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- FCPA Professor - https://fcpaprofessor.com -
Vitol Resolves Net $90 Million FCPA Enforcement Action For Conduct In Brazil, Ecuador And Mexico
Posted By Mike Koehler On December 7, 2020 @ 12:57 am In 2020 Enforcement Action,Brazil,DOJ Enforcement Action,Ecuador,Foreign Non-Issuer Company,Gaining Access to Confidential Documents,Jurisdiction,Mexico,Oil and Gas Industry,Third Parties,Vitol | Comments Disabled
Last week the DOJ announced [1] that Vitol Inc., the U.S. affiliate of the Vitol group of companies, which together form one of the largest energy trading companies in the world, agreed to resolve a net $90 million FCPA enforcement action for conduct in Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico.
As noted in the DOJ release (and as will be explored in a future post) "Vitol has also agreed to disgorge more than $12.7 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in a related matter and to pay the CFTC a penalty of $16 million related to trading activity not covered" by the DOJ enforcement action.
Under the heading "The Brazil Bribery Scheme" this criminal information [2] alleges:
"In or about and between 2005 and 2014, Vitol, through certain of its employees and agents, knowingly and willfully conspired and agreed with others to corruptly offer and pay more than $8 million in bribes to, and for the benefit of, Brazilian officials to secure an improper advantage in order to obtain and retain business from Petrobras in connection with the purchase and sale of oil products. Vitol and its affiliated companies earned at least $33 million in profits from its corruptly obtained contracts with Petrobras.
In furtherance of the scheme, Vitol and its co-conspirators entered into sham consulting agreements, established a fictitious company to divert funds to offshore shell companies and created fake invoices for purported consulting services and "market intelligence." At times, Vitol and its co-conspirators used the U.S. financial system to transmit bribe payments, including through transactions in the Eastern District of New York, into offshore bank accounts, from which the bribes were paid in cash and/or via electronic wire payments to Brazilian officials."
According to the information:
"Vitol and its co-conspirators caused corrupt payments of more than $3 million to be made to Brazilian Official 1 [described as a fuel oil trader for Petrobras] and at least three other officials at Petrobras in exchange for receiving confidential Petrobras information, including: (i) "market intelligence," which included internal Petrobras import and export forecasts and other confidential information intended to benefit Vitol in trading with Petrobras; and (ii) "last look" information, including confidential bid information that Petrobras received from Vitol's competitors, which Vitol used to determine the amount it would need to bid to win public tenders."
To facilitate and conceal Vitol's corrupt payments, the information alleges that Vitol Brazil Executive (described as a senior manager at Vitol Brazil), with the knowledge of Vitol Trader 1 (a dual citizen of the U.S. and another country and a senior trader at Vitol who had oversight responsibilities for certain aspects of Vitol's operations in Latin America) and Vitol Trader 2 (a U.S. citizen who was a trader at Vitol) used the Brazil Sham Company to invoice Vitol for amounts that would included bribes to be paid to Brazilian Official 1. The information alleges:
"Vitol caused dozens of invoices from Brazil Sham Company to be paid from an account in Switzerland held by Vitol S.A. to other accounts in Switzerland and the United States, ultimately for the payment of cash bribes to Brazilian officials. In general, the funds were then transferred from the accounts in Switzerland and the United States to accounts in the Bahamas and Grand Cayman. These accounts were held by doleiros, who converted the funds into Brazilian currency so that Vitol Brazil Executive could deliver cash to Brazilian Official 1."
The information further alleges:
"While the bribery scheme involving Brazilian Official 1 was ongoing, Vitol also made corrupt bribe payments of more than $5 million to five additional officials at Petrobras, including Brazilian Official 2 [a fuel oil trader for Petrobras who worked in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Houston], Brazilian Official 3 [a trading manager for Petrobras in Rio de Janeiro], Brazilian Official 4 [a fuel oil trader for Petrobras in Rio de Janeiro], Brazilian Official 5 [a trading manager for Petrobras in Rio de Janeiro] and Brazilian Official 6 [a trading manager for Petrobras in Rio de Janeiro]. Vitol paid the bribes to these Brazilian officials through intermediaries, Brazil Consultant 1 and Brazil Consultant 2, in exchange for receiving confidential pricing information that Vitol, at times, used to bid or offer on fuel oil contracts from Petrobras.
Acting on behalf of Vitol, Brazil Consultant 2 engaged in secret negotiations with Brazilian Official 2, through Brazil Consultant 1, to establish corruptly-agreed upon prices for Petrobras contracts that included bribes to the Brazilian officials and commissions to Brazil Consultant 1 and Brazil Consultant 2. After the prices were secretly agreed to pursuant to the corrupt scheme, the parties engaged in sham negotiations to make those negotiations appear legitimate."
"To facilitate and conceal the corrupt bribe payments to Brazilian Official 2, Brazilian Official 3, Brazilian Official 4, Brazilian Official 5 and Brazilian Official 6, Vitol entered into sham consulting agreements with companies controlled by Brazil Consultant 2. Once the trades between Vitol and Petrobras were finalized and the cargoes delivered, Brazil Consultant 2 sent Vitol an invoice for the commissions from Brazil Consultant 2's consulting companies.
In general, upon receiving a payment from Vitol, Brazil Consultant 1 and Brazil Consultant 2 kept a portion of that payment and used the balance to pay bribes to Brazilian Official 2, Brazilian Official 3, Brazilian Official 4, Brazilian Official 5 and Brazilian Official 6 by wire transfer into bank accounts controlled by the Brazilian officials in Uruguay, Brazil and elsewhere. Some of the bribes were also paid in cash."
Under the heading "The Ecuador and Mexico Bribery Scheme," the information alleges:
"In or about and between 2015 and 2020, Vitol, through certain of its employees and agents, knowingly and willfully conspired and agreed with others to corruptly offer and pay more than $2 million in bribes to, and for the benefit of, officials in Ecuador and Mexico to secure an improper advantage in order to obtain and retain business in connection with the purchase and sale of oil products.
In furtherance of the scheme, Vitol and its co-conspirators entered into several sham consulting agreements, set up shell companies for the purpose of laundering the corrupt payments, created fake invoices for purported consulting services and used email accounts with pseudonyms to transfer funds to offshore shell companies involved in the conspiracy. The illegal payments were made through multiple bank accounts in the United States, including in the Eastern District of New York, and abroad in an effort to conceal the bribes."
According to the information "beginning in or about 2015, Vitol, through its employees and agents, including Javier Aguilar [an individual previously criminally charged – see here [4] for the prior post] and Ecuador Consultant 1, agreed to pay bribes to Ecuadorian Official 1 [a senior manager at Petroecuador] and Ecuadorian Official 2 [an individual who held various positions in the Ecuadorian Ministry of Hydrocarbons] in exchange for identifying business opportunities for Vitol and others with Petroecuador and, in some cases, using their influence to ensure Vitol received the benefits of those opportunities."
As to Mexico, the information alleges:
"[F]rom at least in or about and between 2015 and 2020, Vitol, through its employees and agents, used Intermediary 1 to make bribe payments to Mexican officials to receive inside information and obtain business.
