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The Chesterford Group celebrates five years with QikServe
Online ordering for delivery sales soar by 1600% during COVID-19
The Chesterford Group (TCG) has been using QikServe since 2016 when the first few of its Churchill's Fish and Chips brand adopted the platform. Now, five years later, 56 sites across four TCG brands rely on the technology.
An early user of digital ordering, Churchill's has always been a business that challenges the status quo. By changing people's perceptions of what a typical fish and chip shop experience is, it ensures that any of its stores can rival the market leading fast casual dining brands.
Like many popular fish and chip stores, Churchill's found that the queueing and subsequent cooking time in the busy
dinner period could mean customers waiting up to twenty minutes for their takeaway. Churchill's knew this was at odds with modern consumers' expectations surrounding speed of service and could lead to low customer satisfaction and missed sales. The challenge then, was how to minimise queues at busy times.
THE SOLUTION – AN ONWARD JOURNEY
TCG chose QikServe's mobile and online ordering system as a way of enhancing the customer ordering experience and providing the brand with a competitive edge in the marketplace. Starting with an order ahead service, customers were able to skip the line and collect pre-orders, resulting in shorter queues for non-digital customer as well.
From the off, TCG found that its multichannel customers were worth twice as much as those using a single channel; in 2018 the average order value via QikServe was 83% higher than in-store takeaway purchases. It began rolling out the service to more and more of its stores, using targeted launch promotions to drive people to use its click and collect service.
By 2018, TCG had extended its use of the platform from Churchill's to its other brands: Fishnchickn and Bankers. Within months, the ease of exploring a digital menu and adding extra items led customers at Fishnchickn to place orders with an average value 122% higher than walk-up purchases.
Finally, in the Summer of 2019, the group launched a new digital only concept serving up a menu of BBQ and grilled food called Serial Grill, QikServe was brought on board again to facilitate online orders.
COVID-19 led TCG to transform its business model in order to survive.
When lockdown was first announced, TCG Chief Executive, James Lipscombe said the company would rollout a rapid reopening programme involving adapting the business to a click and collect only. He had been watching the actions of other countries closely and was prepared and had been planning should restrictions be placed on businesses in the UK.
TCG's shops closed at the end of March, but by the end of April — just four weeks after closing down the entire operation — the group was back in business. It reported that all stores were fully operational and digital sales up by 900%. QikServe's order throttling feature proved essential in making this to happen; the stores were able to set parameters allowing 6 orders to be placed within every 10 minutes. This not only streamlined operations but ensured everyone involved was kept safe.
THE DELIVERY SOLUTION
In May 2020, two months into the lockdown, The Chesterford Group made another move, enhancing its digital model further by introducing digital ordering for delivery via QikServe; until then, delivery had always been managed through aggregator sites.
Starting with fishnchickn, TCG embarked on an aggressive four stage delivery plan; the team rolled out 10 stores at a time to ensure it could manage operations and maintain its standards of excellence and premium customer experience. By September, with the company running its digital services smoothly and ordering levels reaching a par with the pre-lockdown period for the first time, the final fishnchickn stores added to the delivery service; they were then joined by Churchill's.
At the same time, TCG began to remove some of its third-party aggregator partners from its stores. To make the switch as seamless as possible and retain custom through this growth period, it ran thorough customer testing and used bold marketing campaigns to encourage customers to order directly through the QikServe platform.
As part of this, and expecting rapid uptake of the delivery offer, TCG assembled 65 vehicles for its fleet.
The team was right to prepare. From 50 weekly orders for delivery from Churchill's at the start of September, to nearly 900 in January 2021, the service grew more than 1600%. fishnchickn's digital orders have been on a par, regularly receiving more than 800 per week for delivery. Across the year, from the start of lockdown in March 2020, Churchill's recognised a 5.42% increase in the average digital order value, while fishnchickn saw an even more impressive 8.4% rise.
Taking on its own delivery service has saved the company money. With QikServe there are no commission fees to pay, and with its own fleet the TCG had full control over its brand and the quality of the food throughout the process; it manages customers' orders within an accurate 15-minute time frame. Once a customer places an order, the system issues tickets to the kitchen, ensuring food is ready at the expected time.
James Lipscombe comments: "The business has changed permanently in the last year, we are positioned to survive no matter what state of lockdown the country is placed in, with digital ordering and delivery we can reach out to our customers and provide them with the same, great experience they're used to from every one of our brands. But more than that, we are poised to thrive post-Coronavirus. We know the days of queuing are behind us; consumers want and expect a different experience to the one they did a twelve months ago, using QikServe, we are able to give it to them."
On top of ordering ahead, throughout the year, both the Bankers and Churchill's brands made use of QikServe's Order-to-Table functionality when open. This provided customers with a contactless experience on-site, minimising staff and customer interaction and placing customer safety front and centre.
As the first lockdown anniversary rolled round, year-on-year data (March 2019-20 – v 2020-21) revealed a dramatic growth in the number of average digital orders per head across each of The Chesterford Group's brands: Churchill's had seen a 6.6% rise, fishnchickn a 15.2% increase and Bankers a huge 25.5%. Similarly, digital revenue was up 365.7% at Churchills, 898% at fishnchickn and 932% at Bankers – averaged across all brands, TCG saw 532% digital revenue growth.
The Chesterford Group's digital transformation has extended beyond its use of digital ordering and delivery. Always committed to excellent marketing practices, it has used the last year to further its customer engagement, teaming up with QikServe partner, Impact Data. The marketing automation platform integrates with the QikServe dashboard, collecting data, analysing and applying it to email, SMS and even social media campaigns.
Applying the software to ten of its Churchill's stores initially, TCG saw an impressive 176% increase in sales via its 'Mega Deal' mailouts compared to ten stores not using the solution.
IN THEIR WORDS:
"Our relationship with QikServe and digital ordering began five years ago, since then it's grown and grown. Noone could never have imagined when we first took it on that it would one day provide the key to managing one of the toughest periods in our industry's history.
In the time we've been working with QikServe, the technology has evolved and so has our business. We've always been open with QikServe, making suggestions for new features and developments and they've taken that feedback on board, bringing out updates that increasingly enhance our experience with the platform. We look forward to seeing where our partnership takes us to next."
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July 7, 2019 / 11:37 AM
Right, left wing groups conduct competing D.C. rallies
Matt Reynolds and Kelly Rissman, Medill News Service
More than 200 supporters of President Donald Trump from Proud Boys, an alt-right group, and a larger number of counterprotesters confronted each other Saturday at the Freedom Plaza. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo
Protesters clash near Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC on July 6, 2019.The Demand Free Speech rally, organized by The Proud Boys, the a self-proclaimed Òchauvinistic menÕs group,Ó Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo
Protesters clash near Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo
Proud Boys members, an alt-right group, participate in a Demand Free Speech rally Saturday at Freedom Park in Washington, D.C. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo
Members of the The Proud Boys, an alt-right group, march in a Demand Free Speech rally that drew counter-protesters in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo
Police keep tabs on competing protests near Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo
July 7 (UPI) -- WASHINGTON - More than 200 Trump supporters from Proud Boys, an alt-right group, and a larger number of counterprotesters confronted each other Saturday at the Freedom Plaza, and some minor scuffles broke out but no one was arrested.
The counterprotestors, a coalition of advocacy groups including Black Lives Matter, got to Freedom Plaza first, at about 10 a.m. The counterprotest was organized by All Out D.C. Members of the anti-fascist movement, antifa, were also present.
"Our goal is to outshine the hate and bigotry message that's going to be brought by the alt-right and the Proud Boys," said Black Lives Matter organizer NeeNee Taylor.
Right and Left Wing Groups Hold Competing DC Rallies from Medill Washington on Vimeo.
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The right-wing group Proud Boys was in the capital for a "Demand Free Speech" event to advocate for "unbiased social media and an end to censorship," according to the group's website, after tech companies cracked down on hate speech.
Many speakers from left-wing groups, including La ColectiVA and D.C. United Against Hate, addressed the crowd. "We will drown them out with go-go music - with the true sound of D.C.," said an activist, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. Go-go music blared through Pershing Park while some participants danced along.
Proud Boys' founder Gavin McInnes accused high-profile liberal politicians of misrepresenting the group as violent extremists. He said Democrats Rep. Maxine Waters of California and Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia had incited violence against supporters of President Donald Trump.
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"The truth is, we don't start fights, we finish them," McInnes said. "We are pro-Trump in an era when everybody hates Trump, especially in this city. So, they want to shut us down with lies about hate speech."
Last weekend, the Proud Boys clashed with counterprotesters, including members of a Portland chapter of antifa. A member of the group attacked conservative journalist Andy Ngo, hospitalizing him. According to organizers of the Demand Free Speech rally, Ngo was at the All Out D.C. event.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has called the Proud Boys an alt-right fight club and "hate group." The group has faced social media bans on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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McInnes poked fun at antifa activists, calling them "unworthy adversaries." He also suggested that activists on the right could be doing more to fight back.
"They can't arrest us all. Let's get in trouble. Let's fight. Let's step into the fray," McInnes said.
Former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos also spoke at the event, wearing a black wig, blue T-shirt, lipstick and penny loafers, introducing himself to the crowd as right-wing commentator Laura Loomer. He poured scorn on the idea that the Proud Boys espoused violence.
"If they were a violent street gang, do you think you'd still be alive?" Yiannopoulos said.
Clashes between the groups were limited to a few minor scuffles and arguments, with some pushing and shoving on both sides. As of 4 p.m., police spokeswoman Alaina Gertz said, no arrests had been made.
U.S. Park Police searched the bag of one of the counter-protestors, removing a hammer and crowbar.
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department declined to discuss tactics ahead of the rally on Saturday but said that its Special Operations Division would participate. There was a strong police presence from the Park Police, and local and federal partners. A police barrier separated the opposing rallies.
Josephine Chu and Holly Barker of Medill News Service contributed to this report.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Student Perceptions Regarding Clickers: The Efficacy of Clicker Technologies
View Sample PDF
Author(s): Sheri Stover (Wright State University, USA), Sharon G. Heilmann (Wright State University, USA) and Amelia R. Hubbard (Wright State University, USA)
Source title: End-User Considerations in Educational Technology Design
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Rod D. Roscoe (Arizona State University, USA), Scotty D. Craig (Arizona State University, USA) and Ian Douglas (Arizona State University, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-2639-1.ch014
Keywords: Computer Science & IT / Educational Technologies / End-User Computing / Information Science Reference
View Student Perceptions Regarding Clickers: The Efficacy of Clicker Technologies on the publisher's website for pricing and purchasing information.
This mixed-methods research study shows that the incorporation of real-time polling in an introductory Anthropology course (n = 107) taught in a large lecture class at a mid-size university can have a positive impact on students' perceptions of (1) satisfaction; (2) participation; and (3) whether the instructor was able to use the polling results effectively to gauge students' understanding. Independent sample t-test and ANOVA results indicated gender, race, and extroversion level were shown to have significant impacts on participation and understanding. Students did not show a significant preference for either of the two real-time polling systems (TopHat or TurningPoint) used in this study. This study shows how the incorporation of real-time polling in large, introductory, lecture classes can have a positive impact on students and has the potential to decrease the attrition rates and to improve student learning enrolled in these classes.
Human Systems Engineering and Educational Technology
Rod D. Roscoe, Russell J. Branaghan, Nancy J. Cooke, Scotty D. Craig. © 2018. 34 pages.
Educational Software Design: Education, Engagement, and Productivity Concerns
Steve Ritter, R. Charles Murray, Robert G. M. Hausmann. © 2018. 17 pages.
Logic Models as a Framework for Iterative User Research in Educational Technology: Illustrative Cases
Yvonne S. Kao, Bryan J. Matlen, Michelle Tiu, Linlin Li. © 2018. 24 pages.
The Design Implementation Framework: Iterative Design From the Lab to the Classroom
Melissa L. Stone, Kevin M. Kent, Rod D. Roscoe, Kathleen M. Corley, Laura K. Allen, Danielle S. McNamara. © 2018. 23 pages.
Fostering Engagement in Educational Technologies Through Developmental Theory and Program Data
Elizabeth R. Kazakoff, Melissa Orkin, Kristine Bundschuh, Rachel L. Schechter. © 2018. 24 pages.
Assessing User Experience via Biometric Sensor Affect Detection
Irfan Kula, Russell J. Branaghan, Robert K. Atkinson, Rod D. Roscoe. © 2018. 17 pages.
Balancing Student Needs and Learning Theory in a Social Interactive Postdigital Textbook
Erin Walker, Ruth Wylie, Andreea Danielescu, James P. Rodriguez III, Ed Finn. © 2018. 19 pages.


