity full-time. The center is open five days a week. In addition to providing pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, options education, and prenatal classes, Blue Water provides a weekly Bible study taught by a male volunteer. Participants in the center's Earn While You Learn program, both women and men, receive additional "baby bucks" to use at the on-site Baby Boutique. About 12 participants attend these sessions each week, MacDonald said.
"They aren't required to make a profession of faith; we truly believe the word of God does not return void," she said.
Additionally, male volunteers meet with fathers of the babies; last year, about 130 were reached and more than 160 the year before.
"We love being able to serve them; we wish we could get more of them in," MacDonald said.
As the center winds down from its annual "Everyday Heroes Gala" this month and prepares for the new ultrasound machine next month, MacDonald and her staff and volunteers look forward to serving more women, men, and families in the future.


text:
word root
2733 entries found.
bacilli (n.)
plural of bacillus (q.v.).
Related entries & more
bacillus (n.)
1877, medical Latin, from Late Latin bacillus "wand," literally "little staff," diminutive of baculum "a stick, staff, walking stick," from PIE *bak- "staff" (also source of Greek bakterion; see bacteria) + instrumentive suffix -culo. Introduced as a term in bacteriology 1853 by German botanist Ferdinand Cohn (1828-1898).
back (n.)
Old English bæc "back," from Proto-Germanic *bakam (cognates: Old Saxon and Middle Dutch bak, Old Frisian bek), with no known connections outside Germanic. In other modern Germanic languages the cognates mostly have been ousted in this sense by words akin to Modern English ridge (such as Danish ryg, German Rücken).
Many Indo-European languages show signs of once having distinguished the horizontal back of an animal (or a mountain range) from the upright back of a human. In other cases, a modern word for "back" may come from a word related to "spine" (Italian schiena, Russian spina) or "shoulder, shoulder blade" (Spanish espalda, Polish plecy).
By synecdoche, "the whole body," especially with reference to clothing. Meaning "upright part of a chair" is from 1520s. To turn (one's) back on (someone or something) "ignore" is from early 14c. As a U.S. football position by 1876, so called from being behind the line of rushers; further distinguished according to relative position as quarterback, halfback, fullback.
To know (something) like the back of one's hand, implying familiarity, is first attested 1893 in a dismissive speech made to a character in Robert Louis Stevenson's "Catriona":
If I durst speak to herself, you may be certain I would never dream of trusting it to you; because I know you like the back of my hand, and all your blustering talk is that much wind to me.
The story, a sequel to "Kidnapped," has a Scottish setting and context, and the back of my hand to you was noted in the late 19th century as a Scottish expression meaning "I will have nothing to do with you" [see Longmuir's edition of Jamieson's Scottish dictionary]. In English generally, the back of (one's) hand has been used to imply contempt and rejection at least since 1300. Perhaps the connection of a menacing dismissal is what made Stevenson choose that particular anatomical reference.
back (v.)
mid-15c., "to keep something back, hinder," from back (adv.). Meaning "cause to move back" is from 1781. Intransitive sense "move or go back" is from late 15c. Meaning "furnish with a back or backing" is from 1728, from back (n.). Meaning "to support" (as by a bet) is attested from 1540s. Related: Backed; backing.
back (adj.)
"being behind, away from the front, in a backward direction," Middle English, from back (n.) and back (adv.); often difficult to distinguish from these when the word is used in combinations. Formerly with comparative backer (c. 1400), also backermore. To be on the back burner in the figurative sense is from 1960, from the image of a cook keeping a pot there to simmer while at work on another concoction at the front of the stove.
back (adv.)
"to or toward the rear or the original starting place; in the past; behind in position," literally or figuratively, late 14c., shortened from abak, from Old English on bæc "backwards, behind, aback" (see back (n.), and compare aback). To give (something) back is to give it again, to give it in the opposite direction to that in which it was formerly given. Adverbial phrase back and forth is attested by 1814.
back-ache (n.)
also backache, "dull or continuous pain in the back," c. 1600, from back (n.) + ache (n.).
back-beat (n.)
