Unless an exception has been granted by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) agencies must delay the collection of the Optional Form (OF) 306 until after the applicant's experience and qualifications have been considered and a conditional offer of employment has been made.
If a material, intentional falsification, deception or fraud issue is developed during an NBIB investigation, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will contact the agency to coordinate the adjudication. OPM may assume jurisdiction after discussing the case with the agency. If an agency feels an NBIB investigation developed a material, intentional falsification, deception or fraud issue that should have been adjudicated by OPM but was not, it may contact OPM's Suitability Adjudications to request a second review of the case.


This is probably common knowledge for most but I'm posting it as it just came up in conversation (as I demonstrated it to a colleague). Also for the budding component developers amongst us this be of use and even prove insightful.
So, given the title this obviously has something to do with MXML tags. Which it does.
Well I'm refering to is the functionality that allows you to load and review the actual classes that are defined by the tags in Flex Builder 2.0.
To do this open up Flex Builder and create a new MXML file. The default code that is generated will do so you should see the following in your 'source' view.
[Thanks for the update Rob]Now with your mouse pointer click at the beginning of the <mx:Application… this should highlight that entire row, as you can see in the image mine highlights in blue. Now hold down CTRL on Windows or CMD (The Apple key :p) on OS X and hover your mouse over the word Application. What should happen is that it will underline and allow you to click it.
Who can't open their box?
Generator – Anyone still using it?
You don't have to select anything. Just hold the control button and click on whatever you want.
this is used for embedding html pages in flex right ?


Compact Ubuntu · Nifty tidbits!
I've always hated the fact that on Ubuntu with the default themes, there's far too much space wasted. The buttons are too tall, the treeview wastes too much space so that if you're on eclipse or some other ide, you see a precious few items on the screen.
I've been trying to tweak it to no end - even looking to see if there are any ~/.gtkrc-2.0 tweaks. Found a few links such as this Making Eclipse look good on Linux - Max's blog- however, didn't really satisfy my need.
And so it stayed until today when I came across Clearlooks Compact Gnome Theme.
I love it - one more for my list of must-haves!


text:
Digger used to extract ATM from filling station in Irvinestown
Conor Trindle
CO. FERMANAGH, Northern Ireland - Yet another ATM machine has been stolen using a digger, which was also stolen and was set alight afterwards.
It has been a familiar pattern across Ireland and Northern Ireland for many months, prompting law enfiorcement to consider a link between the incidents.
The latest ATM theft occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning in Irvinestown, a small town with a population of just 2,100 in County Fermanagh, in the north.
"Thieves used a digger to remove the 'built in' cash machine from a filling station on the Dromore Road at around 4:05am causing extensive damage to the building. We believe the culprits used a trailer to remove the ATM from the scene," Detective Sergeant Brian Reid said Sunday.
"We also believe the digger was stolen from ground under development nearby. The digger was set alight at the scene immediately after the theft."
"We are investigating whether this ATM theft is linked to any other recent thefts and I want to make a number of appeals today," Reid said.
"Were you in the Dromore Road, Irvinestown area between 3:30am and 4:10am? Did you see what happened? Did you notice any vehicles being driven in a suspicious manner in the Irvinestown?"
"If you have information which you think could help our investigation, please pick up the phone and call detectives in Omagh CID by calling 101, quoting reference 306 of 24/03/19," the detective sergeant said.
"Alternatively information can also be provided by calling the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
United News Reports
Subscribe to United News Reports Here!
About United News Reports
Tag: murder rate
Donald Trump and his non-stop, pathological, serial lying is destroying U.S. credibility
It's honestly getting difficult to keep track of all of Donald Trump's lies. To paraphrase Dorothy Parker, every word out of his mouth is a lie, including "a" and "the."
So let's sum up.
For the record, here are a few standouts. This man is president of the United States, but gets his security briefings from Fox News and has the thin skin of a junior high school playground bully. And he apparently doesn't read either.
Trump felt he had to lie about the size of his inaugural crowd.
Trump lied about getting a "standing ovation" he received at CIA headquarters.
Trump lies about "millions" of "illegal" votes cast in the November election. Nobody – even his former campaign manager – agrees with him. The only reason he made it up is because he can't stand the thought that he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton – bigly.
More recently, Trump has focused on New Hampshire, claiming that busloads of Massachusetts residents were taken to the state to vote for Clinton. There is no evidence that any of this occurred. Trump has not offered any, and even New Hampshire Republicans have ridiculed the idea of widespread voter fraud in their state.
Trump lies about the murder rate. This is a fascist warning signal – make things look really bad so he can step in with extra powers to fix it.
Trump lies about the news coverage given to terror attacks. A lie so blatantly ridiculous that all the media pounced on him showing incident for incident how he's just making things up.
Trump even antagonized Sweden, of all places, to lie in about non-existent terror attacks there to make the point that accepting refugees is somehow bad. He got his information from a Fox News report he watched while tweeting. The Swedish government is noticeably upset. Who would imagine we would have a president of the United States who would antagonize Sweden?
Remember, Donald Trump is the one who, during the campaign suggested Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's father had been involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy ― and cited a National Enquirer story as his proof.
And, of course, for years Trump promoted the conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama had not been born in the United States, despite clear evidence that he had.
It's endless. Donald Trump is a serial liar. That's not in dispute. How long will it go on is the question.
Trump lies about murder rate to group of sheriffs
President Trump met Tuesday morning with a group of sheriffs from the National Sheriffs Association, a group that consists of more than 3,000 sheriffs from around the country. And to this sworn group of law enforcement veterans, with reporters taking notes, he again repeated a lie about the murder rate in America.
Trump told the sheriffs, "the murder rate in our country is the highest it's been in 47 years." He blamed the news media for not publicizing this development, then added, "But the murder rate is the highest it's been in, I guess, 45 to 47 years."
The country's murder rate is not the highest it's been in 47 years. It is almost at its lowest point, actually, according to the FBI, which gathers statistics every year from police departments around the country.
more details at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2017/02/07/trump-makes-false-statement-about-u-s-murder-rate-to-sheriffs-group/?utm_term=.4963a56ddefa
McConnell says mob that attacked Capitol on January 6 was provoked by Trump
Trump's 2nd Impeachment – Historic Firsts
McConnell is said to be pleased about impeachment, believing it will be easier to purge Trump from the G.O.P.
New York Bar Association may remove Giuliani – Complicit in Capitol Insurrection
Twitter permanently suspends Trump account
murder rate
Doug on President-elect Biden (a few historic tidbits)
Sue on President-elect Biden (a few historic tidbits)
Doug on A Biden-Warren ticket?
Copyright (c) 2019 All Rights Reserved. We are not affiliated with any party or campaign.


text:
Franklin Classifieds
Morgan City Classifieds
Franklin Public Notices
Morgan City Public Notices
Microfilm archives
Franklin Banner-Tribune Archives
daily review archives
Bayou Pioneer Archives
Liz Weston: How to stop being the family ATM
Tue, 08/15/2017 - 10:14am
By LIZ WESTON, NerdWallet
If you want someone to stop asking you for money, the worst thing you can do is say no and then give in after persistent pleading.
Such "intermittent reinforcement" — granting a reward after an unpredictable number of requests — makes it more likely the person will ask for another handout than if you just said yes at the start, says Brad Klontz, a certified financial planner and psychologist in Lihue, Hawaii, who researches financial psychology. It's the same dynamic that lures people to slot machines and lotteries.
Klontz doesn't actually advise giving in. But he says understanding the psychology on both sides of what he calls "financial enabling" can help people change their behavior.
Financial enabling means giving money in ways that keep the recipients from taking responsibility and solving their own problems. It may include providing financial support to an able-bodied person who refuses to work, bailing a chronic debtor out of another financial jam or serving as a de facto emergency fund for someone who refuses to save.
The best way to stop enabling is to first recognize when you're doing it and then create a plan for saying no.
THEY'RE YOUR KIDS — AND ADULTS
Financial enabling can occur between friends and romantic partners but seems most common between parents and their adult children, financial planners say. It can be especially problematic for retirees who may run short of money because of their generosity.
"The biggest risk facing retirees these days is being a financial rescuer to their adult children," said Tom Balcom, a certified financial planner in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida.
Several of Balcom's clients took sizable withdrawals from their portfolios in the past year to support adult children. Balcom explained to his clients that if they kept up their financial aid, their retirement could be impoverished.
"We had to be very clear that at this rate, you'll be running out of money in X years," Balcom said. The clients seemed to take the warnings seriously, and Balcom said he's reasonably confident they won't endanger their financial futures.
Enablers often don't see that their generosity fuels dependency and takes away motivation for the recipients to support themselves, says psychologist Megan Ford in Athens, Georgia, who is president of the Financial Therapy Association. Instead, enablers get caught up in the details of the latest crisis, often believing this handout will be the last one the recipient needs to get on his or her feet.
The person being enabled may share that conviction, despite all evidence to the contrary.
BEFORE YOU SAY YES
Telling enablers to just say no doesn't work, since few are willing to stop the behavior cold turkey, therapists and planners say. Instead, enablers should ask themselves the following questions:
—Will this money actually help? It's one thing to aid someone who's been financially responsible but has fallen on hard times. It's another to give money to people who chronically overspend or under-earn. The latter won't have any motivation to change their behavior if others constantly ride to their financial rescue.
"If this is a pattern that they're running out of money every six months, that speaks to a larger issue that won't be addressed by continuing to throw money at them," Ford said.
—Is there a better way to help? Enablers may be concerned about losing the relationship with the enabled, but there usually are other ways to be supportive, Ford said. Instead of handing over cash, the rescuer could offer to pay essential expenses such as rent or medical bills if they can afford to do so. Any financial help should come with a firm deadline of when the assistance will end, such as six months, Klontz said.
Offering to find or pay for financial planning, therapy or coaching is another way to help without enabling.
—How can you make this decision stick? Once they're refused or cut off, the enabled may throw "adult temper tantrums" that can include guilt trips, vows to move across the country with the grandchildren, verbal abuse or even threats of physical violence, Klontz said. Enablers who worry about their safety should contact an attorney or law enforcement for help, Ford said. Others may look to a financial planner or therapist for support.
"You can appeal to the higher authority," Klontz said. "You can say, 'Sorry, I want to help, but my financial planner said it just isn't possible.'"
—This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Liz Weston is a columnist at NerdWallet, a certified financial planner and author of "Your Credit Score."
Liz Weston
financial enabling
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text:
using System.Linq;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Filters;
using Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ViewFeatures;
using Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding;
using Microsoft.AspNet.Http;

namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc
{
    public class AnyRolesAttribute : ActionFilterAttribute
    {
        private string[] roles;

        public AnyRolesAttribute(string Roles)
        {
            roles = Roles.Split(',');
            for (var i = 0; i < roles.Count(); i++)
                roles[i] = roles[i].Trim(' ');
        }

        public override void OnActionExecuting(ActionExecutingContext context)
        {
            foreach (var r in roles)
            {
                if (context.HttpContext.User.IsInRole(r))
                {
                    base.OnActionExecuting(context);
                    return;
                }
            }
            HandleUnauthorizedRequest(context);
        }

        public virtual void HandleUnauthorizedRequest(ActionExecutingContext context)
        {
            var prompt = new Prompt
            {
                Title = "Permission Denied",
                StatusCode = 403,
                Details = "You must sign in with a higher power account.",
                Requires = "Roles",
                Hint = roles
            };
            var services = context.HttpContext.RequestServices;
            context.Result = new ViewResult
            {
                StatusCode = prompt.StatusCode,
                TempData = new TempDataDictionary(services.GetRequiredService<IHttpContextAccessor>().HttpContext, services.GetRequiredService<ITempDataProvider>()),
                ViewName = "Prompt",
                ViewData = new ViewDataDictionary(new EmptyModelMetadataProvider(), context.ModelState) { Model = prompt }
            };
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
package model.motorVehicles.trains.carriages;

import javax.persistence.Column;
import javax.persistence.DiscriminatorValue;
import javax.persistence.Entity;

@Entity
@DiscriminatorValue(value = "SleepingCarriage")
public class SleepingCarriage extends Carriage{

	@Column(name = "beds_count")
	private Integer bedsCount;

	public SleepingCarriage() {
		super();
	}

	public SleepingCarriage(Integer seatsCapacity, Integer bedsCount) {
		super(seatsCapacity);
		this.bedsCount = bedsCount;
	}

	public Integer getTablesCount() {
		return bedsCount;
	}

	public void setTablesCount(Integer bedsCount) {
		this.bedsCount = bedsCount;
	}

}


Copa Romance - How can anyone deny this is not a beautiful and comfortable dress to wear. Once again Cinda brings the best of Bridal without compromise.
The dress comes with a free dress bag which bares our company logo which will keep your dress clean.


The Bell Inn offers Bed and breakfast at reasonable rates with 3 well-appointed en-suite rooms available all with smart TV, tea & coffee making and free Wi-Fi.
The Bell Inn in Cross Houses offers a laid back approach to countryside holidays, with great surrounding for walks etc and a good range of local attractions with Shrewsbury only a couple of miles away and in the other direction is Much Wenlock & Bridgenorth. Even more locally there are many heritage sites, Attingham Park at Atcham, Wroxeter vineyard, wroxeter roman remains as well as plenty of local fishing.
The prices are seasonal & depends on your requirements but generally caravans are £12 per night & tents are £7 per night.


I never thought my PDF conversion would be so accurate but this tool really rocks!
123 PDF Converter is a intuitive business PDF conversion application which helps the users to easily convert PDF files to Word, Excel, Postscript and Images. The converted files retain 100% original format after conversion. The text, layout, tables, columns and graphics also remain intact.
The OCR feature allows the users to convert scanned PDF files to Word in flowing text format. The converted files can be edited easily using the in-built PDF editor tool. The software also enables the user to Batch Create PDF files and Merge Multiple PDFs.
The PDF file converter ease the day-to-day business documentation by allowing easy conversion of unlimited PDF docs in record time.
If you buy 123 PDF Converter and 123 PDF Creator now, you pay $69.95 $59.95 only.
With 123 PDF Converter, the users can convert PDF to Word easily. They can either choose DOC format or RTF format for the output. After conversion, they can carry out any modifications in the converted Word file.
It converts PDF files into excel sheets. For clear understanding, it splits multiple pages with lines and gives numbering to all pages.
123 PDF Convert Software converts a PDF file into Image or JPEG format. It creates a separate image for each page and stores all pages in a folder specified by the user. The saved files can be used anytime when needed.
123 PDF file converter converts PDF to postscript. The software allows user to select and realize the end result or the final output.
It extracts images from PDF files while conversion to other formats. For extracting images, the user can keep the default format of the images or select one of these formats like PNG, BMP, TIFF, PCX, JPG and PSD. For 'Image only' option, the user has 3 additional formats like PPM, PBM and PNM.
It converts multiple PDF files into editable formats at once while making use of its batch conversation feature.
The user doesn't have to convert the whole PDF document to editable format if only selected pages are required. Just mention the page numbers to be converted to perform conversion on only those pages.
123 PDF file converter matches the color of the text, font style and font size with the format in which the conversion is to be done. It ensures that converted documents are displayed as-is like PDF files.
- Rotated Pages, Shapes, Pictures & Text - It recognizes rotated pages, rotated pictures, text and shapes etc. in PDF file and preserves all rotated elements in the converted file.
- Bookmarks & Web Links - The converted document will have all hyperlinks, bookmarks, comments etc. retained as-is in original file.
-	Superscript & Subscript - If the PDF file contains dates with superscript or chemical formulas with subscript, the user does not have to worry about their formatting. The best PDF converter software retains all the superscript and subscript text in the converted file.
-	Text Columns Positioning - In the converted document, the position of text columns and text lines remains intact.
-	Multicolumn Text Layout - It preserves original multicolumn text & page layout as-is in the converted document.
-	Underlined Text - Underlined text is replicated exactly same in the converted document.
- Drop Cap - Drop Cap is also replicated in converted file.
PDF Convert Software optimizes the file size and thus the converted file is of smaller size. The user can easily upload and download a converted file.
123 PDF Converter makes it possible for the users to convert PDF files which are protected by master passwords. They must know the password of the file to convert it, because the software prompts for file's password during conversion.
123 PDF Convert Software makes use of CPU, system memory and hard disk space in an optimal manner. Thus, other computer programs can work smoothly while file conversion gets completed.
It converts PDF files in 9 different languages, including English, French, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese.
The users can choose between regular application interface and simple wizard interface.
It converts Word to PDF using Add-Ins in Word.
Help file is available and can be referred for detailed instructions and steps of conversion.


