I watched two men heading for a boardmeeting
Tags
board
meeting
beach
surf
surfer
surfers
two
2
british
uk
bracklesham
boy
men
shadows
silhouette
silhouettes
summertimeuk
sea
seaside
A house
164|2011
Sangalhos - Aveiro - Portugal
© All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal
Tags
IMG_0095
Europe
Portugal
Aveiro
Sangalhos
House
Garden
Trees
Grass
Flowers
Cuckoo Restaurant
Dinner at the Cuckoo.
Tags
Cuckoo Restaurant
Olinda
Victoria
cuckoo, australia
The Beach at Sainte-Adresse
1867, by Claude Monet
Tags
Chicago
Museum
art institute
chicago tourism
claude monet
Strngns
Arsenalen - Sveriges Frsvarsfordonsmuseum (invigt 17/6-2011).
Tags
strngns
2011
arsenalen
museum
NEW YORK—A former technology consultant was convicted of insider-trading charges in the first trial stemming from a wide-ranging government probe of expert-network firms.
The verdict by the 12-member jury, in its second day of deliberations, is the latest victory for federal prosecutors as they seek to crack down on insider trading in corporate America.
Winifred Jiau, a former consultant for California expert-network firm Primary Global Research, was convicted of conspiracy and securities fraud. Sentencing is set for Sept. 21.
More
Earlier: U.S. Scores Convictions
Topics: Insider Trading
Ms. Jiau, 43 years old, faces up to 20 years in prison on the securities fraud count and a possible five years on the conspiracy charge.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan alleged that Ms. Jiau befriended company insiders and persuaded them to give her confidential financial information, which she passed along to hedge-fund managers. Expert-network firms link company insiders or industry experts with investors for a fee.
"It was a very difficult decision," said Susan Kohlmeyer, the jury foreperson.
Ms. Jiau is the ninth person to be convicted or to plead guilty to criminal charges in the expert-network probe. Joanna Hendon, her lawyer, said her client will appeal the verdict. Ms. Jiau remained in custody on Monday.
Her conviction came about a week after three hedge-fund traders were convicted of fraud and conspiracy in a separate insider-trading probe involving Galleon Group. Galleon founder Raj Rajaratnam was convicted of insider-trading charges in a separate trial last month.
Experience WSJ professional
Editors' Deep Dive: The Quirks of Insider Trading Law
BUSINESS DAY
Opinion: We Might Be Better off If Insider Trading Were Legal
The Recorder
Companies Cautioned on Stock sales
SmartMoney.com
Why One Scholar Calls Insider Trading Ban Arbitrary
Access thousands of business sources not available on the free web. Learn More
The U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan has multiple insider-trading investigations ongoing. In the past 18 months, 49 hedge-fund managers and others have been charged with insider trading; 44 have been convicted or pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors alleged that Ms. Jaiu formed friendships with company insiders, including Sonny Nguyen, a former senior financial analyst at Nvidia Corp. She gave them gifts, including live lobsters and an iPhone to Mr. Nguyen, and took them to lunch, prosecutors said.
Ms. Jiau eventually suggested to Mr. Nguyen that they form a "club" to trade stock tips in exchange for nonpublic information, prosecutors said. Mr. Nguyen, who testified at trial, has pleaded guilty to criminal charges.
The information she got from her sources inside Nvidia and Marvell Technology Group Ltd. was so valuable and accurate—"to the decimal point," one prosecutor said—that her hedge-fund clients paid Ms. Jiau a monthly fee as high as $10,000 a month, prosecutors said.
She received, via money paid to the expert-network firm, about $208,000 over the length of the conspiracy which ran from 2006 to 2008, prosecutors said.
Ms. Jiau communicated with her hedge-fund clients—Samir Barai and Noah Freeman—in code, describing the inside information as "recipes" and the payments as "sugar," prosecutors said. Mr. Freeman and Mr. Barai have both pleaded guilty to criminal charges.
"She played a vital role," said Parbodh Sharma, a juror who works in the restaurant business. "She provided the information to the decimal. That's unheard of in the business world."