1928, in jazz, from back (adj.) + beat (n.).
backbencher (n.)
1897 in a parliamentary context (originally Canadian), from back bench (1874 in this sense), from back (adj.) + bench (n.); occupants of the rear seats being the least-prominent politicians.
backbiting (n.)
c. 1200, bacbitunge, "the sin of secretly attacking one's character or reputation through envy," from back (adj. or n.) + biting. Related: back-bite (v.) early 14c.; back-biter (c. 1200). The notion is of injury in a manner comparable to biting from behind. As an adjective Old English had bæcslitol; another old word for it was back-wounding (c. 1600).


you do if you were forced to leave the only country you have ever known?
time to stop the devastating practice of conversion therapy.
being forced by her parents to attend conversion therapy.
White House`s official response to the petition written in Leelah`s name.
DSM, basically the medical professions bible of mental illness.
the organization for nearly 40 years.
that number and say, that`s f-ed up, and fix it. Fix society, please."
to you all for being here.
SAMUEL BRINTON, CONVERSION THERAPY SURVIVOR: Thank you.
of you is that you are a conversion therapy survivor.
electric shocks to try to change who you truly are.
often because of religious belief. Talk to me a little bit about that.
can drive off the cliff, you tell that person, don`t drive off the cliff.
of hell, like, really make them go, I need to save my child.
this case, actually holding the government accountable for addressing this.
alone. We`re here and we`re fighting for you.
I started conversion therapy around 2009. You know, I`m young, I`m 25.
gets better. You know, I like .
HARRIS-PERRY: To give an alternate message .
going to stick around a bit in the show.
he went to Panama to check in on the construction of the Panama Canal.
just 90 miles apart will meet face to face for a substantive discussion.
all 35 North and South American countries are there.
restricting travel and trade between the U.S. and Cuba.
from Panama NBC News senior White House correspondent Chris Jansing.
International and Public Affairs. And still with us, Christina Greer.
symbolic or do you expect it to be substantive?
HARRIS-PERRY: Yeah. They needed to go somewhere else .
and with the Cuban government.
HARRIS-PERRY: She`s been here. We are keeping her.
GREER: And that may be during the first century Elian Gonzales.
countries that didn`t want to do business with them as a result of that.
stage for moving forward, Melissa.
downside to our economic ties opening up with Cuba for Cuba.
think we have to stop fetishizing the .
GUTIERREZ: The Cuba of, you know, old cars and run down architecture.
Cubans have for 50 years been denied many of the basics of modern life.
this kind of cultural clash that can exist.
spring breakers heading to Cuba just gives me the hee-bee gee bees.
know, some sections of Jersey .
opening that possibility of war autonomy on the part of Cuba itself.
HARRIS-PERRY: Imagine that everything about your life is about to change.
have no job prospects at all. Now imagine that you can never come back.
abuse. But he served only 90 days in prison.
When Adam was 16, he was kicked out of the house and began life on his own.
months. Remember the father convicted of sexual abuse only served 90 days.
convictions including unlawful firearm possession and assault.
brokered his arrival filed the paperwork for his green card or U.S.
for his adoption papers or his birth certificate, he was repeatedly denied.
resources and whose language and culture are unknown to him.
limbo, and he joins me, next.
Child Citizenship Act of 2000 so that it would grant automatic U.S.
includes retroactive citizenship for adoptees like Adam.
Adam is part of the 16 percent of Korean-born adoptees without a country.
Korean citizens. Joining me from Portland, Oregon, now is Adam Crapser.
for us. So, Adam, can you hear me?
ADAM CRAPSER, KOREAN ADOPTEE FACING DEPORTATION: I can, good morning.
immigration law, did you know that you were vulnerable to this possibility?
CRAPSER: I did not know. I thought I was protected by adoption twice.
marriage yourself doesn`t protect you?
through the naturalization process. She`s a native of Vietnam.
you`re Korean, you got to go back.
