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Lukas’ Christening and 1 year birthday party.

Last saturday afternoon I went to east london to photograph Lukas’ christening and his 1 years birthday party. The christening was in St. Kazimieras’ church in Benthal Green. After official ceremony we went to Battersea park in south London to have Lukas  birthday party picnic before heading to the nice restaurant in Clapham Junction for birthday dinner. Here are few images from that day.


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Letter B View larger

Letter B

New product

Size: 6,5 cm x 6,5 cm

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By buying this product you can collect up to 1 loyalty point. Your cart will total 1 point that can be converted into a voucher of 1 Ft.

150 Ft

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Colors may vary.

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Ladurée Savoir Vivre

The Art of Fine Living

By Maud Hacker

Illustrations by Sophie Bouxom

304 pages, with gilt edges, wrapped in tissue paper, presented in a gift box

6-1/8 x 6-1/2 in. , portrait

Over 300 color illustrations

ISBN 978‑1‑902686‑85‑1

US $39.95 / CAN $55 / GBP £28

PUBLISHED: Nov, 2016

Upcoming Events for this Title

No events scheduled at this time.

Ladurée, the iconic Parisian patisserie founded in 1862, is home to the world‑renowned double macaron, invented by Pierre Desfontaines, grandson of the founder, in 1930. Since 1993, the company has expanded from a single bakery into an international chain, with stores in more than 25 countries, including Great Britain, Japan, Brazil, Singapore, and, most recently, the United States (New York and Miami).

Ladurée Savoir Vivre is the latest in the firm’s successful series of entertaining and lifestyle books. Like its predecessors, it is nestled in an irresistible box. Stunningly illustrated with hundreds of specially commissioned photographs and illustrations, the book offers practical tips and inspiration on such varied topics as how to prepare and have breakfast the Ladurée way, how to be a good host and a good guest, what is the best way to dress for the theater, and how to prepare your suitcase to travel with the jet set. The book is divided into five sections: “Morning: Rise and Shine!” “Daytime: Work Hard, Work Chic,” “Evening: Evening Elegance,” “Weekend: Luxurious Leisure Time,” and “Travel: Travel in Style.” With countless helpful hints and tips, menus and table settings, this is the ultimate guide to knowing how to live well (savoir vivre).

Maud Hacker is a historian, lecturer, and expert on Paris and the art of entertaining and organizing events on behalf of prestigious companies, institutes, and organizations. She also works for the Louis Vuitton Foundation. Fascinated by the history of Paris, Hacker has developed more than eighty tours of unique and hidden parts of the city in conjunction with museums, foundations, and private companies, including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Canal Plus, Google, PNP, SNCF, and many more. She lives in Paris.

Sophie Bouxom, a graduate of the College of Applied Arts Duperré and the College of Decorative Arts in Paris, illustrates for a wide range of magazines, including Votre beauté, Elle, and Santé, specializing in the depiction of elegant Parisians. She lives in Paris.


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Young Michelangelo

By John T. Spike

272 pages

6 x 9 in. , portrait

52 color, b+w illustrations

ISBN 978-0-86565-283-5

US $17.95 / CAN $19.95

"It’s the best life of Michelangelo I’ve read."
— Everett Fahy, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Promises more intrigue than the best adventure novel."
Publishers Weekly

Upcoming Events for this Title

No events scheduled at this time.

In the most important biography of Michelangelo to appear in modern times, John T. Spike illuminates heretofore unrevealed aspects of Michelangelo’s complex personality through examinations of the Pietà, the David, the artist’s struggle with Leonardo da Vinci for artistic mastery, and an uneasy relationship with Pope Julius II. Over the long arc of his artistic development, Michelangelo was involved in the most troubling controversies of his age, an eyewitness to the bonfires of the vanities, the Rome of the Borgias, the siege of Florence, and the Inquisition’s burning of heretics at the stake. In this long-awaited reinterpretation of the artist’s early life and career, Spike re-creates Michelangelo’s cities, Florence and Rome, animating their daily life with sketches of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Leonardo, Savonarola, Raphael, and Machiavelli.

John T. Spike, critic, curator, and art historian, is the author of more than 20 culturally significant books on Renaissance, Baroque, and contemporary art. He lives in Florence, Italy, and is currently Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.


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Experts in US and India Tax Return Filing Accounting,US Tax Advisory,US Bookkeeping services.

Dr. Sridhar Mitta is the Managing Director of an IT services company, NextWealth Entrepreneurs Private Limited whose promise is "Social Uplift through Entrepreneurship”. NextWealth pioneered distributed delivery model of having a large number of small delivery centers spread across small towns, in strong partnership with qualified entrepreneurs. This results in employment to graduates, especially girls, close to home thus reversing their migration to cities. Dr. Mitta brings extraordinary technological and strategic depth. For over 40 years, he managed Research and Development in IT industry. He was a Founder and Managing Director of e4e India. He was with Wipro’s IT business since its inception 1980. He played a key role, as its Chief Technology Officer, in Wipro achieving technology leadership and started global delivery of outsourced product development services. He also founded EnThink Inc., an Intellectual Property design and licensing start-up based in the Silicon Valley. He began his career with Electronics Corporation of India, Ltd. Dr. Mitta was President of ‘The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE)’, Bangalore Chapter for over four years and later elected to Board of Trustees of TiE Global. He did an M Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur. He holds a PhD and MS from Oklahoma State University, US and later the University had inducted him into its CEAT Hall of Fame in 2009.

Dr. Vivek Mansingh is currently a General Partner at YourNest, an early stage Venture Capital fund. He is also Chairman of AxisCades, India’s leading engineering services company listed on BSE. In addition, he is Board member at Royal Orchid Hotels, Innovatia (A Canadian Knowledge Management Company), Janaagraha (India’s leading Non Profit Organization) and several start-ups. Dr. Mansingh has incubated and invested in several startups. These include Arthayantra (Fintech), EnCloudEn (Cloud Infrastrucre based on Open Stack), Wolken Software (SaaS based enterprise service desk and customer service), Golflan (SaaS based Golf Software/Harware and Tee time aggregation), KlickH (Home automation). Previously, he was Vice President at Cisco Systems, Communications & Collaboration Group – India. He was also member of the Cisco India Venture Capital team to review and manage investments. Before joining Cisco in 2010, he was the Country Head, Dell India R & D Center. Dr. Mansingh moved to India in 2000, and worked first with Ishoni Networks (Acquired by Philips) and later Portal Software (Acquired by Oracle), serving as the Managing Director. Prior to 2000, Dr. Mansingh was at senior technology and leadership roles in top technology organizations in USA for 15 years. Beginning his career as a Senior Scientist with technology giant Hewlett Packard in California, he moved to Fujitsu in 1991 as a Director of Marketing & Sales, based at San Jose. In 1997, he started ATTI, Santa Clara, as Founder & CEO (funded by Aavid). Aavid was listed in Fortune magazine’s 100 fastest growing companies in USA in 1999. He holds 6 US patents; he invented an instrument, patented it and licensed the technology to Cambridge Accusense, Boston He has published 100s of articles and technical papers and has contributed to two books. Dr. Mansingh is a Gold Medalist from NIT Allahabad. He obtained his Ph.D. from the Queen's University, Kingston, Canada in 1986 and completed an Executive Business Management Program with the Stanford University in 1996. Dr. Mansingh was listed as honored professional in “National Who’s Who for the United States” in the year 2000. He is the recipient of: Rotary Club’s prestigious Paul Harris Fellow Award for contribution to community service, Public Relations Council of India’s highest Chanakya Innovative Leadership Award and I T Man of the Year 2015 from Enterprise Connect, for his contribution to the use of technology for driving social change through two world class initiatives, and

After thirty one years of dedicated service to Kimberly-Clark, Rajeev Mohan retired from his position as MD, Kimberly-Clark Lever Limited, a 50:50 joint venture between US based Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Hindustan Unilever Limited. In December 1994 Rajeev relocated to Pune, India as Operations director to set up the greenfield manufacturing site for both infant and feminine care based on world class standards. With a successful start up of operations in record time, Rajeev was promoted to Managing Director of the consumer business in October 1998. During his tenure as Managing Director the business saw an over eight fold increase in sales, made the joint venture a positive cash contributor, declared first dividends in 2005 and set up the first third party exclusive manufacturing capability. He shaped the Indian consumer business into a very high growth business with re-investible margins and in a great position for sustainable high growth. Rajeev was the architect of India JV's 2015 Global Business Plan, which was part of KC's BRCIT growth strategy. Rajeev was elected to the joint venture board through his tenure as Managing Director and was instrumental in developing and nurturing a very successful partner relationship with Hindustan Lever. He also advised and assisted the K-C-Pudumjee JV management during the start-up phase and continued to guide the KC-Hygiene management as a K-C board member through his tenure in India. Prior to his relocation to India, Rajeev made significant contributions by ushering in innovative technologies to Kimberly-Clarks' pulp and paper manufacturing, nonwovens engineering and manufacturing businesses in US. Since his retirement from Kimberly-Clark in 2010, he has enjoyed his role as advisor to a local manufacturing business in Delhi, an analytics consulting firm in Gurgaon and has worked closely with Ventura Pranas management towards development of Mission, Vision and Value statements and in streamlining the operational processes across the board. Rajeev was selected by Kimberly-Clark to attend The Managerial Issues in the Global Enterprise program at Thunderbird International Business School, Arizona. He received his Bachelors and Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from The University of Alabama and a BSc Honors degree in Chemistry from St. Stephen's College in Delhi.