For example, in or about 2018, Vitol paid bribes to a Mexican official at a wholly-owned PEMEX subsidiary in order to receive confidential, inside information to help obtain a contract with the PEMEX subsidiary. To effectuate the bribe payments, Vitol caused two Mexican entities to execute sham consulting agreements with shell companies controlled by Intermediary 1.
Pursuant to the sham consulting agreements, the Vitol trader subsequently caused the Mexican entities to create fake invoices that the Vitol trader sent to Intermediary 1. Using the fake invoices to justify the payments, Intermediary 1 wired bribe payments to bank accounts controlled by the Mexican entities for the ultimate benefit of the Mexican official."
The information alleges the following overt acts with a U.S. nexus: a consultant traveling to Houston to meet with executives at Vitol to discuss a potential engagement by Vitol to develop business with Petrobras; wiring money through a correspondent bank or account in the U.S.; and a Vitol Brazil Executive sending an e-mail to Vitol Group employees in Houston.
Based on the above, the DOJ charged Vitol with two counts of conspiracy to violate the FCPA's anti-bribery provisions.
The criminal charges were resolved through this three year deferred prosecution agreement [5]. The DPA sets forth the following "relevant considerations."
"a. the Company did not receive voluntary disclosure credit pursuant to the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy …, or pursuant to the Sentencing Guidelines, because it did not disclose to the Fraud Section and the Office the conduct described in the Statement of Facts;
b. the Company received full credit for its cooperation and Vitol S.A.'s cooperation with the Fraud Section's and the Office's investigation, including: (i) making factual presentations to the Fraud Section and the Office; (ii) voluntarily facilitating the interview in the United States of a former foreign-based employee; (iii) producing to the Fraud Section and the Office, on a prompt basis, relevant documents, including documents located outside the United States, accompanied by translations of documents; and (iv) timely accepting responsibility and reaching a prompt resolution;
c. the Company and Vitol S.A. provided to the Fraud Section and the Office all relevant facts known to them, including information about the individuals involved in the conduct described in the Statement of Facts and conduct disclosed to the Fraud Section and the Office prior to the Agreement;
d. the Company, Vitol S.A. and their affiliates engaged in remedial measures, including personnel changes; implementation of enhanced policies, procedures and internal controls relating to, among other things, anti-corruption, retention and management of commercial agents and other third parties, and gifts, travel and entertainment; internal investigations and risk assessments; and enhancements to training and internal reporting programs;
e. the Company and Vitol S.A. have enhanced and have committed to continuing to enhance their compliance programs and internal controls, including ensuring that their compliance programs satisfy the minimum elements set forth in Attachment C to [the DPA] (Corporate Compliance Program);
f. based on the Company's and Vitol S.A.'s remediation and the state of their compliance programs, and the Company's and Vitol S.A.'s agreement to report to the Fraud Section and the Office as set forth in Attachment D to [the DPA], the Fraud Section and the Office determined that an independent compliance monitor was unnecessary;
g. the nature and seriousness of the offense conduct, as described in the Statement of Facts, including the Company's involvement in schemes to pay millions of dollars to officials of Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico, as well as the duration of the misconduct;
h. the Company has no prior criminal history;
i. the Company has resolved with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") through a cease-and-desist proceeding relating to the conduct described in the Statement of Facts and other conduct, and has agreed to pay $12,791,000 in disgorgement relating to the conduct described in the Statement of Facts and a $16,000,000 penalty relating to trading activity not covered by the Statement of Facts;
j. the Company is entering into a resolution with authorities in Brazil relating to the same conduct described in the Statement of Facts related to Brazil, which the Fraud Section and the Office are crediting in connection with the penalty in this Agreement;
k. the Company has agreed to continue to cooperate with the Fraud Section and the Office in any ongoing investigation …;
l. accordingly, after considering (a) through (k) above, the Fraud Section and the Office believe that the appropriate resolution in this case is a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the Company; a criminal monetary penalty in the amount of $135,000,000, which reflects a discount of 25 percent off the bottom of the otherwise-applicable Sentencing Guidelines fine range; and the Company's and Vitol S.A.'s agreement to report to the Fraud Section and the Office as set forth in Attachment D to [the DPA]."
Pursuant to the advisory guidelines range, the fine range was $180 – $360 million and the DPA states that the Vitol agreed to pay a total monetary penalty of $135 million. Pursuant to the DPA, Vitol will pay the DOJ $90 million with the remaining amount being credited based on a separate resolution with Brazilian authorities that addresses the same underlying conduct related to Brazil.
In the DOJ release, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt stated:
"Over a period of 15 years, Vitol paid millions of dollars in bribes to numerous public officials – in three separate countries – to obtain improper competitive advantages that resulted in significant illicit profits for the company. [This] coordinated resolution with Brazil, along with our first coordinated FCPA resolution with the CFTC, underscores the department's resolve to hold companies accountable for their crimes while, at the same time, avoiding unnecessarily duplicative penalties."
Acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme of the Eastern District of New York stated:
"Vitol paid bribes to government officials in Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico to win lucrative business contracts and obtain competitive advantages to which they were not fairly entitled. The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York will continue to hold accountable companies and individuals that attempt to defy U.S. law to the detriment of honest competitors."
Assistant Director in Charge Kristi Johnson of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office stated:
"This resolution demonstrates the FBI's commitment to investigate foreign corruption and hold accountable those who circumvent laws for financial gain at the expense of American consumers. We'll continue to work with our partners to root out corruption, whether it occurs domestically or abroad, to ensure trust on the international playing field."
In this statement, Russell Hardy (CEO of Vitol) stated:
"Vitol is committed to upholding the law and does not tolerate corruption or illegal business practices. As recognised by the authorities, Vitol has cooperated extensively throughout this process. We understand the seriousness of this matter and are pleased it has been resolved. We will continue to enhance our procedures and controls in line with best practice."
Simpson Thacher attorneys Jeffrey Knox and Joshua Levine represented Vitol.
Elevate Your Research [6]
Article printed from FCPA Professor: https://fcpaprofessor.com
URL to article: https://fcpaprofessor.com/vitol-resolves-net-90-million-fcpa-enforcement-action-conduct-brazil-ecuador-mexico/
[1] announced: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/vitol-inc-agrees-pay-over-135-million-resolve-foreign-bribery-case
[2] this criminal information: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1342901/download
[3] Image: https://www.bdo.com.br/en-gb/services/advisory/frauds,-investigations-and-disputes-(fid))
[4] here: https://fcpaprofessor.com/doj-announces-indictment-oil-trader-connection-alleged-ecuador-bribery-scheme/
[5] this three year deferred prosecution agreement: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1342896/download
[6] Elevate Your Research: http://fcpaprofessor.com/marketplace/
Copyright © 2016 FCPA Professor. All rights reserved.


