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Death comes to all of us at some point. Have you thought about how you would feel when the time comes for you to die? Have you considered if you would have any regrets about how you led your life?
A palliative nurse who counseled dying patients in the final weeks of their lives took the liberty to record the most common regrets among them. Many of her patient’s regrets were revealing statements like: wishing they didn’t work so hard, wishing they had the courage to express their feelings, and wishing they had stayed in touch with their friends.
I believe in learning from the experiences of others. Having the insights of people who have lived to the end of their lives is strikingly helpful in living our best lives. Rather than reiterate the details of their regrets, I’m going to share them briefly and provide suggestions on how we can ensure that these regrets don’t become our regrets on our deathbeds someday. While we can’t change our past, we can change the present and the future. How our lives pan out from here is dependent on what we do starting today.
Are you living the life you have always wanted for yourself? Or are you simply living a life based on what others expect of you?
Many people today live their life around the expectations of others. Among my friends, many of them often make decisions based on what their partners or what other people want, rather than because of what they want or believe. Among my one-to-one coaching clients, they often complain about being trapped in careers they dislike because they chose careers which were deemed acceptable by their peers and family, rather than pursuing career paths that interested them.
I was raised in an oppressive manner by my parents and by my education system. While I have never faulted anyone for such an upbringing because I believe my parents and teachers came from a place of good intention, I did grow up feeling repressed. I would do things to conform to what others wanted for me, rather than doing things I wanted to do, and this made me very unhappy most of the time.
Being raised this way made me realize the importance of living a life true to myself. When I was in my early 20s, I began to come into my own, steadily making decisions and acting in a way that was truer to who I was as an individual. When I realized I was no longer in love with my corporate career, I quit and moved on to pursue my true passion to help others grow. When I felt it was time to do what I love to do, I readily started my personal development business (which I continue to run today), by way of my blog Personal Excellence. When I realized I had friendships which were no longer compatible with the person I had become, I immediately let them go rather than keep up a pretense.
Regret #2: I wish I didn’t work so hard.
Our modern society is one which drowns itself in busy-work. People are busier than ever, working twelve-hour workdays, and sometimes even longer. Parents rarely have time for their kids, and instead relegate care-taking duties to daycares, nannies and grandparents. People rarely have enough time for relationships or personal activities, often prioritizing their work ahead of everything else because it’s their livelihood. For some, work forms the core part of their identity.
There’s no such thing as “not having enough time.” It’s only a matter of what you set as your priorities. If you don’t have enough time for your relationships, it means that you are not making them a priority. If you missed your anniversary with your lover, it’s only because you deemed the anniversary as less important than whatever it is you had to do at that time. If you consistently miss your gym classes, it’s only because you are not committed to staying in shape, even if you claim otherwise.
Everyone has the same amount of time every day, be it successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, financial moguls like Warren Buffet, top athletes like Serena Williams, or inspirational leaders like Oprah Winfrey. It’s silly to think of yourself as not having enough time relative to others, because these go-getters are making productive leaps ahead every day even though they have the same amount of time at their disposal as you do.
Make a conscious choice on what you want to spend time on. What do you value the most in life? Are you spending your time in line with your priorities? If you answer no to the latter question, it means there is a misalignment between your desires and your actions.
Is there someone you like? Are you afraid to open your heart to him or her? Have there been times when you closed your heart to love because you were afraid of what would happen if you opened yourself up to it?
You aren’t alone. I have quite a few friends who are single, not because they are inadequate (in fact they are high achievers, great lookers in their own right, with great personalities to boot), but because they are closed off to love. They repeatedly dismiss opportunities to meet new people and expand their social circles. Whenever there is a guy or girl they take a fancy to, they choose not to act on their desires, instead finding one billion and one excuses why this person is not “the one” for them.
If you are afraid of expressing your feelings, ask yourself, “What is there to lose?” or “What’s the worst that could happen?” I believe in wearing your heart on your sleeve and being true to yourself, rather than hiding your feelings. At worst, the person will reject you and you will realize that your feelings had been misdirected all along.
But wait, is that really a worst-case scenario? Because now you will know the truth and be able to move on, rather than lingering around a one-sided romance. On the other hand, if the person reveals similar feelings, you will then be on the way to building a budding romance. Either way you will be grateful that you acted on your feelings rather than hiding behind a facade out of a mental fear of being rejected.
Friendships are often put on the back burner relative to other things, such as one’s career, romantic relationships, financial goals, and personal agendas.
Why? Because we tend to think friendships will stay afloat even when we do not give them due attention. As such, many of us take our friends for granted, often pushing back social appointments in the name of work, cancelling on friends at the last minute, or simply not putting in the due effort to meet up with friends face to face.
Rather than wait for your friends to initiate a get together, why not take the first step? Many of my social appointments and gatherings are often self-initiated. My proactive behavior has encouraged my friends to reciprocate in terms of putting in more effort to build our friendships. I don’t think there’s a need to wait on other people to meet up; it takes two hands to clap and you can always be the one to gets things moving.
As you reach out to friends, there will be people who do not reciprocate your efforts. That’s okay. Don’t take it to heart; sometimes people have different priorities and there’s no need to force a connection if it’s not working out. Simply move on to the friends who are reciprocating your efforts. You will build more authentic and fruitful connections this way.
Are you deeply unhappy? Are you always complaining about little things that go wrong? Are you always harping on the things you don’t have or things you have missed out on, rather than appreciating the things you do have today and the things you have gained?
Too many people are deeply unhappy not because of their place in life, but because of their misperceptions about what it takes to be happy. If anything, many of these unhappy people are highly affluent and privileged; they have a comfortable place to live, a stable job, a regular disposable income, a healthy social network, and a family to return home to.
It’s as John Galbraith mentioned in The Affluent Society : “Despite the increasing wealth of the society, people are not happier – in fact, they have become unhappier.” Why? Their unhappiness isn’t due to a lack of material wealth, but because they have flawed perceptions of what it takes to be happy. They think happiness comes from material goods or financial wealth, when these things are simply means to live a better quality life, rather than vehicles of happiness itself.
Recognize that happiness is a choice. Many people relegate their happiness to external factors. They think they can only be happy if they achieve X, Y, and Z or if X, Y, and Z criteria is satisfied.
Of course, the problem is this criteria is entirely untrue. Happiness doesn’t happen when those things are achieved; happiness is something you can experience now in this moment if you allow it to happen. You CAN be happy now if you want to be. The question is: Do you?
How do you feel about these five common regrets of the dying? What would you regret not fully doing, being or having in your life? Please leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
Author Bio: Celestine Chua writes at Personal Excellence on how to achieve excellence in life. If you like this article, check out: 101 Things To Do Before You Die and 8 Habits of Highly Productive People. Get her free e-book delivered to your inbox by signing-up for her free newsletter.
These regrets on dying remind me one of Og Mandino’s scrolls in the Greatest Salesman in the world. “Live this day as if it is your last”. The meaning is to live life fully. Make every second sweat. Extract every bit of juice from this morsel of a minute. Make every hour contribute to your life – as per your priorities. I think, by setting the right priorities and following the 5 ways to avoid the regrets, anyone can really live a life without regrets. Thanks for this beautiful post.
It took a cancer diagnosis for me to ‘wake-up’ to the fact, I am not going to be here forever. Lucky for me, I discovered this before I reached my deathbed and I can ask those questions and set myself straight so I do not have regrets when the time comes. Thank you for reminding us to live life right now…for ourselves not to please anyone else. That work thing is a hard one though. So many are scared of losing their job and they say ‘yes’ to their boss, when they would be better off saying ‘no’.
It is a frightening thought to look back and wish you didn’t work so hard. I value passion but I noticed a part of me was being consumed by work. I began to prioritize it over my friends. Luckily though, now that I’m back in California for a month, I realize that I’d much rather spend time with my loved ones and closest friends (who are also loved) than work.
Wonderful post. Right now I’m working intently on #1. It is hard to get out of the mold you were raised in, but so worthwhile.
Great post! I can only imagine that having regrets during the process of dying is the pits.
In fact, I knew I would regret not spending more time with my children, which is why I switched careers last year to give myself more freedom to help them and watch them grow.
My biggest regret would be giving in to fear and conforming to a life expected of me by others. If we listen to everyone else now, we’ll have to answer to ourselves later.
Great, insightful post. Thanks for sharing.
I have read the story about the nurse many times, but every single time I love the lessons learned from this nurse!
All of these lessons are so true, but I think the point about money can dictate the rest of the lessons. This happened to me when I got out of college…I was only focused on money, so I got a job and focused all of my energy on making money and climbing the corporate ladder.
I made money, but along the way I lost a lot of myself. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until a tragedy in my life that I made a complete change. That is when I started living true to myself…got a job I enjoyed…started working on projects that had more meaning….spending more time with my family…ect. Now hopefully I won’t have the same regrets as most people!
One of the biggest challenges is to have the capacity to live your own life. Being there in service to others because they are supposedly needy is so often a big hurdle to overcome. If you have a good perception of your passions, or a strong understanding of personal purpose, it may be easier. But I tell you, to escape the ropes of responsibility is very, very hard and if you aren’t careful, your life as you wish it, simply drifts away.
I ask myself every week if I’m on the right path. What if this is my last week? Am I happy with the way I spend most of my time and energy?
I don’t think it’s feasible to live absolutely every day as it is the last one, although we should aim to do so. However, when too many days in a row don’t feel right, we should do something about it.
I love your last tip, i.e. that happiness is a choice. I have made this choice in the past years and it feels great. I do have my bad days of course, but this simple attitude shift has made a big difference into how I feel on a daily basis.
What a great post. I just turned 57 and have been doing nothing but lamenting about what I did not do when I was younger, what I am stuck doing now and how I feel I have no time left to do anything. It is awful to wake up in the morning and feel like you have no future and no hope.
For the last 25 years I have been successful in the insurance industry. But funny enough, I have always been afraid to prospect because of my perception of what others will think of me. (I never got over the Woody Allen stuck in the elevator with the insurance agent thing! lol) I get referrals, but I want to really expand my business and work for as long as I am able. To do this I will have to prospect in many ways and take risks I have not taken in many years. I have not taken on this challenge because I tell myself I am to old to do this, people with tell me my ideas won’t work and they will laugh at an “old” guy going for it.
What it all comes done to is living with purpose. How do you want to live your life? Not only ask what you want to experience, but also what values you want your life to reflect. Spend time doing meaningful work that contributes to the world, surround yourself with caring and supportive people and love them back. Look at the bigger picture so you won’t let the small daily hassles define you. Sometimes it helps to wonder, what would you like your eulogy to say about you and your life?
Thank you for sharing great tips!
The point about time resonated with me. I hear excuses from my significant other and from my father about how they’re just “too busy” to call or to relax. We all get the same 24 hours–what you do with them reveals where your values lie.
Great post! But I found your last sentence (The think happiness from material goods. …) quite conflicting and confusing, because as you rightly pointed when the means to live quality and happy life is absent, then how can you be happy?
This really hit home, especially #3, expressing your feelings. Several years ago, I was secretly in love with someone but I never told him because of our complicated personal situations. It took the death of two family members to wake me up to the realization that I needed to tell everyone how much they meant to me.
I ended up spilling out all my feelings to him in an email. I had absolutely no expectation of anything, I just wanted him to know. He immediately responded, saying he was flattered but he didn’t feel the same way and that he viewed me as more of a sister. It was a blow to my ego, but I have never had any regrets about doing it.
It has been a number of years and I have moved on. He still isn’t involved with anyone. If I happen to run into him, he barely acknowledges me. It hurts a little because we used to be so close. But I’m happy I’m able to express my feelings and risk rejection than to be an emotional coward who can’t let anyone in, even a formerly close friend.
Knowing what I know now, I would still have sent that email.
Great post. I am 44 with major regrets as to where I am professionally. My passions have all but left me, so I spent 60 days working on getting myself in tune again. All of a sudden I find myself getting braver and acting with more clarity of purpose. I have given myself this year to finish up this career phase, then I am moving on to what I really want to do.