Which type of Marmoleum is best for your project?
Marmoleum can be used in almost every room of a home or office, depending upon the subfloor, who will install it and what colors you like.
Styles--Real, Vivace, Striato, Fresco, Walton, Graphic, Piano, Unexpected Nature, Concrete, Decible, (2.5mm x 79" wide cut to any length up to 105') or MCS (2.0mm x 79" cut to any length up to 105'). All are glued down with Forbo Sustain 885 adhesive.
Styles--Modular, (2.5mm thick in 10"x10", 10"x20", or 20"x20") or MCT style (2.0mm in 13"x13"). Both are glued down with Forbo Sustain 885 adhesive.
Styles-Planks--36" long x 12"wide or squares 12"x12". All are 3/8" thick made with a 3 ply sandwich of 2.5mm Marmoleum on the top layer, high density fiberboard middle layer and cork bottom layer.
Which Marmoleum is best for you?
Will the installation be in new construction or a remodel?
What type of foot/paw traffic will there be?
What color(s) do you like?
1) Subfloor: concrete or wood?
Subfloors are usually made of concrete or wood (plywood, OSB, chipboard). Proper installation requires that the subfloor be clean, dry, flat, smooth and free of dips and bumps. Cracks and sloping subfloors need to be filled and leveled; this can be costly, as it usually requires professional installation. A plywood underlayment may also be needed on top of the subfloor.
Note: Marmoleum sheet and tile cannot be glued directly to underlayment or subfloors made of luan, particleboard or chipboard because these materials expand and contract too much and are not stable.
Tip: If you live in an apartment or condo with concrete subfloors, make sure that it's Portland cement (grey) concrete and not gypsum (white, lightweight) or Gypcrete. Special priming will need to be administered if it's gypsum-based.
Marmoleum Click panels and squares are the only type that can tolerate slight unevenness in the subfloor, up to 3/16" over an 8' span. Larger variations in your subfloor will cause too much stress on the click mechanism and eventually wear it out. Click panels and squares can even be applied over most vinyl or ceramic tile. If you have asbestos tile, before installation please consult with professionals who provide asbestos abatement.
2) Installation: new construction or remodel?
In older homes, click panels and squares are preferred because they're easier and faster to install than sheet or tile, and they require much less floor preparation. If you install the flooring directly over another floor such as vinyl, ceramic or hardwood, you can save time and money because there's no tear out required. This is possible with Marmoleum click because it requires no glue or nails, and it floats over the existing flooring or subflooring.
Proper vapor barriers are required such as Moisture Block; however, old sheet vinyl can act as a vapor barrier.
Installation of Marmoleum sheet or tile in an older home requires complete removal of the existing floor and usually some adjustment to the subfloor, as it has often settled or warped over time. Although the initial cost of the material may be less expensive than the click product, the preparation and installation costs could be far more.
In new construction, any of the three products can be used as there's usually little or no prep work required. For DIY installations, the click products are the easiest, but Marmoleum tile can be a good option because it's easy to install piece-by-piece and there's little waste. They are certainly easier to install than the sheet goods.
Tip: The use of Marmoleum sheet usually requires professional installation due to the seams which require special tools and lots of experience. If, however, the width of the room is less than 79", as in a small bathroom, there may be no seams, and sheet goods should be considered. Cutting Marmoleum is relatively easy and not too challenging in small rooms. However, unlike tile-which can be discarded if you make a bad cut-there can be no mistakes with sheet goods as one bad cut can ruin the entire piece.
When you look at the costs of Marmoleum plus installation and maintenance, it can be less than cork, bamboo, hardwood and ceramic or vinyl tile. But, it all depends upon how much prep has to be done and who will do the installation and maintenance.
Bear in mind, preparation costs can be substantial for sheet and tile because the subfloor needs to be perfectly flat. This is true of any nail down hardwood floor, ceramic tile or vinyl tile floor too. However, the click product is much easier and requires little or no floor prep. Many customers have found installation of click panels or squares over existing subfloors by themselves can save a great deal of money.
However, if your subfloor is smooth and flat, and the dimensions of the room requires no seams, i.e. less than 79" wide, you can install Marmoleum sheet or tile by yourself. On the other hand, if you live in an older home that has severe settling and needs serious attention, you probably will need a professional no matter what type of floor you purchase.
Tip: Be realistic about your skills. Installing Marmoleum tile or sheet goods can be done by most contractors, however, seaming and complex floor preparation usually requires professionals with experience in this type of flooring. While Marmoleum Click may be a DIY product, it still requires certain skills, tools and patience. We can help walk you through most of the installation process, but if you need floor preparation, it's best to consult with a professional.
Like any long term investment, you have to consider the cost of upkeep. Forbo Marmoleum is designed to last a very long time. It has earned the nickname "40 year linoleum" and "battleship linoleum" for good reason-it holds up under abuse and is inexpensive to maintain and repair. For starters, all Marmoleum products come with TopShield2 built into the surface which is a protective sealer that makes cleaning dirt and scuff marks much easier.
For those of you with dogs, cats or children, it's important to know that Marmoleum flooring, whether sheet, tile or click, will wear well. That's because it's a solid through-body product. Forbo does not claim that it will never be scratched, because it certainly can. But, it can be easily and inexpensively repaired and re-sealed creating a long-lasting finish unlike vinyl, laminate or ceramic tile, which can be scratched or cracked and not easily repaired.
Some of the largest users of Marmoleum are schools and hospitals. The primary reason is because it holds up to heavy foot and wheelchair traffic of all types, is colorful, completely non-toxic, anti-microbial, anti-static and repairable.
Marmoleum has proven that it can handle moisture very well. Recently divers explored relics for the 100-year anniversary of the Titanic and discovered lots of Marmoleum flooring that was still intact in the cabins after being underwater for 100 years! You read that right.
It has also proven that minor or major scratches can be buffed out with the right equipment. Making quick and easy repairs is far less expensive, time consuming and sustainable than sanding and refinishing the entire floor. Please see the Marmoleum maintenance guide for more details.
Marmoleum sheet goods offer designers a huge palette of 150+ colors and textures.
Marmoleum tile offers 60+ colors.
Marmoleum Click offers 28 colors.
One of the cool things about the sheet goods is that you can cut patterns into them or use predesigned water-jet borders to add some real uniqueness to your design. These require professional installation, but add a striking custom look.
Marmoleum tiles, on the other hand, offer neat classic patterns and styles, without the high price tag. Marmoleum click panels and squares afford more modern themes with the least cost.
Tip: One thing you'll notice about all Marmoleum colors are their matte finish. They seem to blend beautifully with one another and with your home. Don't be afraid to experiment. Be bold, because once installed on the floor, even the strongest colors don't appear that way on the floor.
Marmoleum can also be used on countertops, desks, wall panels, bulletin boards, furniture and more. If you haven't been to a Taco Bell lately, check out the front desk and surrounding walls which are both covered with Marmoleum sheet and wall panels.
Colors/Styles 9 design palettes, 183 beautiful colors.
Smaller jobs don't require professional if there are no seams.
Once you've chosen the color and style, please request a sample to review it in your home or office. Samples are available on our website on the right hand margin below the add to cart button.
If you need further assistance, please call 800-405-0222 or email [email protected].