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Peculiar HLA polymorphisms in Italian patients with primary biliary cirrhosis
Pietro Invernizzi, Pier Maria Battezzati, Andrea Crosignani, Francesca Perego, Francesca Poli, Alberto Morabito, Alejandro Espadas De Arias, Mario Scalamogna, Massimo Zuin, Mauro Podda
Background/Aims: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an autoimmune cholestatic liver disease of unknown etiology with a highly variable progression rate and prevalence among different geographical areas. Data concerning human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms in PBC come from a limited number of geographical areas, from which the association with the HLA-DRB1*08 allele has been consistently reported. Methods: To investigate whether HLA polymorphisms contribute toward disease susceptibility, we compared 186 well-defined Italian PBC patients with 558 healthy subjects matched by age, gender and geographical area (Northern, Central and Southern Italy). Patients and controls were HLA typed at low resolution by PCR-sequence specific oligonucleotides for the loci A and B; HLA-DRB1 alleles were typed by reverse line blot assay of PCR-amplified DNA. Results: HLA-DRB1*11 was associated with a markedly reduced risk of developing PBC (OR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.2-0.5). No association was found with HLA-DRB1*08. The B*15 (2.5; 1.3-4.6), B*41 (12.0; 2.7-72.1), B*55 (2.9; 1.1-7.5) and B*58 alleles (6.8; 1.1-46.3) were more frequent in PBC. The frequency of HLA polymorphisms was similar in PBC patients with progressive or non-progressive disease, and in those with or without anti-mitochondriai antibodies. Conclusions: Our data on a large series of Italian patients suggest that PBC may have a peculiar genetic background in the Mediterranean area.
Journal of Hepatology
Genetic liver diseases
Human leukocyte antigens
Primary biliary cirrhosis
Dive into the research topics of 'Peculiar HLA polymorphisms in Italian patients with primary biliary cirrhosis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Biliary Liver Cirrhosis Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
HLA Antigens Medicine & Life Sciences 85%
Polymerase Chain Reaction Medicine & Life Sciences 12%
Disease Susceptibility Medicine & Life Sciences 11%
Genetic Background Medicine & Life Sciences 11%
Oligonucleotides Medicine & Life Sciences 10%
Italy Medicine & Life Sciences 9%
Invernizzi, P., Maria Battezzati, P., Crosignani, A., Perego, F., Poli, F., Morabito, A., De Arias, A. E., Scalamogna, M., Zuin, M., & Podda, M. (2003). Peculiar HLA polymorphisms in Italian patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. Journal of Hepatology, 38(4), 401-406. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-8278(02)00440-3
Peculiar HLA polymorphisms in Italian patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. / Invernizzi, Pietro; Maria Battezzati, Pier; Crosignani, Andrea; Perego, Francesca; Poli, Francesca; Morabito, Alberto; De Arias, Alejandro Espadas; Scalamogna, Mario; Zuin, Massimo; Podda, Mauro.
In: Journal of Hepatology, Vol. 38, No. 4, 01.04.2003, p. 401-406.
Invernizzi, P, Maria Battezzati, P, Crosignani, A, Perego, F, Poli, F, Morabito, A, De Arias, AE, Scalamogna, M, Zuin, M & Podda, M 2003, 'Peculiar HLA polymorphisms in Italian patients with primary biliary cirrhosis', Journal of Hepatology, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 401-406. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-8278(02)00440-3
Invernizzi P, Maria Battezzati P, Crosignani A, Perego F, Poli F, Morabito A et al. Peculiar HLA polymorphisms in Italian patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. Journal of Hepatology. 2003 Apr 1;38(4):401-406. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-8278(02)00440-3
Invernizzi, Pietro ; Maria Battezzati, Pier ; Crosignani, Andrea ; Perego, Francesca ; Poli, Francesca ; Morabito, Alberto ; De Arias, Alejandro Espadas ; Scalamogna, Mario ; Zuin, Massimo ; Podda, Mauro. / Peculiar HLA polymorphisms in Italian patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. In: Journal of Hepatology. 2003 ; Vol. 38, No. 4. pp. 401-406.
@article{dd5fbd6281a04c38b2166eff4b1e1ab1,
title = "Peculiar HLA polymorphisms in Italian patients with primary biliary cirrhosis",
abstract = "Background/Aims: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an autoimmune cholestatic liver disease of unknown etiology with a highly variable progression rate and prevalence among different geographical areas. Data concerning human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms in PBC come from a limited number of geographical areas, from which the association with the HLA-DRB1*08 allele has been consistently reported. Methods: To investigate whether HLA polymorphisms contribute toward disease susceptibility, we compared 186 well-defined Italian PBC patients with 558 healthy subjects matched by age, gender and geographical area (Northern, Central and Southern Italy). Patients and controls were HLA typed at low resolution by PCR-sequence specific oligonucleotides for the loci A and B; HLA-DRB1 alleles were typed by reverse line blot assay of PCR-amplified DNA. Results: HLA-DRB1*11 was associated with a markedly reduced risk of developing PBC (OR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.2-0.5). No association was found with HLA-DRB1*08. The B*15 (2.5; 1.3-4.6), B*41 (12.0; 2.7-72.1), B*55 (2.9; 1.1-7.5) and B*58 alleles (6.8; 1.1-46.3) were more frequent in PBC. The frequency of HLA polymorphisms was similar in PBC patients with progressive or non-progressive disease, and in those with or without anti-mitochondriai antibodies. Conclusions: Our data on a large series of Italian patients suggest that PBC may have a peculiar genetic background in the Mediterranean area.",
keywords = "Genetic liver diseases, Human leukocyte antigens, Primary biliary cirrhosis",
author = "Pietro Invernizzi and {Maria Battezzati}, Pier and Andrea Crosignani and Francesca Perego and Francesca Poli and Alberto Morabito and {De Arias}, {Alejandro Espadas} and Mario Scalamogna and Massimo Zuin and Mauro Podda",
journal = "Journal of Hepatology",
T1 - Peculiar HLA polymorphisms in Italian patients with primary biliary cirrhosis
AU - Invernizzi, Pietro
AU - Maria Battezzati, Pier
AU - Crosignani, Andrea
AU - Perego, Francesca
AU - Poli, Francesca
AU - Morabito, Alberto
AU - De Arias, Alejandro Espadas
AU - Scalamogna, Mario
AU - Zuin, Massimo
AU - Podda, Mauro
N2 - Background/Aims: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an autoimmune cholestatic liver disease of unknown etiology with a highly variable progression rate and prevalence among different geographical areas. Data concerning human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms in PBC come from a limited number of geographical areas, from which the association with the HLA-DRB1*08 allele has been consistently reported. Methods: To investigate whether HLA polymorphisms contribute toward disease susceptibility, we compared 186 well-defined Italian PBC patients with 558 healthy subjects matched by age, gender and geographical area (Northern, Central and Southern Italy). Patients and controls were HLA typed at low resolution by PCR-sequence specific oligonucleotides for the loci A and B; HLA-DRB1 alleles were typed by reverse line blot assay of PCR-amplified DNA. Results: HLA-DRB1*11 was associated with a markedly reduced risk of developing PBC (OR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.2-0.5). No association was found with HLA-DRB1*08. The B*15 (2.5; 1.3-4.6), B*41 (12.0; 2.7-72.1), B*55 (2.9; 1.1-7.5) and B*58 alleles (6.8; 1.1-46.3) were more frequent in PBC. The frequency of HLA polymorphisms was similar in PBC patients with progressive or non-progressive disease, and in those with or without anti-mitochondriai antibodies. Conclusions: Our data on a large series of Italian patients suggest that PBC may have a peculiar genetic background in the Mediterranean area.
