North West Bicester News
New architectural impressions of NW Bicester's eco town houses are unveiled
Construction of the UK's first eco town at North West Bicester (NW) in Oxfordshire will begin later this year and architectural impressions of how the ground-breaking homes in the first, exemplar phase will look have now been released by lead developers, A2Dominion.
The first phase will contain 393 highly efficient homes for existing and new residents of Bicester, built to be true zero-carbon. Constructed in four stages, exemplar will encompass the UK's largest residential solar array, feature technology designed to cope with climate change of up to 10 degrees Celsius and aims to reduce car usage from the current Bicester use of 67.5 per cent to 50 per cent.
A demonstration building showcasing a range of the very latest eco technologiesopened in Garth Park last year. The latest images show that the exemplar homes will incorporate some of these types of technologies, such as solar photovoltaic panels, timber frame and triple glazed windows and doors and the homes themselves are designed to be aesthetically appealing.
"The architectural impressions allow prospective buyers and residents of Bicester to fully appreciate the aesthetic quality of our homes," said A2Dominion project director, Steve Hornblow. "Achieving environmental integrity has in the past often meant compromising on style, but we want NW Bicester to fully integrate into the landscape in which it sits."
First residents are expected to be in their homes by the end of 2013.
The images show wide, open streets and communal areas. Community space will incorporate communal barbecue areas, herb boxes, allotments and seating and will be designed to encourage children to play in the street safely.
"This is an ambitious project which will create a truly unique development when taken as a whole. NW Bicester approaches sustainable living realistically, providing people with the tools to benefit from a real community environment, reduced home running costs and the latest green technologies," added Mr Hornblow.
For more information about the UK's first eco town at NW Bicester visit
Green light for UK's first national eco town scheme
Phase one of the NW Bicester eco development has become the first eco town scheme in the country to receive the green light for work to start, with construction due to begin later this year. Constructed in four stages over the next five years, this ground-breaking phase of development will integrate cutting-edge eco technology, economic opportunities and community engagement to provide the flagship homes of tomorrow for Bicester.
Cherwell District Council's Planning Committee approved A2Dominion and P3Eco's application last August, subject to a legal agreement ensuring community infrastructure for the benefit of existing and future residents of the town.
This process is now complete, after close collaboration with Oxfordshire County Council and Bicester Town Council, giving the development full planning approval to proceed.
Conditions of the agreement meet with Eco Bicester's aspirations for a more sustainable community as a whole.
The first Exemplar phase, set within 50 acres of which 40 per cent will be green space, will contain 393 highly-efficient homes, constructed by A2Dominion, for existing and new residents of Bicester.
The houses are designed to be truly zero-carbon and deliver exceptional quality of life for residents.
Built to an inspiring level of sustainability (Code Level 5), the development will include significant levels of insulation, high thermal performance and rainwater harvesting.
Exemplar will encompass the UK's largest residential solar array to generate electricity and benefit from a highly-efficient district heating system, all of which will lead to much lower household bills for residents.
Cherwell District and Oxfordshire County Councils are set to spend a portion of the pump-prime funding received from the Government, in addition to a contribution from P3Eco, to provide a school and an Eco Business Centre.
The aim is to ensure no additional pressure is placed on existing schools and that small businesses have the facilities available to them from which to take root.
These elements combine to benefit the whole town and the money being spent up-front will be recouped from developers as building progresses.
The Exemplar will encompass well-designed cycle and pedestrian routes throughout, include a bus service with real time information and have charging points for electric vehicles.
The school, retail and business elements are designed to be central to the development creating a village feel.
Community space will incorporate communal barbecue areas, herb boxes, allotments and seating and will be designed to encourage children to play in the street safely.
As part of the commitment, A2Dominion will be facilitating the development of a community-led governance structure to offer both existing and new residents and businesses the opportunity to come together to make decisions about the issues that affect their immediate area.
Meanwhile the Local Business Portal has already seen a high level of interest from local businesses and suppliers accessing information on the opportunities to get involved.
Together, the council and A2Domininion are committed to achieving 20 per cent local labour on site and A2Dominion is already working with Bicester Job Club and Jobcentre Plus to accomplish this. A minimum of ten apprenticeships will also be made available over the next five years.
Councillor Michael Gibbard, Cherwell's lead member for planning, said: "We have made sure that the first Exemplar phase of development at NW Bicester will set the scene for what follows.
"We are proud that the scheme will include many unique features to reduce the impact of the new development on the environment. We have put our money where our mouth is to guarantee that infrastructure is delivered along with housing rather than afterwards."
Councillor Hilary Hibbert-Biles, Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for Growth and Infrastructure, said: "The signing of this agreement is of significance for Bicester.
"This project is a clear sign of how the local authorities can work together for the benefit of the town.
"It will be important that these working relationships continue as this project moves towards being delivered"
Richard Mould, chairman of planning at Bicester Town Council, said: "We welcome the granting of planning permission for the Exemplar phase of the NW Bicester development.
"We look forward to work starting on-site in the coming months and the beginning of the new exciting developments in sustainable living."
Ian Inshaw, chairman of P3Eco Bicester, said: "P3Eco Bicester was established to provide a consortium to deliver the NW Bicester eco town.
"As the facilitators of the project, P3Eco Bicester brought to the consortium master planner Sir Terry Farrell, A2Dominion as the developer and provider of affordable homes, Barton Wilmore as planning consultants and Hyder as the consultant engineer to deliver this ground-breaking project.
"P3Eco Bicester are delighted that Cherwell District Council have now granted planning permission to build the exemplar of 393 houses which will be the first step to delivering the whole project.
"As the developers our partners A2Dominion will now take forward the Exemplar phase. For us at P3 this is the end of the beginning to a project which we remain passionate about and cannot wait to get on with facilitating the rest of it."
Steve Hornblow, NW Bicester project director for A2Dominion, said: "The A2Dominion Group and our partner P3Eco are very proud to be working with Cherwell District Council to deliver the UK's first eco town at North West Bicester.
"This is an ambitious project which will create a truly unique development. NW Bicester approaches sustainable living realistically, providing people with the tools to benefit from a real community environment, reduced home running costs and the latest green technologies.
