text:
He tells us the club no longer has an initiation fee – they were forced to waive it six years ago in response to the economic downturn. 'You have the top two or three clubs in the area – Bayou Club, Belleair Country Club, and probably Feather Sound – with no initiation fees to join,' he says. 'It makes it very easy to be part of a club these days.'
This is not the man who brought my dad in but a man somewhere above him. He was what The Business calls a 'phony Emerald.' To meet the criteria for the pin level, he'd force the people in his organization to order extra product in order to grow his volume and push him across the finish line each month – not that he turned much of a profit doing so, as he had to pass it all on to his own upline. 'Well, the Emerald pin doesn't mean anything unless your organization is solid,' said my dad. 'So you got a pin – you're not making the money.' Eventually, my dad says, Vincent was stripped of the Emerald pin because he couldn't maintain the sales by force alone.
@cookie1972 I agree this business shows your relationship, you either build it together or your relationship parishes, not because its bad but because one or the other is unwilling to grow, it also has you learn about relationships an example is reading the book about the 5 love langues to IMPROVE your relationship. You only fail the business if you quit, weird how its like the gym, if you go you succeed if you don't you fail, challenge is open.
Yue, you could not have sadi it any better! The bottom line is people looking to go into business must understand that they are representing the company that have put so many years and money in building brand recognition and product sales for the distributors that are conducting the business model the proper way. If people could only realize that they have to stop blaming others for their failures and start looking in the mirror! Our company, Active Energy, has a tremendous screening process (10 hours worth) prior to even taking an application, then once a person is approved, they still must go thru 15 hours of training in order to insure success. Eventhen, we still have distributors who struggle because they lie about their intentions, lie about their abilities, lie about having the time to dedicate to the business model. The bottom line is that if you dont COMMIT to any business, you will not succeed!! its that simple! right now, we have a 100% percent success rate but we have had to re train and hold the hands of many distributors to get them straightened out. We will continue to stand by all our distributors. WE ARE AE!
Bottom line: If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, Amway may not be the place for you due to the company politics. Sort of ironic, since the Amway business thrives on the entrepreneurial spirit of the distributor force. But, if you are looking to just go to work every day, maintain the status quo, get paid fairly, and live a balanced life, than Amway is great!
eSpring was the first commercial product which employed Fulton Innovation's eCoupled wireless power induction technology.[56] In December 2006, Amway sister company, Fulton Innovations, announced that it would introduce eCoupled technology in other consumer electronic products at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show.[57] Companies licensing this technology include Visteon, Herman Miller, Motorola and Mobility Electronics.[58] Fulton was a founding member of the Wireless Power Consortium which developed the Qi (inductive power standard).[59]
After four years of litigation Amway won a landmark case in 1979 concerning the legality of MLMs. Because distributors can make an income on direct selling in addition to their downline, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ruled that Amway was a legitimate business and could continue to operate. This decision has only led to other MLMs adopting similar loopholes and has done little to protect the millions of people scammed into giving their time and money to Amway and other MLMs.
The reform efforts seem to have paid off. Today Amway is portrayed as a model business. A spate of articles in newspapers around the country have crowned "multilevel distribution" the Third Wave of marketing: If it looks like Amway, we're now told, then it's not a scam. Trade magazines laud Amway as a high-quality manufacturer; the United Nations has given it a rare Environmental Award; Jay VanAndel, the recipient of a score of business awards, served a term as president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Ted Koppel has cited Rich DeVos as one of America's premier philanthropists; Larry King blurbed DeVos' book, Compassionate Capitalism, as "a credo for all people everywhere." Even the Wall Street Journal, which delights in mild ridicule of Amway spectacles, never completely laughs off The Business. The paper is always careful to mention Amway's billions in annual sales, the new class of professionals flocking to it, the FTC decision ruling it legal, and its remarkable global expansion—especially in Eastern Europe.
To understand the choices, you have to understand the business. He explained that the products developed to be sold for the direct sales model need to be different from any others on the market. "We develop products with specific deliverables that are unique. These products, what they are and how they work, needs to be explained by someone who knows the product. A good product for the store shelf is not necessarily a good direct sale product."
AGER Amway Amway Event Amway Home Amway IBO Antioxidant Archives Artistry Beauty Beauty tip BodyKey Breakfast Coaches Poll Coaches Trophy Cosmetics Exercise Hair Hair Care Haircare Hair Products Health Healthy Living Hero Awards IBO Kids Look Make up Makeup Makeup Brushes Nutrilite Nutrition Phytonutrients Product Research Rich DeVos Satinique Skincare Sports Nutrition Sun Damage Sunscreen Supplement Supplements Tips Vitamins We Are Amway
Amway is unethical way of making money. Their representative lure you to this smartly designed plan. Amway's representatives misguide and misinform like any other business or a product's sale representatives. which is attractive to listen for the first time with the 'Entrepreneur" motto. But it is another way of making money leaving you frustrated in the end. I advise every one not to join this unethical product promotion. I appreciate Jeremy's article for giving information to people.
Studies of independent consumer watchdog agencies have shown that between 990 and 999 of 1000 participants in MLMs that use Amway-type pay plans in fact lose money.[115][116][citation needed] According to The Skeptic's Dictionary, "In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission requires Amway to label its products with the message that 54% of Amway recruits make nothing and the rest earn on average $65 a month."[117]
Helmstetter credits the practice of 'dreambuilding' as a central reason why Amway is so successful. Dreambuilding is more than wishful thinking, Cross explains. It's more than seeing what people with more money have and wishing you had it. Dreambuilding is 'the perfection of excellence' – 'It is a way to control what you think, to enhance what you believe, and to solidify your attitude' (emphasis his own). Most importantly, it's a procedure, 'a skill that has to be learned, practiced, and put into action.'
I absolutely agree with this post! I was recently approached by a friend to attend a "business meeting" regarding a "great business opportunity on the Internet" but he did not wanted to say anything until the meeting happened with him and his friend, who supposedly was the owner of this business venture. When I arrived to the "meeting" Suprise! I saw other friends there and about 300+ other unknown people. Immediately warning bells started ringing and I knew it was a pyramid scam anyhow, I stayed for the meeting and indeed by the end my suspicions were confirmed and it became quite obvious that the my friend's friend was the recruiter. A few days later I heard back from a very close friend of mine who had also been approached and attended a separate meeting, she questioned me about it because the recruiter told her that I was "very excited at joining this venture" which of course was an absolute LIE and an obvious attempt to manipulate and pressure her to join! After two weeks, the recruiter contacted me ACCUSING ME of stealing a USED lip gloss from his wife the day of the so called meeting and then proceeded to ask me why hasn't he heard back from me?!?! Could you imagine? The freaking nerve of these people!!!! Of course I put him in his place and hope that he never, ever dares to contact me again because if he does I will file a complaint for harassment!!
'It was very marshy. They rearranged the golf course because part of Bardmoor was in here, so they restructured it,' she says, referring to the adjacent gated community. 'Bayou Club is divided into two cities: Pinellas Park and Seminole. When you first drive into the community, while you're technically still in Pinellas Park, you wouldn't know it. Pinellas Park is low-income – we call this section an oasis in the middle of Pinellas Park.'
Gender plays a clear role in shaping the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans. While 67 percent of U.S. males reported starting a business would be desirable, only 47 percent of U.S. females reported the same. Similarly, 69 percent of U.S. male respondents felt they have the requisite capabilities to become an entrepreneur compared to 52 percent of U.S. females. In general, men also had higher AESI scores (62 percent) compared to women (48 percent), roughly similar to previous years.