Ms. Hendon, Ms. Jiau's lawyer, had argued in her closing statement last Thursday that the information Ms. Jiau shared, while nonpublic, wasn't material, or important enough for a reasonable investor to base a trade.
company insiders, conspiracy charge, federal prosecutors, ninth person, insider trading, old faces, securities fraud, expert network, network probe, government probe, kohlmeyer, member jury, business sources, deep dive, galleon, wsj, global research, difficult decision, winifred, technology consultant
WATERLOO, Ontario—In this tidy city that Research in Motion Ltd. put on the global business map, officials and business leaders rallied behind Canada's best-known corporation, even as investors abandoned it in droves Friday, and RIM itself warned it will be shedding jobs.
RIM shares fell 21% to $27.75 Friday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, their lowest level in five years, after executives announced the day before disappointing quarterly earnings and downgraded forecasts for the full year. The company also said it would reduce headcount as part of a streamlining operation to help cope with its slump.
Recent News
Heard: BlackBerry Still Not Ripe for Investors
Investors Sour on BlackBerry
RIM Warns of More BlackBerry Blues
Bears Feast on BlackBerry
RIM Shares Fall After Warning
RIM "is going through a challenging time," said Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran, but she added "we're feeling quite confident in them and the future."
Once known as an insurance center and automotive-manufacturing base just a short drive from Toronto, the city of Waterloo has become Canada's technology hub, attracting even some of RIM's fiercest competitors, including Google Inc.
Still, RIM dominates the landscape, headquartered in a campus of some two-dozen buildings hugging the University of Waterloo, from which the company sprang. Its name adorns the city's major recreational complex.
RIM's growth—it has hired about 1,000 people every year since 2006, Ms. Halloran says—has transformed the once-sleepy university town into a bustling hub.
Indeed, while neighboring cities like Guelph and Cambridge are seen bedroom communities feeding Toronto, many of the technology companies that have set up shop in Waterloo run shuttle buses from the larger city, bringing up workers.
Waterloo officials and business leaders say the city is diversified enough to weather any shocks, should RIM take a more dramatic downturn.
RIM is just "part of a very broadly based economy in the region," said Waterloo Region Chairman Ken Seiling.
"We've seen the waxing and waning of a lot of companies," said Max Blouw, president of Wilfrid Laurier University and a board member of Canada's Technology Triangle, the region's economic-development organization.
nasdaq stock market, research in motion ltd, waterloo run, google inc, city of waterloo, shuttle buses, university of waterloo, waterloo region, waterloo ontario, technology hub, google, region chairman, research in motion, quarterly earnings, bedroom communities, dozen buildings, insurance center, automotive manufacturing, halloran, headcount
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. has lost another senior marketing executive as it struggles with a product transition that has triggered profit warnings and a sharp share-price drop.
Brian Wallace, RIM's vice president of digital marketing and media, has left RIM for Samsung Telecommunications America. Samsung confirmed the move Monday.
RIM representatives weren't immediately available for comment. Samsung said Mr. Wallace wasn't available for comment.
More
MarketBeat: RIM Shares Fall 5%
Earlier: RIM Warns of More BlackBerry Blues (6/17/2011)
"At this point Samsung confirms the news, but [has] no additional comments," a Samsung Telecommunications spokeswoman said in an email. Samsung Telecom is a unit of Samsung Electronics Co.
Mr. Wallace's departure comes amid a time of turmoil for Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM. The BlackBerry maker is bleeding market share in the U.S. as its aging product line struggles to compete against Apple Inc.'s iPhone and devices powered by Google Inc.'s Android-operating system, such as Samsung's Galaxy. Last week, RIM's shares fell to five-year lows after the company issued disappointing second-quarter guidance and said it would begin reducing its head count.
Mr. Wallace is the latest senior departure from RIM's marketing department. Keith Pardy left the company in February after serving as chief marketing officer for two years. His departure came just weeks before RIM was to launch its PlayBook tablet, the company's most important roll-out in years.
Paul Kalbflesich, a vice president of brand creativity at RIM for 11 years, left RIM earlier this year, replaced by Roger Baxter, a former chief strategy officer for Publicis Group SA's Seattle unit.