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How to Care for Yourself When Your Loved One Is Depressed

When you live with someone who is clinically depressed, there will be days when you’ve got it as tough as they do. Taking care of a loved one—whether it’s a child, partner, relative, or friend—can leave you just as debilitated, in pain, and wracked with frustration as they are. Having a hard time while your loved one is dealing with mental health issues can be like a guilty secret: it’s there, but no one wants to acknowledge it. Unfortunately, in many cases there aren’t a lot of resources available to caregivers. That might make you try to hide your discomfort, which only makes it worse.

For the person living with depression, life may be a constant fight. What looks from the outside like giving in often feels on the inside like consistent effort—when you’re depressed, it can take great exertion just to get out of bed, get dressed, and go to the grocery store. For the person who hopes to care for the sufferer, it’s hard to figure out how best to help. Your great ideas to motivate and distract your loved one might feel too difficult for them, and might even be seen as pushing too hard or having expectations they can’t possibly meet.

Many times, your day will be dictated by their mood, which may leave you feeling some of the same symptoms. If they wake up feeling bright, you can breathe a sigh of relief that your mood may be similarly light. If they come home from work in a funk, you may feel your night is ruined. Consumed by tracking their emotional temperature, they can feel like a tide that sweeps you away.

The hardest part is this: Because you aren’t the one who has the diagnosis, you aren’t supposed to be in pain. Not only are you given little attention or help, but you might call yourself selfish or petty when you feel your own symptoms. When that happens, it’s adding insult to injury—in addition to going through the difficulties of your situation, you’re mad at yourself for not being a superhero or a saint and rising above every challenge, every reaction.

You’re not alone. Many caregivers experience burnout. These are some of the symptoms:

Symptoms of Caregiver Exhaustion

Fear of the Future

One of the main worries when living with someone who is suffering is, “Will this ever end?” The person you knew in the past seems to be gone. The future plans you’ve made together are in jeopardy. Your role has changed. This is not what you signed up for, and you’re not sure you can handle it forever.

With depression, the good news is you can always count on some sort of change. If the condition had a sudden onset—illness, accident, trauma—then it’s possible that as the situation stabilizes, so will their mood. If your loved one has always experienced some degree of depression and it’s recently gotten worse, there is a high likelihood the right combination of medications, therapy, and coping skills will dial the intensity down.

You may never free your life completely of depression. But it tends to be a cyclical condition, with ups and downs, so it rarely stays the same. So, while there is no answer to the question, “How long will this last?” at least you can count on having better moments, and often stabilizing.

Desire for an Escape

No one wants to yearn to get away from the person they love, but when that person acts consistently negative or helpless, it’s a common reaction. And a natural one. Remember there’s a difference between feelings and facts. You can feel rebellious and fantasize about leaving, but act responsibly and stay put.

If you feel trapped, unable to leave or even to take some time off, then it’s important to find as much support as possible. If you have the resources, hiring caregivers or alternative healers can be not only helpful to kick-start your loved one’s recovery, but also to give you some rest. You need a team, whether that’s paid professionals or friends and relatives, to help both of you. Hire a masseuse, personal trainer, or life coach. Ask a friend to come play cards, read books aloud, or cook dinner. Your need to break away is normal and is a strong signal you’re experiencing what therapists call compassion fatigue.

Helplessness and a Thwarted Desire to “Fix” Your Loved One

Are you a researcher? If looking for answers makes you feel more productive, it can feel useful to check out all the different avenues to healing, such as EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation), supplements, and electroshock. Many have provided relief to people who have tried other avenues without success.

If you’ve exhausted the possibilities, however, or have limited resources to keep trying new things, then you can easily sink into dejection. Here’s where acceptance comes in, and trying to avoid black-and-white, all-or-nothing thinking. Your loved one won’t always be like this. You might need to give yourself a breather from “fixing” before you can move on to new ideas. Or you might need to adopt a more tolerant point of view, a sense that if this is “the new normal,” perhaps there are ways to make it livable.

Anger and Guilt

The top two emotions experienced by caregivers are anger and guilt—two sides of the same coin. Anger is the more active of the reactions, and its target can be your loved one, the condition, yourself, God, or doctors. Everyone who is tired, anxious, and worn out will at some point feel anger.

And from the outside, it makes sense to resent your loved one. It is an unfortunate symptom of depression that it makes people feel helpless and hopeless, which means that from the outside, they may look like they aren’t trying. As a caregiver, knowing your wife isn’t doing any of the things prescribed to her—like exercise, medicine, or socializing—can appear to be a lack of effort, and can make you frustrated and powerless.

Try to see your guilt as a misdirected signal of how much you care. And then do more self-care to nurture yourself through these difficult waves of feeling. It’s common, though misplaced, to blame yourself for your loved one’s condition. You might tell yourself you didn’t do enough to head it off, or that you’re not sacrificing enough to cater to them. Each social event or night off becomes a land mine of remorse.

Most of all, you can feel guilty for all of the above reactions, especially anger, because you love the sufferer so much and want so much to help. Try to see your guilt as a misdirected signal of how much you care. And then do more self-care to nurture yourself through these difficult waves of feeling.

I hope it’s clear from reading this list that the sum of all of these feelings leads to exhaustion and burnout. But if that’s where you are, there are steps that may allow you to take back control in your life.

You Need Self-Care as Much as Your Partner

When they struggle, you struggle. Your pain is just as important. Taking good care of yourself helps them at the same time, in two ways. First, you’re increasing your strength, patience, and ability to look after them. And second, you’re modeling the very skills that your loved one needs to do more of. By setting a good example, you can motivate and inspire.

Set Boundaries

It’s okay to say no. Even if your loved one is unable to manage their life, that doesn’t make their life all your responsibility. Decide for yourself how you can best support them and allow the rest to remain undone. Maybe you have skills at finances or cooking and want to take over those tasks. Or maybe it’s clear where the most pressing needs are and you’re willing to take those on. But remember you cannot do everything—nor should you. It can be helpful to the depressed person for you to insist they shoulder some of the responsibility for their life. This can help focus and motivate them. So when it’s reasonable (not during a major breakdown), insist on some reciprocity.

Be Mindful and Practice Acceptance

Many people try to fight discomfort by either fretting over it (fight) or distracting from it (flight). Paradoxically, modern approaches teach instead that sitting with the negative feelings is the quickest way to master them. If anxiety is worry about the future and depression is sadness over the past, then usually the present moment is, if not perfect, at least more bearable. By taking some of the tenets of mindfulness—staying in the moment and noting your reactions without judging them—you can deal with difficult times with more patience and less pain.

Try Not to Buy into Distorted Thoughts

When we’re thinking negatively (stinkin’ thinkin’), our thoughts tend to fit into the same negative slots over and over. Experts call these cognitive distortions, and they include jumping to the worst possible conclusions, seeing the world in all-or-nothing extremes, and blaming. Being able to label those thoughts as inaccurate, or as symptoms of depression, helps us put less stock in these exaggerations and think in a more evenhanded way.

Get Help and Support for Yourself

When you’re starting to feel extra irritable, getting sick more often, and not seeing your friends for weeks, these are all signs you need more. More exercise, more rest, and most importantly, more people around you. If you don’t want to go the professional route, you might be surprised at how much your friends and family members are willing to help. And if you prefer to speak to someone impartial, there are therapists who can provide a safe space to vent your feelings. Finally, support groups for caregivers offer a space where everyone will understand and empathize with what you’re going through. Whatever you choose, know help is available—and it is not only acceptable, but often necessary, to reach out.

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• Victoria Lentfer

I Am Back

I have been away from my site for quite some time. Things happen. 2020 happened. It is not a great excuse, but it is what it is. I have the same feeling about writing during this time as Heather Phipps, Associate Superintendent, Millard Public Schools, so eloquently stated, "Honestly I have been nervous to post. I’ve been worried that my voice in the world would just add to the sometimes angry discourse happening on social media."

Check her blog for some uplifting stories on teacher leadership HeatherCPhipps.com

This year has certainly been filled with its share of ups and downs, but I am ready to come back and share some insights as we go through this together. Recently, I have been working on a few projects around self-care, courageous conversations, and teacher leadership. I can't wait to share some of my mistakes (there are always more than enough of those) and my successes.

So, stay tuned. I am sure there will be more bumps and bruises in the future, 2020 isn't over yet, but I love to find and focus on that sometimes elusive silver lining.

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Estimate your trade-in value in Victoria

For a free estimate of the trade-in value of your vehicle in Victoria, fill-out the quick form and a specialist at Victoria Mitsubishi will contact you briefly by e-mail or phone according to your preference. We offer the best prices on the purchase of vehicle in the Victoria region. Don't hesitate to request your trade-in value now. You will be surprised how quickly you can be driving in your next vehicle, courtesy of Victoria Mitsubishi in Victoria! Get more for your trade-in now!

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Code Advisory:

Plan Review

Saving Time in Plan Review to Gain Faster Approvals

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Our team will review drawings during the design process and provide a compliance check to cover regulations such as the Zoning Resolution, IBC or the NYC Building Code and Multiple Dwelling Law.

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EROI of solar energy

What is energy returned on energy invested (EROI)?

EROI energy invested returned and surplusEnergy returned on energy invested (known as EROI or sometimes EROEI) is the ratio of the amount of useable energy produced by a given energy source to the amount used by humans to acquire it. For example, if an oil extraction facility requires 1 gigajoule (GJ) of input energy to produce a barrel of oil that yields 5 GJ, then this facility would have an EROI of 5, which equals a net energy surplus of 4 units.