AB - Background/Aims: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an autoimmune cholestatic liver disease of unknown etiology with a highly variable progression rate and prevalence among different geographical areas. Data concerning human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms in PBC come from a limited number of geographical areas, from which the association with the HLA-DRB1*08 allele has been consistently reported. Methods: To investigate whether HLA polymorphisms contribute toward disease susceptibility, we compared 186 well-defined Italian PBC patients with 558 healthy subjects matched by age, gender and geographical area (Northern, Central and Southern Italy). Patients and controls were HLA typed at low resolution by PCR-sequence specific oligonucleotides for the loci A and B; HLA-DRB1 alleles were typed by reverse line blot assay of PCR-amplified DNA. Results: HLA-DRB1*11 was associated with a markedly reduced risk of developing PBC (OR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.2-0.5). No association was found with HLA-DRB1*08. The B*15 (2.5; 1.3-4.6), B*41 (12.0; 2.7-72.1), B*55 (2.9; 1.1-7.5) and B*58 alleles (6.8; 1.1-46.3) were more frequent in PBC. The frequency of HLA polymorphisms was similar in PBC patients with progressive or non-progressive disease, and in those with or without anti-mitochondriai antibodies. Conclusions: Our data on a large series of Italian patients suggest that PBC may have a peculiar genetic background in the Mediterranean area.
KW - Genetic liver diseases
KW - Human leukocyte antigens
KW - Primary biliary cirrhosis
JO - Journal of Hepatology
JF - Journal of Hepatology

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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15 of the Best Ski Runs at Steamboat Resort
Due to its unique location as Colorado's northernmost ski and snowboard resort, Steamboat often gets snow that no other place does, averaging nearly 30 feet a season. The Boat's sprawling terrain stretches across almost 3,000 acres and features 165 trails—more than you could ski in an entire week. We know it's difficult to narrow that down, so let us direct you to our personal faves for every level, ranging from football field-wide beginner slopes to Steamboat's hallmark glades for experts.
Among the most accessible green runs at the resort, Stampede is one of the short, mild trails found after unloading at the Christie Peak Express mid-station. Get off the chair at this first station and take a right to find yourself on this gentle, uncrowded slope that travels by the mini terrain park (great entertainment and for anyone seeking inspiration) and down to Gondola Square.
Once your legs are conditioned and you're ready to start exploring, take the Gondola up to Why Not, one of the most satisfying green runs on the planet. Why so rewarding? It meanders for three miles, making you feel as if you're on a true journey through the wilderness. Also, it's green in more ways than one, weaving through pine and aspen forests all the way down to the base of Thunderhead Express, where you can continue back to the base area on Right-O-Way.
Right-O-Way
As a testament to this run's mild slope angle, it serves as the uphill route for mountain bikers in the summer. Skirting Steamboat's northern boundary, it is the most peaceful way to glide back to the bottom area, conveniently taking you past every section of the resort's base area. This means it's a sweet last run of the day for the beginner après seeker.
Living up to its name in its potential to catch some rays, this bright, wide run is the highest beginner option at the resort, beginning at the top of the Sunshine Express and sloping into the resort's backside terrain. With views of the surrounding Flat Tops, Sundial is an ideal pre-lunch run, as it continues into Rendezvous Way and takes you directly to Rendezvous Saddle Lodge.
Though short and narrow, this run offers an excellent opportunity to lose the crowd. If you happen to lose your ski buddies, they're likely just a "yoo hoo" away. From the top of either the Christie Peak Express or Christie III lifts, find this run amid the lush pines beyond the Nastar Race start.
For Intermediates
Skiers have lots of room to explore at Steamboat. DavezPicts
Best hit early in the day when the sun is casting a glow across the perfect corduroy, Tomahawk is a long, wide, glide-y run accessed from the top of Sunshine Express, paralleling Steamboat's southern boundary.
Buddy's Run
Named after Steamboat native ski icon Buddy Werner, this run is the most popular option off of Storm Peak Express, and it can get busy. That said, it is a true cruiser's dream, beginning with a steeper pitch and ending with a wide run out to the Bar UE lift (or beyond, if you continue skier's left down Tornado).
Perfect for those getting pumped up with a second wind after lunch, this sweeping cruiser takes you from Four Points Lodge in a gentle, right-footed curve down to three lift options (Storm Peak, Four Points, and Burgess Creek) with ample opportunities to scope out some of the area's steeper options.
One O'Clock/Two O'Clock
Speaking of challenge, those looking to begin or refine their foray into moguls, either of these two runs offer a non-threatening option for bumps. One O'Clock is the milder of the two, with well-spaced bumps, a slope angle that is more horizontal than vertical and plenty of space in general to dial in your mogul technique.
Snooze Bar
Located in Morningside Park on the backside of the resort, this run features a dose of Zen as the most remote blue run on the mountain. From the top of Storm Peak, it is best accessed through the sure-to-wake-you-up glades of Alarm Clock.
Expert skiers will enjoy Royal Flush on a powder day. Mauro Paillex
As its name indicates, there is no higher value for your ski day output than down this white gulley of goodness. On a powder day, pretty much any run off of Pony Express means a winning hand for advanced skiers and riders, but Royal Flush is tip-top.
For individuals who like to go downhill fast, this short run under the Bar UE Chair is a tempting place to make it happen, particularly if it's groomed, which it often is. The second half of it, in particular, incorporates the delicious pairing of steep and wide, a delectable combo to be sure.
Triangle 3
Do you love making short, fast turns? Maybe doing a little (actual) tree-hugging? Anyone who relishes getting lost in the woods must hit this powder-packed glade between Bar UE and Storm Peak lifts.
No Names
For the extreme skier/rider who craves rock features, tight glades, and doesn't mind a short walk, this unnamed treasure trove is accessed from the high point of the resort—the top of Mt. Werner, which is about a 15-minute hike/glide from the top of Morningside Lift. Mostly out of the sun, the powder is preserved long and deep in this area; the only downside is the long, flat run (either First Chance or Last Chance) back to civilization.
Chute 1
For experts who'd prefer to keep their gear strapped on (no hiking required), this east-facing gem is best hit as early in the day as possible, as its easiest access status among the Boat's extreme terrain means it can get tracked out fast. There are a couple of smaller rock face launches to be found on either side of the narrow run.
Written by RootsRated Media for Steamboat Springs Chamber
Categories: skiing, Winter Activities, snowboarding, Winter in Steamboat, steamboat resort
Tags: skiing, snowboarding, winter activities, Steamboat Springs, Colorado Rockies
Author: Steamboat Chamber Staff


Wake up! The Northeast Mississippi Birthing Project blog is back online and getting better each day!
Sorry for the year-long break, everyone. There has been a lot happening here in our humble Tupelo office, and I'll share a bit with you about it. First, I'll introduce myself, the voice behind the keyboard: I'm Zola Pickett, the admin assistant, community-based doula trainer, and social media magician!
Cuddling babies, making them squeal with joy…you know, magic!
I've volunteered with the Birthing Project in several different aspects since 2011, and am looking forward to bringing you news & pictures from all of our exciting community events.
Baby Mariah welcomes you back and hopes that you'll stay a while!