Content Certified Application Counselors will be available at local libraries for one-on-one help to answer questions about cost, care provider options and more. Attendees will need to provide a social security number or document number for immigrants, personal income information and policy numbers for any current health insurance plan they may already have.
February 5, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
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February 12, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m.
March 12, 1 - 6 p.m.
February 19, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
March 19, 1 - 6 p.m.
For those who are unable to attend in person, online help is available. Wednesday night webinars will cover the basics of the Affordable Care Act, cost sharing reductions and tax credits and how to set up an account and enroll.
Wednesday Night Webinars will be held on February 5, and 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. and on March 5, and 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. Visit tinyurl.com/EnrollKalamazooWebinar to register.
Enroll Kalamazoo is a collaborative effort to improve access to healthcare through the coordination of education and outreach activities. Formed in November, 2013, the organization provides coordination for community agencies engaged in education and healthcare enrollment activities related to Health Insurance Marketplaces and Medicaid Expansion.
Enroll Kalamazoo partners include Bronson Healthcare, Kalamazoo Community Mental Health & Substance Abuse, Kalamazoo Health & Community Services, Senior Services, Family & Children Services, Comstock Community Center, Family Health Center of Kalamazoo, Ministry with Community, Borgess Health, 211, United Way, Western Michigan University, CARES, United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region, Sindecuse Health Center, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Portage Public Library and Planned Parenthood.


Lamborghini's Huracan LP580-2 Spyder is the company's most affordable convertible, but there's nothing cheap about 571 horsepower and rear-wheel drive.
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There simply isn't a car on the market that can compare with the 2016 Audi RS7 Performance's concoction of agility, styling, and refinement.


