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CTLA-4 Expression on HIV-specific CD4 T cells
At the ongoing Keystone meeting on HIV pathogenesis, being held high amidst the Canadian Rockies at the Whistler Resort, new data was presented today on CTLA-4 expression on HIV-specific CD4 T cells. CTLA-4 is a molecule that can negatively regulate T cell responses by interacting with its ligands CD80 and CD86. Previous studies have shown that levels of CTLA-4 are upregulated on total CD4 T cells in progressive HIV infection and this increase in CTLA-4 expression is associated with immune activation and CD4 T cell anergy. Additionally, CTLA-4 blockade (with an antibody called MDX-010) has been reported to have beneficial effects in SIV-infected macaques. At the Keystone meeting, Daniel Kaufmann from Massachusetts General Hospital reported his analysis of CTLA-4 levels among HIV-specific CD4 T cells in a cohort of 50 infected individuals at various stages of disease. Kaufmann found that HIV Gag-specific CD4 T cells expressed high levels of CTLA-4 on their surface; the mean flourescence intensity (MFI) was 4,520 compared to 658 on CMV-specific CD4 T cells. Kaufmann was able to correlate the MFI with intracellular levels of CTLA-4, and used the latter in subsequent analyses (because it is more easily measurable). Looking at markers of disease progression, Kaufmann found that CTLA-4 levels in Gag-specific CD4 T cells correlated positively with viral load (r2=0.81, p=0.0001) and inversely with CD4 T cell counts (r2=0.58, p=0.001). Breaking the cohort into groups based on disease stage, CTLA-4 levels in Gag-specific CD4 T cells were elevated compared to CMV-specific CD4 T cells at all stages of untreated progressive disease and in individuals on ART. The only exception were a group of elite controllers with viral loads <50 copies in the absence of therapy, these individuals had CTLA-4 levels on their Gag-specific CD4 T cells that were comparable to their CMV-specific CD4 T cells.
In terms of the functionality of the Gag-specific CD4 T cells studied, CTLA-4 levels were lower on cells that made the cytokine IL-2 or both IL-2 and interferon gamma and higher on cells that could make only interferon gamma. Blockade of CTLA-4 in vitro appeared to increase the ability of Gag-specific CD4 T cells to proliferate (from 3.23% to 10.3% in a CFSE assay), while it had no effect on CMV-specific responses. Kaufmann also found that CTLA-4 was often co-expressed with PD-1, another marker of T cell exhaustion that has received much attention recently. However, unlike PD-1, CTLA-4 upregulation was not seen on CD8 T cells in this study. Also, in response to a question, Kaufmann noted that dual blockade of PD-1 and CTLA-4 in vitro did not exert additive effects on CD4 T cell function, in fact it appeared to do the opposite in preliminary experiments. Kaufmann concluded that CTLA-4 is another marker of CD4 T cell exhaustion in HIV that may be amenable to manipulation, but further experiments will be needed to assess the therapeutic potential of CTLA-4 blocking strategies.
March 29, 2007 in HIV-specific T cell immunity | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Wyeth Reports Electrifying DNA Vaccine Results
In the early 1990s, vaccine researchers were surprised to discover that simply injecting DNA sequences encoding protein antigens could induce substantial immune responses in mice. For a time there was a great deal of excitement about the potential of these "naked DNA" vaccines, particularly because they are extremely cheap and easy to produce. However, as studies escalated into larger animals and humans, it quickly became apparent that the immunogenicity of the vaccines declined dramatically in these settings. Several candidates abjectly failed to induce detectable immune reponses in humans. Nevertheless, researchers have continued to work on improving DNA vaccine immunogenicity and recent phase I trial results from NIH's Vaccine Research Center suggest that HIV DNA vaccines delivered by a needle-free device called a Biojector can be a viable component of a prime-boost vaccine regimen. In parallel, researchers at Wyeth Vaccines have also been exploring ways to soup up their DNA vaccine candidates. Inclusion of "molecular adjuvants" (such as genes encoding potentially immune-boosting cytokines like IL-12 and IL-15) is one strategy Wyeth has explored, with some incremental improvements seen when IL-12 DNA is delivered along with an HIV DNA vaccine.
Now, in J. Virology, Wyeth researchers report far more dramatic results obtained using a technique called electroporation. This technique involves delivering a short burst of electrical stimulation to the area where the DNA vaccine is injected using a special wand. The electricity opens transient pores in local cell membranes, allowing the DNA vaccine easier access to the nucleus where it can then produce vaccine-encoded antigens. Furthermore, electroporation also attracts inflammatory cells - including antigen-presenting dendritic cells - to the site of immunization. The new study reports that electroporation massively enhanced the T cell response to an SIV DNA vaccine in macaques. Specifically, although animals receiving electroporation were given 1/5 the DNA vaccine dose, SIV-specific T cell responses were 10-40 fold higher than those seen in macaques immunized with DNA vaccines alone. The study authors note that while electroporation seemed safe in macaques, the question of safety and tolerability in humans will need to be comprehensively addressed in phase I trials. The manufacturers of the technology used in this study, Inovio, issued an accompanying press release which states that they are also collaborating with other partners and several human trials of DNA vaccines and immunotherapies combined with their electroporation device are ongoing. Results from these trials should reveal whether electroporation can safely give DNA vaccines the zap they need.
JVI Accepts, published online ahead of print on 28 February 2007
Effect of plasmid DNA vaccine design and in vivo electroporation on the resulting vaccine-specific immune responses in rhesus macaques
Amara Luckay, Maninder K. Sidhu, Rune Kjeken, Shakuntala Megati, Siew-Yen Chong, Vidia Roopchand, Dorys Garcia-Hand, Rashed Abdullah, Ralph Braun, David C. Montefiori, Margherita Rosati, Barbara K. Felber, George N. Pavlakis, Iacob Mathiesen, Zimra R. Israel, John H. Eldridge, and Michael A. Egan*
Wyeth Vaccines Research, Pearl River, New York 10965; Inovio AS, Forskningsveien 2a, 0373, Oslo, Norway, Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA, Human Retrovirus Section, Basic Research Laboratory, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Frederick, Maryland 21702-1201
Since HIV-specific cell-mediated immune (CMI) response are critical in the early control and resolution of HIV infection and correlate with post challenge outcome in rhesus macaque challenge experiments, we sought to identify a plasmid DNA (pDNA) vaccine design capable of eliciting robust and balanced CMI responses to multiple HIV-1 derived antigens for further development. Previously a number of 2-, 3- and 4-vector pDNA vaccine designs were identified as capable of eliciting HIV-1 antigen-specific CMI responses in mice (Egan MA et al, Vaccine 24:4510, 2006). We then sought to further characterize the relative immunogenicity of these 2-, 3- and 4-vector pDNA vaccine designs in non-human primates and to determine the extent to which in vivo electroporation (EP) could improve the resulting immune responses. The results indicate that a 2-vector pDNA vaccine design elicited the most robust and balanced CMI response. In addition, vaccination in combination with in vivo EP led to a more rapid onset and enhanced vaccine-specific immune responses. In macaques immunized in combination with in vivo EP we observed a 10-40-fold increase in HIV-specific ELISpot responses compared to macaques receiving a 5-fold higher dose of vaccine without in vivo EP. This increase in CMI responses translates to an apparent 50-200-fold increase in pDNA vaccine potency. Importantly, in vivo EP enhanced the immune response against the less immunogenic antigens resulting in a more balanced immune response. In addition, in vivo EP resulted in an approximate 2.5 log10 increase in antibody responses. The results further indicate that in vivo EP was associated with a significant reduction in pDNA persistence and did not result in an increase in pDNA associated with high molecular weight DNA relative to macaques receiving the pDNA without EP. Collectively, these results have important implications for the design and development of an efficacious vaccine for the prevention of HIV-1 infection.
March 27, 2007 in Vaccines | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Humanized Mouse Model Advances
Last year, J. Victor Garcia's group at the University of Texas described a technique that allows immunodeficient mice to be reconstituted with a human immune system. Although there are still issues in terms of potential confounding crosstalk between mouse and human immune system components in this and similar "humanized mouse" models, they may offer a useful tool for studying approaches to the treatment and prevention of HIV. Today, J.Victor Garcia's group reports another step in this direction in the online first section of the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The researchers successfully infected humanized mice intrarectally with HIV, leading to CD4 depletion broadly resembling that seen in humans. Notably, the study used the laboratory HIV strain LAI for this experiment and since this is an X4 virus it will be important to find out if similar results can be obtained with R5-using HIV strains. Also, while the study claims that the phenotype of gut CD4 T cells in this system is similar to humans and macaques, there are significant differences in terms of CXCR4 expression (most human gut CD4 T cells co-express CXCR4 and CCR5, whereas CXCR4 expression on gut T cells in the humanized mice was low).
The Journal of Experimental Medicine
Published online 26 March 2007
doi:10.1084/jem.20062411
BRIEF DEFINITIVE REPORT
Intrarectal transmission, systemic infection, and CD4+ T cell depletion in humanized mice infected with HIV-1
Zhifeng Sun1, Paul W. Denton1, Jacob D. Estes2, Florence A. Othieno1, Bangdong L. Wei1, Anja K. Wege1, Michael W. Melkus1, Angela Padgett-Thomas1, Mary Zupancic2, Ashley T. Haase2, and J. Victor Garcia1
1 Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75390
2 Department of Microbiology, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Intrarectal infection between men who have sex with men represents a predominant form of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission in developed countries. Currently there are no adequate small animal models that recapitulate intrarectal HIV transmission. Here we demonstrate that human lymphocytes generated in situ from hematopoietic stem cells reconstitute the gastrointestinal tract of humanized mice with human CD4+ T cells rendering them susceptible to intrarectal HIV transmission. HIV infection after a single intrarectal inoculation results in systemic infection with depletion of CD4+ T cells in gut-associated lymphoid tissue and other pathologic sequela that closely mimics those observed in HIV infected humans. This novel model provides the basis for the development and evaluation of novel approaches aimed at immune reconstitution of human gut-associated lymphoid tissue and for the development, testing, and implementation of microbicides to prevent intrarectal HIV-1 transmission.
March 26, 2007 in Miscellaneous | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
AAV Vectors Face Uncertain Future
Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) has shown great promise as a potential vaccine and gene therapy vector in small animal models and non-human primates. One of AAV's most desirable qualities is the sustained expression of its genetic payload over the course of many months, leading to the suggestion that it might be used to make a "one shot" vaccine. However, at recent conferences it has been revealed that the immunogenicity of AAV-based HIV vaccine candidates in phase I human trials has been extremely disappointing. Results using AAV as a gene therapy in humans have also not lived up to expectations. In the online first section of Nature Medicine, researchers now report that they may have identified the problem. It appears that, unlike the animals used in preclinical experiments, humans have CD8 T cell responses targeting the AAV capsid. Furthermore, these T cell responses are capable of recognizing capsids from multiple different AAV serotypes. These findings suggest that it will be extremely difficult - perhaps impossible - to alter current AAV vectors to evade the human CD8 T cell response.
Nature Medicine, Advance online publication
Published online: 18 March 2007; | doi:10.1038/nm1549
CD8+ T-cell responses to adeno-associated virus capsid in humans
Federico Mingozzi, Marcela V Maus, Daniel J Hui, Denise E Sabatino, Samuel L Murphy, John E J Rasko, Margaret V Ragni, Catherine S Manno, 6, Jurg Sommer, Haiyan Jiang, Glenn F Pierce, Hildegund C J Ertl & Katherine A High
Hepatic adeno-associated virus (AAV)-serotype 2 mediatedgene transfer results in transgene product expression that is sustained in experimental animals but not in human subjects. We hypothesize that this is caused by rejection of transduced hepatocytes by AAV capsid–specific memory CD8+ T cells reactivated by AAV vectors. Here we show that healthy subjects carry AAV capsid–specific CD8+ T cells and that AAV-mediated gene transfer results in their expansion. No such expansion occurs in mice after AAV-mediated gene transfer. In addition, we show that AAV-2 induced human T cells proliferate upon exposure to alternate AAV serotypes, indicating that other serotypes are unlikely to evade capsid-specific immune responses.
Keratinocyte Growth Factor: Potential Immune-Based Therapy?
Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) is a recombinant form of a natural human protein that stimulates the growth of epithelial cells. KGF (generic name palifermin, trade name Kepivance) is approved by the FDA to reduce the incidence of severe mucositis (injury to the cells lining the mouth) and to shorten the time with severe mucositis in people receiving cancer chemotherapies. The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) is currently conducting a study that will evaluate whether KGF can help restore CD4 T cell counts in individuals with a discordant response to HAART (controlled viral load but an inadequate rise in peripheral blood CD4 T cells). The rationale for the trial came from studies describing a potential role for keratinocyte growth factor in enhancing T cell production by the thymus, via the restoration of the thymic epithelium.
Now a new study just published in the online first section of the journal Blood reports encouraging data from macaques undergoing stem cell transplantation, further bolstering the rationale for studying KGF as an immune-based therapy. The study found that KGF administration increased thymic output of new naive T cells, boosting their numbers significantly compared to untreated animals.
Blood First Edition Paper, prepublished online March 20, 2007; DOI 10.1182/blood-2006-12-065623.
Accepted March 15, 2007
Keratinocyte growth factor augments immune reconstitution after autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation in rhesus macaques
Ruth Seggewiss, Karin Lore, F. Javier Guenaga, Stefania Pittaluga, Joseph Mattapallil, Catherine K Chow, Richard A Koup, Kevin Camphausen, Martha C Nason, Martin Meier-Schellersheim, Robert E Donahue, Bruce R Blazar, Cynthia E Dunbar, and Daniel C Douek*
Opportunistic infections contribute to morbidity and mortality after peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) transplantation and are related to a deficient T cell compartment. Accelerated T cell reconstitution may therefore be clinically beneficent. Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) has been shown to protect thymic epithelial cells in mice. Here, we evaluated immune reconstitution after autologous CD34+ PBPC transplantation in rhesus macaques conditioned with myeloablative total body irradiation (TBI) in the absence or presence of single pre-TBI or repeated peri-transplant KGF administration. All KGF-treated animals exhibited a well-preserved thymic architecture 12 months post-graft. In contrast, thymic atrophy was observed in the majority of animals in the control group. The KGF-treated animals showed higher frequencies of naive T cells in lymph nodes post transplantation compared to the control animals. The animals given repeated doses of KGF showed the highest levels of TRECs and the lowest frequencies of Ki67+ T cells, which suggest increased thymic-dependent reconstitution in these animals. Of note, the humoral response to a T cell dependent neo-antigen was significantly higher in the KGF-treated animals compared to the control animals. Thus, our findings suggest that KGF may be a useful adjuvant therapy to augment T cell reconstitution after human PBPC transplantation.
March 24, 2007 in Immune-based therapies | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
PD-1 Expression on SIV-specific T cells
A new paper from Rama Rao Amara's group at Emory University offers the first detailed look at PD-1 expression on T cells in SIV-infected macaques. The study jibes with those previously published in mice and humans, but also adds the potentially important finding that SIV-specific memory T cell responses induced by vaccination appear less susceptible to exhaustion than the SIV-specific T cell responses that develop in naive animals. The authors also note that their results suggest that the SIV/macaque model will be useful for evaluating the potential risks and benefits of blocking PD-1/PD-1 ligand interactions; in mice, this strategy has been shown to revive exhausted T cell responses, but it is also known to carry a risk of triggering autoimmunity.
JVI Accepts, published online ahead of print on 21 March 2007
Elevated Expression of the Inhibitory Receptor Programmed Death-1 on Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Specific CD8 T Cells During Chronic Infection but not Following Vaccination
Vijayakumar Velu, Sunil Kannanganat, Chris Ibegbu, Lakshmi Chennareddi, Francois Villinger, Gordon J. Freeman, Rafi Ahmed, and Rama Rao Amara
Vaccine Research Center, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Department of Pathology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA; Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
Here, we study the temporal expression of the inhibitory receptor programmed death-1 (PD-1) on SIV Gag-specific T cells following pathogenic SIV infection, or following vaccination with a DNA/MVA vaccine and SHIV challenge in macaques. Following infection, the majority (>95%) of Gag-specific CD8 T cells expressed PD-1 and the level of PD-1 expression per cell increased over time. The level of PD-1 expression in lymph nodes and rectal mucosal tissue, the major sites of virus replication, was higher compared to blood. In vitro blockade of PD-1 resulted in enhanced proliferation of SIV-specific CD8 as well as CD4 T cells. In contrast, following vaccination, the majority of peak effector Gag-specific CD8 T cells expressed low levels of PD-1 and these levels decreased further as the cells differentiated into memory. In addition, following SHIV challenge of these vaccinated macaques, the level of PD-1 expression on Gag-specific CD8 T cells correlated positively with plasma viremia. These results demonstrate that SIV-specific CD8 T cells express PD-1 following exposure to antigen but down regulate expression under conditions of antigen clearance and enhance expression under conditions of antigen persistence. They also demonstrate that the level of PD-1 expression per cell rather than the presence or absence of expression plays an important role in regulating CD8 T cell dysfunction in pathogenic SIV infection. In addition, they demonstrate that similar to HIV infection, the PD-1: PD-1 ligand inhibitory pathway is operational in pathogenic SIV infection and the macaque/SIV model would be ideal to test the safety and therapeutic benefit of blocking this pathway in vivo.