"As we prepare to begin work on the first phase later this year, and with a highly experienced consultant team in place, A2Dominion is looking forward to also advancing the masterplan for the wider site, with much already being done in tandem with the development of Exemplar."
Nicole Lazarus, of sustainability advisors BioRegional, said: "The Exemplar at NW Bicester is shaping up to be one of the greenest schemes ever built in the UK.
"We hope these beautiful new homes will show the way to a sustainable future. BioRegional are very proud to helping that to happen."
Sally Coble, area environment planning and engagement manager, from the Environment Agency said: "We're delighted the partnership working between the district and county council, the developers and the Environment Agency has resulted in such a ground-breaking scheme.
"But this is just the beginning. Scheme's such as this show that sustainable development is possible and should be replicated across the country.
Community ownership plan for North West Bicester
North West Bicester (NW Bicester) developers, A2Dominion, and Cherwell District Council, are preparing a business plan which will guide the potential development of a new community-led governance structure within NW Bicester.
The plan will aim to offer residents and businesses the opportunity to come together to make decisions about issues that affect their immediate area through a new community organisation.
LouiseCaves, strategic partnership co-ordinator at A2Dominion, said: "As a housing provider, A2Dominion has a lot of expertise in community involvement and engagement. Working with Cherwell District Council and Bicester Town Council, we are committed to involving local stakeholders in the development of a partnership structure that enables both the existing and new community to participate effectively in the future running of the eco development.
"We are currently undertaking a lot of work to understand people's interests and capacity to be involved in the early development stages and how this approach could potentially benefit Bicester as a whole.
Councillor Michael Gibbard, Cherwell's lead member for planning, said: "We have said all along that we would encourage strong community involvement in this project.
"Our aspirations for NW Bicester and the wider Eco Bicester project will only be fully realised if people living in the town choose to actively engage with the process."
For more information about NW Bicester and to sign up to the monthly Friends of NW Bicester e-newsletter.
Resident survey shows high awareness of eco development
The results of a survey commissioned by A2Dominion at the end of April, shows a high level of local awareness for the NW Bicester eco town development.
In order to ensure community engagement with the scheme, A2Dominion ran the survey to create a benchmark to measure local resident's knowledge and opinions about NW Bicester. Residents in Bicester Town Centre and Bure Park were asked which elements of the scheme they felt were the most important. 63 percent believed bringing existing and new communities together in Bicester was the most vital element, with 58 percent believing the environmental aspects were important.
The survey showed that 82 percent of respondents believed that sustainable living is important and that residents wanted to be involved in the project through focus groups and public consultation, as well as by receiving information through the NW Bicester website.
Community Workshop guides the future of eco town development
A second community workshop was hosted by A2Dominion to explore the opportunity to create a Local Management Organisation (LMO) at NW Bicester and to scope the potential for key stakeholders, from across the community, to be involved in the early development stages.
Participants took part from Bicester Vision, the Chambers of Commerce as well as local youth and faith, community and voluntary groups and included members of Bicester Town Council, Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council.
The workshops are part of a number of events planned by A2Dominion for the year, which will look not only at the first phase of the development that will see 393 homes built, but also at the proposals for the rest of the scheme enabling the people of Bicester to have a real say in its design.
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Open letter to EU leaders: Our sustainable future must start now
By eco-union13 June, 2019News
EU leaders must end the political inertia on social and environmental challenges by making sustainable development the EU's top priority for the next five years, say Europe's leading coalitions of social, environmental and development networks who have joined forces with 150 organisations.
Kélig Puyet is the Director of Social Platform, Jeremy Wates is the Secretary General of the EEB, and Tanya Cox is the Director of CONCORD Europe
Dear EU Heads of State and Government,
Society expects adults to educate children but it is our kids who are schooling the grown-ups, with their regular protests demanding climate action and sustainable living. Moreover, the streets of Europe, from its largest metropolises to its smallest towns, have been the scenes of regular demonstrations and marches, demanding everything from climate action and extinction rebellions to women's rights and socio-economic justice.
In the wake of the European elections, where voter turnout reached a 20-year high and which registered significant gains for progressive causes, it is clear that European citizens are more engaged now, together, at the EU level, than they have been in over two decades - representing an active and proactive antidote to Euroscepticism. As confirmed by poll after poll, European citizens desire an EU that will deliver social and environmental justice. Scientists, business leaders, cities, regions and civil society have all made the case for a new direction for Europe. The leaders of 30 private, public and civil society platforms, representing millions of EU residents, have united behind a strong call for sustainable development to become the EU's number one political priority.
Do you hear those calls?
Despite progress in some areas, efforts to date have been woefully inadequate to meet the magnitude of the social and environmental challenges ahead of us. Urgent action is needed to address escalating inequalities and tackle the climate crisis, stop the rapid loss of biodiversity, ensure sustainable consumption and production and quality employment for all, and manage a just transition towards an economic system founded on well-being and quality of life.
At the European Council Summit on 20-21 June, EU leaders will discuss the Strategic Agenda 2019-2024. We call on you to show that you have heard our calls by making sustainable development the overarching objective of the European Union's priorities, both inside and outside Europe, for at least the next five years. To bring about real and lasting change, sustainable development must be the golden thread running through all EU policies. You must stop looking at the economy merely as a means to create "prosperity" and "competitiveness" and, instead, view it as a tool to promote inclusive, sustainable and just societies that meet the needs of all, within the boundaries of our planet's precious resources and the limits of its life-giving ecosystems.
The will for action among citizens and stakeholders is strong - all that is missing is your political will. As European, national, regional and international organisations working on very diverse social, environmental, economic, governance and international issues, together representing tens of millions of people in Europe, we will continue to raise our voices. But it is up to you as political leaders to steer us towards a better future in a Europe that prioritises the well-being of people and planet over short-term gains. We stand ready to support you in this endeavour.
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BlogHome " Home " Western Balkans Summit, London, 10th July 2018
Western Balkans Summit, London, 10th July 2018
On 10 July 2018 the UK hosted the Western Balkans Summit in London, the fifth summit convened under the Berlin Process.
The UK Prime Minister Theresa May hosted the Western Balkans Summit in London on 10 July, demonstrating the longstanding commitment to the region and to European security. Heads of Government of the Western Balkans 6: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, attended the Summit, and also representatives of Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Slovenia, as well as Bulgaria and Greece and the EU institutions.
