The computer room at New Delhi’s Lady Irwin primary school – a state-run establishment with 1,400 students – contains 14 desktop computers used to familiarise pupils aged between nine and 11 with digital technology.
The questions “What is an operating system?”, “What is a desktop?” and “What is an icon?” are written neatly on a chalkboard above the machines, which are not connected to the internet. Students practise using Microsoft Excel and Word, and graphics programs. “The kids love to draw and paint on the computer – and play games such as Angry Birds,” says Radhika Bist, a computer teacher.
Lady Irwin’s lessons reflect India’s fumbling but eager embrace of digital technology in education, as schools grapple with how to integrate computers into the curriculum and try to bridge the country’s vast digital divide.“Earlier, the question was ‘Should computers be brought into the schools?’,” says Ashutosh Chadha, head of corporate affairs for south Asia at Intel, the technology company. “Now we know that computers should be brought into schools, but for what, and how? What we still need to crack is the ‘how’?”
Access to computers and digital learning materials in the classroom – and the way these are used – depend heavily on students’ economic status, and the type of school they attend.Many private schools are investing in advanced digital education systems to enliven classes with interactive learning materials. Technopak Advisors, a consultancy, estimates that between 80,000 and 100,000 of India’s 260,000 private schools have invested in some form of classroom technology.Companies such as Educomp, NIIT, Core Education & Technologies and Pearson, which owns the Financial Times, are promoting digital education systems. Wiring up a single class can cost about Rs200,000 ($3,300), but companies are often willing to bear the initial installation costs, then charge monthly user fees per student.
Technopak estimates India’s market for digital learning systems at about $500m a year, although the competition for orders is fierce, and private schools in smaller cities are among some of the biggest customers.“Second and third-tier cities are where there is a lot of rtls,” says Enayet Kabir, the head of Techno-pak’s education division. “Parents there realise their children will not have a location advantage, compared with children who live in the bigger cities, but there is a desire to give them a high-quality education.”
State governments are also trying to promote the use of computers in their schools, but efforts vary widely, from teaching basic computer literacy to using digital technology to enhance learning in every subject. Many such initiatives are still in development, leaving hundreds of millions of students with no access at all.Haryana, in northern India, has computer labs in more than 2,600 secondary schools to teach basic computing, and has a $50m project to give five schools full digital learning systems.
In the southwest, in Karnataka, whose capital Bangalore is a hub of India’s information technology industry, state authorities are trying to establish computer-aided learning centres in every state school: with five computers and CDs with educational material in local languages. So far, about 20 per cent have been received their equipment.
The many obstacles include the lack of internet connections, trained teachers and even people to set up the machines. In some state schools, administrators are so terrified that the computers will be damaged, they are never taken out of their boxes.In 2011, the Indian government announced what was supposed to be a groundbreaking scheme to provide highly subsidised, education-focused tablet computers to university students. The Aakash, produced by Datawind, was touted as the world’s cheapest tablet, selling at just $35. But so far, the government has ordered just 100,000 and the devices have been plagued by quality issues.
Meanwhile, the government of Uttar Pradesh has begun handing out free notebook computers to those graduating from state high schools and enrolling in higher education, fulfilling a campaign promise of Akhilesh Yadav, the chief minister. Hewlett-Packard has won a $515m order to supply 1.5m computers for the give-away over a seven-month period.
But Intel’s Mr Chadha says policy makers need to move beyond just giving out devices. “It’s not just about providing devices in a classroom or in the hands of students,” he says. “Are you providing connectivity? Do you have local content available to them? And are the teachers trained? All of these are important to help bridge the digital divide.”
Microsoft has added another piece to its "free" Office package for iPhone users—free as in “free with an Office 365 account,” that is. This time, Microsoft included an Outlook mail client and calendar…sort of. Called OWA (as in Outlook Web App) for iPhone, this app takes the behaviors and interface of the Outlook client on Windows Phone 8 and embeds them in an iOS application formatted for the iPhone. It's similar to what Microsoft did with the Office app released last month.
As its name suggests, OWA for iPhone is not a full-fledged Outlook client in that it’s limited to the single e-mail account associated with an Office 365 account. It does, however, have most of the functionality you’d expect from a phone mail client. It syncs contacts with the iPhone address book, pushes notifications for appointments and new mail, and generally does everything else that the Windows Phone 8 Outlook and Calendar apps do with a somewhat similar interface.
Microsoft has thrown in a few things to subvert the Apple ecosystem besides building the application in an HTML5 clone of its “Metro” interface. For example, when you set the location for a meeting in OWA’s calendar, you can search for the location with Bing Maps and attach the address and map information to the appointment. Other features of the Outlook and full Outlook Web clients, such as automatic creation of appointments based on the contents of e-mails and access to LinkedIn data on the sender of an e-mail, are also part of the OWA for iPhone client.
The OWA client adds an additional layer of security for people who put the app on their personal phone—a mobile PIN. You can add a four-digit PIN code to the app to protect access to your e-mail, allowing you to pass your phone to your bored child or spouse to play Plants vs. Zombies without worrying about exposing them to the horrors of your work life.
Click on their website www.ecived.com/en/.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Does this undocumented family deserve to stay in Toronto?
They own two cars, a 3,000-sq-ft home by the lake and run a successful landscaping business that rings in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in revenue.By most accounts, they are the hardworking and well-established immigrants that Canada needs and wants.
Since their arrival from Mexico in 2007, however, the Dias family has lived a life of secrecy — off the population map and, by necessity, the radar of Canadian immigration officials.Jose Dias, his wife Sofia, both in their 40s, their adult son Carlos and daughter Antonia are among tens of thousands of people in Greater Toronto who live and work here without legal status.
Known as “the undocumented,” they are failed refugee claimants dodging deportation or those who overstayed temporary work, student or visitor visas. Many are economic migrants, often from developing countries, seeking work or a better lifestyle.With Toronto poised to become Canada’s first “sanctuary city,” which would open up municipally funded services to immigrants, legal or not, it raises the politically contentious question: Do these migrants deserve to stay?
The Dias family agreed to share their personal story though they asked that their names be changed to protect them from authorities. While their story may not represent the experience of all undocumented people, they say they want to show the human side to a vulnerable population. “We want Canadians to see the other side of the story and understand why we do the things we do,” says Antonia. “We want a better life, which is not possible in Mexico.”
In many ways the undocumented are indistinguishable from ordinary Canadians and well-integrated in the community. They work, though often for low pay. They lay shingles, labour on construction sites, indoor positioning system, clean offices and homes. They feed a whole industry, from employers who rely on cheap labour and job recruiters who take their cut to payday loan managers who charge fees to cash the illegal’s paycheques.
The undocumented live in a constant state of fear. If caught, they most certainly face deportation. So they rarely report a crime, go to a doctor’s office or complain about unfair treatment by employers. They avoid the public library, or any other government service, for fear it will prompt questions about their status. Some parents go so far as to keep their kids home from school.
A City of Toronto report estimates there are anywhere between 100,000 and 250,000 undocumented migrants in the GTA, roughly 2 to 5 per cent of the population.Estimates are extremely unreliable, however, because no one is able to track such a transient population. City officials hope that by extending services to them, they will have a better grasp of the nature and extent of illegal migration.
In 2015, their numbers are expected to surge when four-year work permits for thousands of temporary foreign workers, currently here legally, expire under a 2011 federal law, potentially moving thousands more underground. Last year alone, 340,000 foreigners on work permits resided in Canada.
To manage the new reality, Toronto City Council has asked staff to report in the fall on ways to improve access to municipal services — public health, shelters, food banks, after-school day care, breakfast programs, emergency medical services — for residents without legal status. It also urged Ottawa to consider a form of amnesty by giving them permanent status.
