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American Dream?

Globalization and the Downsizing of the American Dream

by Kevin Danaher

Just about every day we hear something about globalization. The mass media give us the impression that the impersonal forces of the "free market" are knitting together the peoples of the world into a seamless quilt. We are led to believe that things will steadily get better if we can just keep governments from meddling with the market forces that lead to more growth and efficiency.

Yet we also know that jobs are being lost to global competition. We know that the global environment is being threatened on a number of fronts, from global warming and the deterioration of the ozone layer to the extermination of species and the poisoning of the world's water supply. We see refugees and immigrants by the millions roaming the planet, in search of jobs and protection from armed conflict. We also know that inequality is getting worse: fewer and fewer large corporations own more of the world's productive resources while millions of people are unable to sustain their families. Many of us have a gut feeling that the global economy has gone awry. We would do well to trust our feelings. This booklet addresses this crucial issue: how the globalization of the economy undermines the quality of life in the United States. The decline in our standard of living can be seen in numerous areas:

  1. As U.S. corporations have expanded their global reach they are better able to put the U.S. workforce in direct competition with foreign workers, thus increasing their profits while driving down our wages and general standard of living.

  2. Global corporations are better able to use technology to downsize their workforces, thus creating anxiety among working people who no longer feel secure about the future of their jobs.
  3. As global corporations become less dependent on any particular nation, they have less interest in supporting any government with taxes. This results in a shrinking tax base and what is referred to as a "fiscal crisis of the state" (the tendency for government expenses to outrace revenues).

  4. By using the rationale of "global competition" to drive down the living standards of the majority, the corporate class has shifted more and more wealth from our pockets to theirs. This growing inequality is producing resentment and rebellion-here and abroad.

    Yet all is not gloom and doom. The globalization of finance, production and trade is being followed by the globalization of grassroots democracy. Individuals and grassroots groups are gradually building an alternative society guided by social justice and environmental sustainability rather than by greed. We conclude with ways for you to get involved in this movement to construct alternatives to top-down globalization.

    Do We Want Just a Market, or a Just Market?

    When the U.S. came out of World War II as the dominant industrial country, it was logical that the dollar would become the global currency, that U.S.-based corporations would dominate world markets, and that the U.S. would have the strongest hand in shaping global institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. This dominance allowed U.S. transnational corporations to expand to gigantic proportions. Many of the Fortune 500 companies now have annual revenues larger than the gross national product of most Third World countries, and even larger than the GNP of industrial countries such as Finland, Denmark and Norway.

    The global reach of large corporations has disconnected them from national needs and desires. Business Week points out that "As cross-border trade and investment flows reach new heights, big global companies are effectively making decisions with little regard to national boundaries. Though few companies are totally untethered from their home countries, the trend toward a form of 'stateless' corporation is unmistakable.

    As corporations have developed their ability to tap into a huge global labor pool, they have less need for the social welfare policies of any particular nation. Global companies may want various kinds of subsidies from the government, but when it comes to government regulations that could allow the people to exert control over big business, corporate ideology preaches "free trade," deregulation and the downsizing of government. The possibility of a truly democratic government is the most serious threat to the power of large corporations-so government must be dismantled!

    With a global labor pool at their disposal, transnational corporations are less dependent on any particular national workforce. The facts show that in recent decades U.S. corporations have been cutting jobs here while expanding employment abroad. And the percentage of their total profits that derive from overseas operations has been rising sharply.

    The old dictum, "What's good for General Motors is good for America" has a hollow ring in an age of globalization and corporate downsizing. After laying off more than 70,000 workers since 1993, General Motors now ranks as the wealthiest U.S. corporation, raking in more than $168 billion in revenues in 1995 alone-that's equal to the annual wages of more than 19 million Americans earning the minimum wage.

    The increasing globalization of U.S. corporations gives them the leverage to hold down wages and resist unionization. Average real wages (corrected for inflation) have been falling since the early 1970s. By 1992, average weekly earnings in the private, non-agricultural part of the U.S. economy were 19 percent below their peak in the early 1970s. Nearly one-fourth of the U.S. workforce now earns less in real terms than the 1968 minimum wage! The trend toward less unionization is evident in the third graph below, which shows a steady decline in union membership since the 1950s. This is a chicken-and-egg relationship because weaker unions are less able to restrict corporate behavior and the resulting freedom of action for global corporations means unions will be weakened further by companies putting their workers here in competition with low-paid workers abroad.

    Working People Feel Insecure

    The restructuring of our political and economic life due to globalization may be as significant a process as the industrial revolution. In early 1996 the mainstream media- incited by the rhetoric of Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan-focused an unusual amount of attention on the plight of U.S. workers in a globalizing economy. As the New York Times editorialized on February 25, 1996: "voters are clearly unnerved by corporate restructurings and the search for cheaper labor overseas." The Times went on to point out that "between 1991 and 1995, nearly 2.5 million Americans had lost their jobs because of corporate restructuring" and these job losses occurred "as the top pay for corporate executives has soared to nearly 200 times that of the average worker."

    The February 26, 1996 issue of Newsweek ran a blaring cover story on corporate downsizing entitled "Corporate Killers." The piece was blunt in its criticism of corporate insensitivity: "Something is plain wrong when stock prices keep rising on Wall Street while Main Street is littered with the bodies of workers discarded by big companies like AT&T and Chase Manhattan and Scott Paper. Once upon a time, it was a mark of shame to fire your workers en masse. Today, the more people a company fires, the more Wall Street loves it, and the higher its stock price goes."

    One would expect nicer behavior from the corporate chieftains who run our economy. Over the last 15 years transnational corporations have gotten basically everything they wanted: the collapse of communism, free trade agreements, deregulation, lower taxes, the weakening of trade unions and the pushing down of wage rates. Yet while profits and the stock market soar, the standard of living for most Americans is plummeting. There is a dangerous dynamic at work. In an effort to cut costs and boost profits, AT&T announced in September 1995 that they were laying off 40,000 workers. The company's share price on Wall Street immediately jumped higher. Because the salaries of top AT&T executives are partly made up of share ownership, the executives are personally benefiting from the suffering of thousands of dislocated families.

    Technology Turned Against Us

    Amid the media hype about job losses due to corporate downsizing, a key fact was ignored: a large part of the unemployment afflicting our country is due to a centuries-old drive by companies to replace workers with technology.

    Top management sees technology as a way to dump workers-who make demands and question authority-and replace them with machines, which have not been known to form unions.

    The trend is evident when you consider that employment in the U.S. manufacturing sector has declined over the past 30 years from 33 percent of the total workforce to less than 17 percent, even though our manufacturing sector has steadily increased output. As this trend continues we will see the elimination of most U.S. manufacturing jobs.

    Contrary to what we've been told, the service sector (telecommunications, banking, insurance, real estate, retail and wholesale trade) will not replace the jobs lost in the manufacturing sector. First, the pay tends to be lower in the service sector. And second, technology is also replacing workers in the service sector. Whole layers of white collar office workers are being replaced by small, highly skilled teams using the latest computer technology. Thousands of postal workers have been made redundant by optical scanners and computerization. Between 1983 and 1993 banks in the U.S. replaced 179,000 human tellers with automated teller machines, and even more bank employees will be cut in years to come. It's not that technology is bad, but when technological innovation is used to get rid of workers, with no systematic program to create meaningful replacement jobs, the result is widespread insecurity that saps worker morale. Is it just a coincidence that the U.S. Postal Service has imposed years of high-tech speedup on its workers-thus boosting profits to record levels-yet is also notorious for its workers being among the most severely alienated in the world?

    Our government hides unemployment by defining it away. The common sense definition of unemployment-people wanting a job but unable to get one-puts the number of unemployed in 1994 at 15.9 million, or 12.5 percent of the workforce. The official rate (6.1% in 1994) is reached by not counting the 6 million workers who want jobs but are so discouraged they've stopped looking, and counts as fully employed some 30 million who are only working part-time.

    Although employers may no longer need us as workers, they do need us as consumers. As a recently laid-off veteran of Bendix Corp. put it: "If they had their way, management would have robots doing everything in the plant, but they forget that robots don't buy anything." If each individual corporation stays focused on climbing the profit ladder in an increasingly global marketplace, it will shed workers for any reason that makes the company more profitable. At the micro-economic level of the company this makes sense. But when all these micro-economic decisions to cut workers are added up, the macro-economic impact is stagnation and all the social ills that go with it.

    The Casino Economy

    Another key dynamic of the globalized economy is the massive shift of capital from productive investment in the "real economy" to speculative investment in the "casino economy."

    It's quite logical. If you have a few million dollars to invest, there are two basic approaches you can take. You could invest in the real economy by building a factory to make bread or shoes or some other product or service that meets a human need. On the other hand, you could invest your money in paper assets: stocks, bonds, mutual funds or a wide range of financial instruments that may not create many jobs or useful products but they do pay you a good rate of interest without all the bother of investing directly in production. Also, these speculative investments tend to be more liquid (able to be converted to cash) than investments in the real economy.