I have a lot of personal regrets like #3. Thankfully they are in the past. However I do need to appreciate more about what I have, and also what I do NOT have.
Letting myself be happier I struggle with, I do a great deal of goal setting. Its all about the timeline and the time spent, not about how you did it. Big mistake.
I love this post I really do, but one of the major things I struggle with is that idea that more money and success won’t make me happy when I really feel that not only will it make me happier but it will make me eligible for a relationship again.
I’ve a had a few relationships, all of which ended with me alone and unhappy and while I put my all into each relationships and trusted them with my heart…in the end I felt that the fact these relationships didn’t work proved to me that I’m not good enough and that maybe when I make 100k annually, and maybe I’m a little thinner these things will play out better.
I’m much like your friends in the sense I’ve pretty much given up on love because for ME it feels like the smart thing to do to avoid pain, and rejection in this regard. I’ve put all my effort into going toward my career because I DO feel that its the only thing that is actually good about me or of value.
I don’t want to think this way, I want to feel that women place more value on a significant other than material things–I see this from time to time but I feel like for ME that I have to meet some unrealistic expectation to be accepted. I have a lot of friends and people who support me as friends but its been some time since I’ve even thought about getting in a relationship.
I still feel like I need to make 200k a year just to seem worthy for anyone at this point.
This post could be helpful, just might take some time.
This is beautiful and on time! Thank you!!!
I regret not taking a leave of absence from work earlier to attend to my mother who was ill. She died the morning I submitted the paperwork. I’m not going to make the same mistake with my father, even though my siblings are.
I also regret that I didn’t spend the time up front to identify career options more suited to my interests. Instead, I took the passive approach and the first job that allowed me to support myself. I’ve tried to get my nieces and nephews to expand their horizons but I fear they are making the same mistake, taking the more familiar path that requires the least amount of effort.
The idea of “wishing I hadn’t worked so hard” is so foreign to me. My willingness to work really hard is one of my qualities that I am proudest of. I don’t always like it, but I know that if I want to accomplish any of my dreams, I need to do it anyway. #1 is one that I totally agree with. My parents keep questioning my desire to go to medical school/become a doctor, and keep pushing me to go the computer science route instead, but CS is something I do not want. #3: I used to lament the fact that I seemed to have no luck with the guys, even when I did express my feelings. Now, I do mostly stay to myself and don’t “put myself out there,” but I have also come to the realization that right now is just not the right time in my life for me to be looking.
Perhaps you have said this in other ways but I have found that the deepest regret of those left after “Their special someone” has died is not telling the deceased that they love them. This regret is particularly evident between daughters and parents.
The opposite must also apply, people who are dying have not told those they do love that they love them in any meaningful way. The old, and mostly imagined, hurts or ego slights, continue to be in the way. I do not want to die leaving any ambiguity in the minds of those I love that I love them unconditionally. There can be no regrets if that is the case.
Regret #2 is a big one in my life and not easily solved. I have started working at regret #’s 3 and 4. “lost” friends are often surprised to hear from me. Whether or not it is sustainable when they don’t make the effort remains to be seen. Having said that, it makes me feel good about myself so I will continue regardless.
Well, I could say that I have mostly not lived my life how others would want me to, which means I haven’t done that much with it, being lazy; I’ve learned that expressing my feelings usually upsets someone, (although that’s probably more down to how I express them I suppose), I certainly don’t work too hard; I don’t have a huge number of friends and those I have I see once a week – school friends, who knows where they are by now, that’s 30 years ago!
So really, it’s down to the last one. I know that I find life to be so imperfect, even though I know rationally that it never will be, never can be, part of me still wants it to be, hopes it will be. And there is the conflict, the constant niggling stone in my shoe. (Don’t give me some facile platitude about taking my shoes off!) I know that it is a major flaw, and so far, the only thing that gives me any kind of relief from it is Dharma, Buddhism. Buddha said, life is suffering, and this honesty, rather than some airy fairy blather, made me pay attention. And then he said, mind is the creator of all. So I know that my suffering is created by my own mind, my own perceptions. So, the work of my life is to work on my mind and change it. Not sure if I’ll do it before I die, (another thing Buddha said is, we can die at Any Time), but I don’t think there’s anything else worth striving for, ultimately, whatever else in life I do or have, however many friends or family I have.
I have been reading your blog for over 6 months now, and it’s a great read, everyday.
I just want to say how much it has helped me keep focused on what is important in life, what I want to achieve, the baby steps to take in order to achieve it, and how it all fits into the big picture & bigger purpose in life. I’m generally a happy person, thank God…but It has pumped even more happiness into everything I do, and helped me reconnect with myself & others on so many levels.
I just want to emphasize point 3 about expressing your feelings. I think we all need to realize that we need love in our lives. No matter how successful we may be or become, if we don’t fill our life with love, we will always have this empty hole inside of us.
Thanks, for all the hard work & passion you & Marc put into this.
Yep, I totally agree that doing something is almost always better than doing nothing. Be brave, a bruised heart is better than one that never sees the light.
I have difficulty working on both #1 and #4. While I believe I am getting better in living a life I like and take responsibility for it, it comes with a price of giving up on many friendships. I am from a country with heavy social ties, so leaving an independent life is difficult. I will give you an example. On Sundays, everyone goes to church but not me. It is not because I don’t believe in God but because there is so much social pressure that comes with it later that I know I can’t handle. If you live outside your country, going to church is usually the only way to socialize. In the past 5 years I have been a foreigner , every church i was invited to always ended up with some divisions based on race,status etc. Which is why I am not too excited about going there. Also I prefer not going to some occasional parties for the same reasons, so it is no wonder i don’t have too many friends. I would have liked to have some friends that understand me, but those are usually found online and not someone I can hang out with.
Most of us do! However, I think balance is the key. My ex-husband was an overachiever and made making money his top priority. Now I have a man who adores me but despite his efforts has been jobless for the past three years after losing his franchise. Even though the attraction and love are still there after eight years, the financial situation is putting a lot of stress on our relationship. I have been supportive, patient and understanding because I love him and he is worth it. Unfortunately, I am running out of patience and growing frustrated because he is taking way too long to find his path. So even though people say money can’t buy happiness, in my case, it would at least help me keep it! Again, it’s all about balance.
Good reflective post. I found a thread of responsibility through the article. If you take responsibility for ourselves and present state we found a lot of more pleasure and satisfaction in life.
So true also that happiness and gratitude is a choice. We may feel bad about our present condition, but there is a 99.99% chance there are others in the world in worse circumstance. By consciously looking for and concentrating on what makes us and being grateful for this will go a long way to keep these regrets from coming up during the dying process.
Wonderful post… Today is my 53rd birthday. I took the day off work (first time ever having my birthday off, and I think I will make it an annual ‘event’) I am spending most of the day the way I want to (and envisioned)…. being on the internet was not one of them, but I do love these posts. I am looking forward to spending the latter part of the day with 2 very important friends. As always, there is room for reflection and what one wants life to be. I am surprised to find myself at 53 still seeking more, and knowing much has not yet been fulfilled. And yet, I am so very blessed. Reading ‘One Thousand Gifts’ is an eye opener to begin really seeing that there is much all around us to be appreciative of. I love the # that reminds us to be open to love and to express it to others. Connections and friendship really to make a life rich.
Perhaps we should focus not on working less hard at everything, but concentrating our efforts after careful consideration on what is truly important and lasting.
For #1: I think that if you are lucky enough to have some kind of expectations, boundaries, limitations or guidelines given to you by parents or teachers, then it is possible to break those constraints. Breaking the rules is SO important to growth. However, if you are unlucky and you don’t have guidelines, then you will always try to either recreate some guidelines or continually hurt yourself and others. Living the life you want takes admitting your errors and taking full responsibility for them. Intelligence and humility is key.
Powerful stuff. The subject of death is always one of the best ways to start seeing things from a bigger perspective for me. I will ponder these “regrets” for sure which give them a more serious weight than just nice ideas. Thanks.
Thank God for wonderful authors and their inspiring ideas. Cheers to life and no more regrets!
Wouldn’t my 5 biggest regrets of dying be, I’m dead, still dead, still dead, dead, and you guessed it… I still regret, I’m dead.
@All: Thank you for sharing your thoughts and stories with us. I think Celes did a wonderful job covering these common regrets, and I’m glad so many of you connected with her insights.
@Inge: You are an inspiration. I’m so happy you beat cancer and are here to share your beautiful story with the world.
@Cornelius: Agreed. If you wake up too many mornings in a row and you are unhappy with what you have planned for the day, it’s time to re-plan your life.
@JK: Knowing is better than not knowing. You made the right choice. Carry on with you head held high.
@David Rapp: It sounds to me like you’re making significant progress. You’re on the right tract, that’s for sure.
@Mr_Baseball: Jus take it one step at a time. Don’t rush into a relationship. Make friends and see where things lead. The right relationship will come along at the right time.
@Dana: I’d have a conversation with your nieces and let them know hwat you’ve learned.
@Melayahm: If you’ve found Buddhism and it working for you, keep practicing. Honestly, I connected with you sentiments. I deal with them differently, but I know where you’re coming from.
@Joesph: Great addition. Thanks for the kind words too.
@Daniel: What about social groups based on hobbess and interests. Perhaps meetup.com?
@Lisa: Happy birthday! Thanks for the added insight.
I had been doing most of these things that people regret… until I came down with breast cancer. That was the changing point of my life. I realized that I wanted to change and started step by step to actually do it. I started to live a life putting myself first and stop letting others expectations be my guiding force. I stopped trying to please everyone else, except myself.
Before I got cancer I worked too hard for something someone else wanted, and it nearly killed me. My husband also did this in the corporate world to keep us afloat when I was sick and it nearly killed him also. He retired and we don’t live nearly as extravagant as we did but we have what we need. We have since come together in such a spiritual way that saved us, our family and our marriage. We cocooned for quite awhile during this time and had to put some friendships on hold for a while to get ourselves together and we are now reconnecting with our true friends. I now tell all the people in my life how I feel and how much they mean to me. I feel much more unconditional love and am happier for it. I am much happier now, but still don’t do what I really want to do. I’m still caught up in the idea that I can’t do “the fun stuff until the works done” I need to find the balance to do both.
One thing that I never regretted was living a simpler life to be able to stay home and raise my children. We did without a lot of “things” to make this happen but it was the best decision I ever made. I was there in the moment , not just making videos of all those special moments in their life or hearing it from others. I was involved in their school and lives. This ended up giving me children who cared for me during my illness, who make time for me in their lives and tell me how much they love me. This taught them what was important in life. I think this was the greatest gift I ever gave them and Myself. Life’s not perfect, but I’m happier now than I’ve ever been.
After my husband died I realized that we had spent a lifetime seldom straying outside our comfort zones. We were afraid of failure. So I spent a year saying Yes to every opportunity to experience the new and the different, including climbing into tall trees and reaching the ground via a zip wire(I have a fear of heights and avoid ladders).
The surprise and joy and sadness of this is that I did not fail and I now have a range of active hobbies and new friends to share them with. The one I enjoy most was one we were saving for retirement, dancing, or rather, partner dancing. My husband stopped work because of illness and died before retirement age.
I now trust my capacity to learn and change, and, guess what? I wish WE had been able to do this many years ago. So to all of you starting careers I would say, don’t give up your job, don’t stop striving for success, add happiness and breadth of experience into your life goals. My husband said that “This life we have is not a rehearsal”. I think it is extraordinarily difficult to really live like that.
@ Dana – I share a similar regret, wishing I had taken a leave of absence to care for my mom when she was terminally ill. I empathize with the pain you must be feeling. I wish you peace.
It can be so hard to express one’s true feelings.
“What if I’m laughed at?” or “what if I look stupid?” are thoughts that can have a huge amount of control over our actions.
We have to move past those thoughts into action if we want to live without regret. That way when we lay in our deathbed we don’t think about the “what if’s…” in life.
I teared up reading through all these posts, it is sad that we all seem to have it hard wired in ourselves that it is easier to accept we might fail than succeed.
Thanks for the great article and posts.
All five of these regrets hit close to home but #2 is the one I personally need to balance the most – working too hard. On the positive side of working too much, I love my work and it’s rewarding. When you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. When work makes you happy, you cover regret #5. But when you work all the time, there’s no balance with the rest of life, and you miss out on regret #4 – staying in touch with friends. In a perfect world all five of these regrets are important. It’s interesting how most of us all share the same regrets. It’s also interesting that these are very simple things to do that will ultimately create so much happiness. Thanks for sharing!