Some cities are using drug-detecting robots to fight the opioid crisis at the street level — and below it.
Mike Bajorek, deputy town manager for Cary, N.C., was once a stranger to the opioid crisis. "Up until Thanksgiving last year, if you'd asked me if Cary had an opioid problem, I would have said, 'What's an opioid?'"
But upon returning to work after the holiday a year ago, the town's fire chief alerted other leaders that the department had responded to five opioid overdoses that weekend, and three were fatal. That launched deeper conversations among leaders in the town of 162,000 residents, and it led to the mayor's admission that, like a growing number of large and small communities across the country, Cary had an opioid problem.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the national rate of fatal opioid overdoses rose to nearly 20 people per 100,000 in 2016 — a 17% jump since 2015 — and the crisis is growing. Last month, President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. Yet a lack of funding from the federal level has tasked local governments with finding solutions in their cities, fast.
"Cary is one of the safest cities in country. But when the mayor says [opioids are] a top priority, we heard him loud and clear," Bajorek said. The mayor's call to action prompted town employees from a variety of departments to brainstorm approaches to mitigate the problem.
Leaders focused on a solution that a handful of other municipalities are considering but few, if any, have significant experience with: using drug-detecting robots to fight the opioid crisis at the street level. Or more accurately, below the street level, considering that the robots are designed to work their magic in the sewer system.
The practice — sewage or wastewater epidemiology — involves studying metabolite excretions, also called biomarkers, in the urine and feces found in sewage. It gained popularity in the United States in 2001, and the public largely became aware of this type of research when media outlets reported on the amount of antidepressants and hormones detected in America's wastewater. Since that time, researchers have taken to the sewers to research a number of substances.
"Monitoring sewage for drugs, including illicit drugs and drugs of abuse, serves as the most direct means known for revealing which drugs are being collectively used by a community," an EPA spokesperson told Smart Cities Dive. "It is also possible to calculate the average per capita usage in order to compare usage rates across cities or countries."
"They can tell the difference between pills that were just dumped down the toilet versus pills that were taken and metabolized. That's really a key factor."
Deputy Town Manager, Cary, N.C.
Wastewater epidemiology is considered better for tracking drug use than other methods because it is anonymous, eliminates the margin of error caused by self-reporting in surveys, is non-invasive and offers data in real time instead of days, months or years later. "In general, this method has tremendous promise for monitoring illicit drug abuse ... in a general population," said Kevin Bisceglia, an assistant professor of chemistry at Hofstra University who has extensive experience with wastewater epidemiology.
The process involves sending robotic collection devices into sewers and measuring the concentrations of opioids in sewage to estimate and map drug consumption. The analysis can distinguish between heroin, painkillers such as morphine and super-potent synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. "They can tell the difference between pills that were just dumped down the toilet versus pills that were taken and metabolized. That's really a key factor," said Bajorek.
The information gathered in the sewer could help to map a city's opioid consumption and allow leaders to evaluate where and how to better distribute resources. Collecting the constantly updated data from the sewers allows researchers to find hot spots for abuse at the neighborhood level. They can also determine if intervention methods are working and where problems might arise by using predictive analytics. "Just like database predictive analytics changed baseball, the more I talk to people the more I think that we're potentially on that same path with public health practices," Bajorek said.
The town of Cary teamed up with Biobot Analytics — a startup by MIT researchers that specializes in detecting opioids in wastewater — and other public health and nonprofit partners to submit an application to the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2017 Mayors Challenge. The competition assists cities with solving an urgent problem and offers 35 cities up to $100,000 to put their ideas into motion with a pilot program. Next year, a grand prize winner will receive $5 million to further advance its program, and four runners up will receive $1 million.
Cary doesn't employ epidemiologists and it doesn't specialize in predictive analytics. But through partnerships, it hopes to create a comprehensive pilot program that will benefit citizens and reduce opioid abuse.
"We're just wastewater people here," Bajorek said. "What the town is really doing is ... bringing together the technical people with the providers of programs, academia and some corporate people to ... do something that will make a difference."
The aspect of Biobot Analytics' business model that particularly appealed to Cary's leaders is "not necessarily their analytical approach, it's their collection approach. They'll find one manhole that will collect waste from about 3,000 to 5,000 people, so that's about 200,000 gallons of wastewater a day ... [and] it's only been in the system for about an hour," Bajorek said. The town had previously tried to measure metabolites in wastewater at its plant but it wasn't successful in producing meaningful results because "we get a little over 6 million gallons of wastewater coming through a day, and it takes about 24 hours of winding through the system to get there," he said. That's enough time for the metabolites to dissipate or completely break down.
For Cary, winning the grant money would mean sending robots to the sewers. Implementing the wastewater epidemiology pilot would involve submitting data about "how we perceive people are using [the program], what sorts of things happened, if it is reproducible and if the open data site we hope to create is usable," Bajorek said.
A lot hangs on whether the town receives the grant, but "we have committed to our partners that would do this whether we get the grant or not," Bajorek said.
Although sewage epidemiology has been used for nearly two decades to track drugs in communities, it largely hasn't been used for opioid detection until now.
"There are some unique challenges with opioids," Bisceglia said. "One is that heroin, which is the most traditional opioid that's abused, degrades very rapidly into morphine. There's a lot of legal use of morphine so that can present a challenge trying to tease out how much is coming from illicit sources and how much is coming from hospitals."
A number of studies support the idea that a unique metabolite that indicates the presence of heroin is unstable in sewers and breaks down, which hinders detection. Some researchers therefore try to target fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, which are more stable in wastewater. But the potency of fentanyl — estimated at 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine — means less is needed for abusers to get high, and therefore less shows up in wastewater, which complicates detection.
"It's a challenging measurement. This is a technique that has real promise, but there are real challenges for opioids that would need to be overcome," said Bisceglia.
Another challenge is the cost of the sewage tracking equipment. "The instrumentation is not cheap," Bisceglia said, but "once you have it the cost per sample is not exceptional."
Despite the barriers to using sewage epidemiology for devising better opioid mitigation programs, municipalities like Cary believe it's worth trying, given the severity and reach of the public health problem that opioid abuse presents.
"We are very excited to be able to facilitate the pilot to see if this approach works, is reproducible and can be done cost effectively," Bajorek said. "We believe if it does it's going to make a difference not just with the opioid epidemic, but with public health officials and what they do across the board."