    In recent years we have seen explosive growth in a new form of financial speculation: the "derivatives" market that is even one more step removed from the real economy. These investments 'derive' their value from underlying assets such as stocks, bonds or currencies, but they are merely bets as to whether the value of the underlying asset will rise or fall over a given period of time. So you might bet that the Japanese yen will fall over the next 6 months relative to Thailand's currency, the bhat. There are an endless variety of derivatives, designed merely to help investors hedge against risk, not to produce anything real. To see how important the derivatives market has become, compare it to global trade in real goods. The annual value of global merchandise trade is about $4 trillion. The global derivatives market equals this dollar volume of transactions in just two days! The globalization of capital markets and the shift of investments from the real economy to the casino economy has weakened the power of government to control national economies and protect people's jobs. Washington and other national governments are held hostage by the mobility of globalized capital. Companies can threaten to move out when confronted with higher taxes or stiffer environmental regulations.

    Bankrupting Our Government

    As less workers are gainfully employed, income tax revenue to the government dries up at the same time as the demand for government services such as unemployment insurance and food stamps increases.

    The squeeze between declining government income and increasing government expenses has produced record budget deficits and an expanding mountain of government debt. Federal government debt stood at $4.9 trillion in early 1996. The interest we pay to the owners of that debt ($232 billion in 1995) is now one of our largest federal budget expenditures: without this expenditure, there would be no budget deficit. During the 1990s, we the taxpayers will transfer more than $2 trillion to the wealthy fewÑhere and abroadÑ who own the Treasury bills that make up the national debt.

    In the heated debate over the federal budget, Congress and the media have focused our attention on the spending side of the ledger. But the other sideÑrevenue coming into the governmentÑis just as important. Conservatives have convinced many Americans that excessive spending on social programs is the key reason for the fiscal crisis of the state. Yet a more crucial problem is that the wealthy corporations that dominate our government and our social values are able to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

    Both major political parties are uncritical supporters of the "free market" and globalization of the economy. Yet this very process of increasing economic gigantism is behind the budget crisis and the long-term insolvency of our government. As corporations have grown in size they have expanded their capacity for lobbying our elected leaders to reduce corporate taxes and remove restrictions on the international movement of commodities and money. Plus, innovations in computers and telecommunications allow financiers to move billions of dollars around the world instantly, making it more difficult for governments to monitor and tax international transactions.

    As the corporate share of the tax load was cut, who picked up the slack? A big portion was shifted to working people. In the early 1950s, corporations paid 76 cents in taxes for every one dollar paid by families and individuals. By 1992 corporations were paying just 21 cents for every one dollar in taxes paid by families and individuals.

    The World's Biggest Debtor

    Not all of the tax load could be pushed onto the current generation of workers. Some of it was financed through deficit spending: issuing government bonds to borrow from the capital marketsÑin other words, taxing our children and grandchildren.

    It is odd that the Republicans have made a big issue of the deficit and the national debt, seeing as it was Republican presidents (Reagan and Bush) who created the record deficits that produced most of the national debt. When Ronald Reagan took office on January 20, 1981 the national debt was under $1 trillion. By the end of the Bush administration, on January 20, 1993, the national debt had quadrupled to $4 trillion. The interest we taxpayers fork over to bondholders on this additional $3 trillion in debt (figuring at an average of 7 percent) comes to $210 billion: far more than the current budget deficit of $172 billion. If Reagan and Bush hadn't splurged on the military while giving huge tax breaks to their corporate backers, there would be no budget deficit.

    One of the long-term effects of budget deficits and skyrocketing debt is a large transfer of wealth upward in the class structure of our country. During the 1980s, the U.S. taxpayer transferred $1.1 trillion in interest payments to the wealthy corporations and individuals who own the national debt. In the 1990s some $2 trillion will be redistributed upward on the social ladder via interest payments on the national debt.

    Is the U.S. Becoming a Third World Country?

    Just to review, a combination of factorsÑU.S. companies moving jobs abroad, thousands of workers being replaced by technology, the weakening of the U.S. trade union movement, changes in tax legislation to favor wealthier taxpayersÑhave produced a widening gap between a wealthy elite and the majority of Americans. Business Week reports: "The gap between high- and low-income families has widened steadily since about 1980, hitting a new high every year since 1985."

    Growth is not a panacea. "Between 1977 and 1989 the 1 percent of families with incomes over $350,000 received 72 percent of the country's income gains while the bottom 60 percent lost ground." A key reason for the decline in the majority's income share has been the steady fall in real wages. In 1992, average weekly earnings in the private, non-agricultural part of the U.S. economy were 19 percent below their peak in the early 1970s. Nearly one-fourth of the U.S. workforce now earns less in real terms than the 1968 minimum wage! Add another 5-10 percent of the population who have no jobs at all, and you've got a significant portion of the population living in poverty. Hence Newsweek's conclusion that "millions of Americans believe they're being screwed by corporate America and Wall Street."

    Yet corporate profits and the salaries of top management have soared. Corporate profits are up 40 percent since 1993, and, as Business Week reported, the average pay of Chief Executive Officers at the 362 largest companies in the U.S. jumped 30 percent during 1995 to an average of $3,746,392.

    The sharp growth in inequality caused U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich to warn: "We have the most unequal distribution of income of any industrial nation in the world ... we can't be a prosperous or stable society with a huge gap between the very rich and everyone else." But data on income is not the best indicator of inequality. Wealth measured by ownershipÑstocks, bonds, savings accounts, real estateÑis a far better measure of real power in society.

    A 1995 study by the Twentieth Century Fund shows that since the late 1970s wealth inequality in the U.S. has been increasing. By the 1990s, the richest one percent of Americans owned twice as much wealth as the poorest 80 percent!

    Contrary to what the Republicans have been preaching, it is not big government that is undermining Mainstreet, USA. Rather, mainstreet is being undermined by the fact that our government is dominated by monied interestsÑand those monied interests are increasingly global, owing no allegiance to any particular country.

    What can we do about it? Plenty!

    Building an Alternative

    As Tom Athanasiou says in his excellent book, Divided Planet: "Our tragedy lies in the richness of the available alternatives, and in the fact that so few of them are ever seriously explored."

    The technical means exist for feeding, housing and educating all the people on earth: it's mainly a matter of developing the political will to build a sustainable and equitable world economy. The goods news is that there are thousands of groups struggling to create more democratic control of the capitol and the capital. What needs to be done?

    Check out these resources:

    Ten Ways to Democratize the Global Economy will give you plenty of ideas and concrete ways to get involved in the struggle to make our economy more democratic.

    Like getting involved with the struggle for Fair Trade, a movement to ensure that everything from the gifts we buy our loved ones to the coffee we drink in the morning is made in ways that benefit local communities.


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From Check Point NGX R65 Security Administration

SmartDefense not only protects against a variety of recognized attacks that vary from the dissimilar classes of Microsoft networking worms through to DDoS attacks, but it also integrates advanced security technologies that increase a site s protection from complete categories of emerging or unknown attacks.

SmartDefense is founded on Check Point s Stateful Inspection and Application Intelligence technologies, which allow an administrator to drop not only precise attacks, but also complete categories of attacks while still allowing genuine traffic to pass. Application Intelligence is a collection of technologies that detect and prevent application-level attacks by integrating a deeper inspection of application profiles into network security defenses. The core functions of Application Intelligence include:

  • Validating compliance to standards and RFCs

  • Validating expected usage of protocols

  • Blocking malicious data

  • Controlling hazardous application operations

SmartDefense blocks attacks at a Check Point enforcement point which may be either a gateway or a single installation of SecureServer on a host. It does this by implementing Check Point s Stateful Inspection and Application Intelligence technologies. A number of SmartDefense facilities are enforced as an incorporated element of the firewall security policy. These are distributed as an element of the enforcement points security policy. SmartDefense also provides further benefits from the stringent access control to network resources it provides through the deployment of Check Point enforcement points.

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Network security services determine vulnerability of networks to outside intruders, as well as maintain anti-viral and firewall updates and usage.
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Security software programs are used to restrict access to data, files and users on a computer or server.
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Network security software includes everything from remote access protection to firewall and security appliance solutions to email security to web filtering, monitoring, bandwidth protection, and all elements of computer network security/computer security.
Network Firewalls
Network firewalls protect computer networks against unauthorized use or attack. They permit or deny access to private network devices and applications, and represent an important part of an organization's overall security policy. Firewalls may be software applications, hardware devices (such as routers), or a combination of both. They include turnkey products that are relatively easy to install as well as complex, multi-layer installations that require the expertise of a certified network administrator.
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Signals intelligence (SIGNT) systems intercept technical and other intelligence-rated information from foreign electronic emissions.

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Solutions Fast Track Configuring SmartDefense SmartDefense is completely integrated with other Check Point products. SmartDefense provides object and rule integration across products. Ad hoc or...

Introduction SmartDefense is a compilation of technologies built into the Check Point enforcement point to add extra fortifications against attacks. The technologies include: Network Security, which...