text:
WNRMAG_Content Page_2020 Winter – Native plants
Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine »
Never mind the cold, think spring!
Plan now to add native plants
Andrea Zani
©AMY STAFFENWisconsin's native plants have evolved to suit the state's climate, making them low-maintenance and better at supporting native wildlife.
There's no time like the often dreary days of winter to entertain warm thoughts of next year's garden. If you're inclined to give this season the cold shoulder and plan now for spring, consider native plants.
"There are just so many different, interesting ways you can incorporate native plants into your home landscape," DNR conservation biologist Amy Staffen said.
Staffen gave that and a wealth of other advice about Wisconsin's native plants during a Facebook Live "Garden Tour" presentation. That video and another similar tour — both featuring beautiful native plants in Staffen's own Madison home garden — are found on the DNR's native plants page.
Also on that webpage is an informative handout by Staffen, "Native Plants for Beginners," and another from DNR conservation biologist Ryan Brady suggesting native plants, shrubs and trees to benefit birds. A third handout from Madison Audubon and the Wisconsin Monarch Collaborative focuses on native plants for monarch butterflies.
All three handouts are reprinted in the print version of the magazine, and can be downloaded in electronic form from these links:
Native Plants for Beginners
10 Great Native Trees, Shrubs and Plants for Birds
Supporting Our Monarchs [EXIT DNR]
Wisconsin's native plants are ideal for gardeners because they have evolved to suit the state's climate, Staffen said. "So they're low-maintenance and will survive better after becoming established."
They're also better at supporting native wildlife, because those species also have evolved in the state along with these native plants.
One of the first things to do when thinking of adding native plants, Staffen advised, is to study the area to be planted to determine "light regime and soil type." There are native plants for a variety of light conditions and soils.
There also are plants for every season. Diversify plants to allow for different bloom times, Staffen said. That makes a more attractive garden all year and is better for wildlife.
WHY NOT NATIVES?
Native plants are versatile and can be melded to any garden preference, from lush overflowing lots to neat and orderly landscapes. Gardeners also can get down in the weeds, so to speak, with plant details, such as which specific pollinators are attracted to which native plants.
Staffen has any number of favorites, many in her own garden. Jacob's ladder, for example, is a spring and early summer bloomer that tolerates many soil conditions. It provides both nectar and pollen and "even the leaves provide food for some moths."
Prairie smoke, in the rose family, is one of the groundcover plants Staffen grows. "Groundcovers can help us capture a lot of space so that we don't have to do a lot of weeding, and they prevent the soil from eroding," she said.
Creating a rain garden with native plants also is a great way to support wildlife while reducing flooding, she added. "It serves as a great sponge" to soak up excess water from heavier rains.
Native planting projects can be large scale "out in the country," Staffen said — prairie restorations, for example — and the DNR has resources to help in planning and site preparation. Or one can add just a few native stems to beautify any small garden space and help pollinators in the process.
"Whether you plant a huge diversity of plants … or if you just have two or three, you're going to make a difference in promoting habitat for native pollinators and other wildlife," she said.
"If you're thinking of putting any perennial beds in at your home landscape, why not plant natives? Let's all do our part to help promote habitat for our native wildlife."
Andrea Zani is managing editor of Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine.
The DNR's native plants webpage has resources on where to buy native plants, landscaping recommendations and pollinator news, plus "Garden Tour" video links and downloadable copies of the plant handouts printed here. Go to Native Plants to Help Nature.
Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine
Let's go walkin'
Greetings from Winter
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Invicta FC 2 Results Sara McMann Defeats Shayna Baszler
Fighter Girls, July 29, 2012 , Uncategorized, women's martial arts news, 0
Invicta FC 2 Results Sara McMann Defeats Shayna Baszler Results from the very exciting "Invicta FC 2" event last night in Kansas City as Shayna Baszler versus Sara McMann in the Main Event. Olympic Silver medalist, McMann was able to earn a unanimous win and remain undefeated in this "Fight of the Night" stand-up battle.
That was by far the toughest and most skilled fighter I have ever fought," McMann said after the judges handed her the win.
In the Co-Main Event, Alexis Davis (12-5) wins by rear naked choke versus Hitomi Akano (18-10).
Sara McMann def. Shayna Baszler via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Alexis Davis def. Hitomi Akano via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:41 of round two
Liz Carmouche def. Kaitlin Young via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:34 of round two
Ayaka Hamasaki def. Lacey Schuckman via submission (armbar) at 4:45 of round three
Amanda Nunes def. Raquel Pa'Aluhi via technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:24 of round one
Sarah D'Alelio def. Vanessa Porto via submission (armbar) at 3:16 of round one
Barb Honchak def. Bethany Marshall via TKO (punches) at 1:22 of round two
Julia Budd def. Elina Nilsson via TKO (elbows) at 3:49 of round one
Carla Esparza def. Sarah Schneider via TKO (punches) at 4:28 of round two
Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc def. Angelica Chavez via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
PRELIM CARD:
Raquel Pennington def. Sarah Moras via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Jessamyn Duke def. Suzie Montero via TKO (elbows) at 2:32 of round three
Jocelyn Lybarger def. Cheryl Chan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Liz McCarthy def. Jessica Philippus via TKO (doctor stoppage) at the end of round one
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Think you're too old to start your own business? Think again. After retiring from full careers in other industries, Oreon clients Frank and Ruth Anderson both decided to pursue their dreams of running their own businesses. Today, those businesses provide additional income during retirement while keeping them healthy and active. Read their story and how Oreon played a role in making this happen.
There are times when getting a valuation becomes necessary, especially to estimate the cost of transactions that are not arm's-length or when no actual cash changes hands.
Australians have been taking full advantage of the offerings on the digital marketplace with gusto for years now, but it has only been relatively recently that the rules for goods and services tax (GST) have caught up.
Among the first batch of tax legislation the government dealt with in the new year was a bill that contained changes to the "same business" test.