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Kari Ala-Pöllänen was the Tapiola Choir's conductor and artistic director 1994-2008. During this period the choir successfully toured around the world, in most continents. The Tapiola Choir was under his direction, as first music group, awarded The UNESCO Price 1996 for the Promotion of the Performing Arts. He has been awarded with several high Finnish official decorations, a.o. in 2009, when the President of the Republic of Finland rewarded him with the Pro Finlandia Medal by Order of the Lion of Finland, the highest recognition for arts.
Kari Ala-Pöllänen is a versatile musician and conductor having wide experience in various sections of music and playing several instruments himself. He first graduated as a school teacher and then studied a.o. musicology and orchestral and choral conducting.
In Finland he has acted as a music teacher, symphony orchestra-, folk- and jazz musician and conductor, as chorister and ensemble singer and superintendent of music as well as a writer of school music text books and encyclopedia. He is the artistic director of international choral festivals, works as a jury member of choir competitions and as a guest conductor and lecturer in numerous festivals in Finland and abroad. He has been a member of Europa Cantat Music Commission and is currently the chair of IFCM Songbridge Artistic Committee.
It is about questioning some habits and traditions in choir conducting and introducing new ways of thinking about the role of a conductor, particularly in children's choirs. It is, as well, focusing on the educational task of the children's choir activity, referring to the doctoral thesis of Mr. Tuomas Erkkilä (Pedagogy in the Tapiola Choir and Mr. Kari Ala-Pöllänen as a co-operative children's choir conductor, University of Oulu, Faculty of Education, Acta Univ.Oul.E134,2013).
Questions and matters to be discussed:
What is the choir conductor needed for?
What is needed to become a choir conductor?
Are these pairs of concepts opposites or possible to combine in children's choir:
- conduct (lead, direct...) - co-operation
- artistic ambition / professionalism - educative ambition
- calculated creation – reducing the stress factor
What is co-operative conducting?
Principles of co-operation
Focusing on basics: Conducting habits
Main questions: Why am I doing like I do? What is important/needed to do.
KARI ALA-PÖLLÄNEN, Finland
Co-Operative Children's Choir Conductor: Choir Performing With or Without a Conductor

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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In Ukraine, Protests Highlight 'Generational Rift'
Ukrainian students have become a driving force behind protests against the government's move to walk away from an association agreement with the European Union. Their protest has drawn comparison to the Occupy movement and highlights what some say is a generational rift.
Ukrainian Pro-EU Protests Continue
Thousands of demonstrators have kept up the pressure on the Ukrainian leadership to sign a key deal this week with the European Union, despite the government's assurances that negotiations with Brussels would continue in the future.
Explainer: What's Ukraine Missing Out On?
Ukraine last week put the brakes on a key free-trade and political deal with the European Union and said it would try to revive economic ties with Russia instead. What are Ukrainians missing out on?
Moscow Eases Ban On Ukrainian Chocolates
Russia's consumer protection service, Rospotrebnadzor, says Roshen will again be permitted to send its products to Russia as long as Ukrainian sanitary authorities check each batch.
PM Says Kyiv Still Interested In EU
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov says negotiations on signing an association agreement with the EU are continuing despite the government's decision not to sign a deal later this week at the EU summit in Vilnius.
EU Waters Down Vilnius Declaration
EU and Eastern Partnership officials have been busy reworking a draft final declaration for this week's summit in Vilnius.
Best Ukrainian Protest Signs
Ukrainians are taking to the streets to protest their government's decision not to sign an association agreement with the EU. Many of the protesters are students, with several students' unions calling for a strike.
Vox Pop: Ukrainians' Views On European Integration
Before Ukraine announced it was suspending preparations to sign a long-negotiated Eastern Partnership agreement at the EU summit in Vilnius, we spoke to Ukrainians in the city of Luhansk about whether they support or oppose closer integration with the European Union.
Yanukovych Says EU Deal 'Humiliating'
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said financial terms offered by the European Union to convince him to close a key political and trade deal with the bloc had been humiliating, and that he would wait for improved conditions before agreeing on anything.
Is New Orange Revolution Brewing In Ukraine?
A day after tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied in Kyiv to protest the government's abrupt policy shift toward Russia, one question is on many people's minds: is Ukraine headed for a repeat of the 2004 Orange Revolution?
Tymoshenko Launches Hunger Strike
Jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has launched a hunger strike in solidarity with Ukrainian protesters rallying in Kyiv for closer ties with the European Union.
Police And Pro-EU Protesters Clash In Kyiv
Antigovernment protesters clashed with police in the Ukrainian capital on November 24 when a small number of people tried to break through a police line near the government building. (Video by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)


