In our capacity as members of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, we have today ended our ten-day visit to the Republic of Korea. We are grateful to the Government of the Republic of Korea for its support for, and facilitation of, this visit. We take this as a sign of its willingness to show leadership in addressing business and human rights issues.
During our visit, we met with Government officials from the Office for Government Policy Coordination in the Prime Minister's Secretariat, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Korea Corporate Governance Service, the Small and Medium Business Administration, Daejeon Metropolitan City and Ulsan Metropolitan City. We also met with representatives of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) and of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly, as well as with representatives of civil society organizations and victims groups, trade unions (the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Korean Metal Workers Trade Union, the Korean Public and Transport Workers' Union, the Union of the Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation, and the Union of the Busan Transportation Corporation), the UN Global Compact Network Korea, and representatives of private business enterprises (POSCO Daewoo, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Hyundai Motors, Hyundai Heavy Industry, and RB Korea formerly known as Oxy Reckitt Benckiser) and of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) (Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea Railroad Corporation, Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation, and Korea National Oil Corporation).
We started our visit in Seoul and then went on to Gwacheon, Daejeon, Sejong, and Ulsan.
In our statement, we would like to outline some initial observations from our visit. Our official report to the 35th session of the Human Rights Council in June 2017 will include further observations and recommendations.
Over the past 35 years, South Korea has transitioned from being one of the world's poorest countries into the world's 12th largest economy and an important contributor to international development assistance. However, the country is currently facing an economic slow-down combined with a rise in relative poverty and inequality as well as youth unemployment and an ageing population.
In South Korea a number of large business corporations and conglomerates (chaebols) coexist alongside a large number of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Also, South Korean companies, both public and private, are increasingly investing and expanding their operations overseas.
We observed genuine commitment amongst Government officials and business enterprises to the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles. However, while some companies had a policy statement, it generally did not reflect a human rights due diligence approach. We also witnessed a need for greater coherence between different Government departments and public institutions working in this area. Furthermore, we heard from companies that they would like the Government to set out its expectations of business conduct related to business and human rights.
The growing attention being paid to the relationship between business and human rights has been facilitated by the work of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea to raise awareness about these issues. The Commission has, inter alia, usefully translated into Korean the UN Guiding Principles and the Working Group's guidance on national action plans on business and human rights and is promoting the development of a national action plan on business and human rights. These efforts are also being actively supported by the UN Global Compact Network in Korea.
We were also encouraged by what we observed as openness and genuine willingness amongst the Government and business representatives we met with to improve practice and policy in line with international best practice. In particular, we noted the commitment expressed by the Office for Government Policy Coordination in the Prime Minister's Secretariat to facilitate coordination and coherence amongst government agencies in this area.
During the visit a number of cases and allegations were drawn to our attention by civil society organizations, trade unions and victim groups. Several of these cases are well known to the South Korean public. The cases relate to issues such as abusive working conditions faced by workers who work for subcontractors; exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace; repression of union activity; and the outsourcing of operations with high human rights risks, including overseas.
From the information gathered and testimonies heard about cases of business-related human rights abuse, one key underlying concern and contributing factor was a failure to ensure adequate oversight of supply chains and a lack of willingness of some lead business enterprises to effectively assume responsibility to prevent or mitigate human rights impacts linked to their operations. The risk of adverse human rights impacts increases in the lower tiers of supply chains, and even more so when supply chains extend beyond national borders. The Government is fully aware of this, and some measures are being taken to improve the situation. However, much more needs to be done to address current gaps in legal and institutional frameworks to enhance protection against adverse human rights impacts throughout supply chains.
While steps have been taken by some companies to integrate human rights due diligence into their operations, we found that even the companies with a specific human rights policy did not acknowledge that their human rights responsibilities mean they need to follow their impacts through the entire supply chain. The approach should not be tier by tier, but impact by impact, prioritized by severity.
Some of the companies that we met with claimed that it was practically impossible for them to monitor the supply chains beyond their direct suppliers. Another company indicated that reports of human rights abuse implicating one of its direct suppliers was none of its business. This is not a correct approach under the Guiding Principles.
All companies are expected to make it their business to avoid adverse human rights impacts linked to any part of their operations. The complexity of supply chains is no excuse for inaction. Large companies with complex supply chains are expected to identify and prioritise those areas where the risk of negative human rights impact is most significant. Companies are expected to establish grievance mechanisms to support the identification of adverse human rights impacts. Such mechanisms should be available to workers and individuals and communities who may be adversely impacted by business operations.
There is evidence of progressively good practice among some companies. The Korea Railroad Corporation stated its commitment and responsibility to exercise human rights due diligence beyond its first tier of direct suppliers. It said it conducts on-site visits to monitor compliance of first, second and third tier suppliers, and suppliers are obliged to notify any new sub-contracting arrangements. It also revealed that a hotline is available to workers of first, second and third tier suppliers.
Another concern relates to the way large corporations use sub-contractors for parts of their core operations. A 2014 study undertaken by the NHRCK on the conditions of industries with high risk of industrial injury found that many subcontracted workers experience worse working conditions and less safety information compared to directly employed workers.
A case in point is the shipyard in Ulsan operated by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). We discussed this with HHI management and trade unions. The shipyard employs 55,000 workers, 30,000 of which work for subcontractors. 80 % of subcontracted workers are involved in production (and exposed to high health and safety risks), compared to only 20% of directly employed workers. The ship yard has experienced a high number of fatal work accidents (averaging 6 annually over the past 10 years, 71% amongst subcontracted workers). We were informed that 7 workers died in the first 5 months of 2016, of which 5 were subcontracted workers. The In-house Subcontractor Worker's Union in HHI (ISWU) alleges that HHI is "outsourcing risk". HHI attributes the higher number of fatal accidents amongst subcontracted workers to inexperience amongst subcontracted workers (with an average of 2 years of experience) as compared to HHI's directly employed workers (with an average of 18 years of experience). In order to improve health and safety conditions, HHI and other business operations with a high risk of industrial injury should find ways to improve oversight and incentivise subcontractors to improve safety conditions.
In the Republic of Korea large conglomerates make up less than 1% of business enterprises, while 3.42 million small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) account for more than 99%. SMEs account for 88% of employment, and about half of the SMEs supply large companies and chaebol-affiliated conglomerates.
A common concern in discussions with Government and civil society representatives was the asymmetrical and often non-transparent relationship between the large companies and their SME suppliers, where the big companies are able to set conditions and pressure SMEs competing for contracts to offer lower prices. There is also a marked difference in working condition, salary scales and benefits of employees of large companies compared to the majority of the SME workforce.
The Government has taken various measures to protect SMEs against unfair practices by large firms, including the Act on the Promotion of Collaborative Cooperation between Large Enterprises and Small-Medium Enterprises (enacted in 2006 and most recently amended in 2016). The Act aims to develop policies "to facilitate win-win cooperation between large enterprises and small-medium enterprises", including related to exchanges of technology and human resources and narrowing the salary gap between large enterprises and SMEs (art. 4(2)). To incentivise larger corporations to provide greater support to SMEs, the Government has also created the "win-win cooperation index", whereby large enterprises are assessed annually by independent evaluators with awards for good practice. However, these initiatives currently do not explicitly include human rights due diligence. This is important and, as proposed by the NHRCK, criteria related to human rights should be added to the "win-win copperation index".
Some cases brought to our attention concerned the overseas activities of South Korean companies. We heard about the sourcing of cotton from Uzbekistan by the Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Co. (KOMSCO) through a joint local subsidiary in Uzbekistan, KOMSCO Daewoo (GKD); allegations of abusive labour conditions in garment factories in Myanmar wholly or jointly owned by South Korean companies; and land acquisition related to a natural gas project in Myanmar by POSCO Daewoo International.
As the business operations of South Korean companies are increasingly becoming transnational, more attention needs to be given to how South Korean companies exercise human rights due diligence to avoid causing human rights harm outside South Korea. It was clear from our discussions that this is an area which requires much more attention from companies and the Government.
Many Government and company representatives we met with recognized that it is important to step up action in this area. Companies should develop mechanisms to allow grievances to be brought to their attention early on to prevent harm from escalating. The Government should actively assist companies to identify, prevent and mitigate human rights risks related to their overseas activities. Embassies should assist in such efforts as they have an interest in preventing South Korean companies from having adverse human rights impacts on the local population. Some training has taken place, but no clear monitoring mechanism was described.
The Government and companies should explore ways to avoid human rights abuses related to companies' operations abroad and to facilitate access to remedy if harm occurs, in accordance with international standards and best practice.
All of the companies we met with prepared annual sustainability reports. Several included a more or less explicit reference to human rights. Most indicated that they followed the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 guidelines, which include human rights criteria and make reference to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. However, they generally did not go into detail about steps taken to identify risks and prevent and remedy human rights harm. We strongly encourage companies to give more attention to these aspects.
We also encourage the Government to establish non-financial reporting requirements on human rights due diligence processes in line with the Guiding Principles and existing reporting standards. The Government could also use other existing mechanisms to promote responsible business conduct by companies e.g. the Korean Business Ethics Index (KoBEX), under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which evaluates the ethical leadership of the CEO, equal employment at work, human resources development, health and safety, and the "win-win cooperation index" to incentivize large companies to support SMEs. Human rights criteria could also be included in the periodic assessments and rankings of business practice. The human rights check list sent to 115 public companies and institutions developed by the NHRCK is another important tool. It could usefully be expanded to involve private companies.
Health and safety in the workplace was raised with us as an issue of particular concern during our visit. The Occupational Health and Safety Act makes several requirements on employers in respect of the provision of safe workplaces. However, from the information gathered during our visit, it was clear that more needs to be done to facilitate the reporting of incidents in the workplace so that all such incidents can be properly investigated and remediation and prevention measures put in place.
