About a year ago I wrote about People’s First Community Bank in “Short Sale Denied – Despite Cancer Diagnosis”.  My seller’s husband had kidney cancer, and her financial situation had become tenuous.  She could no longer afford the payments on her lot near Destin Florida.

I worked to help her do a short sale to avoid foreclosure. When we sent in the contract, People’s First told me they “do NOT do short sales, period”.  I called them and reiterated the diagnosis of kidney cancer, wondering how this woman could keep up with her payments.  I also asked, “Why would your company not consider a short sale in this economy?” I was told they had “not given any subprime loans, they were well-capitalized, and when they lent money, they expected to get it paid back”.  I said, “So you’d rather foreclose?”  They said “Yes”. When I told them I would write about the story in my blog, they warned me not to.

Today it was announced that the federal Office of Thrift Supervision has closed People’s First.  A few weeks ago the bank was notified by OTS for Prompt Corrective Action because they were deemed “significantly undercapitalized”.   Basically, a bank’s capitalization rating has to do with its percentage of capital, like cash, as compared to its risk-based assets, such as mortgage loans. According to the FDIC: ”Well Capitalized” means a total risk-based capital equal to or greater than 10 percent, “Adequately Capitalized”  is a risk-based capitalo ratio equal to or greater than 8 percent.  People’s First capital ratio has been reported at 2.55.

My question is, could Peoples First’s policy of refusing any short sale been part of its downfall?  If the bank insisted on foreclosing and repossessing properties, wouldn’t that have added to its risk-based assets?  If they had allowed short sales, wouldn’t their percentage of risk-based assets have been decreased?
Finally, wouldn’t allowing short sales have helped them live up to their motto, “The Best Bank in the Neighborhood”?

It’s Wendy!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, CRP, CRS, GRI, ABR     Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Destin FL Real Estate

Destin Short Sales & Pre Foreclosure Help.

Read Wendy’s Destin Real Estate Blog

www.ShortSaleSuperStars.com for Realtors

 Call toll-free 1-877-ITS-WNDY (1-877-487-9639) or local 850-650-7883 ext 204

Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

Wendy is a short sale and pre-foreclosure specialist and has been featured in “Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine” and “Florida Realtor Magazine”. She serves: Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Seagrove Beach, Watercolor, Sandestin, Seaside, Crestview, Rosemary Beach, Mary Esther, Shalimar, Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field.

Rim seal fire protection at Lobbau / Schwechat Project, OMV Vienna – Austria

Floating roof tanks are used for the storage of liquid educts and products containing hydrocarbons and originating from petroleum refining and/or petroleum distillation. The essential feature of this type of storage tank is the pontoon roofs which “float” on the stored product and hence also at a low filling level guarantee a storage space with the lowest gas volume.

The floating roof tanks used in the OMV facility in Schwechat and Lobbau are about 25 m high and have a diameter of 80-100 m. Mainly products/educts such as crude oils (Schwechat) as well as light fuel oils and gasolines (Lobbau) are stored in them. All of the compounds stored correspond to classification IIA according to EN 50014/Appendix A.

Design of the annular gap

In order to ensure the functioning of a variable roof, the edge of the roof must not, on the one hand, be rigidly connected to the tank inner wall, on the other, the sealing of the roof edge must be designed as tight as possible in order to prevent excessive evaporation of the product particularly on hot summer days.

This sealing is achieved in Schwechat/Lobbau with the help of a plate that leads around the roof edge and is pressed against the tank inner wall by metal leaf springs. The plate is connected to the pontoon roof via these leaf springs as well as via a sagging piece of rubber (trough) located below it.

As the seal between the roof and the tank inner wall is not hermetically tight (annular gap) and gaseous hydrocarbons have a higher density than air, in this trough (and likewise on the roof) combustible gases collect during normal operation of the tank. Hence the roof surface, and only the roof surface, corresponds to the conditions of explosion protection zone 0.

The concentrations of combustible gases to be assumed on the tank roof are very much dependent upon the atmospheric conditions (temperature, wind forces) as well as on the tank filling level and the product stored.