Network Security In this section, we will discuss the best-practice network security provisions of SmartDefense. The Network Security and Application Intelligence technologies are free with...

Introduction The basic principle of any firewall is to allow access to legitimate services while denying all other network access. Although in the past this level of security may have been...

Application Intelligence Many of the most serious threats from the Internet come from attacks that attempt to exploit application vulnerabilities. Because application-driven attacks tend to be...


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US stirs up maritime disputes with pivot to Asia

By Luo Yuan Source:Global Times Published: 2012-8-20 20:10:05

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has stated the US has a "national interest in freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea. But putting aside that there's no threat to US sea lane security, it is the US that is entering other countries' exclusive economic zones and threatening the security of other countries.

Even if the problem of sea lanes security really exists, it is a problem of sea power, which has nothing to do with the dispute over sovereignty among the claimants over the South China Sea.

The US has said that it will not take sides in regional disputes. However, the territory of the Philippines was shaped by the US-Spain Treaty of Paris (1898), the US-Spain Washington Treaty (1900) and the US-UK Treaty (1930). According to these three treaties, the west limit of the Philippine territory has never reached beyond 118 degrees east longitude. Neither Huangyan Island nor Zhongye Island belongs to the Philippines.

The US knows this very clearly. It's a shame that it pretends to be "neutral" over the South China Sea issue.

There are strategic considerations why the US wants to make the situation confused and unclear.

Washington wants to distract China's strategic attention and interfere with China's peaceful development. The US knows that it will be effective to contain China both internally and externally. Domestically, the US throws dirt at China. Internationally, it downgrades China's image and soft power, and sows discord between China and surrounding countries.

The US also wants to search for support for its strategy of "back to Asia."

Actually, two strategic contractions stick in the US throat: withdrawing from Cam Ranh Bay and Danang of Vietnam, and withdrawing from the Subic Bay and Clark Air Base.

"Back to Asia" means that the US wants to return to those military bases. The US is working behind this. Vietnam, while gaining support from the US, is actually transferring part of its sovereignty to the US.

The US also wants the abundant strategic resources in the Asia Pacific. Preliminary estimates show that the reserves of oil in the South China Sea are about 23 billion to 30 billion tons. The South China Sea has been described as a "second Persian Gulf."

Geopolitically, the South China Sea, with its unique position, guards vital lines of communication between the Pacific and the Indian oceans.

The South China Sea is the lifeline of major economies such as the US. With predominance in the South China Sea, a country can effectively control these important waters and international routes.

The South China Sea issue itself is very complex. Different countries have different considerations. The US takes this opportunity to add fuel to the flames.

However, relevant countries need neither international police nor arbitrator.

According to an old Chinese saying, it's easier to raise the devil than to lay him. The South China Sea issue can be resolved by the countries in the region, who are neighbors in spite of disputes.

Therefore, I advise that the South China Sea countries should be sympathetic to each other.

They should not attach their fates to the war chariot of the US, which will injure others and ruin themselves at the same time.

The author is a major general at the PLA Academy of Military Sciences.

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Travelling in Thailand

Visitors to Thailand will discover a land of contrasts between old and new, modern and ancient. To illustrate this point it would be adequate to say that there seems to be an appropriate form of transport for almost every situation in Thailand wherever one travels.

Getting around Bangkok

For example, to wiz across Bangkok to a dazzling shopping mall where glitz is the order of the day, you can jump on the Skytrain or go underground to the subway to travel in air conditioned comfort in the most modern of conveyances. Alternatively if you need to explore some of the older areas in Bangkok you may be whisked away at speed in a long tail boat powered by huge engines to venture into Thonburi canals where stilted houses line the waterways and kids frolic in the water still in scenes from days gone by.

Going further
Moving further afield across Thailand is easy as the main tourist areas are well serviced by air, road and often rail. There is a choice of service for everyone depending on time and budget. Thailand’s provincial airports are all around one hour flying time from Bangkok making it convenient and time effective to fly. Those who yearn for a more romantic way of traveling may decide to take a train ride during the day to see the countryside or overnight and wake up at your destination after sleeping to the sound of train wheels on tracks and whistles in the night.

Thailand overland
Overlanders will find an excellent system of roads across Thailand which has probably the most advanced system of highways and by-ways in South East Asia. Traveling by road offers another element to traveling in Thailand in that it would be more flexible and offer the opportunity to stop along the route at points of interest such as beautiful scenery or one of a myriad of roadside sellers selling their fares.

Rustic Transport Variations
Local styles of travel also vary in Thailand and there is nothing better than to try something different at the ‘grass roots’ level to personally experience various forms of transport used by millions everyday across Asia. For example the simple ox cart performs many functions for local communities in days gone by such as taxi, truck or even as mobile advertising cart complete with battery operated loudspeakers. Elephant, buffalo and bamboo raft are other examples of forms of transport while the famous orange buses which meander the back roads across the country allow the traveler to come face to face with the people.

Traveling in Thailand has never been easier with all the local forms of transport combined with Destination Asia’s excellent network of cars, mini vans and coach with experienced guides and drivers makes your travel a pleasure rather than a task.

Where to go in Thailand?
That depends how long you've got, what you want to see and what you want to do? Hopefully the guide below will help you make those decisions.

If you want to really discover Thailand you should set aside a couple of weeks to travel, meet the people and get some kind of understanding for this beautiful and fascinating country. Our shortest tours are half day excursions and while the longer you've got the better, at Global Travel & Tours we pride ourselves on being able to fill everybody's travel plans with just the right mix. It will be our pleasure to make the suggestion and arrangements to allow you to make the most of your precious leisure time. After all, our team of Thai and Western staff enthusiastically work, live and travel all over the country and we would be happy to share our new discoveries with you.

Some Facts on Thailand
Thailand, officially known as the Kingdom of Thailand, covers an area of 514,000 square kilometers. It is similar in size to France and has a population of about 60 million. Approximately 95 percent of Thai citizens are Buddhists. The remainder of the populace is comprised of Muslims, Christians and Hindus.

Geographically, Thailand is divided into four main regions: the Central Plains, the North, the Northeast and the South. The majority of the population lives in the fertile Central Plains, where the capital city of Bangkok is located. The Northern region, dominated by Chiang Mai (Thailand's second largest city), is an area of mountains and fertile valleys. In contrast to the Central and the Northern regions, the Northeast has harsh climatic conditions and is the least fertile region of Thailand. The South is famous for its fine beaches and idyllic limestone islands.
Thailand proudly proclaims that it has never been colonised. One positive aspect of this fact is that the country has retained its unique culture, traditions and language. With a long, rich heritage and abundant natural resources, Thailand is without doubt one of the most exotic countries in Asia.

When to Travel?
Thailand’s climate is tropical, and is largely affected by the North-East Monsoon and the South-West Monsoon, which bring changes in weather patterns on a cyclical basis. The central, northern and north eastern areas have three seasons while the Southern peninsula areas and the deep south of Thailand are subject mainly to two seasons based on the monsoons.

Cool Season: Late November – February                                                                                This season correlates with the high season for tourism. In the Northern and North Eastern regions of the country, temperatures range from a cool 8°C to a daily high of 23°C. There is usually no rain and the skies are cloudless. In the Central Plains, which includes Bangkok the weather is perfect with clear skies and daily temperatures in the range of 16°C and 28°C.

Hot Season: March – June
At this time of the year Thailand will experience its hottest and most dry period. At times the weather can become oppressive. And is often referred to as the #8216; hot dry season#8217; and continues until the rains in June or July. At this time of year Thailand receives less visitors and rates at hotels are lower than at other times, so it can be a favourable time of year to visit.

Summer Season: July – October
July through October is known generally as the green or wet season, this is when Thailand receives the annual rains brought along by the South-West Monsoon. This time of year is a perfect time to see Thailand covered in a lush green cover, with rice fields, streams and rivers brimming.

Passports & Visas
Many nationalities, including the citizens of Australia, Canada, South Africa, the USA and most European countries, do not need a visa for stays of up to 30 days. A passport valid for at least 6 months beyond the date of entry, return ticket or onward travel arrangement needs to be presented upon request at your arrival in Thailand. These requirements are subject to change. Please check with the embassy or consulate in your home country before departure.

Customs Regulations
Importation of all kinds of narcotics (opium, heroin, cocaine, etc.) and pornographic media are strictly prohibited. Firearms and ammunition can be imported only after a permit has been obtained from the local police department. A reasonable amount of clothing for personal use, toiletries and professional instruments can be brought in free of duty. In addition, 200 cigarettes or smoking materials in total of 250 grams, one litre of wine or spirits, one video camera, five rolls of still film, three rolls of video film, and one item of electrical goods per person are allowed in duty free. Buddha images, antiques or fragments thereof are not allowed to be taken out of Thailand without authorization from the Fine Arts Department.