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Home » News » DOE launches SPR crude sale to coincide with Iran sanctions
DOE launches SPR crude sale to coincide with Iran sanctions
Source: Jenny Mandel, E&E News reporter • Posted: Wednesday, August 22, 2018
The pipelines at the Bryan Mound site near Freeport, Texas, are part of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Department of Energy
The Energy Department yesterday announced a sale of 11 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a move that aligns congressionally mandated drawdowns with oil market stress stemming from U.S. sanctions on Iran.
For the newly announced sale, the department said it will release 6 million barrels associated with a three-year, 25-million-barrel drawdown under the 21st Century Cures Act and 5 million barrels under a 58-million-barrel, eight-year requirement under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.
In the coming months, DOE could also be directed to sell sufficient crude to raise $350 million to cover repairs and upgrades to the SPR facility, under pending appropriations measures.
DOE has several legislative directives and authorities to sell crude from the SPR, as lawmakers in recent years have eyed the piggy bank that the oil stockpile represents and analysts have questioned the need for vast stored reserves in the face of growing domestic production.
Under International Energy Agency rules, the U.S. is required to maintain oil stocks equivalent to 90 days' supply of its crude imports. Government estimates show that authorized and required sales could reduce SPR stocks by 40 percent over the next decade, from just under 700 million barrels to around 410 million barrels in 2028, while still meeting the IEA requirement.
Potential buyers in the current drawdown have until Aug. 28 to submit bids to purchase the oil, which will be sold at market-based prices, and will be required to take deliveries from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30.
Timing the crude oil sales to take place in October and November could be targeted to limit the price impacts of U.S. sanctions on Iran, which the White House has reimposed after dropping out of the global nuclear agreement negotiated by the Obama administration.
Sanctions kicked in earlier this month on certain Iranian goods, and beginning on Nov. 5, countries purchasing oil from Iran will face financial penalties from the U.S.
Countries may be able to get waivers from the U.S. sanctions if they show that they are significantly reducing their Iranian oil imports, but many view a recent tweet by President Trump that "anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States" as a sign that such waivers will not be readily granted (Energywire, Aug. 8).
The president also has emergency authority to initiate an SPR sale associated with the sanctions imposition. In a research note, analysts with ClearView Energy Partners LLC said it is unlikely that such a release would be authorized before the crude sanctions bite on Nov. 5.
The timing of the Iran sanctions and the SPR sale also coincides with the run-up to congressional elections, which will take place on Nov. 6. High gasoline prices have traditionally been seen as a political challenge for incumbents.


text:
Why Don't We Have Favorite Sons Anymore?
The primary and caucus system that we use to nominate presidential candidates is always evolving and the present forms are relatively new even in the broadest view, so it's never a clean thing to compare today's contests to primaries from the fifties, sixties and seventies. Still, when we do look back one thing we can see is that there used to be favorite sons who lacked national stature but were easily able to carry their home states.
To give a few examples, the Republican contest in 1952 was primarily between Ohio Senator Robert Taft and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, but Earl Warren got two-thirds of the vote in his home state of California and former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen carried his state with a strong plurality.
The 1960 contest was pretty much an uncontested affair for sitting Vice-President Richard Nixon, but Gov. Cecil Underwood got all the delegates from his home state of West Virginia. In 1968, the same thing happened with Gov. Jim Rhodes of Ohio.
The 1964 Republican nominating contest is remembered as a battle between Barry Goldwater's radicals and Nelson Rockefeller's moderates, but Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. won New Hampshire and his neighboring home state of Massachusetts, and Gov. William Scranton won his home state of Pennsylvania while Rep. John Byrnes of Wisconsin received over 99% of the vote in the Badger State.
Even as recently as 1992, no one on the Democratic side seriously contended in Iowa against Sen. Tom Harkin.
I mention all this because something seems to have changed. No one thought that Bobby Jindal would have carried Louisiana had he stayed in the race. Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio aren't leading in the polls in the Sunshine State. I don't really see any evidence that any of the eleventy billion candidates who are (or were) seeking the presidency are going to carry their home states despite being far behind elsewhere.
I mean if Carly Fiorina were favored to win California, that'd be worth talking about.
But I can't really find in the history books anything quite like the situation that Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is facing. He's a sitting U.S. Senator who was recently reelected. Whatever you might think about his hawkishness, he isn't bogged down in scandal or ethical clouds. He's a controversial figure in his home state, but he's not immensely unpopular like Chris Christie or (especially) Bobby Jindal. Yet, he's getting one percent in the polls in his home state. And the state party is basically telling him to take his name off the ballot to avoid complete humiliation.
This reality presents a political conundrum for Graham. He's widely respected in the state and won the GOP Senate primary in 2014 with 57 percent of the vote — a wider margin than many pundits expected considering he faced challenges from multiple tea party candidates.
But presidential primary polls in South Carolina show Graham with about 1 percent support, far behind a long list of other names: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Jeb Bush among them. Even Carly Fiorina and Mike Huckabee are polling higher.
And Graham hasn't gained traction in the other early states, either. If he stays in the race through early contests in Iowa and New Hampshire and loses — or waits until January to withdraw — he'd go into the South Carolina primary with his name printed on the ballot and risk a result that many Republicans in the state say could damage his brand in the long term.
When "many Republicans" in your state are blabbing to an NBC reporter about you damaging your brand if you appear on the state's ballot, that's a clear indication that your goose is cooked. Frankly, the party figures down there who are loyal to Sen. Graham are getting irritated that they haven't been liberated to flirt with other candidacies.
Getting back to my point, though, it's clear that Lindsey Graham is no Tom Harkin.
After all, no one thought Harkin could win the nomination. But they knew he'd win in Iowa so they didn't even try to beat him.
Why couldn't Graham get the same level of support and deference? And why don't any other long-shot candidates have that kind of juice?
Maybe Scott Walker could have fit the bill if he had stayed in. Somehow I doubt it, though.
I think our politics somehow got completely nationalized since 1992, and I'm not sure precisely why that is.
Martin Longman
Martin Longman is the web editor for the Washington Monthly. See all his writing at ProgressPond.com


How can you avoid these temptations? How can you reduce the risk that you will be in a situated where you may be tempted?
Why is March Madness such a potential problem for compulsive gamblers?
It's everywhere. March Madness is a huge part of our sports and entertainment culture, with reminders popping up everywhere. Our friends post about it on Facebook and Twitter. Cable TV constantly runs ads for games and products associated with the NCAA. Then there are the brackets at work and among friends, the online fantasy drafts, and more. It can be hard to avoid March Madness, especially if you live in a state where there are successful NCAA teams.
It's fun. Many compulsive gamblers have fond memories of the NCAA tournament, perhaps from before their gambling addiction became a problem. Those fun memories can make it easy to search out opportunities to place bets on teams, players, and outcomes.
It's easy to get into. You don't really have to have the expertise to participate in building a bracket. If you do have an interest in college basketball, you may feel even more prepared to participate, because you feel like your knowledge increases your chances of winning.
How can you avoid the temptation to gamble during March Madness?
You do not have to spend the month of March in a cave, trying to avoid March Madness. However, there are some strategies that our experienced and credentialed on-staff counselors recommend.
Know your triggers. If March Madness is a huge trigger for you and if you are too early in your recovery to navigate it, consider what you may need to do to avoid the trigger altogether. No, that doesn't mean cutting yourself off from the outside world completely.
However, it may mean talking to your manager at work about not having a bracket this year. It may mean not keeping up with the results as they come in. It may mean opting out of certain online conversations. Your combination of triggers is unique to you, and your plan for dealing with them needs to be, too.
Talk with your support system. Your family, your accountability team, your friends from treatment, and your counselor are some of the people who can support you right now. Name your temptation out loud, and let your friends, loved ones, and counselors get you through this difficult month.
Reach out for help. If you have not received help for your compulsive gambling and have been trying to do it on your own, now is the right time. It is always the right time to ask for help. It may be hard to know what kind of support you need, but a qualified gambling addiction counselor can help you figure out how to overcome the temptations that you may not be able to resist on your own.
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text:
Q: Problem concerning Lebesgue Integral. I am looking for feedback/corrections on the following solution attempt. I have only typed up one direction of the inequality; if this direction is correct, then I am certain that the other direction is as well. Thank you so much!
$\textbf{Problem:}$ Let $f$ be a bounded measurable function on a set of finite measure $E$. Show that if $A \subset E$ is measurable, then $\int_{A} f \> dm = \int_{E} f\cdot \chi_{A} \> dm$, where $m$ is the Lebesgue measure.
$\textbf{ Solution:}$ By definition, $$\int_{E} f \cdot \chi_{A} \> dm = \inf\{\int_{E} \psi \> dm: \psi \> \text{ is simple and} \> f\cdot \chi_{A} \leq \psi \}.$$ Take any simple function $\psi=\sum^{n}_{i=1} c_i \chi_{C_i}$ defined on $E$ such that $f \cdot \chi_{A} \leq \psi$, where $\sum^{n}_{i=1} c_i \chi_{C_i}$ is the canonical representation of $\psi$. Then, we know $f \leq \psi$ on $A$. Now, observe that $\psi'=\sum^{n}_{i=1} c_{i} \chi_{(C_{i} \cap A)}$ is a simple function on $A$ with $f \leq \psi'$ and, by defintion of $\int_{A} f \> dm$, we get that $$ \int_{A} f \> dm \leq \int_{A} \psi' \> dm = \sum^{n}_{i=1} c_{i} m(C_{i} \cap A) \leq \sum^{n}_{i=1} c_i m(C_i)= \int_{E} \psi \> dm.$$ Since $\psi$ was arbitary, we conclude $\int_{A} f \> dm$ is a lower bound for the set $\{\int_{E} \psi \> dm: \psi \> \text{ is simple and} \> f\cdot \chi_{A} \leq \psi \}.$ Thus, $\int_{A} f \> dm \leq \int_{E} f\cdot \chi_{A} \> dm.$