CRAPSER: Yeah, I don`t understand that myself because this is all I know.
years old when I came over here. I`ve grown up here my entire life.
he was still a Korean citizen. And at that point, he became a U.S.
better to do? Like the inhumanity of ICE is so regularly exposed to us.
we really - we need to have comprehensive immigration reform. I mean .
GUTIERREZ: This is another example of how absolutely broken the system is.
vulnerable. Can you tell us a little bit about those experiences?
deported back in 2009. First and foremost, he served in the U.S. military.
same stuff I did. I couldn`t believe it when I heard his story.
HARRIS-PERRY: Adam, pause for - Adam. He served his country in the U.S.
military and was deported for these same reasons?
CRAPSER: Yes, yes, he was - yeah, he was - served in the U.S. military.
gentlemen on the street with health issues, with nothing. With nothing.
CRAPSER: And these are people who served in the United States military.
would it mean to your family if you were taken away from them?
and I can`t imagine being away from them for a day.
CRAPSER: Thank you very much.
Sabatini, John and Christina are going to be back in our next hour.
But up next, the author of the new book on first lady Michelle Obama.
its job. Congress kicked off 2015 with an abysmal 16 percent approval.
But history and some hilarious late night mom dancing has proven otherwise.
American First Lady and get it right?
and press the button for the final time.
Robinson shapes the daughter who becomes the woman that is our first lady.
thinking about her professional ambition. In the White House, Mrs.
as she calls him in this case, being just a man.
campaign trail because he`s a black man, he`s always vulnerable.
of people who were waiting for that awful moment in 2008.
being just a man. Let`s take a listen.
MICHELLE OBAMA: And that guy is not so impressive.
year-old. He can`t quite get his socks in the dirty clothes.
phenomenal man, but in the end he`s still a man.
as she became the first lady.
translate that in the book, to make her - to bring that sense of humor out.
just humane. He`s constrained in these ways.
HARRIS-PERRY: Yeah, I have been in the past week in rooms with her twice.
rooms of African American women is really extraordinary.
stick around a little bit to talk some politics with us.
what Mayor Mike Duggan`s ten point plan to improve customer service.
there`s more Nerdland at the top of the hour.
police officer in North Charleston after a traffic stop.
a fight over the officer`s taser.
This morning, Mr. Scott`s family is laying him to rest.
Adam, what can you tell us about today`s services?
ADAM REISS, MSNBC CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Melissa.
under an American flag, that in honor of his service in the Coast Guard.
arrived. He said to pay his respects to the family.
have been avoided -- Melissa.
But right now, let me make a shift.
What exactly does a human trafficking bill have to do with Loretta Lynch?
course, Loretta Lynch, who started the Delta chapter at Harvard University.
but as black women were required to march at the end of the line.
the organization stands, proudly and loudly, in support of our sister A.G.
Is this it the issue that reminds all of us where we as Deltas stand?
affairs at Princeton University and fellow at the New America Foundation.
national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.
So nice to have you, Madame President.
morning. It is my pleasure to be here. How are you today?
WALKER: I love your colors.
HARRIS-PERRY: Yes, of course. Well, I wore them for our organization.
about Delta Sigma Theta, why a sorority would show up in this space?
WALKER: Well, I think the fact that, as you indicated, why a sorority?
activity. That`s what we do. That`s who we are.
truly highly qualified, just happens to be a member of our organization.
she not been confirmed in 154 days.
together in a kind of sisterhood organization of African-American women.
Justice Department? Why not her?
issues such as human trafficking? Which by itself is, in fact, important.
that they are holding her confirmation.
to my table for a minute.
power. Leaders have the ability to have a vote when they want.
bring this to a resolution.
HARRIS-PERRY: Christina, let me weigh in on this as well.
holding this extremely qualified woman just in limbo, right?