The Summit was the fifth to take place under the Berlin Process after Berlin (2014), Vienna (2015), Paris (2016) and Trieste (2017). The Berlin Process is a diplomatic initiative that Chancellor Merkel launched in 2014. Each year it brings together the 6 Western Balkans countries, like-minded EU partners and representatives of the EU institutions to work together to support security, stability and prosperity in the region.
The summit focused on 3 areas:
increasing economic stability with a view to improving the business environment, encouraging entrepreneurship, addressing youth unemployment, and promoting regional inter-connectivity
strengthening regional security co-operation to help tackle common threats, including corruption, serious and organised crime, trafficking of people, drugs and firearms, terrorism and violent extremism
facilitating political co-operation - to help the region resolve bilateral disputes and overcome legacy issues stemming from the conflicts of the 1990s and strengthen democracy
All Berlin Process participants agreed that, to prosper in the future, they needed to continue to deal with the legacy of the past. All 14 Berlin Process participants signed the joint declaration on regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations in the framework of the Berlin Process. They looked forward to future annual reports from governments of the Western Balkans on further progress.
Berlin Process participants also signed the joint declarations on war crimes and on missing persons. They welcomed the progress made towards the development of the regional framework plan to address the issue of missing persons from the conflicts on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. All participants looked forward to its early adoption and implementation.
The Chairs conclusions can be found here.
Joint declarations can be found here.
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2019 Women's Adults
Dutch delight: Netherlands finally in top four at Beach Handball EURO
FEATURE: Thanks to a federation consistently investing in its youth teams, Netherlands are having a breakthrough tournament in Stare Jablonki this week
"Beach Handball Channel More information on "2019 Women's Adults
They have been knocking on the semi-final door for a few years now. And finally they let themselves in.
The Women's Beach Handball EURO 2019 in Poland has become a breakthrough tournament for the Netherlands, getting to the last four of a European Championship for the first time.
The 2:0 semi-final defeat against Hungary on Saturday obviously hurt, but ultimately will not spoil the Dutch party. They will have a go for the bronze medal against Croatia on Sunday (at 14:00 hrs, live on ehfTV.com) to crown their historic tournament.
One reward, though, is already in the pocket: a ticket to their first ever World Championship, in Italy next year.
"That was our first goal. We haven't been there with the women's senior team," Dutch head coach Ronald Thijssen tells eurohandball.com. "It's harder to reach the worlds than to perform well there, as there are so many strong European nations and only a few can qualify."
Still, don't think Netherlands are satisfied by 'just' getting to the semi-finals.
"It is nice but if you get this far, you want a medal," says Thijssen, a long-term beach handball coach with the Dutch federation, NHV.
Successes have not come out of the blue
A week ago, the Dutch youth team also lost to Hungary in the semi-final of the YAC 17 Beach Handball EURO, and ultimately finished fourth. The successes in Stare Jablonki have not come out of the blue. According to Thijssen, the federation has been investing heavily in its beach handball youth selections.
"And they have done well in the last couple of years," the head coach says. "In our squad we now have five players who have come through the federation's youth ranks and have the experience of playing major tournaments."
As the Dutch federation's efforts are fruitful, more and more young talents are coming through and eventually become part of the senior team.
And now it is showing in the results. Netherlands were within touching distance of the semi-finals twice before, but they lost the 2015 quarter-final in a shoot-out to Italy. The scenario repeated itself two years later, when Poland closed the Dutch road to possible glory at the same stage of the tournament.
"We are a team that consists partly of youngsters, partly of more experienced players," says Isabel Barnard, one of the experienced forces of the team. "These young players are used to playing European and world championships, but the senior team has only been close always. So, finally winning that quarter-final was so great."
Dutch expections ahead of the semi-final were high
The Dutch expectations ahead of Saturday's semi-final against Hungary were high, after they had comfortably beaten the same opponents 2:0 in a main-round match two days earlier.
Netherlands started well, taking a quick 6:2 lead, but soon found themselves 8:6 down. They lost control of the game from that point. Hungary used their chances well and prevented the Dutch from getting back into the match by early disturbing their attacks.
"The defence was OK, but our attack didn't work," Thijssen says following the 19:16, 15:12 defeat. "We usually score more than 20 goals, and now just above 10 in the second set. We had many catching, passing and technical mistakes."
Agreeing with her coach, Barnard adds: "At the end of the second set we were just very sloppy in attack. We had to make up only four points - two two-pointers and you are there. But we were too hectic."
The match resembled the Dutch quarter-final game against world champions Greece from the day before.
"Against Greece we won the first set pretty easily but in the second set tension creeped in. It also happened in this match. We have to look into this with the group and how we can do better next time," Thijssen says. "I am very glad that we get another chance tomorrow to let everybody see the way we can play."
Barnard also can't wait to take the sand court in Stare Jablonki for a final time on Sunday.
"Tomorrow we are going to take that medal. That is an all-or-nothing game," Barnard says. "We will recharge and it would be great if we can show one more time how well we can play beach handball."
Photos: Uros Hocevar / kolektiff / EHF
TEXT: Eric Willemsen / ts


Fields of Indulgence
World Travel with a Twist of Zen
Beyond Black and White
After leaving Chiang Mai, we headed further North to the city of Chiang Rai. Situated close to the "Golden Triangle" (where the border of Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand meet), this region became infamous for its sprawling opium fields in the 1960's-1980's. Now most of the opium has been replaced by other legal cash crops (tea, coffee, corn, etc...), but tourists still come to tour the area, which is rich in natural beauty.
The White Temple, complete with white fish!