Traveler health is an important issue for all people as no-one wishes to be ill during their travels. Basic pre-cautions will help prevent many common traveler complaints. Generally, the most common complaint for visitors would be traveler’s diarrhea, however most cases pass within a few days. Adequate hydration is important at all times especially if sick. Sunburn should be prevented at all times. Mosquito bites can be avoided by wearing appropriate clothing and repellants.

Medical facilities in Thailand are very good in the major centres. Bangkok in particular is a major regional centre for medical care, with some large private hospitals providing modern facilities. Travel insurance is essential when traveling in Thailand. Those needing prescription drugs should bring renewal prescriptions if considered necessary.

There are many websites with worthwhile Travel Health Information and it is also highly recommend that travelers visit their local Travel Medical Centre for professional advice well in advance of departure. For example see websites of The travel Doctor or the World Health Organisation.

Thailand is a very safe country to visit. Visitors should just follow the same simple rules of common sense as followed at home. Thailand has an efficient and helpful Tourist Police Service, whose officers are evident in most areas where tourists visit. Look out for them with their special badge and beret. For further information on dangers, annoyances and Government travel advisories you may check the information as provided on the following or other websites:

UK Government site
Australian Government site
U.S. Government site

Flavours of Thailand
Thailand is blessed with an abundance of foods of different types, flavours, textures, colours and aromas. The cooking process, like many things in Thailand can be a creative and fun process. By blending the five primary flavors that the human tongue is able to discern, many of the dishes to be found in Thailand present the consumer with a tantalizing dining experience. The ingredients providing the flavours in Thai food, often work together in unexpected ways to present tastes both rich and delicate.

Fresh Spicy Variety
Thai food presents in a huge variety of ways from simple fare such as steamed rice and dried fish with a spicy sauce, to complex soups brimming with flavours and goodness. There are endless varieties of starter foods, sweets and deserts, not to mention an amazing array of fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. Drinks are made from freshly picked or dried flowers, fresh and dried fruits   as well as herbs and are often available on the streets wherever food is served.

Rice & Noodles
Rice would be the staple of most Thai diets closely followed by noodles which are available in many forms ranging from hair like ‘sen mee’ to ribbon like ‘sen yai’ for your noodle soup. There are crispy noodles, rice noodles, yellow noodles, fried noodles and more.

Culinary Influences
Due to Thailand’s geographical location, it is possible to find influences from neighbouring or nearby countries such as Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, China, Vietnam and Cambodia. Thailand is a real mixing pot of cuisines. A visit to Chinatown will introduce the visitor to not only Chinese fares but for the adventurous, a quick visit down Sampeng Lane might bring you to a small cafe offering thin crispy Indian pancakes with spicy vegetable filling and sweet tea, a delight for breakfast. Or a visit to almost any evening food market will overwhelm the visitor with choice such as sumptuous satay skewers with peanut sauce and a relish of vinegar with chilli and cucumber to balance the palate.

Tastes from Home
Thailand is host to a large expatriate population and burgeoning middle class which has lead to an increase in the demand for international quality foods and today it is easy to find trendy cafes or restaurants offering fusion cuisine blending western and eastern foods in a mouthwatering explosion of tastes. Food is truly one of Thailand’s highlights!

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text:
Winthrop Realty Trust Announces Acquisition of Remaining 50% Participation in Its Playa Vista Mezzanine Loan

| Source: Winthrop Realty Liquidating Trust

BOSTON, July 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Winthrop Realty Trust (NYSE:FUR) ("Winthrop") announced today that it has acquired the remaining 50% participation interest not owned by Winthrop in the mezzanine loan indirectly secured by Water's Edge at Playa Vista. As a result of the acquisition, Winthrop now holds the entire mezzanine loan. Winthrop acquired the remaining 50% interest in the mezzanine loan for a purchase price of $14,000,000. Water's Edge is a two building, class A approximately 260,000 square foot office campus with development rights to up to an additional 180,000 square feet.

At June 30, 2014, the outstanding principal balance, plus paid-in-kind interest, of the mezzanine loan was $26,480,000, which amount bears interest at LIBOR plus 15.75%. In addition, Winthrop is entitled to a participation interest equal to 25% of net equity value or sales proceeds of the property in excess of a threshold amount which is currently approximately $109,250,000.

Michael L. Ashner, Winthrop's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "while we are seeking shareholder consent to a plan of liquidation, the acquisition of the remaining portion of the Playa Vista mezzanine loan is one of a limited number of investments we may make within our existing portfolio in the future."

About Winthrop Realty Trust

Winthrop, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, is a NYSE-listed real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, owning, operating and investing in real property as well as real estate collateralized debt and REIT preferred and common stock. For more information, please visit our web-site at www.winthropreit.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. With the exception of the historical information contained in this news release, the matters described herein contain "forward-looking" statements that involve risk and uncertainties that may individually or collectively impact the matters herein described. These are detailed from time to time in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's SEC reports. Further information relating to the Company's financial position, results of operations, and investor information is contained in the Company's annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC and available for download at its website www.winthropreit.com or at the SEC website www.sec.gov.

Winthrop Realty Trust
Carolyn Tiffany
Investor or Media Inquiries
Phone: (617) 570-4614; e-mail: ctiffany@firstwinthrop.com


text:
Integra LifeSciences Announces Renewal and Extension of Credit Facility

| Source: Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation

PLAINSBORO, N.J., July 9, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq:IART) today announced that it has established new terms under its credit facility, including an increase in the size of the facility and an extended maturity date, with its bank group led by Bank of America, N.A. and Wells Fargo Bank.

The Company does not expect this renewal and extension in maturity to have a material impact on 2014 financial performance.

"We are extremely pleased to be able to expand our credit facility and extend the term out to 2019," said Glenn Coleman, Integra's Chief Financial Officer. "The added financial flexibility will continue to support our long term growth objectives."

The new credit facility, which amended and replaced the prior one, includes the following terms:

  • An increase in the credit facility from $600 million to $900 million, consisting of a $750 million revolver and a term loan of $150 million;
  • No change in pricing terms or commitment fees to the existing facility;
  • An option to increase the aggregate size of the facility by $200 million with additional commitments; and,
  • An extension of the current credit facility's maturity date to July 2, 2019.

Integra plans to use the new credit facility to refinance the Company's borrowings under its existing facility, and for future acquisitions and general corporate purposes.

About Integra

Integra LifeSciences, a world leader in medical technology, is dedicated to limiting uncertainty for surgeons, so they can concentrate on providing the best patient care. Integra offers innovative solutions in orthopedic extremity surgery, neurosurgery, spine surgery, and reconstructive and general surgery. For more information, please visit www.integralife.com

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks, uncertainties and reflect the Company's judgment as of the date of this release.   Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from predicted results. These risks and uncertainties include market conditions and other factors beyond the Company's control and the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors identified under the heading "Risk Factors" included in item 1A of Integra's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and information contained in subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could affect actual results. These forward-looking statements are made only as the date thereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation

Investor Relations:
Angela Steinway
(609) 936-2268


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  • Converse with other Glock Enthusiasts
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Blue Label Glock

Discussion in 'General Glocking' started by Nachocheese1414, Apr 25, 2013.

  1. Badger54

    Badger54 CLM

    Dec 16, 2007
    Seattle, WA
    I waited a little over two months for a blue label 22. Picked it up last Tuesday.

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
  2. bloodythumb

    bloodythumb Ch,Co,AA,PG,PDP

    Dec 26, 2008
    6 weeks 2 days from order to deliver.on a G30SF. Delivered about 6 weeks ago now.

  3. Simpleman71

    Jul 26, 2010
    They were scarce at my le dealer but lately have been coming in. They are selling like hot cakes though, any caliber. I'm hoping they have a g30 in stock tomorrow. Got a g26 for summer carry 2 weeks ago but think i'm going .45 instead.
  4. schapman43

    Jun 15, 2000
    I've been hearing that 1 million number too. Crazy times gentlemen.
  5. Jriss138

    Jun 17, 2012
    Ive been waiting since February for my blue label G19....
  6. Squeeze

    Feb 3, 2011
    Up Nort'
    My Blue Label dealer quoted me a June delivery of a G23 G4.
    They have a deposit, we shall see.

  7. C45P312

    Oct 16, 2006
    Va Beach, VA
    My local Glock LE Dealer has a hefty amount of Blue Label Glocks in stock both 9mm and 40S&W but they're asking $500 and a little more for the Gen4 ones.