The burden of proof on those seeking compensation for industrial accidents is very high. Victims must provide, amongst other things, evidence of the presence of a risk factor and evidence of a high level of exposure. Victims must satisfy the burden of proof in order to receive any compensation from the Occupational National Insurance for injuries suffered from hazardous working conditions. It would be important to review the current legislation to bring it in line with international standards and to find a way to distribute the burden of proof more equally in cases where it is difficult for workers to prove wrongdoing/human rights abuse by an employer. In this regard, we note that one step in that direction has already been taken under the new Act on Liability for Environmental Damage and Relief Thereof.
We also heard concerns surrounding the freedom for trade unions to operate unhindered in certain business contexts. We heard reports about so called "yellow unions" set up by a company which do not meet international standards for freedom of association and collective bargaining. We are also concerned by reports of companies suing the trade union of a supplier where industrial action has been taken, and of wages being deducted from workers who go on strike to pay for the lost profits incurred following the industrial action. Workers should not have to meet the financial cost resulting from their legitimate defence of their employment rights and all companies should seek to understand the reasons for industrial action and adapt their management practices, rather than punishing protesters.
One of the groups particularly at risk of business related human rights abuse is temporary migrant workers. Several features of the current system of the Employment Permit System (EPS) for migrant workers seem to contribute to a heightened risk of abuse. Through bilateral agreements with 15 countries in the region, South Korea invites migrant workers to come to the country for periods of three years with an ESP E-9 visa. While they are allowed to change employer up to three times during the three-year period, we are concerned that the system makes migrant workers vulnerable to abuse.
Finding themselves in an even more vulnerable situation are an estimated 214,000 unregistered migrants in South Korea, of which an estimated 49,300 became unregistered migrants with expired E-9 visa under the EPS. Even if unregistered migrants are allowed to remain in the country while any case concerning abusive labour practice or non-payment of salary is being processed, unregistered migrant workers will be particularly vulnerable to human rights abuse.
We observed a striking absence of women at a senior level in the companies we visited. When we asked for statistics relating to the number of women at senior levels of companies, this information was not available. According to an OECD 2016 survey, the employment rate of women stood at 54.9%, compared to 75.7% for men, and the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2015, ranked South Korea at 115. Main obstacles to the participation of women in the workforce relate to traditional gender roles in society, lack of access to child care, and a significant wage gap, which is the largest amongst OECD countries. A 2014 report produced by the NHRCK showed that 17.4% of female workers have been reported to receive wages that fall below the minimum wage.
While we heard about efforts to improve access to childcare, a more extensive or holistic approach to address discrimination against women would be needed, in line with recommendations to South Korea of the United Nations human rights treaty bodies and the 2012 Universal Period Review.
Quite apart from social and human rights considerations, it does not make good business sense to exclude half of the workforce. As was emphasised by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his keynote address to the Korea Leaders Summit 2015, convened by the UN Global Compact Network Korea, "if you really want to see dynamic growth, put more women in charge." We echo the importance of businesses taking gender equality seriously and we consider that the South Korean economy and society has much to gain from a more balanced approach to gender representation at senior levels of all companies, large and small, and SOEs.
Guiding Principle 4 provides that States should take "additional" steps to protect against human rights abuses by business enterprises that are owned or controlled by the State, as well as by other entities such as export credit agencies that are seen as being closely associated with the State.
The Republic of Korea has more than 40 SOEs that perform important roles in the economy. We note that mechanisms are already in place through which the Government can oversee and promote ethical business practice amongst SOEs. However, more needs to be done to raise awareness about what is expected of these companies in terms of human rights due diligence in line with the UN Guiding Principles.
The Korean National Pension Fund (NPF) is the third largest pension fund in the world with a fund reserve of 524 trillion KRW. The NPF is a signatory to the UN Principles on Responsible Investment which means that it should incorporate environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes, and seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which it invests. We encourage the Government (in particular through the Ministry of Health and Welfare which has oversight of the NPF) to provide guidance with regard to the expectation that the NPF should apply a human rights due diligence approach across its investments.
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) as executor of the Korea Economic Development Co-operation Fund, conducts appraisals of loan requests, conclusion of loan agreements, disbursement of loans, and evaluates economic aid projects in developing countries. We heard reports of an absence of human rights safeguards and human rights impacts of projects for which loans have been made. We encourage the Eximbank to develop environmental and social safeguards in line with international human rights standards through a transparent and consultative process.
We were pleased to hear that the Korea Exchange joined the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative last year. The Korea Exchange uses the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Korea. RobecoSAM, along with the Korea Productivity Center, evaluates non-financial elements of 200 companies listed on the Korean Exchange. Since April 2016, the questionnaire sent to companies includes specific questions on human rights due diligence explicitly based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Public procurement is handled by the Public Procurement Service. We learned that on 27 January 2016 the Partial Revision of Government Procurement Act was passed which enables the head of the Public Procurement Service to reflect social and environmental values, such as the environment, human rights, labour, fair trade, and consumer protection, in the procurement process in order to promote corporate social responsibility. However, there is no mandatory requirement for human rights and associated values to be considered as part of a procurement process. In order to entrench human rights in public procurement bidding processes, and promote policy coherence, we urge the Government to provide criteria for the evaluation of non-financial factors, and take steps to legally require disclosure of human rights and social and environmental factors during public procurement bidding processes so that performance in relation to those factors, and not just cost, determine which bidder wins the contract.
We consider that the OECD National Contact Point (NCP) can play an important role in addressing cases of business-related human rights abuse in the operations of South Korean companies outside the country. As the Guiding Principles are incorporated into the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises chapter on human rights, the NCP also serves as a grievance mechanism for the Guiding Principles.
While the NCP has been subject to some recent positive reform, such as including in its work independent experts, and the Ministry for Environment and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, further progress, on the basis of international good practice, is needed. It is crucial that the NCP be both impartial, and perceived as such. The composition and location of the NCP needs to retain the confidence of all stakeholders, including civil society and trade unions. As per theCommentary on the Implementation Procedures of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, it is good practice for NCPs to "establish multi-stakeholder advisory or oversight bodies to assist NCPs in their tasks" and we suggest that setting up a multi-stakeholder advisory group would be useful for the NCP and would enable it to seriously engage with critical voices.
Under South Korean civil and criminal law, companies can be held liable for human rights abuse, including in cases of human rights abuse committed by a South Korean company abroad. To date, no company has been tried or found liable under civil law before national courts for human rights abuse related to its operations abroad. However, one such case has now been brought before Seoul Central District Court. A South Korean law firm, with the support of the Clinical Legal Education Center (CLEC) of Korea University School of Law, is representing 20 persons in a claim for compensation related to the purchase of land by POSCO Daewoo Corporation in 2010 for its activities in Myanmar. We look forward to the outcome of this case.
We consider that training about the Guiding Principles for the judiciary is essential to sensitise the judiciary and advance progress on the use of the Guiding Principles in cases concerning South Korean companies in the South Korean courts.
While operational grievance mechanisms are not meant to substitute for judicial mechanisms, in cases of serious human rights abuse, they can play an important role in providing access to remedy for individuals or communities who are adversely affected by a business enterprise. Similarly, they can provide a vital means for a company to become aware of matters within its business that it would otherwise not know about. Improved and enhanced grievance mechanisms need to be run by all companies operating in the country, and also by all South Korean companies operating overseas. This includes facilitating whistle-blower programmes, and developing a complaints handling process that is open to everyone involved, including workers in a companies' supply chain.
We recognise the important work undertaken on business and human rights issues by the NHRCK and consider that the mandate of the NHRCK could be usefully expanded to enable it to consider all business related human rights harms caused by private enterprises, not just issues relating to discrimination, as is currently the case.
We see a need for improved coordination and dialogue on business and human rights issues. There is a need to improve coordination amongst Government agencies and to allow for multi-stakeholder dialogue, involving Government, business and civil society which would enable the voices of the most vulnerable to be heard. The development of a National Action Plan on business and human rights based on the Guiding Principles is an opportunity to strengthen coordination and policy coherence. As the Government considers the recommendation due to be made by the NHRCK to undertake a NAP, we would like to stress the importance of involving in the NAP process the agencies that deal directly with the public sector and private businesses. We encourage the Government to use the NAP guidance prepared by the Working Group. As the guidance document underlines, NAPs "need to be developed in inclusive and transparent processes. Interested stakeholders need to be allowed to participate in the development, and update, of the NAP and their views need to be taken into account. Information needs to be shared transparently at all stages of the process".
We have been encouraged to see that there is a political commitment to improve the situation with regard to business and human rights issues, and that many Government institutions and some businesses share this commitment. However, the implementation of the Guiding Principles has been limited to date and more needs to be done, both by the Government and businesses, private and public, to strengthen the protection against business-related human rights abuse at home and abroad.
All companies need to do human rights due diligence concerning their operations, including in relation to subsidiaries and suppliers overseas, so as to be able to both "know and show" that they are aware of the risks of adverse human rights impacts. Effective stakeholder engagement, especially with marginalised workers and members of affected communities, is vital. Steps must be taken to give victims of adverse business-related human rights impacts access to remedy and existing mechanisms, such as the NCP, should be strengthened. Justice delayed is justice denied and it is not acceptable for victims to have to wait for years for compensation to which they are entitled, either from companies or the Government. It is imperative that proper health and safety standards are adhered to and effectively enforced. Similarly, when things go wrong, it must be made easier for workers to claim the occupational insurance to which they are entitled and companies need to take responsibility for adverse human rights impacts in their supply chains.
While the Working Group has ended its visit, we will continue to collect information over the coming months as we write our report to be presented to the Human Rights Council in June 2017. It will contain concrete recommendations for the Government and business enterprises, as well as other stakeholders. We hope these will be useful to efforts to protect against and address adverse impacts of business activities on human rights.