Hazard potential

Due to the constantly present concentration of combustible gases there is a danger of the ignition of these gases in particular by lightning. In the “worst case” a fire, above all in the rubber trough would result in the trough burning away and thus to the fire penetrating into the tank interior. In order to avoid this in case of emergency, on the upper edge of the tank 12 extinguishing tubes are distributed radially and symmetrical, which within 10 min of a fire alarm being triggered flood the entire pontoon roof of the tank with extinguishing foam (annular gap foaming). The fire detection system to be used is the linear heat-sensitive detector OTS EX. The laser-light carrying sensor cable is in this case routed all round at a distance of about 20 cm above the upper edge of the trough by means of metal holders that are fastened to the cover plate.  The controller and the cable end are located outside of the potentially explosive areas.

Installation of the sensor cable

The sensor cable is routed over the access ladder to the tank. From there the cable is spanned along the descending steps about 5-7 cm parallel to the steam line as far as the steam pantographs and from there to the pontoon roof. The cable holders are located at a distance of 60-80 cm from each other.

In the case of the steam pantographs (“knees”) a play of the cable of about 1.5 – 2 m has been allowed for. This play is located in 3 clips for cable routing. On the pontoon roof the cable is routed along the annular gap at a distance of 10 cm from the inner wall of the tank. The metal holders are arranged at a distance of approx. 100 cm from each other.

The sensor cable is then led back again the same way.

As a result of the large range of the measuring systems of 4 km several floating roof tanks are monitored with one controller (Schwechat 4 tanks, Lobbau 3 tanks). The sensor cable is hence laid from tank to tank. During normal operation, despite the mobility of the pontoon roof s no mechanical strains on the sensor cable occur, as due to the design the cable length remains the same also when the roof moves and the speed of the roof height change is low. Access to the pontoon roof is permitted only in exceptional cases and requires prior checking of the gas concentration present and is hence a very rare event.

System components of the OTS 2000/4000 product line have been designed to provide rapid, reliable fire detection and protection against false alarms. The safety industry is governed by exacting fire monitoring requirements, and is tightly controlled by stringent national and international regulations: thus the expectations and requirements of our customers are extremely high. LIOS Technology can meet those high standards with unique fire detection technology on an industrial scale with a proven track record of more than 1000 installations worldwide.

Specifications:

• OTS Controller Dimensions(HxWxD): 13.5 cm x 44.9 cm  x 31.5 cm (5,24’’x17,68’’x12,52’’), weigth 10.2 kg
• Range: 2km (OTS 2000) or 4 km (OTS 4000)
• Spatial resolution: 1.5 m to 4 m adjustable
• Power supply 22 – 30V DC max. 50W (Option: 115/230V AC max. 70W)
• Communication Interface: RS 232, SUB-D 9, optically decoupled
• Option: RJ45 embedded Ethernet module
• 4 programmable Inputs, SUB-D 9
• 10 programmable Outputs, SUB-D 25 (Option: 20 Outputs, SUB HD44)
• Operating temperature range: 0°C to 40°C. Relative humidity max. 95% (non-condensing)
• EN 54/5-A1 certified (VdS G 204141)
• ATEX certified (EX II 1 G)

Features:

• Provides the precise location of the seat of the fire even in the presence of strong air currents.
• Provides accurate information about the size of fire and the direction in which it is spreading.
• Automatically activates pre-programmed control sequences such as ventilation, evacuation signalling, adaptation of lighting, etc. via the communication interface.
• False alarms are controlled by precise alarm settings achieved through the use of individual alarm zone layouts and user configurable alarm parameter sets.

*click” power on..

I just swicth on my pc and then I browsing it..

I open youtube and type on search engine “me singing” first appear is woman who singing unwritten I don’t know what her name is, esmerendess may be.. and then I just click next, next next.. and tadaaaaa!!