Its funny that you should say that because, in my opinion I don't think MLM is going anywhere and the Amway Corporation definitely isn't going anywhere. since the depression in 2008 amway has increased its annual revenue by 1 billion dollars a year, and today stands at 11.8 billion dollars. Now your entitled to your opinion but there are some little facts that all people should be informed of. such as the fact that if your between the ages of 18 and 32, by the time you reach retirement (working a job) you have an 80% chance of being dead, disabled, broke, or financially dependent upon the government to subsidize your income. also by that time statistically you will have changed jobs 32 times. how much do you really think your 401k is really going to worth then. Im just a messenger her but I think a company like Amway is really the best shot any average Joe has of creating financial independence. I love when people say its a pyramid scheme. lets look at the typical job. (trading time for money) who works harder, stock boy at A&P or the CEO at A&P who's probably sitting in his hot tub right now? Obviously the stock boy but no matter how hard the stock boy works he will never out earn the CEO. that in my mind is a pyramid scheme. at least in Amway if you do more work you get more money. But the fact still remains it is not a get rich quick scheme. Its going to take hard works. Lots of hard work. but take it from someone who has worked his way through this system. it is well worth the effort. the ends justify the means because once you make to the top of that system Amway provides you with a life that is unparalleled by any other lifestyle. Its not easy but it does work.
So why do we see so many scam reviews and unhappy members that smear Amway in a bad way? Quite simple – MLM is one of the most difficult methods of earning, and you will have to do some hard work and teach yourself some proper marketing skills in order to go far in this industry. Many people find it difficult to communicate with other people face to face or voice to voice. Cold calling is necessary with MLM if you want to make money. If you have a fear of that then the opportunity is simply going to waste your efforts and money period.
The DeVos family's charitable giving and political activism sprawls across three generations. It's not just Dick and Betsy, but Richard and Helen's other children, too. There's Daniel DeVos, who chairs the Orlando Magic, an NBA franchise the family owns, and his wife, Pamella. There's Doug DeVos, Amway's current president and the chair of the executive committee of the National Constitution Center, and his wife, Maria. There's Cheri DeVos, who sits on the board at Alticor, Amway's parent company. And there's their children, a generation of young adults ready to carry the baton.
Like my friend, I was struck by the fairy tale numerology that invested even tennis shoes with a mythic charge. In Amway, extravagant desire is the motive force: To desire what your upline has, even those things that nobody could realistically hope for, is what keeps the scheme in motion.[11] Josh and Jean's wish list, as well as the many other "visualization" exercises involved in dreambuilding, was simply part of their training to ever more expansively want. But to what end? What desire had propelled them into Amway in the first place?
Amway has been in business for more than fifty years, and they seem to pay to their IBOs according to their compensation plan. Besides, they appear to have a positive online reputation. The customers are amazed with their customer service that involves pleasant and polite people who are always there to resolve any problem you might have. It is extremely easy to sign up and make an order. This professional and big American company offers a huge selection of useful products and a lot of benefits. The purchases usually arrive very fast and feature high quality. These include products from nutrition to bath, beauty and home.
What this simple example tells us is that it is difficult to keep appointing more and more distributors. This is similar to a Ponzi scheme, where for the scheme to keep going more and more newer investors need to keep coming in, so that the older investors whose money is falling due can be paid off. The trouble of course is that that the number of people is not infinite, as the above example shows us.
I had a very good experience with Amway. They have very nice people on website to help you, the employees know about all of the products that they sell. This probably one of the reasons they have been in business for so long. Also, they are a very good company that has top quality products. Amway probably has a large amount of orders to handle every day. However, the prices are very high on most products. They can probably keep the prices this high because all of the people that buy their products are used to paying the higher prices for wonderful products.
In the last quarter of 2015, DeVos family donations accounted for over half of those made to the Michigan Republican Party. Dick DeVos, Rich's oldest son, who served as president of the company before passing the torch to his younger brother Doug, made an unsuccessful run for Michigan governor in 2006. His wife, Betsy, has served as chair of the Michigan Republican Party and finance chair for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and now chairs the board of directors of the American Federation for Children, a nonprofit which promotes giving students taxpayer-funded vouchers to attend private schools.
The size of the settlement astonished some observers and the news is spreading fast. It was reported on the front page of the USATodayAmway11.05.10. About $55 million of the total is in actual cash and products as restitution for victims and legal fees. Other elements of the settlement include substantial price reductions to make retail sales feasible, and major changes in the infamous "tools" business that will require Amway to take greater responsibility. These schemes are run by some of Amway's top recruiters and have been allowed to function as arm's length, rogue operations, though highly beneficial to Amway.
In this, Dick and Betsy DeVos' familial roots serve as an object example. Dick is the eldest son of Richard DeVos, who co-founded Amway in 1959, and grew it from a meager soap factory into a multinational colossus with $9.5 billion in annual sales, enlisting his children to manage and expand the company. Betsy hails from a dynasty of her own. In 1965, her father, Edgar Prince, founded a small manufacturing company that came to be worth more than $1 billion on the strength of Prince's automotive innovations, which include the pull-down sun visor with a built-in light-up vanity mirror.
It's a myth that's hard to resist—insofar as the exchange floor and the casino offer dramatic visible spectacles of people getting rich while real wealth-creation is the arcane stuff of productivity figures and efficiency studies—but it has tragic consequences for people like Josh and Jean. Perfectly capable of leading enjoyable lives, they nonetheless surround themselves with Amway propaganda, subsist on Amway food, immerse themselves in Amway culture, think in Amway jargon, and siphon their income to Greg Duncan in the hopes of learning the "secret" of his wealth.
Amway is an $8.6 billion direct selling business based in Ada, Michigan, USA. Top-selling brands for Amway are Nutrilite™ vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements, Artistry™ skincare and color cosmetics, eSpring™ water treatment systems and XS™ energy drinks – all sold exclusively by Amway Business Owners. Global sales in 2016 made Amway the No. 1 direct selling business in the world, according to the 2017 Direct Selling News Global 100. The company's annual sales figure includes revenue from direct selling operations and other business holdings.
I'm betting it's more likely than not that someone you know — or should I say, used to know — has also gotten involved with Amway. The company is ubiquitous and seems to be infiltrating even the most rational social circles. If someone has recently invited you to coffee because they're looking for cool people to help them run their "business", chances are you're in danger of becoming an Amway target.
I shopped with Amway about 20 years ago when a neighbor in my apartment building became a sales rep for them. I really liked the cleaning products which were pure and did a great job of cleaning everything! I had a terrific rep who sold the various products that interested me. I was always very impressed by Amway. To my knowledge, Amway has always had an impeccable reputation and the highest quality products. I didn't find any reason to dislike the company back then and certainly have no reason to dislike it now!
At this point, he wanted to test my commitment to the business. He asked me how much time I would be willing to put in to save $600 a month. I was confused. Why should I have to put in time to save $600 if all I have to do is purchase at their hub? It was at this stage he realized that maybe he went a few steps too fast but I noticed his reaction and realized something else was up. I told him I would get back to him and that was the end of it for me.
Well that's all fine and dandy but I am not lazy, I like talking to people. But I am not going to persuade people to get into a so called business when in al actuality this is like a Sam's Club membership except everyone you get to join, you get a piece of their profits and any profits of their offsprings and so forth and so on. I can do that, but not full time. It's not something I enjoy. You have to have passion for that and I don't have that type of passion for selling Sam's Club memberships to folks. I am a nurse and that's my passion No this is not a scam. Just say no it's not for you and move on. No need to bash the company.