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Expert group to lead NZ's future health system
8:00pm Thursday 23 Sep, 2021
Chair of the Bay of Plenty DHB Sharon Shea. Supplied photo.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board chair Sharon Shea is being named as part of a group of people who have been appointed to lead the Māori Health Authority and Health New Zealand.
Health Minister Andrew Little is describing the group as "an outstanding group of people with extensive and wide-ranging governance and health experience".
He says the Government is building a truly national health system to provide consistent, high-quality health services right across the country.
"This is another step towards fixing the health system so it works for everyone.
"The future health system will mean New Zealanders will be able to have equitable access to healthcare to live longer, with the best possible quality of life, no matter who they are or where they live."
Rob Campbell, an experienced professional director with extensive union, public and private sector governance experience has been appointed as the Chair of Health New Zealand.
Little says with his extensive experience leading large organisations, these skills will be essential to lead Health New Zealand, which will become the country's largest employer.
Sharon Shea, current Chair of the Bay of Plenty DHB and an experienced leader across the health, disability and community sector has been appointed as Co-Chair of the Māori Health Authority and will also serve as a board member of Health New Zealand.
Tipa Mahuta, current Deputy Chair of the Counties Manukau District Health Board, with a background in facilitation, research, policy and community development, and extensive Iwi governance experience, has been appointed Co-Chair of the Māori Health Authority.
Health New Zealand will bring together the country's 20 DHBs, a workforce of about 80,000, an annual operating budget of $20 billion and an asset base of about $24 billion.
The Māori Health Authority will work alongside Health New Zealand with a joint role in developing system plans, commissioning for primary and community services, and will commission kaupapa Māori services.
The Māori Health Authority will also work alongside the Ministry of Health to develop strategies and policies that work for Māori.
"This marks a significant milestone in progress towards a more equitable health system," says Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare.
"The new Māori Health Authority will be a gamechanger for our people. It will grow kaupapa Māori services and give Māori a strong voice in a new system focused on improving the disproportionate health outcomes that have long affected our whanau.
"Tā Mason Durie's steering group worked tirelessly to support this appointment process –Tā Mason in particular has ensured we have secured the best possible candidates and combination of skills and experience for what is needed in our future health system," says Henare.
"The members of the new boards share a dedication to improve the country's health and wellbeing with a strong community focus. I am confident our new health entities are in the best possible hands to drive this long overdue transformation," says Little.
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Brain Drain
Posted on 27-09-2021 17:19 | By
I'm a skilled migrant. I have three passports. I could live in any one of 33 countries tomorrow, most of which are opening up and don't have an obsession with lockdowns and restrictions because it is no longer necessary as vaccinations go up. Why on earth would any skilled migrant come here to be denied freedom to travel? Those that are here will be leaving for Oz and elsewhere in their droves. Who do the brainwashed think are going to staff the hospitals?
We shall see
Posted on 27-09-2021 13:09 | By Kancho
Out health system is struggling so let's hope they know what they are doing? Covid shows our vulnerabilities. Seems the government is biting off an awful lot. So let's hope the systems are really strengthened for all as they tell us. If the delta outbreaks continue we are going to be in big trouble. As beds become unavailable for elective surgeries etc. And fatalities on waiting lists increase. We are five months behind in the vaccine program because we wouldn't buy vaccines for 40 million. The cost has been far greater now and lockdowns extended with huge costs. We just don't have enough or everything, isolation facilities , staff , equipment etc. We are even losing nurses overseas for not extending giving visa. We are getting more to come here either as no visa applications are happening .
Yet more experts. New Zealand is awash with experts. Or is it? Seems to me that it's all hard sell and trying to convince people. If there were this many experts NZ should be making a vaccine. Maybe we could get the one Portugal has got because they've got virtually zero deaths now.