The issue of illegal migration is highly controversial in the United States, as the Senate passed its landmark immigration bill in June that will allow its estimated 11 million non-status residents to stay legally while boosting crackdown on future illegal migration by hiring 20,000 new border patrol officers and completing an 1,100-kilometre fence to guard the border with Mexico.
By 1998 the couple, in their twenties, had three young kids under 10. Eager to earn more money for his family, Jose crossed the border with other migrantes indocumentados and spent a year in Houston doing drywall and framing. Each month he sent most of his paycheque back home.
“I didn’t want to go,” says Jose, a stocky man whose callused hands tell of years of hard labour. “But I had to go to support my family.”His goal, he says, was to make enough money so his kids could go to university instead of taking on labour jobs out of high school.
The $14-an-hour pay was 10 times more than he made back home and boosted the family’s standard of living. His two daughters and son were able enroll in karate and other after-school programs, and the family renovated their home.But Jose soon became homesick and returned to Mexico the following year.
He crossed the border again in 2005, this time to Los Angeles and again landed a job in construction. But a serious workplace accident cut his stay short. It also convinced him that he no longer wanted to be away from his family.
While on the job site cutting drywall, both his knees became caught in an electrical saw. He was loaded onto the employer’s truck and dumped at the entrance of a hospital where he underwent emergency surgery for torn ligaments. When discharged, he took the subway back to an apartment he shared with other Mexican workers. Scared, alone and with no English, he decided to pack up and go home.
“There were more job opportunities here than in the U.S., because there were so many illegal migrants fighting for jobs there,” Jose says of his decision to come to Canada.Sofia arrived eight months later, followed by their three children, all teenagers by then, in the summer of 2008.They arrived as tourists so didn’t need a visa to enter the country if they would only stay here under six months. That would change a year later when the Canadian government, in 2009, imposed visa requirements on all visitors from Mexico to curb a growing influx of refugees.
The family’s plan was to work and make as much money here as possible in the shortest time, perhaps a few years, and return home. Since they never filed a refugee claim, and Canada does not record visitors’ departures, the Dias family quietly settled into daily life without a paper trail.
Click on their website http://www.ecived.com/en/.
Since their arrival from Mexico in 2007, however, the Dias family has lived a life of secrecy — off the population map and, by necessity, the radar of Canadian immigration officials.Jose Dias, his wife Sofia, both in their 40s, their adult son Carlos and daughter Antonia are among tens of thousands of people in Greater Toronto who live and work here without legal status.
Known as “the undocumented,” they are failed refugee claimants dodging deportation or those who overstayed temporary work, student or visitor visas. Many are economic migrants, often from developing countries, seeking work or a better lifestyle.With Toronto poised to become Canada’s first “sanctuary city,” which would open up municipally funded services to immigrants, legal or not, it raises the politically contentious question: Do these migrants deserve to stay?
The Dias family agreed to share their personal story though they asked that their names be changed to protect them from authorities. While their story may not represent the experience of all undocumented people, they say they want to show the human side to a vulnerable population. “We want Canadians to see the other side of the story and understand why we do the things we do,” says Antonia. “We want a better life, which is not possible in Mexico.”
In many ways the undocumented are indistinguishable from ordinary Canadians and well-integrated in the community. They work, though often for low pay. They lay shingles, labour on construction sites, indoor positioning system, clean offices and homes. They feed a whole industry, from employers who rely on cheap labour and job recruiters who take their cut to payday loan managers who charge fees to cash the illegal’s paycheques.
The undocumented live in a constant state of fear. If caught, they most certainly face deportation. So they rarely report a crime, go to a doctor’s office or complain about unfair treatment by employers. They avoid the public library, or any other government service, for fear it will prompt questions about their status. Some parents go so far as to keep their kids home from school.
A City of Toronto report estimates there are anywhere between 100,000 and 250,000 undocumented migrants in the GTA, roughly 2 to 5 per cent of the population.Estimates are extremely unreliable, however, because no one is able to track such a transient population. City officials hope that by extending services to them, they will have a better grasp of the nature and extent of illegal migration.
In 2015, their numbers are expected to surge when four-year work permits for thousands of temporary foreign workers, currently here legally, expire under a 2011 federal law, potentially moving thousands more underground. Last year alone, 340,000 foreigners on work permits resided in Canada.
To manage the new reality, Toronto City Council has asked staff to report in the fall on ways to improve access to municipal services — public health, shelters, food banks, after-school day care, breakfast programs, emergency medical services — for residents without legal status. It also urged Ottawa to consider a form of amnesty by giving them permanent status.
The issue of illegal migration is highly controversial in the United States, as the Senate passed its landmark immigration bill in June that will allow its estimated 11 million non-status residents to stay legally while boosting crackdown on future illegal migration by hiring 20,000 new border patrol officers and completing an 1,100-kilometre fence to guard the border with Mexico.
By 1998 the couple, in their twenties, had three young kids under 10. Eager to earn more money for his family, Jose crossed the border with other migrantes indocumentados and spent a year in Houston doing drywall and framing. Each month he sent most of his paycheque back home.
“I didn’t want to go,” says Jose, a stocky man whose callused hands tell of years of hard labour. “But I had to go to support my family.”His goal, he says, was to make enough money so his kids could go to university instead of taking on labour jobs out of high school.
The $14-an-hour pay was 10 times more than he made back home and boosted the family’s standard of living. His two daughters and son were able enroll in karate and other after-school programs, and the family renovated their home.But Jose soon became homesick and returned to Mexico the following year.
He crossed the border again in 2005, this time to Los Angeles and again landed a job in construction. But a serious workplace accident cut his stay short. It also convinced him that he no longer wanted to be away from his family.
While on the job site cutting drywall, both his knees became caught in an electrical saw. He was loaded onto the employer’s truck and dumped at the entrance of a hospital where he underwent emergency surgery for torn ligaments. When discharged, he took the subway back to an apartment he shared with other Mexican workers. Scared, alone and with no English, he decided to pack up and go home.
“There were more job opportunities here than in the U.S., because there were so many illegal migrants fighting for jobs there,” Jose says of his decision to come to Canada.Sofia arrived eight months later, followed by their three children, all teenagers by then, in the summer of 2008.They arrived as tourists so didn’t need a visa to enter the country if they would only stay here under six months. That would change a year later when the Canadian government, in 2009, imposed visa requirements on all visitors from Mexico to curb a growing influx of refugees.
The family’s plan was to work and make as much money here as possible in the shortest time, perhaps a few years, and return home. Since they never filed a refugee claim, and Canada does not record visitors’ departures, the Dias family quietly settled into daily life without a paper trail.
Click on their website http://www.ecived.com/en/.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Shipyard Handling Solutions from J D Neuhaus
With nearly 270 years of hoisting technology experience, the J D Neuhaus company have pioneered many substantial innovations in the field of air powered handling equipment and are now acknowledged as global market leaders utilising this technology. Their impressive range of hoists, covering lift capacities from 250kg up to a full 100 tonnes, are used worldwide within many heavy-industry applications including shipbuilding and offshore, covering newbuild, refits and repair as well as dismantling. Typical shipyard external applications include the installation and disassembly of rudder blades, shafts and propellers, while internal work includes heavy components for the engine room drive equipment as well as drive shafts and other general fitting out or installation work.
Compared with electrically operated hoists, the JDN air powered equipment offers a wider range of operations that can be safely undertaken in outdoor damp, dirty or even hazardous area locations as well as indoor operation in dusty or potentially explosive atmospheres. Typical performance advantages include easy installation with rtls, low-maintenance compact designs combining reduced weights and easy handling with 100% duty rating toughness. Operating air pressures range from 4 to 6 bar with lube-free performance ensuring non-pollution of the environment as exhaust air is oil-free. A range of optional pendant controllers are available to provide sensitive, infinitely variable speed controls for the safe and precise positioning of suspended loads. General insensitivity to dust, humidity and temperatures ranging from -20°C to +70°C helps to ensure an unlimited duty-cycle performance capacity.