The Suffering Masses
Having only a short time, we opted to explore the artistic and sacred side of Chiang Rai - represented by two opposing colors: Black and White. Our first stop was the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun), a recent architectural achievement by artist Chalermchai Kositpipat. Kositpipat veered away from the traditional gold coloring of Thai temples because he thought white better represented the purity of the enlightened state than the mercantile color of gold. The outside of the temple is a magnificent sight to behold - glittering white in the light, its sharp lines bringing an immediate feeling of awe. It almost oddly resembles a winter wonderland that somehow found itself in steamy Thailand. The entryway to the temple portrays humans and demons reaching up out of a pit of suffering - a symbol the artist says represents the suffering all beings must go through before reaching enlightenment. After passing over a bridge guarded by two giant demons, visitors enter the temple where a large white marble Buddha sits. On the wall in front of the Buddha are scenes of demons feeding on human suffering - missiles, whisky, pollution, etc... while on the walls on the side and behind the Buddha faithful practitioners are portrayed moving towards the heavenly realms. Perhaps most oddly, on the "demon wall", there is a variety of science fiction and pop-culture icons moving around the demons. We saw Keanu Reeves from the matrix, the Hulk, Spiderman, the Predator, Darth Vader, even an Angry Bird from the iPhone game! Needless to say, the artist seemed to get a little carried away at this point as we struggled to understand what we were seeing and how it related to the overall message.
"Hey there, welcome to the White Temple - c'mon in!"
Jeff doing his best Conan impersonation
The White Temple was about 13 kilometers south of town and after visiting, we headed about 25 kilometers north to the grounds of the Black Temple (Baan Si Dum). We found it to be opposite not just in color, but in style as well. Baan Si Dum is a complex of many buildings sharing the theme of artist Thawan Duchanee. It is dominated by a large Black Temple, filled with animal skins laid on long wooden tables and black chairs with buffalo horns at the top. There are also intricate wooden carvings depicting demons struggling with each other on the doorways. The rest of the grounds is littered with buildings that the artists didn't have open that day. But walking among we saw common themes - animal bones (shark jaws, monkey skulls, etc...) and furs laid out domestically with bone carved furniture and Buddhist iconography. It was almost like a vision of a barbaric jungle king's palace after he had converted to Buddhism. After the "bling" of the white temple, the Black Temple's eerie scenes seemed to call the visitor towards the contemplation of death and the ephemeral aspect of our existence.
The imposing Black House, or Baan Dum
Typical imagery of Baan Si Duum
Some writers have described these temples as representing the heaven and hell of Buddhism. Neda and I couldn't help but chuckle as we read that description. How ironic that these two temples have come to represent as stark a dualism as heaven and hell. In actuality, Buddhism is all about moving beyond the idea of dualism to find the interconnected whole. Heaven and hell, in this regard, are two sides of the same coin. We can be in paradise with our self-focused thoughts and find pain and alienation or we can be in hell with a right understanding of our interconnectedness and find peace and repose. Perhaps thinking of the black and white temples as two separate pieces is the problem in the first place. If we go beyond their differences and find the common message of impermanence and surrender that they implore, we find a deeper meaning than either piece has on its own.
We left Chiang Rai this morning, drove 3 hours and crossed the border into Laos. Our next stop is the Bokeo Nature Reserve where we will zipline hundreds of meters above the jungle floor in search of the elusive Black Gibbon! In the meantime, see the rest of Chiang Rai and the two temples here:
Crossing the Mekong into Laos - our last pic in Thailand!
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Jeff & Neda Fields had a dream. Save some money, sell all of our stuff, and go travel the world! Join us as we sample the wisdom and food of different cultures while exploring "mini-retirement" on a budget...


Cover Story: Jon Woods, General Manager, Coca-Cola GB
In Features
Coca-Cola is on a fast-track to becoming a 'total beverage company'. Jon Woods is its man behind the wheel, writes Eamonn Duff
Jon Woods
If someone had told the teenage Jon Woods that one day, he'd be launching innovative new drinks for Coca-Cola, he would have found it hard to fathom. For entirely different reasons, the world's largest beverage company might have struggled with the concept too.
After a century of being universally defined by a sweet, syrupy-brown soda, Coca-Cola has been forced to look beyond its flagship brand, take risks and diversify. And Woods, who once seemed destined to follow in his father's footsteps and become a banker, today finds himself leading the global drinks giant into that brave new world.
"I've had some amazing times running this business," said Woods who is approaching his 10th year as Coca-Cola's UK boss. "It's been a period full of challenges but that's kind of what makes it so much fun. The one thing that's never changed is that consumers really like the category. They really like soft drinks. And a big chunk of consumers love Coke."
It took Coca-Cola nearly 100 years to branch out with its first product extension. By contrast, Woods has just overseen three major launches in as many months: in late March, he announced the release of the first energy drink under the Coke brand. As the dust was still settling from that unveiling, he confirmed the company would be extending its presence in the UK functional drinks market with Aquarius, a non-carbonated, mineral water brand. And in May, the company marched, rather boldly, into the British alcohol market with a range of premium mixers that are designed to complement high end dark spirits.
Coca-Cola Signature Mixers
"In the UK, the business has been very focussed on Coca-Cola for a long time," said Woods during an interview with FMCG CEO, adding: "It's the name above the door, the brand this company is built upon. But increasingly consumers are looking for a greater variety. They're looking for drinks that meet different occasions, different parts of the day. And Coke can fill quite a number of those occasions. But it can't fill them all. That's why this portfolio expansion is so important to us."
When Woods walked into Loughborough University in the late eighties to embark on a degree in banking and finance, a career in fizzy drinks could not have been further from his mind. "I actually worked for a bank the year before I went to university and was also sponsored at university by a bank," he revealed. "To be fair, by the time I was doing the degree, I'd changed my mind and just knew that life wasn't for me."
After leaving university, he "struck lucky" with a sales and marketing opportunity at Cadbury - and the rest is history. The Belfast born father of two enjoyed a five year spell as a business development director at Abn InBev and then arrived at Coca-Cola in 2005, taking charge of its UK and Ireland operations in 2010.
"Diet Coke remains one of the most important brands in our UK portfolio"
Reflecting on those early career days, he said: "The cultural fit has always been very important but in addition to that, I've always loved to consume the products I've been involved with. Chocolate, beer and then soft drinks...these are such great products and Coke is truly an amazing business to be part of."
But as Woods openly acknowledged, the soft drinks game has been no easy ride, particularly over the past decade. He passionately battled against the sugar tax on soft drinks which was introduced last year, a tariff that saw the company accelerate its zero-sugar business with products like Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Vanilla and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Cherry.
"I did campaign against it because we have never believed, as a business, that the way to fix obesity is to tax a single source of a single nutrient - especially as the industry, led by Coke, even before the tax, was doing so much to take sugar out of its products," he said.