Last week, RIM also said that one of its three chief operating officers, Don Morrison, had left the company temporarily on medical leave but that he would eventually return. Meanwhile, RIM said Larry Conlee, a former COO who retired in 2009, has returned in an advisory role. RIM representatives haven't commented specifically on Mr. Conlee's role at the company or on how Mr. Morrison's duties are being handled during his medical leave.
Write to Stuart Weinberg at stuart.weinberg@dowjones.com.
Corrections & Amplifications
An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Mr. Wallace's title at RIM.
samsung telecommunications america, samsung electronics co, publicis group, research in motion ltd, chief strategy officer, google inc, keith pardy, seattle unit, product transition, waterloo ontario, don morrison, mr wallace, chief operating officers, brian wallace, senior marketing, samsung electronics, google, profit warnings, chief marketing, digital marketing
On the edge
Ok, so I could have had a better title....
Went to the waters edge to get a different shot at Saltwick Bay. 'The Whale' in the distance.
Nice sunset, waves just inches from me, awesome light, great experience.
(Horizon correction only)
Tags
saltwick bay
saltwick
bay
rocks
water
the whale
sea
coast
yorkshire
sky
sunset
clouds
waves
ocean
scarborough
yorkshire coast
coastal
whitby
horizon
waters edge, whale, horizon, waves, sunset, saltwick bay
VANCOUVER, British Columbia—As fashion week moves into the spotlight in New York, the most flamboyant designs may be on the ice in Canada.
Next week, American figure skater and provocateur Johnny Weir will unveil a sparkly one-piece of his own design in Olympic competition. It's not often that a skating wardrobe change makes headlines, but that's what happened after Mr. Weir received threats for wearing white fox fur on his costume at last month's U.S. championships. (He has since switched costumes.)
Glitter on Ice
A look at some of Johnny Weir's skating outfits.
View Slideshow
![[SB10001424052748703382904575059683861298238]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-FM757_0212WE_D_20100211112916.jpg)
It's all part of the package with Mr. Weir, who has made a name for himself as much for his off-ice drama—like wearing a Soviet team jacket to warm up at the 2006 Olympics—as for his skating. Mr. Weir, a contender to win a medal at his second Games, has shaken up the business of men's skating by blending it with high fashion and over-the-top personality. While other American male skaters have most commonly made post-Olympics names for themselves as coaches, TV commentators or professional stars in traveling skating tours, Mr. Weir has taken the unusual step of foraying into fashion during his competitive career.
He has walked (and skated) the runway at New York Fashion Week and this year started his own Be Unique label with a line of $95 black jackets. After appearing in a documentary called "Pop Star on Ice," he is now the star of the Sundance Channel's reality show "Be Good Johnny Weir," which shows him practicing for many hours as well as shopping with his best friend Paris. In a promo for the show, Mr. Weir participates in a photo shoot in which he, wearing nothing but women's high heels, gloves and gem-studded leggings, emerges from a giant gold Fabergé egg.
Figure skater Johnny Weir chats with WSJ's Geoffrey Fowler about the weirdest thing a fan has ever thrown him on the ice and what's on his iPod.
Watch Weir Skate
Watch Johnny Weir skate to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" at New York Fashion Week in Feb. 2009, along with an interview with Lifeskate.com's editor Susan Chun on his fashion ambitions.
Mr. Weir, who has worked on costumes with the same seamstress since he was 13, calls one of his outfits "a Care Bear on acid. " He attributes his fifth-place performance at the 2006 Games to not feeling his "aura." Despite the negative attention for his fox fur choice, he doesn't apologize for loving fur. ("Pop Star on Ice" showed him moving numerous boxes of furs to a new apartment.) He even skates differently, spinning and jumping clockwise, unlike most of his counter-clockwise competitors. He spends lots of time with his fans, and enjoys particularly large followings in Japan, South Korea and Russia.
"Johnny Weir is the kind of creative talent that is pretty addictive for our viewers," says Sarah Barnett, the general manager of the Sundance Channel, which is owned by a unit of Cablevision Systems. "He is not afraid to show everything."