[14]I got the impression that she was becoming a laughingstock at work, an experience common enough to have spawned a whole genre of revenge fantasies in the Amway lore. Speakers always describe the retirement party you'll be able to throw for yourself, complete with fireworks, to really stick it to the naysayers who once laughed at you. They also describe the houses and vacations you'll give to your parents, who'll finally realize how wrong they were about The Business. The yearning to save face—especially with people you urged to join Amway—seems to be a major factor keeping people in.
People, please don't fall for this. It'll cause problems between you and your spouse if you're not both involved because of the conflict. It's a dream that is promised that will never come true. My wife spent money we didn't have investing in this crap and put us in a hole of debt with nothing to show for it. Did Amway come help her financially? No way. Avoid these companies, trust me, they're only out to get your money or get you to make them money.
I really hope he does break up with you if you can't support his dreams. You are going to ruin someone who is going to be a great leaders for his family one day. He understands that if he doesnt own, he will be owned by his job. For you to believe more in your 4 year, no guarantee, probably have student loan debt education will really help separate you from the masses but question his partnership with an 11 billion dollar corporation that is #1 online and has given him something he can own is sad. If he were studying to be a doctor and hung out all day at the hospital with other doctors and went to medical seminars and studied audios or videos from physicians that came before him, you'd probably say he was focused or determined. But because his dream is different from the masses and you can't understand it, you condemn him on a blog ran by faceless people who don't give a damn about you or him. Macy's is closing over 200 stores and capitalizing on online marketing and sales. Walmart also. Your boyfriend decided to put himself in the way of that online traffic. I believe he will be successful in 5 years if he keeps working hard and not let you steal his dream. Stop trying to get him to join you on the 40hours for 40years plan.
Author John C. Maxwell, who writes leadership books including The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, is co-authored a book, Becoming a Person of Influence, with Jim Dornan, Quixtar Founders Crown Ambassador and founder of Quixtar support organization Network TwentyOne. Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady, both former IBOAI board members for Quixtar, co-authored the #1 bestseller, Launching a Leadership Revolution. Both Woodward and Brady were terminated by Quixtar and participated in a class action lawsuit against Quixtar alleging that Quixtar operated as an illegal recruitment scheme[27].[citation needed]
To sell Amway products, you'll first need to register as an Independent Business Owner (IBO), which will then give you the opportunity to earn an income through their Compensation Plan. After signing up as an IBO, Amway claims that you'll never be alone due to their world-class business resources, support, education, training, as well as mentoring. However, despite how great the company makes their business opportunity appear, the fact is that most people never make any money (see Bottom Line section for additional information).
Amway's time in business has not been without controversy. The multi-level company is not new to dealing with lawsuits. One lawsuit in the last ten years resulted in Amway paying $56 million to settle a case alleging it operates a pyramid scheme. Amway agreed to the deal to close a 2007 class-action suit. Here are some of the accusations Amway has received in its more than 50 years of business:
While noting that the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability, Amway acknowledged that it had made changes to its business operations as a result of the lawsuit. The settlement is subject to approval by the court, which was expected in early 2011.[10] The economic value of the settlement, including the changes Amway made to its business model, totals $100 million.[131]
Structure MLM groups that last is extremely hard in North America (particularly U.S.A). This could appear a little bit severe, but I have actually not viewed Amway breakdown a solitary Diamond in the good-ole UNITED STATE in 2 years. The factor teams are hard to keep with each other, despite having the advertising of events, is due to the fact that building a company totally offline is not appealing to lots of people in this country. And as long as leaders may whine that the internet has destroyed this sector in some circles, it does not transform the fact that the marketplace is a company each one of its very own; it's not up to us to identify just what's ideal for the marketplace, it's our duty to discover how they want to be marketed to and after that comply with that wish. Structure entirely offline acquires tiring and also the vast majority of people just do not want to burn the rubber off the tires more. In addition there are a lot of companies that have actually embraced the internet, as well as considering that lots of people visit the internet for information it is simple for Amway reps to get inhibited and also check out other options when they find out a business could be built online.
Dick DeVos, on stage with his wife, echoed her sentiments with a lament of his own. "The church—which ought to be, in our view, far more central to the life of the community—has been displaced by the public school," Dick DeVos said. "We just can think of no better way to rebuild our families and our communities than to have that circle of church and school and family much more tightly focused and built on a consistent worldview."
Been involved since 2005, stayed focused for 3 weeks and got distracted by inlaws staying over for 2 months, driving them around, etc,. Kept trying to do it over the years but never consistently. I then recently figured out the reasons I wasn't showing the plan. Wrote them out and asked upline, etc. till I got the issues handled appropriately. Great products last and last, high quality, organic in many cases, not made in China, great return policies, and even with partner stores. Customer service is awesome. Also, a basketball in Lebron James is worth millions, and in mine $20.00 Same for this business, find someone who is successful and do what they did, stay consistent, have a big reason why you want to be free, and focus on that in the good and bad. When you want to quit and get so discouraged, that will keep you going , and keep a good relationship and communication with your upline coach and mentor.
Prior to Downtown Master Plan 3, the Orlando Magic's ownership, led by billionaire Amway founder Richard DeVos and son-in-law Bob Vander Weide, had been pressing the City of Orlando for a new arena for nearly ten years. Amway Arena was built in 1989, prior to the recent era of technologically advanced entertainment arenas. With the rush to build new venues in the NBA (and sports in general), it quickly became one of the oldest arenas in the league.
Buoyed by the success in Michigan, the DeVoses have exported a scaled-down version of that template into other states, funding an archipelago of local political action committees and advocacy organizations to ease the proliferation of charter schools in Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Iowa, Virginia and Louisiana, among others. At the same time, DeVos-backed PACs have transformed the nature of American political campaigns. By showing the success of independent PACs that answered to a few deep-pocketed donors rather than a broad number of stakeholders associated with a union or chamber of commerce, for instance, the DeVoses precipitated the monsoon of independent expenditures that has rained down upon politicians for the past decade. In the process, they've reshaped political campaigns as well as the policies that result from them.
I personally feel that Amway is a good vehicle to becoming successful. Its only when you know who you are, where you are going, and only when you've found a vehicle or vehicles to take you there, do you actually have a chance of getting there. People's lack of understanding of how the world really works gave way to ultimately disastrous results. Some people are so negative, the negative stuff drains you to the point when there are not sufficient brain cells left to focus on the good stuff. Positive and negative thought cannot reside in the same room at the same time.
After graduating from high school in 1975, Betsy enrolled at Calvin College, her mother's alma mater. Calvin's mission, as stated in the 1975–1976 course catalog, was "to prepare students to live productive lives of faith to the glory of God in contemporary society—not merely lives that have a place for religion … but lives which in every part, in every manifestation, in their very essence, are Christian."
Totaling 875,000 square feet, the Amway Center replaces the previously existing Amway Arena, updating the venue in favor of a sustainable and environmentally conscious design. The new building comes with updated technology, more amenities, and bigger seats. There's even a hypnotizing graphics wall along one side of the building that brings the arena's modern elements together in a magical display.
[12]Amway gives some idea of real chances for success in its "Amway Business Review" pamphlet, which the FTC requires it provide to all prospects. The "Business Review" is an ingenious mixture of mandated honesty and obfuscatory spin: The average monthly gross income for "active" distributors, for instance, is revealed to be a meager $65 a month; but the "Review" leaves out the median income and the net profit, both of which would probably be negative. Likewise, it states that "2 percent of all 'active' distributors who sponsor others and approximately 1 percent of all 'active' distributors met Direct Distributor qualification requirements during the survey period." From this, it derives the optimistic conclusion that "once again, the survey demonstrates a substantial increase in achievement for those who share the business with others." Increase implies that there are some non-sharing distributors who succeed; an alternate reading of the statistics would be that all distributors try to share, none succeed without sharing, but only half are able to share. It's also a measure of Amway's PR savvy that every article I've seen (even the critical ones) that mentions the number of Directs uses the 2 percent, rather than the more accurate 1 percent, figure.