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One of the Gwinnett County (GA) police officers involved in a helicopter crash earlier this month is paralyzed from the waist down.
On Monday, officials released the names and conditions of the two officers who were flying “Air One” when it crashed at Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville on Sept. 1. Cpl. Michael Duncan, 46, was paralyzed from the waist down in the accident and Officer George McLain, 38, who was in command of the helicopter, has been released from the hospital but is still recovering.
Duncan was hired in February of 2005. He’s a veteran of the Marine Corps. McLain was hired in January 2016 and is a member of the Georgia Air National Guard.
“Air One” was flying around Lawrenceville on Sept. 1, helping ground officers chase a wanted suspect. While they were in the air, the pilots began to notice a shift in the weather and notified the ground officers that they needed to return to the hangar.
The helicopter went down at about 11 a.m. just 200 yards from the police department’s hangar at Gwinnett County Airport at Briscoe Field, a municipal airport owned and operated by Gwinnett County.
The FAA investigation into the crash is still pending.

industry_corpus2: Law & Justice


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As the makers of beloved titles like Torchlight and Hob, developer Runic Games brought charm and style to action RPGs while developer Motiga’s Gigantic provided players with a colorful take on MOBA-style gameplay, though both studios have experienced unfortunate turns this week resulting in some significant changes.
Chinese publisher Perfect World has shut down both Runic Games and downsized developer Motiga according to a report from Destructoid, with Motiga founder and CEO Chris Chung confirming that the 50-person studio has been shut down that was a “budgetary decision at the highest level” from Perfect World.
A follow-up statement from a Perfect World representative to IGN explained that while Motiga has had a significant portion of its employees reduced, the company explained that its title Gigantic will remain playable on all available platforms with “a core team of developers” remaining with the company.
The statement also explained that the Seattle-based Runic Games was shut down “as part of the company’s continued strategy to focus on online games as a service,” with Perfect World saying that is “grateful to the team for all of their hard work” in bringing players its line of titles such as the Torchlight series and the recently-released Hob to players everywhere. Perfect World added that the company’s games will continue to be sold on all available platforms.