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Home Finance The biggest h...
The biggest healthcare mergers of the year shouldn't happen — period
Linette Lopez, Business Insider US
An NFL replacement field judge during a game in Detroit in 2012.
The two biggest healthcare mergers of the year so far (CVS and Aetna, Express Scripts and Cigna) would be a disaster for consumers.
CVS and Express Scripts have already exhibited predatory behavior without the added power of being part of health insurers. Making them more powerful is hardly an incentive for them to change.
The Department of Justice has the power to stop them, and if we don't, we'll lose control of pricing in the system in ways we can't imagine.
This year, the pharmacy chain CVS is trying to buy a health insurer, Aetna, for about $68 billion.
At the same time, another health insurer, Cigna, is attempting to buy the country's biggest pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts, for about $54 billion.
Neither of these deals should happen.
The companies will tell you these mergers will bring efficiency to the market – that giving them more power over every point between you and your healthcare will also give them the power to lower costs.
But we have no reason to believe that. In fact, we have every reason to distrust these companies. A look at what they've done with the power they already have shows that consolidation hasn't brought prices down. Costs have gone up, margins have fattened, and patients have been left with fewer options.
Before these companies get any bigger, we need to understand how they price drugs and services. We need to understand how it seems the American consumer is getting screwed every time, while the companies claim to be saving people money.
I'll offer two recent examples of how these companies already use their power to crush competition and keep pricing confusing and secret. Both have to do with a particular line of business: the pharmacy benefit manager.
Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are companies that act as the gatekeepers between whoever pays for your healthcare (public or private) and drug companies. They have become incredibly powerful, with the three largest controlling over 70% of the US market. Those three are Express Scripts, CVS Caremark, and Optum UnitedHealth, and, for them, business could hardly be better.
If CVS controls Aetna, it will control the following:
1. Tons of the pharmacies where you buy your drugs,
2. The business that decides whether a drug is worth paying for; and 3. The insurer that pays for the drug.
It can pocket cash all through that process. So where exactly will the incentive be to cut costs healthcare costs?
One answer is from its few competitors. We're seeing this in action already, but, fortunately, some state governments are paying attention.
Over the past month, both Ohio and Arkansas have moved to stop CVS from squeezing mom-and-pop pharmacies in their states. CVS Caremark, the company's PBM, manages Medicaid programs in both states, and in Arkansas it is the PBM for the state's largest insurance company, according to the Arkansas Times.
According to pharmacists in both states, it has used that power to reimburse mom-and-pop pharmacies less and less for dispensing drugs. Some drugs, they say, are being reimbursed below cost, leaving mom-and-pop shops in the red every time they sell them.
What's more, pharmacists say CVS is reimbursing its own stores at a much higher rate before eventually offering to buy its competitors' distressed businesses. Legislators say this all means Medicaid is being cheated. One state lawmaker in Ohio said plainly: "We're getting hosed."
CVS, which operates Medicaid programs in more than 20 states, has denied all of this. Through a representative, it said it valued its relationship with independent pharmacies and there was a firewall between its Caremark business and its pharmacies.
But legislators in both states did not buy CVS' line. In Ohio, Medicaid has made a rule forcing CVS (which runs four of the state's five Medicaid-managed care programs) and other PBMs to disclose pricing. That contract begins in July, and lawmakers hope to follow it up with a law bringing even more transparency to the way PBMs do business.
In Arkansas, lawmakers passed a law giving regulators more power over PBMs with breakneck speed and bipartisan support.
Customers at a CVS store and pharmacy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on December 4.
The merger of Express Scripts and Aetna would do more than combine a huge insurer with the biggest PBM. Lest we forget, Express Scripts is also one of the largest mail-order pharmacies in the US.
And based on the way it's done business so far, it has no business getting bigger. Another example for you.
The company is being sued by a handful of small pharmacies that accuse it of "stealing" customer information and prescription data with the goal of luring those customers over to Express Scripts' mail-order pharmacy business. The plaintiffs say it has generated "billions of dollars in illegal profits" by doing this.
The plaintiffs run retail pharmacies in Idaho, Tennessee, Indiana, and Oregon – and the reason Express Scripts even has access to the information it is accused of stealing is that those big payers, like the government, won't strike deals with every independent pharmacy.
Instead, Express Scripts becomes a middleman, and pharmacies have no choice other than to contract with PBMs like Express Scripts to obtain the right to fill prescriptions for insured patients and be paid for doing so.
Through a spokesperson, Express Scripts said that it "vehemently denies" these allegations, and noted that the first time these charges were filed a judge dismissed the suit.
But there's more. Earlier this month, citing copyright infringement, Express Scripts had DocumentCloud – a service that lets people publish documents to the web – remove a template of one of its contracts from the internet. The contract was posted by the news site Axios and helped to explain one of the biggest mysteries in the PBM business: how rebates work.
You see, to get on a PBM's list (or formulary), drug companies offer rebates on drugs to clients in their contracts. No two contracts are the same, and they are very secret, so we learned a lot.
We have learned Express Scripts has a seriously loose definition of "rebate." We have learned it can collect all kinds of fees from drug companies on top of rebates. We have learned it can negotiate rebates for itself and keep a portion of the rebates you may think would go back to the client (you) for itself.
In other words, you're playing in Express Scripts' house, and the house always wins.
The Feds
Mylan CEO Heather Bresch waiting to testify before the House oversight committee in 2016.
It's not as if no one has noticed this. It's just that PBMs guard their secrets zealously.
Pharmacists, for example, sign agreements that do not allow them to tell a customer when buying a drug with cash would actually be cheaper than paying for it through their healthcare plan. This is known as a "gag order," in part perhaps because that's what it should make any reasonable capitalist want to do.
One time, someone almost let the secret of the PBMs' brutal business out of the bag. It was Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan, the maker of the life-saving EpiPen. You may recall that in the summer of 2016 Bresch was in trouble for jacking up the price of the pen by 500% over a couple of years to about $600 for a pack of two.
(We should note here that she has yet to lower the price, but that's a story for another day.)
While Bresch was on her "sorry, not sorry" media tour, she made an appearance on CNBC that almost gave the game up. She said that Mylan gets only $275 for every EpiPen device and that the system "incentivizes higher prices" as it passes through several hands to get to the patient. She called for transparency and for all the players, with an emphasis on PBMs and their secretive rebates, to go to the table.
Less than a month later while testifying before Congress, Rep. Earl "Buddy" Carter of Georgia – the only pharmacist in Congress – pressed Bresch on her relationship with PBMs and repeated her call for transparency and changed the subject.
"You know I know better than that," Carter said, explaining that if Mylan had cut the list price of its drug in the first place, it wouldn't have received rebates from the PBMs. Carter asked Bresch to follow up with more details about Mylan's contracts with PBMs.
No one in big pharma seems to really want to do that, and lawmakers in Washington have just recently started asking the PBMs why they hold so much sway over drug companies. In a recent interview with Business Insider after he introduced legislation to end gag clauses (similar bipartisan legislation was also recently introduced in the Senate), Carter explained why.
The PBM lobby, he said, "spent $600,000 against me when I first ran three years ago to try to get me defeated." He continued: "And over the past few years we've seen them ramp up their political activity."
That is to say, the PBMs are fond of their power and will not let us wrest it from them with ease.
"Ask the PBMs what their mission is, they'll tell you 'we help keep drug prices low.' Well how is that working out?" he continued. "We know when CVS Caremark buys Aetna, they'll control the PBM, insurance, and the mail-order pharmacy. What's going to happen is that you're going to have less competition and less choice for patients. And when there's less competition that means prices are going up, and that's what we're going to happen when we have this vertical integration."
Carter, who also said the Federal Trade Commission needed to intervene, is very blunt. Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, a member of House Speaker Ryan's leadership team, is less so, but you'll get his point.
"In light of the chronic mischief that PBMs create at the expense of patients and the community pharmacies that serve them, we continue to be concerned about the impact of consolidation in the healthcare industry on market concentration and competition," he told Business Insider.
Us too. That's why none of these mergers should happen – not for $54 billion, not for $68 billion, not for all the money in the world.
It's just not worth losing control of the entire system.
MarketsOpEd
Merger and Acquisitions
PBMs
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US Lacrosse is working with youth leagues and events throughout the country to ensure that players are grouped appropriately to keep players safe and to help make competition fair.
The new US Lacrosse age verification system is secure and easy to use. Age verification uses SSL technology, the standard for transmitting sensitive information online.
Scan or take a photo of your son or daughter's birth certificate or state-issued ID.
Click the button below and log into your USLacrosse.org account, not your child's.
Upload your scan or photo to our online system.
We'll review your documentation, record the birthdate in our system and then permanently delete your uploaded document.
You'll receive a confirmation email, and you're done. This is a one-time process that is good for the lifetime of your child's membership.
The US Lacrosse age verification system supports the organization's player segmentation policy, passed by its Board of Directors in January 2016. Player segmentation helps to ensure player safety, competitive fairness and a consistent experience for youth lacrosse.
What kind of file should I send?
We accept most common file types, including cell phone or digital camera pictures, scans from a scanner, PDF documents, and the like. Please keep the file size under 5MB. We'll let you know if we have any questions about the file.
Do you keep a copy of my file?
No. Once we have securely validated each player's age, we securely and permanently delete all files.
We will verify the age of your player within two business days, often faster. Watch your email for a confirmation message. Be sure to add [email protected] to your contact list.
How do I use age verification?
Your player's age-verified US Lacrosse membership will be available in our system for leagues and events around the country that require age verification.
Please contact us via email at [email protected], or you can give us a call at (410) 235-6882, ext. #102.


PERRY SCREW MACHINE COMPANY, INC.
... a complete machining resource.
From 1,000 parts to 10 million parts, Perry screw machine products continue to serve the electronics, telecommunications, and other OEMs. Metal capabilities include square, round, rectangular, tubular, or hexagonal.
Our single-spindle Brown & Sharpe machines have a capacity from 1/64" to 1 5/8" round, while our multiple-spindle Davenports handle 1/8" to 9/16" round.
Modern equipment combined with experienced and skilled machinists means quality products on time.
We stock parts for our large volume customers, then deliver JIT.
Our production line of Bown and Sharpe screw machines.
Sampling of parts produced at Perry Screw Machine.
Davenport multi-spindle screw machines in our facility.


HSN Community / Forums / HSN Arcade / What happened to my points???
What happened to my points???
Hi! I've played several games this afternoon including Pegland and Spellbound. I should have accrued an additional 100 points for the Pegland game and 30 points for Spellbound. I did not see the additional points from playing these two games added to my total score. This is not the first time I have had this experience. Why is this occurring? Can you do something to correct the problem so that the additional points may be added to my total score?
I have played several games today and none of my points showed up. I have done everything you listed below to do. What now?
Hello j2luvs2shop, I'm sorry you're having game point troubles. Unfortunately, the Community Moderators are unable to restore your points but I have a few tips to improve your future play. Please delete cookies and cache and be sure you have the latest Adobe Flash installed. Then load HSN from the URL and not from a favorite or bookmark. This will load the latest site updates and set the criteria to report if trouble persists. To do so, please email the Arcade Team and include the following. They will reply with assistance within 24-48 hrs (M-F).