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


2017 REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED. Registration information for the 2018 ESD Conference will be available in mid-2018.
*All registrations must be processed at the same time.
Please notify registrar in writing by email to Debbie Stewart at dstewart@fmi.org or by fax at 202-220-0830. A refund, minus a $75 processing fee, is granted when a cancellation is received by September 1, 2017. A 60% refund is granted if cancellation is received by September 8, 2017. No refund if notification is received after September 8, 2017.


The typical horn speaker is usually made of metal or polymers and can withstand the outside elements better than the cone type speaker, making the horn speaker popular for outdoor PA use. They are far more efficient, you receive more sound volume at a lower wattage, which also reduces both the size and power requirements of your amplifier.
Horn speakers can be best described as "bright" in their sound. The higher frequencies are reproduced very clearly with virtually no bass. The limited frequency response is one reason they are so efficient, they don't waste energy reproducing bass frequencies. The speakers can also project farther without getting "muddy". The end result is better intelligibility at longer distances.
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Despite a disability that resulted in the amputation of both of her legs, Mullins competed against able-bodied athletes in NCAA Division I track and field events for Georgetown University and set Paralympic records in 1996 in Atlanta in the 100-meter dash and the long jump. Her personal bests are: 15.77 seconds for the 100-meter dash, 34.60 seconds for the 200 meter, and 3.5 meters for the long-jump.
In 2002, she appeared in Matthew Barney's Cremaster 3 as a cheetah woman. In 2006, she appeared in World Trade Center, playing the role of a reporter. She also appeared, in 2003, in the made-for-television version of Agatha Christie's Five Little Pigs.
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"The Guide says there is an art to flying", said Ford, "or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." - Douglas Adams, "Life, the Universe and Everything".
Skyward is a fantasy, a dream, an absurdist musing over the human eternal desire to learn to fly. Through the series of self-portraits I imagine a person who firmly believes that one day she may fly up. She believes that to overcome the gravitation force she has to perform certain actions, rituals (e.g. sleep at night with her legs up in the air or balance on balloons), her belief is almost religious in what she does daily. "The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it." - said J.M. Barrie in "Little white bird" (chapter "Peter Pan"). She is ready to start flying any moment, waiting, wanting and fearing at the same time. I aimed to create the atmosphere of anticipation, suspense, concentration, silence and certain social detachment.
The project has been exhibited in MANIFESTA10 in St.Petersburg and Kazan in 2014.