industry_corpus2: Gaming


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Have you ever wondered what would be the benefit of hiring CIM Marketing Partners to manage your company’s marketing, messaging and PR? We are proud to say it’s our Results-Driven Marketing Process™ that sets us apart! Each year, we repeat six brand building and value-based steps, which ensure that we understand our clients’ companies and the industries in which they operate, and that their marketing goals make sense. The process not only takes ideas from theory to implementation, it also ensures that action items and tactics make sense for your business today and are feasible and necessary for your business future.
Strategic Marketing Summit® – At the beginning of our client relationship, we like to sit for an in-depth and informative meeting to glean information about the state of a company and industry, and understand the path that CIM should take to position a company toward the next plane of marketing success.
The Marketing Gameplan™ – After the Strategic Marketing Summit®, CIM considers the information and creates a recap and gameplan document that describes the identified goals and labels solutions and marketing tools to address each goal. For example, a goal of increased media coverage for a specific practice area will usually contain solutions including a targeted ad campaign, bylined and quoted articles on the specific area, pointed social media messaging, and other tactics to put a company’s message in front of everyone who would be the most interested.
The Diversified Marketing Portfolio® – After we have a gameplan designed and agreed upon, CIM will research and create the Diversified Marketing Portfolio®, which serves as a blueprint for the entire year. It maps out the entire marketing budget, and includes a month by month schedule of any advertising, events, mailings, sponsorships, etc., that may come up during the year. This way, we have a detailed map throughout the year for easy implementation and targeted advertising based on issue topics and company announcements.
DMP® Implementation and Management – The DMP® remains an ongoing tool throughout the year, and the DMP® is reviewed at all periodic meetings.
The Client Service Maximizer™ – One-on-one training is an important part of the CIM success plan. As much as we believe in our clients, we believe that each member of the team should believe in their company, as well. We work with each member of the company to identify ways for them to market themselves and the company, using such things as social media (specifically LinkedIn), networking, professional memberships, board positions, etc. These action steps are organized, ranked in order of importance and completed with due dates by using The Client Cultivator®, our tool to track progress and assign accountability.
The Annual Strategic Marketing Summit® – Over the years, we have found that the continued used of these steps has resulted in unparalleled success for our clients. That’s why we encourage each client to participate in a yearly Strategic Marketing Summit® to evaluate what worked in the past, determine their present market standing and plan effective and meaningful action steps for the future.
So what makes us different? Our commitment to creating a strategy that works for your company, your industry, your business and your marketing goals. We are so committed to our process that CIM owner, Darcy Neighbors, and Principal, Don Pursell, wrote a book about it, Marketing Fusion: 7 Elements to Ignite Your Growth.

industry_corpus2: Computing & Telecommunications


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mixed medium three panel painting 80" x 114"
The first panel is 2"d and gradually expands to 9"d at the end of the third panel.
mixed medium on board, 60" x 48"
mixed medium on canvas, 72" x 52"
George Marks is a exhibiting career artist and lives and works in the small bi-parish rural community of Arnaudville, La., home to the NUNU Arts & Culture Collective concept (Arnaudville Experiment), one of 14 communities/projects included in the NEA funded Mayor’s Institute on City Design’s (MICD) most recent publication, Creative Placemaking and recently presented at a rural round table discussion cosponsored by the Arts + Community Change Initiative, Arts & Democracy Project, Center for Rural Strategies and InCommons, hosted by the Bush Foundation. He has been appointed by the Lt. Governor to the Louisiana State Arts Council and serves on additional boards including St. Landry Parish Tourism and Louisiana Citizens for the Arts. Mr. Marks originated the NUNU concept and is actively involved in the evolution of the project. In addition, he is also actively involved with the development of the anticipated St. Luke French Immersion/Cultural Center. He is the recipient of the 2007 St. Landry Economic Authority Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the 2007 Opelousas-St. Landry Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year and the 2008 Louisiana Division of the Arts Leadership in the Arts Governor’s Award.
George Marks is a contradiction. His work is simultaneously ordered and spontaneous. Carelessness and rigid geometry mingle on the canvas. Passages of drawing in the work range from sensitively rendered figuration to loose impetuous scrawls. His palette is generally warm and harmonious, but searing thin stripes of color may awaken the calm. All of his pieces are deliberately orchestrated to fit together into a continuous installation, and yet each is also an improvisation.
The truly radical thing about Marks’ work is his process. Although, he simply labels his work with the obfuscating little phrase “mixed media on canvas”, he has developed a vocabulary of materials and techniques that are unduplicated. This rich and complex combination of materials may of course be appreciated in its own right, but for Marks this is not the point. Rather, the medium is inextricably webbed to the message. Nothing is done for a strictly decorative purpose.
Each material brings forth specific tactile associations, each recalls a memory, each assembles a part of the meaning of his work. He is a collector of textures, colors, and surfaces. He collects mental images of crumbling stucco on abandoned houses, trees rushing past his car window, and electrical conduits snaking around the corners of buildings. Sights like these are remembered and drawn upon to evoke the beauty in things that others might cast aside as imperfections.
His work brings forth far ranging art historical associations such as Edgar Degas to Barnett Newman, Richard Diebenkorn, and Donald Judd. What sets Marks’ work apart from many other modern painters, however, are his roots to the landscape and culture of South Louisiana . His work is never void of content, no matter how abstract the few simple notations become. His work recalls the flat broad vistas of that which each of us unconsciously knows by heart.
To order any of George’s work please complete the form below stating George Marks’s name in the message area and I will contact you as soon as possible. Or call Judy Ferrara directly at 1-574-276-6001.

industry_corpus2: Film & Entertainment


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The Strategy Group invented online political mail testing, a technique used by Obama for America to magnify the impact of its direct, targeted communications in 2008. In 2012, we led the way in applying analytics to the Presidential campaign on an unprecedented scale during which we conceived and led the largest Experiment Informed Programs (EIP) mail test in the history of Democratic campaigns.
Our clients have turned to us to win important elections as well as to shape public opinion on issues such as environmental preservation, workers' rights, education funding, civil rights, transportation and economic development. We develop effective campaigns to raise awareness, change public opinion and win offices across the country.
The old axiom all politics is local is especially true in Kentucky, where the difference between a national Democrat and a Kentucky Democrat is like the difference between chardonnay and bourbon. Our experience describing to voters how our candidates are helping people like them moves past the confines of traditional partisanship and personalizes issues that mean most to them.
Large city races are often defined by racial and socioeconomic politics. In a city like Chicago, so defined by its neighborhoods, this is especially true. Building a coalition to bridge the city’s differences with common values and solutions to its common problems, The Strategy Group delivered a victory that came from every part of the city.
Facing a crowded primary field, millions in outside spending, and an unengaged electorate, Eric Garcetti became Los Angeles’ 42nd mayor by running a disciplined campaign, with messaging focused on getting back to basics, solving problems, and delivering results.
The Strategy Group helped develop and execute this strategy.