Coca-Cola Energy
Woods points to the launch of Diet Coke, more than 35 years ago - when people first began thinking about weight. "It was the eighties, it was about Jane Fonda workouts, it was about calorie counting. And we launched Diet Coke at that time, in that environment, because already it was clear there was a section of consumers who were genuinely focussed on lower sugar variants." He added: "Diet Coke remains one of the most important brands in our UK portfolio. Just over 60 percent of the cola we now sell in the UK doesn't contain any sugar at all."
Woods said Coke's UK business had increased since the tax was introduced while soft drinks in general, was currently growing by five percent a year. "Not many categories are doing that," he remarked.
Having now accepted the tax as "a fact of life", Woods said the company would continue its commitment to assist consumers "effectively into lighter options". However, if one thing's definitely off the table, it's tinkering with the recipe of the 'Real Thing'. "Consumers said to us very clearly 'we can make our own minds up...we don't want you to change it'. And, of course, we have one experience of doing that a long time ago in the States. As everyone knows, it didn't work out well."
In the months ahead, Woods will continue to execute the company's growth strategy which, presented by CEO James Quincey in 2017, involves bringing to market "consumer-centric" brands - including more low - and no-sugar options, and drink products in emerging categories. This policy shift has also seen Coca-Cola embrace an unfamiliar "tech company modus operandi" of "moving faster" and stepping out of its comfort zone into new territory.
Coca-Cola Aquarius
Coca-Cola Energy is a prime example of that new philosophy. The energy drink, a combination of caffeine, guarana extracts and B vitamins, is aimed at 18 to 35-year-olds and positions the brand in direct battle with market leaders Red Bull. The new Signature Mixers that will appear in pubs, bars and restaurants from June, have also raised a few eyebrows. "This is a very interesting launch for us," said Woods.
"Mixing has always been a big part of the soft drinks business and some people probably overlook the fact that Coke original has always been one of the biggest mixers in the UK.
"This is the first time we've actually taken the recipe of Coke classic and tweaked it to make it even better with a defined group of spirits."
The initial release of dark spirit mixers spans four flavours: Smoky, Spicy, Herbal and Woody. "I'm a Jack Daniels drinker and I really like the smoky mixer," said Woods. "They're very exciting."
"A year working in branch banking...I certainly didn't get up every day and look forward to getting into work," he recalled. "I've been doing the job I do now for quite a few years and genuinely, there is never a day when I don't do something that I really enjoy. And...if I didn't enjoy it, I'd find something else to do."


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Mary W. Dixon Library and Museum
on Monday 10 April 2006
in content > Society related
Source: excerpts from a small booklet promoting the Mary W. Dixon Library and Museum. The booklet is circa 1979
front cover of booklet
MARY W. DIXON
LIBRARY and. MUSEUM
Many happy and busy hours were spent in 1941 at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Amos F. Dixon preparing books for a free public library which was originally housed in the Stillwater Township School.
In 1945 when space was needed for classrooms, the Dixons purchased the old Stillwater Academy Building to provide space for the library and to serve as a community center.
Hiram Beegle, a long-time resident of Stillwater, became caretaker of the potbellied stove, the only source of heat in the building at that time. Mr. Beegle was a collector and had a good sized museum in his home which he willed to the Board of Librarians.
In 1954, after many efforts to raise money for an addition to the library building to contain the collection, Mrs. Charlotte L. Jones of Middleville, generously donated the funds to erect a two story building. The museum is housed on the second floor, where the original potbellied stove is displayed. A pleasant community kitchen is on the first floor. This has been used by many civic organizations.
Upon the death of Mrs. Dixon in 1958, Mr. Dixon set up a trust fund to ensure the continued maintenance of the premises. The Board of Librarians has continued to keep the book collection up-to-date. This has belied the prophecy of a state library official who said, "It would never work because volunteer libraries always die out in a short time." Thirty-four years later, we are still the town's library!
The 30 member board functions on a voluntary basis and the members take turns acting as librarians and museum guides. Those books which are not donated are bought with funds raised by the group.
We trust you will make use of its available services.
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The Historical Society of Stillwater Township is an IRS recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Donations to HSST are tax deductible, ask your accountant or tax preparer for details
© Historical Society of Stillwater Township, 2012. All Rights Reserved.


The Geneva Experiment
We caught up with the guys ahead of their debut EP release
Local four piece The Geneva Experiment are on the verge of releasing their debut EP titled 'Birthmarks' and will celebrate with a launch show at Sandinos Bar on Friday 11th March.
Tracks taken from the EP have already received significant airplay on BBC's Across The Line and the guys are looking forward to unleashing their new music on local ears having worked tirelessly behind the scenes.
With plans of getting back into the studio soon, as well as taking their new tracks on the road, it will be a busy time ahead for the local rockers.
We caught up with the guys ahead of their EP launch show to get the lowdown on The Geneva Experiment.
Who are The Geneva Experiment and how did you get together?
We are a four piece alternative rock band from Northern Ireland who are made up of James Moore on Vocals, Mike Norton on Lead Guitar, Robert Arbuckle on the bass guitar and last but not least Dylan Norton on the drums. Most of us had met each other for the first time through playing in other bands with the exception of Mike and Dylan who couldn't avoid each other being brothers.
We all came together through the love of a lot of the same bands and ideas we had when it came to writing songs. We're always trying to stretch the sound of the band as much as we can when it comes to dynamics. For us it's more interesting trying to create an atmosphere rather than be conventional. We just hit it off straight away too as friends as when we're in the same room our goofy sense of humour always seems to come out at full force.
Tell us a bit about the band name...
Like most bands when they first hit it off, there's the dreaded choosing of the band name. Has the name already been taken? Can it avoid being used with too many sexual innuendos? The Geneva Experiment was one of those names we had floating about and it just really stuck and had more meaning to how we came together.
The band name derived from the large hadron collider in Geneva. We talked about how we met at gigs and never collaborated musically and this happened for years until we finally came together to create something great, and it kinda reminded us of the particles whirling around the large collider passing each other until they finally collided to create a bang.
Who would you say the band as a whole take most inspiration and influence from?
There's a never ending list of influences within the band as we're always really searching for new things to gravitate to for inspiration. There's two bands we feel we really have to give credit to from helping shape our sound, and number one would be Deftones as we really just connect with the way they use dynamics and even take simple things and make them sound huge! The second band would be At the Drive-in, as the energy they provoke within their music is just unique and if we could strive to get anywhere close to that we'd be a happy band.