Porsche – The Porsche Macan which was taken into consideration the little companion of Cayenne continuously expand a little bit. It showed up the reduced bass premium SUV continuing to be lots of its captivated rivals. Porsche's marketing arrangement to maintain individuals from all edges of the world thinking about the firm by presenting automobiles that are a tool is the objective moving the generation of the Macan range.
This system is crucial to the connection due to the fact that they assess that it will certainly accomplish the track record mind boggling and also change right into the acme of the line strategy. Great and also healthy and balanced, this SUV will effectively obtain the power of the auto followers. One of the most striking design will certainly not take after a crucial modification. It remains in light of that this line of lorries is halfway decent brand-new, so there is no requirement for this. Anyhow, larger modifications will certainly get on the engine though to consider.
In the beginning glimpse, the Porsche Macan warranties both Porsche productivity as well as SUV ability to move. It is through little credentials in the compound of its synopsis of the biggest Capsicum pepper, it is primarily stratified to extra urban-pleasing price quotes. The surface area would certainly bring the unrestricted basic play strategy of frontal usage, yet it has a much faster hill to its back roofing assistance shafts. The back side is additional, with LED taillights hardly consuming with the wraparound behind.
The interior has an excusable little play of gummed cowhide ending up the method to the start of the rises on this control panel as well as expands on the extremely positive GTS seats. There are 2 or 3 big distinct components like custom-made weaving on the seats as well as seat bands. These 2018 Porsche Macan GTS are outfitted with the conventional Porsche engagement monitoring program that signs up with an audio pack, 8-10 audio speaker systems, complementary graphics UI, a global serial transportation dock, cordless Bluetooth limitation, one device Course that sustains the 3D food selection and also Estimates element. The internal play framework coincides as the various other Porsche designs on the firm with managers set up on either side of the gearshift bar.
Subject to the design and also design of the brand-new 2018 Porsche Macan, is based upon engine proficiency. Macan diesel will certainly have a 3.0-liter V6 engine with 258 horsepower. Macan S will certainly have a 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel with 340 hp. The very best Macan Turbocompressor will certainly have a 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 engine as well as 400 HP.
The Porsche Macan 2018 will certainly come in numerous restitutions when it involves google. The phase electric motor, which is not available in the United States, is a 2.0-liter 4-liter gas engine with 234 hp as well as 258 lb.-ft. of winding. The Macan makes use of a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6, which goes over for 335 stallions and also 339 lb-ft of sight. To conclude, the very best Macan Turbocompressor collaborates with 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6, which has the greatest feasible production of 395 torque and also 406 lb-ft of flexion. The Porsche Macan 2018 will certainly likewise be readily available in diesel variation. It is called Macan S diesel and also it is collaborated with 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 engine with 245 hp and also 428 lb-ft of max contortion. All resources are organized with a dual-speed 7-speed transmission.


J and I have been on the hunt for more organic/natural baby toys that are not the usual "pink and blue plastic" that you see at so many toy stores. I recently stumbled upon these fun teething rings by Koukku and just love the practicality of them.
A friend tipped me off to Haba toys so of course I had to check out their web site. They have an amazing line of eco friendly toys that are nontoxic to children and these wrist/ankle wraps are just adorable!
The "charlie" is hands down the chicest diaper bag of 2010! I would rock this and I don't even have a baby! Such a steal at $150 too!
This adorable down sleeping bag is perfect for the outdoor baby! It looks so comfy I want one!!
This Finland mother took up blogging as a maternity leave hobby. Her blog features a fun assortment of photos she takes while her baby is napping, as she tries to imagine her day dreams and capture them! How cleaver!
These stamps are created with the baby's hand and footprints in real size. What a cute keepsake for a mom!


Fun activities at the Kettering Recreation Center focus on helping kids express themselves.
Are you interested in supporting a child who may be experiencing grief? Pathways Breakaway is designed for children, 7-17, who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or other loved one. This daylong event focuses on giving kids the opportunity to enjoy age-specific, fun activities such as swimming, ice skating and games. Along with physical activity, Breakaway allows time for exploring an emotional expression of grief with activities involving art, music and group discussions. Lunch and snacks will be provided.
Pathways Breakaway will be held on Monday, Jan. 18 2016, from 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM, a day on which many children will be out of school for the Martin Luther King holiday. The event takes place at the Kettering Recreation Center, 2900 Glengarry Drive, Kettering, Ohio, Breakaway is offered at no charge, but pre-registration is required as the event will be limited to 50 children.
For further information and registration materials, please contact Pathways of Hope at (937)258-4991, or email pathwaysofhope@hospiceofdayon.org. Families can also register online at www.hospiceofdayton.org/breakaway.


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István Szabó ist der Name folgender Personen:

* István Szabó (Politiker, 1863) (1863–1924), ungarischer Politiker und Minister
 István Szabó (Politiker, 1878) (1878–1938), ungarischer Politiker und Minister
 István Szabó (Ingenieur) (1906–1980), ungarisch-deutscher Ingenieur und Mathematiker
 István M. Szabó (Generalmajor) (* 1923), ungarischer Generalmajor
 István Szabó (Politiker) (1924–2017), ungarischer Politiker
 István Szabó (* 1938), ungarischer Filmregisseur
 István Szabó (Fußballspieler) (* 1939), Schweizer Fußballspieler und -trainer
 István Szabó (Kanute) (* 1950), ungarischer Kanute
 István Szabó (Fußballtrainer) (* 1967), ungarischer Fußballtrainer

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


We all remember the days of MySpace, and if you don't... well, you're probably too young. The social network has been hacked, with over 360 million passwords taken.
The 360 million passwords are being sold, of course, with the hacker being the same one who was selling the data of the 160 million users that were hacked on LinkedIn recently. The data was taken by a hacker called Peace, as well as LeakedSource, a search engine of hacked data.
The credentials haven't been shared just yet, but to verify the data, Motherboard gave the email addresses of five MySpace users and LeakedSource "was able to send back" passwords on all five accounts. The database has 427,484,128 passwords, but only 360 million emails that had a second password attached. Each of the 360 million records contain "an email address, a username, one password and in some cases a second password".
The hacker has thrown the data up for six Bitcoins, or around $2,800 on the dark web market, The Real Deal.
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How to Build a Tree House. Every kid loves a tree house and wants one in the backyard. Even families without a tree large enough to accommodate a tree house can purchase free standing tree house kits. Whether in a tree, part of a play structure or free standing, a tree house is a relatively simple family project.
Choose an appropriate tree or area for your free standing tree house. The sight should be positioned well away from power lines. Trim away branches that may be in the way of your platform or sides.
Decide on a design. There are many websites that offer tree house plans, or go to your local home supply store for a kit.
Purchase all supplies needed at one time if possible. This prevents not having enough hardware, proper tools and nuts and bolts to complete the job.
Secure the foundation. If you are using just the base of the tree, make sure the tree you choose is thick and sturdy. For a free standing house, you can either pour footings, or make a four-sided base according to the plans you have.
Construct the floor of the tree house by securing the boards side by side according to kit or measured drawing direction. Make sure there are no visible gaps between boards.
Add the side rails. Spaces between rails should be close enough together that a child's head will not fit through.
When attaching play equipment, such as a slide, to the structure, make sure all pieces are securely bolted to the tree house.


Added by Patrick Donnelly 5 months ago. Updated 3 months ago.
It should have similar logic to MDSRank::handle_write_error.
As a result, if the PQ sees a write error due to being blacklisted, the MDS rank will go damaged and will need manually recovered.