    Is there a contract you sign when buying a Blue Label Glock saying you can't resell it? What if I get a Glock 17 and after a couple hundred rounds through it want to get something more concealable like the Glock 19?
  8. Fire_Medic

    Fire_Medic Polymer Butcher CLM

    May 19, 2008
    The Gunshine State
    If they are in fact an "LE Dealer/Distributor" and are asking $500+ for the 9MM/40SW/357 SIG guns they're overcharging and it should be reported to Glock. The pricing on these guns is set by Glock and $500+ is not it for the G17/22/31, G19/23/32, G26/27/33. The G34/35 does cost more than the others I just mentioned.
  9. ILGlockfan

    Aug 23, 2011
    Called a large shop today about the GSSF coupon and to check stock. They have suspended accepting the coupons until further notice. I asked about the inventory and if they have any 26s. Nope, and they have no idea when they will get any. They only get a few in every month. I was told I can order one though. Sad thing is this place is hosting a meet and greet with R. Lee Ermey this Saturday. Not exactly a good thing with no guns to buy or them denying the coupon.
  10. markerbeacon

    Aug 3, 2012
    Madison, AL
    Ordered my G-29 on 12 Jan, just got it.
  11. klt1986

    Feb 28, 2007
    My local LE dealer sells the Gen 4, 9/40/357's for $398.20 + tax. Got a friend who bought a Gen 4 G27 Monday. The 45 and 10 mm are a little more but I can't remember the exact price. It might be worth it to you to drive a few hours west and get one, assuming you qualify for the LEO/Military discount. If you are interested PM me and I'll give you the dealers contact info.
  12. donmor53

    Jan 4, 2013
    Depends entirely on your distributor. Just last week Gen4s were in stock and ready for immediate pickup with the cop shop my friend uses.

    When he inquired about a Gen3 19 (his) and a Gen3 22...we were told last week to expect anywhere from 3-8 weeks for a Gen3 delivery could even be less. They said right now the Gen3s show up in batches and a bit less frequently. The LE sales guy said although he couldn't prove seems Glock is concentrating more heavily on the Gen4s for now.

    So now we wait...
  13. mike56

    Aug 30, 2004
    Still waiting on my Feb order. Distributor says they have no idea when or what's coming.
    Saw a Gen 4 30 at a local shop for full msrp. Handled it. Something was dragging on the slide as it was operated. Guy said it must be dry. Little lube, still sucked. That glock will have to go back, but he threw it back in the case. Hope I don't wait all this time for a lemon!
    Think anyone gives a better once over on the LE guns?
  14. pargh

    Dec 3, 2011
    I ordered a Gen 4 17 around 4/26 and got the call to pick up on 5/14

    Born on date of 4/24
  15. brokenprism

    Feb 27, 2011
    I read every post so I didn't have to ask this, but no one defined "blue label" so what is it? Like a SiG blue label, a refurb gun..? Is it just a discounted gun for LE? A magic mojo gun? What is it and what makes it different from a stock Glock?
  16. Fire_Medic

    Fire_Medic Polymer Butcher CLM

    May 19, 2008
    The Gunshine State
    When it first came out the regular joe smoe guns only came with 2 mags, so the blue label offered 3 mags and a nice discount, LE, military, Firefighters, and others. List is on the Glock website. Now the Gen 4's come with 3 mags, but you still save a good amount of money. The label on the cases is Blue, VS red/white for the other guns, these guns came from Glock packaged with the blue label and the three magazines inside. If you bought a Tactical model Blue label gun you got the heavier trigger connector and not the (-) connector that came on the civilian G34/G35, since these blue label guns were considered duty weapons. Also the subcomompact models only came with (2) mags because they were considered "back up" guns.

    I think I covered it, but someone will add to or correct my statement if I'm off base on something.
  17. bunk22

    May 25, 2009
    Took me about 4 months to get my Blue Label Gen 4 G19 but during that time, the local shop was getting all kinds of Blue Label Glocks in, just not the specific one I wanted. I saw G17, 20, 22, 23, 27, 31, 32, 33, etc.


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  • Converse with other Glock Enthusiasts
  • Learn about the latest hunting products
  • Becoming a member is FREE and EASY

If you consider yourself a beginner or an avid shooter, the Glock Talk community is your place to discuss self defense, concealed carry, reloading, target shooting, and all things Glock.

Discussion in 'Reloading' started by kubura, Jan 26, 2010.

  1. kubura

    Jan 10, 2005
    RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Single Stage Press Master Kit
    Hornady Lock-N-Load Classic Single Stage Press Kit

    for 308 win accuracy reloading.

    I need your help and input. Thanks.

  2. sourdough44

    Jul 23, 2007
    I don't know the specifics of both but either should do fine. I had a great experience with RCBS customer service last week if that helps.
  3. Boxerglocker

    Boxerglocker Jacks #1 Fan

    Mar 6, 2003
    Lynnwood, WA
    It would really help to comment if we knew what your requirements were???
    Calibers, number of rounds a month, types of loads (target, match, hunting)
    All these factors really make a difference.
  4. n2extrm

    Feb 24, 2009
    I would buy the Rock Chucker..........then again I did! :supergrin:
  5. kubura

    Jan 10, 2005
    I just acquired a Remington 700 SPS Tactical rifle in 308 WIN
    with a 20" heavy barrel. Results with Remington 150 gr FMJ's
    @ 100 yards were good but not spectacular (more info here):

    I would like to make between 100-200 rounds a month for target/ match shooting.

    I wanted to get Dillon 550B, but after doing some research,
    it is my understanding that single stage reloading presses are more suitable
    for rifle accuracy reloading.

    MidwayUSA has both kits (RCBS Rock Chucker or Hornady Lock-N-Load)
    for about $310. Or should I still get Dillon 550B? :dunno:
  6. D. Manley

    D. Manley

    May 30, 2005
    Southern US
    Nothing wrong with either choice but if my main focus was wringing out extreme accuracy, I'd snag a Forster Co-Axial and never look back.
  7. I don't believe the accuracy will be affected one bit by your choice of press.
    This website contains alot of tips on wringing out accuracy as well as his digital headspace gauge. There are so many factors involved that it is a never ending quest.
  8. unclebob

    Oct 14, 2000
    Mary Esther FL
    If you want a single stage press I would get the Co-Ax. Using Redding competition dies.
    As far as a Dillon 550 not producing accurate rounds. Tell that too David Tubbs.
    I also would not buy a press in a kit form.
    Take a look here and get some ideas.
    But between the two pressess that you are looking at. I would go with the RCBS. If you like the Hornady because of the LNL feature? You can put that no the Rock Chucker Press.
  9. Both are nice and will accomplish your goals but if your budget permits a 550 I suggest you look at the Co-Ax as well.
  10. dudel

    Dec 10, 2008
    Texas Hill Country
    Both are good and will handle what you need. If the budget allows, lood at a Forester Co-ax. Accuracy is going to depend on more than the press.

    It's hard to make good ammo with a bad press; but a good/excellent press doesn't make good ammo by itself. When it's all said and done, the press itself might be as smaller percentage of the formula than you would think.
  11. kubura

    Jan 10, 2005
    Thank you all. I decided to go with Dillon 550B.
    Just ordered one from Brian Enos.
    Thanks again.:wavey:
  12. Colorado4Wheel

    Nov 2, 2006
    Kits are similiar. Main difference is the beam scale vs digital and the presses. For rifle (being a total rifle noob) I would be inclinded to the digital scale. Easier to trickle into. Both presses are going to serve you well. I can't BELIEVE no one has mentioned the Hornady comes with the free bullet offer. 500 free bullets.


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Why should YOU join our Glock forum?

  • Converse with other Glock Enthusiasts
  • Learn about the latest hunting products
  • Becoming a member is FREE and EASY

If you consider yourself a beginner or an avid shooter, the Glock Talk community is your place to discuss self defense, concealed carry, reloading, target shooting, and all things Glock.

"No one should have known" you CCW'd — "Being the Gray Man"

Discussion in 'Carry Issues' started by Sam Spade, Aug 21, 2011.

  1. Sam Spade

    Sam Spade Lifetime Member

    May 4, 2003
    Best title I could come up with. We might also go with "Being the Gray Man". This musing is prompted by an exchange in another thread that went like this:

    The fact is that most people's version of "concealed means concealed" relies heavily on others' lack of perception and on people generally being lost in their own little bubble. It relies far too heavily on that, IMO. Once you get into a world where someone's actually looking for concealed weapons, the average guy's odds of being "made" go up. And once you get into a situation where the attention is actually on you specifically, the odds skyrocket. Yeah, yeah, that doesn't happen much. I'm writing about when it *does*.

    "Being Gray" means fading into the background of where you're moving. There is no one formula for this, because what works in a law office doesn't work in a garage. The one exception to this is the guy who dresses and carries himself like a janitor. That level of service worker can move about most anywhere and be like everyone else, or be overlooked by everyone else. Let me start by talking about what *isn't* gray.