Energy invested only includes energy invested by humans and excludes natural energy inputs such as the nuclear fusion that occurs within the sun. In terms of the energy output, this refers only to useable energy. Thus, any energy output inadvertently as heat or sound does not count toward the energy returned – only that which is utilised by humans.

In the case of a solar panel, it requires input energy to extract the silicon, refine it, and assemble it into solar cells and then modules. Other components such as the inverter, mounting and cabling are also the product of manufacturing processes that require input energy. Subsequently, over the next few decades the solar system generates useable energy for human purposes. The ratio of the input energy to its output energy over its full lifetime is its EROI.

What is minimum EROI?

Minimum EROI pyramidHow does this relate to energy payback time (EPBT) for solar panels? Charles A. S. Hall, the systems ecologist who coined the term “EROI” in the 1970s, has also outlined another oft-misunderstood concept: the minimum EROI that a sustainable society must have. The ‘minimum EROI’ for a society is the EROI it would require to maintain its standard of living. An EROI of 1 means there is no energy surplus. It’s hypothesised that an EROI of about 3 allows for simple things like roads, bridges and transport, with increasing levels of EROI enabling food production and then education, health care, and arts and entertainment. There has been much debate as to what the exact minimum EROI would be for developed countries, with some like Weissbach et al estimating it to be around 7 and others such as Ramez Naam believing it to be lower. If an energy source cannot deliver an EROI above this minimum, it can be considered unfeasible to solely support such a society. Later we will look at the EROI of solar photovoltaics and see if it is above this minimum.

As stated, manufacturing a solar panel requires input energy. This can be seen as an ‘energy debt’ that needs to be paid back by the solar module in order to yield a surplus. The energy payback time (EPBT) of a solar panel is the time it takes for the panel to produce enough energy to pay back the energy consumed by its production. The EPBT of solar panels consistently falls as the technology is continuously improved, and it currently stands at about 1 to 2.5 years depending on the type of technology employed and where it is mounted – payback times in sunny regions are generally shorter.

How to measure EROI

There are numerous ways to go about measuring EROI. No energy source has a single, definitive EROI that is undisputed. The main two types of EROI are net energy ratio and external energy ratio. Net energy ratio includes all input energy sources including the resource itself, whereas external energy ratio only includes the energy that society puts in. In the case of energy-intensive resources such as shale gas and tar sands, often part of the resource itself is used in the process of extraction. In this case, the external energy ratio will be significantly higher than the net energy ratio. From the perspective of understanding the greenhouse gas emissions of an energy source, the net energy ratio is more relevant. If concerned solely with energy production then the external energy ratio should be the focus. Most studies look at the external energy ratio, which makes dirty fuels appear more efficient and helps to mask their true environmental cost.

This is further complicated by the fact that the EROI of a given energy source changes over time – for solar PV it is rising. Conversely for all fossil fuels EROI is falling, as humans tap oil, gas and coal reserves that are increasingly difficult to extract. Thus, when researchers conduct meta-studies averaging the results of studies over many years, solar PV’s EROI is understated and fossil fuels’ EROIs are inflated.

Why do different studies have such vastly different EROI values?

Further complicating EROI measurement is which inputs to include. Each energy source has its own inherent complexities. In terms of nuclear energy, should the energy involved in decommissioning the plant be included? For tar sands oil from Alberta, should the energy used transporting it to useable regions be included? If the silicon from a solar module is recycled and used to manufacture another module, does the energy used count toward the lifecycle cost of the first module or the second?

Asking questions like these makes clear that EROI is an ambiguous figure, which fluctuates for a given energy source depending on the methods used to calculate energy inputs and outputs. This explains why different sources give wildly different figures for EROI.

So what is the EROI of solar energy?

Studies have given figures for the EROI of solar energy as low as 3.9 and as high as 45.45. The lowest estimate, produced by Weissbach et al, was thoroughly discredited by technology entrepreneur Ramez Naam as glaringly low, and he estimates the EROI of solar PV at “above 10, and probably above 15…And rising.” In the most thorough meta-study of the EROI of solar PV, conducted by Bhandari et al, 232 papers estimating solar’s EROI were analysed and the mean estimate was 11.6. Mean EROI varied greatly between types of solar PV, with cadmium telluride coming in at an astounding 34.2. It is also important to note that many of these studies focussed on older installations, which lowered the average. Most modern studies find an EROI for polysilicon solar PV of about 16 and future systems will continue to rise.

In a similar meta-study, systems ecologist Charles A.S. Hall as well as researchers Jessica Lambert and Stephen Balogh looked at the data in studies of other energy sources. Their results are shown in the following table (except for solar – due to their results underestimating its EROI by including decades old studies, Ramez Naam’s estimate of 15 is used).
EROI of various energy sources

Where to from here?

It is clear that solar is becoming an increasingly efficient energy source that will only get better. Its EROI is consistently improving, and the paper by Bhandari et al predicts that “it is likely for PV technology to catch up to the maximum EROI from coal in the future.” Furthermore, it is clear that the EROIs of coal, oil and gas are consistently falling rendering these sources increasingly less useful. Currently tar sands oil is estimated to have an EROI of 4 (according to the meta-study by Hall et al). In the last 40 years, the price of a solar panel per watt has plummeted from $101.05 to $0.61, a 99.4% reduction in price. The technology will only get better and cheaper.

This is more than just a mere vision. As the costs and efficiency of solar improve while the economics of coal, oil and gas become less attractive, it is becoming clear that humanity is moving toward a tipping point, at which solar will experience exponential growth and fossil fuels will be phased out of our energy mix. Vikram Solar embraces this transition to a cleaner and more efficient energy future, with healthier air, and a more harmonious relationship with the planet that supports us. If you do too, get in touch and let’s do business.


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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Critical Information - Wednesday March 11th Featured Image

There have been several developments in the Government's response to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

First, we’ve upgraded the travel advice for Italy. Further advice that we receive from the Health Protection Principal Committee will go before the National Security Committee in the next 24 hours.

Second, the Federal Government has committed to a 50-50 shared health funding deal with the states and territories to address additional costs incurred as a result of the diagnosis and treatment of patients with, or suspected of having, COVID-19.

Last, the Australian Government has unveiled a comprehensive $2.4 billion health package to protect all Australians, including vulnerable groups such as the elderly, those with chronic conditions and Indigenous communities, from Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The package provides unprecedented support across primary care, aged care, hospitals, research and the national medical stockpile, including;

  • $100 million for a new Medicare item so health services can be delivered by audio or video to people with Coronavirus symptoms at home
  • $205 million for up to 100 ‘pop-up respiratory clinics’ for areas of need that will be a one-stop-shop for people to be tested and treated
  • An initial $500 million worth of Commonwealth funding for the health costs from coronavirus (the 50-50 arrangement with states and territories)

As the Prime Minister said in a recent speech to the AFR Business Summit;

"Whatever you thought 2020 was going to be about, think again. We now have one goal, together, this year – to protect the health, the wellbeing and livelihoods of Australians through this global crisis, and to ensure that when the recovery comes, and it will, we are well-positioned to bounce back strongly on the other side."

Key Factsheets

What you need to know factsheet

Isolation factsheet

What can you do to stay safe?

Good hygiene is the best way to avoid infection. This includes:

  • Regularly washing your hands with soap and water;
  • Covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze;
  • Avoiding close contact with those who have been infected; and
  • Not attending the workplace if you are sick.

Surgical masks are only recommended to members of the community who are displaying symptoms. If you are not unwell, there is no need to wear a surgical mask.

If you do become unwell and have reason to believe you may have Coronavirus it is important that you seek medical attention early. Make sure you call ahead so that your doctor's surgery can be prepared.

Who is at higher risk?

In Australia, the people most at risk of getting the virus are those who have recently been in a high-risk country/region and people who have been in close contact with someone who has a confirmed case of coronavirus.

If you have returned from a country or region that is at higher risk for COVID-19, you cannot attend work if you work in a setting with vulnerable people.

From previous experience with other coronaviruses, other categories of people at most risk of serious infection are:

  • people with compromised immune systems (e.g. cancer)
  • elderly people
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people^
  • people with diagnosed chronic medical conditions
  • very young children and babies*
  • people in group residential settings
  • people in detention facilities

^Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience a burden of disease 2.3 times the rate of other Australians. This may increase the risk of severe disease.

*At this stage, the risk to children and babies, and the role children play in the transmission of COVID-19, is not clear. However, there has so far been a low rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases among children relative to the broader population.

Do I need to stockpile anything?

I understand the anxiety people may be feeling in our community. However, we are acting on the best and most up-to-date advice which says stockpiling household essentials is not encouraged.

Australia was one of the first countries to declare a disease of pandemic potential. We've gotten ahead and are prepared.

The Federal government has a fully prepared National Medical Stockpile for medicinal supplies.

Funding of $1.1 billion will ensure patients and critical health care staff have face masks, and other protective equipment such as surgical gowns, goggles and hand sanitiser.

This funding will also be used to purchase antibiotics and antivirals for the National Medical Stockpile, so that patients who experience secondary infection as a result of COVID-19 can be treated quickly, and health effects minimised.

The Government will also invest $30 million in infection control training and programs for health and aged care workers.

Travel Restrictions

Our priority is keeping Australians safe.

There are travel restrictions for travellers from mainland China, Iran and the Republic of Korea.

If you are returning from mainland China or Iran you should isolate yourself for 14 days after leaving mainland China or Iran. This evening a travel ban will be implemented for Italy.