Family Art Activity | Northgate Apartments | Arts & Crafts | Kids VT - small people, big ideas!
When: Sat., April 27, 1-3 p.m.
Families drop in and join artist Sabah Abbas for an activity focused on home and community. All ages.


The Bilingual International School of Paris is committed to providing students with a first-rate bilingual education right in the heart of Paris that is in line with the best the French and English-based educational systems have to offer.
Founded by parents from the Paris international expatriate community, the Bilingual International School of Paris draws on the diversity and cultural richness of Paris to provide academic and extracurricular opportunities that prepare children to engage in today's globalized world.
How does bilingual education change thoughts ?
Will English still be the dominant language in 2050?
1 BISP provides its students with a 1st rate bilingual education.
12 Up to twelve students per class at BISP.
100 BISP is 100% bilingual.
25 Nationalities represented at BISP.


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Atlas-Imperial Diesel Engine Company was an American manufacturer of diesel engines based in Oakland, California. The company was created in 1916 when two early gasoline engine companies combined to manufacture diesel engines, following the expiration of Rudolph Diesel's patents.

The company made diesels for tugboats, fishboats, coasters, yachts, lightvessels, and other ships.  The company produced engines in a variety of sizes and ratings, from a 2-cylinder model that generated  to an 8-cylinder model that generated .  Known for their reliability and serviceability, Atlas diesels were installed in workboats around the world.  While the Atlas-Imperial factory closed in the 1950s, its engines continued to power vessels well into the era of high-speed, small-cylinder diesel technology.  Today, numerous Atlas Imperial engines remain, with some still in operational condition.

Sources

External links
 Information about Atlas-Imperial diesel engines on Old Tacoma Marine Inc

Engine manufacturers of the United States
Marine engine manufacturers
Manufacturing companies based in Oakland, California
Marine diesel engines

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Natalie Portman Narrated Vegan Documentary 'Eating Animals' to Hit Theaters in June
Jill Ettinger
Editor-in-Chief | Los Angeles, CA | Contactable via: jill@livekindly.com
Jill has spent more than a decade immersed in digital publishing and storytelling with a focus on the global food system and how it intersects with our cultural traditions, ethics, diet preferences, health, and politics. Her work has been featured in The Huffington Post, MTV, and the Village Voice.
"Eating Animals," the highly-anticipated feature-length adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's critically-acclaimed 2009 book of the same name, will hit U.S. theaters on June 15th, the filmmakers said in a press release today. The film is co-produced and narrated by Academy Award winner and fellow vegetarian, Natalie Portman who contacted Safran Foer after reading his book.
Directed and produced by Christopher Quinn (Sundance award winner "God Grew Tired of Us"), "Eating Animals" takes viewers on a journey through the farming system that processes more than 50 billion animals a year — both through massive factory farms that house tens of thousands of animals, and smaller family-owned farms. Safran Foer, best known as a novelist ("Everything Is Illuminated", "Extremely Loud, Incredibly Close", "Here I Am" ) found himself wondering where eggs, dairy, and meat products come from as he oscillated between an omnivorous and vegetarian diet. Once he became a parent, the questions about our food system became more pressing, and eventually the fodder for the book that took him on a years-long journey of discovery.
"Through the intimate narratives of several farmers dedicated to bringing their trade – and the way we eat – back to its roots, the film explores the notion of stepping away from the practices of the past 40 years that have polluted our environment, endangered our health, and caused us all to be complicit in the inhumane treatment of animals," the film description notes. "Looking at the costs we've incurred as our country has become dominated by massive industrial complexes designed to feed the masses, 'Eating Animals' paints a picture of a future where traditional farming is no longer a distant memory, but is instead the only way forward."
The film has already received high praises as one of the Sundance Selects chosen films.
"We could not be more thrilled to partner with the incredible team of Natalie Portman, Christopher Dillon Quinn and Jonathan Safran Foer to release what we consider to be one of the most important documentaries of our time," Sundance Selects/IFC Films co-presidents Jonathan Sehring and Lisa Schwartz said in a statement last year. "Eating Animals is a thoughtful and essential examination into where our food comes from and how we might make changes that will result in better practices for both humans and the animals themselves."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


More than 2 hours of engaging and detailed tutorials for each section of documentation.
Templates are in MS Word/Excel for ease of customizing.
Downloaded documents are licensed to one facility.
This course is for the Practitioner, and anyone who needs to document an SQF food safety system for their company.
Each section of the requirements is explained in detail in a video tutorial. You will learn what your team needs to do in order to meet the requirements of the code and how to document your process. Learn how to set up a team so you have input from the relevant areas in the company. Get an overview of what the team will address, how to develop your process and document it in the procedure. Videos are designed to show to your team at the start of your first team meeting for each section. Your trainer, Registered SQF Consultant, Cynthia Weber, will clearly communicate the requirements, process and tasks to the team as well as answer common questions. It is just like having your own consultant at each meeting.
Download an implementation plan for each section to help the Practitioner lead the team as they customize the procedure to meet the SQF requirements.
Download a document checklist for each procedure. Use this to confirm that your process meets the requirements of the code.
The documents are licensed for use in one facility. They may be shared within the facility.
This list is for Manufacturers, the version for Manufacturers of Packaging Materials varies slightly.
This course takes about 3 hours to complete.
THANK YOU! for creating this set of templates, document examples and tutorials! I have struggled with developing forms and this is a huge time-saver! Again, THANK YOU!!!
Good course and excellent document templates.
Excellent material. Videos and templates worked great in our Food Safety Project.
The package to me was a big help made me understand what needs to be done for the SQF System a lot better and saved me time on setting up the whole system from scratch A+.
We are moving forward with our SQF implementation using the Premium Package trainings and documents. We have top management directly involved and that is because of the information and structure your program provided.
You may login to the course an begin right away. You can log in and out at your convenience and complete the course as you have time. Your account is set up to give you 90 days access. However, the downloads are yours to keep forever.