GREER: Not about her, yes.
nonsense that goes on, this is what gets people disinterested in politics.
and growing up in a fraternity, a black family.
but their children, their grandchildren, all these things.
extremely threatening to a lot of members of Congress, quite honestly.
sitting down. And she continues to stand.
WALKER: Thank you so much.
And up next, shhh, shhh! Senator Rand Paul has something to say.
America and ultimately to say this.
forward as a candidate for president of the United States of America.
HARRIS-PERRY: Oh, man, I am loving this.
OK, Rand supplemented his announcement with a brand new campaign Web site.
It seems Paul`s first message to potential 2016 voters was swipe right.
lecture on journalism while addressing his foreign policy record.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC NEWS: Wait, wait, wait.
to increase it 16 percent? I`ve just wondered if you`ve mellowed out.
PAUL: Yes, why don`t we let me explain instead of talking over me, OK?
ask me a question, have I changed my opinion on that?
GUTHRIE: Have you changed your opinion?
PAUL: That would be sort of much better to approach an interview.
GUTHRIE: OK. Is Iran still not a threat?
PAUL: You`ve editorialized. No, no, no.
splain tax policy to CNBC`s Kelly Evans in February.
PAUL: The whole purpose of doing this is to bring money home.
KELLY EVANS, CNBC: The concern is down the road. I`m sorry, go ahead.
PAUL: Shh! Calm down a bit here, Kelly, let me answer the question.
candidate has a, quote, "problem" with women interviewers.
But Paul later spoke to CNN`s Wolf Blitzer to explain everything.
male and female reporters, I`ll own up to that.
invited to the National Rifle Association`s annual conference in Nashville.
when the NRA calls, would-be GOP nominees generally come running.
percent of candidates endorsed and funded by the NRA have won their races.
Man, this crowd is just pleasing me.
excited to vote for him.
by women asking legitimate questions about his past.
calm down a little bit.
have a very long road ahead of them. And he`s not doing well.
history of Republican candidates blaming the media for all kinds of things.
HARRIS-PERRY: And to great effect.
meeting could cut both ways for him.
rather than necessarily socially problematic.
ZELIZER: So, as that story emerges, it could benefit him in the primaries.
also the challenge that he still is right on many issues.
HARRIS-PERRY: Yes, it seems valuable.
HARRIS-PERRY: When Chris Christie was like, I run the place.
GUTIERREZ: I don`t get that.
like. I mean, beating each other up is one way to see it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not so sure about that.
GREER: Obama needed that primary to toughen up with Hillary.
need to get beaten up in order to get stronger.
annual National Rifle Association convention yesterday.
fundamentally about freedom and we need more of that in America.
message -- come and take it.
guns, but about Hillary Clinton.
more gates than a south Texas cattle ranch.
and part of the way of life.
support for some kind of restrictive measures than the NRA is admitting to.
because of the pressure from the NRA and where public opinion has moved.
new approach that could be taken, but it`s not right now.
way we haven`t seen in other major metropolitans.
regulations. What will she say about that?
GREER: But she is beatable. She has been beaten.
GREER: She`s had a rough six, seven years.
really been debating anyone. He -- I mean, it was a disaster.
So, she needs a primary. Someone needs to step up over the age of 35.
registration drive. And what happens with registration is primaries.
can only be the issue you know that it is. That story is next.
reproductive services have been proposed around the country this year.
and the states shown in blue have enacted the laws.
medical evidence to support the claim?
implications for our medical system could be unprecedented.
So, now, you can`t learn the medical stuff at the medical school.
women`s reproductive health and in obstetrics and gynecology.
important for physicians to know it.
of call it a half baked idea. But I`m going to give it a quarter baked.
So maybe not even a quarter baked.
it doesn`t meet the basic criteria of research.
only works about half the time.
we have to tell people about this.
provider and people when they come for an abortion, they are pretty clear.
HARRIS-PERRY: They know what they are coming for.
prenatal care I came for something else.
I have to offer something that I don`t now even know if it works.