    • Gun gear isn't grey. This means exposed Wilderness belts, cute little raven pins on your hat, as well as the more obvious Tshirts.
    • Political wear isn't grey. It invites attention from both people who share the advertised views and people who oppose the advertised views. In the case of 3per, Gasden or similar advertisements, it invites LE scrutiny of your hands and waistband. Sorry, guys. I'm writing about the world as it is, not as some would wish it.
    • Cover garments beyond an untucked polo or workshirt aren't grey in warm weather. The number of people wearing vests (or worse, photographer's vests) compared to the number of people who use them to cover a gun? C'mon.
    • 5-11s aren't gray (I'm alternating spellings because I can :cool: ) There are plenty of Colombia or similar cargo pants that are quite popular. 5-11s and clones, though, are cop clothes. Cops look at people who look like them, crooks look at people who look like cops.
    • "Loud" colors aren't gray. Red attracts the eye. Neon attracts the eye. Bright attracts the eye. Attracting the eye invites being remembered, being scrutinized, and having your CCW noticed.
    • Pocket clips (folding knives) and pouches aren't grey. The crook is looking for an easy score. Seeing the clip from a knife makes him look harder before he looks away. The cop on "scan" is looking for weapons, and seeing an indicator of one he'll look for others. Belt pouches mean electronics mean stuff to steal to the crook. Seeing one piece of temptation, he's ready to look for others.
    • Posture and actions different from the crowd isn't grey. Stay to the right, go with the flow, walk, don't run. Being alert and attentive is good for you. Having your head on a swivel is doing an imitation of a crook looking for witnesses. There's a fine line on that last.

    Okay, that's a start. My goal is to discuss things you can do and avoid doing so as to avoid unwanted attention to your person. Specifically, I'm talking about avoiding attention that makes people end up noticing that bulge at your waist. There's lots more, but you can start by going to public places and watching people. Notice how many your attention is drawn to when they do something from that list.
  2. alabaster

    alabaster Swollen Member

    Mar 18, 2009
    Some REALLY good points there. I think the way you walk and carry yourself is something to look at too. I've had some pals of mine that hones to goodness walk different when carrying. Almost like they're barney bad a** back in high school or something. A swagger like "I wish you would". Shame some people are like that, but it draws a lot of attention. I like to wear vests, but stay away from "Tac vests" and photog vests for just that reason. I tell you another. I have a couple of buddies that swear by the hip-pack carry. I think it's lame, #1, but that's personal taste and totally subjective. #2 is that if you see someone that looks like me with a hip-pack on, no question. That cat's packin'. Stands out big time, IMO. I've had people argue that point, or that a man-purse is in style and can be used without much drama, but I beg to differ. There aren't a whole lot of guys than can do that and not look out of character.

  3. Garweh

    Garweh CLM

    Aug 12, 2002
    Upstate New York
    I always play a game when I am in public places such as malls. I look for predators. I look for those who may be CCWing. I look for plain-clothes LE. Amazing how much you actually "see" when you are looking for it!

    The "predators" are the easiest to spot, the plain-clothes are more difficult. CCWers are usually somewhere in between because, if they are not being obvious, they carry themselves differently and they tend to "touch" certain areas.

    Years ago I was in a mall and I was looking for a sheriff's deputy as I needed some info on a friend in the department. Took me 5 minutes to find the UC and ask him to get a message to my friend. She later told me that he was not pleased and she asked me what gave him away. He wanted to know how I "made him". Still get a smile over that.

    As for me, I do not advertise that I am carrying. I do not wear gun gear or 5-11s or tactical vests. In the summer, I wear cargo shorts and a t-shirt. Carry IWB or in cargo shorts pocket in a Desantis nemesis holster. I usually wear cargo shorts till mid-December and then switch to cargo pants. Shorts again late February or early March. The shorts do attract attention in the winter, but most just dismiss me as a quack!
    nursetim likes this.
  4. :rofl: I only know of one guy who carries a man purse. He's been carrying one for so many years it has become part of him. And he CCWs all the time. Probably 24/7 for all I know. And of course, it's never in the man purse.
  5. OldCurlyWolf

    Aug 7, 2010
    Then there are those who don't swagger or strut or anything similar, but their very presence says "Start something at your own risk".

    They stand out also. They are the ones that most LEO'S don't mess with because they don't start things. The only exception to that of which I am aware are those LEO'S who have an inferiority complex of some type(Yes, they do exist, thankfully a small minority). They really dislike ANYONE who has a modicum of self confidence.
  6. whoops dude

    whoops dude

    Jul 17, 2011
    Most of the time the guys I have made just look like pmc's. tactical pants, boots (insert brand here), web belt etc etc.
  7. 2afreedom

    May 6, 2007
    The South
    Yeah a guy with a Glock hat, photographer's vest, fannypack, and 5.11 pants is really not doing much to conceal anything. I don't think I have one piece of clothing with a firearms logo on it and I certainly don't have any 5.11 anything. Why someone wants to wear all those flashing lights that scream, "I have a gun!" is beyond me. Concealed is more than just not having a Desert Eagle strapped to your hip.
    Willard likes this.
  8. RussP

    RussP Moderator

    Jan 23, 2003
    Central Virginia
    Thanks, Sam, good thread.

    Subtlety is important in being "gray". Your head-on-a-swivel comment is a good example. I was in retailing back in another life. My positions gave me an opportunity to observe how bad guys (and girls) acted while casing a store. The best were the most subtle. Small movements, slow movements of their head and body along with natural actions associated with shopping.

    When a security person would notice them, and often security was more obvious than the shoplifter, they would slowly move on to an easier target.

    Lesson learned from those days payoff now when I carry concealed into a strange environment. You'll never know I am aware of your presence until you get into my personal "space".

    There is a skill to scanning for trouble. The secret is, don't look and act like you have a secret. Watch what people in Condition White do. Do the same thing, only be in a heightened level of situational awareness.

    Practice and have someone watch you practice, someone who can be brutally honest with you. It will pay off.
  9. Dragoon44

    Dragoon44 Unfair Facist Lifetime Member

    Apr 30, 2005
    Anyone can be aware of their surroundings, but being aware without appearing to be looking around all the time is a skill that requires development and practice until it is second nature.
  10. cowboy1964

    Sep 4, 2009
    I try to not use the Wilderness Instructor belt unless it can be covered. Besides, it's not great fashion.
  11. UtahIrishman

    UtahIrishman BLR Silver Member

    Nov 11, 2001
    I wear cheap knock off 5.11's because I find them comfortable. I sometimes wonder though if I am 'broadcasting' more than I want to though with them. I don't wear anything else that's 'cop' or para military in nature though.

    I've started putting my flashlight in one of the pockets instead of on my belt to go more with the blending in process.

    I'm interested in blending in more. Though I don't think 5.11's by themselves necessarily make you stand least not around here.

    Another thing I used to do was when I would enter a restaurant I would stop at the door and scan the room. I'm more circumspect about that now.
  12. Sam Spade

    Sam Spade Lifetime Member

    May 4, 2003
    How to practice observing without looking:

    First, sunglasses are cheating. Notice how people with dark (anyone wear mirrors anymore?) glasses both conceal their gaze and draw attention to their stares? The slow steady movement of the head doesn't seem to really rest anywhere, does it. The head in one spot seems to send that view boring into you, even if it's off by a few degrees.

    Notice how you can be aware of things that aren't in the center of your field of view. Another thing that takes practice, but there are plenty of opportunities to practice. As I type this, there's a flashing Robar ad at the top of the screen. I can see when it changes out of the corner of my eye. I can see more detail while I'm still looking off a bit. I can read it, even when I'm looking a few lines down from the actual text. If you watch TV by looking at the corner of the screen, you can still follow the action and describe the characters, right? Off to the mall, where you scope the babes (or hunks, I'll be an equal opportunity whatever I am) without ever staring. An associated level of discipline here is not having your head snap and lock on when something really interests you--you track the approach and departure of the person without looking at him/her. Describe what he was wearing and carrying in his hands without having stared (look back for confirmation).

    A similar drill is to look at the individual for a second, a second and a half (thousand-one-thousand). Now, give a description: sex, race, age, height, weight, hair, eyes, clothing, tatts, jewelry. What hand does he use (where's the watch, where's the cell phone, what hand is the bag in)? Is she married (ring, of course)? What store did the bag come from?

    (These are observation exercises, you can work slight variants to make them KIIM games. Keep It In Memory drills are things used by scouts and snipers to improve their ability to report.)

    But you're learning to do all this without being seen doing it. As Russ said, slow and smooth head movements. No staring, no jerkiness. After you have the concept based on your observations of the general population, you use those broad scans to find trouble and then these more directed looks to analyze if it's really trouble. Can you spot Loss Prevention at WalMart?
    humbleopus likes this.
  13. ThreadKiller

    ThreadKiller Socialism Sucks

    May 5, 2004
    I've never given any thought to the fact that MY situational awareness might draw attention to me, i.e., my head "swiveling." Still, my eyes will keep moving regardless.

    I don't care for 5.11's. Not only may they broadcast a certain attitude, the deep back pockets carry the mags too low and are darn uncomfortable to sit on.

    Good topic.
  14. Warp

    Jul 31, 2005
    I must admit, I have put very little thought or effort into this. I don't generally mind being obvious that I am very aware of my surroundings. I have believed that that alone can be a good start on deterrence. If somebody is checking me out I think I want them to know that I am aware.

    But then again the start of this whole thing was a person illegally carrying concealed and I don't tend to do that.

    I am working on my people watching/scanning as I work a "security" position part time. Watching is pretty much all I get to do, but I suppose that is a good thing.
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2011
  15. Warp

    Jul 31, 2005

    I shall try this
  16. To me, one of the biggest give aways for a carrier are the obnoxious metal or plastic clips on an IWB holster.