In terms of the Electronic Communications (Regulation) Act (Chapter 399 of the Laws of Malta), undertakings wishing to provide commercial electronic communications are required to notify the Malta Communications Authority for a General Authorisation to provide such services.
Register of authorised undertakings providing commercial electronic communications networks and services.
Part IV of the Electronic Communications (Regulation) Act (Chapter 399 of the Laws of Malta) also requires that the installation or use of radiocommunications equipment is subject to an individual licence unless the equipment is licence exempt or covered by a general authorisation. The grant of individual licences is subject to the payment of licence fees. The application forms and information on certain equipment licensing frameworks is included in the following section.


BAE Systems' land and armaments business has received a potential six-year, $474.1M contract from the U.S. Army to help maintain the service branch's systems.
The Department of Defense said Tuesday the company will provide sustainment and technical support through the cost-plus-fixed-fee contract.
The branch received one bid for the contract and will determine work locations and funds with each order.
The Pentagon expects the company to complete services by Jan. 14, 2025.


The HP LaserJet 1220 is an all-in-one monochrome laser printer that also offers scanning and copying features for office environment and home offices. This printer model allows you to print and manage high-quality documents at your own desk, and boost the document workflow in your working environment. It is both PC and Mac compatible, making it a versatile printing machine.
HP LaserJet 1220 monochrome laser printer uses replacement HP toner cartridges, HP C7115A (15A) Black Laser Toner Cartridge that has a page yield of up to 2,500 pages, and the HP C7115X (15X) High Capacity Black Laser Toner Cartridge that offers a printing page capacity of up to 3,500 pages. ColorTonerExpert provides compatible and remanufactured toners for HP LaserJet 1220 printers including HP C7115A (15A) Remanufactured Black Laser Toner Cartridge, HP C7115X (15X) Remanufactured High Capacity Black Laser Toner Cartridge, HP C7115A (15A) OEM Black Laser Toner Cartridge, HP C7115X (15X) Remanufactured High Capacity Black Laser Toner Cartridge with MICR and HP C7115X (15X) OEM High Capacity Black Laser Toner Cartridge.


Congrats on choosing to WOW your life! Tell us where to send it!
Create The WOW Experience with Lynn Rose!
and how she gets your audience on fire, inspired and taking action!
For over a decade, Lynn Rose, WOW Performance Keynoter, Award-Winning Entertainer , TV Host and CEO of Launch You Now and The WOW Factor, has brought WOW Performance to hundreds of thousands around the world through her High-Impact Emceeing, Electrifying Entertaining and Exciting High-Performance Keynote, "The Power To WOW".
As countless organizations, meeting planners and producers attest to, 'No One Opens a conference like Lynn Rose".
She'll get your attendees on their feet, engaged, inspired and on fire for what you want them to feel and set up for taking action, setting the tone for a WOW of an event.
You've seen Lynn on CBS, and other top TV networks, on film, Broadway and more. Whether sharing the stage with Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey or Jay Leno — or leading her WOW Performance Keynotes and Trainings for billion dollar CEO's, entrepreneurs and professionals, Lynn Energizes, Engages and delivers High-Performance Results on WOW.
She is CEO of two 6-figure businesses and has helped launch 6- and 7-figure careers with her media and marketing expertise, while motivating, training or performing internationally for major events.
Lynn is hired by Fortune 500 corporations, prominent associations, direct sales companies, financial professionals and entrepreneurial events to bring the WOW Factor to their event, creating an epic experience while empowering their attendees to stand out in their sales, leadership and communication with a high achiever's mindset for WOW results.
"You Have The Power To WOW"
The Entertaining yet Powerful Call To Action To Get your Organization On Fire, Inspired and Ready To Take Action. Turn them into WOW-Makers and skyrocket their bottom line, along with their sense of purpose, direction and motivation. Perfect for Sales, Leadership, Teamwork, Franchises and Associations.
Learn in the most interactive, fun and powerful way how you can shift your results with clients, audiences, pitches and marketing videos, no less interaction with your team through the WOW Speaking Performance Formula. See stunning Before and Afters and have your own onstage with on the spot makeovers in minutes. Lasting RESULTS!
Specially targeted for entrepreneurs, this Interactive, eye-opening presentation shows you the 5 Elements you need to WOW your career and accelerate to the top of your industry following these essential elements for WOW Success. Before and Afters that will stun you. On the spot Hot Seat Coaching with audience members and designed to empower the audience to take whatever industry they're in and position themselves at the top.
Dive inside the science behind what's been keeping us stuck and the shockingly simple way to move beyond it. Participants will have a whole new skill set for connecting with others for networking, talking to clients, relationships, team members they lead or colleagues that ignites a whole new sense of confidence, effectiveness, well-being and the super power to stay motivated, even in challenging times.
Learn in the most interactive, fun and powerful way how you can shift your results with clients, audiences, pitches and marketing videos, no less interaction with your team through the WOW Speaking Performance Training. See stunning Before and Afters and have your own onstage with on the spot makeovers in minutes. Lasting RESULTS!
Specially targeted for entrepreneurs, go deeper in this hands-on training that reveals each of the 5 Elements you need to WOW your career and accelerate to the top of your industry. Before and Afters that stun you act as powerful guides on what to do (and what NOT to do) On the spot Hot Seat Coaching with audience members take the learning to a whole new level. All designed to empower the audience to take whatever industry they're in and position themselves at the top.


We provide an entirely free care matching service, searching all 27,000 registered UK care providers. We bring you a tailored list of people who can help now, with their price, within 24 hours.
"Thank you for finding me quality care home options for my Mother. I was able to focus 100% of my time on her last days as opposed to not knowing where to start looking for care."
Submit an online care request to begin a personalised search tailored to your needs.
Receive a choice of offers, allowing you to confidently review your options.
Proceed with the particular offer that you are happy meets your needs.
Worried about the winter wellbeing of your loved one? Our guide discusses winter risks and provides safety tips for a happy, healthy winter. Read it here.
The Care Inspectorate (formally known as SCSWIS or Care Commission) is the regulatory body for care services in Scotland. This guide explains more about how the Care Inspectorate inspect and rate providers, and how this information can help you to compare services and make choices about care.


text:
Q: What does mcs stand for in VTUNE? I am using Vtune (9.1) and noticed that it says things like "Self Time 103,425 mcs" - but what does mcs stand for? If I search in the help system I get no results!

A: I believe that is MiCroSeconds.  It is usually written us or more properly µs.
(1 µs = 0.000001s)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Madrassah at site of Indian airstrikes is undamaged photographs show
A satellite image shows a close-up of a madrassah near Balakot, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, March 4, 2019. Credit: Handout/Reuters
Ben Farmer, Islamabad
6 March 2019 • 1:51pm
Ben Farmer
A madrassah run by the militant group which claimed last month's Kashmir bombing is still standing and unscathed days after India claimed it had hit the site with air strikes, satellite photos suggest.
Pictures of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) school appear to cast further doubt on Indian military claims that large numbers of militants died in last week's strikes.
The buildings several hundreds yards from where four bombs fell on deserted hillside in the early hours of February 26 showed no sign of bomb damage, Reuters reported.
India's Foreign Secretary, Vijay Gokhale, said hours after the strikes that "a very large number" of JeM terrorists had been killed when jets "struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot", inside Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Villagers at the scene near Jaba said they had heard loud blasts, but bombs had fallen on wooded slopes around one kilometre from a JeM madrassa. No one had been killed they said.
India said MIrage 2000 jets had carried out a pre-emptive strike to hit militants planning an imminent attack. Credit: AFP
Satellite pictures of the school taken six days after the strike now show no change from a month earlier.
Jeffrey Lewis, an expert in examining satellite imagery and director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said: "The high-resolution images don't show any evidence of bomb damage."
India's strike by a force of Mirage 2000 jets was the first inside Pakistani territory since 1971 and set off the most serious confrontation between the nuclear armed neighbours for nearly two decades.
Pakistan acknowledged the raid, but said no damage or casualties had been caused. It said the Indian jets had dropped their payload "in haste" after being confronted by Pakistani jets.
A day later the two sides fought an aerial skirmish whose details are still hotly contested. Pakistan says it shot down two Indian jets. An Indian pilot was captured when he parachuted into Pakistani territory and he was handed back two days later. India says it lost only one MiG-21 and in return shot down a Pakistani F-16. Pakistan denies losing a plane.
India claims Pakistan's use of F-16s breaks a US arms sales agreement that limits how Islamabad can use the jets. Pakistan said it did not use the fighters in the clash.
Meanwhile the adversaries again exchanged fire over the contested line of control in Kashmir on Wednesday. Each side accused the other of starting the firing.