'Birthmarks' is the title for the forthcoming EP, what made you choose that for the title?
The name Birthmarks we felt really connected with the journey we're currently on in the band. With this being our first EP release we feel like we need to make a statement and it also symbolises the start of something new.
The Geneva Experiment - Redroom (Audio)
'Redroom' is the first single of our up coming E.P 'Birthmarks'.
How many tracks are on the EP and what are they about?
There are 3 tracks in total and the theme of the E.P tends to touch on dark and personal matters. Our first track and first single is entitled "Redroom" its a dark psychological tale of a stalker type character with a POV telling of their twisted world. The second track entitled "Sincerely Yours. E" is a relationship gone wrong title with a message of hope if you are willing to work through the hardship. And our third and final track is entitled "El Capo", this song is a more light-hearted satire track that innocently pokes fun at the obsessive gaming world by creating a dictator fantasy in the mind of a obsessive gamer.
Where was the EP recorded?
Birthmarks was recorded, mixed and mastered by the absolutely brilliant Neal Calderwood at Manor Park Studios. Neal was really great at helping us take the sound out of our head onto record. We'd also personally like to thank Neal too for being able to put up with us, as I'm sure we did his head in at times when trying to create the little details on the record.
How did you find the journey of releasing your first record?
Our first releases were singles, Collision and Drive. Both singles were played and featured on BBC's Across the Line with Drive being made ATL's track of the day. We wanted to test the waters and felt singles were the right thing to do that, and with the great response we then decided to record an E.P. We've been really excited and eager to get Birthmarks out there and it hasn't been an easy road with having to overcome setbacks, but we're excited to finally get these songs out there and can't wait to showcase them live.
The way the four of us work, everyone has a voice and influence right down to the final stage, whether it's from the song to the artwork or music video. So that collaborative process really elicits an array of ideas, and only grows on initial thoughts for the release itself to make it as great as we can.
What next for The Geneva Experiment?
We really want to hit the road and tour all over, try and get birthmarks out to as many towns and people as possible. We are also in talks about shooting a music video for our first single "Redroom" and hope to play festivals in the summer. We also plan on hitting the studio soon with a new repertoire of songs that we have been eagerly preparing.
You can keep up-to-date with all things Geneva Experiment via their Facebook and Bandcamp pages.


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Hamdan bin Mohammed: Taqdeer is an important initiative to recognise companies with exceptional lab
Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai and Patron of the Taqdeer Award His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said that the Taqdeer Award is a key initiative that makes significant contributions to the UAE's efforts to enhance labour welfare practices.
His Highness said the success of the first and second editions of the Award in attracting the widespread participation of companies, and endorsement from international organisations are testament to the positive impact of the Award. He said the Award provides guidelines for improving the productivity of workers by enhancing their working conditions. The initiative contributes to realising the vision of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to make Dubai the world's best city to work and live, the Crown Prince said.
The Patron of the Taqdeer Award directed all organisations and companies to support the Award by promoting a positive and productive relationship between employers and workers.
His Highness's remarks came at the launch of the third edition of the Taqdeer Award that has been expanded to include factories, Dubai free zone companies and construction firms.
Major General Obaid Muhair bin Suroor, Deputy Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA-Dubai) and Chairman of Taqdeer Award, expressed gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his unlimited support. Major General Bin Suroor underlined the Award's efforts to expand cooperation with various entities to enhance labour conditions and promote excellence.
The first edition of the award, which focused on construction companies, saw the participation of 280 companies that together employed more than half a million workers. The second edition of the Award was expanded to include factories and free zone companies operating in Dubai, which gave an opportunity to about 10,000 factories and 36,000 other companies from different sectors to participate in the Award. Following this expansion, over a million workers were covered by the Award.
The second edition of the Award organised last year received praise from international labour organisations, diplomats and international media. Officials expressed their interest in studying the award to implement similar recognition programmes in their countries. The Award has played a key role in enhancing the UAE's reputation in worker welfare.
Major General Obaid called on contracting firms, factories and companies located in the free zones to participate in the Award, as this will help them enhance their reputation locally and internationally. All companies participating in the Award will receive assessment reports that will help them to build on their strengths and address weaknesses. The award provides an opportunity for companies and factories to better prepare themselves for the future and enhance business sustainability.
An arbitration committee consisting of Dubai Government leaders and specialised assessors are tasked with evaluating the submissions. Members of the committee are divided into evaluation teams of three assessors and a team leader each. After evaluation, each team submits a comprehensive report to the committee for approval and final decision.
The Award programme is based on a comprehensive points system. Companies are given a score out of 1,000 that includes 500 points for the criterion of labour empowerment, 250 points for the work environment and workers' relationship with employers and 250 points for key performance indicator scores.
The highest rating of 5-stars is awarded to companies that obtain 700 points or more. Companies that obtain over 550 points receive a 4-star rating while companies with over 450 points g
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Valises & Vermouth
Alan Folsom's The Exile
Posted by Unknown on August 20, 2006
Alan Folsom's The Exile is perfect summertime beach reading. Written like a movie script, The Exile is fast-paced, moving from Los Angeles to England to Paris to Switzerland to Russia. Flashy explosions and citywide chases are balanced by intimate moments of intense emotion. Folsom does worldwide conspiracy better than most, as evidenced by previous best sellers Day After Tomorrow and Day of Confession.
Folsom has a knack for including little details about his characters that makes them come alive. They are real people, and like people you meet in real life, you learn about these characters over time, not in a single descriptive paragraph like so many hacks. Each of the characters is a complicated individual, with a mixed bag of good and bad impulses, acting on all of them.
John Barron is the youngest and newest member of the elite 5-2 Squad, LA's best investigative team that for a century has brought down some of the worst criminals in the city's history. On Barron's first day, he witnesses how the squad really works, and is appalled by the assassination of a prisoner in custody. In the midst of that investigation, another more deadly murderer, Raymond Thorne, comes into the custody of the 5-2 Squad. The trail of bodies he leaves behind after he escapes leads to another attempted assassination. At the end of the day, the 5-2 Squad is no more, and John Barron is a hunted man.