The Profi Ti represents the major range of hoists in the JDN range. This covers a total of 19 products covering load capacities from 250kg up to an impressive 100 tonnes per unit. These hoists all incorporate a top suspension hook mounting so that multiple hoists can be utilised for single load handling, where oblique hoisting typically required for ship rudder or propeller mount/dismount operations can be accommodated (compliance with special safety precautions will also apply). These rugged products can also be used for horizontal pulling. Where horizontal movements of suspended loads up to 20 tonnes need to be accommodated, then the Profi Ti hoists can be mounted on trolley units for operation on overhead support rails even incorporating curves. The trolley horizontal movements can be achieved by manual, reel chain or fully motor operated, while anti-climb and anti-drop features are also incorporated. These are particularly suited for ship engine room operations where an optional low headroom trolley mount can also be made available.
These high performance, low-headroom products can be used with confidence in all areas where safety is a priority. They combine strength, reliability and speed with virtual silence of operation plus high speed lift and lower functions. For units up to 20 tonnes capacity an integrated emergency stop switch is incorporated into the main air supply. For all hoists over 1 tonne capacity, overload protection is provided as standard. Controlled load lowering in the event of total power loss can also be provided. The products are compact and based upon a modern design which minimises protruding parts which could be susceptible to damage. They offer fail-safe starting with a low maintenance vane motor. A planetary gearbox incorporates long-life grease lubrication while gears are manufactured from tempered or hardened high-grade steel. Load chains and hooks are also high tempered with a breaking strength of 5 x the nominal loads. An Ex classification according to EC Directive on Hazardous locations 94/9/EEC is provided as standard to levels Ex II 2 GD IIA T4 / II 3 GD IIB T4, or with increased spark protection to Ex II 2 GD IIC T4.
For general lighter duty lift operations, the JDN Mini series hoists can be ideally utilised. With load capacities of 125, 250, 500 and 980kg, these handy, flexible products are universally deployable as a general tool for shipyard operations. Their compact, lightweight construction ensures easy operation, while the products provide the same degree of performance, reliability, durability and safety as the heavier duty Profi range. A Mini Manipulator version allows loads to be lifted, manually traversed and positioned using only one hand, and an explosion rating Ex II 3 GD IIA T4 is ensured.
Other marine related products that can be supplied include hoists for underwater operation which have successfully been deployed for the removal, repair and eventual replacement of a damaged 50 tonne rudder on a fully loaded bulk cargo vessel while moored off the coast of Venezuela, a project that was featured on the National Geographic Channel's 'World's Toughest Fixes' programme. Other specialised equipment include hydraulically powered hoists designed for operation at extreme temperatures down to -45°C.
But then the Galaxy NX's initial negative is that it feels somewhat alien in the hand on account of its physical size and lack of many physical controls. The fusion of a smartphone-derived operating system merged with an interchangeable lens system does make sense, but the omission of physical buttons means almost everything runs through the power of the touchscreen. And that means taking the camera away from the eye and out of both hands more than a typical DSLR or compact system camera (CSC) user might otherwise. It's a different prospect, and one that took us a while to adapt to.
There is one exception to the touchscreen control - a large thumbwheel atop the camera that doubles up as a button to toggle between key settings, or when held down it dives into full Android OS complete with apps, Google Play and the like. It's certainly a useful control mechanism but we found it to be finicky - defaulting to adjust the shooting mode rather than the settings and without resounding clarity as to which settings were in play for adjustment.
After extended use the Galaxy NX's controls start to take; it forges into something more familiar, yet something entirely new. Before long we were fixed into our more typical way of shooting - aperture priority mode selected, thumbwheel used to stop up or down - but snapping away was a combination of tapping the touchscreen for compact-camera-like focus, along with using the included electronic viewfinder as we would with a DSLR or similar all-in CSC.
There are significant benefits to the Android operating system too - not least connectivity and sharing which, again, we'll address in more detail later - that quickly come into play. Simple things come to mind: press and drag on an image in playback while zoomed in to get a close-up look of the important parts at absolute size - which saves the faff with lots of buttons and directional-pad controls. Everything operates through the touchscreen, the gallery is far more organised than any other camera we've seen and apps loaded into the 16GB of internal storage can directly load up images to work with.
Click on their website www.ecived.com.
Compared with electrically operated hoists, the JDN air powered equipment offers a wider range of operations that can be safely undertaken in outdoor damp, dirty or even hazardous area locations as well as indoor operation in dusty or potentially explosive atmospheres. Typical performance advantages include easy installation with rtls, low-maintenance compact designs combining reduced weights and easy handling with 100% duty rating toughness. Operating air pressures range from 4 to 6 bar with lube-free performance ensuring non-pollution of the environment as exhaust air is oil-free. A range of optional pendant controllers are available to provide sensitive, infinitely variable speed controls for the safe and precise positioning of suspended loads. General insensitivity to dust, humidity and temperatures ranging from -20°C to +70°C helps to ensure an unlimited duty-cycle performance capacity.
The Profi Ti represents the major range of hoists in the JDN range. This covers a total of 19 products covering load capacities from 250kg up to an impressive 100 tonnes per unit. These hoists all incorporate a top suspension hook mounting so that multiple hoists can be utilised for single load handling, where oblique hoisting typically required for ship rudder or propeller mount/dismount operations can be accommodated (compliance with special safety precautions will also apply). These rugged products can also be used for horizontal pulling. Where horizontal movements of suspended loads up to 20 tonnes need to be accommodated, then the Profi Ti hoists can be mounted on trolley units for operation on overhead support rails even incorporating curves. The trolley horizontal movements can be achieved by manual, reel chain or fully motor operated, while anti-climb and anti-drop features are also incorporated. These are particularly suited for ship engine room operations where an optional low headroom trolley mount can also be made available.
These high performance, low-headroom products can be used with confidence in all areas where safety is a priority. They combine strength, reliability and speed with virtual silence of operation plus high speed lift and lower functions. For units up to 20 tonnes capacity an integrated emergency stop switch is incorporated into the main air supply. For all hoists over 1 tonne capacity, overload protection is provided as standard. Controlled load lowering in the event of total power loss can also be provided. The products are compact and based upon a modern design which minimises protruding parts which could be susceptible to damage. They offer fail-safe starting with a low maintenance vane motor. A planetary gearbox incorporates long-life grease lubrication while gears are manufactured from tempered or hardened high-grade steel. Load chains and hooks are also high tempered with a breaking strength of 5 x the nominal loads. An Ex classification according to EC Directive on Hazardous locations 94/9/EEC is provided as standard to levels Ex II 2 GD IIA T4 / II 3 GD IIB T4, or with increased spark protection to Ex II 2 GD IIC T4.
For general lighter duty lift operations, the JDN Mini series hoists can be ideally utilised. With load capacities of 125, 250, 500 and 980kg, these handy, flexible products are universally deployable as a general tool for shipyard operations. Their compact, lightweight construction ensures easy operation, while the products provide the same degree of performance, reliability, durability and safety as the heavier duty Profi range. A Mini Manipulator version allows loads to be lifted, manually traversed and positioned using only one hand, and an explosion rating Ex II 3 GD IIA T4 is ensured.
Other marine related products that can be supplied include hoists for underwater operation which have successfully been deployed for the removal, repair and eventual replacement of a damaged 50 tonne rudder on a fully loaded bulk cargo vessel while moored off the coast of Venezuela, a project that was featured on the National Geographic Channel's 'World's Toughest Fixes' programme. Other specialised equipment include hydraulically powered hoists designed for operation at extreme temperatures down to -45°C.