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Million Dollar Scratchcard
Monday May 25th 2009
A million dollar scratchcard prize has been won by a New York Lottery player who bought two $5 tickets for The Price Is Right instant win game. Betty Lou Ross, who is 70 years old and lives in Niagara County, had visited a store to buy tickets for the Mega Millions game, but she decided to have a go at The Price Is Right scratchcard as well.
The first ticket that Betty played didn't win her anything, but the second one won her the top prize of $1,000,000. All New York Lottery prizes are paid in twenty annual instalments, so Betty will receive $50,000 (around $33,015 after taxes) every year until 2029.
After the million dollar scratchcard win, Betty said that her success had given her a new lease of life. "I feel like I can do anything now," she said, and now that she has won a million dollar prize we don't doubt it!
The New York Lottery was established over 40 years ago, and is currently the biggest and most profitable state lottery in the USA. The money it raises from the sale of lottery tickets is used to fund educational programmes, and a whopping $36.7 billion has been raised so far. $2.54 billion of that was raised in the 2008-09 fiscal year alone.
Although many players, like Betty, focus on the Mega Millions multi-state lottery, the New York Lottery offers its own 6 from 49 Lotto game as well as a wide selection of scratchcards costing anything from $1 to $30. And as Betty's success playing The Price Is Right has demonstrated, it isn't necessary to buy the most expensive ticket to win a million!
If you don't live in New York state then you can't participate in The Price Is Right game, but you can participate in the New York Lotto if you buy lottery tickets online. You can also participate in the massively popular Mega Millions game in the same way. Those of you who prefer lottery scratchcard games will find a large range of games that you can play for free or for cash prizes on our own Scratchcards page.


The essay portion of the GED will require you to compose a short essay on a pre-selected topic. The essay will be either a narrative, descriptive, or persuasive essay. Narrative essays require you to tell a story from your own life. Descriptive essays require you to paint a picture for your audience by focusing on individual characteristics. Persuasive essays require you to express your personal opinion on a topic. Each essay type will require a strong thesis and several well-developed paragraphs. You may ONLY write on the assigned topic, so it's helpful to practice writing several essays from multiple practice topics. Set a timer for 45-minutes, and try your hand at one of the GED essay topics below!
1. What is the true meaning of honesty? In your essay, determine whether or not honesty is always the best policy.
2. What is one event from your life that taught you a powerful life lesson? Use your personal observations and experience to describe why that lesson was valuable.
3. Who is the most important member of your family to you? Describe your relationship to this person and your reasons for selecting him or her.
4. Consider how our society has changed over time. Are young people today better off than they were in the past? Write an essay explaining why or why not.
5. Is the current high school system sufficient to educate our country's youth? Describe what is valuable about our country's system or what might be changed in order to produce better results.
6. Do hobbies have any real value to the individuals who participate in them? If so, how do extracurricular activities benefit participants? Write an essay describing your own activities outside of school and work.
7. If you won the lottery today, what aspects of your life would you change? What would you keep the same? Write an essay discussing your ideas. Support them with reasons and examples.
8. What can be done to prevent drivers from texting while driving? Give suggestions and examples to support your opinion.
9. Is a college degree important in today's workplace? Describe your opinions on the value of higher education, and use details from your own life.
10. The Internet is an invention that has done irreparable harm to our collective ability to engage in long-term research. How do you think that the benefits of instantaneous information provided by the Internet compare with the potential drawbacks of shortened attention spans?
11. Do you most admire people your own age or people older than you? Write an essay explaining what you think, and give specific examples of an individual you admire, and the reasons you admire him or her.
12. In your opinion, should schools require students to complete a minimum number of community service hours? Discuss whether you believe mandatory community service would benefit most young people.
13. If you could live in another time period, when would it be and why? Be sure to include relevant historical details.
14. Describe a situation in which you made a difficult decision involving an ethical issue. Show how the experience was important and developed your character.
15. Describe one of your most prized possessions. Make sure to isolate three or four different characteristics of the item, and explain why it's important to you.


Richard L. Gilbert has maintained a full-time practice providing a full range of Alternative Dispute Resolution Services since 1994. Judge Gilbert served as Judge of the Superior Court from 1983-1991, with assignments as Presiding Judge, law and motion judge, and in general trial departments. Before appointment to the bench, Judge Gilbert was the elected District Attorney of Yolo County, practiced privately with a general practice firm in Sacramento and served as a deputy district attorney. Before beginning his current practice in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Judge Gilbert was legal counsel for and directly involved in business development and management for several private concerns, including two NASDAQ listed companies.
Amanda C. Gilbert joins the firm after service as a Deputy District Attorney in Sacramento County. Ms. Gilbert enjoyed jury trial and other varied litigation experience in Sacramento County and with the Placer County District Attorney. Ms. Gilbert is a graduate of McGeorge School of Law, where her studies included Alternative Dispute Resolution. Her current practice includes mediation of civil matters and attorney staff support for Judge Gilbert in the management of complex and multi-party litigation.
Ms. Gilbert also serves as Managing Attorney, evaluating how we can best serve our clients. She also coordinates scheduling and makes and confirms all necessary arrangements for our clients and assists in case management of ongoing matters.


SILICON SLOPES, Utah – May 12, 2016 – Today Domo announced that Colony American Finance, provider of acquisition loans, long-term debt financing for portfolios, and nonrecourse residential real estate financing for investors, has chosen Domo to improve the way its business is managed.
As a company fully leveraging cloud-based technology, the team at Colony American Finance needed a comprehensive enterprise platform to acquire, integrate, disseminate and synthesize data points from platforms like Salesforce, Facebook, Pardot, Twitter, LinkedIn, Zillow and other critical business and marketing applications. Significant time was spent acquiring and analyzing data and information to understand what was happening across the business.
"Before Domo, we had to login to more than a dozen disparate technology applications and download data to manually create reports to provide a holistic view of our data," said Matthew March, CIO at Colony American Finance.
Domo provides a cloud-based business optimization platform with built-in data connectors that can easily pull together data from multiple data sources, expediting the company's time-to-market. It also provides the ability to deliver reports to executives and employees on the ground faster than ever before and helps drive profitability and customer reach.
By leveraging Domo's cloud-based platform, Colony American Finance achieved a positive return on their investment in under four months of using Domo. In addition, they avoided ongoing annual operational costs for IT engineering support staff to implement and maintain a traditional, internally hosted, enterprise data warehouse solution and business intelligence platform. Now, it has the right tools to query data in meaningful ways and draw on insights to provide better financial solutions to their customers.
To learn more about how Colony American Finance and other cutting edge organizations are using Domo to get more value from their business data, visit Domo.com/customers.
Colony American Finance is a specialty finance company that provides a range of debt products to residential real estate investors. The company offers portfolio and single asset term loans for stabilized rental properties as well as short term credit lines for acquisitions. CAF was founded in 2014 to finance single family, townhome, condo and small multifamily properties for customers nationwide. Its products are tailor-made for investors and it provides attractive rates, rapid timelines and closing certainty. The company works directly with borrowers as well as with brokers and correspondent partners. For more information, visit www.colonyamericanfinance.com.


text:
Home international news
Israel inked $82.9 million in investment deal during Duterte visit
international, news 12:03 AM
On Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte traveled to Jordan on a high note in the wake of packing $82.9 million in new venture understandings amid his official visit to Israel. The arrangements incorporated the conveyance of Century canned fish items inside the Israeli and Palestinian Authority, formation of a nearby office to fabricate weapons, advancement of strategic vehicles, and improvement of military and insight items and equipment, authorities said.
These were marked amid the President's discussion with Israeli agents on Tuesday and anticipated that would create 790 occupations. Talking at the King David Hotel, the President said he was not a despot and welcomed the agents to put resources into the Philippines.
Image from Presidential Communications
He committed a lot of his discourse to clarifying his merciless crackdown on drugs that has drawn universal judgment. He got a for the most part warm welcome from the administration yet was welcomed with challenges outside the Israeli presidential living arrangement.
He said, "try not to have faith in that thing that I am there to be a despot. I will go down on the day my term closes". The President said he was confronting numerous inconveniences, including human rights bunches denouncing his war on drugs, however he made it unmistakable he is a Christian and trusts in the holiness of life.
He stated that "he can never endure banditry, the Isis thing of simply murdering individuals kids and all", including: "he just slaughter offenders. What's more, on the off chance that you ask him now, yes he does" --- based on news media site.
The Philippine pioneer told the group of onlookers that on the off chance that they discovered trouble in working together in Manila, they could set a gathering with him even amidst the night. He said he would "slap" the individuals who coerced from them. The President will be on an official visit to Jordan on the welcome of King Abdullah II. He will meet with the lord on Thursday at the Al Huseinieh Palace Courtyard and Jordanian agents at a gathering later.