If you are travelling from the Republic of Korea, on or after 5 March, you must isolate yourself for 14 days from the time you left the Republic of Korea.

If you are arriving in Australia from Italy, you must present for health screening at the border as directed. Unless you are instructed to, you do not need to isolate at home.

If you work as a healthcare worker or as a residential aged care worker, you cannot attend work for 14 days after leaving Italy.

This advice should be read in conjunction with the ‘What you need to know’ and ‘Isolation guidance’ information sheets.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has raised the level of advice for:

DFAT has advised Australians to reconsider taking an overseas cruise at this time due to COVID-19, particularly people with underlying health concerns.

Where to find more information?

The Australian Government's response to coronavirus is adapting to the situation. You can keep up to date with the resources below:

  • National Coronavirus Health Information Line: 1800 020 080
  • Advice for parents, employers, travellers and more is available at the Department of Health website click here


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• LASM

A New Way To Search For Alien Life

Everyone has imagined how excited people would be if alien life were finally discovered.  You’ve all seen those movies where one day a huge spaceship breaks through the clouds and imposes its presence on the world.  I, for one, sometimes think what it would be like if I’m driving down the interstate and suddenly this enormous mothership slowly looms over the horizon.  I’d hunch over my steering wheel and look up at the sky in shock, but then I’d immediately get mad at the other drivers because they would all pull over, or stop right there on the road, just so they can get out and look at it.  “Come on, people.  I’ve got places to be.  Yeah, there’s a spaceship; let’s move on.   I have to be at work in, like, five minutes.”  Well, that’s if the aliens came knocking on our door.  In reality, there are a few ways that scientists search for extraterrestrial life, e.g., searching for radio signals, laser signals, or evidence of neutrinos.  And now we can add one more new way to search for alien life: analyzing for something called “dimers.”

Earth’s atmosphere not only helps hold in heat, it is also heavy enough to prevent water from flying out into space.  With this in mind, scientists have now found a way to search for planets that have atmospheres similar to Earth.

According to a new report in Astrobiology, scientists have now found a way to gauge a distant planet’s atmosphere for molecules that couple together to form what are called “dimers.”  In the case we’re talking about, they’re looking for a union of two oxygen molecules.

So here’s how it works: Scientists watch as an exoplanet passes in front of its star and how the light from that star passes through the planet’s atmosphere.  Dimers in that atmosphere will absorb the passing light like a camera’s color filter, creating anomalies.  This effect is detectable if the atmospheric pressure is less than .25 bars – high enough to hold down liquid water.

Come 2018, Scientists will be able to gauge the strength of the atmospheric pressure of prospective exoplanets by using the James Webb Space Telescope.  Once operational it can study the signals and determine whether or not these atmospheres contain another key component: oxygenation.  You see, these signals are only detectable if the atmosphere is well oxygenated.  And, the only way that scientists know you can make an atmosphere oxygenated is with photosynthetic life.

So if scientists find a planet that has oxygen dimers in the atmosphere, they not only have found a place that has water and breathable air, they’ve also found a potentially habitable world.

#astrobiology #dimers #jameswebbspacetelescope

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© 2020 by the Louisiana Art & Science Museum

100 S. River Rd., Baton Rouge, LA, 70802

Currently open to the public Thursdays & Fridays, 9:30 AM - 2 PM, and Saturdays, 9:30 AM - 5 PM


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“Life becomes very beautiful when we let go.”

Vishrant talks about Going with the Flow in this Satsang from The True Rebellion Series held on Wednesday 21st October 2020.

Register at https://www.vishrant.org/live-online-satsang/ to attend or tune in to watch it on Facebook Live next Wednesday from 8:30 am – 9.30 am AWST @ https://www.facebook.com/buddhaawareness/live/ or Live on YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/c/TheVishrantBuddhistSociety/live/.

Tune into beingness in the presence of awakened teacher Prem Vishrant during Satsang and discover your true nature, the pure awareness that is untouched and unchanged!

Satsang with Vishrant: The True Rebellion Series is an opportunity to interact and join in a live dialogue with Vishrant, an enlightened spiritual teacher who has been guiding seekers from all over the world towards finding higher consciousness and discovering their true nature since 1999.

Vishrant paves a direct path to truth with a crystal clear, no-nonsense approach. His keen sense of humour relaxes the mind, his pragmatic teaching style cuts through the ego, helping people reveal and remove the obstacles to experiencing freedom.

The True Rebellion Series is run by donation. Your contribution is greatly appreciated and is put towards making these teachings available for those who seek truth and enlightenment. Please go to https://www.vishrant.org/donate/ to make your donation. Thank you ❤🙏


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City of water

Almelo originated at a crossroads of land and waterways. That is why the water still runs right through the city centre, which makes Almelo the only real water town in Twente. There are plenty of spots to relax on or along the water directly from the heart of the city.

Walk the water path

The Water Path Route is one of the most popular walking routes in Almelo. This route takes you along the most prominent waterways, both inside and outside of the city. Don't feel like walking? The majority of the route is also excellent for cycling.

Canoeing and kayaking

You can discover Almelo by canoe! In no time you can leave the busy streets of the city behind and enter the green estate of the Van Rechteren-Limpurg family. Various canoes and kayaks can be rented at Café België and De Waag.

Marina and terrace on the river Aa

Near the city centre, there is a well-equipped marina. On a warm summer day, you can sit by the water on the terrace of Café België.

New opportunities along the Water Boulevard

The Water Boulevard is the newest way to experience the water in Almelo. It follows the course of the old port that was discontinued in the 1960s. You can relax on the terrace of restaurant Kreta or on the terrace boat of Dock 19. Enjoy the impressive modern architecture of the City Hall and court house or one of the many sculptures along the docks.


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How to apply for military disability benefits

How do I apply for military disability?

How to apply Apply online. Apply online through My VAC Account. Applying is easier with a guided form. Mail or in person. Download the application form. Get help with your application . The staff at any VAC office, CAF Transition Centre or Service Canada office can assist you or call us at 1-866-522-2122.

How long after leaving the military can I claim disability?

Benefits Delivery at Discharge A joint VA-Department of Defense (DoD) program gives service members the opportunity to file VA disability claims from 180 to 90 days prior to their separation or retirement from active duty.

What conditions qualify for VA disability benefits?

What conditions are covered by these benefits? Chronic (long-lasting) back pain resulting in a current diagnosed back disability. Breathing problems resulting from a current lung condition or lung disease. Severe hearing loss . Scar tissue. Loss of range of motion (problems moving your body) Ulcers.

What is the easiest VA disability to claim?

How much is 100% disability from the military?

2020 VA Disability Rates Charts – Effective 12/1/2019

70% – 100% With Children
Dependent Status70%90%
Veteran with Spouse, One Parent and Child $1,733.17$2,257.96
Veteran with Spouse, Two Parents and Child $1,830.17$2,382.96
Veteran with One Parent and Child $1,604.17$2,091.96

How long do VA disability payments last?

Most veterans of the United States Armed Forces who have a disability connected to their service are eligible for veterans disability benefits . Generally speaking, disability benefits are available to disabled veterans as long as the veteran remains disabled and until his or her death.

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What is the VA 10 year rule?

3.957 in the VA code of regulations, a veteran’s service-connected disability that has been in effect for ten years or more “will not be severed except upon a showing that the original grant was based on fraud or it is clearly shown from military records that the person concerned did not have the requisite service or

What qualifies as a military disability?

Do I qualify for Military Disability ? You qualify for VA Disability if you are a veteran with a service-connected condition. To qualify for DoD Disability , you must be a service member with a service-connected condition that also make you Unfit for Duty.

Can you make too much money to get VA benefits?

For 2012, the Single Veteran annual income limit for VA Pension is $12,256. Keep in mind that Social Security does count as income, and it must be deducted from these limits. However, medical expenses may be deducted from the veteran’s income as long as they exceed 5 percent of the respective income limits.

Is erectile dysfunction a VA disability?

There is no specific disability rating for erectile dysfunction . Instead, the VA rates the condition under 38 C.F.R. § 4.115b.

What qualifies a veteran for 100 disability?

You must be a Veteran . You must have at least one service-connected disability rated at 60% or higher OR. Two or more service-connected disabilities with at least one rated at 40% or more with a combined rating of 70% or more.

What is the most common VA disability?

Here are the most common disabilities among the veteran population: Most Common VA Disability: Tinnitus . Bilateral Hearing Loss . Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD ) Scars. Limitation of Flexion of the Knee. Lumbar and Cervical Strains. Paralysis of the Sciatic Nerve. Limitation of Motion of the Ankle.

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How do I get a 100% VA rating?

If veterans are trying to get a 100 percent VA disability rating , and they do not have a 100 percent rating for any one service-connected condition, the only way to get there is to reach a combined disability rating of 95 percent or higher according to VA math.

How do you prove service connected disability?

In order to establish service connection on a direct basis, veterans must show evidence of: A current, diagnosed disability ; An in- service event, injury, or illness; and. A medical nexus between the current disability and the in- service event, injury, or illness.

Can the VA take away 100 permanent and total disability?

Many veterans mistakenly interchange “ Permanent ” and “ Total ,” when, in fact, they have very different meanings. The major benefit of being deemed both “ Permanent and Total ” or 100 P&T is that veterans are protected from a VA ratings reduction. This means the VA can NEVER reduce your VA rating!


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How many tanks does the us military have

How many Abrams tanks does the US Army have?

Production of M1A1 tanks for the US Army is complete. Over 8,800 M1 and M1A1 tanks have been produced for the US Army and Marine Corps, and the armies of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Production of new M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams tanks is in its final phase for Foreign Military Sales.