But then the Galaxy NX's initial negative is that it feels somewhat alien in the hand on account of its physical size and lack of many physical controls. The fusion of a smartphone-derived operating system merged with an interchangeable lens system does make sense, but the omission of physical buttons means almost everything runs through the power of the touchscreen. And that means taking the camera away from the eye and out of both hands more than a typical DSLR or compact system camera (CSC) user might otherwise. It's a different prospect, and one that took us a while to adapt to.
There is one exception to the touchscreen control - a large thumbwheel atop the camera that doubles up as a button to toggle between key settings, or when held down it dives into full Android OS complete with apps, Google Play and the like. It's certainly a useful control mechanism but we found it to be finicky - defaulting to adjust the shooting mode rather than the settings and without resounding clarity as to which settings were in play for adjustment.
After extended use the Galaxy NX's controls start to take; it forges into something more familiar, yet something entirely new. Before long we were fixed into our more typical way of shooting - aperture priority mode selected, thumbwheel used to stop up or down - but snapping away was a combination of tapping the touchscreen for compact-camera-like focus, along with using the included electronic viewfinder as we would with a DSLR or similar all-in CSC.
There are significant benefits to the Android operating system too - not least connectivity and sharing which, again, we'll address in more detail later - that quickly come into play. Simple things come to mind: press and drag on an image in playback while zoomed in to get a close-up look of the important parts at absolute size - which saves the faff with lots of buttons and directional-pad controls. Everything operates through the touchscreen, the gallery is far more organised than any other camera we've seen and apps loaded into the 16GB of internal storage can directly load up images to work with.
Click on their website www.ecived.com.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Sauk County family raises fish
Chris Meuiner said he is definitely a farmer with long days of hard work raising crops and livestock, but he has figured out how to do it without getting his hands in the dirt.
Chris and his parents, Donna and Norbert Meuiner, and an uncle, John Ringsdorf, operate KP Simply Fresh, a five-year-old aquaponics business near North Freedom in Sauk County. The family pioneered the first aquaponics system of its kind in Wisconsin five years ago and will be one of nearly a dozen fish farms in the state to hold open houses for the public July 20 for Wisconsin Aquaculture Day.
Aquaponics is a two-part system where fish — in this case tilapia — are raised in tanks. Nutrient-rich water from the tanks is pumped to 12- to 15-inch-deep grow beds with rafts of lettuce floating on top. Lettuce roots dangle into the water, drawing up nutrients for the plants before it is pumped clean back to the fish tanks.
Fish are not new to the Meuiners. Donna ran a tropical fish business in Milwaukee until their family of four children started growing and they moved out of the city.They shifted into game machines and supplied parlors all over the state. As gaming started to drop off in recent years, Norbert said he was looking for a new enterprise.“Now we thought, we like the rtls, why not go back into it? But around here we couldn’t raise enough fish to make a living,” he said.
They watched a TV show about aquaponics and liked the idea.Four people run the whole business. Donna plants, tends, harvests, packages, markets and delivers lettuce to nearby schools, hospitals, nursing homes, grocery stores, farmers markets and a growing number of restaurants.“I always say the best part of the whole scenario is that I also take the checks to the bank, and we eat lettuce every day,” she said, laughing.Lettuce grows to maturity in five to six weeks under a greenhouse cover and floating in 72-degree water.
“The advantage is when it’s 20 degrees out there’s not much going in the farming fields, but we’re still growing lettuce every day and pushing between 800 and 1,000 heads a week,” Chris said.They hope to boost production to 1,400 to 1,700 heads a week with the expansion.Donna markets the 20-or-so varieties of lettuce as chemical-free but not organic.
“There are chemicals that are allowed in organic farming that would kill my fish, so we don’t even use that,” she said. “If we have an issue, we use all biological controls, which simply means that I release lady bugs every other week, and they take care of whatever problem I have.”
There are no chemicals or growth hormones at the fish end of it either, because they would harm the plants. About 1,800 to 2,000 fish are kept in the system to support lettuce production.They are brought in as fingerlings and distributed among other tanks as they grow. Fish are harvested at about 2 pounds and shipped to an outside processor.
“We can sell every pound of fish that we can get, but we don’t always have fish available, because we need the nutrients from the fish to get the lettuce,” Norbert said. “The lettuce is our moneymaker. We lose money on every fish that we sell, but we don’t have to buy fertilizer.”
The expansion has been physically draining, Norbert said. The original setup had fish and grow beds in the same greenhouse. The expansion separated the two. Using no outside help, the family dismantled all the fish tanks, water supply and electrical and moved it to a different building. Four more grow beds were installed in the greenhouse.
Chris said the family knew they were getting into a labor-intensive business, but it wasn’t much different from the long days they had worked before.“It’s farming. It’s not celebrity, it’s not millions of dollars, and you’re married to your company,” he said.The plan is to grow the business enough to be able to hire employees to do the repetitive work and keep the family on the management side. The infrastructure of the expansion is in place and will be planted as soon as markets for additional lettuce can be found.
Between 300 and 400 visitors are expected to tour the business for Aquaculture Day July 20. Chris said the message he wants them to take home is that a combined food system like theirs is viable.“This is the farming of the future. Stuff like this is how we are going to feed the planet,” he said. “Right now we are harvesting between 800 and 1,000 heads of lettuce a week in a little 5,000 square feet of beds down there. It’s more to open people’s eyes to see what we can do.”
That’s particularly true in places like the Washington, D.C., area where service members, retirees and family members can choose from an array of top-notch civilian facilities to get their medical care, Army Col. Chuck Callahan told American Forces Press Service.
But with a gleaming 1.3-million-square-foot facility and a strategy centered on taking care of patients and their families, Callahan has set out to attract more of the 164,000 military health care beneficiaries in the region that currently use TRICARE to seek their care at Fort Belvoir.
“Because Fort Belvoir Community Hospital is not the only game in town, we must compete with civilian facilities who also want to care for our patients,” Callahan said. “My opinion is that the way to do that is to build a system that people want to come to.”
The new hospital stands in stark contrast to the 1950s-era DeWitt Army Community Hospital it replaced. Built in compliance with the congressionally mandated 2005 Base Realignment and Closure reorganization plan, the new hospital is part of a sweeping plan to improve the efficiency of military health care in the Washington, D.C., area.
Read the full story at http://www.ecived.com/en/!
Chris and his parents, Donna and Norbert Meuiner, and an uncle, John Ringsdorf, operate KP Simply Fresh, a five-year-old aquaponics business near North Freedom in Sauk County. The family pioneered the first aquaponics system of its kind in Wisconsin five years ago and will be one of nearly a dozen fish farms in the state to hold open houses for the public July 20 for Wisconsin Aquaculture Day.
Aquaponics is a two-part system where fish — in this case tilapia — are raised in tanks. Nutrient-rich water from the tanks is pumped to 12- to 15-inch-deep grow beds with rafts of lettuce floating on top. Lettuce roots dangle into the water, drawing up nutrients for the plants before it is pumped clean back to the fish tanks.
Fish are not new to the Meuiners. Donna ran a tropical fish business in Milwaukee until their family of four children started growing and they moved out of the city.They shifted into game machines and supplied parlors all over the state. As gaming started to drop off in recent years, Norbert said he was looking for a new enterprise.“Now we thought, we like the rtls, why not go back into it? But around here we couldn’t raise enough fish to make a living,” he said.
They watched a TV show about aquaponics and liked the idea.Four people run the whole business. Donna plants, tends, harvests, packages, markets and delivers lettuce to nearby schools, hospitals, nursing homes, grocery stores, farmers markets and a growing number of restaurants.“I always say the best part of the whole scenario is that I also take the checks to the bank, and we eat lettuce every day,” she said, laughing.Lettuce grows to maturity in five to six weeks under a greenhouse cover and floating in 72-degree water.