text:
UT Physicians' Sheila M. Coogan, M.D. (Credit: Lorenz Meyer, UTHealth)
UT Physicians offers no-cost varicose vein screenings Nov. 10 in Bellaire
By uthealthhouston October 29, 2018
People concerned about varicose or spider veins in their legs can get a no-cost screening and consultation from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, at the UT Physicians Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery clinic, 6700 Loop SW, Freeway Suite 110. Appointments are required and parking is free.
"The screenings are being offered to the Houston community at no cost in an effort to assess, educate and prevent peripheral arterial disease," said Sheila M. Coogan, M.D., the clinic's vein specialist and an associate professor of cardiovascular medicine with McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
The screenings/consultations take 20 minutes, are painless and can be scheduled by calling 713-500-VEIN (8346). Not limited to unsightly varicose veins, surgeons will also check for other vascular issues.
It is estimated that one in five adults will get varicose veins. Factors contributing to varicose veins include a person's lifestyle, activity level, genetics, occupation and age.
In addition to being a medical issue, varicose veins can make people feel self-conscious. For example, some people quit wearing shorts or skirts. Others avoid activities such as swimming. Varicose veins can also be painful.
While recommended for everyone, the screenings are particularly important for tobacco users, women and individuals with a family history of varicose veins. Other warning signs of varicose veins include aching legs, swollen ankles, spider veins, numbness or tingling in toes, discoloration in legs and snake-like visible veins in legs.
Coogan, a 1991 graduate of McGovern Medical School, specializes in minimally invasive procedures. She has published numerous articles on vascular surgery.
UT Physicians, one of Houston's largest physician practices, offers multi-disciplinary medical care at its flagship location in the Texas Medical Center, as well as at community-based health centers throughout Southeast Texas. The team of internationally recognized medical experts includes more than 1,500 clinicians certified in 80 medical specialties and subspecialties. UT Physicians is the clinical practice of McGovern Medical School at UTHealth.


text:
Home Security National Security Stratfor: The Russian Gas Trap
Stratfor: The Russian Gas Trap
At the time of this writing, the natural gas crisis in Europe is entering its 13th day.
While the topic has only penetrated the Western mind as an issue in recent years, Russia and Ukraine have been spatting about the details of natural gas deliveries, volumes, prices and transit terms since the Soviet breakup in 1992. In the end, a deal is always struck, because Russia needs the hard currency that exports to Europe (via Ukraine) bring, and Ukraine needs natural gas to fuel its economy. But in recent years, two things have changed.
First, Ukraine`s Orange Revolution of 2004 brought to power a government hostile to Russian goals. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko would like to see his country integrated into the European Union and NATO; for Russia, such an evolution would be the kiss of death.
Ukraine is home to most of the infrastructure that links Russia to Europe, including everything from pipelines to roads and railways to power lines. The Ukrainian and Russian heartlands are deeply intertwined; the two states` industrial and agricultural belts fold into each other almost seamlessly.
Eastern Ukraine is home to the largest concentration of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers anywhere in the world outside Russia. The home port of Russia`s Black Sea Fleet is at Sevastopol on Ukraine`s Crimean Peninsula, a reminder that the Soviet Union`s port options were awful — and that Russia`s remaining port options are even more so.
Ukraine hems in the south of European Russia so thoroughly that any hostile power controlling Kiev could easily threaten a variety of core Russian interests, including Moscow itself. Ukraine also pushes far enough east that a hostile Kiev would sever most existing infrastructure connections to the Caucasus.
Simply put, a Ukraine outside the Russian sphere of influence transforms Russia into a purely defensive power, one with little hope of resisting pressure from anywhere. But a Russified Ukraine makes it possible for Russia to project power outward, and to become a major regional — and potentially global — player.
The second change in recent years is that Russia now has an economic buffer, meaning it can tolerate a temporary loss in natural gas income. Since Vladimir Putin first came to power as prime minister in 1999, every government under his command has run a hefty surplus.
By mid-2008, Russian officials were regularly boasting of their $750 billion in excess funds, and of how Moscow inevitably would soon become a global financial hub. Not surprisingly, the 2008-2009 recession has deflated this optimism to some extent. The contents of Moscow`s piggy bank already have dropped by approximately $200 billion. Efforts to insulate Russian firms and protect the Rouble have taken their financial toll, Russia`s 2009 budget is firmly in deficit, and all talk of a Russian New York is on ice.
But Russia`s financial troubles pale in comparison to its neighbours` problems — not in severity, but in impact. Russia is not a developed country, or even one that, like the states of Central Europe, is seriously trying to develop. A capital shortage simply does not damage Russia as it does, say, Slovakia. And while Russia has not yet returned to central planning, rising government control over all sources of capital means the Russia of today has far more in common economically with the Soviet Union than with even the Russia of the 1990s, much less the free-market West.
In relative terms, the recession actually has increased relative Russian economic power — and that says nothing about other tools of Russian power. Moscow`s energy, political and military levers are as powerful now as they were during the August 2008 war with Georgia.
This is a very long-winded way of saying that before 2004, the Russian-Ukrainian natural gas spat was simply part of business as usual. But now, Russia feels that its life is on the line, and that it has the financial room to manoeuvre to push hard — and so, the annual ritual of natural gas renegotiations has become a key Russian tool in bringing Kiev to heel.
And a powerful tool it is. Fully two-thirds of Ukraine`s natural gas demand is sourced from Russia, and the income from Russian natural gas transiting to Europe forms the backbone of the Ukrainian budget.
Ukraine is a bit of an economic basket case in the best of times, but the global recession has essentially shut down the country`s steel industry, Ukraine`s largest sector. Russian allies in Ukraine, which for the time being include Yushchenko`s one-time Orange ally Yulia Timoshenko, have done a thorough job of ensuring that the blame for the mass power cuts falls to Yushchenko.
Facing enervated income, an economy in the doldrums and a hostile Russia, along with all blame being directed at him, Yushchenko`s days appear to be numbered. The most recent poll taken to gauge public sentiment ahead of presidential elections, which are anticipated later this year, put Yushchenko`s support level below the survey`s margin of error.
Even if Yushchenko`s future were bright, Russia has no problem maintaining or even upping the pressure. The Kremlin would much rather see Ukraine destroyed than see it as a member of the Western clubs, and Moscow is willing to inflict a great deal of collateral damage on a variety of players to preserve what it sees as an interest central to Russian survival.
Europe has been prominent among these casualties. As a whole, Europe imports one-quarter of the natural gas it uses from Russia, and approximately 80 percent of that transits Ukraine. All of those deliveries now have been suspended, resulting in cutoffs of various degrees to France, Turkey, Poland, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Serbia and Bulgaria — in rough order of increasing severity.
Reports of both mass power outages and mass heating failures have been noted in the countries at the bottom half of this list.
A variety of diversification programs have put Europe well on its way to removing its need for Russian natural gas entirely, but these programs are still years from completion. Until then, not much can be done for states that use natural gas for a substantial portion of their energy needs.
Unlike coal, nuclear energy or oil, natural gas can be easily shipped only via pipeline to previously designated points of use. This means the decision to link to a supplier lasts for decades and is not easily adjusted should something go wrong.
Importing natural gas in liquid form requires significant skill in cryogenics as well as specialised facilities that take a couple of years to build (not to mention a solid port). Alternate pipe supply networks, much less power facilities that use different fuels, are still more expensive and require even more time.
All European countries can do in the immediate term is literally rely upon the kindness of strangers until the imbroglio is past or a particularly creative solution comes to mind. (Poland has offered several states some of its share of Russian natural gas that comes to it via a Belarusian line.)
Some Central European states are taking the unorthodox step of recommissioning mothballed nuclear power plants.
Because Russia`s goal in all this is to crack Kiev, there is not much any European country can do. But one nation, Germany, is certainly trying. Of the major European states, Germany is the most dependent upon Russian resources in general, and energy in particular.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Putin spent three nights this past week on the phone with each other discussing the topic, and the pair has a two-day summit set for later this week. The Germans have three primary reasons for cozying up to the Russians at a time when it seems they should be as angry as anyone else in Europe.
First, because most of the natural gas Germany gets from Russia passes not through Ukraine, but through Belarus — and because the Russians have not interrupted these secondary flows — the Germans desperately want to avoid rocking the boat and politicizing the dispute any more than necessary. The Germans need to engage the Russians in discussion, but unlike most other players, they can afford not to be accusatory, because they have not been too deeply affected so far. (Like all the other Europeans, the Germans are working feverishly to diversify their energy supplies away from Russia, but while Berlin can keep the lights on, it doesn`t want to ruffle any more feathers than it needs to.)
Second, as any leader of Germany would, Merkel recognizes that if current Russian-Western tensions devolve into a more direct confrontation, the struggle would be fought disproportionately with German resources — and perhaps even on German soil. Germany is the closest major power to Russia and would therefore be the focus of any major action, Russian or Western, offensive or defensive. France, the United Kingdom and the United States enjoy the buffer of distance — and in the case of the last two, a water buffer to boot. German national interest, therefore, is not to find a way to fight the Russians, but to find a way to live with them. Germany traditionally has been Russia`s largest trading partner. Every time the two have clashed, it has been ugly, to say the least. In the German mind, if Ukraine (or perhaps even adjusting the attitude of Poland) is what is necessary to make the Russians feel secure, so be it.
Third, Germany has a European angle to think about. To put it bluntly, Merkel is always on the lookout for any means of easing Germany back into the international community with a foreign policy somewhat more sophisticated than the "I`m sorry" that has reigned since the end of World War II. After the war, France successfully hijacked German submission and used German economic strength to achieve French political desires. Since the Cold War`s end, Germany has slowly wormed its way out of that policy straitjacket, and the natural gas crisis raises an interesting possibility. If Merkel`s discussions with Putin result in restored natural gas flows, then not only will Russia see Germany as a partner, but Germany might win goodwill from European states that no longer have to endure a winter without heat.
Still, it will be a tough sell: the European states between Germany and Russia have always lived in dread that one power or the other — or, God forbid, both — will take them over. But Germany is clearly at the centre of Europe, and all of the states affected by the natural gas crisis count Germany as their largest trading partner. If Merkel can muster sufficient political muscle to complement Germany`s economic muscle, the resulting image of strength and capability would go a long way toward cementing Berlin`s re-emergence.
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The term "acre" gets thrown around a lot in common vernacular, but there are a surprising amount of people who have no idea how big it is.
Originally, an acre referred to the size of an area of land that oxen could plow in a work day. In modern times, we rely on more standardized and exact measurements. It's been determined that an acre is a measurement of square footage — typically found by multiplying an area's length and width — that equals approximately 43,560 square feet. For a more tangible point of reference, an acre is equal to about two-thirds of a football field, end zones included.
How Big is an Acre of Land?
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Find properties of all sizes on our U.S. property search page.