Only a small drive away.
We are here to help you decide.
Staffordshire based carpenters, covering all aspects of carpentry & joinery, Heritage work, Construction and the making and fitting of Bespoke Furniture made to your own specifications & requirements.


Foxxtales provides charitable foundations that are changing the world a platform to inspire and engage others. You can discover the important work they do & connect with them in a meaningful way.
Learn More About Girl Up!


Home / desserts / food and drink / unique desserts / wedding desserts / 18 Unique Dessert Ideas that Aren't Cake!
18 Unique Dessert Ideas that Aren't Cake!
These desserts will be the talk of your wedding long after your wedding day. From good ole Eclair to Cookie dough ice-cream sandwiches. See more cake alternatives below. Hoover to see the names of each.
Get more dessert idea at Delish.com. Which of these desserts would you try? And, do you plan on adding your favorite comfort food as your dessert? Let us know in the comment box below.


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https://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/Immigrant-indicted-for-alleged-possession-of-15792152.php
Immigrant indicted for alleged possession of firearms
By César Rodriguez, LMTonline.com / Laredo Morning Times
Published 2:37 pm CST, Thursday, December 10, 2020
A man convicted of entering the country illegally was indicted after he was found in possession of three firearms, according to court documents.
On Dec. 1, a grand jury charged Oscar Rios-Sanchez with possession of a firearm by an immigrant illegally or unlawfully in the United States and illegal entry after deportation.
If convicted, Rios-Sanchez could face up to 20 years in prison. Rios-Sanchez waived his arraignment and entered a not guilty plea on Wednesday.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers executed an arrest warrant on Nov. 9 on Rios-Sanchez in the 3200 block of Barrios Street.
Authorities then discovered a Browning Model X-Bolt Medallion, .300 caliber rifle; a Sig Sauer Model P220, .45 caliber pistol; and a Savage Arms Model Mark II, .22 caliber rifle. Special agents with the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Bureau would take over the case.


Kitty Is Not A Cat is a children's television series produced by Bogan Entertainment Solutions.
I worked as an animator in the production pipeline for one and a half years, creating character and effects animation in Adobe Animate.
Kitty Is Not A Cat can be watched on 7Plus or Youtube.


text:
Q: MongoDb index intersection usage I have trouble understanding what MongoDB is doing with my queries. My documents contain almost exclusively array fields, keeping me from using compound indexes.
every field is Indexed with ensureIndex({FieldName:1})
The queries are AND concatenated like that:
{$and: [{FIELD1:"field1Val"},{FIELD2:"field2Val"},{FIELD3:"field3Val"}]}
If i run this query, MongoDB appears to be using only one index.
Why isn't MongoDB using all the Indexes in parallel and then intersects them?
The same problem solved with Lucene runs 8 times faster then my MongoDB implementaition does now.

A: (Before v2.6, one of MongoDB's well-known limitation is that it can use only one index per query except some special cases using $or
To improve query speed, you can use hint() to enforce the index used. Choose the most seletive index.)
As the comments say, its no longer true. Use index intersection. It seems that u can use at most 2 index intersected.  See :  When are Compound Indexes still relevant in MongoDB 2.6, given the new Index Intersection feature?
@JohnnyHK Ty for the comments, it makes me learn new things.


The purpose of this website is to give advice and guidance to Craftspeople who are interested in starting a business. The Crafts Council of Ireland have been very active in this area for many years and so had a wealth of content. Our first job was to make sense of the various content strands and how best to arrange them for the user.
We wanted the site to be very clean, clear and helpful and so shaped the content into four sections – business, ideas, support and connection. These represent the journey of starting a business, from asking basic questions to meeting the right people. This simple, clear approach runs throughout the site with the use of a focused set of tags in each section. The site was also designed to have no 'dead ends', with the users journey always ending in a prompt to further action.