“The advantage is when it’s 20 degrees out there’s not much going in the farming fields, but we’re still growing lettuce every day and pushing between 800 and 1,000 heads a week,” Chris said.They hope to boost production to 1,400 to 1,700 heads a week with the expansion.Donna markets the 20-or-so varieties of lettuce as chemical-free but not organic.
“There are chemicals that are allowed in organic farming that would kill my fish, so we don’t even use that,” she said. “If we have an issue, we use all biological controls, which simply means that I release lady bugs every other week, and they take care of whatever problem I have.”
There are no chemicals or growth hormones at the fish end of it either, because they would harm the plants. About 1,800 to 2,000 fish are kept in the system to support lettuce production.They are brought in as fingerlings and distributed among other tanks as they grow. Fish are harvested at about 2 pounds and shipped to an outside processor.
“We can sell every pound of fish that we can get, but we don’t always have fish available, because we need the nutrients from the fish to get the lettuce,” Norbert said. “The lettuce is our moneymaker. We lose money on every fish that we sell, but we don’t have to buy fertilizer.”
The expansion has been physically draining, Norbert said. The original setup had fish and grow beds in the same greenhouse. The expansion separated the two. Using no outside help, the family dismantled all the fish tanks, water supply and electrical and moved it to a different building. Four more grow beds were installed in the greenhouse.
Chris said the family knew they were getting into a labor-intensive business, but it wasn’t much different from the long days they had worked before.“It’s farming. It’s not celebrity, it’s not millions of dollars, and you’re married to your company,” he said.The plan is to grow the business enough to be able to hire employees to do the repetitive work and keep the family on the management side. The infrastructure of the expansion is in place and will be planted as soon as markets for additional lettuce can be found.
Between 300 and 400 visitors are expected to tour the business for Aquaculture Day July 20. Chris said the message he wants them to take home is that a combined food system like theirs is viable.“This is the farming of the future. Stuff like this is how we are going to feed the planet,” he said. “Right now we are harvesting between 800 and 1,000 heads of lettuce a week in a little 5,000 square feet of beds down there. It’s more to open people’s eyes to see what we can do.”
That’s particularly true in places like the Washington, D.C., area where service members, retirees and family members can choose from an array of top-notch civilian facilities to get their medical care, Army Col. Chuck Callahan told American Forces Press Service.
But with a gleaming 1.3-million-square-foot facility and a strategy centered on taking care of patients and their families, Callahan has set out to attract more of the 164,000 military health care beneficiaries in the region that currently use TRICARE to seek their care at Fort Belvoir.
“Because Fort Belvoir Community Hospital is not the only game in town, we must compete with civilian facilities who also want to care for our patients,” Callahan said. “My opinion is that the way to do that is to build a system that people want to come to.”
The new hospital stands in stark contrast to the 1950s-era DeWitt Army Community Hospital it replaced. Built in compliance with the congressionally mandated 2005 Base Realignment and Closure reorganization plan, the new hospital is part of a sweeping plan to improve the efficiency of military health care in the Washington, D.C., area.
Read the full story at http://www.ecived.com/en/!
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Shells smash into Aleppo prison as rebels, regime clash
Shells smashed into a central prison in the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo, killing some prisoners, a rights group said Sunday, part of a long battle for control of the ancient city.The explosions killed six prisoners, said the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which communicates with a network of activists on the ground. The explosives hit on Friday night, the Observatory said. It was not clear who fired the shells.
With government forces stepping up offensives, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood called on the U.S. and Europe to send arms."Providing the Free Syrian Army and the revolutionary rebels with appropriate arms is more urgent now than at any time in the past," the movement wrote on social media sites. "We feel cheated and disappointed because the U.S. and Europe have backed out from arming the FSA," it said.
Last month the U.S. decided in principle to provide some weapons to rebel forces, though Western countries are concerned they might land in the hands of extremist Sunni Muslims fighting with the rebels.The forces include an al-Qaida-linked group which has been fighting for weeks to seize control of the prison in Aleppo, besieging it. The Observatory estimated some 120 prisoners have died in the jail since April from fighting, illness and rtls.
Syria's state run news agency SANA said "a number" of rebels were killed in the shelling but did not give an exact number.Aleppo, Syria's largest city, is near the border with Turkey. Many of its ancient monuments and its marketplace, once a magnet for tourists, have been destroyed in fighting.Rebels and government forces also clashed near the Shiite towns of Nubul and Zahra in Aleppo province, the Observatory and pro-rebel activists reported. The towns have been besieged since at least May by hard-line Sunni rebels seeking to dislodge their enemies.
The Observatory said fighting killed three regime troops, including one foreigner, code for a fighter from the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah.Rebels claim that Assad's forces and Hezbollah fighters are in the two towns. A hard-line Sunni brigade warned last week it would punish Shiites for harbouring the forces, suggesting the towns' populations of some 40,000 Shiites could be targeted.
The fighting underscores the growing sectarian nature of the two-year uprising against Assad's regime. It began as peaceful protests but turned into an armed rebellion after a brutal government crackdown. It has since taken on regional dimensions, with Hezbollah fighters joining Assad's forces. Foreign Sunni fighters have joined predominantly Sunni Syrian rebels who are formed in bands ranging from secular to hard-line Islamists.
At home, Assad draws support largely from Syria's minorities, including fellow Alawites -- followers of an offshoot of Shiite Islam -- as well as Christians, Shiites and Sunnis who fear the hard-line rebels.In recent weeks, Assad's forces, bolstered by Hezbollah fighters, have pushed back to seize rebel-held areas in several parts of Syria.
In the central Syrian city of Homs, Assad's forces fired mortar shells from a stronghold of buildings on the edge of the rebel-held area of Khaldiyeh, trying to flush out fighters, said two activists.Explosions could be heard as they spoke via Skype.The shells were exploding in the densely-built area surrounding the 13th-century mosque of Khalid Ibn al-Walid, famous for its nine domes and two minarets, said a Homs-based activist identified as Nedal. He said parts of the wall surrounding the historic complex were blown away. Other parts were damaged in previous rounds of fighting.Khaldiyeh-based activist Abu Bilal said fighters were low on weapons. He said the international community, despite promises to arm rebels, had left them hanging in Homs.
"They have sold Homs to the enemy," he complained.The U.N. warns the some 4,500 residents in besieged, rebel-held areas of Homs face a humanitarian catastrophe. On Friday, the divided U.N. Security Council failed to approve a statement calling on the Syrian government to allow immediate access to trapped civilians there. Russia, Syria's closest ally, demanded that the statement should also call for immediate access to the towns of Nubul and Zahra.
Private ownership of firearms, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment, creates an interesting dichotomy for American citizens and the recent blitzkrieg of anti-gun legislation has only served to heighten the resolve of the two diametrically opposed camps.
I don’t mean to oversimplify a complex issue, but here is how it generally breaks down: gun advocates proclaim that in the hands of responsible, law-abiding citizens, firearms are used every day for recreation, competition, to protect lives, homes, and personal property, as well as secure and safeguard personal liberties.
Individuals opposed to firearms, I believe, envision and portray guns primarily as agents of death and destruction, and as such, the number and types of firearms, ammunition, and magazines possessed by individual citizens should be strictly controlled and monitored by the federal government.
At present, U.S stock trading data offered by China's portals and vertical financial websites are usually delayed by 15 minutes or are operated with BATS (Better Alternative Trading System), a small-sized e-trading platform based in the U.S. that only offers real-time data for a limited number of stocks sold on US exchanges. The lack of real-time data has put Chinese investors at a disadvantage when trading on the primary exchanges in the U.S. At a time when traders buy and sell stocks very quickly based on the latest news, delayed information could no longer satisfy Chinese investors' demands.