My daughter has yet to meet a dog without some redeemable quality. Every dog regardless of pedigree, grooming, or personality is either the cutest, sweetest, or smartest dog on earth. And if they're not, well, it's not their fault and they deserve an extra dose of love and affection.
Case in point, when choosing a pet to be photographed with during Humane Society day camp, my daughter lovingly chose a large, gray pit bull with one eye. As I looked at the photo of her with an arm draped around it's neck and her face glowing, I both cringed at and admired her for her choice. While I don't share her passion for canines, every dog must have its day, and her 7th birthday had to be a day for dogs.
One of my kids' favorite things to do when dreaming up birthday plans is to choose a color palette and this birthday girl was super specific about the shades she wanted. A trip to the paint aisle to get color chips was helpful and carrying those cards in my purse allowed me to color match to her specific palette whenever I was out shopping. I love how color can unify a theme and make even a few, simple decorations pop.
In order to create a more feminine dog party, I brought in dog show elements using paper medallions and frilly prize ribbons (both vintage and diy ones) in the décor.
The table settings featured miniature dog house candy boxes, and the birthday girl ate from her own fancy dog dish.
No dog party would be complete without the guests of honor (which in our case are stuffed) decked out in party hats. As a surprise for the big day, I designed fancy new kennels for them out of empty Amazon boxes.
Another thing my kids are really specific about is their cake. This year my daughter insisted on a 4-layer vanilla cake, with creamsicle frosting between the layers and I loved how the citrus-y flavor complemented the bright orange colors of her party. To make the creamsicle frosting I used our family's favorite buttercream recipe and added vanilla bean paste, a few tablespoons of orange juice concentrate and a few teaspoons of orange zest, adjusting the flavors until she gave her final approval.
After sweets, we passed out dog noses and the kids had a blast playing a version of Simon says (dog trainer says) and competing in relay races by pushing balls around with their snouts and balancing tennis balls on Frisbees. The noses were such a hit that some wore them for the rest of the party, sometimes resting them on the tops of their heads when they were concentrating like during the draw-a-dog art lesson. It was totally hilarious.
The favorite activity might very well have been when we gave them all a chance to eat like dogs. Bowls of cocoa puffs were devoured by kids on hands and knees as they were given permission to forgo all mealtime manners and lap up their food and slurp up their drink.
In order to truly celebrate my daughter's love of dogs, we made special doggie bags for each party guest to give to their favorite friend, family or neighborhood pet. They braided tug toys and filled their bags with peanut butter & pumpkin dog treats, tennis balls, and mini bones.
After a round of dog Mad Libs, we watched the 1950s version of Shaggy Dog and, as each guest left, they were given a dog pop and a hand selected dog of their own to take home.
24 Comments on "Best In Show ~ Dog Themed Party"
This is such an adorable and fun idea for a birthday party. Love all of the sweet and creative details!!!
Such a cute party! Where did you find the white trophy cups that are holding the dog pops and also the dog house candy boxes?
Thanks Teresa! The candy boxes were an Etsy find (from Bluefin Works) and the trophy cups came from the Threshold line at Target a few years ago.
Oh I just love the details of this amazing party. my lily loves all her animals and this could be perfect for her upcoming birthday.
This has got to be one of the cutest themed birthday party I have seen….magnificent!!!!…..Happy Memorial Day ladies!!!….Incredible job Julie!
Darling theme that every kid would be sure to like and have fun with!
Your daughter has a gift of caring for others already at a young age. A tribute to her patents. Love the theme carries this attribute on. But the cake & cookies are darling. Where did you get the doggie pops in the trophy cups? ?
I think these would be a cute gift.
Happy Birthday to a wonderful young lady..
Oh. My. Gosh! What an ADORABLE idea!! Everything is PERFECTION!!!
This was too, too cute!!!
Where did you get those adorable stuffed animals?
So many great ideas! It looks like the kids had a lot of fun!
Where did you find the stuffed animal dogs used for the favors?
I love the stuffed dogs you used for your party! Where did you purchase them???
Where did you find the doghouse boxes?
I love all of this! We are planning a similar party for my daughter right now. Where did you find the dog party hats and the stickers on the bottles?
What an awesome party idea!! My daughter is having a friend party this weekend and has just changed her mind on the theme. We went from Cheetah's to dogs!! Where did you get the stuffed dogs and the cute little hats for them! Thank you!
What a great idea, my daughter wants a puppy party. Where did you get the stuffed dogs? they look like a perfect size. Thank you!
^^looks like you haven't seen any of these new comments? But I'd also love to know where you found the dogs thank you.


Project 1 Singing and playing rhythms for a performance of an African song This unit aims to improve students confidence in singing and accuracy when playing rhythms.
Project 2 Learning to play melodies on the keyboard and compose a short piece on Garage Band. Students learn keyboard skills and computer skills to improve performance and composition.
Project 3 Taiko drumming and Major scales. The art to Taiko drumming will be taught and used to enhance performance and composition and then students will study the Major scale and use scales to compose.
Project 1 Class ensemble performance and pentatonic scales. The class will record an ensemble performance of a popular song. They will then study Pentatonic scales and create melodies using a pentatonic scale.
Project 2 Taiko drumming and British Folk music. Students continue to study the art of Taiko, developing performance skills. We also study British folk music aiming to perform some famous pieces.
Project 3 Ternary Form. Students compose a piece of music in Ternary form.
Project 1 Taiko and Group performances of popular songs. Taiko sessions focusing on technique and composing their own pieces. Student will also work in groups to perform their own version of a popular song.
Project 2 The 12 bar Blues. A study of the history and traditions of the 12 bar Blues ending in a Blues composition.
Project 3 Stage music. A look at the history of opera and musicals and performing famous melodies from shows.


text:
Q: Second client gets blocked when read from socket inputstream I am sending a nonce to the client, however, the first client works fine. When the second client is running, it is blocked after server sent the encrypted nonce.
ReadByte Method:
private static void readByte(byte[] byteArray, InputStream byteIn, Socket socket) throws Exception{
   int offset = 0;
   int numRead = 0;
   while (offset < byteArray.length && (numRead = byteIn.read(byteArray, offset, byteArray.length - offset)) >= 0){
        offset += numRead;
    }
    if (offset < byteArray.length) {
        System.out.println("File reception incomplete!");
    }
}