How would you feel if your doctor did that for you?
children seeking refugee status and we are being treated like delinquents.
We are not delinquents nor do we pose any threat to this country."
Karnes County detention centers do not have solitary confinement areas.
in family residential facilities such as Karnes are permitted to do so.
But those inside the facility tell a different story.
isolated in a darkroom with her 2-year-old son.
Center for Education and Legal Services.
JONATHAN RYAN, REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT CENTER: Thank you for having us.
for Kenia in the center?
RYAN: Kenia has been or was detained in the center since November of 2014.
because they brought attention to it via the media.
is the experience of children there?
that`s appropriate for a child.
where they should be crawling.
they have ever spent free.
our kids because they couldn`t act like children inside.
children sleep, it`s just not correct for a child.
play like a child of 2 years old.
your child. Thank you for coming to tell your story.
RYAN: Thank you, thank you very much.
HARRIS-PERRY: Jonathan Ryan in Austin, Texas, thank you for being with us.
she is our awesome foot soldier of the week.
own do not matter. This testing looks at me as a number.
this to say in her rousing speech.
a stop to all the standardized testing. Thank you so much for your time.
Jennifer Smoot, in Tampa, Florida.
So nice to have you both here.
JENNIFER SMOOT, SYDNEY`S MOTHER: Thanks for having us.
HARRIS-PERRY: So, Sydney, you say that you are a well educated young lady.
What does education mean to you in that context?
what you need to learn in school. That`s what it means to me.
HARRIS-PERRY: So I love how passionate you are about this.
daughter has such a strong stance on this issue?
and everyday life. So I`m just very proud of her.
with you? Do any of them also feel this same way about the tests?
gotten a bit of backlash about it.
HARRIS-PERRY: What do you mean my backlash? What happened?
obviously and, oh, they rehearsed it a bunch of times, stuff like that.
HARRIS-PERRY: Oh, as though it`s not really your idea?
HARRIS-PERRY: But it is your idea, is that what you`re telling us?
worked on the speech together.
book you really like and you think other kids should read?
Andrea Beaty and it`s a really funny book.
thing that could possibly be happening right now.
Jennifer, thank you so much for supporting your daughter.
Thank you both for joining us from Tampa, Florida.
JENNIFER SMOOT: Thank you so much.
HARRIS-PERRY: OK, you come on back, then.
That is our show for today. Thanks to you at home for watching.
And we are awaiting word on a breaking news story, 22 years in the making.
So be sure to join us to find out if it actually finally happens.
Right now, it`s time for a preview of "WEEKENDS WITH ALEX WITT."


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Ten o'clock tonight sees the start of 'Peep Show' series six on Channel 4 – exciting stuff! I can't remember a modern British comedy series that's remained as fresh and still funny as far down the line. This time round, I'm wondering whether Jez and Super Hans will ever get their band off the ground? Whether Mark and Dobby will get it together? And, as ever, whether Johnson will steal every scene he's given. He probably will.


text:
IN FULL: Nicola Sturgeon issues stark warning as Christmas plans set to go ahead
Christmas: Nicola Sturgeon issues stark warning as UK plans set to go ahead
By Andrew Learmonth @andrewlearmonth Journalist
Nicola Sturgeon said it was her 'strong recommendation' that people stay in their own household this Christmas
THE First Minister issued a clear warning over relaxed Covid Christmas restrictions after the four nations decided the bubbling plans will go ahead without change.
Public health experts had said the plans, allowing people across the UK to form bubbles with two other households between December 23-27, would cause major issues in the new year.
But it was announced this afternoon that England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had decided the legislation would not be changing.
READ MORE: Relaxation of coronavirus rules over Christmas to go ahead despite warnings
Speaking at the Scottish Government's coronavirus briefing, Nicola Sturgeon stressed it is her "strong recommendation" that people remain in their own household.
Below are the First Minister's full comments following the announcement.
The final point I want to cover today, and I want to take a little bit of time on this, is arrangements for Christmas.