Local authorities in Scotland must allow the public to look at their unaudited accounts, and Aberdeen City Council is no exception to this rule. In August 2012 this annual statutory period of time was granted for interested people to examine the city council's financial year documents from 2011.
Paying Through The Nose: Part 1 looked at invoices Aberdeen City Council paid to Stewart Milne-related companies, the Wood Family Trust and the BiG Partnership. In the second and final part, Suzanne Kelly examines finances for the 2011 financial year relating to ACSEF, the Tree for Every Citizen scheme, foreign trips by city officials and more.
In this allegedly environmentally-sound tree-planting scheme, the slogan A Tree for Every Citizen came first, and the science, economics and location for said saplings was a secondary concern. Tullos Hill was once a meadow filled with birds, plants, small mammals and deer.
Thanks to the interventions of a minority, the hill is now largely a scarred, haphazard wasteland.
Pete Leonard (Housing) and Aileen Malone (Lib Dem former convener, Housing & Environment Committee) promised councillor and citizen alike that their pet scheme was totally cost neutral. Who could object to a beautification project designed to combat Aberdeen's large carbon footprint? Who could object to a scheme that wasn't going to cost anyone anything?
More to the point – who actually believed a polluted, windswept hill which had thus far failed to sustain many trees was going to become a lumber-producing, cost-neutral success story?
It seems just a little amiss that the word 'unknown' should appear so many times on a summary of expenditure. It also seems amiss that the breakdown includes only one of the two C J Piper invoices I was supplied. The Hazlehead costs seem to be left out of this equation – and yet cutting these trees at Hazlehead down was, according to sources, one of the ways in which the Tree for Every Citizen scheme was paid for.
Is the meagre £527.23 from Aberdeen City Council to the TFEC scheme related to the Hazlehead tree felling which earned Piper £1,422? If it is unrelated, then which city budget did this sum come from and what does it represent?
Like so many things under our previous council and under Leonard and Chief Executive Watts, these 'cost-neutral' claims were a far cry from reality. The total costs to December 2011 had already been released by the FOI office, and they were damning.
After a great deal of coaxing, Watts conceded that £43,800 had been repaid to the Forestry Commission for the dismal failure of Phase I of the scheme. All who wanted Phase 2 to go ahead blamed the deer for the failure, even though the FC said the soil and weeds were largely to blame. Still, no one would have kept making money had the scheme been scrapped. Least of all Chris Piper.
Getting sight of the Piper invoices was a long process; the FOI officers protected Piper's identity at all costs for over a year, despite this being a person writing city reports which justified his further fees on this scheme, and receiving taxpayer money.
Piper, a Forres-based tree expert, is invited to come forward and explain his determination the scheme would work, and how he produced a report jointly with the city which recommended the TFEC scheme (calling the many opponents 'a vociferous minority').
How someone with a vested interest in a scheme proceeding can be allowed to author or co-author a report (no one at ACC put their name on the joint submission made to the FC) should be a matter for further investigation.
The soil (or lack thereof), the wind, the weeds and use of herbicides alone should have stopped the scheme. (Note: at present nothing like 89,000 trees have been planted on Tullos despite this being the plan. Originally, some 20 deer were going to be culled in the first year – we now know it was closer to 36: which we paid some £6,000 to eliminate).
No wonder the city and Piper were so keen to keep things quiet.
As a footnote to those who believe the tree scheme will eventually be a successful carbon capture system of some sort, there are a few points to consider. Firstly, tearing out the existing vegetation ruined what carbon capture had been in place, and the earth moving vehicles used assuredly had a carbon footprint.
Surprisingly formidable in terms of carbon footprint is the astonishing figure of 2,778 miles travelled by C J Piper, billed to the taxpayer at £0.45 per mile for a staggering £1,250. This appears on an invoice from May 2011 to 6 March 2012, totalling £19,380 inclusive of VAT. As green carbon capture schemes go, this scheme has a great deal to make up for (providing any of the trees, currently surrounded by weeds) manage to grow.
Bryan Massie Woodland Management Ltd did quite nicely out of the scheme as well, spraying herbicides. Anyone can see the chemicals did not exactly save the Phase 1 trees, and Phase 2 growth is already surrounded by high weeds.
Astute council observers will recall the blackmail deal offered by Malone: give us £225,000 for fencing, or we kill the deer. She insisted we had no money for fencing. The public were urged by all interested animal charities not to give into this blackmail and the precedent it would set. Somehow, money for fencing was found anyway – yet the deer were still exterminated.
Highland Estate Services were paid £480 per day to clear our gorse; their Invoice No. 547 shows them receiving £4,608 from the city.
The city had to return £43,800 to the Forestry Commission for the dismal failure of Phase 1, but this seems to have no place in the 2010 or 2011 accounts. This figure was paid rather late; it was demanded of us in November 2010.
The Commission had to chase the city, which eventually paid in March 2011. Yet the sum was not reflected in accounts to December 2011 (received under FOI legislation), nor is this figure reflected in the 2011 scheme.
The council should explain where this figure appears in the books – it is clearly part of the tree scheme. If it were to be combined with the net expenditure recorded in 2011 of £39,798.41, then we have spent £83,598 (minimum) on a scheme opposed by 2,400 people, several community councils, and animal charities including the Scottish SPCA.
This should be a matter for serious investigation by Audit Scotland and Standards in Public Office. It has enriched a few businesses, served as a Liberal Democrat mantra and compromised what was once a rich meadow teeming with wildlife.
"This is a failed WGS planting scheme. The scheme failed due to inadequate protection from deer and weeds. On the 4th November 2010 we issued Aberdeen City Council with an invoice for £43,831.90 – the reclaim of monies paid out under the above contract.
"This invoice was to be paid within 30 days. The monies have not been received. This invoice is now accruing interest and has led to a payment ban being put in place over your Business Reference Number".
What Ms Watts eventually admitted: this money was paid in March 2011. She continues to deny the Tree for Every Citizen Phase 1 planting at Tullos and St Fitticks has any connection whatsoever to the Tree for Every Citizen Phase 2 planting at Tullos and St Fitticks. This is a nice bit of semantics, but would it stand up to an auditor's scrutiny?
I can find no record of Pete Leonard going back to the Housing and Audit Committee and advising them the scheme which he promised was cost neutral would be nothing of the kind.
You might be forgiven for thinking an officer of the city should account to the relevant committee (if not the public) when his figures were found to be faulty. Whether the expenditure was £39,798, £83,598 – or considerably higher when taking into account the 2010 costs – this scheme was never going to be cost neutral.
One hopes that the flight costs were reasonable; they were in many cases not disclosed. In terms of carbon capture, so important to Leonard and Malone when it came to Tullos Hill, perhaps we could have preserved the hill and lowered our carbon footprint simply by not flying these mandarins around the globe.
Perhaps attending our Oil and Gas event at the AECC would not have been sufficient to advise people Aberdeen has something to do with the oil sector. Perhaps nothing was more essential than the Regensburg Burgerfest Festival, or knocking around Australia for economic development purposes.
However, would it be more prudent and somewhat more in keeping with current austerity measures to do more teleconferences and cut out the air miles? Who knows? One or two events less and our former Lord Provost and his wife might have made some saving on their dress allowance, which of course comes from the public purse.
ACSEF is an economic forum where our richest and most influential business people are supposed to give us an advisory forum. The quango, however, transformed itself from 'forum' to 'future', and this unelected body, existing to further business interests uber alles in our city, regularly gives advice to City and Shire governments, which are expected to rubber-stamp ACSEF recommendations.
Under the stewardship of chair Stewart Milne, ACSEF decided the city's special area of conservation at Loirston should have been transformed into a 'community' stadium (and then somehow a private stadium which Milne would decant AFC into, turning AFC's historic grounds into housing for his own profit).
How Mr Milne was able to wear his ACSEF, property developer and AFC Chairman hats without having any conflict of interest is unclear. It is perfectly clear ACSEF wanted a 'spade in ground' project at Loirston, coincidentally favouring its chairman's business interests in the process.
The Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce submitted their Invoice No. 42810 dated 18 April 2011 to Aberdeen City Council – for 'public relations services (ACSEF)' – this bill has some of the familiar features of the invoices prepared by The BiG Partnership (its members no stranger to various quangos, boards, city groups) to the city for 'AWPR'.
BiG was at the time also getting the city to pay for 'AWPR' public relations services. This Chamber of Commerce invoice is for £1416 to cover 'public relations services (ACSEF)', 'newspaper licenses and cutting service', and (partially redacted) 'photography, energy industry conference, town house'.
In summary, ACSEF's PR services seem to be invoiced via the Chamber without the actual supplier being specified, much like the City Gardens Project invoices were. BiG also bills the city via central government for 'AWPR work' as shown in Part 1.
The Chamber refused to say which organisations' services it was billing the City for at ACSEF's directions when it came to the City Garden Project. So much for straightforward, transparent procurement and invoicing. (See The Great City Gardens Project Gravy Train article for more on those City Gardens Project invoices from the Chamber to the taxpayer).
As well as serving as clearing house for City Garden Project and ACSEF-related costs, the Chamber charges £300 per year for membership – which the Kirkhill school paid via Aberdeen City Council, with a few hundred more for the city's annual membership.
People might be forgiven for thinking decisions are made in Aberdeen by a network of powerful, self-serving individuals; there certainly is a smidgeon of evidence to support this view.
It is too late to get any of this 2011 money back. It is not too late to call to account those who may possibly have overstepped their remits, wasted public money, caused environmental damage, and who enjoyed clothing allowances, portraits, parties and foreign junkets while the rest of us were coping with bills and noting a downturn in city services.
It is down to the new administration to look at the past, stop that which should be stopped, and investigate what should be investigated. It is hoped the new council will give us a more robust financial accounting system going forward, one that spends wisely and respects the public, the environment and the public purse.
In a move meant to demonstrate transparency in government, August 2012 saw the opening of a statutory period in which members of the public were able to view Aberdeen City Council's financial year documents for 2011. In the first of a two-part investigation, Suzanne Kelly seeks answers but winds up with more questions.
In 2011 Aberdeen moved from being an SNP/Lib-Dem controlled city to an administration with a slim Labour majority.
Although drains on the public purse like the Tullos deer debacle and the development of the Granite Web's TIF funding application were left behind, the public still had to bear the cost of the previous administration's policies.
Staff at the ACC finance department were most helpful but the year-end document on display was not the detailed set of accounts I had hoped for.
The year-end statement made many claims about the city doing the best it could but most of the costs had already been lumped together and processed. I wanted to see actual invoices and spread sheets from some of the year's more contentious projects (or at least those I knew of).
I provided the list of invoices and accounts I wished to examine and eventually received the information collated and ready to inspect. I have to say seeing the various costs involved is a far cry from reading the wonderfully prosaic year-end statement, and though I am still sifting through documents looking for answers, here are some issues that emerged.
ACC and Stewart Milne are in legal dispute over land transaction issues at Westhill. The city sold land to one arm of the Milne empire at far less than its market value on the understanding it would eventually see a share of any future profit.
At the same time Milne companies were buying and selling land at knockdown prices, they were submitting bids for council projects (at very narrow margins compared to the competition), winning work worth approximately £10m. The courts – including the highest in the UK – sided with ACC and Milne should by rights be settling his debt to the city.
The paperwork I was given is intriguing, referencing neither particular jobs nor targets reached. Indeed, three of the documents entirely lack a second sheet containing supplementary information.
The cover sheets I did receive refer, for example, to Bryan Park and Hayton Road, but fail to indicate exactly what work is being paid for, or if any target has been reached. For the sums involved, one might hope sufficient documentary back-up evidence does exist.
It was a good year to be in PR. Well, it was if you were a certain BiG name agency. There was the unofficial campaign for the Granite Web – when print media was sent to every household in the city on at least two occasions (and lest we forget, in error to the shire on one).
BiG was involved in other areas, though at present we don't know which PR agency the city paid when the Chamber of Commerce (Chaired by Bob Collier) billed ACC for work ordered by ACSEF (Tom Smith) in support of the Granite Web scheme.
Smith is, of course, better known as a director of the Aberdeen City Gardens Trust, a private company to which the management of the web and UTG was to be handed without recourse to a tendering process or checking either man's expertise in the rather narrow field of constructing concrete webs.
The BiG Partnership billed ACC for £54,176 in the last fiscal year: was the AWPR acronym used in the invoices referring to the Western Peripheral Route? Other possibilities seem slim, but why ACC should have engaged a PR firm (let alone paid it storage fees or for website servers) in relation to this project is not clear.
a) ACC regularly deals with a company holding preferred bidder status, a company that has not only reneged on a profit-sharing scheme but dragged the city through every court in the land. How much was lost on the initial transaction? How much is the city incurring in legal fees, and which side picks these up?
Why is the Milne group apparently saying it wants to negotiate when the courts have already found against them? Have Milne companies retained their preferred bidder status? If his companies were enjoying profits from a favourable land deal, while at the same time entering low bids for contracting work, is this ethical, fair, and completely within tendering guidelines?
b) Should the referendum have been financed to such an extent by one of the interested parties? Was there even a slight possibility of psychological influence over those involved in administration of the referendum by the fact the costs were picked up by the web's main proponent? At one stage we were told the entire costs were being met by Wood – why did the taxpayer pick up a £40,000 tab?