More
The Vancouver Medals Forecast
The Olympics Soap Opera Digest
All Coverage at the WSJ Olympics Page
![[weir1]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/WK-AS819_weir1_D_20100210151848.jpg)
Getty Images
Johnny Weir at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January, above, and in a warm-up jacket he designed, below.
![[weir3]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/WK-AS821_weir3_DV_20100210152250.jpg)
Sundance Channel
Journal Community
Vote: Which country will win the most medals?
Vote: Should NBC tape-delay Olympic events for a primetime audience?
Vote: With 835 hours of programming, how much of the Olympics will you watch?
Headlines and fan loyalty haven't yet won Mr. Weir top-shelf sponsorships. His rival and fellow U.S. team member Evan Lysacek, the 2009 world champion who focuses on the sport's athletic jumps and spins, is backed by Coca-Cola and AT&T. Mr. Weir—whose performance since the 2006 games has sometimes disappointed—only gets money from his ice rink and skate manufacturer, as well as exhibitions and lectures. (He is in talks with "a very big furrier" but is nervous about moving forward "for obvious reasons," says his agent, Tara Modlin.) Skating has never lacked for male peacocks. But Mr. Weir's particularly public persona creates discomfiture at a moment when figure skating has been struggling to reassert itself as a legitimate sport in the aftermath of a 2002 judging scandal.
"Figure skating, with its roots in amateur sports, has created champions with an image of innocence and wholesomeness. Gender role ambiguity has been tolerated, but not promoted," says Susan Chun, the editor of the skating blog Lifeskate.com. While Mr. Weir has in the past said he didn't get sufficient support from U.S. Figure Skating officials, Ms. Modlin is quick to say that the organization's new president, Patricia St. Peter, is a fan of Mr. Weir's. Officials at U.S. Figure Skating didn't respond to a request for comment.
Nearing the end of his competitive skating career, Mr. Weir hopes there's a different sort of brand in his future. One of his favorite performers is Lady Gaga, the pop singer who has pushed cultural boundaries with out-of-this-world fashion but managed to sell her music to the mainstream. Mr. Weir, who performs to Lady Gaga's hit "Poker Face" at exhibitions, recently attended her concert at Radio City Music Hall and sat next to the singer's mother, who is a skating fan.
"When Gaga started, there were people who worried about her as well. But look at some of the brands associated with her now," like Polaroid, says Mark Zablow, the director of marketing for Platinum Rye Entertainment, a talent firm that is managing the careers of some 30 Olympic athletes. "Yes, your Cokes and Visa may stay away from Johnny. But if he wins, he could open the door for figure skating to a whole new category of brands."
Raised in Quarryville, Pa.—Amish country—Mr. Weir started figure skating relatively late in life, when he was 12, after watching Oksana Baiul win gold at the 1994 Olympics. His mother works for the U.S. Census Bureau, and his father is on disability. Mr. Weir won the world junior championship in 2001 and the adult U.S. championships three times in a row between 2004 and 2006. But since the 2006 Olympics, his performance at competitions has been uneven. In 2007 he switched from his long-time coach Priscilla Hill to Galina Zmievskaya, who had previously coached his idol, Ms. Baiul.
![[weir2]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/WK-AS820A_weir2_DV_20100210152046.jpg)
Sundance Channel
Johnny Weir with his costume creator Stephanie Handler and coach Galina Zmievskaya.
Mr. Weir's interest in fashion predates his interest in skating. His mother, Patti Weir, says she remembers him demanding to pick his own clothes—a brightly colored high turtleneck—and doing his own hair at school for the annual photo day in fourth grade. "I would trust him to tell me what to buy," she says.
His future likely lies in fashion, says Ms. Modlin and other people who work with him. He has turned the guest room of his apartment into a walk-in-closet with two floor-to-ceiling "trees" with hooks. One is for his furs, and the other is for his Balenciaga. He has dozens of Balenciaga bags, almost all of which have been given to him by fans.
In his online journal last summer, Mr. Weir wrote about how he'd rather daydream about fashion than listen to lectures from U.S. Figure Skating, which runs a program for top athletes in Colorado Springs called "Champs Camp." "I have a hard time sitting through lectures while I'm doodling costumes in my binder or considering the autumn colors for the Balenciaga collection," he wrote. Mr. Weir says he has befriended designers like Richie Rich (a former figure skater), and wants to attend New York's Fashion Institute of Technology.