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Census Bureau to miss December 31 deadline
December 30, 2020 8:00 PM December 30, 2020 4:33 PM
(CNN) — The Census Bureau announced it will miss Thursday's deadline to produce the population count used to divide seats in Congress between the states.
The Wednesday announcement was expected, and the key question remains whether the Census Bureau and Commerce Department will present the tally to President Donald Trump prior to his departure from office on January 20. There are no penalties associated with missing the December 31 deadline.
The Census Bureau said in a statement that it plans "to deliver a complete and accurate state population count for apportionment in early 2021, as close to the statutory deadline as possible."
If the numbers are completed during the Trump presidency, he may attempt to exclude some undocumented immigrants for the division of House seats. The Supreme Court recently overturned rulings that would have blocked that policy.
It is unclear if the Trump administration has sufficient data to carry it out — or if it does, if the data is enough to actually affect how many seats each state receives.
If the numbers are produced after Trump leaves office, President-elect Joe Biden is not expected to exclude undocumented immigrants from the count.
Wednesday's statement said the Census Bureau continues to process the data it gathered from surveys conducted online, on paper, by telephone and in person earlier in the year.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the Census Bureau, had pushed officials to complete the count by December 31 — even after officials briefed him that a truncated schedule would put multiple states at risk of an incomplete count.
The final schedule gave Census officials about half the time they had planned for completing the complex work of processing data.
Internal documents obtained in early December by a House committee investigating the Trump administration's handling of the census revealed data issues and "high complexity" problems threaten to delay completion of the tally until February. The Census Bureau director has not explained the issues but said they have "occurred in past censuses."
Even before the data issues cropped up, the top career census official managing the 2020 census said the bureau was targeting completion by "the first or second week of January."
In addition to the political controversies, which critics argued made the count harder to complete, counting the nation's population was also complicated by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Commerce Department inspector general said Wednesday the Census Bureau cut corners with a quality control process and determined the issues call into question the results for "more than 500,000" households. It said one reason the Census Bureau didn't complete the quality checks was because of the compressed time schedule.
While there are no penalties associated with missing the deadline, Justice Department attorney Brad Rosenberg mused at a September court hearing that missing the deadline would be grounds for Congress to reject the numbers.
"It's possible that if the Census Bureau provides its enumeration at some point in January … that Congress would still accept that number," Rosenberg said. "But it's also possible — and I don't represent Congress so I just don't know the answer to this — that they might not. If they miss the statutory deadline, it's unclear whether Congress would still be bound to accept any numbers submitted by the president after the date."
That outcome is not expected.
The delay and rush to produce the numbers used to divide up congressional seats are expected to have a ripple effect and produce further delays.
After producing the apportionment figures, the Census Bureau turns its attention to producing the massive data files used by state governments to draw new congressional districts.
For apportionment, only an overall number of people in each state is needed. But the redistricting data requires more granular details about who those people are and where they live.
The Census Bureau has not yet announced when it anticipates completing those files. It typically works to meet the individual deadlines set by the laws of each state.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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We visited a Babies R Us store that's about to shut down — and it was a mess
Jessica Tyler
Mar. 20, 2018, 9:39 AM
A Babies R Us store in downtown Manhattan preparing to close.
Business Insider/Jessica Tyler
Toys R Us is moving to close or sell all 735 of its US stores after filing a motion to liquidate last week.
Back in late January, the company announced plans to close just 170 Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores.
We recently visited one of the Babies R Us stores that was winding down its operations as part of the January announcement. It was a disaster.
Toys R Us will be closing or selling all 735 of its US stores after filing a motion to liquidate its US business last week. The toy retailer had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September.
Toys R Us had already said in January that 170 of its Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores would close, and many of those locations have started going-out-of-business sales. The company's liquidation filing last week will trigger clearance sales that could begin as soon as Thursday at the locations that had not already planned to close.
Babies R Us stores will be closing as a result of the liquidation as well, though its website will remain running for the time being.
We visited a Babies R Us store that has been preparing to close since January to see what it looked like and to see what may lie ahead for other Babies R Us and Toys R Us stores once clearance sales begin at a wider scale.
This is what we found:
The Babies R Us I went to in downtown Manhattan had been set to close since January. Employees said it's expected to close by the end of March.
Because of the coming closing, this location was not accepting returns or coupons.
Signs like these were hanging all over the store and were the first thing I saw when I walked in.
Everything in sight was marked down, often more than once.
Toys were especially steeply discounted, with price cuts of up to 50% off the original cost ...
... and some toys had signs advertising additional markdowns. Even the displays the toys were on were for sale.
There were a lot of boxes that had never been unpacked, many of them torn or falling apart.
There were half-empty displays in the middle of the store ...
... and it only got worse as I went farther back.
Many shelves had only one or two seemingly random items on display.
As I ventured farther into the store, I found entire rooms that were empty.
The boxes on display in this nearly empty room were torn and clearly had been moved around a lot. Many pieces of merchandise here were marked as the last of that product available in-store.
Hoping the second floor wouldn't be as depressing as the first, I went upstairs. These signs were at the bottom of the (nonfunctioning) escalator, so my expectations were pretty low.
The signs weren't exaggerating. There were still displays up, but they were abandoned. It felt as if the store had been closed for weeks already.
The only sign that the store still existed was the sight of an employee in a Babies R Us shirt, walking around the floor and playing music from his phone.
There were more massive sale signs, even though there was no merchandise.
I walked up to the third floor to find all of the store fixtures and displays for sale. It was a mess — the floor was literally falling apart, and I had to climb over merchandise to get around. The two employees on this floor were just sitting down and talking.
In the back corner of the store, there were tables covered in baby mannequins on sale for upward of $75. A lot of them were damaged or being sold for parts — it was bizarre and unsettling.
The learning center was dark and eerie ...
... and I had to walk through a maze to get back to the escalator.
Along the way, I passed a few more empty rooms.
As I was walking to the exit, I noticed that even the soda and small merchandise by the register were on sale. There was no line and very few people working. The store looked as if it could close at any minute, and it showed what the future may hold for the remaining Babies R Us and Toys R Us stores.
More on Toys R Us' demise:
Toys R Us reveals closing dates for liquidating stores — and clearance sales will start this week
Here's why Toys R Us couldn't be saved
Toys R Us will close or sell all of its US stores
Toys R Us is closing all its US stores — and blowout clearance sales could begin within weeks
Toys R Us gift cards will expire in 30 days
These companies will be the biggest winners when Toys R Us closes its stores
We visited one of the last Toys R Us stores to open — here's what it looked like
Toys R Us says a 'perfect storm' killed the toy chain — and it blames Amazon, Walmart, and Target
SEE ALSO: Babies R Us stores will close — here's what will happen to baby registries
DON'T MISS: Toys R Us fans are mourning the death of the store — take a look back at what it was like in its heyday
More: Features Retail Toys 'R' Us Babies R Us
Visual Features