I FOUND THIS AMAZING YOUNG TALENTED MAN..

his name is GABE BONDOC…

Gabe Bondoc is popular indie pop/acoustic artist based in San Mateo, California. He is filipino but live in USA. He rose to fame with his One Take Sessions of famous songs and his own compositions in video blogging site, Youtube.

There are some link if you want to know Gabe’s better

youtube : (http://www.youtube.com/user/gabebondoc)

twitter : (http://twitter.com/gabebondoc)

facebook page http://faceBook.com/GabeBondocMusic

my space channel : (http://www.myspace.com/imgabe)

and his official website *still coming soon* : (http://himynameisgabe.com/)

God.. I really love his voice, especially “I’ve got a crush on a youtube star”

here’s the lyric, *I just wondering who she is? the one who makes Gabe fall in love?*

Since my last post: I have been entirely consumed in a rush of activity and schoolwork and lack of internet access that has inhibited my ability to post regularly, but rest assured, that means I have plenty to update on. In short, since leaving La Selva I spent three weeks living with a host family in the neighbor city of San Jose, San Pedro. I attended classes at the Costa Rican Language Academy (highly recommended!). Travelled for one week around the country (to Cahuita and Montezuma) before reuniting with our faithful OTS professors. From there we headed to a research station up in the mountains of Monteverde called San Gerardo, with an unbelievable view of Volcan Arenal.

Now, we are at Palo Verde, the third of three OTS research stations (the other two of which we have already visited: La Selva and Las Cruces), located along the Tempisque River floodplain at the northern tip of the Gulfo de Nicoya, where the Nicoya Peninsula meets the mainland. Unlike the other stations that we have visited, Palo Verde is located amidst a tropical dry forest – six months out of the year the station is engulfed in a dry season and the majority of the trees lose their leaves. We are here in the transition period between the wet and the dry seasons, although the trees have not yet started to drop their leaves. We are visiting in an irregular El Nino year, however, and rainfall has been exceptionally low even through the wet season.

The station is located right at the edge of the Tempisque River floodplain, occasional flooding has created an expansive marsh that is home to a wide variety of waterfowl. Research and conservation priorities at Palo Verde are centered around the marsh, and there are a myriad of interested political and biological issues ripe for study. Of prominent concern is the decreasing frequency of natural flooding and the (supposedly) consequential invasion of Thalia (a native species in the family Marantaceae that has created a nearly impermeable monoculture in the swamp), Typha (cattails), and Eichornia crassipes (water hyacinth – an herbaceous aquatic plant native to Brazil), which has lead to a decline in open water marshland, and a decline in waterfowl. The principal cause of water decline in the Tempisque River which has lead to an altered flood regime is water diversion for rice cultivation upstream of the national park.

Since our arrival here we have had ample time for exploration and adventuring; we are amazingly lucky that these adventures are closely tied to our ecology courses, and we have been able to learn about all of the organisms we encounter while happily tromping around the area. Highlights thus far have included: many encounters with coral snakes and scorpions, faculty-led projects about termite nests and aquatic macroinvertebrate abundance in the rice cultivation canals, daily runs to the tidal Rio Tempisque where crocodiles can be frequently sighted, daily tramps through the marsh, and a hands-on learning experience with bats (mist-netting, capturing, and observing) with a U-Latina biology professor/bat specialist. While all of these experiences are worthy of an independent post, I am limited by free time (not enthusiasm!) and will update more posts with pictures as I find my time. Upcoming posts: explorations in the marsh, and a bat lecture recap.

On Thursday I was in London for my regular meeting with Heritage Link and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. We were joined by Chris Atkins, Head of Lottery Distribution and Third Sector Policy at DCMS and had a wide ranging discussion about the voluntary cultural sectors. Among many other topics we discussed the progress of the sector coalition on Gift Aid, the Office of the Third Sector’s withdrawal of its Campaigning Fund and Heritage Link’s Cultural Olympiad project, ‘Discovering Places’, which has been awarded £1M from the Olympic Lottery Distributor.

Robin Simpson.