Stephanie Handler, a seamstress who has worked with Mr. Weir on his costumes since he was "a 13-year-old piece of spaghetti," says that he has an aesthetic that's all his own. They create his costumes together, starting with Mr. Weir's drawings and then translating them into fabrics. Last fall, she recalls gathering at her studio to choose a shade of pink used for lacing on his costume for the Olympic short program. "He was particular about it not being sissy pink or bubblegum pink. It had to be fuchsia electric—not quite day-glow pink," she says.
She calls Mr. Weir a fashion pioneer in skating. "Everyone is blurring the lines a lot more because of Johnny's influence. Remember back when skating was all pants and shirts? Now there are a lot more little onesies out there among the guys. There is a whole lot more expression going on than in Dick Button's time," she says, adding that already some female skaters have asked to buy Mr. Weir's costumes to turn them into dresses.
While he attracts detractors from the traditional figure skating world, Mr. Weir was also criticized by Mark Lund, the gay former editor of International Figure Skating magazine, for not more directly addressing whether he is gay. In interviews, Mr. Weir celebrates the fact that he is effeminate and likes "sparkly things" but deflects questions about his sexuality, saying he doesn't want to be put in a box.
Mr. Weir uses his TV show to respond to these pressures. In one episode he says that he takes "the best of masculinity and femininity and put it together in some kind of Johnny Weir mixture."
Write to Geoffrey A. Fowler at geoffrey.fowler@wsj.com
Online.wsj.com
NewGuineaBismark4
Tags
Oceania
Pacific
Australia
New Guinea
Papua Niugini
Irian Jaya
Polynesia
Melanesia
Cook
Samoa
Tonga
Vanuatu
New Caledonia
Islands
travels
peoples
tribe
culture
religions
explorations
reportages
TravelGeo
Lignes rapproches
Puisserguier (Hrault, France)
Tags
jolivillage
color
day
europe
geotagged
holiday
live
photo
photography
photos
tour
travel
trip
village
puisserguier
hrault
languedoc
Dandole vida y tratando de cambiar la forma.
My Facebook
Tags
Nikon
D60
Nikon D60
art
nature
foto
fotografa
cmara
summer
new
nueva
argentina
perspectiva
enfoque
nitido
nitidez
2011
live
love
light
dia
top
luz
color
colors
contraste
encuadre
colores
luces
sky
photo
365
da
day
explore
explored
photos
photography
brillo
reflejo
macro
bokeh
reflection
sun
franco
rostan
may
naranja
orange
amarillo
verde
green
yellow
francorostan
fotgrafo
horizonte
load14
day164
week23
project365164
geo
face
rostro
people
persona
retrato
fashion
moda
creativelive
topwrs
atardecer
deporte
"..........the sky is on fire!!!"
www.colinjspencephotos.com
www.colinandsuespence>com
Tags
fire
sky
cloud
sea
sunrise
grey
red
Herne
IMG_1281
Completely eaten bearer. Nothing holding up this section of the floor.
Tags
Termites
Australia
termite damage
Red Swimming-Pool II DDC_5065
Secrets revealed of the Abode of chaos (112 pages, adult only) >>>
"999" English version with English subtitles is available >>>
HD movie - scenario thierry Ehrmann - filmed by Etienne Perrone
----------
voir les secrets de la Demeure du Chaos avec 112 pages trs tranges (adult only)
999 : visite initiatique au coeur de la Demeure du Chaos insuffle par l'Esprit de la Salamandre
Film HD d'Etienne PERRONE selon un scnario original de thierry Ehrmann.