d) Has the city paid for public relations for the AWPR? If so, how was the contract for the work tendered? Was BiG given favoured status in obtaining this work via its involvement with ACSEF and the CGP?
Aberdeen Voice's Odious Susannah takes a look at this past week in Aberdeen, and tries to make some sense of it all. By Suzanne Kelly.
What a week! I felt pangs of pity for the disgraced captain who left the sinking ship. His reputation in tatters, he jumped before the entire thing could sink completely, taking his lovely companion with him while others were left to flounder. Yes, it is true: John Stewart has jumped the LibDems and is heading to Manchester.
But who to take the helm of the wreck of HMS LibDem? Who'll be strong enough to shoot the Tullos deer, wise enough sit on boards that redact their minutes, and courageous enough never shirk from public debate when it suits them? Whose record this past year puts them streaks ahead of the other Lib Dems? Who can that new captain be? Why, it is none other than Aileen 'Ho'Malone.
I wish her all the best in her new role, and hope she will bring her stewardship talents so evident in the Tree, dead deer, and pesticide spraying for Every Citizen campaign to the Lib Dems – that would improve their standing no end.
We also learned that her husband Brian is going to be running for election – this will be Scotland's own Kennedy dynasty before we know it. And that's not just because of Aileen's hairstyle looking like Jackie O's.
I was at Wednesday morning's City Council meeting to speak against Union Terrace Gardens being turned into a carpark/theatre/shopping mall, especially before the referendum happens. No surprises for guessing the outcome – we're going to go ahead and keep the ducks in a row for the project to go ahead, and have set aside a mere £300,000 for the legal costs. The legal costs will be massive obviously – like when Stewart Milne had to pay something like £500,000 to sell property from his left hand to his right hand.
The council meeting started on a serious note; The Lord Provost announced there is a leak in the city council. It seems our on-time, fantastic, £60 million-pound bargain revamp of Marischal College has a 'wee' problem: the bathrooms have stopped working on the upper floors.
At first I thought they were 'taking the p', but then I gave the Council's reception a tinkle, and they told me it was all true. Indeed: the City Council is full of it. Let's hope they get to the bottom of this problem soon. Either way, it looks like more taxpayer money will be going down the pan.
There is currently a huge 'out of order' sign to be found at Marischal College: this may or may not be connected to the toilet problem.
Why am I not 'Old' but 'Odious' Susannah this week? Because John Stewart says I am an 'odious individual'. I've been having the most enchanting exchange with some of our elected officials this past fortnight – Odious Susannah is putting together another little matrix. This will show councillors' answers to questions of the day, hospitality registers and declarations of interest compared to directorships shown in Companies House – there are a few differences here and there that you might find amusing.
The matrix will show who's voted how on a few issues. Nothing special – just who wants to shoot your deer, close your schools; whose votes closed Choices, who wants to spend more money and time on the City Garden Project before the referendum, and so on.
Most of the replies that are in are casual and not very exciting, but leave it to Neil Fletcher to spice up my life again. You'll be able to read his reply alongside some of the less exciting ones soon enough. But here is where I became Odious. I crossed the line when I asked leaders of the parties whether or not they would allow councillors a free vote on Wednesday concerning the future of UTG.
Naturally I am opposed to this project going anywhere before a referendum is held. I hope you and your parties will prudently oppose measures coming before the Council on Wednesday.
I would like to know if your political parties will be enforcing a party line or allowing a free vote.
On a separate matter I have received a good number of polite responses to the questions/issues email I sent some weeks ago. The results will be published shortly, so if any of your party's elected councillors wishes to respond, they should do so by Wednesday. (Failures to respond will be noted as well, and the one astonishingly rude reply published in full, too).
The Liberal Democrat group does not operate a whip.
And you really are in no position to complain about rudeness. Is your self-awareness so lacking? You have consistently attacked some of my colleagues, particularly my female colleagues, online in a very personal, vile, nasty and vicious manner. Your actions marks you as an odious individual and I suggest if you can't take a bit of the heat, you should maybe reconsider your widely-rumoured plan to try and enter the Council kitchen in May.
Please feel free to publish.
Welcome to our world, where people whom you have never net [sic]pass judgement based on what they read!
No, it is true I never did 'net' the catch that is John, but that's because some lucky person caught him before I did. But I've never met the man, either. Also my hard luck. But somehow, I do feel able to judge people I never met.
Do you know how I manage this seemingly impossible feat? I look at what they have done and what they do. How they vote, what services they cut off, what they want to do with green space. Harsh of Old Suz, I admit – but yes, I do judge some people without even having met or netted them. John branded as 'asbo-deserving' the Church of Scotland when it wouldn't behave as he wanted it to, and like the Churlish Church, I will have too just carry on somehow. It is a shame we will not part as great friends.
But that's enough background – time for a definition or two from the web – not the granite one that will make us all rich and Aberdeen the centre of the architectural universe, but the world-wide one, and how some public relations companies operate on it.
When a professional lobbyist or public relations operative uses a website such as Facebook or Twitter to appear to be a grass-roots movement instead of what they really are – a company hired for PR purposes. This astro-turfing is done to try to gauge and/or gain public support. It is a very odious thing to do, and most websites prohibit it, as does a code of practice for PR companies.
Do your local newspapers seem filled with stories about the benefits of the concrete ramps over UTG?
Who or what made Old Odious Susannah think of astro-turfing? Step forward the Facebook entry of one Miss Katy Campbell who according to her 'Linked In' site (whatever that is) is an Account Administrator at The BIG Partnership. Good for her. No doubt she isn't aware of the fact she should not astro-turf, but she seems to have done so.
No doubt her motives were selfless – her Facebook presence had been extolling the virtues of turning UTG into the web. Don't bother to look for the postings anymore – once she was rumbled, they were all taken down. No doubt her superiors at The BIG Partnership also made an apology on FB and explained why it was inappropriate not to disclose whether you work for an agency when posting things promoting what your agency does; Old Suz just didn't find it yet.
NB: Linked In says she is into croquet, burlesque and debating: let's hope not simultaneously.
Public Relations Offensive: (modern English phrase) A burst of media activity, lobbying, advertising, etc. to get a point or product into favour with the public.
You may not have noticed, but someone somewhere seems to be attempting a PR offensive.
Do your local newspapers seem filled with stories about the benefits of the concrete ramps over UTG? Are the papers saying that building the ramps will bring over £122 million per year into our economy and create 6,500 jobs? Are you being shown news polls that show 4 out of 5 (if the sample was that large – I doubt it) P&J readers want the teletubbie garden?
Good News! The trees are gong to stay in the gardens forever!
If so, there just might be a public relations offensive in play. All this extremely inoffensive pr is meant to show how much greater life will be for all of us (except the 200 year old trees, rooks, bats, peregrine falcons, red kites.,.) if we literally level the playing field that is UTG.
The new Facebook community sits, some seemingly started by the BIG partnership's opeartives, are a great place to get your questions about the gardens answered. Unless of course you are asking if the Facebook page was started by a PR company; those questioned don't get answered as far as I can tell.
However, someone asked which trees will be felled and what will happen. Good News! The trees are gong to stay in the gardens forever! AS BITS OF THEATRE SEATING, WOOD DECKING AND WOOD CHIP! Result! Sure it will be hard luck on the animals that live(d) in the trees, but perhaps they can be stuffed and kept forever too? We in Aberdeen are surely going to be stuffed at any rate.
Another brilliant PR wheeze is to send visiting 'professionals' to schools to talk to young people. It was apparently 'Money Week; in Cults last week (I don't think we have 'Money Week' in Torry…). From several accounts, some 'merchant bankers' came to school to tell the children of Cults that Ian Wood and Stewart Milne have started from scratch and now do great things for the community like building heated driveways – sorry – like building affordable housing, and really are quite nice chaps.
Apparently Union Terrace Gardens was not mentioned to the children – who were just told how great these local worthies are – so that's ok. No indoctrination or brainwashing going on there then. PR Offensive? I'd say so.
Aberdeen Voice reporter Suzanne Kelly attempts photography around Union Terrace Gardens Design Exhibition, only to be threatened with police and forced to delete some photos from phone.
Last week a news story showed just how far security had over-ridden basic civil rights, as a father from Glasgow was apparently cautioned by both private shopping mall security and police. He had taken a photo of his daughter atop a child's seat within the confines of the mall in question. It seems signs warned shoppers against taking photos, and this otherwise perfectly harmless photo wound up being a cause celebre.
A Facebook campaign to boycott the mall was organised, and the suddenly contrite shopping mall seemed to have changed its colours.
Perhaps Apardion Security (motto: "job done") which work Aberdeen's Academy Shopping mall and Aberdeen City Council didn't get wind of this story.
Despite absolutely no signs prohibiting photography being visible in the mall itself – despite my taking a photo while standing on a public street of a poster – I was followed by security from one mall to the next, cornered, threatened with police and legal action being implied – and forced to delete some (but not all) photos from my phone: from a guard who refused to say who he was or who had given him this instruction to stop photographers.
I had spent a pleasant morning at an event in town – Prince Charles had arrived to unveil and dedicate a statue erected to commemorate the Gordon Highlanders. It was a great morning, a well-attended event, and provided a good opportunity to talk to Gordon Highlanders, who were all happy to talk about this now legendary unit, sadly resigned to history in 1994.
At the end of the event, I bumped into two separate people who had been taken aback by the over-enthusiasm of security guards at the Academy Shopping Mall.
The mall, with several vacant shops, is to be the home of the public exhibition of the six designs shortlisted to win a competition to replace the city's Victorian Union Terrace Gardens with some form of design centre/parking/shopping/'cultural' space.
The actual competition shop is not within the Mall itself but in the old 'Pier' outlet on Belmont Street, formerly a Presbyterian Church which houses a tribute to Mary Slessor. Aberdeen's other memorial to Mary Slessor lies in Union Terrace Gardens and would be obliterated by any new design.
Many journalists have written to reflect the public's dismay at the proposal to change the gardens. They are the remains of the Denburn Valley as landscaped in Victorian times. They are the only city-centre green park and contain listed, ancient trees – some of the few trees in the City Centre, seen as vital against air pollution.
The City it should be rememembered is nearly £500 million in debt, and does not have money for this project, estimated to cost upwards of £140 million.
A local millionaire has offered £50 million to change the gardens into something else, an anonymous donor wants to give another £5 million, and the rest will come from Tax Incremental Funding if the City succeeds in a bid to be one of the pilots of the TIF scheme. If TIF is secured, local retailers will pay increased rates if the area is commercially successful (so trees are not exactly what's wanted). And as is suspected, such increased taxes on the retailer will be passed onto the consumer in the final analysis.
With the tales of the two people being harassed, I went to Belmont Street where the space for the exhibitions has a large glass front.
I took a photograph of a long, thin poster advising that the public display of the shortlisted designs would be forthcoming. I also stood on the steps of the shop front (where absolutely no signage warned me against taking photos), and took a single shot of the poorly draped glass window and the paltry displays that were being set up. Then I left.
I went inside the Academy shopping centre itself, and noticed a poster saying what shops were in the Academy. This poster, on a round pillar, advised that several of the shops were vacant.
I thought that would be a good photo.
The premise of those who want to build in Union Terrace Gardens is that shops will revitalise Aberdeen. Aberdeen's problem, as any first-year economic student would confirm, is not a lack of shop spaces.
Vacant shops are found all across the city centre, as large multinationals offering cheap goods (often made abroad) are taking customers who in more stable economic times would probably have preferred to buy from local shops.
As I was considering this shot I had my mobile in my hand, and was suddenly very aware of a security guard eyeing me as if I were a criminal. I made a quick call to a friend to say I was going to Marks & Spencer, and I left.
I had by now taken three photos – one of the poster visible to all the world on Belmont Street; one standing on the steps of the shop where the exhibition would be, and one inside the academy showing the rear of the exhibition area.
We then looked at my photos. There were only three.
The guard didn't make me delete this.
"I don't need to know who you are and you don't need to know who I am" he cut across me.
I deleted the phone photo he told me to.
I had moved – deliberately – outside the shopping centre and stood by the very clear, permanent sign which had symbols of prohibited activities. In the heat of the moment I noted 'no radios' 'no eating' 'no skateboarding' – but no 'no photography' sign. I mentioned this to the guard.
At this point I took a photo of his back as he scurried away, and another of the prohibited activities poster.
The public are largely against borrowing money to build in Union Terrace Gardens, this was reflected in a public consultation.
Those who are determined that something should go there now have no fewer than 9 entities – either specific vehicles invented for the project, private companies, the quango Scottish Enterprise, and the local economic forum ACSEF promoting the project. There is also a public relations company (which also apparently represents the Wood Family Trust, involved in the project), the Big Partnership.
It seems as if one or some of these entities are very keen that no one should get any press on the exhibition, certainly no photographs.
Perhaps they will be pleased with the public relations the heavy-handed security measures have provoked. Perhaps not.
But if those behind the Union Terrace Gardens 'design' project do not want the poster advertising the event photographed, may I kindly and gently suggest it not be posted on a public street?
At the time of publishing, the shopping mall's staff are unable to comment, and suggest I contact the manager on Monday. Two security guards are apparently standing in front of the storefront on Belmont Street this afternoon, and are reportedly stopping anyone taking any photos.