Currently, investment in U.S stocks is heating up, but none of the financial institutions in China have been able to provide free real-time U.S exchange quotes to Chinese investors. "We are elated to place real-time market data in the hands of tens of millions of investors in China," said Brian Hyndman, Senior Vice President, NASDAQ OMX Global Data Products, "With NASDAQ Last Sale, Tencent subscribers have instant access to the best-priced stock quotes and last sale data in all U.S.-listed securities, enabling them to be better informed when making trading decisions."
Tencent Portfolio, as the only authorized mobile application approved by NASDAQ, can now provide free access to real-time updates of U.S stock-trading information on both the iPhone and Android platforms. Tencent is a fast-moving company and today's announcement is expected to ignite a reshuffling of the industry. Tencent Portfolio will not only stand out from competing stock applications, but will also stimulate the industry to pay close attention to offering real-time equity data services.
The Vice President of Tencent Mobile Media Product Huang Hai said, "The real-time quote service offered by Tencent Portfolio will cover all stocks listed in the U.S. exchanges. Following the rollout of free real-time data for the Hong Kong exchanges, we are now doing the same for the U.S. Tencent Portfolio aims to provide a free service to investors that includes the latest and most precise stock quotes so they can accurately grasp the investment opportunity."
Read the full story at www.ecived.com/en/!
With government forces stepping up offensives, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood called on the U.S. and Europe to send arms."Providing the Free Syrian Army and the revolutionary rebels with appropriate arms is more urgent now than at any time in the past," the movement wrote on social media sites. "We feel cheated and disappointed because the U.S. and Europe have backed out from arming the FSA," it said.
Last month the U.S. decided in principle to provide some weapons to rebel forces, though Western countries are concerned they might land in the hands of extremist Sunni Muslims fighting with the rebels.The forces include an al-Qaida-linked group which has been fighting for weeks to seize control of the prison in Aleppo, besieging it. The Observatory estimated some 120 prisoners have died in the jail since April from fighting, illness and rtls.
Syria's state run news agency SANA said "a number" of rebels were killed in the shelling but did not give an exact number.Aleppo, Syria's largest city, is near the border with Turkey. Many of its ancient monuments and its marketplace, once a magnet for tourists, have been destroyed in fighting.Rebels and government forces also clashed near the Shiite towns of Nubul and Zahra in Aleppo province, the Observatory and pro-rebel activists reported. The towns have been besieged since at least May by hard-line Sunni rebels seeking to dislodge their enemies.
The Observatory said fighting killed three regime troops, including one foreigner, code for a fighter from the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah.Rebels claim that Assad's forces and Hezbollah fighters are in the two towns. A hard-line Sunni brigade warned last week it would punish Shiites for harbouring the forces, suggesting the towns' populations of some 40,000 Shiites could be targeted.
The fighting underscores the growing sectarian nature of the two-year uprising against Assad's regime. It began as peaceful protests but turned into an armed rebellion after a brutal government crackdown. It has since taken on regional dimensions, with Hezbollah fighters joining Assad's forces. Foreign Sunni fighters have joined predominantly Sunni Syrian rebels who are formed in bands ranging from secular to hard-line Islamists.
At home, Assad draws support largely from Syria's minorities, including fellow Alawites -- followers of an offshoot of Shiite Islam -- as well as Christians, Shiites and Sunnis who fear the hard-line rebels.In recent weeks, Assad's forces, bolstered by Hezbollah fighters, have pushed back to seize rebel-held areas in several parts of Syria.
In the central Syrian city of Homs, Assad's forces fired mortar shells from a stronghold of buildings on the edge of the rebel-held area of Khaldiyeh, trying to flush out fighters, said two activists.Explosions could be heard as they spoke via Skype.The shells were exploding in the densely-built area surrounding the 13th-century mosque of Khalid Ibn al-Walid, famous for its nine domes and two minarets, said a Homs-based activist identified as Nedal. He said parts of the wall surrounding the historic complex were blown away. Other parts were damaged in previous rounds of fighting.Khaldiyeh-based activist Abu Bilal said fighters were low on weapons. He said the international community, despite promises to arm rebels, had left them hanging in Homs.
"They have sold Homs to the enemy," he complained.The U.N. warns the some 4,500 residents in besieged, rebel-held areas of Homs face a humanitarian catastrophe. On Friday, the divided U.N. Security Council failed to approve a statement calling on the Syrian government to allow immediate access to trapped civilians there. Russia, Syria's closest ally, demanded that the statement should also call for immediate access to the towns of Nubul and Zahra.
Private ownership of firearms, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment, creates an interesting dichotomy for American citizens and the recent blitzkrieg of anti-gun legislation has only served to heighten the resolve of the two diametrically opposed camps.
I don’t mean to oversimplify a complex issue, but here is how it generally breaks down: gun advocates proclaim that in the hands of responsible, law-abiding citizens, firearms are used every day for recreation, competition, to protect lives, homes, and personal property, as well as secure and safeguard personal liberties.
Individuals opposed to firearms, I believe, envision and portray guns primarily as agents of death and destruction, and as such, the number and types of firearms, ammunition, and magazines possessed by individual citizens should be strictly controlled and monitored by the federal government.
At present, U.S stock trading data offered by China's portals and vertical financial websites are usually delayed by 15 minutes or are operated with BATS (Better Alternative Trading System), a small-sized e-trading platform based in the U.S. that only offers real-time data for a limited number of stocks sold on US exchanges. The lack of real-time data has put Chinese investors at a disadvantage when trading on the primary exchanges in the U.S. At a time when traders buy and sell stocks very quickly based on the latest news, delayed information could no longer satisfy Chinese investors' demands.
Currently, investment in U.S stocks is heating up, but none of the financial institutions in China have been able to provide free real-time U.S exchange quotes to Chinese investors. "We are elated to place real-time market data in the hands of tens of millions of investors in China," said Brian Hyndman, Senior Vice President, NASDAQ OMX Global Data Products, "With NASDAQ Last Sale, Tencent subscribers have instant access to the best-priced stock quotes and last sale data in all U.S.-listed securities, enabling them to be better informed when making trading decisions."
Tencent Portfolio, as the only authorized mobile application approved by NASDAQ, can now provide free access to real-time updates of U.S stock-trading information on both the iPhone and Android platforms. Tencent is a fast-moving company and today's announcement is expected to ignite a reshuffling of the industry. Tencent Portfolio will not only stand out from competing stock applications, but will also stimulate the industry to pay close attention to offering real-time equity data services.
The Vice President of Tencent Mobile Media Product Huang Hai said, "The real-time quote service offered by Tencent Portfolio will cover all stocks listed in the U.S. exchanges. Following the rollout of free real-time data for the Hong Kong exchanges, we are now doing the same for the U.S. Tencent Portfolio aims to provide a free service to investors that includes the latest and most precise stock quotes so they can accurately grasp the investment opportunity."
Read the full story at www.ecived.com/en/!
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Video shows suspect stealing Riverdale police car
Police have released the dash-cam footage of the man who wriggled out of his cuffs in the back seat of a police cruiser, maneuvered into the front seat, stole the car and led officers on a two-county chase.
Riverdale police were called the morning of June 15 to Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store, 4978 S. 1050 West, on reports of a male and female who were possibly intoxicated. When they arrived and found the pair stumbling around, appearing to be high on drugs, they handcuffed Gordon Graham, 35, and placed him in the back of a police cruiser while they searched his vehicle.
After Graham complained of heat, an officer opened the sliding window separating the back and front seats.That’s when Graham seized his opportunity. As the dash-cam footage shows, Graham gets his hands in front of him by working his hands underneath his body and sliding his legs through his arms. Pausing every so often to check that the coast is clear, he then somehow works his hands free from the cuffs.