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text:
10 ARC Facts You Should Know
The 2008 VARBusiness Annual Report Card offers tremendous insight into vendor partners: Who's on top of the vendor heap and who's on the bottom? Where are solution providers happiest and where do they see need for vast improvement?
By Jennifer Bosavage October 17, 2008, 07:00 PM EDT
The 2008 VARBusiness Annual Report Card offers tremendous insight into vendor partners. It shows who's on top of the vendor heap and who's on the bottom. It indicates where solution providers are happiest and where they see the need for vast improvement.
In the following pages, you'll learn about innovation and quality as well as see how various vendors performed in their respective categories. All the scores are based on the results of surveys of solution providers that deal specifically with these vendors. For more perspective, here are 10 top-line findings to keep in mind before you dive into this year's ARC.
1. The Highest Individual Category Score? Intel
Quality is always at the top of the list of characteristics VARs look at when choosing a vendor. It starts with quality, and then trickles down into all the other criteria. And excellent quality is a big reason why chip maker Intel Corp., for instance, handily beat Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) in the Client and Server Processors category. Intel earned a whopping 108 in quality and reliability--a score unrivaled by any other vendor in any category or criterion in the entire survey. In addition, the product innovation subcategory had the highest average score of 88--up from 77 in 2007--indicating that vendors are putting effort into this area and that VARs are noticing.
2. Quality Counts, But ...
Toshiba Corp. managed to edge out Panasonic Corp.--by one point in the Notebooks/Mobile Computers category--with a stellar score of 105 in quality (tied with EMC Corp. and NEC Display). Although Toshiba lost the product innovation subcategory to Panasonic--it scored a respectable 88 in quality--the vendor earned first place in the other two subcategories, propelling it to the top of Notebooks and Mobile Computers. Panasonic struggled in managing channel conflict, revenue and profit potential, and communication, effectively overshadowing the vendor's amazing achievement in quality. Despite those challenges, Panasonic's showing in the Notebooks category was an incredible ARC debut.
3. VARs: It's All About Communication
Many VARs cited communication as vitally important to their vendor relationship. With so many ways to communicate today, it's important the vendors choose the method that solution providers prefer, and to be sure the communication itself is valuable. Panasonic's score overall suffered largely because VARs weren't satisfied with the desktop manufacturer's communication. That wasn't lost on Sheila O'Neil, vice president of channel sales.
"Our partners are very vocal. It's information they want," O'Neil said. "[They want to know] how to sell against the competition, what's happening in the market--and it's about hearing from us what's happening so they are better prepared."
4. EMC Captured The Most Winning Marks The only two of the 18 criteria that EMC did not capture were quality and compatibility; both of those went to Intel. In past surveys, though, EMC was not always the channel's darling. The company has embarked upon a serious channel feedback initiative, and many VARs have noticed significant changes.
As Keith Norbie, director of the storage/VMware division of Nexus Information Systems, notes in "Managing Channel Conflict" (pg. 38), to be successful in the channel companies must be willing to have steely determination to make necessary changes. EMC asked for feedback, received it and then paid their VARs more than just lip service. The vendor's top-notch scores are proof of that: EMC racked up the highest overall score in the survey: 87.
5. Vendors Aren't Shocked When They Do Poorly
Several big-name vendors received bad report cards in 2008. Companies with unhappy VARs generally know they have a problem or two.
Julie Parrish, Symantec Corp.'s former vice president of global channels, says in "Symantec Stalls Out" (p. 36), that the low scores were no surprise. However, moving forward, she notes that Symantec has a handle on where the biggest issues are, and is addressing them by revamping support, simplifying its licensing programs, reducing the number of product offering price curves, and changing processes for its customer care and support lines.
Hewlett-Packard Co., too, has a tough row to hoe. In the Workgroup Printers category, it earned the lowest marks in half of the criterion, including ones VARs consider among the most important, such as return on investment, partnership, and revenue profit potential.
6. The Lowest Score Was Acer's
Despite HP's and Symantec's poor performances, neither earned the lowest score in the entire ARC. That dubious distinction was claimed by Acer Inc. in Notebooks and Mobile Computers. It scored a 36 in the training criterion of the support subcategory.
7. Newcomer Dell Makes A Mark This is the first year Dell Inc. resellers were polled for the ARC, and more than 70 VARs completed and returned their surveys. The results were a mixed bag, with Dell turning in a mediocre performance overall as it finished sixth among seven vendors in the Notebooks and Mobile Computers category, tied for third among four companies in Midrange (High-End) Servers and tied for fifth among seven vendors in the Network Storage category. Within the criteria, it fared well in compatibility and ease of integration in the Network Storage category (third place) and tied for second place with Sun Microsystems Inc. in partner portal in the partnership subcategory for Midrange Servers.
While Dell received kudos for its revamped return program, in our story "Dell's In" (p. 32), VARs report still having trust issues with the computer manufacturer. Many solution providers don't feel comfortable doing business with Dell, based on previous experiences and on the vendor's reputation of being quite the opposite of channel-friendly. John Zammett, president of HorizonTek Inc., a Huntington, N.Y.-based storage solution provider, said, "We have no intention of partnering with Dell. We see Dell as a competitor. We can outsell them by the value-add we provide. They can't do the [up-close] and personal service we provide."
8. Show VARs The Money
Revenue and profit potential is one of the most important criterion that channel partners rate vendors on in the support subcategory. However, it's not one of the first things vendors can offer. The foundation starts with excellent communication, quality support and clear understanding of their channel partners' customers. Once those objectives are met, then a VAR can start making money.
Vendors are working on showing VARs stronger revenue and profit potential, as it moved from an average score of 65 last year to 71 this year.
9. Partner Portals In Need Of More Work
While certainly not the sexiest part of the vendor/channel relationship, partner portals should not be ignored--but according to this year's Annual Report Card survey results, they are. A world-class portal could provide current communications, training and postsales support documentation (even video!) and hit upon all areas that VARs repeatedly said need improvement. Simply put, effort in improving partner portals could pay off in at least three different criteria, but sadly, no vendor has stepped up their efforts. Last year, partner portal averaged a dismal 62; in this ARC, VARs gave the criteria an average score of 57. In both the 2007 and 2008 ARC surveys, partner portal earned among the lowest scores of the ARC criteria.
10. Vendors Sweat The Details, Every Day
Sure, it's tough for vendors to offer innovative products and work within a very short cycle time, but, hey, solution providers have to do it, and they expect the same from their suppliers. EMC, which won high marks in quality and reliability, is no stranger to detail. Ken Steinhardt, CTO for customer operations at top-finisher EMC, said that his company tests components and finished products using a broad range of "torture tests." That might mean shaking them, putting them in hot rooms and cold rooms, and then extensively testing them to see how well they work with a broad range of EMC and non-EMC products.
it-channel
VARBusiness
2008 VARBusiness Annual Report Card
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text:
Ahmed Kapadia
All About Ahmed Hussain Kapadia
Latif Kapadia Memorial
Remembering Moments
Winning the Oscar Award
Talent and hard work are a winning combination that will not go unnoticed. The Oscar award given to Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, in the best short subject documentary category is indeed proof of this fact. Other than being a personal achievement it has also injected positivism and confidence in a country which is generally negatively portrayed in the media. For those aspiring to enter the film industry it is inspirational and a message to the youth to look forward and not think about the obstacles in the way to success internationally. The media is rife with negative news about Pakistan, but an achievement such as this shows the world that the people of this country are resilient and have other merits attached to them than just being labelled terrorists.
One of the most prominent award ceremonies, being televised in over a hundred countries, it has also been able to show the world that the Pakistani woman is strong, intelligent and bold and not the stereotypical woman who has no voice. The documentary has been able to make a positive change in the lives of women. It has acknowledged the fact that heinous crimes like this do exist in society but there are also people who can expose them and thereby play a role in trying to eradicate them.
It has also come into the limelight of those celebrities who have a wide influence on the media and their audience and the ripple effect of this will hopefully make itself apparent.
An achievement such as this is an inspiration to the youth of this country who are enveloped by inflation, politicians who only seem to serve their self interest and are becoming less proud of being Pakistani. It proves that even in spite of these circumstances, people can still make a difference and steer the thinking of people towards a more positive way of thinking. Yes, we have crime, we have problems but we all have the ability to help solve them. Its time we started taking things in our own hands and moulding our own paths instead of waiting for someone else to do it for us.
Under: Articles
By: Ahmed Kapadia
Marketing Association of Pakistan, Lahore Chapter – Newsletter
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Under: Press Interviews
Belief and Betrayal: Where do we stand today?
Today, there are a number of negative and violent associations that can be made with Pakistan. It is not just the world which sees Pakistan through a tainted lens, we Pakistanis do the same. What is the image Pakistan now portrays? A terrorist harboring state…a country being slowly destroyed by corrupt rulers… a country where daily life is marred by power cuts and price hikes…
All these images are a far cry from what Pakistan was meant to stand for – the Land of the Pure. A separate identity in which we kept on believing until someone stepped forward and gave that dream a reality. A Superman – a Superman we called Quaid-e-Azam. With his team of superheroes, he gave reality to the dream of a separate identity.
And today, we honor their efforts with betrayal. A group of people became a team of superheroes for our sake and today we answer their achievements by the carelessness of our actions or rather non-actions. The separate identity for which Pakistan was created does not exist anymore. Because we didn't create it, we feel no need to take responsibility for it.
Since we didn't bother to brand ourselves, everybody else did…
While Newsweek recently headlined us as the "Most Dangerous Nation in the World", other newspapers were printing headlines about the latest political crisis and economic problems. News channels, on the other hand, conveyed breaking news about another bomb blast. At the time when the whole world watched the devastation wreaked by the floods, our mass communication was saying something else entirely. They were describing a carefree Utopia of songs and dance and discussing political non-issues with no solution on the horizon. None of our advertisements, dramas or movies reflect the reality of our country. Instead, our media messages have been shallow promoting a 'live by the moment' philosophy. It is high time that we stop being indifferent to our situation and break out of our vicious cycle.
In all the messages we have been putting out there for the world, not once have we tried to understand how those messages are being interpreted and misused against us. While the world has been watching the crisis and turmoil in Pakistan, we have stayed quiet and let them develop their own conclusions. Is it any wonder then that the conclusions they have drawn are so unfavorable? I don't think the world has made a mistake when it has tried and judged us as shallow people given to the ignorance of our own best interests. We ourselves have promoted this view. Not only to the world but we have also somehow managed to convince ourselves that this is what Pakistan is. We have led ourselves into oblivion to the extent that we have stopped caring for what becomes
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of us as a nation. Now when we hear of a bomb blast we are thankful to Allah because it could have been worse. The death toll could have been higher. We live for ourselves now! In the worst possible way, we have betrayed our own belief and in the process our own existence. We have no separate identity now but anonymity. We have nothing but conflicting messages to show for ourselves. We're back to square one. Once again, we need a superman to save us. Once again we need a superman to bring to us our 'separate identity'.
Two choices lie in front of us today – we could wait for a messiah or we could take our destiny into our own hands as we once did before 1947. It would have to be one of us. It would have to be me or you. I believed in Pakistan. I betrayed Pakistan with my silence. And now I will be superman for Pakistan. I will stop complaining and start doing because after all, heroism begins with one person.
Great brands have great stories to tell and Pakistan is a great country. We need to start believing in our country and ourselves and narrate our story ourselves instead giving others the right to do that for us. Other countries have been proactive in branding themselves. Through tourism campaigns, through rehabilitation efforts, they have a voice that we associate with positivity. We didn't know this voice, they told us about it.
Now we need to find our voice. We may not be able to speak against the negative voices, but we can be louder with the positive ones. There is much goodness in Pakistan to be shared with the rest of the world. We are a nation of amazing people who have turned their personal stories into brands that have been acclaimed by the world. The names Abdul Sattar Edhi, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Imran Khan are synonymous with success and achievement.
We can't change the way our cinema works but we can create better cinema like Khuda Kay Liye…cinema that is talked about because it has a message to give; something different and heart touching that has truth in it. Brands, leaders, intelligentsia, marketers, thinkers, journalists and all those who have the power to make a positive difference need to come together and think of a common message that needs to be sent out of Pakistan. The kind of message our advertisements, our dramas and our cinemas need to carry about the good side of us and our country.
I cannot control the content of our marketing but I can create more relevant content – content that has something to tell the world about everything wonderful that is Pakistan, content that needs to be marketed like it is; telling the brand story of Pakistan in a compelling way. We need to know what we stand for and what our country stands for and we need to commit ourselves to promote it.
What mustn't t be forgotten is the reason I need to be a Superman: Pakistan needs me, but I need Pakistan more. I am an individual but my identity comes from Pakistan. That's why it is my responsibility as well as the responsibility of 187 million Pakistanis to envision a bright future for our country and take ownership of it. We all need to ensure today that our every action will take us closer to the vision of a better tomorrow. It is time for us all to become Supermen for Pakistan, for ourselves as well as for our next generation.
AAJ TV interviews with Mr. Ahmed Kapadia
Mr. Ahmed Kapadia speaks about the inception, facilities and objectives of the Latif Kapadia Welfare Memorial Trust ( LKMWT) on the morning show of AAJ News entitled AAJ Subah.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8qNUdm5iLI
Under: Video Gallery, Video Interviews
Marketing Association of Pakistan, Lahore Chapter
Marketing Association of Pakistan, Lahore chapter, recently organized a seminar in the city and invited Mr. Ahmed Kapadia, Chairman and Managing Director, Synergy Group of Companies to address its members. Mr. Ahmed Kapadia chose a very intriguing yet relevant topic, "Belief & Betrayal: Why Pakistan needs Supermen?" to speak on. The topic was successful in drawing in the crowds and Mr. Kapadia was welcomed by a presence of over 120 marketing professionals in Lahore at Royal Palm. His interactive presentation and commitment to bringing the change that he was talking about was enough to keep the audience hooked throughout the one hour seminar. Mr. Kapadia passionately discussed of the belief that Quaid-e-Azam and other great personalities had in Pakistan as a separate homeland for Muslims. He went on to describe the great betrayal at the hands of Pakistani people that took place in the country after its inception. But unlike others he didn't stop there, he also gave solutions to the current problems facing Pakistan, not just as a marketer but as a patriotic citizen of a country he believed in. He called for the need of Supermen like Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal who made dreams come true for the common man. He told marketers how branding Pakistan was a natural step to take with their brands and to create relevant campaigns like Pepsi Do Good 2010 or Vodafone Egypt's "The power of one" 2011. He ended his presentation with a simple yet powerful message for everybody sitting in the audience:
"Pakistan Needs You,
But You Need Pakistan More!"
The presentation ended with a resounding applause from the audience and was followed by one of the longest Q&A session according to the Vice President of MAP, Mr. Khaliq ur Rehman. He said that the feedback from the participants was very positive and they enjoyed not only the presentation but the engaging and eloquent way Mr. Kapadia presented such a novel topic. The event ended with a presentation of shields to the MAP members and the speaker Mr. Kapadia as well.
CNBC interviews Mr. Ahmed Kapadia
CNBC interviews Mr Ahmed Kapadia for its show Kamyaab, which highlights the real person behind the business legend or respected achiever. It traces the leader's personal and professional journey with emphasis on their philosophies, views, mentors, friends and families.
"An Evolutionary Decade"
Leadership; The Essentials
Leading from the front, understanding the sensitivity of the situation or just spearheading a campaign requires courage, openness of mind and the ability to inspire. A leader is an ordinary person like any other but what distinguishes him from the rest is his vision and mission for the greater cause. Whether it be a battlefield or business arena the winner is he who knows his opponents better than himself and also realizes his weaknesses. He is compassionate to his people, devoted to his duties and open to new challenges. His spirit is not dampened by failures, obstacles does not blur his vision and he just rides to the edge without giving up for fulfilling his aims.
Here are some quote on leadership;
"A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves."
(Lao Tzu)
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
(Steve Jobs quotes)
"Leadership is action, not position."
(Donald H. McGannon quotes)
Under: Articles, Blog
Joining Hands in the Hour of Need
Latif Kapadia Memorial Welfare Trust is providing food to the displaced people in the affected areas of Sindh and Punjab. We'll be
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delivering ration boxes to the flood victims which will contain food items of an estimated amount to feed an average sized family for at least 15-20 …days.
The approximated cost for each such box is Rs. 2,500 only. Please remember the people that are awaiting your help and support us in saving them from hunger during this period of turmoil. Please contribute as much as you can and ask others too.
Kindly send your donations to:
Latif Kapadia Memorial Welfare Trust (LKMWT), Account # 0020-01005369, Bank Al Falah Limited, P.E.C.H.S. Branch, Karachi.Or for details, contact:
Shoaib Farooqui
Please be generous – Our nation needs us.
Under: Blog, Press Release
Torrential Floods: A Wake up call
I am saddened by the recent floods that have played havoc with the lives of the people, their property and just about everything that they possessed. One feels for the people who are affected left, right and center, and I am no exception. I strongly believe this is a wakeup call from God. He wants us to get our act together and do the good which we have been unable to do, for reasons that I don't want to delve into.
On the same footing, Synergy has understood that much needs to be done in this regard. We have the required capacity and because of that we have made the resources available by contacting the relevant personnel and organizations. LKMWT, under the aegis of Synergy has started to play its role in the relief and rehabilitating processes for the flood affected individuals and families.
I have seen teenagers studying at expensive colleges collecting donations for flood victims at different places and traffic signals. I see this as an exercise in futility more than anything else.
As a nation we must treat this calamity as an indication informing us about the direction we are headed in. Now is the time to observe, think and act. Now is the time to paint a new future of your nation.
ccpfjeicc on All About Ahmed Hussain Kapadia
malik imtiaz on Pakistan's Top Advertising Agencies and Clients
Tayyaba Fatima on Pakistan's Top Advertising Agencies and Clients
anabiamay on Advertising passion
mcmillan on Advertising passion
Ahmed Kapadia 2020