text:
Start/telecommunications
Ene- 2022 -
Red Compartida advances in Mexico
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Megacable and Total Play increased their market share in restricted television services in Mexico in 2020, according to IFT data.…
World production of HPQ, an input for semiconductors, is 150,000 t.
Global production of high-purity quartz (HPQ), an input for semiconductors, is less than 150,000 tons, according to Graphene & Solar…
Orbia low Capex outlook to US $ 350 million, but with better EBITDA
The Mexican company Orbia lowered its Capex outlook, but improved its EBITDA forecast at the end of the third quarter…
Sep- 2021 -
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Grupo Carso carried out a series of measures to face the Covid-19 pandemic, such as closing stores, imposing online businesses,…
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Canada applies new guidelines in attracting foreign investment, highlighted the Report on the State of Investments in Canada 2021, released…
América Móvil operates 1 million km of fiber optic cabling
América Móvil operates 1,081,000 kilometers of fiber optic cabling that crossed approximately 81 million homes. Regarding submarine cabling, the company's…


Feels like it's been a hot minute since Future came through with some new heat. Now he's back with a new single featuring Drake called "Used to This," produced by Zaytoven. Cop it on iTunes or stream it via Apple Music. They dropped a video for the track, too. Watch that above.
We haven't gotten any official new music from Future's side since DJ Esco's Esco Terrestrial in June, which included songs like "Too Much Sauce," a song that got so hot Epic released it as a standalone single, and "One Hunnid Racks" featuring Drake and 2 Chainz. But like the savvy star that Future is, he's kept his name in rotation, appearing on "X," a standout track from 21 Savage's Savage Mode (best believe that video is on the way).
Could "Used to This" be the first taste of something bigger to come? Fourth quarter sounds ripe for something new from Future. For now, peep the new track below.


3.5 acre corner lot in the established neighborhood of Iden's Crossing in the heart of New Kent County! A community of quality homes. Super convenient to interstate 64 for quick commutes to both Richmond and Williamsburg! Work in Richmond? Build here and enjoy a head start to Virginia Beach and local rivers. Wineries and golf courses close by! Choose your own builder! Covenants and restrictions contain minimum square footage requirements of 1800 sq/ft for ranchers, 2200 for Two-Story homes, and 1800 for Cape Cods with the lower level being no less than 1100 square feet. Lot lends itself well to a walk-out basement! What an opportunity!


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text:
Wendy Sura Thomson
Postcards From the Future
A trio of authors - Andrew Charles Lark, Donald Levin, and Wendy Sura Thomson - produced this dystopian anthology. Andrew Lark's "Pollen" is a riveting, multiple point-of-view account of a strange atmospheric phenomenon that destroys humankind's ability to reproduce, ushering in the extinction of our species. Donald Levin's "The Bright and Darkened Lands of the Earth" is a gripping tale set in a desperate, post-apocalyptic future where a heroic woman battles ecological and social collapse in an effort to save her tribe—and humanity—from certain annihilation. Wendy Sura Thomson's "Silo Six" is a suspenseful story of love and survival set far into the future, when the sun begins its transformation into a red giant and scorches the earth into a virtually uninhabitable cinder.
Wendy Sura Thomson is a 5-star author of Summon the Tiger, The Third Order, The Man from Burnt Island, and Postcards from the Future (as a contributing author.) She has several more works underway. She lives in Michigan with her beloved Setters and covets sipping coffee outdoors first thing in the morning, rain or shine., listening to the waterfall and the birds and watching [often with amusement] the pups explore.
I struggle to understand censorship, because it can so easily get out of hand. What starts as genuine concern drifts quickly into "anything I don't personally like or believe." At c\some point we should all respect various points of view. Points of view, in and of themselves, do no harm. It's only when people either act upon them, or try to force them on others, that harm can happen. Let it be.
t does not pacify the elder called Ells. "Book from man," Ells says. "Remember old wise? 'All evil spring from man.' First rule. Man is evil. The book from man, book evil, too. Nay woman read book, say I."
She looks from one to the other of the elders. Some nod in agreement.
"Council speak," says Ells. "Talk end."
The chief elder says, "Not till I say. And I say nay."
Now the other elders look at her.
"We talk about a book!" she says. "We haven't seen a book since when? Never! Here may be a book!" She indicates the map spread out in front of her. "We have a chance to find a relic of the Before!"
"Why?" Ells demands. "Will a book feed us? Protect us? Do anything for us? Nay. Tribe nay need book."
"The book may help us," the chief elder says. "Books have wisdom we forget."
"Book is evil," says Ells. "From man. Tribe nay need book, say I."