With his sister Rebecca in tow, Barron changes their names and moves to England to escape LAPD reprisals. Just as a new life is beginning for John and Rebecca, as the nightmares dissipate and the fear subsides, the once dead Raymond Thorne enters their lives again and the body count resumes. By virtue of his tenacity and intuitive detective skills, Barron is the only person who can stop Thorne, if he can keep from being killed himself.
109th Bethlehem Bach Festival
When I was in sixth grade, I wanted to play the oboe. I have no idea why I wanted to play this obscure instrument. It's not sexy like the trumpet or the sax, and it's not quirky like the trombone or fun like the drums, but regardless the oboe was for me. (I never did play the oboe, but that is another story.) I think I knew intuitively what the oboe could do was special.
This weekend at the 109th Bethlehem Bach Festival in Pennsylvania I heard what might just be the very reason the oboe exists. Friday night, at Packer Memorial Church at Lehigh University, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem and the Bach Festival Orchestra, under the baton of veteran conductor and artistic director Greg Funfgeld, gave us Songs of Joy, including Bach's Easter Oratorio BWV 249. In the second movement, an unusual second orchestral sinfonia before the joyous aria, is centered on a mournful oboe solo. It reminds us that Christ has died and lies within the tomb, the perfect counterpoint to the bright,...
Hello, Bette!*
Some Broadway shows tell a poignant story, others are fall down funny, and still others showcase a selection of songs. Then, there is the star vehicle. Hello, Dolly! is just that, and there is no more perfect a star for the role of Dolly Levi today than Bette Midler. Every time she was on stage it was just her and the audience, and this 71-year-old left nothing in reserve. From the moment she arrived on stage to the final bow, it was hard to look at anything other than Bette out of fear that I might miss something. Yet there was so much worth looking at, including some of my favorite costumes ever. Bette's every look, every step, every turn is in service to comedy, and the the audience of course. Her smile would light up the theatre every time, and I'm sure every one of the 1430 in the audience thought it was for them. When she finally made her appearance for the the 11 o'clock number and title song, all in red sequins and feathers at the top of the staircase, there was n...
Sharon Kay Penman's A King's Ransom
Richard the Lionheart, King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Poitou and Anjou was the very definition of foolhardy. At the approach of his death (no this is not a spoiler as he died in 1199), I found myself angry with the great king for the reckless behavior that ended his life after only a decade of rule. The promise of what could have been died that April day with the Lionheart. If there are moments where the future of the world changes, author Sharon Kay Penman makes you believe that this was one of them. Jerusalem might have been returned to Christian rule had Richard returned to the Holy Land, and if he ruled long into old age, as his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine did, the Magna Carta forced on King John in 1215 at Runnymede would have been unnecessary, and thus even American democracy might have been affected by the Lionheart.
My anger was fleeting in response to A King's Ransom, for there is a deep and abiding sadness that permeates this biography of King...


Jewish terror attack suspect in Duma case refuses to testify due to 'injustice'
The primary suspect in a 2015 terror attack in the West Bank village of Duma that killed three members of a Palestinian family waived his right to testify in court on Wednesday, saying through a statement read by his attorney that he would not cooperate with the "injustice" of the proceedings.
"This is an expression of the sense of injustice done to him in the pretrial hearing during which the court rejected only some of his confessions," Amiram Ben-Uliel's lawyer Yitzhak Bam said, referring to the Lod District Court's ruling last July in which a number of confessions given by his client were quashed since they were elicited by Shin Bet security service investigators using so-called "enhanced interrogation methods."
However, the court ruled back then that his remaining admissions of guilt, which were not given under duress, could be used in the case against him, even though they came after he was tortured.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories
According to the indictment against him, Ben-Uliel and a teen accomplice planned to carry out an attack against Palestinians as revenge for a drive-by shooting days earlier in which Israeli civilian Malachy Rosenfeld was killed.
When the younger accomplice failed to show at the rendezvous point in July 2015, Ben-Uliel decided to carry out the attack on his own, the charge sheet says. He entered the Duma village and sprayed Hebrew graffiti on one home, then hurled Molotov cocktails through the windows of a pair of homes. The first building was empty, but in the second slept the members of the Dawabsha family. Eighteen-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsha was burned to death along with his parents, Riham and Saad, while 4-year-old Ahmad was seriously injured.
Last month, the state reached a plea deal with the younger accomplice. The 19-year-old, whose name is barred from publication as he was a minor at the time of the attack, admitted to having planned the torching of a Palestinian home in the northern West Bank four years ago. However, the indictment against him was amended to make no mention of toddler Ali Saad Dawabsha and his parents, Riham and Saad, thereby allowing him to escape conviction for planning the murders of the three Palestinians killed in the firebombing.
The State Prosecutor's Office requested that the younger suspect be sentenced to five and a half years of actual jail time. Deducted from the sentence would be the time the teenager had already spent behind bars  -  about two and a half years.
עמירם בן אוליאל, הנאשם ברצח שלושת בני משפחת דוואבשה, מסרב להעיד בבית המשפט
 -  Carmel Dangor (@carmeldangor) June 26, 2019
An attorney representing the Dawabsha family told reporters outside the courtroom on Wednesday that Ben-Uliel's decision not to testify was planned in advance and is part of an effort to delegitimize the current proceedings as the defense prepares to appeal to the Supreme Court against the lower court's ruling in the pretrial hearing.
Following the statement from the suspect's attorney, the prosecution called on Ben-Uliel's wife Oriyan and mother-in-law Nechama Nizri to testify.
In Nizri's questioning, prosecution attorney Yael Atzmon sought to prove that she knew about Ben-Uliel's involvement in the Duma attack before she was notified.
Atzmon played a recording of a phone conversation Nizri had had with Oriyan immediately after Ben-Uliel's arrest.
"A lot of police officers just came, beat him up and jumped on top of him," Oriyan was recorded saying.
"May God burn them [the police officers]... There was a development in the investigation into the Jewish terror attack, and I'm connecting these things," Nizri responded, ostensibly referencing the reported headway that the Shin Bet had made in its probe into the Dawabsha murders.
Explaining the recording in court on Wednesday, Nizri said that she hadn't been implying that Ben-Uliel had been involved in the Duma firebombing, but that the Shin Bet had wrongly arrested her son-in-law for the crime.