Near the end of the video, Graham dives head first through the sliding window. Within 30 seconds, he drives away, just as officers saw that he had slipped into the driver’s seat.
As Graham drives off, another angle in the rtls, he narrowly misses hitting an officer, who lunges out of the way of the vehicle at the last moment. The video ends as Graham takes the car over a steep berm and onto the road.Graham lost the police, who had to scramble to get into another police car, but was later spotted in the Clinton-Roy area, where he’d abandoned the police cruiser. After a roughly two-hour search, police finally caught and arrested him.
“I thought I would have to sell a kidney.” That’s how Dean Hawkins describes the sense of trepidation he had when he approached his bank, NatWest, for ￡120,000 to purchase new premises for his CCTV business, Vistec Systems. He was shocked when the application went through “without a hitch”. “It was quite easy – a couple of phone calls, some forms and a meeting.”
He believes Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns NatWest, when it says it has ￡20bn ready to lend to small firms, but can’t find the demand. “There is an assumption among business owners that you won’t get bank funding, but my attitude is, don’t ask, don’t get. I think the media have blown up the 'banks aren’t lending’ thing.”
He admits that his long track record with the bank – he’s been with them for 20 years – helped, and younger businesses might have a harder time securing credit. The key, he says, is “transparency” and keeping the lines of communication open with the bank even when “you don’t need anything”. “I’ve told others about my experience so hopefully more people will try making applications.”
Many business owners will recognise Tim Ewington’s experience of talking to the bank about a new facility. “We did look at securing [a conventional loan] but we quickly ended up where we are – invoice discounting,” says Ewington, who is co-founder of Shortlist Media, which publishes and distributes free weekly lifestyle magazines.
This form of finance, which sees cash advanced against unpaid invoices, is becoming increasingly popular among banks as an alternative to the humble overdraft. It provides banks with security against companies’ debtor books, so the loans don’t have a negative impact on a lender’s capital position, unlike an overdraft, which is unsecured.
For those with slow-paying customers, it can be a useful way of quickly getting your hands on your cash. Ewington is happy with the facility, but he says he’s sceptical about the ability of companies like his to access more significant chunks of bank
debt to finance ambitious expansion plans. “A lot of my friends run small businesses, too, and banks are not being generous to say the least. They’re very careful – which is why they prefer to offer invoice discounting, because it’s safe for them.” When Rupert Lee-Browne, chief executive of Caxton FX, wanted to raise money to hire staff and upgrade IT at his foreign exchange firm, he was offered bank funding. But it fell woefully short of what he felt his business needed.
He politely declined the offer and instead turned to an unusual source for the funds: his own customers. At the end of 2011, he secured ￡3.9m by offering a retail bond which pays an interest rate of 7.25pc. He saw it as a “great way to sidestep the banks”.
“Banks are lending money, but not enough, particularly to fast-growing businesses,” he said at the time. Has his view changed? “Banks will only lend a certain amount to certain customers – they are very restricted because of regulatory pressures.
“They want to lend money that is risk-free, so they don’t have to use their own capital to back the loan.” That means security demands on entrepreneurs. “I’m not prepared to give a personal guarantee to the bank. The bond was an effective way of raising money without any one organisation having a lien over the future of the company.”
Click on their website http://www.ecived.com/en/.
Riverdale police were called the morning of June 15 to Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store, 4978 S. 1050 West, on reports of a male and female who were possibly intoxicated. When they arrived and found the pair stumbling around, appearing to be high on drugs, they handcuffed Gordon Graham, 35, and placed him in the back of a police cruiser while they searched his vehicle.
After Graham complained of heat, an officer opened the sliding window separating the back and front seats.That’s when Graham seized his opportunity. As the dash-cam footage shows, Graham gets his hands in front of him by working his hands underneath his body and sliding his legs through his arms. Pausing every so often to check that the coast is clear, he then somehow works his hands free from the cuffs.
Near the end of the video, Graham dives head first through the sliding window. Within 30 seconds, he drives away, just as officers saw that he had slipped into the driver’s seat.
As Graham drives off, another angle in the rtls, he narrowly misses hitting an officer, who lunges out of the way of the vehicle at the last moment. The video ends as Graham takes the car over a steep berm and onto the road.Graham lost the police, who had to scramble to get into another police car, but was later spotted in the Clinton-Roy area, where he’d abandoned the police cruiser. After a roughly two-hour search, police finally caught and arrested him.
“I thought I would have to sell a kidney.” That’s how Dean Hawkins describes the sense of trepidation he had when he approached his bank, NatWest, for ￡120,000 to purchase new premises for his CCTV business, Vistec Systems. He was shocked when the application went through “without a hitch”. “It was quite easy – a couple of phone calls, some forms and a meeting.”
He believes Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns NatWest, when it says it has ￡20bn ready to lend to small firms, but can’t find the demand. “There is an assumption among business owners that you won’t get bank funding, but my attitude is, don’t ask, don’t get. I think the media have blown up the 'banks aren’t lending’ thing.”
He admits that his long track record with the bank – he’s been with them for 20 years – helped, and younger businesses might have a harder time securing credit. The key, he says, is “transparency” and keeping the lines of communication open with the bank even when “you don’t need anything”. “I’ve told others about my experience so hopefully more people will try making applications.”
Many business owners will recognise Tim Ewington’s experience of talking to the bank about a new facility. “We did look at securing [a conventional loan] but we quickly ended up where we are – invoice discounting,” says Ewington, who is co-founder of Shortlist Media, which publishes and distributes free weekly lifestyle magazines.
This form of finance, which sees cash advanced against unpaid invoices, is becoming increasingly popular among banks as an alternative to the humble overdraft. It provides banks with security against companies’ debtor books, so the loans don’t have a negative impact on a lender’s capital position, unlike an overdraft, which is unsecured.
For those with slow-paying customers, it can be a useful way of quickly getting your hands on your cash. Ewington is happy with the facility, but he says he’s sceptical about the ability of companies like his to access more significant chunks of bank
debt to finance ambitious expansion plans. “A lot of my friends run small businesses, too, and banks are not being generous to say the least. They’re very careful – which is why they prefer to offer invoice discounting, because it’s safe for them.” When Rupert Lee-Browne, chief executive of Caxton FX, wanted to raise money to hire staff and upgrade IT at his foreign exchange firm, he was offered bank funding. But it fell woefully short of what he felt his business needed.
He politely declined the offer and instead turned to an unusual source for the funds: his own customers. At the end of 2011, he secured ￡3.9m by offering a retail bond which pays an interest rate of 7.25pc. He saw it as a “great way to sidestep the banks”.
“Banks are lending money, but not enough, particularly to fast-growing businesses,” he said at the time. Has his view changed? “Banks will only lend a certain amount to certain customers – they are very restricted because of regulatory pressures.
“They want to lend money that is risk-free, so they don’t have to use their own capital to back the loan.” That means security demands on entrepreneurs. “I’m not prepared to give a personal guarantee to the bank. The bond was an effective way of raising money without any one organisation having a lien over the future of the company.”
Click on their website http://www.ecived.com/en/.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Price-cut Battle Means an End to Shaw's Rewards Card
As of Friday, June 28, you need one less card on your keychain.The company that owns Shaw’s and Star Market got rid of its Reward Card program citing the desire to maintain lower prices for all customers rather than only those who show their cards at the register. The change seems to be a trend in the supermarket business, where several growing chains, such as Roche Bros. and Market Basket do not offer the cards.The change is sparking some criticism from customers, who are concerned that the change will mean higher prices on grocery store staples.
Patch readers offered a range of opinions on the subject:Karen Anderson Coates said she likes the change, "My key ring is so full!"But Ted Monaghan said he thinks the change is just a bait and switch. "I think my grocery bill will rise."