Traveling alone is a double edged sword. On one hand, you’re completely free to do what you want to do, meet new people along the way, and experience new culture. But on the other hand, traveling unaccompanied may bring about some fear. I’d imagine if these solo journeys happened say every 13 weeks, that you may start to get used to it. I think it’s important for traveling PT’s, OT’s, and SLP’s to enjoy their travel time, but also to make sure they stay safe while doing so. I’ve researched some “safe tips for women traveling alone” from SmarterTravel.com, and I’d love to share some of them with you…

#1 Arrive During the Daytime: Arrive in new cities during the day. Areas around bus and train stations can be scary and/or deserted, and small towns tend to shut down early. Veteran solo traveler Mara Rothman of San Francisco notes that plenty of beautiful towns can appear eerie at night, and locals who are genuinely trying to help you can appear unnecessarily threatening. Arriving during the day means you’ll be able to find a place to stay and get your bearings before dark.

#2 Keep Your Money/Documents Safe: If you choose to wear a money belt, use it for storage and not as a purse. Constantly reaching under your shirt for money draws attention to it, and tends to defeat the purpose. Instead, keep your extra stores of money and other important documents tucked away, and use a bag or purse for carrying daily spending money.

#3 Dress Appropriately: To avoid attracting unwanted attention, dress as conservatively as the women you see around you. This doesn’t necessarily mean donning the traditional dress, as that can sometimes backfire.

#4 Know When to Buddy-Up: Traveling alone doesn’t always mean being alone. There are plenty of situations in which seeking out company can make for a safer and more enjoyable experience.

#5 Combat Harassment: A few might argue that it’s just a well-developed appreciation of women, but unsolicited stares, calls, and attention feel more like harassment when you’re alone in unfamiliar territory. Having a repertoire of harassment deterrents can be as important to women travelers as a sturdy pair of shoes and a passport.

To read more about traveling alone on your next therapy assignment visit www.smartertravel.com/travel-advice

Ashley Iero

Cirrus Allied

I’m out of OBS. yes. Not that i got kicked out or wtv. I had to just withdraw from it. I did put much thinking and consideration in this. It was really hard. I just couldn’t make up my mind. I have this team, my FAC team, who are so precious. Really. This is the last competition in the whole year and sec 3s are in it, to help the juniors. So at least we can win something, like how we did last year. So this is it, the most important competition for this year. The whole week before that is a crucial period of time. Training’s would be on like every day. I can’t just leave the team just because i want to enjoy myself in OBS. I know OBS is like the coolest experience i can ever have, i can ever gain. But i’m just not fated for it, i was offered twice and at both times, for sure there’ll be a clash, a destruction. It’s annoying but i maybe there’s some good in it. IDK. But this time, i really made the decision on my own. It’s over now, no more OBS. Let’s just hope FAC would be all fun! & at least i don’t have to miss bridging (((:

I love Gabe Bondoc. He’s so messy, goofy, crazy and his voice is sexy! hahahahahah. Not so, but it’s pretty hot. I don’t really like messy guys remember, i like clean-cut and neat guys. Like who eh? hahah. But Gabe is different. This one’s Falling for you and at the end is a little snippet of down by Jay Sean. Cool shit!

ZOOM ZOOM!

by Hal Scott, for The Harvard Law School Forum at Harvard Law School, October 27, 2009.

(Editor’s Note: This post is based on a letter sent by Hal S. Scott, R. Glenn Hubbard and John L. Thornton of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, an independent and nonpartisan research organization dedicated to improving the regulation and enhancing the competitiveness of the U.S. financial system, to the Chairmen and Members of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee.)

The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (“Committee”) has, since its establishment in 2005, provided empirical, independent research dedicated to improving the regulation of U.S. capital markets. In May 2009, the Committee published its report entitled, The Global Financial Crisis: A Plan for Regulatory Reform, setting out 57 recommendations for enhancing the soundness and effectiveness of the U.S. financial regulatory framework. As part of its recommendations, the report sets out the Committee’s proposals for reforming the U.S. regulatory architecture to make it more robust and better designed to address the needs of investors and consumers of financial services. In this context, we felt that it would be useful to set out our position on the Administration’s proposal— presently embodied in H.R. 3126, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009 (Act)—that would establish the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) as a dedicated agency for regulating and overseeing consumer protection issues in the provision of financial services. Where appropriate, we also make reference to the revised discussion draft of H.R. 3126 (revised discussion draft), proposing changes in the CFPA bill, circulated by Chairman Frank to the House Committee on Financial Services on September 22, 2009…(continue reading)

Thanks to Jamie-JJ for creating this!