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;

namespace SharpQuant.ObjectStore
{

    public static class ObjectInfoEx
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Convert DTO to type T ObjectInfo
        /// </summary>
        /// <typeparam name="T"></typeparam>
        /// <param name="info"></param>
        /// <param name="serializer"></param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        public static IObjectInfo<T> ToObjectInfoT<T>(this IObjectInfo info, IObjectSerializer serializer)
        {
            var obj = new ObjectInfo<T>()
            {
                Catalogue = info.Catalogue,
                ID = info.ID,
                Type = info.Type,
                Tags = info.Tags,
                Version = info.Version,
            };
            using (var stream = new MemoryStream(info.Data, 0, info.DataSize))
                obj.Instance = serializer.Deserialize<T>(stream);
            return obj;
        }
        /// <summary>
        /// Convert type T ObjectInfo to DTO
        /// </summary>
        /// <typeparam name="T"></typeparam>
        /// <param name="info"></param>
        /// <param name="serializer"></param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        public static IObjectInfo ToObjectInfo<T>(this IObjectInfo<T> info, IObjectSerializer serializer)
        {
            var obj = new ObjectInfo()
            {
                Catalogue = info.Catalogue,
                ID = info.ID,
                Type = info.Type,
                Tags = info.Tags,
                Version = info.Version,
            };
            using (var stream = new MemoryStream())
            {
                serializer.Serialize<T>(stream, info.Instance);
                obj.Data = stream.ToArray();
                obj.DataSize = obj.Data.Length;
            }
            return obj;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Michael O'Doherty: I won't shed a tear for fat cats, they got what they deserved
Michael O'Doherty Twitter
Am I the only person in Ireland who's not shedding a single tear for our beleaguered property developers? They gambled, for a long time they hit a winning streak but, as it always does, it came to an end. Now all we're asking is that they stop blaming everyone else, and honour their IOUs.
There's a misconception that property speculation requires some special talent.
Well it doesn't. Writers need talent, as do chefs, actors, musicians and sports people. I've lost count over the past decade of the number of barely articulate, simple-minded cretins that I've met, flashing their cash in nightclubs and bragging about their latest wheels, their collection of watches and their pad in Marbella.
You'd hardly believe most of them could have held down a proper job and, of course, they didn't. That's because they were 'in property', and to become a property developer, all you really needed was to get lucky by buying your first property at the right time.
So it became the chosen profession for those who wanted to get rich quick, and didn't have the talent to do it by any other means. And for so long it seemed easy and difficult to resist. Like an old tart asking you if you were 'looking for business' as you walked innocently by, the property market was there to lure the weak.
But should we feel any more sympathy for the vast majority of developers than we do for boozed-up chancers trying to get rich at a roulette table?
When your winning streak runs out in Vegas, and you pawn your personal belongings in a frenzied attempt to stay afloat, do we expect the casino to take pity on you, reimburse the money you gamble? No, you'd be frog-marched out of your hotel suite, and tossed into the gutter without a moment's thought.
So why feel sorry for those who gambled on the property market, as they now attempt to squirm out of their responsibilities?
Bernard McNamara is obviously one of the more honourable developers to be experiencing hard times, but is it just me who chuckled in disbelief at the attempts to make him out to be a victim? A friend was quoted as saying that he had to leave the country because "he couldn't go for a walk without bumping into some of the people who are pursuing him to the ends of the Earth."
To throw some perspective at that heart-wrenching bit of prose by adding some omitted details -- he couldn't leave his multi-million euro mansion without getting hassled, so was obliged to go to his multi-million euro villa in Marbella to avoid bumping into people whose money he'd lost. Doesn't your heart bleed?
To coin a popular phrase, exactly what part of the term 'personal guarantee' do they not understand? If you gamble on your ability to get rich, and you lose, then you have to pay up. And until you do, you can't expect any sympathy.
Hey, is it Sile? But she's got no lines
It was a latex, blow-up, Sile Seoige doll. That's because she had been, as we call it in the trade, 'photoshopped'.
We're all guilty of it.
When someone agrees to do a photoshoot, you want to keep them happy.
And thanks to the miracle of Photoshop, spots can be removed, lines around eyes softened, furrowed brows evened out.
Everyone knows we do it, and are delighted that we make them look good. The secret is moderation.
But when you see someone with their skin uniformly golden brown, not a single line on their face, and a bizarre soft glow around extremities, as though their arms are melting into the wall, then you know that the photographer has gone too far.
And as Sile gazed at her Barbie-doll features at the weekend, she probably wasn't happy, but can console herself with the fact that it could have been worse.
Spare a thought for those who appear on the front page of a newspaper, not airbrushed, but pixelated. A design tool that blurs your face into unrecognisable, fuzzy squares, it can only mean one thing -- you're a sex offender or hardened criminal.
And that's the one kind of realisation that you don't want to wake up to.
What our politicians would say if an earthquake hit us
It's ironic that just as the collapsing property empires of developers are hitting the news here, so should a real property collapse hit Haiti.
It should give some perspective to those who whine about how their portfolios have lost half their value, when you see the poor Haitians quite literally losing their own property portfolio (one corrugated iron shack) in one 90-second earthquake.
Irish developers should count their blessings that having to downsize from an seven-bedroom D4 mansion to a three-bedroom D4 penthouse is the worst of their worries.
And we should all be grateful that trudging through a few inches of snow and doing without running water for a few days is the worst that mother nature can throw at us.
But most of all, we should thank our lucky stars that we don't live on a geological fault line.
As can you imagine our current Government trying to deal with an earthquake, when it can't even deal with 10 days of low temperatures?
Minister for Earthquakes John Gormley would insist that he's "not in charge of earthquakes".
Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea would explain that he hadn't declared a state of emergency because "no one had asked me to".
And Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey would issue a statement that he couldn't rebuild the roads because we didn't have enough sand stockpiled to make concrete.
From a sun lounger in the Caribbean.