text:
Costi diretti della schizofrenia nei dipartimenti di salute mentale italiani
: Direct costs of schizophrenia in Italian community psychiatric services
L. Garattini, C. Rossi, F. Tediosi, C. Cornaggia, G. Covelli, C. Barbui, F. Parazzini
Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda- Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico
Objective: To estimate resource utilisation and direct costs of treatment for patients with schizophrenia in Italian Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs). Design: Multicentre, retrospective observational study. CMHCs recruited all patients who attended a follow-up consultation during the period September to December 1998. At enrolment, psychiatrists completed a questionnaire on consumption of resources in the 2 months before recruitment. Setting. 14 CMHCs. Perspective: Italian National Health Service (INHS). Patients: 702 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, defined according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-fourth edition. These patients had been followed by the CMHCs for at least 2 years and attended a follow-up consultation either during the period September to December 1998 or on randomly selected days during this period. Patients were classified into seven groups according to their diagnosis. Results: The mean direct cost of patients with schizophrenia in the 2-month observation period was 2 234 475 Italian lire [L.](1 154.01 Euro; EUR); direct costs ranged from L. 1 545 818 to L. 2 775 658 (EUR798.35 to EUR1 433.51) by prognostic group. There was wide variability for prognostic groups in the impact of most cost components on total cost. Admissions accounted for between 11.4 and 56.3% of the total cost, daycare centre days for between 11.3 and 35.5%, home visits for 7.8 to 16.4%, and day-hospital days for 5.4 to 32.8%. Antipsychotics and anxiolytics were the most prescribed drugs and also the most costly. Conclusions: Despite the limitations of the study related to the short period considered, we believe this study offers some interesting information on the burden of schizophrenia, a disease for which its cost has received limited attention so far in Italy.
Direct costs of schizophrenia in Italian community psychiatric services
PharmacoEconomics - Italian Research Articles
Dive into the research topics of 'Direct costs of schizophrenia in Italian community psychiatric services'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Community Psychiatry Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
Social Welfare Medicine & Life Sciences 87%
schizophrenia Social Sciences 79%
Community Mental Health Centers Medicine & Life Sciences 59%
community mental health centres Social Sciences 56%
Costs and Cost Analysis Medicine & Life Sciences 45%
costs Social Sciences 41%
Garattini, L., Rossi, C., Tediosi, F., Cornaggia, C., Covelli, G., Barbui, C., & Parazzini, F. (2002). Costi diretti della schizofrenia nei dipartimenti di salute mentale italiani. PharmacoEconomics - Italian Research Articles, 4(2), 81-89.
Costi diretti della schizofrenia nei dipartimenti di salute mentale italiani. / Garattini, L.; Rossi, C.; Tediosi, F. et al.
In: PharmacoEconomics - Italian Research Articles, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2002, p. 81-89.
Garattini, L, Rossi, C, Tediosi, F, Cornaggia, C, Covelli, G, Barbui, C & Parazzini, F 2002, 'Costi diretti della schizofrenia nei dipartimenti di salute mentale italiani', PharmacoEconomics - Italian Research Articles, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 81-89.
Garattini L, Rossi C, Tediosi F, Cornaggia C, Covelli G, Barbui C et al. Costi diretti della schizofrenia nei dipartimenti di salute mentale italiani. PharmacoEconomics - Italian Research Articles. 2002;4(2):81-89.
Garattini, L. ; Rossi, C. ; Tediosi, F. et al. / Costi diretti della schizofrenia nei dipartimenti di salute mentale italiani. In: PharmacoEconomics - Italian Research Articles. 2002 ; Vol. 4, No. 2. pp. 81-89.
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title = "Costi diretti della schizofrenia nei dipartimenti di salute mentale italiani",
abstract = "Objective: To estimate resource utilisation and direct costs of treatment for patients with schizophrenia in Italian Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs). Design: Multicentre, retrospective observational study. CMHCs recruited all patients who attended a follow-up consultation during the period September to December 1998. At enrolment, psychiatrists completed a questionnaire on consumption of resources in the 2 months before recruitment. Setting. 14 CMHCs. Perspective: Italian National Health Service (INHS). Patients: 702 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, defined according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-fourth edition. These patients had been followed by the CMHCs for at least 2 years and attended a follow-up consultation either during the period September to December 1998 or on randomly selected days during this period. Patients were classified into seven groups according to their diagnosis. Results: The mean direct cost of patients with schizophrenia in the 2-month observation period was 2 234 475 Italian lire [L.](1 154.01 Euro; EUR); direct costs ranged from L. 1 545 818 to L. 2 775 658 (EUR798.35 to EUR1 433.51) by prognostic group. There was wide variability for prognostic groups in the impact of most cost components on total cost. Admissions accounted for between 11.4 and 56.3% of the total cost, daycare centre days for between 11.3 and 35.5%, home visits for 7.8 to 16.4%, and day-hospital days for 5.4 to 32.8%. Antipsychotics and anxiolytics were the most prescribed drugs and also the most costly. Conclusions: Despite the limitations of the study related to the short period considered, we believe this study offers some interesting information on the burden of schizophrenia, a disease for which its cost has received limited attention so far in Italy.",
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T1 - Costi diretti della schizofrenia nei dipartimenti di salute mentale italiani
AU - Garattini, L.
AU - Rossi, C.
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AU - Cornaggia, C.
AU - Covelli, G.
AU - Barbui, C.
AU - Parazzini, F.
N2 - Objective: To estimate resource utilisation and direct costs of treatment for patients with schizophrenia in Italian Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs). Design: Multicentre, retrospective observational study. CMHCs recruited all patients who attended a follow-up consultation during the period September to December 1998. At enrolment, psychiatrists completed a questionnaire on consumption of resources in the 2 months before recruitment. Setting. 14 CMHCs. Perspective: Italian National Health Service (INHS). Patients: 702 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, defined according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-fourth edition. These patients had been followed by the CMHCs for at least 2 years and attended a follow-up consultation either during the period September to December 1998 or on randomly selected days during this period. Patients were classified into seven groups according to their diagnosis. Results: The mean direct cost of patients with schizophrenia in the 2-month observation period was 2 234 475 Italian lire [L.](1 154.01 Euro; EUR); direct costs ranged from L. 1 545 818 to L. 2 775 658 (EUR798.35 to EUR1 433.51) by prognostic group. There was wide variability for prognostic groups in the impact of most cost components on total cost. Admissions accounted for between 11.4 and 56.3% of the total cost, daycare centre days for between 11.3 and 35.5%, home visits for 7.8 to 16.4%, and day-hospital days for 5.4 to 32.8%. Antipsychotics and anxiolytics were the most prescribed drugs and also the most costly. Conclusions: Despite the limitations of the study related to the short period considered, we believe this study offers some interesting information on the burden of schizophrenia, a disease for which its cost has received limited attention so far in Italy.
AB - Objective: To estimate resource utilisation and direct costs of treatment for patients with schizophrenia in Italian Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs). Design: Multicentre, retrospective observational study. CMHCs recruited all patients who attended a follow-up consultation during the period September to December 1998. At enrolment, psychiatrists completed a questionnaire on consumption of resources in the 2 months before recruitment. Setting. 14 CMHCs. Perspective: Italian National Health Service (INHS). Patients: 702 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, defined according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-fourth edition. These patients had been followed by the CMHCs for at least 2 years and attended a follow-up consultation either during the period September to December 1998 or on randomly selected days during this period. Patients were classified into seven groups according to their diagnosis. Results: The mean direct cost of patients with schizophrenia in the 2-month observation period was 2 234 475 Italian lire [L.](1 154.01 Euro; EUR); direct costs ranged from L. 1 545 818 to L. 2 775 658 (EUR798.35 to EUR1 433.51) by prognostic group. There was wide variability for prognostic groups in the impact of most cost components on total cost. Admissions accounted for between 11.4 and 56.3% of the total cost, daycare centre days for between 11.3 and 35.5%, home visits for 7.8 to 16.4%, and day-hospital days for 5.4 to 32.8%. Antipsychotics and anxiolytics were the most prescribed drugs and also the most costly. Conclusions: Despite the limitations of the study related to the short period considered, we believe this study offers some interesting information on the burden of schizophrenia, a disease for which its cost has received limited attention so far in Italy.
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text:
"The Pay Gap Is Just Too Large": NYC's First Lady Sounds Off on Women's Soccer and Today's Parade
Chirlane McCray takes charge.
By Lane Florsheim
Hosting today's ticker tape parade for the world champion U.S. women's soccer team was a no-brainer for New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray.
"It was pretty clear this was an opportunity we could not possibly pass up—this is New York City, home of the women's rights movement and the birthplace of International Women's Day," McCray told Marie Claire.
The parade itself is a historic milestone for the city, its first ticker-tape parade for a women's team. "They're a long established tradition for men," McCray says, "and today, we're signaling to the world that this is something to celebrate: the players and the sport and the fact that we've never done this before."
But, despite the U.S. team's historic Women's World Cup victory and today's groundbreaking celebration, a sexist undercurrent still persists—as was widely reported earlier this week, the women's teams are being paid a shocking 40 times less than the men's teams.
"The pay gap is just too large," McCray says of the disheartening news. "This sends a very bad message to girls and women. Anything we do to honor and celebrate athletics for girls and women will help us make strides in the right direction—the parade helps, the extraordinary viewership numbers for the game help. That sends a message that there is a demand out there. There is a desire. People have to set an example by paying their players and pushing others to do the same."
But McCray's not getting discouraged any time soon—in fact, she's pushing harder for women to get what they deserve. "The only way we're going to bring about change is if women go after what they want and really work for it, push for it, and demand it," she says. "Anything worth doing is a challenge, and if we shy away from it, we're not going to make any progress. Women should go after whatever it is they want so we can push the needle of progress forward."
Lane Florsheim Features Editorial Assistant I'm the features editorial assistant at Marie Claire.
World Cup Champion Kelley O'Hara on Winning, the Pay Gap, and What Comes Next
The U.S. Women's Soccer Team Is Still Turning Up
The Gender Pay Gap in Soccer Is Embarrassing
A Game Changer
The U.S. Women's Team Takes the World Cup
There's a Pay Gap in the White House, Too