The Little Known Story of Washington Mutual
(copyright 2009 Jamie-JJ)

On Sept. 25, 2008, the FDIC seized Washington Mutual Bank (WMB), placed it into receivership, and immediately sold all of its assets and some of its liabilities to JPM for $1.888 billion. JPM acquired WMB’s deposit liabilities but not other liabilities. The FDIC reported that the seizure of WMB and sale to JPM was accomplished at zero cost to the FDIC. On Sept. 26, 2008, WMB’s parent holding company, Washington Mutual Inc. (WMI), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

At the time of its seizure, WMB had $307 billion in assets, $188 billion in deposits, 2239 branches, 4,932 owned and branded ATMs, two credit card divisions, and 43,198 employees. WMI was the sole stockholder of WMB, and WMI lost $26 billion when its WMB stock became worthless due to the seizure.

In April 2008, JPM had tried to purchase WMB from WMI. JPM was given extensive access to WMB’s books and signed a confidentiality agreement, as well as an agreement to not purchase WMB from any other seller. JPM’s offer of $8 per common share was rejected by WMI as too low. Shortly thereafter, a group of investors raised $7 billion for a capital injection into WMB.

In early September 2008, WMI reported that WMB continued to maintain a strong liquidity position and had capitalization ratios that were above the regulatory requirements for well capitalized institutions. Prior to the seizure of WMB, federal regulators (OTS) never ordered WMB to raise additional capital or increase its liquidity, and an OTS fact sheet released on the day of WMB’s seizure noted that WMB was well capitalized at the time of seizure. WMI had access to $50 billion in short-term liquidity from the Fed’s secondary window but never utilized it.

WMI’s Chapter 11 legal team believes that the FDIC committed two major errors in the seizure of WMB: (1) some of the seized assets belonged to WMI, not WMB, and therefore the FDIC did not have legal right to seize these assets; and (2) the FDIC sold the assets of WMB, which it did have legal right to seize, for less than fair market (liquidation) value. The FDIC has a duty to maximize the value of a receivership’s assets when it liquidates a receivership estate; the FDI Act specifically commands the FDIC to maximize the value of such assets. WMI has received $0 compensation for the loss of WMB because the FDIC has retained the $1.888 billion paid by JPM.

WMI has backed up these beliefs with lawsuits against both FDIC and JPM. WMI has not challenged the legal right of the FDIC to seize WMB; it is clear that the FDIC did have this right. The major basis of WMI’s claims is simple: WMI did not receive fair value for its assets which were seized by the FDIC, and WMI is therefore entitled to compensation for the difference between the fair value and the actual amount received ($0). Altogether the compensation requested for these two types of FDIC errors is in the tens of billions of dollars. WMB’s book value at the time of seizure is estimated to have been well over $20 billion, and a going-concern valuation yields a figure even greater than this.

Interestingly, WMI (apparently unbeknownst at the time to either FDIC or JPM) had  approximately $4 billion in cash on deposit in WMB at the time of seizure. This cash is now on deposit with JPM, and WMI has sued to have this large amount of cash turned over to their estate in bankruptcy court. JPM has refused to release this cash and disputes that it is in a demand deposit account or that WMI has legal right to it.

Finally, WMI has sought and obtained, over the strong objection of JPM, the bankruptcy court’s permission to investigate JPM for a variety of potentially tortious activities in the several years prior to the seizure of WMB. Included are allegations that JPM engaged in sham negotiations earlier in 2008 (while preparing its $8 per share offer for WMB) designed to elicit confidential information from WMI, and that JPM misused and publicly leaked this confidential information to gain an unfair advantage in obtaining WMB’s banking assets, which had long been coveted by JPM.