System Design Home » All » Test-Driven Hardware Development: True or False?
Few generalizations about hardware design are more widely accepted than this: it is better to find errors early. And yet the traditional design-then-verify flow gives errors ample time to embed themselves in the design before even starting to look for them. It need not be so.
A technique borrowed from the software world—Test-Driven Development (TDD)—seeks to eliminate the problem by, in effect, reversing a portion of the design flow (Figure 1). In TDD, you develop the test harness for each unit of code before you write the code. It may sound like a rather pointless change in scheduling. But increasing numbers of design teams are finding that TDD makes a big difference: shortening design time, improving quality, and preparing design teams for emerging issues such as security and functional safety.
Figure 1. TDD shortens design cycles and improves quality by getting things a little reversed.
So what is TDD? It is an iterative design methodology based on the concepts of unit testing. In unit test, rather than attempting to test an entire functional block of code at once, you partition the block into units and test each unit in isolation before integrating it into the block. So what is a unit? The partitioning process is more art than algorithm. You want a unit to have a small number of inputs and outputs, a clear function that is independent of the inputs—and especially independent of the state of other units—and minimal internal state. In other words, you define your units so they are easy to test, without letting the number of units get out of hand.
The innovation of TDD is that you define the units from the requirements, before the code exists (Figure 2). Then, before you write the code for a unit, you write the test harness for it—again, working directly from the requirements and the software architecture. You check the test by applying it to the existing code for the overall block, if there already is any. The block should of course fail the new test, since you haven't written the new code yet.
.Figure 2. The TDD iteration starts with the requirements.
Now—finally, I hear you say—you write the code for the unit, apply the test harness, and iterate until the unit passes with no errors. Because you defined the unit for testability, run time should be short and—critically—the time to diagnose an error should be far shorter than if you had discovered the error at the block or system level. There's just not that much going on inside a properly defined unit. After the code unit passes its test, you add it to the block and start the process over, writing the test harness for the next unit of requirements.
But why write the tests before there is any code to test? Is that just an affectation, one of those weird methodological quirks that software people are subject to from time to time? Experience says it is not. Writing the test harness first overcomes one of the major issues in testing: the tendency of developers to make the same errors in writing the test that they made in writing (or reviewing) the code. "TDD forces you to think like a user, not like a coder," says Neil Johnson, chief technologist at XtremeEDA and a long-time advocate of TDD for hardware developers. You end up testing against the original requirements instead of testing against your understanding of your own code structure.
Additionally, if less obviously, TDD can induce coders to focus on the structure of the requirements and on the overall software architecture of the block before they dive into coding. This in itself has benefits.
But there is a larger issue behind the test-first approach, observes functional-verification expert Brian Bailey. TDD creates a second, independent interpretation of the design requirements: one that can be compared against the implementation code by simply running the unit tests. This two-track process can catch not only coding errors, but misinterpretations of the requirements and even ambiguities in the requirements documents—problems that can prove devilishly hard to diagnose later in the design flow.
But Does It Do Hardware?
Fine, I hear you say, for software folks. But we are doing hardware design. What does TDD have for us?
At the functional level, TDD concepts are not new to hardware design. "Assertions are in a way a form of TDD," Bailey points out. If you are following best practices, you are writing your assertions from the requirements, just as you would in a TDD flow. But one of the challenges in exploiting TDD in hardware design is that there can be several very different levels of abstraction hiding under the label of functional design.
Generating behavioral tests for a hardware-description language does require some care, Johnson says. After all, there will be far more detail in the Verilog code than would be necessary to simply describe the functional behavior of the unit. Consciously raising the level of abstraction in the unit tests you are writing, for instance by thinking of the unit as a set of functions rather than a lump of in-line code, can help. "You can create your own test API," Johnson says.
Even if the design starts in C, it will pass through register transfer level (RTL) eventually. It would be very valuable if the unit tests could be applied at every level of abstraction, rather than originating in one language and then getting manually translated into something else once or twice. That is the goal of Accellera's Portable Stimulus (PS) Specification working group: to define a language for specifying behavior once, and using that specification to stimulate the behavioral models and even the implementation at a variety of levels, clear through physical prototyping (Figure 3). PS is not dependent on TDD, but it will certainly help TDD.
Figure 3. Portable Stimulus would allow a single capture of behavioral intent to stimulate many different levels of abstraction.
With all those promises, TDD can generate a lot of questions, especially in the hardware world, where design and verification are traditionally separate professions, applied in a strictly serial way. For instance, is TDD just an attempt by verification engineers to muscle into design territory? No, says Bailey. "TDD and PS both aim at creating two parallel, equally important views of the requirements: one defining the behavior and the other defining the implementation." The test design and logic design efforts are unlikely to make the same errors simply because they are doing very different things. In this way TDD can be almost as effective as two independent design teams working in parallel: an approach that is known to have advantages, but that is too expensive for most projects. Here, there is no redundant work, since both the design and its tests have to be created anyway, but there is much of the improved quality that comes from redundancy.
But even when there is no separate verification team, TDD's test-first approach tends to focus designers on the requirements before they are drawn into the complexities of implementation. The surest way to find out whether you really understand a requirement, Johnson says, is to try to write a test for it.
But doesn't all this partitioning—critics would say fragmenting— of the design, test-writing, version control, tracking, and building become an administrative nightmare? Yes, it can be, without automation. Consequently, a number of platforms have appeared to automate the TDD process. Even so, isn't all of this stuff going to destroy the project schedule? No, and maybe. Both software teams with long TDD experience and hardware teams using TDD claim that it generally shortens the overall project, sometimes dramatically. This is due to the larger portion of errors getting caught in unit tests, where they are easier to isolate and diagnose. If just a few such errors get through to system integration, they can be ruinous to the system verification schedule.
There is one undeniable problem, though. The test-first approach puts a number of non-coding activities before the point at which you start cranking out code, and by interleaving test development and coding it slows down the rate at which you are producing test-ready code. If you have an old-school manager who is gauging progress by lines of code per week or by degree of functional coverage, or some such metric, your manager may seriously misunderstand the rate of progress on the project. This can cause, shall we say, unnecessary friction in the design team.
A more serious objection is that unlike many software projects, most hardware designs include large amounts of reused intellectual property (IP)—either licensed from third parties, picked up as open-source, or re-used from previous projects. Since this IP is supposedly already verified, this would appear to limit the use of TDD to the functional design of the relatively small portion of the system that will be newly-written.
But there is an important role for TDD in IP reuse as well, Baily and Johnson concur. One of the most frequent sources of failure in IP reuse is misappropriation: when you use the IP block in a way for which it was never tested, or maybe never intended. By starting with your system requirements, you can generate tests that will verify that the IP block actually does what you assume it does. This may be possible even if you don't have access to a behavioral model of the IP in order to create unit tests. You can write tests based on units of your requirements, and then black-box test an entire encrypted model of the IP rather than individual units of model code.