Founded in 2008, Neubodi is a lingerie brand that represents an effortless body transformation through providing the right fit of beauty and confidence for every modern day woman. As the leading bra expert in choosing the right size and cup that fits, you'll be able to find lingerie to cater to sizes A to I. Neubodi offers one-of-a-kind personalised fitting solutions where the friendly shop assistants will help you get the right fit with the right bra-fitting guide and help you discover the best styles that accentuate body curves ad assets. Find the right fit for yourself and you'll definitely ooze confidence from within.


Just a few days ago we posted an awesome airstrike video from the Iraq Air Force as they continued their air campaign against advancing ISIS targets, but now after President Obama authorized American airstrikes, we have footage of our own US Navy putting warheads on ISIS foreheads. The bomber of choice: the highly advanced F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, courtesy of America's finest naval service. Don't pass on this video folks, and you can be sure there will be more footage like the above to come as ISIS targets continue to get bombarded – that is until they're all destroyed! More combat footage and ISIS discussion as always after the jump!
If you haven't heard the news yet, President Obama just authorized US airstrikes to not only protect our forces in embattled Iraq, but to target ISIS positions as well "if necessary". With ISIS fighters now explicitly targeting Christians – demanding that they "convert or die" – the Iraq situation is now much more than a "situation"; it is actually becoming quite dire. While I don't ever foresee our military stepping foot in Iraq again like we did in OIF, I do think special forces will be sent in to assist if they haven't already. After all, someone has to coordinate all those airstrikes! Speaking of airstrikes, the above video is a must see as this footage did not come from American airpower, but rather the Iraqi Air Force. It's awesome to see how far along they've come; while I was only in Afghanistan, having worked with their army I can definitely relate. More discussion after the link!
If the United States Marine Corps knows how to celebrate any holiday well, it would be July 4th – both the original holiday celebrating our independence from British rule, as well as the more recent victory against the alien invasion which Capt Hiller (Will Smith) and David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) so thankfully repelled. So to honor this stellar beer-drinking, sunburning three day holiday weekend, why don't we start it off with what we Marines do best: blow stuff up.
If you're soul is searching for some much needed Monday morning motivation before you have to face Lumbergh – or maybe the company 1stSgt -, then look no further than the epicness that is the UH-1Y Huey aerial arsenal. Firing up to 6,000 rounds per minute, the Huey's minigun literally lights up the sky at night with rounds pouring down so quickly it looks like spiraling lasers, and the rocket system? That's not too shabby either. They are even more motivating when you watch them in slow-motion; enjoy the video and hit the link below for more commentary!