Shari Thelen Marquis said she was always concerned about the data collected each time she used the card. "I always felt that they were tracking what I buy with the cards so they can sell the data to marketers."Others said the change won't affect their shopping habits. "Smart," Julie Gilman said. "But I'll still be shopping at Market Basket!"
"I like not having cards all the time but I don't think the prices will drop enough if at all. I've been waiting for gas prices to drop for years,"Lori Wiggy Dorley Jones said.
Perhaps ironically, when the reward program was rolled out in 2000 consumer advocates criticized the company for tracking purchases by customers’ names. Customers have gotten used to the cards however, as more retailers from pharmacies to auto parts stores began issuing the cards.
The company says it will also lower prices on thousands of items in all of its 169 locations.“All of our customers deserve to get the lowest price on their groceries without needing to carry a Rewards Card with Indoor Positioning System,” Shane Sampson, president of Shaw’s and Star Market said in a press release. “Our goal is to provide our customers with an experience that is simple, easy and focused directly on them. Every customer who walks through our door deserves our best – from service to foods to pricing—and these lower prices are what our customers can expect from us every time they visit one of our stores.”
The company is calling the move “Card Free Savings,” which is part of a new marketing campaign to reinvigorate the brand, and includes redesigning the circular and in-store signage. “Our new marketing campaign highlights that there is a renewed commitment to quality and service at Shaw’s and Star Market.
Company spokesman Steve Sylven said eliminating the cards is “in our customers’ best interest” while offering “the same, best prices to everyone.”Tracking individual shopping habits is no longer as critical as it once was, Sylven said. What’s important is neighborhood trends, what items sell in what areas. He added that the chain is not changing suppliers and the quality of products will still be the same.
“These lower prices are not a short-term promotion, or a sales price that will change with the next circular release,” Sylven said. “These are lower prices that customers can expect from us every time they visit. I should also point out that we will still be offering great promotions and sales items each week on top of the lower prices.”The switch isn’t necessarily in response to particular grocery retailers; rather it’s a response to competition from all grocery retailers.
“Competition helps us stay sharp and, ultimately, is good for customers. We are committed to running great stores and providing an exceptional shopping experience by focusing our efforts on what customers want – impeccable customer service, shelves full of a variety of fresh products and competitive prices,” Sylven said.
With prospects of comprehensive immigration reform dependent on the House of Representatives moving a bill, advocates of reform have scattered across the country to put pressure on lawmakers. The results have been mixed, local news reports suggests.
Organizing for Action, the nonprofit policy advocacy arm formed to push President Barack Obama's agenda, gathered only eight people to rally outside of the Merillville office of Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) on Monday to push the congressman to support reform. The congressman was not actually in his office at the time.
Visclosky has opposed a pathway to citizenship in the past and voted against the DREAM Act in 2010, according to Project Vote Smart, making him a prime Democratic target for OFA. Visclosky's office could not be reached for comment about the representative's current stance on immigration reform.
OFA started its immigration campaign a few months ago with the promise that it could place substantial grassroots pressure behind reform. The nonprofit group has an estimated 13 million-member email list — including scores of potential on-the-ground volunteers.
After the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill on June 27 by a margin of 68-32, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) indicated that the House would apply some breaks to process. Rather than up the Senate bill, Boehner pledged to pass a House measure. Boehner also said that he will invoke the Hastert Rule, which requires the majority of the majority to support a bill before it comes up for a vote in the House.
And so, the challenge now facing reform advocates is getting Republican-run House to act. And the tactic most often used is to put enough pressure on lawmakers back home.
Other groups also took Monday to hold rallies and protests surrounding immigration reform while members returned to their districts for the weeklong July recess. Two progressive groups in Colorado rallied at the office of Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) to show their support for a pathway to citizenship.
Read the full story at www.ecived.com/en/!
Patch readers offered a range of opinions on the subject:Karen Anderson Coates said she likes the change, "My key ring is so full!"But Ted Monaghan said he thinks the change is just a bait and switch. "I think my grocery bill will rise."
Shari Thelen Marquis said she was always concerned about the data collected each time she used the card. "I always felt that they were tracking what I buy with the cards so they can sell the data to marketers."Others said the change won't affect their shopping habits. "Smart," Julie Gilman said. "But I'll still be shopping at Market Basket!"
"I like not having cards all the time but I don't think the prices will drop enough if at all. I've been waiting for gas prices to drop for years,"Lori Wiggy Dorley Jones said.
Perhaps ironically, when the reward program was rolled out in 2000 consumer advocates criticized the company for tracking purchases by customers’ names. Customers have gotten used to the cards however, as more retailers from pharmacies to auto parts stores began issuing the cards.
The company says it will also lower prices on thousands of items in all of its 169 locations.“All of our customers deserve to get the lowest price on their groceries without needing to carry a Rewards Card with Indoor Positioning System,” Shane Sampson, president of Shaw’s and Star Market said in a press release. “Our goal is to provide our customers with an experience that is simple, easy and focused directly on them. Every customer who walks through our door deserves our best – from service to foods to pricing—and these lower prices are what our customers can expect from us every time they visit one of our stores.”
The company is calling the move “Card Free Savings,” which is part of a new marketing campaign to reinvigorate the brand, and includes redesigning the circular and in-store signage. “Our new marketing campaign highlights that there is a renewed commitment to quality and service at Shaw’s and Star Market.
Company spokesman Steve Sylven said eliminating the cards is “in our customers’ best interest” while offering “the same, best prices to everyone.”Tracking individual shopping habits is no longer as critical as it once was, Sylven said. What’s important is neighborhood trends, what items sell in what areas. He added that the chain is not changing suppliers and the quality of products will still be the same.
“These lower prices are not a short-term promotion, or a sales price that will change with the next circular release,” Sylven said. “These are lower prices that customers can expect from us every time they visit. I should also point out that we will still be offering great promotions and sales items each week on top of the lower prices.”The switch isn’t necessarily in response to particular grocery retailers; rather it’s a response to competition from all grocery retailers.
“Competition helps us stay sharp and, ultimately, is good for customers. We are committed to running great stores and providing an exceptional shopping experience by focusing our efforts on what customers want – impeccable customer service, shelves full of a variety of fresh products and competitive prices,” Sylven said.
With prospects of comprehensive immigration reform dependent on the House of Representatives moving a bill, advocates of reform have scattered across the country to put pressure on lawmakers. The results have been mixed, local news reports suggests.
Organizing for Action, the nonprofit policy advocacy arm formed to push President Barack Obama's agenda, gathered only eight people to rally outside of the Merillville office of Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) on Monday to push the congressman to support reform. The congressman was not actually in his office at the time.
Visclosky has opposed a pathway to citizenship in the past and voted against the DREAM Act in 2010, according to Project Vote Smart, making him a prime Democratic target for OFA. Visclosky's office could not be reached for comment about the representative's current stance on immigration reform.
OFA started its immigration campaign a few months ago with the promise that it could place substantial grassroots pressure behind reform. The nonprofit group has an estimated 13 million-member email list — including scores of potential on-the-ground volunteers.
After the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill on June 27 by a margin of 68-32, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) indicated that the House would apply some breaks to process. Rather than up the Senate bill, Boehner pledged to pass a House measure. Boehner also said that he will invoke the Hastert Rule, which requires the majority of the majority to support a bill before it comes up for a vote in the House.
And so, the challenge now facing reform advocates is getting Republican-run House to act. And the tactic most often used is to put enough pressure on lawmakers back home.
Other groups also took Monday to hold rallies and protests surrounding immigration reform while members returned to their districts for the weeklong July recess. Two progressive groups in Colorado rallied at the office of Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) to show their support for a pathway to citizenship.
Read the full story at www.ecived.com/en/!
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