industry_corpus2: Politics & Administration


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I'm so happy you're here! I don't often have time to blog, as I'm usually up to my eyeballs in flowers! However, it is my "early" New Year's resolution to be better about updating this- so come back y'all- I'll try to post something pretty for you to see!
When your wedding takes place at the lake and your venue is called “The Boathouse”, it is only fitting to have a nautical themed wedding! S + S’s day was nothing short of a perfect lakeside wedding. Their ceremony took place overlooking the water with cold drinks in a canoe for guests. It wouldn’t be a nautical theme without a boat ride for the bride and groom following the ceremony. And you have to see how these navy blues & bright colors popped so well against the white boathouse!
Simply put, it was a beautiful, sunny day with a beautiful couple! We are so happy we got to be a part of their day!
When a bride and groom thoroughly enjoy their wedding day….this is what it looks like! There isn’t a single candid picture where these two aren’t beaming with smiles. E + B were such a pleasure to work with and looking back at these pictures, we are reminded at how fun and outgoing these two are! The bride with her stunning two piece dress and her mismatched bridesmaids…swoon! No detail was overlooked from the floral arrangements we created for the church & entrance into the reception space, to the floral surrounding their dreamy seating chart and hanging installation!
As always, we could try to describe the perfection of this day but instead let’s have you scroll through and see for yourself!
This colorful fall wedding was simply out of a dream. E & N’s laid back, down to earth style shined bright on their big day. From the beautifully mix-matched bridesmaid dresses and vibrant fall tones to the Nintendo lounge, no detail was overlooked! And their head table? This is what head table dreams are made of! We had so much fun creating this colorful hanging arrangement and paired with Farmhouse Foundry’s vintage chairs were the perfect touch.
It was such a pleasure styling this couple’s day! You won’t regret scrolling through these!
Every year I am blessed to design and plan the main fundraiser for Brighter Days Foundation, a local "make a wish" organization that plans giveaways for local kids with serious medical illnesses. This year I got to turn NP Event space into a barn (well, my version of it anyway) and had an absolute blast with my great team. My heart is full when I get to use my skills for projects like this.
A gorgeous couple and their creative vision along with a dreamy venue can only lead to a breathtaking wedding! With all of this combined, this day could be mistaken for a styled shoot. From the outside ceremony to the reception in Luminary Fern, the day was simply perfection. The laid back couple and bridal party allowed for an intimate setting in such a beautiful space. We loved the subtle, unique touch of using crystals during the ceremony. Each guest was given a crystal during the ceremony to capture the good thoughts and wishes from the guests for the couple in their marriage. Guests also received a crystal at the reception to take home. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves but I must say, the bride was such a trooper going into the field for majestic pictures only to come back with burs covering the bottom of the dress! Good thing we don’t mind a few pokes for the sake of our beautiful brides!
We love when couples are adventurous and willing to do a winter wedding in Minnesota! L + B’s December wedding was nothing short of magical. From the ceremony at Luminary Fern to the reception at the NP event space, it was a perfect day! It was such a joy transforming the reception space into a Christmas winter wonderland and reminiscing on this wedding is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit! And would it really be a winter wedding without some snow in the pictures?! We will let these beautifully captured photos speak for themselves.
What a special couple! It isn’t often that you meet a couple that started off as high school sweethearts and 10 years later, they are ready to say I do! M + W’s wedding was the perfect way to finish off the summer wedding season and get us excited to jump into the fall season. And what is a summer wedding in the Brainerd Lakes area without a boat ride and bridal party pictures on the beach?! We were so happy to be a part of M + W’s special day and hope you enjoy their photos as much as we do!
P.s. Can we just stop and adore that circular arch by farmhouse foundry forever?!
There are truly no words for this absolutely stunning wedding at a private residence in Crosslake this summer. We were fortunate enough to do floral, design, and full planning for A + E and their wedding day.
Wishing this sweet couple many years of happiness and it was truly our pleasure to help plan & design your big day.
K + A sure know how to throw the perfect barn wedding. Seriously could this day be anymore beautiful? So many dreamy floral details that we were so honored and excited to bring to life! We were also totally jealous of their sweet getaway ride... Oh and can all weddings start using campers as photo booths? So fun. Major congratulations to this beautiful and humble couple. We wish you many years of wedded bliss!
P.s.- Scroll down to see the groom's precious reaction to seeing his bride for the first time... And have tissues ready!
Talk about winter wedding goals... Joe & Ronni had an AMAZING wedding this year at Luminary Fern and The NP Event Space that we were lucky enough to also do wedding planning for. Everything was so elegant and came together perfectly. Not to mention the serious candle envy we're having with those green tapers and pillars. Wishing many years of happiness to one of the sweetest couples we've ever worked with. Oh & keep scrolling to see the sweet surprise Joe & Ronni will be expecting soon!
Molly & Josh... Where do I begin? This lovely couple was married on a not so lovely rainy day last summer. Everything was supposed to take place outside but mother nature had other plans. Despite the horrific weather, this was an absolutely GORGEOUS wedding. Their rustic yet modern vision came together so perfectly at Camp Foley. I can even thank Molly for adding Therapist to my job title. Ha! I think this wedding proves that rain on your wedding day truly does bring good luck. If these photos don't prove that, I don't know what does. Cheers to the happy couple!
Last year we were fortunate enough to travel to St. Petersburg, Florida for Ali + Sam's intimate destination wedding at The Don Cesar Hotel. While they are both Brainerd Lakes natives, Ali's family has had roots in St. Petersburg for a long time. Ali and her mom, Cindy, have taught my daughters dance and are amazing role models for my girls (and the BLA community)... So being part of this wedding was like helping family for me. Besides being amazingly gorgeous, Ali and Sam and their families have the warmest hearts and it was my absolute pleasure designing and being part of their big day!
P.s.- The Don Cesar was previously a hospital before being turned into a GORGEOUS boutique hotel. It also hosted every American president in history at one point. How cool is that?!
Staci & Nick had the most romantic March wedding we ever did see at some of our fave venues... Luminary Fern and The NP Event Space. The bride wanted a Hollywood glam look with show stopper black accents. Her vision paired with this floral color palette... Magical! Many well wishes to this sweet sweet couple.
I've been blessed that over the course of my life I've been surrounded by people who inspire me to be a better person. My parents, **Husband**, sisters, friends, wedding professional friends, clients, and especially these two- Miles and Brook. How can you not be? To watch these two care for each other and encourage each other so selflessly is nothing short of miraculous. To my wedding pro friends- you came through in a BIG way...HuuuuuuuGE. Lots of love to go around.
Wow 2016 you were sure good to me! Grace and Kiel's wedding is the perfect example of how blessed I am to work with such amazing people (ALL of my couples/families have made such an impression on my heart), design and create to my hearts content, and to be part of the incredibly special role of telling my client's stories and celebrating their beginnings.
Grace and Kiel are a beautiful couple both inside and out and it was a joy to plan their day with them. Their families and friends made for an unforgettable evening in a historic Sears and Roebuck barn that is absolutely INCREDIBLE. The wedding gods also gave us a 70 degree day (in N O V E M B E R) so all in all, one for the record books.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart- 2017 here we come!
Um, favorite picture of the season!! Can all of you sweet brides send me a "hug the bouquet" shot pretty please??!?! Looking back into June at Sabrina and Knute's beginning to a lifetime of happiness reminded me how incredible their day was. They celebrated their wedding at North Pacific Event Center and had a fun, fresh and totally unique style. Sabrina started her day off with a killer mimosa bar with fresh fruit, adorable robes, and surrounded by flowers hanging from the ceiling. Her bouquet has to be one of my all time favs (yes, I have a lot of favorites). The flower girls all modeled flower crowns to match the bride, hello cuteness. As for the ceremony her dad specially made the geometric backdrop that I got to cover in flowers- dream job right here! I think Aimee must of had a little fun shooting them :) there were so many pictures it was hard to choose! Knute and Sabrina- thank you for letting me be a part of the beginning of happily ever after, I so am blessed to do what I do everyday. Ps. check out the picture of the groom and groomsmen with the bouquet...makes me giggle every time I see it.
A beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple, inside and out. Ross and Naomi celebrated their wedding day at The NP Event Space last fall. Looking back at the photos, I adore the modern day fairytale vibe. The bride was breathtaking and the bridesmaids were absolute perfection... And those flower girls?! So unbelievably honored to be a part of this gorgeous day.
Kate Kuepers of Bloom Designs is a Wedding and Event Florist and Planner located out of the beautiful Brainerd Lakes in Minnesota.
visit Bloom on facebook and check out our instagram!

industry_corpus2: Hospitality & Catering


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Charity: Water Progress Email – Learn from It!
10 Donations. 3 Thank-Yous. 7 Failures to Communicate.
How Many Thank-Yous Will I Get This Year?

industry_corpus2: Water Resources & Marine


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When will MS start pushing the update to Win10 1809 on machines set for the SAC “branch”?
So when does Windows start pushing 1809 onto my 1803 machine? I’ve been wondering about that for some time now — figured that MS would have to declare Win10 1809 “Semi-Annual Channel” at some point, if only to honor the settings in earlier versions of Win10.
Which I find to be a brilliant way to unwind the Gordian knot. Microsoft, basically, says “let ’em eat cake” and walks away.
What a thoroughly screwed up resolution to an incredibly convoluted series of patching re-re-re-definitions.