EDIT ANSWER
Server:
public class Server2 {
    private static final int NumberOfThreads = 5;
    private static ExecutorService executorService =Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(NumberOfThreads);
    private static final int port = 1111;
    private static ServerSocket serverSocket;
    private static final String privateKeyFile = "privateServer.der";
    private static final String signedCert = "h.crt";

public static void main(String[] args) {
    try{
        serverSocket = new ServerSocket(port);
    }catch (IOException e){
        e.printStackTrace();
    }

    while(true){
        System.out.println("Server is waiting for connection....");
        try {
            final Socket clientSocket = serverSocket.accept();
            System.out.println("connection established....");
            Runnable task = new Runnable() {
                @Override
                public void run() {
                    try {
                        handleClient(clientSocket);
                    }catch (Exception e){
                        e.printStackTrace();
                    }
                }
            };
            executorService.execute(task);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

private static void handleClient(Socket clientSocket) throws Exception{
    //for getting the byte input and output
    OutputStream byteOut = clientSocket.getOutputStream();
    InputStream byteIn = clientSocket.getInputStream();
    //for getting the string input and output
    PrintWriter stringOut = new PrintWriter(clientSocket.getOutputStream(),true);
    BufferedReader stringIn = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(clientSocket.getInputStream()));
    //print out client msg
    System.out.println(stringIn.readLine());
    stringOut.println("From Server: I am Server!");
    stringOut.flush();
    System.out.println("Sent to client: I am Server!");

    //receive nonce from client
    String nonceLen = stringIn.readLine();
    byte[] nonce = new byte[Integer.parseInt(nonceLen)];
    readByte(nonce,byteIn);
    System.out.println("Nonce Received!");

    //get private key from privateServer.der
    PrivateKey privateKey = getPrivateKey();

    //use private key to initialize the encryption mode
    Cipher RSAEncrypt = Cipher.getInstance("RSA/ECB/PKCS1Padding");
    RSAEncrypt.init(Cipher.ENCRYPT_MODE,privateKey);

    //encrypt nonce and send it to the client
    byte[] encryptedNonce = RSAEncrypt.doFinal(nonce);
    stringOut.println(Integer.toString(encryptedNonce.length));
    byteOut.write(encryptedNonce,0,encryptedNonce.length);
    System.out.println(encryptedNonce);
    byteOut.flush();
    System.out.println("Sent to client: encrypted nonce");
    }
}

Client:
public class Client2 {
private static final String server = "localhost";
private static final int port = 1111;
private static final String filePath = "medianFile.txt";
private static final String fileName = "medianFile.txt";
private static final String CAcert = "CA.crt";

public static void main(String[] args) {
    try{
        Socket socket = new Socket(server,port);
        OutputStream byteOut = socket.getOutputStream();
        InputStream byteIn = socket.getInputStream();

        PrintWriter stringOut = new PrintWriter(socket.getOutputStream(),true);
        BufferedReader stringIn = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(socket.getInputStream()));

        stringOut.println("Please prove ur identity!");
        stringOut.flush();
        System.out.println("Sent to server: Please prove ur identity!");

        String r1 = stringIn.readLine();
        System.out.println(r1);

//          send nonce
        byte[] nonce = generateNonce();
        if(r1.contains("I am server")){
            stringOut.println(Integer.toString(nonce.length));
            byteOut.write(nonce);
            byteOut.flush();
            System.out.println("Sent to server: nonce sent!");
        }

//          get encrypted nonce from server
        String encryptedNonceLen = stringIn.readLine();
        byte[] encryptedNonceBytes = new byte[Integer.parseInt(encryptedNonceLen)];
        readByte(encryptedNonceBytes,byteIn,socket);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


How does Birth to 3 Work?
The Early Intervention Program of Outagamie and Winnebago Counties provides services to children under the age of three who have developmental delays or diagnoses that can result in delays. If a delay is suspected, we prefer a referral for a screening, not an evaluation, unless an evaluation is seen as necessary. The program provides free evaluations for children between birth to age three. If the child is found eligible, there might be a cost share for the program based on the size of the family and their income (view cost share chart). If the child does qualify for the Birth to 3 Program, therapy services are provided in the child's natural environment: home, childcare, relatives' home, etc.
Anyone can refer a child if they suspect that the child has a developmental delay. Parent permission is not required for a referral, but it is preferred that parents are aware of the referral. The Birth to 3 Program of Outagamie and Winnebago Counties recommends that you make a referral to other specialists as necessary at the same time as a Birth to 3 referral. For example, for any condition associated with a possible hearing loss (i.e. speech/language delay) we recommend a simultaneous referral to an audiologist.
When children are referred to the Birth to 3 Program, a decision is made whether to conduct a screening or to begin the early intervention evaluation process. An evaluation would also be conducted when the referral specifically requests one. A screening would be conducted when there is some question about a child's development but more information is needed. An evaluation would be conducted when there is a clear concern about a child's development and there is reason to believe a child will meet Birth to 3 eligibility criteria.
Please click on the "Make a Referral" button or print out the referral form below if you feel a referral is necessary for a child in your care. You can also navigate to the Eligibility and Developmental Information pages to help you determine if a referral or evaluation is necessary.


Figures released by SQM Research reveal that the level of residential property listings around the nation rose substantially during the month of November, with national stock levels increasing by 6.3% and coming to a total of 369,057.
Year on year, stock is still down marginally, revealing a -2.4% decrease on a national level since November 2012.
SQM Research has observed that there are certain factors which need to be taken into account in regards to this monthly rise; firstly that there were five weekends during the month of November, rather than the usual four, and secondly – the issue of seasonality.
Total online residential listings increased during the month of November, recording a rise of 6.3% and coming to a total of 369,057.
This figure represents a decrease of -2.4% when compared to the corresponding period of the previous year (November 2012).
Sydney recorded the highest monthly rise in listings, increasing by 12.8% during November and coming to a total of 27,840.
No capital cities recorded monthly declines in stock levels, however Darwin recorded the most modest monthly increase, rising by 3.8% during November and coming to a total of 1,456.
Darwin was the only capital city to record a yearly increase in stock levels, climbing 14.3% since the corresponding period of the previous year (November 2012).
Sydney has once again recorded the most substantial yearly decrease in stock levels, falling by -13.4% since the corresponding period of the previous year (November 2012).
It is the opinion of SQM Research where seasonality is concerned, that the "Spring Selling Season" has hit later in the year than usual, with a market uptick in sales listings – especially in Sydney which revealed a 12.8% monthly increase in stock levels during November 2013.
What must also be taken into consideration is that each capital city continues to tell its own story, rather than the national figure reflecting the state of the overall market as a whole.
Indeed this house price recovery continues to be quite locality sensitive with Darwin going against the grain of all other cities (in particular Sydney), recording a 14.3% yearly rise in stock levels.
No doubt, the disruption of the election in September created a lag effect in listings which is coming through now so it is no surprise listings had a large jump in November. Plus, we also had five weekends during the month which added to our monthly counts.
Seasonally, listing activity is very strong in the later spring months and is the prime reason why there has been a dip in auction clearance rates in recent weeks. So for now I am not concerned about any new slowdown in the market.


MOTION's aural/sonic works span the realms of word, sound and drama. Her lyrical agility has taken her to the stages of Manifesto, the Caribbean International Literary Festival, Toronto's Nuit Blanche, CBC Television, Illinois Hip Hop & Punk Feminisms Symposium, Trinidad & Tobago's Cascadoo Festival and HBO Def Poetry Jam. Her theatrical works have been staged at Factory Theatre, bcurrent's Rock.Paper.Sistaz Festival, Buzz Festival at Theatre Passe Murialle and Obsidian's International Black Playwrights Festival.
Motion is Resident alumna of the renowned Canadian Film Centre, and has been Obsidian Theatre's Playwright-in-Residence, and a resident of the Banff Centre for the Arts' Playwrights Colony in 2013, where she developed the dramatic suite 4OUR WOMAN. Her award-winning production ANEEMAH'S SPOT debuted at Summerworks 2012. She went on write the critically acclaimed site-specific theatrical co-creation NIGHTMARE DREAM, which premiered in the 2014 TD Then & Now Festival. The 2nd work in the Nightmare Dream trilogy BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, will have its main stage premier in the 2014-2015 Season. Her inter-disciplinary play ORALTORIO, and films SOUNDGIRL and Aneemah's Spot are now in development.
Motion has published two collections – Motion in Poetry and 40 Dayz (Women's Press). Her work has also been featured in Give Voice (Playwrights Canada), The Great Black North (Frontenac), and In the Black: New African Canadian Literature (Insomniac).
Inspired by her initiation as an arts/mentor with the legendary Fresh Arts Movement, MotionLive continues developing young and emerging talent through her presentation/ workshop series in community, creative and educational spaces such as South Africa's Africa Expo Symposium, Tapestry Theatre, the AMY Project, Trinidad & Tobago's Cascadoo Festival, Toronto Public Library, York University and the TDSB. This year, Motion joins the Hip Hop Curriculum Project in the newly published Rhymes to Re-Education (A Different Publisher).


