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AUSTIN -- To bloggers statewide, it looked like hilarious clickbait: A person claiming to be an oil field worker posted an advertisement on Craigslist seeking a "homeless girl" as a roommate. She could live rent-free, the ad said, in exchange for cooking, cleaning and "bedroom fun."

To investigators faced with a wave of sex trafficking, though, it looked more like a potential lead. Jason Lewis, a spokesman for the police department in Lubbock, said detectives are "aware of the post and have multiple investigations in progress."

In the end, the ad could turn out to be little more than a prank. The person who placed it anonymously through an encrypted email address did not respond to interview requests.

But as Texas law enforcement agencies grapple with organized gangs operating compulsory prostitution rings with sophisticated online operations, experts say the story of the "Homeless female wanted" ad reveals the dangers of a poorly understood criminal phenomenon. Traffickers target young women, particularly runaways, who have little recourse when false promises of romance or shelter turn to sexual servitude.

The ad "does seem like a tactic that a pimp or trafficker would use to lure young vulnerable women," said Claudia San Miguel, director of the Criminal Justice Program at Texas A&M International University in Laredo. "In fact, based on my research, homelessness is one of the key factors that makes young women prime targets for prostitution and/or trafficking."

On Nov. 11, the ad appeared in the housing section of Craigslist in Lubbock, a city on the northern end of the booming oil fields of the Permian Basin, where countless workers live in the temporary accommodations known as man camps. The advertiser attached four photographs, showing a neatly furnished living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. No person appeared in the images.

"I work in the oil field (mid 20s) and have no time to date so I'm looking for a homeless girl that wants a place to stay," the ad said. Promising a comfortable bed and bubble baths, it expressed a preference for women drug-free and under 25. Making a vulgar reference to oral sex, the advertiser added, "I have a high sex drive and love to cuddle."

On Nov. 29, the ad appeared again in the same forum, with the title altered from "Homeless female apply" to "Homeless female wanted." The new version subbed in different photographs of a living room and bedroom. In the bedroom photo, the image of a man in a white shirt was visible in a mirror.

Craigslist, which maintains separate web sites for scores of cities, typically displays both local and "nearby" search results for its classified ads, so "Homeless female wanted" appeared on screens across West Texas.

Along with a similar advertising site, Backpage, Craigslist has weathered scrutiny for its role in facilitating prostitution and other crimes. Four years ago, the company shut down its adult services forum. It has fought in court to establish immunity from liability for the words and actions of its users, but the full extent of its legal responsibility remains unresolved.

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In viral ad, police see darker signs

Boston, Ma (PRWEB) December 19, 2014

MaidPro cleaning franchise has, once again, been named in Franchise Business Reviews special Veterans & Franchising Report, which lists the 100 best franchise opportunities for military veterans based on comprehensive satisfaction scores among franchise business owners with military service in their past experience.

The FBR report reflects the 100 franchise companies earning the highest overall ranks based on input on satisfaction across a broad variety of measures from more than 3,500 military veteran franchisees across some 350 leading franchise companies. One of the best ways to know if a franchise opportunity is really as good as it appears is to look at its third-party franchisee satisfaction data, says FBR Editorial Director Molly Rowe. [Ours] is the only report in the industry that highlights the best franchises for vets based on actual franchisee feedback.

FBR notes that, according to data from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), military veterans are 45 percent more likely to take the plunge into entrepreneurship compared to people with no active military duty experience. But, while hundreds of franchisors offer incentives and discounts to veterans, FBR warns that, Not all are a good fit for vets, and urges all to conduct thorough due diligence including research into the overall satisfaction of existing franchise owners, prior to signing any long-term agreements.

An interesting statistic in this years Veterans & Franchising report, observes MaidPro VP of Planning and Development Chuck Lynch, is that military veterans are most satisfied with their franchise brands in three areas: marketing and promotional programs, effective use of technology and training and support programs. These are all areas where MaidPro cleaning franchise focuses a great deal of R& D and investment. Our repeat placements in FBRs Top 100 franchises for veterans list helps to validate that those investments are paying off and that we truly excel and differentiate ourselves from other franchisors in these areas. Military veterans typically come to the table with many but not all - of the skills they need to be successful as independent business owner/operators. We are happy to be complementing our veterans skills sets in so many positive ways and to make it easy and attractive for military veterans to join our MaidPro family.

Valued at some $15,000, MaidPros special offer for veteran franchising candidates is designed for affordability. The package includes:

To learn more about MaidPro franchise opportunities, visit: maidprofranchise.com/

ABOUT MAIDPRO MaidPro is a Boston-based franchisor of housecleaning services with over 170 offices in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. The company, which began franchising in 1997, takes pride in its strong owner community, cutting-edge technology and creative marketing. It has been honored with the Franchise Business Reviews Four-Star Rating and Franchise 50 awards every year from 2006 to 2014 for owner satisfaction. MaidPro was named one of the Top 50 Franchises for Minorities by USA Todays Franchising Today. MaidPro is also a proud member of the International Franchise Association and the New England Franchise Association. The company can be found online at maidpro.com. Details of the companys commitment to the environment can be found at maidpro.com/green. For more information about MaidPros charitable foundation, MaidPro Cares, visit maidprocares.com.