courtesy of Organ Museum
©2011 www.AbodeofChaos.org
Tags
Red
swimming-pool
piscine
sang
blood
drum
tuyau
eau
water
radioactivit
radioactivity
nuclear
nuclaire
Abode of Chaos
chaos
l'Esprit de la Salamandre
Salamander Spirit
Demeure du Chaos
thierry Ehrmann
DDC
999
groupe serveur
TAZ
organ museum
server group
facteur cheval
palais ideal
sanctuaire
sanctuary
Artprice
CEDH
portrait
painting
peinture
France
Museum
sculpture
architecture
maison d'artiste
art
artists' houses
street art
sculpture moderne
modern sculpture
secret
alchimie
alchemy
Land Art
Art Brut
Art singulier
Raw art
symbol
9/11
contemporary art
Apocalypse
post-apocalyptique
cyberpunk
graffiti
vanitas
ruins
prophecy
prophtie
container
dadaisme
devastation
outsider art
mystery
Franc-maconnerie
Free-Massonery
organ museum, english subtitles, thierry ehrmann, perrone, ddc, abode, trs, swimming pool, etienne, chaos, hd, adult
Douce impression...!!!
Sorry for the watermark...!!!
Thieves are very active on social network to sale our works.
Just look at this:
allday.ru/188206-denis-collette-autumn-spirit-esprit-daut...
Welcome in my new
gallery
Sweet impression...!!!
My wild river reflection …!!!
An impressionnist photo safari concentrated mainly on a daily basis (or almost) on my small piece of planet of 55 000 square feet …!!!
A Thoreau "waldennienne" approach …!!!
Reflet de ma rivire sauvage …!!!
Un safari photo impressioniste au quotidien concentr essentiellement (ou presque) sur un petit morceau de plante de 55 000 pieds carrs ...!!!
Une dmarche "waldennienne" la Thoreau …!!!
Tags
Impression
Impressions
Forest
Foret
Aqua
Arbre
Tree
Arbres
Trees
Wild river
Rivire sauvage
Wild rivers
Rivires sauvages
River
Rivire
Rivers
Rivires
Wild
Sauvage
Sauvages
Reflection
Reflet
Reflections
Reflets
Impressionist
Impressionniste
Impressionists
Impressionistes
Photo safari
Photos safari
Photo
Photos
Safari
Thoreau
Walden
Denis Collette
Denis
Collette
Quebec
Qubec
Canada
Pont-Rouge
Portneuf
safari photo, photo safari, daily basis, allday, wild river, collette, thoreau, quot, thieves, square feet, denis, reflection, autumn, spirit, ru
Door of opportunities :)
Tags
yellow
woods
waterdrop
water
usa
sunset
plant
park
nature
landscapes
landscape
lake
greenwater
green
favorite
exposure
colors
colorful
canon60d
canon
california
ca
Vgsbotn Trshavn
P1010863
Tags
Faroe Islands
Trshavn
Vgsbotn
Vgsbotnur
lumix
panasonic
zx1
zr1
hdr
tonemapped
boats
harbour
sea
water
bridge
No jackpot data
Budapest - Hongrie
Tags
woman
reflet
reflects
panasonicdmcg1
odds
femme
europe
couleurs
couleur
colors
bet
Hungary
Hongrie
game
jeu
nuit
night
lumire
light
town
Gunwalloe revisited
Canon 5D mkII
24mm TS-E II (no shift, minimal tilt)
f/11
3.2s
ISO 50
Lee Filters 0.9 soft edge
have a little look on black first if you will......
not a new image i'm afraid, end of last year from Gunwalloe Beach in cornwall - what i'd do to be back down there right now......
i had processed a few from down here but didn't really like too many of them, i'm blaming Lightroom and my own stupidity though for that as i just thought their preset values were an interpretation of the RAW file and not halfway towards processing the life out of every shot i took. still, you live and learn ay?
much happier with this image now, the sky clears a bit above the cloud there and the beach has little interest below the rocks in the frame so felt that a 2x1 crop was far more pleasing.
thoughts and comments always welcomed and greatly received by all, thanks as ever for looking.