BitDefender wants its security systems to be quiet so it seems an odd fit that it would brand its products with the wolf-dragon ensign once used by the Dracian army to terrify enemies.
But the Dacian Draco, steeped in Romanian lore, was a symbol of protection and perspicacity and one the company was keen to associate with. It went as far to delay the release of its 2012 products by five months to facilitate the Dracian redesign.
The Draco also polished the patriotic image of BitDefender. The distinctly Romanian company faced intense competition for talent from anti-virus giants like Symantec, McAfee and Kaspersky, and had used its nationalistic image to attract new blood from the country's technical universities into its 550-strong local security research team.
BitDefender, one of the largest companies in Romania, was keen to fund security projects under development in local universities. Its head of threat labs, Catalin Cosoi, said it had recently sponsored a series of cryptography projects run by a team of phD students in the University of Bucharest.
Of those, one examines how cryptography can be used in Google Docs, which Cosoi said may be a forerunner to strong cloud-based encryption, and another is investigating encryption of phone calls from Android handsets.
Years back, BitDefender's software was noisy and complicated. Users, many of whom already considered security systems a pain, had some 20 questions on their technical proficiency to answer before its anti-virus suite would even install.
"Everyone was an expert," Cosoi said. "So we dropped it." The 2012 suite is now a four-step process.
Its firewalls and anti– virus and spam engines were also noisy, and generated notifications for the smallest incidents.
Both the enterprise and consumer systems had been re-engineered. The enterprise system, to be released in around two months, would provide more features to administrators including the ability to shut off services like Facebook from certain users, and support for BYO devices including Apple iPhones and iPads. The consumer product launched in Australia tomorrow was designed to make automatic anti-virus and firewall permission decisions for users based on statistical intelligence.
"We call it auto-pilot, or silent security", Cosoi said.
The redesign was nine months in the making, including what lead software engineer Adrian Lupei said was some painful code analysis and testing.


Fold over hand bag made with natural linen and genuine leather. The strap is detatchable.
All our fabrics are washed prior to sewing.
Second bag I've purchased from this seller. Good quality - great size!
I really like this handbag, very smart looking. The leather is butter soft and the stitching is very precise and the whole bag looks beautifully made. I recommend this product!


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Lil Baby biography, net worth and cars
1. Who is Lil baby?
2. Lil Baby net worth
3. Lil Baby's cars
3.1 2018 Mercedes G550 4X4 Squared
3.2 Dodge Challenger SRT
3.3 Jeep Cherokee
3.4 Rolls-Royce Phantom
3.5 Mercedes Benz AMG GT R
3.6 2018 Corvette C7 ZR1
Dominique Armani Jones popularly known for his stage name Lil Baby is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to stardom in 2017 after the release and success of his mixtape "Perfect Timing". He is undoubtedly one of the most known acts in the trap music in modern time.
Lil Baby's first studio album "Harder Than Ever" was certified RIAA Platinum in 2018, including a collaboration with Drake on the hot single "Yes Indeed". The single was widely accepted as it peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2018, the versatile rapper released 2 mixtape "Street Gossip" and "Drip Harder", which peaked at number 2 and 4 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100.
His second studio album "My Turn" was released in 2020 and had peaked at number 1 on the Billboard 200. Also in June 2020, Lil Baby released another spicy single "We Paid", which rose to become the highest ranking song in his illustrious music career so far.
Lil Baby age and hometown and early life
Lil Baby was born on the 3rd of December 1994 in the Oakland City neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia in the United States. Lil Baby was raised by a single mother since his father left when he was just 2 years old. He had to drop out of ninth grade when he was getting himself into lot of troubles in his high school – Booker T. Washington High School.
Lil Baby was charged in 2012 for illegal possession of drugs (with intent to sell). He was advised by his first legal advocate to take the 2-year plea which he refused vehemently. He decided to try his luck with another lawyer who placed him into one year special program.
The one year deal was cancelled when Lil Baby involved himself in a physical altercation with a white prisoner over an alleged racist comment. He was rearrested in 2014 for possession of marijuana and was incarcerated for another 2 years. He began his professional rap career after serving his jail term.
Lil Baby's "The Bigger Picture" won the BET awards for Impact Track in 2019, and several other nominations. He is unarguably one of the hottest rappers in the United States right now.
Lil Baby girlfriend
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Lil Baby was reportedly in a romantic relationship with one Jayda Cheaves in 2016 and the duo had a child (Jason) together in February 2019. She made an appearance in his 'Close Friends" music video. From a more recent report, Lil Baby and Jayda Cheaves were spotted on multiple times and it seems they are going stronger in their relationship.
Lil Baby tattoo
Shockingly, Lil Baby doesn't have any tattoo on his body despite being a rapper. According to report from a reliable source, the rapper felt he didn't want business-oriented people to visualize him as 'Dope Boy'. Guess the absence of ink on his body was a calculated choice for him.
As at 2020, Lil Baby's net worth is estimated at $4 million. His annual revenue is now put at $1.7 million as at 2019. His income is generated from the sales of his albums, tours and other corporate engagements. He was recently part of the Reebok 'Sole Fury' campaign as an ambassador in promoting the company's new product.
Owning a luxury car should be enough for many, but for someone like Lil Baby, acquiring many expensive wheels is the real deal. His car collection is quite impressive and something worth seeing.
Lil Baby isn't just a prolific rapper; he is also an astute fan of powerful and beautiful luxury cars. What better way to go on endless off-road adventure other than this German G550 4X4 here? The model offers drivers an absolute visibility on the path, regardless of the terrain.
The interior is well styled for such a rugged exterior look. Lil Baby's G550 is a four-wheel drive 5-seat model powered by turbocharged V-8 4.0-liter engine, powerful enough to cough out 416 horsepower.
Buying muscle car is a tradition among rappers in the United States. Lil baby is obviously not going to be left out in the party. He owns a Dodge Challenger SRT.
This is a model that is quite perfect when he feels like being wild or probably getting inspiration for his next trap album. We presume his Challenger SRT without modification will be powered by a supercharged V8 engine producing as much as 797 horsepower and 707 pound feet of torque.
The Jeep Cherokee has been manufactured and distributed by Jeep for more than 5 generations. Lil Baby's Jeep is one of the recent ones, offering amazing off-road capability and comfort on the road. Customers have the option to go for the more powerful turbocharged refined engine. It is also a perfect ride to tow as much as 2,000 pounds.
If Lil baby has intention to move his luxury trailer one time, he doesn't need to worry over which ride in his expensive garage will do the job well.
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One way to announce your success is having this ultra-luxury BMW-owned Rolls Royce truck. Lil Baby is one of the many celebrities who have at least one in their garage. The Roll Royce offers royal treatment on the inside and the outside look is nothing short of elegance.
Only a fragment of the world's population will able to own one in their lifetime. Luckily, huge music success comes with lots of financial goodies, enough to afford one.
If Lil baby is looking for a luxury car in his garage that would deliver a lust worthy combination of thrills, performance and drama, this Mercedes-Benz AMG GT R will do exactly just that. No one can dispute the pedigree of Mercedes when it comes to the production of powerful and attractive models.
Lil Baby's Mercedes Benz AMG GT R is powered by a handcrafted AMG 4.0 –liter V8 bi-turbo engine, producing 577 horsepower. The ride can sprint from zero to 60 mph in a remarkable 3.5 secs. Interestingly, it offers good fuel economy despite the potency of the engine.
The 2-door Corvette C7 ZR1 supercar went on sale in the second quarter of 2018, after making its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It is powered by a LT4 Supercharged V8 6.2–liter engine, generating as much as 755 horsepower and 715 pound feet of torque. The engine is mated to 7-speed manual transmission. The Corvette C7 ZR1 supercar is one of the fast ones in Lil Baby's car collection.
The sky is just the beginning for the young rap act, who has been taking the world music stage by storm. Lil Baby is a super talented rapper and obviously one of the most sought-after artistes for collaboration right now. Like many celebrities out there, he loves a garage packed of luxury cars as well as other beautiful things that define his status.
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