I took part in four nations discussions yesterday, and again this morning, with the UK Government, and the governments of Wales and Northern Ireland.
These discussions - the fact they have happened - reflect that, in parts of the UK, cases are rising again, and in some parts of the UK, rising quite rapidly.
Now, Scotland's case levels remain at the moment lower than in the other nations, but even so, we can't be complacent and we need to consider the evolving situation.
We intend to issue updated guidance later today, and we hope that this will be agreed in a four nations basis. That is what we are working towards and those discussions are continuing, so they have not, at the time I came down to do this briefing, concluded yet.
But I want today, because I know there is intense and understandable interest in this, so I want to just run through some of the principles the Scottish Government is working on.
Firstly, the pragmatic considerations that led us to agree some limited flexibility over Christmas have not gone away.
We recognise that, in some cases, the isolation caused by being alone over Christmas will, in itself, cause harm to people's welfare and we understand that some people will simply not be prepared to leave loved ones alone over the whole Christmas period, perhaps especially on Christmas day.
I also recognise that some people will have already made plans for Christmas. It's for those reasons that we decided, across the four nations, to give people some clear boundaries around the Christmas period rather than seek to prohibit any interaction altogether or, on the other hand, risk everyone just trying to set their own boundaries.
On balance, we - and I - think that is the right approach to take. So we don't intend to take away the flexibility.
That, in my view, wouldn't be fair at this stage, and it wouldn't be realistic either. It may risk undermining, rather than strengthening, compliance with the overall Covid guidance.
However, we in the Scottish Government do intend to strengthen the guidance we give to people about whether, and how, we should make use of the flexibility.
The guidance in Scotland is already a bit tighter than elsewhere, but we hope we can come to a four nations agreement on a clear and united message to the public.
But let me be clear, not all of what I'm about to say right now is yet agreed with other nations, and I cannot and would not try to speak for them but I wanted to set out for you the key elements of the advice that the Scottish Government has been and will continue to give over the period ahead.
Firstly, and unequivocally, the safest way to spend Christmas this year for you and those you love is to stay within your own household, and your own home. My strong recommendation is that this is what you should do if at all possible.
Any interaction you do have with another household should, if at all possible, be outdoors - but if you do consider it essential to meet indoors with someone from another household, you should limit both the duration and the numbers as much as possible.
This is the point I want to stress in particular. The five-day relaxation is a window of opportunity during which you can meet. It's not a period in which we think it is safe or sensible to get together for.
You should see it as a maximum, not a target. My recommendation is that if you do form a bubble, you should not meet up with people in it any more than on one day in that period, if possible, and you should not stay overnight unless it is unavoidable.
You should also limit numbers as far as possible - three households is a maximum that tries to account for the fact that families come in all shapes and sizes, but two would be better. In short, if you have to form a bubble, keep it as small as possible.
In Scotland we have already advised a limit of eight people, and I recommend that you stay firmly within that if you do feel the need to form a bubble, and again, the smaller, the better.
And lastly, we will recommend against travel from high-prevalence areas to low-prevalence areas of the UK. We'll issue more detail on that shortly.
Also, as I stressed on Monday, if you are intending to form a Christmas bubble you should already be trying to reduce any unnecessary social contacts.
And this year, for most people, all of what I've just run through will be the safer choices to make and I would encourage everybody to think very carefully about that.
If you haven't made plans to form a bubble yet, please don't. If you're still swithering, please decide against. And if you have made plans, but think they're not really essential, perhaps think about postponing until later in the year.


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Travel to work is a major consideration when choosing where to live, with easy access and good public transport important.
That is why interest is expected to be high at two showhomes which opened earlier this month at the CALA Homes (East) development at Mayburn Park, Straiton, where the location will appeal to house hunters looking for a short commute into Edinburgh city centre.
Both the four-bedroomed Cleland and the five-bedroomed Crichton house types reflect the benefits offered by the family-friendly development, with spacious layouts, gardens, ensuite bathrooms and built-in storage.