Tags
canon
5d
mark
mk
2
II
24mm
tilt
shift
gunwalloe
beach
sea
cornwall
sunset
lightroom, raw file, preset values, new image, cornwall, tilt, stupidity, rocks, sky
WorldOfCoke_6-2011-1136.jpg
Tags
Canon
5DMkII
Georgia
Atlanta
vacation
WorldofCocaCola
Coke
CocaCola
museum
Weeds
A pond found in Havenwoods State Forest. Milwaukee, WI
Tags
www.cjschmit.com
canon
canon 5d mark ii
cj schmit
pbcs
photography by cj schmit
canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM
havenwoods state forest
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
wide angle
weeds
sunset
golden hour
pond
water
blue sky
United States
USA
havenwoods state forest, 5d, milwaukee
All this gummy sushi was originally powder!
Tags
instagram app
square
square format
iphoneography
Sherlock Holmes museum:
Tags
london 2011
sherlock holmes
museum
sherlock holmes museum
sherlock
england
london
baker street
dining room
plates
knives
forks
glasses
WASHINGTON—The official White House visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel kicked off in earnest Tuesday, with President Barack Obama hailing their close relationship and personal ties.
View Full Image
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
US President Barack Obama (R) escorts German Chancellor Angela Merkel to review a guard of honor during an official arrival ceremony at the White House.
President Obama, speaking at an official arrival ceremony on the south lawn of the White House, cited the relationship between both countries as an example of how former enemies can become friends.
"As people around the world imagine a different future, the story of Germany and our alliance in the 20th century shows what's possible in the 21st," Mr. Obama said. "Wars can end, adversaries can become allies, walls can come down; at long last nations can be whole and can be free."
The visit is expected to be dominated by an array of global concerns, from Europe's debt crisis to conflicts in Afghanistan and Libya.
Ms. Merkel, the first leader of a European country to come to the U.S. for an official visit during Mr. Obama's presidency, hailed relations between both nations, saying "Europe and Germany have no better partner than America,"
Mr. Obama said both he and Ms. Merkel are proof of their countries' spirit of freedom. "It's obvious neither of us looks exactly like the leaders that preceded us," Mr. Obama said to applause. Mr. Obama is the first African-American president of the U.S. and Ms. Merkel is the first female chancellor of Germany.
President Obama will honor Ms. Merkel with the U.S. Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. The two will also meet in the Oval Office, host a news conference and sit down for an official dinner. Ms. Merkel will also meet congressional leaders, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Ms. Merkel arrived on the South Lawn of the White House shortly before 9:30 a.m. Receiving her were President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, several hundred people, a military band and honor guard. Many guests of the German embassy attended, as well as a host of Obama administration officials including Secretary of State Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Germany's ministers for finance, economics and foreign policy also attended the ceremony.
After Ms. Merkel arrival Monday evening the two leaders had a private dinner at a Georgetown restaurant and discussed a range of issues, particularly Europe's debt crisis and the future leadership of the International Monetary Fund, said an official familiar with their conversation.
german chancellor angela merkel, ms merkel, michelle obama, chancellor angela merkel, angela merkel, barack obama, joe biden, chancellor of germany, spirit of freedom, arrival ceremony, personal ties, hillary clinton, guard of honor, medal of freedom, global concerns, president joe, debt crisis, clinton ms, congressional leaders, american president
Balloon Festival 2011 Temecula
These images were taken at the Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival on 5 June 20111. The event was a three day event at Lake Skinner. The colors were magical and the sky was filled with them. The night glow happened the night before but i missed it.
Tags
Blue
Temecula
color
festival
fly
green
hot air balloon
magic
sky
yellow
CA
La grande m(o)uette
Saint-Malo - 05/2011
Tags
mer
sea
beach
plage
mouette
bird
seabird
color
saint
malo
saint malo
bretagne
Wales's show pony Gavin Henson once again fails to quite hit the mark against the Barbarians
Sixty-one minutes to rescue a reputation and a career. That’s what Gavin Henson was given. Just over an hour to convince Wales’ coach Warren Gatland that he was worth a place in his 30-man World Cup squad.
On the outside: Gavin Henson looks on as the game goes ahead without him - and that's part of the problem for someone who is quite clearly a remarkable athlete Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Paul Ackford, at the Millennium Stadium
8:11PM BST 04 Jun 2011
Comments
He didn’t do enough for me, but that’s not to say that he won’t get his chance. You see, the problem with Henson, the allegation that has followed him throughout his time with Wales, the Lions, Ospreys, Saracens and Toulon, is that for all his undoubted talent, the lad doesn’t appear to give a damn.