Paul Robinson says that it's a big challenge for AFC Wimbledon to match clubs with greater resources in League One and he is looking forward to testing himself against promotion contenders Bradford City tomorrow.
The Dons will tomorrow be aiming to do what no other clubs in League One have done so far this season – win at Bradford.
But taking on promotion hopefuls on their own patch is not something that holds any fears for 'Robbo'. Since joining Wimbledon in the summer of 2015, the experienced defender has played a big part in the club's rise and he's relishing a third season after signing a new contract.
"It will be a tough game, but the lads are looking forward to it," said Robinson. "They have not lost at home all season, but we have nothing to lose. We are going to go up there and try to be the only team to beat them at home this season. We can play with freedom, go up to Bradford and acquit ourselves well, and see what we can get out of the game.
"I cannot believe I will be going into my third season here, we've fitted a lot in during the last couple of seasons. It has been fantastic; moving from Portsmouth to help this football club get promoted and continue its journey has been great. I've loved every minute of my time here.
To watch part of Paul Robinson's interview for Dons Player, click on the link above to our official You Tube channel.
Robinson expressed his frustration with a lack of goals in recent matches, particularly missing a great chance himself against Peterborough.
The full interview with Paul Robinson and the thoughts of Neil Cox ahead of Bradford are both on Dons Player.