Who makes tanks for the US military?

The facility is owned by the US Army but operated by contractor General Dynamics Land Systems. Its assembly lines produce the upgraded M1 Abrams tank used by soldiers and Marines, and the Stryker infantry fighting vehicle, an eight-wheel armored vehicle that can carry troops around combat zones at speeds up to 60 mph.

How many vehicles does the US military have?

225,000 vehicles

What is the best tank in the US military?

Abrams M1A2

Does America still use tanks?

A U.S. Army armored brigade typically operates around 100 tanks . The Army has 16 armored brigades as part of a total force of 58 combat brigades. Congress in 2019 gave the Army $1.5 billion to buy 135 M-1s from General Dynamics, extending a program that began in the 1970s.

Has the US ever lost an Abrams tank?

From August 2005 to April 2008, at least 20 tanks of this type were destroyed. One achievement of the M1A1s was the destruction of seven T-72s in a point-blank skirmish (less than 50 yards (46 m)) near Mahmoudiyah, about 18 miles (29 km) south of Baghdad, with no U.S. losses.

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What was the deadliest tank of ww2?

In 1945, the American M-26 Pershing edging out the formidable, but overweight and unreliable, German King Tiger for Tanker’s Choice, while the Sherman model M4A3E8 wins Commander’s Choice for its reliability, quantity and high-velocity armor-piercing ammunition.

Can RPG 7 destroy an Abrams?

It depends on what you mean by the RPG “working” against modern western tanks. If you mean, can a RPG – 7 rocket penetrate the frontal or side armor of a Main Battle Tank like an M1 Abrams , Leopard II, or Challenger II, kill or disable the crew, ignite ammo and cause a catastrophic explosion, no.

Can a T 72 destroy an Abrams?

Yeah, Russia is generating some hype for the Armata family of tanks, but the Abrams is combat-proven and very hard to kill. The third T – 72 , at a range of roughly 400 yards, fired a round, which left a groove in the armor of the Abrams . It, too, was destroyed by a shot fired through a sand berm.

Who has the strongest military in the world?

In 2020, China had the largest armed forces in the world by active duty military personnel, with about 2.18 active soldiers. India, the United States , North Korea, and Russia rounded out the top five largest armies respectively, each with over one million active military personnel.

How many tanks does Russia have 2020?

The Russian military is increasing its arsenal of tanks , weapons and armored vehicles in 2020 in an apparent attempt to add to its growing fleet of 27,000 armored vehicles, a number which includes as many as 1,200 tanks .

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What car does the US military use?

M1126 Interim Armored Vehicle (IAV) M1126 STRYKER (IAV) has two variants. The Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) and the Mobile Gun System (MGS).

Do tanks have toilets?

Modern tanks are incredibly well-engineered machines that can complete various tasks autonomously. Tanks do not have any bathroom facilities. First of all, there is no room for a toilet . Tank has to be concealed from the outside world, ideally, so tank’s bathroom would have to have some sort of waste management system.

What tank has the thickest armor?

British Challenger II

What was the biggest tank ever?


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Columbia sc military base

What is the Army base in Columbia South Carolina?

Fort Jackson

What military bases are in South Carolina?

Historic Forts and Military Bases in South Carolina Beaufort Arsenal. Camp Croft – Spartanburg. Charleston Navy Base – North Charleston. Donaldson Air Force Base – Greenville. Fort Johnson – James Island. Fort Moultrie – Sullivan’s Island. Fort Sumter – Charleston.

Can civilians get on Fort Jackson?

Soldiers, Civilians , Retirees and Family members make up the Fort Jackson community. More than 3,500 active duty Soldiers and their 12,000 Family memebers are assigned to the installation and make this area their home.

Can you visit Fort Jackson SC?

Fort Jackson Visitor Center Located right by the main gate (Gate 2), it’s open every day from 0500 to 2000.

What army post is in South Carolina?

Fort Jackson

How many military bases are in SC?

eight military bases

What is the largest US military base in the world?

Fort Bragg

What is a military base called?

Military airbase, airfield or field. Military camp.

What state has the most military bases?

Can you quit Army during basic training?

Entry-Level Separation After you arrive at boot camp , your fate still isn’t sealed. Even though you ‘re now on active duty, Army command can let you go without penalty during your first 180 days of service. Boot camp is the best time because the Army has just started training you .

Is Fort Jackson easy?

Fort Jackson’s main mission is training in excess of 48,000 basic training trainees and 12,000 additional advanced training trainees and Soldiers every year. It’s time to get excited about all the amazing things you’re going to learn at Fort Jackson basic training. Remember, it won’t be easy , but it will be worth it.

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How long is basic training?

about ten weeks

Can you fail basic training?

Yes, it is possible to fail basic training . You could go through the trouble of leaving your home, job, family and friends and come back a failure. In fact, this happens to about 15 percent of recruits who join the military every year. Too many recruits I speak to think that it is impossible to fail basic training .

Can I bring my phone to basic training?

PVT Davis says recruits are allowed to bring cell phones to Basic Combat Training . However, recruits are only allowed to use them with the Drill Sergeant’s permission. Yes, you are, but once you get to basic you have a limited time to use the phone , whenever the drill sergeants allow you to.

Is Fort Jackson a good duty station?

While the slow pace of the south may certainly be an adjustment for most, it is one that is fairly simple to make. There is an abundance of family events both on and off post to fit your family’s needs. Fort Jackson itself is a great duty station , and Columbia is quiet yet eventful.


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You Unplugged

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Noah's Ark

NOAH’S ARK is the world’s only floating exhibition of Bible stories and has announced it will be extending it stay again at Ipswich Waterfront till max March 2021.
inside Noah's Ark in IpswichMoses story
Since its arrival in the UK in November, Ark of Noah (known locally as “Noah’s Ark”) has welcomed over 15,000 visitors, with many first-time visitors to Ipswich from as far afield as London, Midlands and the North of England, South Coast and even the Scottish Highlands.

Dutch theatre and TV producer Aad Peters brought the huge wooden ship to the UK. He has toured it across Europe since its launch in 2010, sailing into 56 harbours and welcoming more than half a million visitors. Dozens of master craftspeople enabled Aad to fulfil his creative vision and make it a world-class visitor attraction, with 4 floors of sculpture stories, at the centre of which is the Tree of Life, growing 12 metres up through the middle of the Ark.

The Ark’s recent appearances on ITV, BBC Songs of Praise and BBC Look East generated a surge of bookings, especially from schools and community groups across East Anglia. Local businesses have also benefitted from the increase in footfall on the Waterfront.

Aad Peters said, “It was amazing to see how open-minded and curious British visitors are about the Bible storytelling theme, and how interested they are in the quality of workmanship throughout the Ark. I am happy to be staying longer in Ipswich, we love it here and will consider British people our close friends forever.

Adam and Eve wooden sculpture on Noah's ArkCarved sculptures of Adam and Eve
The Ark is a half-sized replica of Noah’s original boat and an educational and cultural celebration of many of the Bible’s legendary stories. From Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Goliath and countless more, this quirky, creative, and extraordinary space brings to life the biblical stories through an array of uniquely beautiful wooden carved sculptures and tableaux. Covering 2,000 square metres and 4 floors. No matter what you believe, the Ark creates a talking point for visitors to reflect on and discuss their own experiences.

Aad’s reasons for creating the Ark were simple; “If you know your own stories, it is easier to understand the culture of others.”

Noah's Ark as seen from the air

Noah's Ark as seen from the air

How to visit the Ark

The Ark hopes to be in Ipswich until March 2021 giving fans a little longer to pay the popular attraction a visit.
  Openings times will be: 10.00 am to 6.00 pm
Monday – Sunday (open 7 days a week).
Full details are at

If you're feeling inspired to visit Suffolk, or want to tell us about your adventures while you're here, why not get in touch via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram?

Or why not check out our latest films for further inspiration?


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The London Upright MRI Centre

FKH House, 40-44 Newman Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 1QD

The London Upright MRI centre is a couple of minutes from Oxford Street.

Patient care team
0333 200 2064

Visiting times
Mon - Fri: 9am - 5pm

There is no parking or vehicle access to this clinic, so all patients are advised to use Public Transport.

The clinic is located in Central London, just off Oxford Street. We are extremely accessible, and within a few minutes' walk of both Goodge Street and Tottenham Court Road underground stations.

Ways to pay

Paying for yourself

With Vista Health, there are no hidden costs. The price you see is the price you pay.

Medical insurance

We work with you and your insurance provider to get you the treatment you need, when you need it the most.


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Breaking News

Missing Thai Activist’s Sister Seeks Answers in Cambodia

Activists hold photos of Thai dissident Wanchalearm Satsaksit gather for a rally in front of Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, June 8, 2020. Wanchalearm, has been abducted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, a human rights group said Friday,…

Early this year Thai pro-democracy activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit told his sister he felt as if he were being followed by three men who looked like Thai police officers.

Wanchalearm had arrived in Cambodia in 2014, fleeing a warrant for failure to report to a military camp for dissidents after a coup. He is now missing.

“They are in the circles where these threats are common,” his sister, Sitanun Satsaksit, told VOA Khmer. She added that her brother didn’t seem very worried at the time, which she recalled as being “before COVID.”

On May 13, Thai police visited their mother’s home in Ubon Ratchathani, a city in northeastern Thailand. They asked about Wanchalearm’s whereabouts. The Thai activist immediately took to Facebook to mock the police officers for “performing their duties.”