    I had a salesman come into my office(granite company) last week and I literally saw the CBST clips from the parking lot looking out my window. I just chuckled.
    dinguskang likes this.
  17. cowboywannabe

    cowboywannabe you savvy?

    Jan 26, 2001
    blending in is not hard at all. but it seems to me that from what ive noticed, when a new ccw'er gets their ccw gun they become "tactical". the same for the rookie cop when off duty or the security guard who aspires to be more......
  18. happyguy

    happyguy Man, I'm Pretty

    Central cone vision is usually less than 5 degrees. This is the area where you can see detail. Anything outside the central cone is perceived as color, vague shapes, and movement. This is peripheral vision and it is unlikely you will be able to change that very much. It is hard wired.

    Happyguy :)


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Wilson Combat/Springfield Armory.

Discussion in '1911 Forums' started by okie, Jun 15, 2011.

  1. okie

    okie GT Mayor

    Oct 28, 2001
    Muskogee Ok.
    I had put a Wilson Combat extended slide stop on the Springfield Loaded pistol I had, and it was very tight putting it in. Yesterday I called Wilson Combat and asked them what the chance would be if I ordered another slide stop would it fit just as tight(I sadly let that slide stop go with the Loaded model:upeyes:) The cat at Wilson said that Springfield uses Wilson slide stops on some of their pistols. I did not know that:supergrin:
  2. A nicely fitted slide stop is actually pretty critical to help with barrel lock up. The optimal diameter is 0.200". Some slide stop are make oversize so they can be fitted to the hole of the frame and the link of the barrel.

    The ones on both of my SA's were smaller than optimal. I had replaced one of them with a 10-8 and it's helping with a better grouping.

  3. okie

    okie GT Mayor

    Oct 28, 2001
    Muskogee Ok.
    I didn't know that my friend:thumbsup:
  4. deadite

    deadite Groovy.

    Yeah, my Dan Wesson's slide stop is very tight, too. It's made by Ed Brown, but, it shoots really small groups :)

    Last edited: Jun 15, 2011
  5. brisk21

    May 13, 2008
    Yeah, the slide stop on my TRP is pretty tight as well. It takes a little work to get it out. I like the one on my Mil-spec, as it just slides out nice and easy.


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Go4Expert (http://www.go4expert.com/)
-   Java (http://www.go4expert.com/forums/java/)
-   -   fetching data from excel (http://www.go4expert.com/forums/fetching-data-excel-t4034/)

swaeded 26Apr2007 14:53

fetching data from excel
My Problem is:

I am having some datas in excel sheet...

I want to fetch each row then i have to enter those values in the html page to the respective boxes...

this i have to code in java...

How to link java & excel...

pradeep 26Apr2007 19:02

Re: fetching data from excel
Save the excel sheet as CSV and read it line by line!

wrecker 20May2007 15:54

Re: fetching data from excel
Try using datbase connectivity. Execute query to read data from excel sheet and then i hope tat you will get idea to add to html pages...

pradeep 20May2007 17:38

Re: fetching data from excel
If u r on a windows system, then add a DSN using the MS Excel drive and point to your Excel workbook. Using a ODBC connection, you can import the excel data to anywhere you want!

AppleMan 28Jun2007 20:09

Re: fetching data from excel

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thumbnail Hello,

Premier League

  • 18 August 2012
  • • 15:00
  • • Emirates Stadium, London
  • Referee: C. Foy
  • • Attendance: 60078

Arsenal - Sunderland Preview: Gunners begin post-Van Persie era looking for victory

Arsenal - Sunderland Preview: Gunners begin post-Van Persie era looking for victory

Getty Images

After the Dutchman's transfer to Manchester United, the north London club begin the new season hopeful of success against a Sunderland side hungry for a good start of their own

Djourou, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs
Ramsey, Song
Walcott, Cazorla, Podolski

O'Shea, Bramble, Cuellar, Richardson
Larsson, Cattermole, Colback, McClean, Sessegnon

Arsenal begin their post-Robin Van Persie era against Sunderland and are likely to start with Olivier Giroud in attack, supported by Theo Walcott, who is a slight doubt due to an injury that cost him his involvement in this week's England friendly, and Lukas Podolski.

Mikel Arteta is doubtful with an injury, but may make the bench, while Bacary Sagna is out until September with a broken leg.

Laurent Koscielny should recover in time to be considered for selection but Per Mertesacker is waiting in reserve if the former is not passed fit. Tomas Rosicky has a calf injury so Aaron Ramsey could start but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been ruled out.

The Black Cats have a few injury problems at the back, with Wes Brown and Phil Bardsley both out for a few weeks, and Michael Turner having joined Norwich.

They have new signing Louis Saha available after he signed on Thursday, and the Frenchman could go straight into attack. Stephane Sessegnon should feature despite struggling with a foot problem, but David Vaughan is sidelined.

  • Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 11 opening day fixtures, but this is the first time they have started their season at home since 2008, when they beat West Brom 1-0 thanks to a Samir Nasri goal.
  • Since the Premier League began, Arsenal have won 12 and lost just three of their fixtures on the opening day, but their first ever game in the league was a 4-2 defeat against Norwich City in 1992.
  • Nicklas Bendtner spent last season on loan with Sunderland, scoring eight goals in 28 appearances and cementing his place in the Denmark national team.
  • Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson is eligible to play international football for both England and Finland due to having a Finnish mother, but despite having been offered a full international cap by the Nordic country, he is as yet undecided.
  • The Gunners have lost just one of their last 17 league games against Sunderland, that game being a 1-0 away defeat on November 21st 2009 when they went down to a Darren Bent goal in the 71st minute.
  • Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill (pictured right) has only tasted victory once against Arsene Wenger as a manager, that win being Aston Villa’s 2-0 triumph at the Emirates in November 2008..
  • Last season, 28% of the goals Sunderland conceded were from headers, the highest proportion of all teams in the Premier League.
  • Black Cats midfielder Sebastian Larsson began his career in English football as a trainee with Arsenal, but made just three appearances for the club’s first team before joining Birmingham City permanently after a successful loan spell at St. Andrews.
  • Sunderland did not enjoy a particularly successful season, winning just one of their six friendlies, that being their 3-2 victory over Dutch side FC Groningen in the Peace Cup.
  • Ji Dong-Won was part of the South Korean Olympic squad that won the bronze medal, scoring against Great Britain in the quarter finals.

Players to watch

O. Giroud

Position: Attacker

Games: 1

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
With Robin Van Persie having made the move to Old Trafford, it falls to Olivier Giroud to provide the finishing up front for the Gunners. He will need to be on top form to even come close to replicating the Dutchman’s success last season, and Arsenal will be hopeful he can carry his form for Montpellier last season into the new campaign.

L. Saha

Position: Attacker

Games: 0

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
Having joined on Thursday, Frenchman Louis Saha will be available for this game, and hopeful of making an instant impact for his new club. He is no stranger to playing against Arsenal, having played for their north London rivals Tottenham last season.

Editor's Prediction

They may have lost Van Persie, but despite this Arsenal have one of their strongest squads available in recent seasons, including several exciting youngsters. Sunderland have an exciting squad, and could cause some problems at the Emirates, but the Gunners should have enough to open the new season with a comfortable victory.

Last Five Matches

Head To Head

Betting & Predictions

Reader's Predictions

Arsenal FC ARS
Arsenal FC Arsenal
Sunderland AFC SUN
Sunderland AFC Sunderland

Top 3 Predictions

Arsenal FC ARS
3 - 0
Sunderland AFC SUN
Arsenal FC ARS
2 - 0
Sunderland AFC SUN
Arsenal FC ARS
2 - 1
Sunderland AFC SUN


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Barcelona suffered a 3-1 defeat at the Camp Nou at the hands of Real Madrid. Brendon Netto discusses how the Catalans walked into a trap when they could have evaded it.

 Brendon Netto
 Analysis | Spain
Follow on

Real Madrid trounced Barcelona 3-1 at the Camp Nou in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals. The visitors progressed 4-2 on aggregate which is a far more comfortable result than they or anyone else could have foreseen. For the Catalans, it was a second humbling in a week’s time, their 2-0 Champions League defeat away to AC Milan being the first. This defeat however, will leave a more prominent scar not only because it came at the hands of their fierce rivals and in their own backyard no less, but also because they gave into Madrid’s game plan.

Many have likened Madrid’s victory to that of Milan’s at the San Siro. There are a few similarities; in both games, Barcelona were beaten by a two-goal deficit, Lionel Messi was kept quiet and they were made to pay on the counter-attack. However, other than that, there’s not much else to tie the two games together.

Messi went missing again

Milan and Madrid adopted contrasting game plans to emerge victorious which just goes to prove that despite the quality of this Barcelona side, they can be taken down in more ways than one.

Chelsea famously thwarted the Blaugrana last season in the Champions League by defending on the edge of their penalty area, relying on the heroics of their defenders along with Petr Cech and perhaps even exhausting every lucky charm they had available. It just wouldn’t happen for Barcelona on that occasion and there’s not much they could have done about it.