It finally happened, I gave in and got Sarah her very own dog!!!
Sarah will be 9, March 2007, and is eager to get in the Juniors ring.
but boy, oh boy has she proved me wrong!!! She has just jumped right in and does it all, feeds, walks, helps with baths, and of course SPOILS little Jama to death with hugs and kisses!!!! Which is why her name is so perfect for her!!! They are a perfect team!!
As a mother I couldn't be prouder!!! All I have to say is "Watch out world, these little girls are going to take the show world by storm!!!"


ShireBiz was proud to have offered Shire businesses the opportunity to "Talk with the Treasurers" recently.
Assistant Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg MP, NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian MP and Sutherland Shire Mayor Kent Johns each presented to close to 250 business owners and Executives.
Miranda Chamber of Commerce President, Karen Johnson opened proceedings with a heart felt and focused summary of business challenges relating to tax and regulations, which was very well received.
All four presentations can be viewed below.
ShireBiz thanks the Chambers of Commerce, 2SSR FM Community Radio, ShireWomen, Westpac Banking Corporation, the NSW Business Chamber and Southside Staffing for their support of what many are suggesting, has been the most significant business function the Shire has experienced.
We have our "Thinking Caps on", for our next Sutherland Shire so stay tuned!


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#Sundayreading -Poet Namdeo Dhasal – A Panther In Life
Namdeo Dhasal has left behind words that will outlast his political trajectory. Meena Kandasamy remembers the iconic Marathi poet and writer
MEENA KANDASAMY
2014-01-25 , Issue 4 Volume 11
Namdeo Dhasal (15 February 1949 – 15 January 2014)
"Death is that stone inscription of which the thinker is always afraid." Namdeo Dhasal, Ode to Dr. Ambedkar, translated by Dilip Chitre
Namdeo Dhasal lived a life that cannot be contained in the polite language of obituaries, a life that revolted against hagiographies, a rebellious life that shunned haloes. In the world of poets, he was beyond mere poetry. As he declared, I am a venereal sore in the private part of language/ The living spirit looking out of hundreds of thousands of sad, pitiful eyes/ has shaken me/ I am broken by the revolt exploding inside me. In the drama of politics, he brought in the poet's audacity and irreverence.
In 1972, when he co-founded the Dalit Panthers, he was only 23. Burning with the unsullied anger of youth, and reeling under the influence of the Black Panthers, his manifesto believed in direct action, challenged the state apparatus and advocated a militancy in challenging caste that was never before seen in the Indian subcontinent. Even as his radical movement Dalit Panthers altered the face and form of resistance to caste oppression and state violence, Namdeo's poetry sought to liberate language from the clutches of orthodox and sanitised usage. His seminal collection Golpitha, drawing on his experiences of growing up in Mumbai's red-light district, shocked the literary world, and scandalised them with its rawness and its rage. Born a Mahar, he did not allow the oppression of untouchability to break him, he broke untouchability, he took upon and wore the label of Dalit with pride, and made it so for millions of people.
His work combined political propaganda and poetry effortlessly as he put forth an unrelenting criticism of an oppressive system that enslaves the Dalit people. As we continue to remain a society where caste rules the roost, the explosive aggression of his words, the aesthetics of violence and street-fighting in his poetic speech, the depiction of filth in all its flamboyance, the amoralism that rejected all established codes and constructs are things for which we will celebrate Namdeo Dhasal.
His irreverence with language also manifested itself in the manner in which he lived — outrageously lumpen, with a stormy personal life that he never bothered to explicate and bizarre political leanings that only grew more controversial over time.
How did such an insurrectionary poet move towards the reactionary right wing? Or, more importantly, why did he make the shift from the plank of negation into the one of incorporation? His support of Indira Gandhi's emergency, his writing for the Shiv Sena's mouthpiece, his allegiance to the Hindu right wing are not political moves that I shall ever seek to justify or gloss over. Even Namdeo would not have liked it, as he once wrote: Like a snake, I too shed my skin; this touch of icy water cuts all passion's cords./ Don't blow a soothing breath on the surface of water now, or my memoirs will lose their face.
It is a disservice to history to be apologetic instead of acknowledging that in the political game played by the Congress and Shiv Sena, he became a reluctant pawn. It is worth revisiting Namdeo's journey as a tale of caution for Dalit politics today, especially in gaining understanding of the many problematic issues that come up when pragmatism is valued over and above uncompromising ideology.
And yet, before hurrying into the convenient act of blaming Namdeo for his misdirected political choices, we should perhaps first acknowledge the reality of India's political system that is content with earning credibility by co-opting prominent Dalit figures and paying lip service to the concept of equality even as it is hard at work to sustain the casteist, Hindu supremacist patriarchal structure by all means possible. Such a fascist tendency feeds its everyday bloodlust by criminalisingDalit militancy, unleashing violence on Dalits and maintaining a smug silence that refuses to acknowledge the state of hatred and oppression visited upon them. Namdeo's poems disturbed those sanctified tombs of silence. His words were dynamite. It is a consolation that his poetry will outlast his political trajectory. It will be our proud inheritance. It will be hurled at our oppressors. It will always be in use as long as we rage against the caste system. Panthers on the prowl, they will slay every one and everything standing in the way of caste annihilation. In mourning him, we salute the militancy of his exploding, explosive words.
#Gujarat- Memorial to a Genocide: Citizenship of Junk #NarendraModi
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Kumbh Mela is VHP's platform for Ram temple campaign
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Steve Marshall is a stand-up comedian who has performed at comedy clubs all around the country. He is a regular on the Kosher Komedy circuit, with a group of comedians who can be called on to entertain audiences with clean comedy, something not often seen at comedy clubs. He's also been known to perform edgy comedy, but you won't see that in the video clip here.
Marshall is also an actor, director, and writer of short films. He has been doing pre-show audience warm-ups for The View for the last three years, and is a regular in opening and closing acts at the Borgata in Atlantic City and the Riviera in Las Vegas.


As a third-generation Mexican American living in a large Mormon family right outside of Salt Lake City, life was was pretty much mapped out for Maritza Torres — or so she thought. Growing up, she was taught that a woman's role is limited to getting married and having children, and as the oldest sibling in her family, she had already experienced what taking care of a household full of kids was like. So, against her parent's wishes, she moved to L.A.
In 2008, after seven years of living in California, Torres, whose background is in fashion and graphic design, was able to launch her career as a full-time artist. She began drawing, painting and creating sculptures at an early age, but after engaging with her new surroundings, she started experimenting with different themes and alternative mediums.
These new themes include the city's cautious attitude about the environment, the struggle of feeling like she was contributing to the gentrification of East L.A., and a growing sense of isolation — from her family, her identity and her heritage. All of which are experiences that have played a large role in her work, especially in her latest collection titled Cactus Face.
"The group Cactus Face is about embracing [the] term 'Cara de Nopal,'" she says, "[which] is often used in a derogatory way that really should never be considered an insult." When she was younger, her father used the term in a loving manner, but for many Mexican-Americans with indigenous physical characteristics like dark skin and dark hair, "Cara de Nopal" wasn't usually heard as a term of endearment. So, she's reimagined the term through illustrations in a way that questions how we, as a society, could get to a point where we think that looking like our ancestors is something to be ashamed of.
Currently, Torres is working on a commissioned work that deals with the Goddesses of Tonga, a matriarchal society in which all of the gods are women. "I am always looking for stories of women in history and matriarchal cultures," she says. "I remember as a kid always wanting to defend women and hearing mainly about great men in history or the dominance of males in different species," which is why at the focus of many of her pieces you'll find women of all shapes, colors and sizes. She doesn't hold back on expressing her fascination with the roles women play within the family and community and she admits that she feels empowered just knowing that matriarchal societies exist.
On December 3, Pan Dulce Gallery will have the pleasure of hosting Torres' first solo show, titled Bleeding Heart, which focuses on the experience of loss and is a representation of her emotional state while she witnessed her father's fight with cancer, and later, the aftermath of his passing.


text:
L'église de la Sainte-Croix (Wallfahrtskirche Heiligenkreuz) est une église de pèlerinage de style baroque située à quatre kilomètres de l'abbaye de Kremsmünster, dont elle dépendait, en Haute-Autriche.