“This might have been the last straw,” Sitanun said during a video call on November 16 with VOA. She added that she believes the satirical post pushed Thai authorities to act.

Her brother made his last Facebook post on June 3, taunting Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha in Isan, the language of northeastern Thailand. His delivery seems friendly, but his words are profane.

CCTV footage from June 4 shows a black SUV speeding away from Wanchalearm’s home in Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changvar district. Eyewitnesses who identified Wanchalearm told VOA Khmer that three men had forced him into the vehicle before it took off.

The Thai activist has not been seen since.

Sitanun arrived in Phnom Penh in early November to attend a December 8 hearing at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court into Wanchalearm’s alleged disappearance. She plans to present evidence and push for a fuller investigation into the incident.

“I want to find the truth about my brother,” she told VOA, “I don’t really know what to expect.”

She said she knows only that as she spoke to Wanchalearm the day he disappeared, she heard men speaking in a language that was not Thai in the background.

“He said, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,’” she said. Worried that something was obstructing his windpipe, she told him to smack his chest to try to clear it if he couldn’t breathe.

“The next thing you know, he went off the line.”

Sitanun Satsaksit arrives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 18, 2020. (Courtesy Photo)
Sitanun Satsaksit arrives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 18, 2020. (Courtesy Photo)

Linking generations

Wanchalearm is the ninth self-exiled pro-democracy critic of Thailand's government and monarchy to disappear since Prayuth came to power in a military coup in 2014. The bodies of Kraidej Luelert and Chatchan Buphawan, who had fled to Laos, were found in the Mekong River in December 2018. None of the cases has been solved.

Wanchalearm Satsaksit is the ninth Thai activist in exile to have gone missing in a nearby country since a 2014 military coup

Thai officials have denied any involvement in the disappearances.

Wanchalearm was an activist affiliated with the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship. Also known as the Red Shirts, the group formed to protest the 2006 military coup that ousted then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who faced corruption charges before he fled the country.

Wanchalearm fled Thailand after a 2014 military coup spurred on by pro-establishment protesters, the Yellow Shirts. They mounted a massive street campaign to oust then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s sister, who also faced corruption charges and had the Red Shirts’ support. She fled and obtained Serbian citizenship in 2019.

Younger than many UDD leaders, Wanchalearm, who was 37 in June, bridged the gap to a new generation of pro-democracy protesters. He posted political satire on Facebook and, according to the Isra News Agency, an online news service that does public policy and investigative reporting and has covered the conflict in southern Thailand, he had criticized Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Thailand’s harsh lèse-majesté law punishes those who insult or criticize the monarchy with a maximum of 15 years in prison and has been used for decades to quell dissent. Thai police spokesman Kritsana Pattanacharoen denied Wanchalearm faced lèse-majesté charges.

In 2018, Thai authorities, citing the Computer Crime Act of 2016, issued an arrest warrant for Wanchalearm saying he maintained a Facebook page critical of the military government from outside Thailand. The Act gives the government broad powers according to Human Rights Watch. Used to silence opposition to the government and the monarchy, it is seen as more targeted than the lèse-majesté laws, which can drag the palace into the fray.

Wanchalearm’s disappearance in June caused an uproar in Thailand, roiled by new pro-democracy street demonstrations. The hashtag # Save Wanchalearm erupted on Twitter and protesters rallied at the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok.

Activists hold up pictures of abducted Thai activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit as people gather in support of him during a protest calling for an investigation, in front of the Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, June 12, 2020. (REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Activists hold up pictures of abducted Thai activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit as people gather in support of him during a protest calling for an investigation, in front of the Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, June 12, 2020. (REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Hearing plans

After receiving a summons from a Cambodian investigative judge, Sin Sovannroth, Sitanun traveled to Phnom Penh with a legal team and will be represented by Cambodian lawyer Sam Chamroern at the December 8 closed-door hearing. The Thais arrived in Cambodia on November 10 and are self-isolating for 14 days at a Phnom Penh hotel.

She told VOA Khmer she hopes to collect additional evidence before the hearing, where she will present proof of her brother’s residence in Phnom Penh and of his alleged abduction to the court.

After the alleged abduction, Cambodia initiated an investigation at the request of Thai authorities. Within days, Cambodian authorities questioned whether Wanchalearm had ever lived at the Mekong Garden condominium in the Chroy Changvar district. By June 10, Cambodian police were questioning his presence in Cambodia at the time of his disappearance.

Cambodian national police spokesman Lt. Gen. Chhay Kim Khoeun said that according to official records Wanchalearm was not living in Cambodia at the time of his abduction. He told Radio Free Asia, “According to our investigation, Wanchalearm left Cambodia in 2017 [and did not return].”

In a submission to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the Cambodian government said Wanchalearm’s visa had expired on December 31, 2017, and his last recorded entry into the country was on October 19, 2015. The government’s letter continued to maintain that authorities had yet to ascertain “if there was a real abduction case and if it had really happened in Cambodia.”

Sitanun said that since her brother left Thailand, she had spoken to him constantly about his life and work in Phnom Penh.

“The entire family knows. He posted about it on Facebook,” Sitanun said of his residence in Cambodia.

Two charges

Sitanun’s court summons lists two charges that are being investigated by Sin Sovannroth, unlawful arrest, detention and confinement, and unauthorized possession of weapons. The charged are “unidentified individuals” and the investigative judge will decide after hearing testimony if the case should go to trial.

Eyewitness accounts reported by VOA Khmer in June suggest that the three men involved in the alleged abduction were carrying concealed weapons.

On Wednesday, Nov. 18, Y Rin, a Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesperson, directed VOA to query deputy prosecutor Kuch Kimlong. VOA Khmer contacted him that day, and Kuch Kimlong asked that queries be sent via Telegram, an encrypted messaging app. He has not responded to requests for comments sent as requested.

Khieu Sopheak, secretary of state at Cambodia’s Interior Ministry, said on November 18 that he could not comment on court proceedings and that ministry officials would aid the court in its investigation.

An activist pastes images of Thai dissident Wanchalearm Satsaksit on a wall near Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, June 8, 2020. (AP Photo)
An activist pastes images of Thai dissident Wanchalearm Satsaksit on a wall near Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, June 8, 2020. (AP Photo)

He said the police investigation had found no leads to suggest Wanchalearm was abducted outside his residence and that there was “no trace” of the pro-democracy activist.

“Anything that has been raised on Facebook or wherever else [about this case], there is no truth to it,” said Khieu Sopheak.

Sam Chamroeun, Sitanun’s Cambodian lawyer, said only that the prosecutor had taken note of the complaint and charged unidentified individuals with Wanchalearm’s disappearance.

“Now, it is in the hands of an investigative judge – it means the prosecutor has already pressed charges,” he said.

James Buchanan, a lecturer at Mahidol University near Bangkok, said in an email that it was unlikely the Cambodian government would conduct a serious investigation into Wanchalearm’s disappearance because it might reveal the Thai government’s involvement.

“If the Cambodian government actually seriously investigated this case and came to the conclusion that it was the Thai state that was responsible, that would of course provoke an angry reaction,” Buchanan said.

Thaksin was once supported by Hun Sen, who authorized the deposed Thai politician to travel to Cambodia and mobilize his Red Shirts supporters from there.

Buchanan said he believed Cambodia was “harboring many Thai dissidents, including Wanchalearm” which could pose challenges to Cambodia’s relations with the Thai government.

He added that it was revealed that the Cambodian courts had filed charges against unidentified individuals in the case.

“This could be a compromise that allows them to save face in front of Wanchalerm's family and the international community, but without any serious diplomatic repercussions from the Thais.”

Sitanun remains unequivocal about the Thai government’s involvement in her brother’s disappearance. The government has denied involvement repeatedly.

“Everyone knows who did this. The Thai state was involved, I said this publicly several times," she told VOA, giving no specifics or proof.

She said police officers have been following her in Thailand and they told her that they had been instructed to keep track of her. VOA has called Thai police and the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh for comment but has not obtained responses.

“I have not been threatened but I have been followed virtually everywhere I go by the police officers.”

This report originated in VOA Khmer. Rattaphol Onsanit, chief of VOA Thai, contributed from Washington.


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Rais Uhuru Kenyatta akicheka na mwenzake John Magufuli Ikulu ya Nairobi
Rais Uhuru Kenyatta akicheka na mwenzake John Magufuli Ikulu ya Nairobi

NAIROBI, KENYA - Tanzania’s president is making his first state visit to Kenya since taking office last October, in a bid to improve relations strained by economic competition.

Kenya is "quite important to Tanzania," President John Magufuli told reporters upon arriving Monday in the northern neighbor’s capital city, Nairobi, for a two-day visit.

Magufuli cited data from the Tanzania Investment Center, which reports that 529 Kenyan companies have invested roughly $1.7 billion in Tanzania, creating employment for about 56,000 Tanzanians.

Tanzania is the fastest-growing economy in East Africa, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said the countries would revive the Kenya Tanzania Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) before year’s end to enhance investment and trade.

The state visit “is meant to strengthen the relations between both countries,” Kenyatta said, adding that if Kenya and Tanzania are to expand their economies and create jobs for youth, then the countries should “walk together."

Tension over Uganda pipeline

Economic relations between the two nations have been somewhat strained by competition.

In March, Uganda opted to run a large oil pipeline through Tanzania instead of Kenya. Uganda cited security concerns and a price tag that was $1 billion cheaper than the one proposed by Kenya.

Tanzania also won a deal to host a new railway that will connect the Democratic Republic of Congo and the East African coast.