There are some interesting extensions to this idea. Bailey points out that one crucial but often-ignored step in functional verification is to prove that the IP blocks are not performing unintended functions. "The units of your requirements often don't exactly match the structure of the IP you are using," Bailey explains. "This can lead to functions you don't use, or don't even know about, still sitting in the IP. If they get inadvertently activated, they can cause havoc." Using TDD unit tests in combination with activity monitoring, you can identify regions of the IP code that are dead in your use case, or units that appear to get activated at inappropriate times, and remove or disable them. This could be a crucial step toward getting functional-safety certification for a design.
Another idea carries this concept even further. Some of the IP in your system may be in the form of chips rather than design files. Often the chips come with marginally informative or simply incorrect data sheets, and without executable models. Using TDD to generate tests and a development kit of hardware test fixture to perform the tests, you can go a long way toward verifying your understanding of the chip's operation, especially during initialization, sleep/wake, and other corner sequences.
One final question has no good answer today. What about timing? You set timing constraints before synthesis, very much in the way TDD creates test harnesses before coding. Isn't there an analogy?
The quick answer is no. TDD works in the functional domain, which is inherently untimed. But still … The problem with making an analogy, Bailey says, is that while TDD derives functional tests from system requirements, there is no known way to derive timing constraints from system performance requirements. The latter are stated in terms of minimum data rates and function latencies. But CPU-based systems are so non-deterministic that there is little relationship between when a function will complete and the path delays inside its hardware blocks. Even with deterministic hardware the relationship can be complex. So timing remains beyond the pale.
Experience of a range of hardware design teams argues that TDD is indeed an important methodological approach. It requires a lot of personal reorientation, benefits greatly from use of a specialized platform, and may not feel familiar to most designers the first time through. But the ability to focus test on the system requirements, and to isolate errors early in the design flow, make it an idea whose time is very much now.
Currently it supports unit testing (TDD) Verilog/SystemVerilog modules in three ways: SVUnit (SystemVerilog), GoogleTest + SystemC and UVM-SystemC. But it is matter of time to support more (VUnit? no problem).
on fig.1 can be seen an error, namely the gearwheels will not spin at all. some of them at least. and not only because of their square teeth, say that is for simplicity, but because of the number of teeth.
and the point: if the teeth represent a unit each, then [the] blocage is an INTER unit issue.
and can't be tested or even noticed using test units.
you're right… unit testing only is a flawed approach to verifying an fpga. no doubt. carrying on with the analogy, the limits of unit testing would be to verify the characteristics of the individual gears, the shape of the teeth, diameter, number of teeth, colour, etc. complementary to the unit tests would be some form of integration testing that pairs well with the size of the sub system you're dealing with.
Chip Verification is strictly a software discipline, and it is legitimate to borrow TDD methodology from the software world. Hardware development has its own specifics due to real-time signals i.e. time constraints, nevertheless some aspects of it can be captured by simulations and various software techniques, for e.g. Bertrand Meyer's "Design by Contract", encapsulation, and Assertions (which are inherent in System Verilog).
TDD enhances robustness of the new code in production, ensuring it behaves according to the requirements. TDD enhances IP reuse by determining whether the IP block actually does what you assume it does, through generated tests, based on units of your requirements. Discovery what IP actually does, can be done by black-box testing of encrypted model IP, and does not require knowledge of behavioural model. TDD works in the functional domain, which is inherently untimed.
In hardware development the goal is to synthesize tangible implementations from behavioural models. Accellera's Portable stimulus (PS) Specification helps in capturing the behaviour, in defining the accuracy of behavioural models under various stimuli, and in stimulating physical implementation at various levels. PS is independent of TDD, but it helps TDD by allowing unit tests to check further levels of abstraction.
There is no known way in TDD to derive timing constraints from system performance requirements, although some functional snapshots how system behaves can be obtained through unit tests.
When statically compiled languages are used (for e.g. Verilog, System Verilog, VHDL, C), verification engineer plays the role of a software engineer, designing software against system requirements and implementing fully structured programs, which role is to test each chip subsystem. Applying TDD methodology makes these new programs more robust, and force programmer to more accurately satisfy the system requirements. Dynamic scripting languages go further (e.g. Python), by allowing verification engineer to check in the interpreter results of various executions: single line, or a single function call execution, or to immediately check the result of execution of several lines of code. This is another degree of freedom, which increases productivity of the verification engineer. The verification engineer still plays a role of the software engineer – by writing the fully structured Python un-synthesizable programs intended for compilation, and by applying TDD by using Python Unit test geared libraries. It is beneficial for the verification engineer i.e. software engineer, to understand object orientation, encapsulation, inheritance, design by contract, and all nitty-gritties of Python language, especially regular expressions. aka software assertions.
There are some cases when the scripting language is specifically designed for verification of hardware.
Such a case is the E-language (Specman). E programs do not have to satisfy the specific program structure. Verification engineer is right-out writing test cases, which are based on aspects, and AOP (Aspect Oriented Programming principles) – and are directly addressing the design requirements. Additional features like: expediting parallel debugging, reverse debugging from a break point, etc are extremely increasing productivity of the E verification engineer. Releasing a verification engineer from knowing many skills of the software engineer, E-lang allows hardware design engineer to be productive in the verification task.
These two quotes taken together — with some thought and design/debug experience — tell me that the TDD approach is good but not do-able given the current tools and design approach.
1) There is no notion of anything in hardware being untimed.
No, the sky is not falling! By the way Python is not the only modern language. I use C# classes for hardware registers and memory, Arithmetic expressions to manipulate data, and Boolean Algebra to define function.
I start by initializing internal values, apply inputs, evaluate control and arithmetic nets, and single step or set break points to run tests and see everything that happens. Probably taking less time than to create a Verilog test bench.
Design task is to turn requirements into implementable function.
Verification task is to ensure that implemented function satisfies requirements.
Design engineer has other things to do such as close timing and synthesize hardware.
A way of describing function(requirements) that is useful for both design and verification is needed.
It is important that design and verification be separate so that any misunderstanding of requirements in design are not propagated into verification.
And the design engineer does not need to be bothered to learn and use a new scripting language. Some software engineer needs to develop a tool that is intuitively usable by the designer. Preferably it would also be usable for the verification engineer.
Before Verilog hardware was dataflow that included arithmetic and logic operators, and Boolean nets that combined inputs with internal states to control the data flow. No software engineers were needed.
Then Verilog cam along and because it could be used for simulation it was mistakenly assumed that it was also a design language. VHDL was also developed because some though there was a better way. So they based VHDL on ADA which was "a modern programming language" Ever since then tool vendors had to support both only because some users preferred Verilog, some preferred VHDL, and both require the design to be "compiled" and a test bench has to be designed to produce a meaningful wave form from simulation.
Probably the successful products relied on proprietary tools.
inputs, outputs, flip-flops, registers, memory, Boolean networks, and data flow expressions.
Then to run functional test the flip-flops and registers have to be initialized/reset.
Events assign values at specified times or at a delay interval after a condition or event occurs either to inputs, flip-flops, or registers.
Here is a first pass input format to describe flip-flops, registers, buses, and Boolean nets:(memories TBD).
This illustrates pretty much what happens and has always happened in hardware. The above text can be parsed to define the hardware blocks and the events/conditions that provide the function.
WHAT NO NEW PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE?
1.	You need a test framework providing test automation. It should be practical to run and develop (TDD style or not) the first test case on the first day of coding. It should be practical to run and develop new tests several times a day. Every day.