L'église fait 37 mètres de long, sur 14 mètres de large et 15 mètres de haut.

Histoire
Le jour de Pâques 1682, un fermier des environs, Hans Adamsmayr, révéla qu'il avait vu en songe une statue de saint Florian et un tronc des pauvres sur son champ qui était à l'emplacement d'une ancienne église dédiée au saint soldat, patron de Linz. Ses voisins avaient vu d'étranges lumières dans la nuit précédant Pâques autour de sa maison. Adamsmayr se rendit auprès du juge de paix de Kremsmünster, Benedikt Finsterwalder, pour lui confier sa promesse d'édifier une statue et de placer un tronc pour les pauvres à cet endroit. Dès lors une centaine de pèlerins vinrent chaque jour y prier.

L'abbé de Kremsmünster se saisit de l'affaire et se rend auprès de l'évêque de Passau pour y faire édifier une chapelle. On construit une chapelle de bois en 1683 et deux ans plus tard, l'abbé Erenbert II Schreyvogl (1669-1703) réunit des fonds pour la construction d'une église de pierre. Il décide que l'église sera vouée à protéger les habitants du péril de la guerre contre les Turcs qui menaçaient l'Autriche, ainsi que des épidémies de peste.

L'édification de l'église commence en 1687 d'après les plans de Carlo Antonio Carlone qui commençait une carrière de rebâtisseur des abbayes de la région. La première Messe est dite le  et après une interruption l'aménagement se poursuit à partir de 1700. Les cloches sont bénites en 1702 et le maître-autel de Johann Bader terminé en 1706. Johann Kutter y installe un splendide croix et des ornements dorés en 1711. L'église est consacrée le  en l'honneur de la Sainte-Croix. L'intérieur est richement orné de stuc et de fresques décrivant la vie de saint Florian et de saint Léonard, ainsi que de fresques représentant la Nativité et la Crucifixion de Jésus.

Toutefois, les idées du despotisme éclairé issues des "Lumières" des philosophes français, inspirent à l'empereur Joseph II de l'hostilité contre les congrégations et l'église cesse de dépendre de l'abbaye en 1786, et doit fermer, mais seulement pour un temps.

L'église est restaurée entre 1979 et 1986 et ses grilles en 1996. La statue de saint Sébastien est replacée près du chœur et le maître-autel restauré en 2002. La statue votive sur sa petite colonne est en évidence dans le transept droit.

Aujourd'hui, l'église sert pour les baptêmes, les mariages et les funérailles, ainsi que pour des pèlerinages locaux. Ceux en l'honneur de Notre-Dame de Fátima ont été lancés en 1945 (l'Autriche était alors divisée en zones d'occupation, dont une zone soviétique) et ont lieu entre mai et octobre tous les 13 du mois.

Galerie

Église baroque en Autriche
Monument en Haute-Autriche
Kremsmunster

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I wish you didn't tempt me so – didn't stand there like that. Or shoot that smile, shine those conspiratorial eyes. Sometimes you lay your hand upon me and all my nerves are music, singing the electric song of you.
Don't say you don't mean it. I know you do. You like the smell of burning flesh. I like the feel. We could make this all happen in a blaze of surrender – you could just touch the trigger. From there it's just momentum.
Some days I wonder what we could fashion from all this desire of ours. Other days I think I'm dreaming it. Even so, I walk beside you and all the atoms between us fizz with pent up charge. My mouth is dry, my breath is short – and I have to summon all my will not to reach across the centimetres and set the whole universe on fire.


The term retrofuturism – a movement in art and design that imagines what the future might look like during the present moment – was first coined in the early 1980s, in an issue of The New York Times. Here, the copywriter for a Bloomingdale's advertisement described pieces of jewellery as "silverised steel and sleek grey, linked for a retro-futuristic look".
But, despite lacking a name, retrofuturism had been around for far longer than that, originating in the work of sci-fi novelist H.G. Wells in the 1800s and German expressionist filmmaker Fritz Lang in the 1920s. Three decades on from Lang's Metropolis, space race optimism permeated pop culture, perhaps leaving its greatest mark on fashion history: think, Andre Courrèges' mirror-shine PVC and Paco Rabanne's iconic metalwork couture. Then, there was Thierry Mugler, who invited an all-out cyborgian fantasy to the runways of the 80s and 90s, and Nicolas Ghesquière, who drew upon the sculptural codes of Cristóbal Balenciaga, bringing them to his own vision for the house.
Today, retrofuturism is very much alive and well, with Ghesquière still leading the way with his work at Louis Vuitton: "People used to define me as a futurist designer, but, for me, the future is now," he told AnOther, with the French designer's show for the Spring/Summer 2019 season wholeheartedly embracing this sentiment. And he wasn't the only one, with a similar ethos permeating collections at Maison Margiela, Givenchy, Balmain, Marine Serre, Burberry, Coach and Camper. Here, 12 accessories from those designers – including hats, sunglasses, jewellery and bags – were reimagined by Chris Rhodes and Chloe Grace Press, in AnOther Magazine's S/S19 issue.