Major court actions:
—-Washington D.C. District Court—-
(1) WMI sued the FDIC (3/20) for takings, conversion, and constructive fraudulent transfer. These claims are based on: (a) the FDIC did not obtain fair value for WMB assets seized, and (b) FDIC seized additional assets that were property of WMI, not WMB. Specified claims are ~$13 billion, and there are additional unliquidated claims.
—-Delaware bankruptcy court—-
(1) JPM adversary proceeding: JPM sued WMI (3/24) to try to preemptively settle claims for disputed assets. WMI responded with 18 countersuits (5/29), most of which are grounded in the legal theories of constructive fraudulent transfer and preferential transfer, with additional claims for I.P. infringement (copyright, trademark, patent);
(2) Turnover proceeding: WMI sued JPM (4/27) for turnover of the ~$4 billion of cash; WMI has asked for summary judgment (5/19);
(3) Rule 2004 examination: WMI asked for (5/1) and has received permission (6/24) to investigate JPM for business tort claims for actions that took place prior to the seizure of WMB in September; subpoenas for document production have been served on JPM (7/6); WMI seems to have agreed to allow a delay in document production.

Soon after WMI filed their first lawsuit, against FDIC in March 2009, a corporate bankruptcy lawyer wrote:
“You are about to see the awesome power of Chapter 11 unleashed on both a government agency and the nation’s most powerful bank. Watch and learn.”

Over the past six months, those who have been watching have indeed learned about the power that a Chapter 11 bankruptcy judge wields protecting her Debtor and attempting to maximize the value of the Debtor’s estate for the benefit of its creditors.

The major rulings so far in bankruptcy court (little significant action in D.C. court so far):
- FDIC and JPM attempts to invoke FIRREA jurisdictional bar: denied
- FDIC and JPM motions to stay two adversary proceedings or remove to D.C.: denied
- WMI Rule 2004 motion to examine JPM: approved
- JPM motion for reconsideration of Rule 2004 motion approval: denied
- WMI subpoena of JPM for Rule 2004 documents: served
- JPM motion to dismiss WMI’s 18 counterclaims: denied
- JPM attempts to categorize the two adversary proceedings as non-core: denied
- JPM attempt to divest bankruptcy court of authority pending appeals: denied as frivolous

Information from JPM’s financial statements filed since WMB seizure:
(1) Immediately after the purchase of WMB from FDIC, JPM projected that the transaction would add $2.4 billion to JPM’s net after tax operating income in 2009 alone. Thus, JPM expected the transaction to be immediately profitable.

(2) JPM 1st quarter 2009 10-Q:  “…the net income impact of Washington Mutual’s banking operations could be approximately $0.50 per share in 2009.” JPM has 3.76 billion shares of common stock, so at 50 cents per share that’s $1.88 billion net income in one year attributable to the acquisition of WMB. Interestingly, JPM paid $1.88 billion to the FDIC for WMB.

(3) In explaining an amount accounted for on balance sheets as an “extraordinary gain”, the 10-Q states “JPMorgan Chase acquired the banking operations of Washington Mutual Bank for $1.9 billion. The fair value of the net assets acquired exceeded the purchase price…” This latter fact is the basis for the lawsuit against the FDIC and also many of the claims against JPM.

(4) JPM recorded negative goodwill in accounting for the purchase of WMB from FDIC, indicating that, immediately upon consummating the transaction, the fair market value of assets acquired exceeded the purchase price. Such negative goodwill is unheard of in a major acquisition.

(5) Soon after the purchase of WMB from FDIC, JPM wrote down $30 billion in WMB assets due to estimated future loan losses (commonly referred to as “toxic loans”). On May 26, 2009, Bloomberg reported the following on the reported $30 billion in losses: “JPMorgan Chase & Co. stands to reap a $29 billion windfall thanks to an accounting rule that lets the second-biggest U.S. bank transform bad loans it purchased from Washington Mutual Inc. into income.” In other words, all but $1 billion of the $30 billion write down losses will be negated by the subsequent $29 billion write up.