And just last month, Tanzania pushed the six-member East African Community to delay signing an economic partnership agreement with the European Union, which would guarantee traders duty-free access to the EU market. Kenya supported signing the treaty. Besides Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, community members include Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan, which joined this spring.

Economic analyst Aly Khan Satchu of Nairobi-based Rich Management said this week’s state visit offers Kenyatta a chance to recalibrate relations with Magufuli after a series of setbacks.

"He’s scored some big wins against Kenya," Satchu said of Magufuli, citing the oil pipeline and railway deals, so he’s "a worthy adversary, somebody who obviously very focused on the Tanzania national interest.

"But given the current situation," Satchu continued, "I think Kenya would be wise to try and sort of reset existing relations, look at what can be done to increase trade and seek better alignment as the East African Community and the market open up."

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Kenya is Tanzania’s largest trading partner in Africa.


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The Chinese government has rejected allegations by environmental organization Greenpeace that rising demand for cheap Chinese-made furniture overseas is fueling illegal logging activities and destroying endangered forests in the Asia-Pacific region.

Greenpeace on Tuesday called on the Chinese government to ban imports of illegally and destructively logged wood.

Greenpeace says China is now the world's largest importer of tropical wood, much of which comes from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea where, the group says, more than 75 percent of logging is illegal.

The group warns that lowland rain forest areas in Indonesia could disappear within 10 years if consumption levels are not reduced.

The environmental organization says China's consumption of wood products has increased by 70 percent in the last 10 years.

"Over the last 10 years, of two additional trees felled globally, one went to meet the rising consumption in China," said Shi Peng Xiang, the deputy campaign director for Greenpeace China. Shi said most wood products exported from China, such as construction materials and furniture, are destined for Japan and Western countries.

But China's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday Beijing should not be singled out for blame over illegal logging. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang said illegal logging is a global issue, and that China has consistently opposed destructive logging and has vigorously fought against it.

The Chinese government has recently made some effort to reduce wood consumption. Beijing last week announced a five percent tax on hardwood flooring and disposable chopsticks.


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Indian police detain a Tibetan exile participating in an i
Indian police detain a Tibetan exile participating in an i

Police in New Delhi are cracking down on the city?s Tibetan population, after a Tibetan exile set himself on fire this week to protest a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Media reports say hundreds of Tibetan activists were detained or confined to their homes Tuesday as part of ?preventative measures? aimed at stopping another self-immolation bid.

The Hindustan Times says police have ordered all Tibetans under house arrest until March 31, since many have disregarded a government ban on protests.

As President Hu arrived Wednesday, police hauled groups of angry anti-China activists away from a banned protest near India?s parliament.  President Hu is in India for a summit meeting of the so-called BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Prominent Tibetan writer and activist Tenzin Tsundue was arrested while he was giving a speech at an academic seminar on India and Tibet.  Hundreds of students at a youth hostel in New Delhi say they were prevented from leaving the facility to take their college exams.

The crackdown comes after 27-year-old Tibetan exile Jamphel Yeshi set himself on fire Monday during an anti-Chinese protest.  He was taken to a hospital with burns over 98 percent of his body.  Activists said Wednesday that Yeshi died from his wounds.

This is the second self-immolation by a Tibetan exile in New Delhi in recent months.  Tibetan rights groups say 29 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in regions under Chinese control.  Yeshi is thought to be the first Tibetan to die in India of self-immolation.

China refers to the self-immolators as terrorists who are carefully coordinated by "trained separatists."

Tibetans accuse China of pursuing a policy of deliberate cultural extinction in Tibetan-inhabited areas.  Images of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, are forbidden.  Monks and nuns are forced to undergo patriotic ?re-education? programs.  And Beijing floods the areas with non-Tibetan economic migrants who are accused of discriminating against the local population.

China says Tibet has always been part of its territory.  Tibetans say the Himalayan region was virtually independent for centuries.


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Pakistani police say they have arrested at least 45 suspected Taleban fighters in a series of raids near the Afghan border.

Police officials said Saturday that they made the arrests over the last 24 hours in and around Quetta in southern Baluchistan province.

The arrests come a week after Pakistani authorities arrested at least six suspected Taleban fighters receiving medical treatment for gunshot wounds at a Quetta hospital.

The Taleban have stepped up their insurgency against NATO-led troops in southern Afghanistan, with fighters frequently slipping over the border from Pakistan.

The renewed fighting has strained relations between the neighboring countries. Afghan officials say Taleban leaders frequently find shelter in Pakistan. Islamabad denies the accusations.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.


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Two months after the worst riots in nearly 40 years swept across France, life is back to normal. There are few traces of the rioting and arson attacks that exploded in poor, immigrant-heavy suburban housing projects. On Wednesday, French ministers considered a new bill that aims to offer greater opportunities for France's disadvantaged - many of whom are ethnic immigrants. But it is unclear whether the country will address what many consider the root causes of the violence: A decades-long failure to integrate its ethnic minorities.

The boulevards surrounding this town's drab housing projects carry inspiring names: Auguste Renoir, after the celebrated French painter, or the Crossroads of Europe. The reality is much more ordinary: Squat, look-alike apartment buildings - some shedding paint, others flecked with graffiti - where laundry hangs to dry in the icy air.

Two months ago, Aulnay-sous-Bois briefly captured international media attention as one of the epicenters of three weeks of nationwide violence.

The unrest was touched off in a nearby suburb, after two African youngsters were accidentally electrocuted as they tried to hide from police. Police say they were not persuing the teenagers. Roughly 10,000 vehicles were burned in the ensuing mayhem, and hundreds of buildings were damaged.

Police largely blame the violence on ethnic-immigrant youths. Hundreds were arrested, and some spent time in jail.

But the only sounds piercing a recent afternoon were those of children playing soccer at Trois Mille, one of the toughest neighborhoods at Aulnay-sous-Bois. Aissa Diarra, a 45-year-old cleaning woman from Mali, waits for a bus, rubbing her arms to stay warm.

Diarra says calm has returned to this working class housing project, home to many Africans and other ethnic immigrants like herself. She says the youngsters have stopped doing stupid things. But Diarra can not think of anything else that has changed for the better.

Last week, French President Jacques Chirac lifted a state of emergency imposed during the rioting. France's center-right government has mixed get tough strategies to end the violence with promises to address some of its causes: soaring unemployment, dilapidated housing and a general sense of despair and exclusion hanging over housing projects like this one.

But so far, most of the proposals - for better education and job training, for more social services and fairer hiring practices for ethnic minorities - have yet to be realized. And at Aulnay-sous-Bois and elsewhere, people are divided over whether life will really improve.

At Trois Mille, local activist Aissa Diawara is optimistic. Diawara heads a neighborhood association that helps Aulnay's immigrants find jobs and housing. Last November, she was among a group of activists who aired their grievances to French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. She believes he will address them.

Diawara says there may not be any tangible improvements - yet. But she says people are meeting and talking about problems, which they did not do before.

There are signs of change at Trois Mille. A bulldozer chews into a concrete tower - one of several slated for demolition as part of an urban renewal project begun before the riots.

Aulnay's deputy mayor, Frank Canarozzo, also argues life in projects like Trois Mille is getting better - even if people do not yet realize it.

Canarozzo says youngsters here say the town does not offer enough training and other social services. But he notes the rioters destroyed some of the structures that existed. He says the riots sent a bad message.

Many French agree. Recent polls show the majority supported the government's tough crackdown on the rioters. And one survey published last month found that one in six respondents believe there are too many immigrants in France.

France's economic doldrums are another barrier to a better life for ethnic immigrants here. The French government has urged public and private sector employers to hire more minorities. But unemployment in France is nearly 10 percent - and more than double that figure in low-income neighborhoods like Trois Mille.

Djamel Balarbi is associate director at a job placement agency. Since the riots, he says, young people looking for work face an additional obstacle.

Belarbi says prospective employers are even more wary of job applicants from places like Trois Mille than they were before. Since the riots, he says, they see local youngsters as the ones who burn and destroy - even if many did not participate in the violence.

Twenty-five-year-old Mamadou Kamara agrees. Kamara is an ethnic Mauritanian who has been out of work for a year. Sitting on his motorcycle at Trois Mille, Kamara describes a recent interview for a job as a sound engineer at a music studio. He was asked if he participated in the riots. Kamara said no. But he has heard nothing from the studio since then.

But Salem Bessad is more hopeful about the future of Aulnay-sous-Bois - and of its residents. The 34-year-old Algerian owns a small computer business. He acts as a mentor to some young ethnic immigrants.

Bessad says it will take time to improve life in neighborhoods like Trois Mille, but he says he is optimistic. He lives and works in a town which is dynamic - and which is doing more than just talking about the problems it faces.


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Despite a claim in earlier this year by the Somali Transitional Federal  Government (TFG) to have ousted insurgents in Somalia, a report by the united nations high commission for refugees estimates about 27 thousand people have fled the capital of Mogadischu since the beginning of June because of renewed violence.

The report of the 400 thousand civilians who fled between February and may, some 125 thousand have returned to the city. Catherine Weibel information officer for the UNHCR Somalia recently returned to her base in Nairobi, Kenya. From there she spoke with VOA?s Akwei Thompson.

Weibel said there are no organized camps for those fleeing the city and other parts of the country ?they tend together and build some small huts, what we call settlements.?

Weibel said the UNHCR has counted about about 28,000 people who have fled since June. Most of them, she said, have gone to the neighboring province of Shabelles          and built small huts along the road stretching between Mogadischu and Agoye about 30 kilometers away.