2.	Unit tests are created and run by the code developer. Leaving unit testing to an external verification team will break the short feedback loop.
3.	Unit tests must be written in a language that the developer knows well and that's usually the language used for production code. This is why there is a unit testing framework for almost every HDL and software language you can think of (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unit_testing_frameworks) rather than a few frameworks using special verification languages.
Unit testing should not be seen as a separate activity but rather an integral part of developing code. It's a tool that developers use just like googling for solutions to a problem or sketching ideas on a whiteboard. It's not something you make special plans for but rather something that's part of the normal code developing routine. This is what you do to build confidence that your code does what you intended it to do.
An important aspect of unit testing is the effect it has on your design. You're forced into designing small units with a well-defined and testable function. In other words, you're forced into a modular design. Many unit testers would say that this is the greatest benefit of unit testing.
Alas. TDD was an ideal that has not been met in practice in the software world. In principle it failed because the software needed to be designed to the point that test cases could be expressed in terms of invariants, pre-conditions, post conditions etc.
Of course, design to the level required was an anti-pattern in agile/open source world so there was a failure mode built into TDD, being it was attached to (so-called) agile mentalities.
Mature and deep (enough) design was necessary to attain the write test once run test many times goal.
Opinions might differ but the description of the hip phrase "Test Pain" actually describes all the issues around Unit Testing that TDD was to abolish. Including having to re-write tests, maintain tests, ensure tests kept up to design.
If you're developing and unit testing RTL code you're not likely implementing and testing many requirements per day but rather work with a number of smaller design decisions. Most often these are design decision below the level of detail documented in design documents. Some of the decisions are related to timing, for example throughput and latency, and there will be unit tests verifying this. Unit tests for software is a bit different since timing and performance is less deterministic. Such unit tests should avoid verifying timing.
With the exception of safety-critical code I haven't seen unit testing been driven by detailed up front design documents, it's driven by the "live" design decisions you make when you're about to implement a piece of code. I agree that such micromanagement would make testing painful but I haven't seen it in practice. However, I see a lot of other rules and metrics that people feel that they must apply to do unit testing with or without TDD properly: You must always do unit testing the TDD way, a unit must not be more than x lines of code, units must be tested in isolation, test to production code line ratio must be at least x, you must have certain levels of code coverage and so on. It's easy to get lost in following such rules and forgetting the basics.
Companies successful at this are those that adapt practices supporting these goals and remove the obstacles preventing them. What works for them may differ but in general they start testing earlier and more frequent by testing smaller things and they manage their test suites with automation.
Unit testing is a first class activity when developing code. The test code is not a second class citizen, it's a valuable piece of code that deserves attention just like the production code. We apply good design practices to our production code to ease the burden of maintenance, trying to make it modular for example. In the same way there are good practices for unit tests. For example, by testing behavior and not implementation we reduce the risk of test re-writes when refactoring production code.
I give up: There is no way to run a functional test on hardware. There is only simulation which creates a waveform from a netlist.
Verilog has nothing to do with hardware function and SystemVerilog emphasizes verification rather than functional design.
Sorry that I wasted my time reading gibberish. Goodbye All.
Every time I have employed some level of test driven design the project has gone faster.
The note about partioning the problem so that simple things are at least known or testable resonate. I think that this is more a philosophical or pragmatic approach that is already readily available by favoring paths that produce early results. Typically some low hanging assertion coverage, missing code coverage or similar can be closed off to make the next decisions clearer. The design and test bench architecture will tend to favor certain easy outcomes. But it is important to also consider what hard crucial outcomes are not being served or are being stalled by quick grab/unit testing/bottom up approach and get ahead of these as well. Neil spoke to this tension in terms of showing progress to agreed metrics and of course communicating/adapting priorities is critical and continuous in any successful team.
Incredible article. Very helpful and well written. Really it gives me immense pleasure to read the entire information regarding Test-Driven Development. This article touched on a lot of important points and I appreciate that. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. keep the immense work!
Explore the design flow for Intel® FPGAs.


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Home » News » Federal government announces closure of most Pacific herring fisheries
Federal government announces closure of most Pacific herring fisheries
by Energeticcity.ca Staff December 16, 2021
VANCOUVER — Most commercial fisheries for Pacific herring on the West Coast have been closed with the exception of harvests by First Nations for food and ceremonial purposes.
Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray says in a statement that this "cautious" approach to Pacific herring management is based on recently intensified risks to wild salmon.
Pacific herring are an important food source for the salmon, sea birds, marine mammals and other fish.
Murray says herring are vital to the health of the ecosystem and stocks are in a fragile state, so an effort must be made to "protect and regenerate this important forage species."
She says harvesting of Pacific herring will be reduced to a 10 per cent rate in the Strait of Georgia with a maximum total allowable catch of 7,850 tonnes.
The statement says the decision was taken with the aim of providing sustainable fishing opportunities and increasing stock, while considering the decline of wild salmon, and the impacts of the recent floods and landslides on fish habitats in B.C.


Curling Potion Defining & Styling Gel is a GLYCERIN FREE, natural curl enhancing gel that helps eliminate frizz, define curls, and keeps your hair hydrated from within. Flakes? Not here. Get shine, hold, and rock your curls for days and days! A little goes a long way. This is a perfect gel for wash and go styles, twist-outs, or braidouts. For added definition and moisture, combine with our leave-ins and cream stylers.
Beet Sugar Extract penetrates the hair shaft and adds hydration directly instead of pulling moisture from the environment. This is perfect for any climate and is humidity resistant. In addition, it adds shine and conditions the hair.
Marshmallow Root detangles and smooths the hair while Flax Seed Gel increases hair elasticity which creates less breakage.
Directions: Apply a quarter size amount to each section of soaking wet, conditioned hair. Distribute from root to the tips of your hair. Re-wet sections that are drying. Finger style your hair and let air dry. Best when layered over a leave-in conditioner or styling cream. Can be topped with a light oil to seal or to soften the hold. A little goes a long way. Style can last 5 to 7 days with no additional product. *Wonderful for all curly hair textures for a medium to strong hold.
Ingredients: Distilled Water (infused with Horsetail, Nettle, Chamomile), Flaxseed Gel, Marshmallow Root Extract, Aloe Vera Gel, Agave Nectar, Coconut Oil, Jamaican Black Castor Oil, Fragrance, Panthenol (vitamin B-12), Glycine Betaine (Beet Sugar) Extract, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Benzoic Acid, and Dehydroacetic Acid (Optiphen ND) , Chondrus Crispus (Irish Moss), Cornstarch, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Citric Acid.


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The actor has returned to work!
"It's either me... or Carly!"
Christian LeBlanc Opens up About Going Gray (EXCLUSIVE)
"I had no idea it was like this underneath..."
"He was abusive, controlling, cruel..."
Douglas on THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL — Everything You Need to Know
This kid has been through more drama than some adults!
She's had quite the past with Luke and Laura!
"Nobody tells me what to do!"
"It was one of the most beautiful things I've seen."
THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL Spoilers: Will Douglas Reveal Brooke's Secret?
"Why don't you tell us exactly what you saw..."
THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS Spoilers: More Bad News for Chance?
"What's wrong?"
Rena Sofer Turns Her Hobby Into a Business!
"I realized that I can marry my three passions for good..."
An Interview With GENERAL HOSPITAL Producer Wendy Riche
She ran GH in the '90s and created PORT CHARLES!
GH Alum Julie Berman Welcomes Her Second Child!
"Introducing the newest little man in my life..."
GH Alum Briana Nicole Henry Prepares To Become a Mom
"Who would have though this is what 30 would look like..."
What Happened to Chance on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS
We'll clear everything up!
GH's Jacklyn Zeman Shows Off Her Beautiful New Grandson!
"Our beautiful baby boy..."
What Happened to Tessa on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS
Tessa's life has been full of ups and downs!
GENERAL HOSPITAL Spoilers 1/21/22: Saying Goodbye
"I'd much rather do it with a friend at my side..."
So many dramatic comings and goings!
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The company's Corona SDK has been widely recognized for its streamlined workflow and innovative features, which allow developers to build mobile apps for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Kindle, desktop apps for Windows and OSX as well as TV apps for tvOS and Android TV from a single code base.
Appodeal's partnership with Corona Labs will provide developers with effortless monetization. There's no need to worry about including support for multiple ad networks in each app, as Corona Labs' announcement notes. With one account and one plugin, developers can now reap a multitude of benefits including higher-paying ads, increased revenue, and maximum fill rate.
If you're ready to begin, head to Corona Labs and check out the quickstart guide and documentation guide. We look forward to seeing your results!


Visualizing motion at the nanoscale.
Paul Weiss and I wrote this article about animation problems at the nanoscale. It's one of my favorite things I've ever gotten to work on.
Abstract: The presentation of real-time data and animations can lead to new understanding and, in some cases, misunderstanding, of the phenomena represented. How can fundamental nanoscale structures, properties and responses be represented in data, motion and other forms? What are the keys to understanding, representing and sensing the nanoscale, and how do these differ from our intuition, which is based on our experience with macroscopic phenomena?


412 Kids is an exciting and vital ministry in the Locust Grove Free Will Baptist Church. It is a launching pad for nurturing the faith of the next generation. 412 Kids serves as a place where our children hear foundational Bible stories, and a place where they learn Biblical truth. We want to partner with and equip parents to raise a generation of children who: grow in Christ and spiritual maturity; Discover, develop, and use their gifts for the glory of God; pursue a God-centered vision of life; engage in worship, study, prayer, and ministry.
Encouraging children to develop a biblical mindset and Christian worldview.
Encouraging children to trust in the promises of God.
Leading children to recognize their sinful nature and to respond in repentance and faith in God.
Cultivating a love for God's Word and a habit of reading it consistently.
Giving children an opportunity to see the hand of God at work in the world.
Helping to identify their spiritual gifts and encouraging their use and growth.
Wednesday evenings for our children birth–6th grade.
Kindergarten and below remain in their classrooms for Children's Church during Worship service..
1 – 6th Grade- On the first and last Sundays of the month students remain with the adults for the full service. During the middle Sundays they adjourn to Children's Church. Where they have a worship time and Bible lesson.
Kindergarten and below are broken down by age groups.
412 Kids Choir- 1st–6th grade students practice on Wednesday nights through the school year and perform two productions each year. A spring production and a Christmas production.
Trunk or Treat, Easter Egg Hunt, Church Camp and more.
We would love for you to connect with us on Facebook at @412Kids.


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Artists are at the heart of Queensland Theatre. We recognise that the career pathways and aspirations of theatre-makers are as diverse as the artists themselves and our constantly evolving community.
Queensland Theatre has always been proud to offer responsive opportunities and practical support for artists including access to our rehearsal spaces, advice about a project, letters of support, and attending productions.
Artists are encouraged to register with us to learn about general auditions and other opportunities with Queensland Theatre, including our ongoing Artist Conversation series with Artistic Director, Lee Lewis.
Queensland Premier's Drama Award
Since 2002, Queensland Theatre, in partnership with the Queensland Government, has been inviting playwrights to put a new Australian work on our stage through this unique competition which culminates in a world premiere season of the winning entry.
Queensland Theatre works with our Associate Artists across a range of activities including dramaturgy, design, programming, artist outreach and creative development.
Playwriting development
New Australian writing is a priority at Queensland Theatre. We are proud to host both the Queensland Premier's Drama Award and the Young Playwrights' Award.
Rehearsal observations
Rehearsal Observation placements are available for emerging theatre-makers, through voluntary, flexible placements from rehearsal to previews.
Teaching Artist program
We offer Professional Development for theatre artists who are interested in developing or building on their teaching skills.
Queensland Theatre auditions
General auditions are held at different times during the year. Register your details via the link above to find out about future calls for applications.
Our Associate Artists work across a range of Company activities including dramaturgy, design, programming, artist outreach and creative development.
Story Room
"Through song, dance, theatre and art we are creating new songlines that connect us all to the past, present, people and place." — Isaac Drandic
Queensland Theatre works with established independent arts companies to support their individual operational needs in a variety of ways.
Unfortunately our program offering free use of our rehearsal and meeting rooms is closed for the foreseeable future due to COVID-19 restrictions.


The comic relief website has special sections for schools and teachers and includes information on fair trade.
This site is intended as an educational resource. The sites linked to here are not maintained by me, although I have checked them for suitability any changes are not under my control.


Posted on June 18, 2017 June 28, 2018 by Lisa T.
The Rise and Fall of National Liberalism (1933-1967) FASCINATING!!!
If you can get through the hard parts after everybody was assassinated during Liberalism (1933-67), Chapter 9, where he puts forward his ideas is great!
Democracy is no easy task and we are struggling. That is clear from all the facts and quotes he has footnoted. This book brings to light the fact that only watching the way the media portrays the behavior and action of politicians are very misleading. You have to read FACTS, quotes, proof of what they've said and done to have the full picture. Unless you read American History you won't know the truth.
Woodard is an excellent writer and knows his history. He puts the facts right out there for us to chew on and couches nothing at all. It's amazing to me that in 150 years (1877-2017), the forces of oligarchy, plutocracy, and Gilded Age Lassez-Faire capitalism are still trying to squash individuals like a bug, despite the realities of the French Revolution and the like. You would think these tyrannical evil ones would get a clue but they have not. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. They all seem to have more time to meet in their groups to try to keep us all down and throw us out on the street while we stare at our tech toy.
At some point here, we better start talking to each other and our neighbors again so that we can agree on what the Common Good looks like and what we need the role of government to be in the meantime. It is exceeding constitutional reach but that is due to pluralism!! That's a good reason!
For the first time in my life (B: 1963), I feel like the American Commune is falling apart due to incredible dysfunction, cynicism and just pure evil from the Federal Government and this handful of right wing nut bags. The majority of Americans are not like this. We cannot just default to someone like Trump as many did this last time.
Get to Woodard's Chapter 9 and the wheels will start turning.
Woodard contends that despite their party, their record shows that they have done their best to pare down The New Deal put in place by FDR, have given the private sector, Wall St., and the banks more leverage and in some manner, want to decentralize the government. The civil war isn't over.