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Mt Tremblant is a four season resort destination that attracts visitors ten months out of the year. Tremblant weather is typically cold in the winter and very pleasant during the summers. People book Mt Tremblant vacations all year long. They come during the winter season to enjoy the best skiing in the country and in the summer to take advantage of the many water and nature activities.
Tremblant weather presents average temperatures in January range from a low 5°F (-15ºC) to a high of 19°F (-7ºC). The average temperature in July ranges from 55°F (13ºC) to 81°F (27ºC). People plan Mt Tremblant vacations all throughout the year and bases their travel dates according to weather and the type of activities they plan on enjoying.

industry_corpus2: Travel & Geography


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Flowers convey a message that cannot be put into words. DIETZ FLOWER SHOP & TUXEDO RENTAL of Seguin, TX provides a variety of fresh, fashionable floral designs to ensure that your gift is one of elegance and beauty.
When you're looking for a unique hostess gift, token of appreciation or just a surprise to brighten someone's day, let DIETZ FLOWER SHOP & TUXEDO RENTAL customize and deliver one of our many fun, decorative & luxury gifts! We create dazzling presentations that are sure to please for any gift-giving occasion.
To get your custom gift items, come by and see DIETZ FLOWER SHOP & TUXEDO RENTAL - your local Seguin, TX florist.

industry_corpus2: Others


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Tesco’s highly anticipated launch of its marketplace last month may have been a quiet internal affair but it’s likely to set off a number of waves across the online retail market. The store’s decision to compete with the likes of Amazon and eBay may have come as a surprise to some but at eSellerPro, we expect to see more retailers’ following in Tesco’s footsteps as the online market becomes more saturated.
Established retailers to join the Marketplace.
Marketplaces offer retailers an attractive alternative to diversify their online revenue stream and reach millions of potential customers. With low entry costs, broad support mechanisms and minimal risks involved I am not surprised that more brands are now choosing to develop their own marketplace.
For brands, such as Tesco who already have a large customer base, introducing its own marketplace is likely to be the next natural step to grow the business. Not only does this enable the company to sell a broader range of goods through third party sellers, but it is likely to increase traffic to the website and ultimately sales of the company’s own products.
Of course, as with any business change, the move comes with risk. Instantly it puts Tesco’s in competition with two heavy hitters within the space – Amazon and eBay, and with both players dominating the industry for a number of years many have questioned whether Tesco’s really stands a chance at competing against two well-established names.
However, what many are forgetting is that Tesco has a number of unique attributes that are able to differentiate it from the competition and more importantly pose a serious threat to both Amazon and eBay.
Take the company’s Clubcard for example. This will most definitely offer the brand an added advantage, providing customers an added incentive to shop at TescoDirect as opposed to the other online marketplaces. With customers now able to redeem extra points from purchasing non-Tesco goods, this could be a deciding factor for many buyers leading them to purchase from Tesco rather than traditional marketplaces.
Clubcard: differentiating Tesco from other Marketplaces.
Also let’s not forget Tesco’s vast network of stores. With over 6,000 physical stores around the world the potential for ‘click and collect’ is huge. Currently 770 stores are part of the scheme, but with an additional 700 more collection points planned to be introduced over the next year this is likely to act as a major draw for many customers looking to purchase goods online. Not only can customers collect items at their convenience, but they can also save on postage costs.
However, what is likely to be the main threat for Amazon and eBay is the company’s extensive distribution network, which will no doubt act as the biggest draw for smaller retailers to use the marketplace. As a result we are likely to see competitors increase investment in their own distribution centres in order to compete with the supermarket chain, to the point where same day delivery will become a key differentiator.
With the company’s profits taking a hit recently it is clear that Tesco is banking on this new initiative to make up for its recent losses. Even though it’s still early days there are clear indicators that show Tesco should be able to compete successfully against the likes of eBay and Amazon.
In my opinion, if they are able to harness these key attributes and use them to their advantage, I will be extremely surprised if this new venture does not result in success for the chain.


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Fellow Gambians, I have learned with disappointment that the Government of the Gambia has announced its withdrawal from the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court on 25 October 2016. After 51 years of independence and the end of colonialism, I found it utterly unacceptable that an independent government of a sovereign republic such as the Republic of the Gambia will have leadership that continues to lament on colonialism. The statement by the Government clearly shows the lack of understanding of international relations and the way global institutions operate. Yet while the Gambia Government accuses the ICC and western nations of bias, it was the Government of Yaya Jammeh that has signed a bilateral immunity agreement with the Government of the United States in 2002 not to take US citizens before the court. How now could the same Government accuse the West of bias and double standards when the Gambian Government is in fact engaged in the same practice.
Fellow Gambians the removal of the Gambia from the ICC, just like the withdrawal from the Commonwealth in 2013 is an unconstitutional act that reflects once more President Jammeh’s disregard for the constitution and the laws of the Gambia. The ICC was created in 2002 by the international community including the Gambia to investigate and prosecute individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the world. These are genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court, therefore, is a significant and an unprecedented contribution in the global fight to end impunity by holding those responsible accountable for their crimes and to help prevent these crimes from happening again. Thus to imagine any well-meaning government will withdraw from such noble objectives clearly shows that such a government should not continue lead a decent and civilized people. By withdrawing from the ICC, the regime of Yaya Jammeh has threatened national interest and national security.
I wish to therefore completely disassociate myself and all decent and civilized Gambians from this ill conceived decision which only serves to isolate further and ridicule our country in the eyes of the world. I wish to urge the Government of the Gambia under the leadership of Yaya Jammeh to immediately rescind this decision and restore the Gambia’s position within the States Parties of the ICC. At a time when mass atrocities in the form of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are major occurrences in Africa, it is unacceptable that any government would seek to remove itself from any institution and processes designed to put a stop to mass atrocities. This is even more poignant given that all throughout Africa, the legal and juridical systems have not yet been developed enough to bring perpetrators to account. Hence this decision by the Government is not only a demonstration of the Government’s lack of commitments to wards our obligations to international human rights laws and norms. But this decision demonstrates Governments severe disregard for the millions of victims of mass atrocities in Africa. I wish to urge President Jammeh to rather put a definite halt to incidents of enforced disappearances, murder under police custody, arbitrary arrests, detention, and torture that are prevalent in the country under a general climate of fear and impunity.
I urge all Gambians to declare that this unacceptable decision is not in our name.
Previous articleYaya Jammeh begins to pull out welcome mats as the World tried to comb through his bad habits to remove archaic brutal policies.
Next articleThe burrowing owl of National Coffers suddenly recovering from decades-long hibernation on Gambian issues, It is a little too late .


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Use the form below to search for alumni from First Assembly Christian School.
First Assembly Christian School enrolls 296 preschool and elementary school students from grades PK-8. It is located in Ocala, FL, which is a highly populated city with a median household income of $30,888.
Be The First To Review First Assembly Christian School!
Join a discussion about First Assembly Christian School and talk to others in the community including students, parents, teachers, and administrators.

industry_corpus2: Subject Education


text: I am a professional software developer with an unbridled passion for games of all kinds. I've spent my entire life as a gamer - my first console was an NES when I was 5 years old, at age 15 I climbed the ladder to become the #3 ranked Pokemon card player in the world, and now I spend my free time making games of all kinds in many genres. I've truly spent a lifetime collecting inspiration from and for games.


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So just to set the record straight….
No, we haven’t spotted Evan, Lace, Emily, Nick, Grant, or even Chris Harrison. And while we also haven’t spotted Chad, a guest reportedly heard his creepy trademark whistle while strolling through Playa los Muertos!
We heard a bit of buzz from locals when the film crews were cruising the quaint streets in our charming pueblo of Sayulita. You can’t miss this colorful street, can you?!
So if you’re wondering where Bachelor in Paradise takes place, it’s Sayulita. Our cute, fun and vibrant town.
Brands often location scout Sayulita as we offer an authentic, beachy, laid back, Mexican vibe.
Sayulita has so much to offer. And if you’ve been to our resort, you know that we offer our guests a luxury experience that’s suited for anyone seeking an authentic Mexican escape.
Our holiday weeks are starting to book up, so book early as the weather, fishing and surfing are unreal starting in early November.
Amor Boutique Hotel hosts Broadway stars, movie stars and all types of VIPs, so if you want something off the beaten path yet a quick direct flight from many US cities, we’ll roll out the red carpet for you, too!
It was def paradise weekend! Loved every single day in this magical place<3 Thank you Amor Boutique Hotel! We enjoyed every moment.