She said many of the people who have fled are women with their children with no male relatives to protect them.


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Press Conference USA

March 24, 2017 06:30 PM
Press Conference USA 1576476
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Join host Carol Castiel for this 30-minute weekly newsmaker program that provides listeners around the globe with information and insights on a wide range of topics spanning U.S. politics, foreign policy, global health, science and culture. Carol and other panelists interview bestselling authors, analysts, U.S. government officials, ambassadors and foreign heads of state about critical issues.


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VOA Newscasts

August 07, 2018 08:00 PM
VOA Newscasts 1392076
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Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.


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VOA Newscasts

May 09, 2019 08:00 AM
VOA Newscasts 2114026
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Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.


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Hospice Helps Patients Discover Joy & Comfort in Each New Day

Hospice is not a loss of hope. It is about living your life to the fullest, in comfort and joy, until the end, according to ThedaCare at Home Hospice. The agency operates two hospice inpatient facilities, both located at the Heritage Peabody Community in Appleton. Jane Shea, hospice volunteer coordinator, explained that hospice was founded […]

The Give Back Bus Hits the Road

Posted on Jun 5, 2018 by

If you’re going to volunteer, is it really that important to know where you’re going? Think about it… have you ever volunteered without knowing? Whatever your reason for volunteering, you probably knew where you were headed. But that’s not the case for those jumping on the Give Back Bus. These die-hard volunteers only had a […]

The Volunteer Center of East Central Wisconsin becomes “Volunteer Fox Cities”

Posted on Jun 1, 2018 by

The Volunteer Center of East Central Wisconsin is proud to unveil a new logo and name, “Volunteer Fox Cities,” beginning June 1, 2018. The new, modern logo and name change symbolizes a progressive way to continue sharing our organization’s mission of making volunteer connections. Throughout this process, we used a skills-based volunteer to complete the re-branding […]


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Due to COVID-19, some of our policies have been updated.

  • Our return policy will be extended to accept returns past 30 days for in-store and online purchases.

  • We will continue to offer Free returns.

    Please visit out FAQs Page for commonly asked questions related to COVID-19 and how it is impacting our business operations.

    We hope you are 100% satisfied with your Voluspa.com purchase. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied, Voluspa offers a refund or exchange on unopened and unused, full-priced items within 30 days of your purchase date (adjustable per COVID-19).

    At this time, items ordered online cannot be returned in the Voluspa Fashion Island store.

    Sale Items

    All sale products are final sale and are not eligible for returns or exchanges.

    If upon arrival, any part of your order is damaged, please email customerservice@voluspa.com as soon as possible and include your order number and a picture of the damage. Any inquiry must be received by Voluspa within 30 days of the purchase date (adjustable per COVID-19)Please note: Once product is removed from its original protective packaging, we cannot be responsible for any further damage due to improper handling.

    Initiate a Return HERE

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    Phone: 855-498-0402
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Naughty Dog has Brainstormed Project Morpheus Ideas, Uncharted 4 Won’t Support it

If there’s one developer that almost everyone would like to see work with the Project Morpheus virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD) it’s Naughty Dog. The Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) owned studio has made a name for itself in the past decade with its Uncharted trilogy and 2013’s The Last of Us, both of which combine engaging storytelling with thrilling gameplay. Finally, the developer’s Neil Druckmann has weighed in on the technology.

“There are amazing opportunities,” Druckmann recently said of VR in an interview with MCV. “We’ve had some brainstorms over here as far as what we could do, and there’s right away unique things of how you can use perspective to get new kinds of experience that you can’t get any other way.

“At the same time, there’s still a lot of prove. There hasn’t yet been that one experience that says ‘Oh yeah, I have to get VR for this’. Someone’s going to make it, someone’s going to make that game that’s like ‘Oh crap, I have to get VR for this game’, but I have yet to see that.”

Druckmann then joked that the developer wasn’t yet ready to announce the device for its upcoming Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.

All that said, could we see the developer work with the technology after the release of Nathan Drake’s next adventure? Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is scheduled to arrive in Holiday 2015, by which time we’ll hopefully be significantly closer to the release of Project Morpheus. VRFocus will continue to follow any and all VR news going forward, bringing you the latest.


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High-End Laser Projectors by barco

In case you require further information on the Barco F90-4K14 and the Barco F90-W13 laser projectors please feel free to have a look at the PDFs in the download section or simply give us a call for in-depth consultancy on each product.

Learn more about the Barco - Single Chip Laser in the download section:


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The Boyfriend Project (Paperback)

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On Our Shelves Now
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A smart and delightful romantic comedy featuring fabulous female friendships and "a great love story." --Jasmine Guillory, bestselling author of Party of Two
Samiah Brooks never thought she would be "that" girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she's been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah -- along with his two other "girlfriends," London and Taylor -- have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men and no dating.
For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she's always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy Daniel Collins at work. What are the chances? But is Daniel really boyfriend material or is he maybe just a little too good to be true?
"A smart, funny digital-age romance about real women living in the real world. Couldn't put it down!" --Abby Jimenez, USA Today bestselling author of The Happy Ever After Playlist

*Listed as a Best Book of the Year from: NPR, Cosmopolitan, Buzzfeed, Frolic, Insider, BookRiot
*Book of the Month selection
*LibraryReads selection
*O, The Oprah Magazine: Must-Read Black Romance Novels
*Cosmopolitan: Best Summer Reads 2020
*Insider: The Best Romance Books of 2020

About the Author

Farrah Rochon, USA Today Bestselling author of The Boyfriend Project, hails from a small town just west of New Orleans. She has garnered much acclaim for her Holmes Brothers and New York Sabers series. When she is not writing in her favorite coffee shop, Farrah spends most of her time reading, cooking, traveling the world, visiting Walt Disney World, and catching her favorite Broadway shows.

You can learn more at:
Twitter @FarrahRochon

Praise For…

"A prime example of how complex and insightful romances can be. Farrah Rochon deftly explores what it means to go viral, the unique joys of strong female friendships, and the particular struggles of Black women in the workplace, all within a great love story."—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Date

"The Boyfriend Project is rom-com joy... Rochon's warmth and easy humor sing off the pages, but the book also has plenty to say: about female friendships, about showing up for each other, about trust, and about racism. ...Rochon is incisively funny, gifted at winging between laugh-out-loud scenarios, crackling banter, and pointed social commentary. The Boyfriend Project is vibrantly realized, a modern-day tale with real-world stakes that will leave you giggling and swooning from cover to cover. Grade: A"—Entertainment Weekly

"A masterpiece of modern-day Jane Austen with effortless, razor-sharp social commentary, romance and humor. Farrah Rochon is one of the absolute best romance writers today. Period."—Kristan Higgins, New York Times bestselling author

smart, funny digital-age romance about real women living in the real world.
Couldn't put it down!"—Abby Jimenez, USA Today bestselling author of The Happy Ever After Playlist

"Farrah Rochon writes intensely real characters with flaws and gifts in equal measure. The Boyfriend Project is a multilayered story about friendship, love, and following your dreams -- all of it told with heart and emotion."—Nalini Singh, New York Times bestselling author

"Rochon's books are always witty, hot, and engaging."—BuzzFeed

"A smart, sexy and completely modern romance. The Boyfriend Project is the free-spirited, tell-it-like-it-is page-turner you've been looking for!"—Kwana Jackson, USA Today bestselling author of Real Men Knit

"I loved this book! The Boyfriend Project is a modern, cute, clever rom-com, and I can't wait for the next book. This is a girl gang I want to join."—Alisha Rai, author of The Right Swipe

"The Boyfriend Project is a wonderful mix of what I love in romance: romantic tenderness, great chemistry, bright individuals, expertise in their jobs, deep friendships with secondary characters, and excellent conflict between them leading to great trust-building."—Frolic

"Funny, fresh, sexy, and heartfelt. This is my new favorite romance series!"—Suzanne Brockmann, New York Times bestselling author

"Farrah Rochon writes delectable love stories with characters so warm that I want to hang out with them in real life. Samiah's hopes and dreams and fears are relatable and real, and I don't blame her at all for bending the rules of her no-dating pact with the extremely tasty Daniel. I smiled the whole time I was reading The Boyfriend Project."—Andie J. Christopher, author of Not the Girl You Marry

"The Boyfriend Project has it all-swoon-worthy romance, the power of true friendship, and a grand gesture that makes your heart sigh with pure satisfaction. Absolutely a must-read summer romance!"—Priscilla Oliveras, USA Today bestselling author

"Rochon is a romance master who adeptly writes interesting and dynamic characters. ...A richly layered conflict adds depth and complexity to this charming workplace romance."—Kirkus

"Rochon's latest is ideal for anyone wanting positive representations of strong women in STEM fields, especially with its exploration of the specific challenges faced by black women. It will also please fans of office romances and Christina Lauren's Dating You/Hating You."—Library Journal

woos readers with ample wit and charm in this low-drama workplace romance."—Publishers Weekly

"There's so much to love in this -- smart, highly competent and sexy romantic leads, strong female friendships and a dose of intrigue -- and it kicks off what promises to be an excellent series."—NPR

"Rochon's new multicultural contemporary romance series deploys the delicious tensions generated by an office romance, corporate intrigue, and female empowerment."—Booklist

"A clever, pleasurable read."—BookPage

"Think John Tucker Must Die, but with an uplifting, female-empowerment twist."—Betches
Product Details
ISBN: 9781538716625
ISBN-10: 1538716623
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: June 9th, 2020
Pages: 352