text:
15 West 72nd Street [Google Maps]
The public space at 15 West 72nd Street (at the Mayfair building) and was completed in 1964.
Visit: North side of West 72nd Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
The San Remo
Murder of John Lennon
72nd Street station (IND Eighth Avenue Line)
The Majestic (New York City)
Olcott Hotel
72nd Street station (IRT Ninth Avenue Line)
Interior Landmarks: Treasures of New York
Learn about the inordinately ornate interiors that you never knew were hidden behind the city's doors
NYC Privately-Owned Public Spaces
The Wall Street Bull sculpture cost $300,000 to construct in 1989
Wednesday, July 24 at 8:00pm
Sporting Clube de Portugal at Liverpool FC
Sporting Clube de Portugal Liverpool FC
Chunky Crochet Knit Beanie With Sherpa Lining
This warm little buddy comes in 45 colors and only costs $10 with free shipping, so with cold weather on the way, we're declaring this the 2019 AGBC Hat to Have (H2H) 🤠


text:
Home Tags Renault Megane
Tag: Renault Megane
The Renault Megane might be getting the axe too
News Woon - Apr 28, 2020 3:48 pm
The future for compact hatchbacks, and by extension, hot-hatches is looking grim. Earlier this month, we reported that the Ford Focus RS...
Renault shows that you don't need a crazy body kit to be the fastest...
News Adrian Chia - May 23, 2019 12:25 pm
Renault has just presented the Renault Megane R.S. Trophy-R, not to be confused with the regular Trophy version. The "R" is only...
The new Renault Megane R.S. is now in Malaysia to challenge that white Honda
News Pan Eu Jin - Apr 22, 2019 5:23 pm
The new Renault Megane R.S is finally here in Malaysia and will be available for booking at RM279,888 for the manual transmission...
Can this new Renault Megane R.S. Trophy match the Civic Type R?
News Adrian Chia - Jul 20, 2018 11:55 am
Renault Sport has spawned a hotter, Trophy version of the fourth-generation Megane R.S. with more power, reduced unsprung weight and beefier brakes. Fret not...
Renault Megane R.S. goes on sale in UK, 6-speed manual & DCT offered
News Adrian Chia - May 2, 2018 9:45 pm
The fourth-generation Renault Megane R.S. has just been made available for the UK market and lucky for them, the six-speed manual is a standard...
Renault unveils the Megane GT at the Malaysia Auto Show, 0-100 km/h in 7.1...
News Pan Eu Jin - Nov 9, 2017 7:13 pm
At long last, the striking Renault Megane GT has reached our shores and can be previewed at the on-going Malaysia Autoshow from 9th-12th November...
Renault's 40 years of experience in F1 have shaped who they are today
News Adrian Chia - Sep 29, 2017 10:32 pm
In the year 1977, Renault entered the foray of the Formula One (F1) World Championship. In a season where every other constructor was using...
SpyBuzz: Undisguised Renault Megane RS leaked onto the internet
Seems like the world can't hold back its passion for the fourth-generation Renault Megane RS after Renault Sport F1 race driver, Nico Hülkenberg took...
SpyBuzz: Fourth-gen Renault Megane RS leaked in patent filings
News Travis Chang - Jul 18, 2017 3:42 pm
The battle of the hot hatches is set to intensify with yet another entry from France – the fourth-generation Renault Megane RS. Leaked here...
All-new Renault Megane RS can be had with 6-speed manual or dual clutch auto!
News Adrian Chia - May 29, 2017 1:12 pm
The fourth-generation Renault Megane RS has made its first public appearance at the 2017 Monaco Formula One Grand Prix. For the first time since...


text:
Peel police issue warrant for man wanted in hit-and-run outside Mississauga bar
By Stefanie MarottaStaff Reporter
Thu., Dec. 27, 2018timer1 min. read
Peel Regional Police have issued a warrant of arrest for a Toronto man wanted in a hit-and-run in Mississauga that injured five people on Sunday.
Investigators are looking for Michael Polynice, 37 years old, after an altercation inside a Mississauga bar escalated into a vehicle being driven onto a sidewalk and into a group of people, police said.
The incident began at around 3 a.m. on Dec. 23 inside &Company Resto Bar, a bar and nightclub near Burnhamthorpe Rd. W. and Hurontario St., when two groups of people got into an altercation, according to police.
Police said that security escorted them out of the bar and the fight escalated into violence.
They said a man then drove his vehicle onto the sidewalk and struck five people.
A 23-year-old woman suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries. Four other victims received minor injuries.
Polynice is wanted for three counts of aggravated assault, two counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm and one count of failing to stop.
He is described as a 35- to 40-year-old Black man. The suspect was driving a dark-coloured Acura with no front licence plate.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact investigators at 905-453-2121, ext. 1233 or anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
With files from Alexandra Jones and Claire Floody.
Stefanie Marotta is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @StefanieMarotta


text:
1-Day Amman City and Jerash City Tour from Amman
Available: Mon;Tue;Wed;Thu;Fri;Sat;Sun
Depart from: Amman, Jordan
Visit Ancient City of Jerash. Have a Tour in New Amman and Capital City of Jordan. Inclusion: Pick up and Drop off service and a lunch, Entrance fee to Jerash & site guide.
Children ages 3-9 years of age are eligible for Child Rate.
Infants aged under 2yrs with 1 paying adult are free of charge.
2Number of People:
Adult 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 Child 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
Hotel Pick-up Info
(incl. tax and 3% fees)
Visit the old and new parts of the capital city of Jordan, Amman, JO, one of the oldest inhabited places in the world. Recent excavations have uncovered homes and towers believed to have been built during the Stone Age.
The first stop on our tour will be The Citadel, where excavations have revealed numerous Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic remains. From there we will head to the Roman Forum, a public square that once was among the largest of the Roman Empire. Next we will visit the Roman Theater, an imposing monument set into the side of a mountain and dates back to approximately the mid-2nd century AD.
Next up is the Odeon, which is nearly 2,000 years old. The lower seats of this monument, which could accommodate up to 500 spectators, have been restored and the Odeon is used occasionally for concerts. Finally, we will visit the Grand Husseini Mosque.
Then we will reboard the bus and proceed on a 45-minute drive north to the best-preserved example of Roman civilization, the ancient city of Jerash, JO. This amazing site features soaring hilltop temples, handsome theaters, spacious public squares and plazas, baths, fountains, and city walls pierced by towers and gates. The Jerash Festival, held in July every year, features folklore dances by local and international groups, ballet, concerts, plays, opera, popular singers and sales of traditional handicrafts.
Complimentary hotel pick-up and drop-off from most hotels in Amman, Jordan. Pick up time will be reconfirmed (usually between 8:00am and 10:00am). Please advise pick-up hotel at time of booking and call upon arrival in Amman, Jordan to reconfirm pick-up time.
Entrance fee to Jerash and site guide
Meals or beverages, unless otherwise specified
Optional excursions, unless otherwise specified
Please bring comfortable walking shoes, hat and passports.
Child Rates: Child rates apply to those aged 3-11 years old. Customers are welcome to bring and use child safety seats. Infants aged under 2 years old, with 1 paying adult, are free of charge.
To display prices, please mouse over the date on the calendar; the relevant cost-per-person will be displayed.
All purchases are subject to re-confirmation within 2-3 business days after booking. Please do not book the airline tickets until you received the confirmation.
Complete operator information, including local telephone numbers at your destination, are included on your e-ticket. You must print and bring e-ticket(s) on your trip, as they serve as proof of purchase.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: The purchase of any travel services represents your acceptance Terms & Conditions set out herein. Please ensure that you read carefully and understand these Terms & Conditions prior to booking.
Booking changes: A fee may be charged for any revision or alteration made to a reservation after the booking is confirmed. Name changes or corrections may be treated as a cancellation and cancellation fees will apply. A change of tour date or tour itinerary may be treated as a cancellation, and normal cancellation fees will apply.
Cancellations and Cancellation Fees: Regardless of reason, cancellations result in costly charges from our travel and hotel providers covering penalties and fees incurred by canceling confirmed and pending bookings. Therefore, cancellation penalties and or fees will apply. Time of cancellation will be determined when notice is received and confirmed by our office. Notice of cancellation must be made directly to TakeTours by email or through web mail at Contact Us .
Cancellation penalties per person for Day Trips (duration of 24 hrs or less):
Up to 8 days prior to departure - 50% of total purchase amount.
3-7 days prior to departure - 20% of total purchase amount.
Within 2 days prior to departure and no show the day of the services day or after- 100% of total purchase amount.
Cancellation penalties per person for Short Tours:
Up to 46 days prior to departure - 25% of total purchase amount.
Less then 15 days prior to departure - 75% of total purchase amount.
no show the day of the services day or after - 100% of total purchase amount
Itinerary Variations: We constantly strives to improve tour itineraries and features. If such improvements can be made, or unforeseen circumstances beyond our control make changes necessary - we reserve the right to vary itineraries and to substitute hotels. At certain peak periods duplicate departures may operate, and sometimes in reverse order in which case hotels may vary from those stated on the itinerary pages.
Tour Cancellation: We reserves the right to cancel or re-schedule any tour departure in accordance with operating requirements or circumstances beyond its control. If cancellation is made any time prior to departure* of the tour, TakeTours' only liability will be to refund to the passenger the amount it has received for the tour booking. We will try to re-book the same or similar tour.. Please note that we are not liable for any cancellation penalties incurred on any other travel arrangements including air tickets purchased separately from customers. We are not responsible for any other travel arrangements affected due to our cancellations.