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Bartek Ingredients announces the successful completion of a 4,000t capacity increase of its malic acid production facilities. Credit: Business Wire.
Canada-based malic acid and food-grade fumaric acid producer Bartek Ingredients has completed the first project in a series of process and production improvements.
The capacity expansion project increased the firm’s output of malic acid by 4,000t per year. Completion of the upgrades at Bartek’s malic acid production sites is the first of a series of capital investments to increase capabilities across the company’s manufacturing network.
Bartek said the expansion will result in greater flexibility and support its food, beverage, confectionery and animal nutrition customers.
The company will also upgrade its laboratories and office space this year. Bartek said its investments are in response to increasing demand for malic acid, fumaric acid and maleic anhydride across the globe.
Bartek Sales vice-president Dave Tapajna said: “Bartek’s presence will grow substantially in 2019 with the introduction of new products and packages to meet market demands, and we will continue to add value for our customers through a series of planned initiatives.
Established in 1969, Bartek Ingredients produces malic acid, fumaric acid, and maleic anhydride at its two production facilities in Southern Ontario and distributes them to more than 35 countries around the world.

industry_corpus2: Petrochemicals


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There have been many opinions on the refusal of the Body of Benchers to call Firdaus Amasa to the Bar because of her hijab. I however noticed that most of the opinions were more of emotional outbursts rather than exposition of the provisions of the law on the subject matter. This piece will be x-raying the position of the law on the right of the female Muslims to wear the hijab on the call to bar.
WHICH BODY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CALLING SUCCESSFUL LAW STUDENTS TO THE BAR?
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO BE MET BEFORE A PERSON CAN BE CALLED TO THE BAR?
S. 4(1) of the LPA provides that “Subject to the provisions of this section, a person shall be entitled to be called to the Bar If, (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria; and (b) he produces a qualifying certificate to the Benchers; and (c) he satisfies the Benchers that he is of good character.
WHAT IS THE DRESSING REQUIREMENT FOR THE CALL TO BAR?
S. 16(3) of the Body of Benchers Regulations provides that: “Every student proposed and approved for call to the Bar shall, on any Call Night, be dressed in his BIBS and BARRISTER’s gown but shall not place his wig on his head until he has been called to the Bar by the Chairman”.
Please note that the provision above did not make any provision on exposing one’s natural hair. It could be argued that there was no mention of the hijab in that section, the answer to that is there was equally no mention of trousers, suit, skirt, shirt, pants etc. The only reasonable conclusion is that the hijab is not prohibited by the regulations guiding the operations of the Body of Benchers who are saddled with calling eligible persons to the Bar.
ASSUMING THERE IS A LAW PROHIBITING THE WEARING OF THE HIJAB FOR THE CALL TO BAR, WHAT IS THE IMPLICATION OF SUCH LAW?
The Courts have held in plethora of cases that Fundamental Human Rights are not ordinary rights, they are elevated rights. They are “Special class of rights” and no person should be deprived of the enjoyment of any such rights except by the proper observance of the due process of law. The 1999 Constitution is not a mere academic model but a pragmatic living instrument that must be respected , it must not read with levity, contempt or disdain. Every of its section must be given meaning and effect by the Courts. It is at the top of all normative prescription. See Marwa &Anor v. Nyako and Ors. (2012) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1296) 199; Felix Amadi &Anor v. INEC & 2 Ors (2013) 4 NWLR (Pt. 1345)595.
A full panel of the Court of Appeal held in the case of Abdulkareem v. LASG (2016) 15 NWLR (Pt 1535) 177 that: “the use of hijab by female Muslims constitutes an act of worship, hence the refusal to allow the appellants to wear it on their school uniform, is a clear infraction of their constitutionally guaranteed right”. The court went further to hold that section 38 of the 1999 constitution which provides that every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, and freedom (either or in community with others, and in public or in privacy) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance, cannot be wished away just because some other persons feel uncomfortable with it.
Jumbo-Ofo, JCA held that every citizen is imbued with the right to practice, manifest and even propagate their religious beliefs without restrictions in any community they found themselves within the precinct of Nigeria. Such religious practice, manifestation or propagation shall not be disturbed or hindered either expressly or by the practical application of any ‘LAW’ in force in Nigeria. Such a document cannot fly at all in the face of the supremacy of the constitution.
The laws saved by section 45 of the Constitutions are enactments made by the State Legislature. For the avoidance of doubt section 318 of the Constitution has defined “Law” as follows: “Law mean a law enacted by the House of Assembly of a State.” The Court also held in Abdulkareem v. LASG (Supra) that a law contemplated under section 45(1) must be one duly enacted to safeguard the defence of the country, public safety of its people, or public health and morality, or meant to protect the rights and freedom of other persons. Most people get it wrong by assuming that the exception is the main rule and the main rule is the exception. Ask them what is their justification, they simply tell you the right is not absolute, or the authorities have so so rules… but that’s not what the Constitution says. In conclusion the provision of S. 45 is not applicable in Firdaus’s case or in the case of any female Muslim who choose to wear the Hijab during the call to bar because there is no law enacted by the National Assembly validly curtailing such rights as guaranteed under section 38 of the constitution.
CAN THE RIGHT TO MANIFEST RELIGIOUS BELIEFS (IN THIS CASE WEARING THE HIJAB) BE WAIVED BY SIGNING AN OATH OR CONSENTING TO THE DRESSCODE?
Some commentators have argued that Firdaus waived her rights to use the hijab during the call to bar when she allegedly signed some forms on admission into the lawschool.
WAS IT RIGHT FOR FIRDAUS TO HAVE INSISTED ON WEARING THE HIJAB DESPITE ENTREATIES MADE BY SENIOR MEMBERS OF THE BODY OF BENCHERS?
In my view, the entreaties made by the members of Body of Benchers were most unnecessary since Firdaus’s dressing did not contravene any valid law. They should have concentrated that energy in convincing themselves to call her to bar since there was no valid law preventing them from doing so. She was very right in asserting her rights and the rights of thousands of female Muslims whose right have been trampled upon unjustly and unjustifiably. Today we hail Rosa Park, Nelson Mandela and Gani Fawehinmi. What stood them out was challenging the status quo and asserting their rights when others were too timid to speak.


text: Looking for an Asphalt Paving/Seal Coating business in Frederick, MD ? Here, you will find a comprehensive list of businesses in Frederick, MD who focus on Asphalt Paving and Seal Coating . Asphalt Paving and Seal Coating businesses in Frederick, MD are encouraged to take advantage of our business listing options. If you know of an Asphalt Paving and Seal Coating company in Frederick, MD, please share this page with them.

industry_corpus2: Real Estate & Construction


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Can you spread fire pit ashes on your garden? Is it good for the soil?
It depends on your soil. I feel the benefits of using wood ash do not outweigh the disadvantages for most garden situations. Wood ash contains potassium, phosphate, boron and other elements and raises the pH of the soil. Do not add wood ash if your soil is alkaline (high pH) or contains adequate to excessive amounts of any of these nutrients. Many urban and highly cultivated soils are high to excessive in phosphorous and potassium. Take a soil test before incorporating wood ash into the garden. If you decide to use ash as a soil amendment, keep it away from seedlings and plant roots. Contact with wood ash can burn the roots. Never use coal ash or large amounts of wood ash. Both can be toxic to your plants. The University of Iowa recommends applying no more than 20 pounds (about a five gallon bucket) of wood ash to 1000 square feet of lawn and gardens in late winter or early spring where the pH is below 7.0.

industry_corpus2: Agriculture & Fisheries


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We’re looking for passionate, hard working people who want to work and learn with the best.
We want to inspire and teach. We embrace an environment of learning and development. We are committed to expanding the minds and talents of our team. At Reunion, we look forward to helping you grow in your career path and we’re excited for you to take that journey with us.