His performance against the Barbarians simply added to the mystery. Henson divides opinion everywhere but especially in Wales.
In a half-empty Millennium stadium, the announcement of his name was greeted with a mixture of jeers and cheers. There’s no doubt he’s box office.
Only Stephen Jones, on the occasion of his 100th cap, and Martyn 'Nugget’ Williams, clad in Barbarians colours also trying to extend an international career, elicited more decibels.
Henson looks the part. When he came out for the warm-up, socks rolled down towards matching white boots, bouncing lightly on his chunky calves, he looked like a boxer.
The guy is wonderfully balanced; a natural athlete; poised, in control. When he ran out onto the pitch for the game proper the boxer had morphed into a prancing horse, one of those fancy dolled-up ones you seen in international dressage competitions.
There was the same high knee lift, the same sense of grace and theatre. Henson is a man who demands attention. You want to watch him.
But then the match kicked off and the problems started because, for all his muscles and body sculpture, Henson plays floppy flappy soft.
When Matt Stevens turned up for his first training session with Saracens after a lengthy ban for drug abuse, he smashed into tackle bags and piled into scrums.
Stevens was determined to make a statement, to show the doubters that he was back in business: fitter, harder, more determined.
Henson had that kind of chance against the Baa Baas but there was a lack of physicality.
Instead of driving into and through tackles to dominate the gain line, Henson folded into contact. He didn’t miss much. Henson never does.
But for a guy who was Wales’ defensive captain in his pomp, it was clear his talent lies in organisation rather than execution.
But then that’s Henson all over. The irritation comes from the fact that he clearly has the gifts to do so much more but seems not to be bothered.
Just as Stevens defined a relationship with Saracens by raising the bar in that training session, so Henson destroyed one by not taking the trouble to learn the Christian names of his team-mates during his spell at the club.
Not their nicknames, their Christian names. That’s just rude and why many think he’s arrogant. I don’t know him well enough to comment on that.
Those who do say that he can be painfully shy and is still reeling from the break-up of his relationship with Charlotte Church, the mother of his children.
What I do know is that he can be diffident on a rugby pitch. I watched him exclusively for the hour he was active and he spent an awful lot of time on the fringes of the action.
Some of that was because Wales didn’t engineer the field position or the speed of ball for Henson and colleagues to set the agenda.
But it was also because Henson is always striving to get in position for what might happen rather than dealing with what is occurring.
Again, that’s part of his attraction. Henson sees things early. His sense of space is acute. It was his floated, beautifully weighted (marginally forward) pass which led to Wales’s first try by George North.
But modern rugby requires players to act in the moment, to hustle and scrap, and Henson doesn’t do that.
He waits, aloof and alone, for the chance which may come round but which often doesn’t, either because those around him aren’t on his wavelength, or because Test rugby is too fractured and hectic for plans to come to fruition.
Maybe Henson pays an unfair price for his perspicacity. Maybe, in a better team with better players, his creativity would find an outlet. He was a bit rusty yesterday.
A couple of kicks which he tried to slide in behind an advancing defensive wall didn’t quite come off, but there was one sublime pickup on the gallop and one beautifully angled support run off a Stephen Jones break.
Jones couldn’t manage the offload. If he had, Henson would have been free and clear.
But that’s the thing about sport at this level. You are judged not by what you are capable of doing but by what you actually deliver and Henson’s return was, for me, not good enough.
It didn’t help that he was motioning to the bench to be replaced after 58 minutes. That’s not clever for a man seeking a reprieve.
And it didn’t help that Scott Williams, who came on for Henson for his debut cap after 61 minutes, lifted the energy levels noticeably.
Warren Gatland took a different view, though, naming Henson in his 45-man training squad. Potential over performance? It could be a risky call.
man world cup, getty images, dressage competitions, natural athlete, show pony, world cup squad, body sculpture, white boots, millennium stadium, rsquo, gavin henson, prancing horse, s box, stephen jones, international career, jeers, saracens, ospreys, barbarians, no doubt