Thank you for everyone who attended the Orchestra at Temple Square’s Fall concert! We enjoyed putting together the program and hope you enjoyed attending.

(CFD.net.au – Contract for Difference, Share, Forex, ETFs, Commodities Traders) –

Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve is considering accessing money market funds through clearing banks or creating a facility to drain the record amount of cash added to the financial system, according to people familiar with the plans.

Those methods may help conserve the capital of the …

Source: Fed Said to Consider Clearing Banks, Facility to Drain Reserves

I was in London on Wednesday to take part in the ‘Volunteering and London 2012’ symposium, organised by Volunteering England. This event brought together volunteering agencies and voluntary sector infrastructure organisations from across the UK. We heard from David Huse, Head of Volunteering at LOCOG, about the latest plans for recruiting, training and managing the 70,000 games-time volunteers needed to help run the Olympic and Paralympic Games: the application process for these volunteers (including volunteer performers for the ceremonies) will be launched in summer 2010. We then had a presentation from the Government Olympic Executive about plans for a social legacy marketing plan: the ‘big idea’ is to use London 2012 to inspire participation in volunteering, culture, sport, education and more, across the UK. There will be a campaign to inspire the whole of the country to give time to their local communities. A creative agency has just been appointed and the campaign will be launched in early 2010. We also heard from the Volunteer Development Agency in Northern Ireland, Volunteer Development Scotland and Greater London Volunteering about the progress of their 2012 volunteering initiatives – including the ‘People Making Waves’ programme in Scotland which includes Voluntary Arts Scotland’s ‘Make a Splash’ project. The symposium was followed by a second meeting of the London 2012 Volunteering Legacy Stakeholder Advisory Group where we specifically focussed on the Volunteering England/YouthNet project which is expanding the national volunteering database (do-it.org.uk) to include a wide range of opportunities catalysed by London 2012.

Robin Simpson.

Also on Tuesday I was at the Cabinet Office for my regular update meeting with John Knights at the Office of the Third Sector. Among many topics we discussed plans for the European Year of Volunteering 2011, the Government’s intergenerational volunteering programme, the Access to Volunteering programme and the London 2012 social legacy which seems to be taking shape and should present some exciting opportunities for the voluntary arts sector.

Robin Simpson.

Over the last two days, I have spoken with three more OTs who have left, two OT VIIIs and one on OT VII. Same story. They were hauled in and told to donate money to their “Ideal” Org. They couldn’t afford it, and refused. They were hauled into Ethics and given a Sec Check for “missed withholds.” After they returned home, they received an HCO summons to “report or else.” They took the “or else.” Frankly, they don’t care if they are declared by David Miscavige’s Brave New Scientology. They’re in good company.

Manchmal braucht man im Beruf einfach ein bisschen Glück und Zufälle ergeben im Journalismus eine gute Geschichte.

Früher Montagnachmittag. Beim üblichen Scannen der nationalen und internationalen Medien fällt eine erneute Meldung in der Daily Mail über den möglichen Wechsel von Stefan Maierhofer zu Wolverhampton auf.

Link flugs kopiert und in einem Mail mit dem Betreff “Weltfrieden” an den Kollegen im Nebenzimmer geschickt.

Antwort: “Wollen wir Ali (Alfred Hörtnagl, Anm.) anrufen?”

Kollege probiert es zunächst mal bei Maierhofer himself. Das Klingeln verrät: der “Lange” ist nicht im Lande. Jeder, der schon mal eine Nummer in England angerufen hat, kennt das markante Läuten. “Der ist in England, jede Wette. Außer, er hat am Donnerstag sein Handy in Birmingham vergessen.”

Alfred Hörtnagls Mobiltelefon ist zu diesem Zeitpunkt abgeschaltet.