Moreover, she claimed that she hadn't been referring to the Duma attack when she said "Jewish terror," but rather to general hate crime incidents against Palestinians. Nizri claimed the firebombing had been carried out by neighbors of the Dawabshas as a result of an internal dispute.
Called to the stand after her mother, Oriyan testified that Ben-Uliel had been with her the entire night that the crime had taken place.
"I can remember what Amiram did that night from 10:30 p.m. It never happened that he would come back at such late hours, He would not leave us alone. We had a seven-month-old baby," she said. "He did not do it. It for sure wasn't him. There is an injustice being done here."
Subsequently, Ben-Uliel's other attorney Asher Ohayon told the court that he planned on submitting a legal opinion arguing that the Hebrew graffiti found at the scene was not done in his client's handwriting.
Source Article from
HUGE! Mueller Won't Testify Despite Democrat Threats
* * * Update (2030ET): Angry Democratic Congress members have turned up their rhetoric amplifier
US Again Jails Chelsea Manning for Refusing to Testify on WikiLeaks
May 17, 2019 By Jason Ditz (ANTIWAR.COM)  -  Released only last week after 62 days in
Chelsea Manning Released, Faces New Imprisonment For Refusing To Testify Against Assange
Chelsea Manning Released, Faces New Imprisonment For Refusing To Testify Against Assange Above Photo: From
Fraud investigators testify Clinton Foundation is a "foreign agent" at oversight panel
Fraud investigators have exposed the Clinton Foundation's alleged misdeeds in a Congressional hearing, describing
Financial Investigators Testify That Clinton Foundation Operated as 'Foreign Agent'
In explosive new testimony to the U.S. Congressional House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a
Posted in World News, World Politics Tags: attack, injustice, Jewish, refuses, Suspect, terror, testify
" Jewish Insider's Daily Kickoff: June 26, 2019
Bahrain FM to Times of Israel: Israel is here to stay, and we want peace with it "


The Will Rogers Follies: A Life in Revue
Once upon a time, in a theatrical galaxy far, far away, there used to be a musical revue almost annually produced by a man named Florenz Ziegfield. From 1907 through 1927, he presented spectaculars in which audiences would see showgirls in exotically skimpy costumes doing little more than walking around to music. There'd be tablaux set on such fanciful places as the moon. The first act would almost always end with a number celebrating a wedding. In between came vaudeville acts, singers like Sophie Tucker and Eddie Cantor, and comics like Fanny Brice, W.C. Fields, and--from 1922 through 1927--the rop twirling, folksy philosopher Will Rogers.
"All I know is what I read in the papers," he'd say, before launching into pointed observations like "We have the finest politicians money can buy." (What's interesting is that many of the observations that he made in the 1920s prove that old saw that the more things change, the more they stay the same.) But Will was most famous for making a much more affirmative statement: "I never met a man I didn't like." The show follows Rogers from his humble Oklahoman roots to his stardom in the Ziegfield Follies, through his difficult marriage to Betty Blake, to his untimely death in a plane crash.
Synopsis (c) Peter Filichia


Abbott gaffe gives swift lesson in internet history
A recent comment from Tony Abbott was never going to fly past Australia's army of internet-enthusiasts. Mr Abbott has credited Liberal frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull with inventing the internet, which it turns out, he did not.
Mr Abbot gave the alarmingly high praise of Turnbull while acknowledging his party for their efforts in NBN reform, the Liberal plan would see a large figure lopped off the total bill for the National Broadband rollout, but would produce a network that is inferior in many ways to the current plan.
Mr Turnbull may have had an illustrious career in the dot-com domain, serving as chairman of OZEmail from 1994 to 1999, at a time when the company was ranked Australia's 33rd largest internet service provider. Malcolm Turnbull's new title as the man who "virtually invented the internet" has been widely discredited and lampooned on the internet.
Mr Abbott's comments were likely most informative for Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist who has been labouring under the misapprehension that he invented the internet in the 1980s.


Yankees' Shifting Infield Alignment A Potential View Of The Future
Brian McCann at 1B, Francisco Cervelli behind the plate and Mark Teixeira sitting forlornly on the bench with an ailment of some kind. That was the defensive alignment for the New York Yankees on Tuesday night and it just might be the situation for the remainder of the season as manager Joe Girardi acknowledged that he doesn't know when Teixeira will be back.
It's also a possible harbinger of things to come if Teixeira can't make it all the way back from his wrist injury next season, or even in a few years when his contract is up and he's gone. Some might argue that he's been gone for most of the second half of the season but, for as bad as he's been offensively, he still retains his defensive prowess.
Couple Teixeira's absence with the appearance of Cervelli, John Ryan Murphy and, in a few years, Gary Sanchez, and McCann might have to move away from catcher sooner than he thought.
As much as Teixeira frustrates me with his inability to stay in the line-up, his refusal to adjust his swing to beat the shift and his strike-outs, I'm hoping that he comes back healthy enough to play 1B for most of the rest of his contract. It strengthens the defensive makeup of the entire lineup.
When McCann signed his $85MM contract, I actually thought it was a good deal. It is relatively short term, which means it bought some more time for the prospects to get some seasoning in the minor leagues, and he was billed as a decent enough athlete that he could move to 1B in the latter years of the deal to replace Teixeira.
Most of the value, however, I attributed to his catching abilities. If he can't carry over his strong hitting of the past two weeks into next year and he moves to 1B on even a part time basis, that deal no longer looks so terrific to me, especially since he has been learning 1B on the job, having only played fifteen games there. As seen with Kelly Johnson earlier this year, that's not necessarily the best way to do it.
I'm also not sold on Cervelli as a full-time catcher. He hasn't played anywhere close to a full MLB season since 2010 and I think he gets exposed if he does. Murphy and Austin Romine are probably back-ups at best and Sanchez has some maturing to do.
As seen in Tuesday's game, just one player out of position can lead to game losing errors. Given the run scoring difficulties, that's just one more wrench in the works that the Yankees can ill afford. Teixeira needs to get healthy and McCann needs to stay at catcher. As unsettling as it sounds, those two are the best chance at stability in a Yankee infield that will see more than enough changes next season.
Tags: American League, The Yankees