text:
What happened in the Israeli elections?
On March 17, Israelis went to the polls in an election that was filled with drama and portent. Israeli voters knew that, whatever the result, it would have an intense impact upon the future of the Jewish state and upon the relationship between Israel and its most important ally, the United States.
First, let me caution you not to overlay the American political process over the Israeli system and think that you understand Israeli politics. We Jews don't ever take the simple road. Israeli politics out-byzantines Byzantium. Israelis don't directly elect their leaders. They vote for a slate associated with one of the numerous political parties. The candidates are ranked in order of their importance, as set by the party's leadership. To qualify for one of the 120 seats in the Knesset (the Israeli parliament), a party must meet the minimum of 3.25 percent of the votes cast. Once that obstacle is crossed, each qualifying party is allocated seats pursuant to the proportion of votes that it received. Who is seated depends on the party's number of allocated seats and their ranking by the party.
If you have grasped this so far, wait until the next stage. After the election, the government must still be formed. The only substantive duty of the president of Israel is to ask whomever he deems most likely to be able to form a government to do so. The person named by the president will be the prime minister — if he is successful in forming a government. That person then proceeds to wheel, deal, bargain, cajole, sweet talk, threaten and romance various parties to convince them to accept ministries with various portfolios in the government. This process can take lots of time, with all sorts of speculation being floated by every single person inside the boundaries of Israel … and outside the boundaries of Israel.
It is a spectator sport similar to watching a barely visible negotiation in an oriental bazaar where every spectator considers himself an expert and offers advice or criticism — loudly — from the sidelines. That is the process in which Israel is engaged right now. The election was only the first round of a cage match straight out of "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome."
I think that it is worthwhile for Americans to get a glimpse of the way ordinary Israelis look at this seminal election, so I asked a selection of my Israeli family and friends to provide me with their thoughts. It is important to understand the fact that there are about eight million Israelis — about two million Arabs and about six million Jews. Of the six million Jews, there is a division between those "on the right" and those "on the left." The divide is huge and to a significant degree, one group wants nothing to do with the other. As a side note, my wife and I have some family members who are "on the right," and some who are "on the left." We love each and every one of them and each and every one of them loves Israel. But they see things so differently that the distance between them is, in some matters, unbridgeable … kind of like here in America.
Here are the results of my unscientific poll: Although many of those "on the left" are in a state of deep mourning and a large number of them share a deep antipathy for those who are "on the right," the majority of those with whom I spoke were overjoyed by the election results.
One of my close friends, Elie, has a significant position with the YESHA Council, the umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. It is fair to say that the residents of Judea and Samaria are primarily "on the right." He is beside himself with happiness about the victory of Netanyahu's Likud party. He believes that the election was primarily a referendum on Netanyahu. He said that the left made the mistake of believing that Bibi was seriously damaged as a result of Obama's open antagonism. He thinks that Obama overplayed his hand. Had Obama not been so "childish" (his word), Netanyahu's speech to Congress would not have helped Bibi anywhere near as much as it actually did.
By talking the speech down, Obama convinced Israelis that he was the uncivil part of the equation. In Elie's view, even those Israelis who think that Bibi is arrogant or too aggressive were turned off by Obama's behavior and impressed by Bibi's demeanor in Washington. They especially appreciated Netanyahu's invitation to his primary opponent, Isaac Herzog, to join him in Washington to show unanimity. The fact that Herzog did not appear to know how to react made him look weak, something Elie believes was not lost on the Israeli electorate.
My cousin Anat is a teacher who is a religious Zionist. All observant Jews, members of her family have proudly served in every one of Israel's wars. She doesn't believe that the sour relationship between Obama and Netanyahu had any impact on the elections. As to the speech to Congress, she says that it "occurred two weeks before the elections and two weeks are more than a lifetime in Israeli political terms." When I asked her if the elections were about economics, as so many members of the American media have stated, she replied, "Israeli elections are always about security. Security is first and only then does the economy enter the picture. Don't believe anyone who tells you differently."
She believes that relations between Obama and Netanyahu will not improve. However, she says that the relationship between Israel and the U.S. is extremely important to every Israeli. Israelis know the tremendous debt of honor that Israel owes to the U.S. They know that there are ups and downs, but the relationship will remain strong because it is not only in Israel's interest, it is vital to the U.S., as well. In the final analysis, she stressed that Israelis strongly believe that only Israel is entitled to make the decisions that will affect their lives and the future of the Jewish state.
Anat's son, Shmuel, was just released from active duty with an elite commando unit in the Israeli army. He was married in December and is beginning his life on his own. He is the future of Israel. He is a religious Zionist with all the accoutrements — head covering, tzitzit (fringes), etc. He and his wife live in Ariel, a beautiful new town in Samaria with a magnificent university and a fabulous future. As a young married man, Shmuel says that everything is expensive and the economy is a big concern. However, he says that he would "rather go to sleep feeling safe without worrying about rockets flying in from Gaza every day, than worry about the economy."
He said, "Lets keep our citizens safe first and then we can take care of the economics." According to him, there was concern about Obama's antagonism towards Netanyahu. However, the Israeli public is well aware of the leftist bias of almost all of the Israeli media. So they discounted the media's preference for Labor entirely. Shmuel agrees with his mother that even though it may seem that the relationship between Israel and the U.S. has gone downhill, it will stabilize because America knows that Israel is its only true friend in the Middle East.
The opinion shared by several sources is that, for the remaining 22 months of President Obama's term, while the Israelis will try to work closely with the Democrats in Congress, they will keep the contacts with Obama's people to whatever minimum is possible, given the undeniable fact that Obama is still the president. They will continue to maintain their good relationship with Republicans.
The consensus is that the polls were dead wrong because the pollsters couldn't stand the results. Furthermore, the left's campaign was based on the concept of "anyone but Bibi." As stated above, unlike in the U.S., Israelis don't vote for an individual, but for a party. Many voters didn't like the nasty campaign that was directed personally against Netanyahu and his wife. In addition, Israel is a democracy and its voters don't like it when other countries/organizations (such as V15, President Obama's political consultants who allegedly went to Israel to work against Netanyahu) try to influence the elections.
The reason that I have not included more voices from "the left" is because they didn't want me to quote them. Period!
I learned one other interesting fact: When it comes to the issue of an Iranian nuclear capability, there was little difference between the left and the right. All agreed that Iran represents an existential danger to the state of Israel and all agreed that President Obama's "negotiations" with the Iranians bode nothing but evil, not only for Israel, but for the U.S. and western civilization.
Stuart Kaufman is a retired lawyer, investment banker and businessman. He relocated from New York to Mount Pleasant in 2012. A friend recently told him that he has been a South Carolinian all of his life ... but he just didn't know it.


I am accepting books for review. Although I prefer a physical copy of a book, I can accept e-books formatted for Kindle. I'm not currently accepting self-published books.
My reviews are more based on how I actually felt about the book, and very little to do with literary criticism. I tend to focus on my emotions while reading the book, and I'm not one to analyze a story. Please take a look through some of my reviews, so you can get a feel for how I write reviews.
Although I read books from all age groups, I am primarily interested in YA and middle-grade novels, and romance novels for this blog.
You can expect an honest review. That sometimes might mean a negative review. Most of the books I review receive a 3 – 4 star review. I reserve four and five stars for those special books that really find special places in my heart.
Although I may accept your book for review, I may not review your book. If I am not connecting with a book, I may not finish it. Although sometimes I write DNF reviews, it is rare.


As we head to Grand Rapids, we remember that looking forward also means looking back. Where is the profession headed? Where have we been? What skill sets define a 21st century archivist? What practice standards remain useful and how must others evolve? These are all essential questions that will be wrestled with at the Midwest Archives Conference in 2012 by a dynamic and diverse selection of panels.
We are delighted to announce that Kate Theimer has agreed to be the 2012 plenary speaker. Theimer is the author of the active blog www.archivesnext.com, Web 2.0 Tools and Strategies for Archives and Local History Collections (2009), a contributor to Many Happy Returns: Advocacy and the Development of Archives and The Future of Archives and Recordkeeping: A Reader (both 2010), and an editor of A DIFFERENT KIND OF WEB: New Connections Between Archives and Our Users (2011). We are certain that her plenary session will engage archivists from all walks of life to give us new ways to think about the work we do.
The meeting will be held April 19-21 at the Amway Grand Plaza. Located in downtown Grand Rapids, the Grand Plaza is within walking distance of the river front, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Grand Rapids Art Museum, and numerous other attractions and restaurants. The program of the 2012 Meeting will include enlightening sessions, workshops, tours, and other special events. Please join us in celebrating 40 years of friendship, support, and shared learning.
The 2012 MAC Annual Meeting blog is where you can find the latest information about the meeting and link to a myriad of sources of information about Grand Rapids and all it has to offer. Bookmark our site at http://2012mac.wordpress.com/. Also be sure to check MAC's Facebook page.


LTG Rastatt GmbH is one of the pioneers in the production of full-display systems and pioneer in new developments in the mobile passenger information.
In 1985, LTG Rastatt GmbH was one of the first manufacturers of full matrix destination displays to enter the market.
In cooperation with its affiliates, Axion, Focon, LTG Sweden AB, LTG Switzerland GmbH, Luminator, LTG Ulm GmbH and TwinVision, LTG Rastatt GmbH is a global supplier for passenger information systems.
Today LTG Rastatt GmbH reflects on more than 25 years of development and experience and is one of the few companies that offers all currently available display technologies. LED, LCD, Flip-Dot and rollerblind.
Meanwhile the passengers of more than 1.100 transport companies worldwide use LTG Rastatt GmbH information in different languages. This applies to public transport and private transport companies.
LTG Rastatt GmbH products are exclusively developed in Germany and are subject to the strict requirements of the ISO 9001/KBA and ISO 14001 standard. Our systems apply the current bus and rail standards.
The Luminator Technology Group is the association of 8 companies, which together stand for a modern and creative passenger information in different sections of public transport.