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When you face a budget deficit, you need not reduce spending. Just raise your prices!
During a meeting of the University of Connecticut's Board of Trustees, Chief Financial Officer Scott Jordan reported, "There is a gap that has opened up and is, honestly, growing." Two months later, UConn announced its plan to raise tuition by more than $3,000 for in-state students and $4,000 for out-of-state students between 2016 and 2019. This increase is on top of the 28.3 percent escalation in tuition that has already occurred over the previous four years.
Jordan told reporters, "Something does have to give when we find ourselves in a dire fiscal situation. The university has a lot of financial pressure." Financial pressure indeed; UConn is facing a $40 million deficit in its $1.3 billion budget for the fiscal year that will begin in July 2016. In the face of this "dire financial situation," there are alternatives to piling higher tuition onto the backs of UConn students. For example, Jordan mentioned that cuts could be made in staffing, classes and other programming. "All of those would reduce costs," he said; but he added, "None of them would make UConn a better university."
Do Jordan and President Susan Herbst really believe that there isn't a single ineffective or obsolete program at UConn? That the university's mission would really suffer if a few programs were cut back or eliminated? That all current programs and groups are operating at maximum efficiency, with no waste whatsoever? Herbst, Jordan and other UConn "leaders" seem to be focused only on raising tuition and revenues.
One concern they raised is that the state contribution to the school's total proceeds has dropped from 43% to about 30% over the past 15 years. Since 2000, however, state spending on UConn has actually increased; but it hasn't been able to keep up with boosts in school spending that have occurred year after year, budget period after budget period. The elephant in the room is the excessive spending.
UConn is not alone when it comes to frequent and burdensome increases in tuition. It's endemic throughout American higher education. Since 1980, tuition charges at U.S. colleges and universities have risen 757 percent. Over the same period, food and electricity costs have risen about 150 percent.
During the last five years, UConn's spending has grown by 15 percent per year; but the annual inflation rate averaged only 1.7 percent over the same time span. Because of all this spending, Jordan expects to face deficits year after year. "It does feel like the new reality," he said, but added that UConn remains affordable despite recent and projected rises in tuition.
Speaking of affordability, maybe some UConn business professors could help the administration to put the school's planned tuition hikes into perspective. UConn's tuition for in-state students is $10,524 (before the planned 28.5% rise); and out-of-state students currently pay $32,066 in tuition. Let's benchmark these tuition charges with a few other state-supported schools.
Imagine if business schools taught their students to manage budgets like their own administrators do. In other words, when the company suffers multi-million budget deficits, don't bother trying to reduce spending. Just keep raising the price of your product to your customers. Ludicrous.
Simplify organizational structure by decreasing layers of management.
Increase the number of direct reports to each supervisor.
Centralize services to eliminate redundancies in information technology, human resources, and finance.
Consolidate purchasing to ensure the best deals with suppliers.
Drop courses that have become obsolete. This will reduce costs without affecting core academic and research programs.
Steps like these can probably be taken at any university to save some real money. Three schools have already banked or projected substantial savings by implementing similar strategies. The University of California at Berkeley forecasts savings of about $75 million per year. At the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, declines in spending could reach $66 million a year. Cornell University revised its procurement process. Of a total of close to $85 million in projected savings, $30 million will result from changes in Cornell's purchasing practices.
Note that the savings achieved or anticipated at each of these universities would more than eliminate UConn's $40 million budget gap. Higher education in America must stop the madness of ever-increasing spending, tuition and student loan debt. Provide leadership. Get the budget under control. And Boards of Trustees should never approve raises in tuition until the administration proves that all opportunities for cost reduction have been adequately addressed.
P. Eaton-Robb, "UConn tuition going up," The Bulletin, Gatehouse Media, Norwich, CT, December 2, 2015, pp. A1-A2.
K. Kiley, “Where Universities Can Be Cut,” www.insidehighered.com, Inside Higher Ed, Washington, DC, September 16, 2011.
T. Mitchell, "20 Years of Tuition Growth at National Universities," www.usnews.com, U.S. News and World Report, New York, NY (2015).
J. Rabe Thomas, "UConn again looking to tuition increases to fill budget gap," The Connecticut Mirror, www.ctmirror.org, The Connecticut News Project, Inc., Hartford, CT, October 28, 2015.
© 2016 James F. Leonard. All rights reserved.


text: Believe it or not, but when leaving for the four-month family trip around Asia, I decided I need something smaller and more compact than my old Fuji X-E1. Since Christmas was only 4 weeks ahead, I gave myself a gift: new shiny black Fuji X100T. Compactness was one major reason. Another one was the Wi-Fi feature, which allowed me to travel without a laptop, but with a tablet and smartphone only. Thanks to this setup I was uploading pictures directly to my little dual sim Motorola Moto E (another great compact yet powerful travel companion), processing with VSCO Cam and posting straight to the social media (here’s my instagram profile). No need to carry heavy computer, no need to wait with post-processing (at least the initial one) until I’m back at home in April – I can share some of the pictures already now! Below you will find a sample of pictures taken with Fuji X100T (all SOOC JPEG’s) and slightly processed in VSCO Cam. In most cases I didn’t use the presets, just the basic exposure dials, because Fuji colors are so perfect most of the time. Regarding the camera itself, I’m still getting used to the new focal length (I was shooting almost exclusively with the 35mm 1.4 for the last three years), but apart from that I feel like I have finally found the one. I won’t go into details, because there’s already dozens of X100T reviews on the net. Let me just say that apart from the obvious advantages like improved speed and ergonomics, this camera simply has a soul. And I mean it when I say that: taking pictures with it is magical………..


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Software Testing assumes paramount importance these days, driven by factors like automation of early stages of development, regulatory compliance and certifications. Recent researches have shown that the testing phase Studies state that the testing phase comprises of one-third of the SDLC, and each error spotted early could saves millions of dollars for client organizations.
SE-Mentor’s stronghold Software Testing Services enable you optimize the performance of your software system and minimize risks. This could translate into minimal defects and higher quality in your technology systems, and of course, lower cost implications. Most importantly, our services can reduce the risk of software defects causing a major system outage in your business environment.
Better business agility and IT alignment.
Cost-efficiency, reduced liability from defects and support costs.
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Better ROI through mitigation of defect leakages.
Smoother development process and better application quality.
SE-Mentor’s dedicated Testing Services practice helps customers on this front with its comprehensive range of solutions and services.
We offer comprehensive testing services, from testing requirements to test execution, with extensive reporting and management.
We help our clients with the best practices evolved from our 1 Milion Man-hours Testing experience spanning multiple verticals and geographies.
We provide a full cycle of security testing, and assessment of software vulnerability to various attacks, to ensure optimum returns.
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We offer Cloud Testing Services to help IT executives looking to reduce their application-development costs and free resources to create more competitive solutions.
We offer the full list of services in the testing realm that are aimed at helping the user achieve the best required quality of any technology product.


text: If you are looking for quiet country living, this home is for you. 3 spacious bedrooms, 2 baths with an additional room that can give you the office, craft room or possible 4th bedroom that you need. Open floor plan with 10 foot ceilings and 36'' doorways that will accommodate a wheel chair. A large country kitchen and enormous 76x15 back porch with beautiful sunrises goes well with your early morning coffee. You will enjoy the delicious fruit from mature satsuma and persimmon trees. There's plenty of room for your homegrown vegetable or flower garden. This home and location can give you the country life you have been wanting with no HOA restrictions. Only 30 minutes from Lafayette and 1 hour from Lake Charles. 1 Acre tract to be subdivided with home site.


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Forget about the losses in August. While you're at it, forget the victories too. Failure is depressing and boasting about success won't get you anywhere. Why not start your September with fresh perspectives? Better yet - new tanks for your garage!
Browse below for this week's discounts!
The Type 3 Chi-Nu Kai debuts as the first Japanese tank in the game. It’s a Tier V medium premium tank. You will find that it has a decent 480 HP and an engine that can shift to its top speed of 38km/h. The Chi-Nu Kai’s 75mm gun can take down most Tier V tanks; it fires at 12 r/m with adequate penetration.
Just be careful to avoid being shot in the hull. Use sniper strategies to unleash the Chi-Nu Kai’s full potential.
Most people will agree that the 112 is like a distant cousin of the IS-6 due to an approximately equal amount of armour and gun performance. However, there are some key differences that separate one from the other; its armour is slightly thicker and is distributed more towards the front rather than the sides, enabling it to withstand more hits in a head-on attack.
The gun's performance is equally impressive, which is enhanced by the premium HEAT rounds that it can fire. With it, one can achieve a powerful 250 penetration rating, which can demolish all but the toughest tanks in the game. As the speed of the 112 is adequate at best, the tank is most suited for brawling in close range, where its armour and armament can outlast the enemy.


text: GGP Server was created by the Computational Logic group at TU Dresden. GGP Server is Open Source Software and licensed under the GPLv3. To obtain a copy of the source code, please visit its SourceForge project page.

industry_corpus2: Programming


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My classic skinny pendant is one of a kind in every way. I fuse sterling silver components onto a textured sterling back . The process starts with my vision but ultimately morphs into it's own design as the silver melts. Each pendant is unique while staying within the size parameters. This design features a malachite gemstone.
Pendant is 2" tall x 3/8" wide. Sterling silver neck chain is 20" long and adjusts down to fit our neckline, Sterling silver handmade clasp.
Did you know? Ancient Egyptians ground malachite to use in wall paintings and eye makeup. Legend has it that malachite could ward off eye infections when worn.

industry_corpus2: Manufacturing