Wir probieren es bei Maierhofers Manager Serafino Luzzi. Unnötig zu erwähnen, dass schon alleine das Klingelzeichen verrät, dass sich der Deutsche ebenfalls in Großbritannien aufhält. Er hebt nicht ab, ruft aber prompt zurück. Vielleicht vermutete er bei einer Wiener Nummer einen Rapid-Verantwortlichen am anderen Ende der Leitung. Denn mit der Presse will der Manager jetzt gerade gar nicht sprechen.

- “Tut mir leid, ich habe jetzt gar keine Zeit, ich bin in einem Meeting.”

- “Auch nicht zehn Sekunden?”

- “Nein, auch nicht zehn Sekunden.”

Kurze Überlegung: was tun? Meldung, dass Maierhofer in England weilt, online stellen oder weitere Gesprächspartner suchen – nur welche? Die Bereitschaft, über mögliche Transfers zu sprechen, ist bei den maßgeblichen Personen knapp zehn Stunden vor Transferschluss enden wollend.

Aus Hütteldorf hören wir dann doch (nicht von Hörtnagl): es ist etwas im Busch.

Wir entscheiden uns für: Maierhofer in England.

Hoffentlich hält die Meldung. Wir checken die Bildagenturen, ob nicht am Ende doch Fotos eines quietschvergnügten Stefan Maierhofer auftauchen, der gerade im ÖFB-Hotel in Bad Tatzmannsdorf eincheckt.

Die Angst ist unbegründet. ÖFB-Pressesprecher Peter Klinglmüller erklärt uns, dass Maierhofer noch nicht bei der Nationalmannschaft sei und erst am Dienstag anreisen müsse.

Die Konkurrenz verwendet zu diesem Zeitpunkt das gleiche Aufmacherbild, titelt Maierhofer stellt den Frieden wieder her. Der Lange sei “wieder am Weg zurück”. Auch gut. Nach einiger Zeit meldet man, dass “der Transfer tatsächlich über die Bühne gehen” könne. Das ist nun mäßig sensationell. Grundsätzlich und theoretisch könnte wohl jeder Transfer der Welt über die Bühne gehen. Immerhin weiß man nun auch schon von Dietmar Constantinis Sondergenehmigung für Maierhofer.

In einer APA-OTS-Aussendung berichtet die Tageszeitung Österreich von Maierhofers Wechsel und verweist auf die (logischerweise noch nicht erschienene) Dienstag-Ausgabes des Blattes.

Die APA selbst gibt sich diplomatisch und vermeldet zunächst: Fußball: Medien: Rapidler Maierhofer wechselt zu Wolverhampton.

Um 18:16 Uhr meldet der SK Rapid auf seiner Website: Stürmerwechsel bei Rapid.

Maierhofer geht, Salihi kommt.

Maierhofer selbst schreibt um 19 Uhr auf seiner Facebook-Seite:

Wechsel nach Wolverhampton ist fix!! Mit der Premiere [sic!] League geht ein Traum in Erfüllung!!!

Na bitte! Wir wünschen Stefan Maierhofer alles Gute.

On Tuesday I was in London to meet Claire Easterman, Fiona Jamieson and Katie Jackson at YouthNet to talk about their project, funded by the Office of the Third Sector, to develop the national volunteering database (‘do-it’) to create a single place to bring together opportunities to participate inspired by 2012. There are three specific areas of focus for the project, one of which is culture and the arts. YouthNet plans to work with membership organisations to develop and advertise volunteering opportunities for people inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I wanted to check whether the project is still to include both formal volunteering opportunities and arts participation: YouthNet is still keen to realise this goal but, because of how the project has been funded, the main focus has to be on formal volunteering. Also, although there are hopes to link to databases in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the project will have to concentrate on opportunities in England. We talked about how to link the YouthNet project to the informal adult learning ‘portal’ being developed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the online aspects of Arts Council England’s forthcoming national campaign on arts participation – all three of which should provide voluntary arts groups with the opportunity to advertise for more members. YouthNet is keen to work with ACE and DBIS and I am optimistic that we will be able to achieve a solution that means voluntary arts groups only have to enter their details once.

Robin Simpson.