Interior design firm, Blocc, was tasked with bringing the showhomes to life at Mayburn Park, which is located a few minutes' drive from both the A720 Edinburgh city bypass and Straiton Retail Park.
Suzanne Kerley, creative sales director at Blocc says her team were inspired by the setting and wanted the properties to reflect this.
The showhomes highlight different design trends of 2017.
Kerley says: "With the four-bedroomed Cleland we've used a mix of painted wooden and wire furniture to give the design a modern and slightly unusual edge.
"The colour palette is also distinctive. As well as ivory, creams and tonal greys, we've injected vibrant colours throughout.
The larger showhome has a more traditional look inside.
Kerley says: "For the five-bedroomed Crichton, we've designed it in a classic, modern style, with twists towards retro and industrial inspired furniture.
"Here, we've used warm woods with gloss finishes, which are mirrored and painted.
Situated off Loanhead Road, Mayburn Park offers a selection of three, four and five-bedroomed homes.
The location, just five miles south of Edinburgh city centre, means that it is well connected with convenient road links and public transport for easy access into and across the capital making it an ideal commuter hub.
The development is perfectly suited for a range of buyers, from growing families and young professionals to downsizers.
Philip Hogg, sales and marketing director at CALA Homes (East), says: "The showhomes are bold and imaginative and will give house hunters an added insight into what life in this development will be like.
"We've already had major interest and that demand is testament to the combination of our high quality homes in a really prime location.
"The possibilities are truly showcased by the Cleland and Crichton showhomes.
"Straiton is a fantastically positioned suburb with everything a homeowner needs right on their doorstep.
The first phase of Mayburn Park is now available with prices from £349,000.
The showhomes are open daily, 11am-5.30pm. Viewings can be booked on 0131 341 3615.


text:
PORT NEWS
Port Houston Retiree Receives Honorary Pilot Award
It takes unique skills and endurance to be a Houston Pilot, safely navigating some of the world's largest ships in and out of the Houston Ship Channel, one of the most challenging waterways in the world.
Longtime Port Houston employee, Mike Usher, who retired in December 2016 after 32 years of service, recently received an honor by the Houston Pilots designated as an honorary Houston Pilot. Only three people have received the award in the last 25 years.
"Over the course of his distinguished maritime career, Captain Usher earned a well-deserved reputation as a safety-conscious and professional mariner, and a tough, but fair, marine investigator," said Capt. Robert Shearon, presiding officer of the Houston Pilots.
"The Houston Pilots appreciates and recognizes the lasting contributions that Captain Usher has made in furthering navigation safety on the busiest ship channel in the United States," he added.
Usher was presented with the framed certificate naming him an Honorary Houston Pilot for longstanding service, loyalty and friendship at a June industry luncheon with Capt. Shearon and others, and was taken aback by the gesture.
"I was taken totally by surprise," said Usher, who began his career in 1984 as a Hoseman on the Farnsworth in the marine department and worked his way up to senior captain on the fireboats, compliance coordinator and manager of pilot administration. "It's overwhelming to be recognized, and I'm humbled and deeply honored."
Usher's maritime journey began at an early age, when he entered the U.S. Navy and spent seven years on amphibious ships and destroyers on both the east and west coasts.
When Usher left the Navy and joined Port Houston in the Marine Dept., he had a desire to become a Houston Branch Pilot. He became qualified and eligible, but, as he described, "didn't quite muster." However, he continued to work closely with the piloted system.
Usher has such respect for the Houston Pilots after his experience with its members and becoming familiar with their pilotage system, he went on to attain his master's license, then his harbor pilot license.
"I felt blessed to be involved with this pilot group, and I was always determined to serve the Pilot Board and to protect everyone's best interests," he said. "Coming back full circle 10 years ago as a committee aide to the Pilot Board Application Review Committee and Investigation and Recommendation Committee, I've realized my dream."
Posted in Uncategorizedport-news