Milan employed a far more decisive and pragmatic approach which they executed diligently. They were hardworking and disciplined against Barcelona. They closed them down when they breached the half-line; they tracked every runner, boxed in Messi and broke swiftly on the counter. Again, when carried out with such precision and dedication, there’s not much more Barcelona could have done to counter that strategy either.

Madrid on the other hand had one main objective and that was to create chaos. They played at an extremely high tempo which made the game an end-to-end encounter for nearly the entirety of the 90 minutes. Barcelona for their part allowed it and thereby played right into Madrid’s hands, when they could well have avoided it.

Ronaldo & Co. were devastating on the counter

It’s no secret that in a game of controlled possession and patient build-up, Barcelona will triumph over their rivals nearly every single time. Madrid didn’t sit deep like Chelsea and they didn’t keep their shape like Milan. What they did do was rush the hosts in their passing and made sure they played quick, direct passes themselves.

As far as Madrid were concerned, their passes didn’t necessarily need to be the right ones as long as they played them quickly. Losing possession because of playing these hasty passes were acceptable just as long as it kept Barcelona from getting back and regaining their shape. The visitors made sure that the game was played at a frantic pace and with the number of rushed and therefore intercepted passes; they also made the encounter a fragmented one with neither side able to string too many passes together.

Jose Mourinho would have known that his side were bound to lose possession often with this strategy but it also meant that Barcelona would too and he was more than happy to compromise his side's possession in order to hamper theirs. The Portuguese tactician knows all too well that his side are one of the best counter-attacking teams around and backed them to make more of the opportunities on the break than Barcelona. The ploy effectively restricted both teams to attacking only on the counter and that’s where Madrid are far superior to the Catalans.

Mourinho's tactics were perfect

However, Barcelona could have taken measures to counter Madrid’s strategy but they were either too rigid tactically or too stubborn to deviate from their philosophy. Their style of play demands that they maintain a high-line but if they were open to sitting a little deeper, they may have had more time on the ball to start stringing passes together.

They needed to sit deeper and get Xavi Hernandez on the ball to settle the game down and bring some composure to their play. Andres Iniesta could have been retrieved from his left-wing position earlier on to partner Xavi in midfield and work with him in order to monopolize possession.

Xavi needed to get on the ball more

Once they established a firm grip on possession, they could move the ball around like they normally do, stretch the Madrid defense, make runs forward and eventually carve open an opportunity. The fact that they didn’t change things is evidence that they could have done with a more seasoned tactician on the touch-line when up against one of the best in Mourinho.

Following the third goal, Madrid decided to sit back and protect their lead. Expectantly, Barcelona started to see far more of the ball and were able to indulge in their usual patient build-up play with their opponents chasing shadows. Eventually, Iniesta who was pulled back into midfield, chipped a delightful ball over the top for Jordi Alba who flicked it past Diego Lopez for a consolation goal.

Vilanova's absence was felt

That’s exactly what Madrid’s strategy was designed to prevent prior to their third goal; a period of controlled possession followed by a great run and an equally good pass to carve out a clear-cut chance. Los Blancos failed to create much when they had to indulge in their own build-up play and so removing that from the game as much as possible was always their primary objective.

While the fact that Barcelona stuck to their principles is admirable, the intelligence to react to the opposition’s ploy would have been far more impressive and fruitful as well. Mourinho was spot on with his strategy and whether or not Tito Vilanova’s absence was a factor, Barcelona just did not put up a fight from a tactical point of view.

Could Barcelona have done better against Madrid's tactics? Leave your comments below or discuss with the writer on Twitter @BrendonNetto.

How do you stay up with football when on the move? With –your best source for mobile coverage of the beautiful game.


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New England Gas and Electric Association

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Beautifully engraved SPECIMEN certificate from the New England Gas and Electric Association. This historic document was printed by the Security Banknote Company printed in 1926 and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an allegorical woman holding a light with storage tanks on her side. This item has the printed signatures of the Companys President and Treasurer and is over 77 years old.
Certificate Vignette New England Gas and Electric Association was headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. About Specimens Specimen Certificates are actual certificates that have never been issued. They were usually kept by the printers in their permanent archives as their only example of a particular certificate. Sometimes you will see a hand stamp on the certificate that says "Do not remove from file". Specimens were also used to show prospective clients different types of certificate designs that were available. Specimen certificates are usually much scarcer than issued certificates. In fact, many times they are the only way to get a certificate for a particular company because the issued certificates were redeemed and destroyed. In a few instances, Specimen certificates we made for a company but were never used because a different design was chosen by the company. These certificates are normally stamped "Specimen" or they have small holes spelling the word specimen. Most of the time they don't have a serial number, or they have a serial number of 00000. This is an exciting sector of the hobby that grown in popularity and realized nice appreciation in value over the past several years.

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Father James W. Kordaris

Management expert, Peter Drucker, was told the story of a museum that once polled its visitors to determine why they had come to the museum. The greatest percentage of visitors replied that they came into the museum because it was raining outside. The second most frequent response was that they came in to use the rest room. To this story, Drucker responded with the question, “How many of these visitors came back?” God brings people through the doors of our churches for many reasons. How many of these visitors will come back?

When Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” He gave us the great commission which today calls us to transform the parish into an agency of Christian mission. This will require a renewed effort to reach out and welcome all parishioners, inactive Orthodox, visitors, inquirers and all who walk through the doors of our churches. Described in this article are practical first steps toward parish renewal, outreach & evangelism that may be implemented in every parish.

With our doors open to visitors, it is suggested that they be welcomed publicly by the priest at the conclusion of the liturgy and invited to the coffee hour, setting the tone for the congregation's response and personal welcome. Names, addresses and telephone numbers must be obtained using either a guest book or a guest card that may be completed before entering the church. Ushers/greeters must be shown the importance of reaching out to visitors, with a warm greeting and a Sunday bulletin.

The church hall should be set up with a visitors' table at which would be stationed parishioners interested in this outreach mission of the Church. Available at the table would be information on the parish, its programs, membership directory, bulletin, upcoming events and brochures on Orthodoxy. All items that the visitor receives should be well marked with the name, address, telephone, e-mail and website of the parish, and the name of the priest. If visitors would like, they may be added to the parish mailing list for bulletins and special events.

Public Awareness
Dignified and respectful ads could appear regularly in the Saturday religion section of the local newspapers as a resource to visitors and to those who have recently moved to the area. The same ad could also appear in the area Yellow Pages telephone directory. Area hotels should be made aware of the parish location & worship schedule. There is nothing more frustrating than desiring to attend liturgy and not being able to find the local Orthodox parish.

Local Ecumenical Activities
Be aware of opportunities for Christians of different traditions to cooperate at the grass roots level, especially food banks, soup kitchens, and social service agencies. Stay open to the possibilities for the sharing of resources toward a common goal with Christians of other traditions. Be aware of those special occasions when Christians come together for public prayer, such as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January), Thanksgiving, Advent, Lent, September 11, or a special day of prayer called for by a national leader.

Parish Bookstore / Book Table
There is a hunger for knowledge among people of growing faith. There has also been an increase in the amount of Orthodox writing available in English due to many excellent translations of classic works. This is complemented by the great number of writings in English by current Orthodox theologians. Awareness may be raised through book reviews in the church bulletin, recommendations from the pulpit – especially of books appropriate to the current cycle of worship, and parish book discussion groups.

The Parish Council and Missionary Vision
Place missions on the agenda of annual planning meetings with the suggestion that the parish begin its commitment to mission with a line item in the budget for the Missions (domestic & abroad). Establish a parish committee for Parish Renewal, Outreach & Evangelism.

Great care must be given to parish mailings (bulletins, stewardship packets, special letters, notices, etc.). For those who rarely come to church, this will be their impression of the parish, clergy and staff.

Priests and qualified parishioners might offer to periodically submit articles, commentaries and/or book reviews to the local newspaper on religious topics of general interest. The parish could invite reporters to cover the traditions and services of Lent, Holy Week and Pascha, offering background information on Orthodox beliefs, customs and traditions of the season.

Computer Publications & Communication
Equip the parish with a computer, and set up a parish website. The site could include all information that is distributed in bulletins, schedules, pamphlets, as well as photos, letters from the pastor and/or parish council president. Assistance in this area is available from the Archdiocesan Department of Information Technologies.

There is nothing that is done in the parish that is not apostolic. Parish renewal, outreach and evangelism is not a person, a committee, a mission center or a project. It is an attitude . Everything we do is an opportunity for renewal. Every person, every project, and every list of names offers potential for outreach. There is no limit to the time we may spend on evangelism. Parish renewal, outreach and evangelism is a person-to-person process.

Fr. Jim Kordaris is the Director of the Archdiocesan Department of Parish Renewal, Outreach & Evangelism. A revised & expanded version of this article will soon be distributed to parishes as a booklet by the same title. Inquiries and comments may be sent by e-mail to Website:

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