### Contact: Jen Doyle Director of Franchise Marketing 617-742-8787 x7204 jen(at)maidpro(dot)com

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Military Vets Rate MaidPro Among Top 100 Franchising Opportunities

Thu Dec 18 13:39:49 EST 2014

As always, Kate Winslet shines onscreen.

Focus Features has released a trailer for the 17th century-set romantic drama, "A Little Chaos," which is slated for release this upcoming spring.

The film, directed by and co-starring Alan Rickman, centers on the fictional Sabine de Barra, a female landscape architect, played by Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet, who is selected to design one of the main gardens in the newly built Palace of Versailles. Matthias Schoenaerts co-stars as Andr Le Ntre, the King's actual principal landscape architect according to historical records.

The trailer, which you can watch in its entirety below, provides glimpses of the court intrigue that shapes the story.

"A Little Chaos" opens in select theaters March 27, 2015.

READ MORE:Alan Rickman's Period Romance 'A Little Chaos' Picked Up by Focus

This article is related to: A Little Chaos, Alan Rickman, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Matthias Schoenaerts, Stanley Tucci, Stanley Tucci, Trailers, Trailers, Focus Features, Focus Features

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Watch: Kate Winslet Searches for Eden in Alan Rickman's 'A Little Chaos' Trailer

KUCHING: The potential entrance of South Korean Hyundai Heavy Industries (Hyundai) could spell a permanent change in the local fabrication landscape, analysts observed.

This could also mean pressure margins and reduce the appeal to pure domestic fabricators with single business focus such as Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MMHE).

The research arm of Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd (Affin Research) in a report saidHyundai is close to securing a US$1 billion engineering, procurement and fabrication contract for the central processing platform for the Baram Delta Gas Gathering Project 2 (Bardegg 2) and Baronia enhanced oil recovery project off Malaysia.

This contract, if awarded to Hyundai, will mark the South Koreans second major Malaysia contract wins this year. The group had in June 2014 secured a turnkey contract from Hess to build a large central processing platform under the North Malay basin gas and condensate development, it added.

We opine that the potential entrance of South Korean yard would permanently change the local fabrication landscape, pressure margins and reduce the appeal of MMHE, Affin Research commented.

Furthermore, Affin Research highlighted, as a domestic oil & gas company with single business focus, MMHE is more vulnerable to lower domestic upstream capital expenditure (capex).

It explained, Our economist has recently lowered our 2015 estimate Brent crude price forecast to US$75 per bbl, from US$85 per bbl on large global oil production surplus and OPECs decision to not intervene in the oil market. The lower oil price has pressured Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) to cut its 2015 capex by 15 to 20 per cent.

As of now, Affin Research noted, MMHE has secured a mere RM323 million contracts year to date (YTD), significantly lower than its RM1.7 billion to RM2.9 billion contract wins in 2011 to 2013. It noted the contract awards to the South Korean yards signalled that Petronas is now highly focused on cost control.

On its outlook, Affin Research said while it expects MMHE to secure some RM1.2 billion to RM1.5 billion worth of contracts per annum in 2015-16E, it believed that its bids would need to be highly competitive and hence, its profit margins might come under pressure.

It noted, MMHE is now undergoing a rightsizing exercise with its project partner Technip Malaysia. It said, in the first half of 2014 (1H14), MMHE had undertaken mutual separation scheme involving 100 employees.

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LONDON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A painting by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sold for a record $2.82 million at auction Wednesday, about than triple what it was expected to fetch.

Officials at Sotheby's auction house in London originally expected the landscape painting, The Goldfish Pool at Chartwell, to sell for between $626,000 and just shy of $1 million.

The most a Churchill painting had previously fetched was nearly $1.2 million in 2006.

Wednesday's sale was part of a larger auction of select personal possessions of Mary Soames, the last-surviving daughter of Churchill. Soames died in June.

The auction, which included 15 paintings, furnishings and other works of art, brought in a total $24.3 million.

"The genuine enthusiasm from all those who participated in and visited the sale has been a moving celebration both of Mary Soames and of her father's central place in 20th-century history," said Frances Christie, head of the modern and post-war British art department at Sotheby's. "As the 50th year since Sir Winston Churchill's death approaches, it was a huge honor to have been entrusted with this sale, and to see such appreciation for his skill as a painter."

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Notable deaths of 2014

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Winton Churchill painting sells for record $2.82M

LONDON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A painting by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sold for a record $2.82 million at auction Wednesday, about than triple what it was expected to fetch.

Officials at Sotheby's auction house in London originally expected the landscape painting, The Goldfish Pool at Chartwell, to sell for between $626,000 and just shy of $1 million.

The most a Churchill painting had previously fetched was nearly $1.2 million in 2006.

Wednesday's sale was part of a larger auction of select personal possessions of Mary Soames, the last-surviving daughter of Churchill. Soames died in June.

The auction, which included 15 paintings, furnishings and other works of art, brought in a total $24.3 million.

"The genuine enthusiasm from all those who participated in and visited the sale has been a moving celebration both of Mary Soames and of her father's central place in 20th-century history," said Frances Christie, head of the modern and post-war British art department at Sotheby's. "As the 50th year since Sir Winston Churchill's death approaches, it was a huge honor to have been entrusted with this sale, and to see such appreciation for his skill as a painter."

Related UPI Stories

2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Photos: The Year in Review

Notable deaths of 2014

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Winston Churchill painting sells for record $2.82M

Among numerous factors influencing where the conference places teams from the new six-team pool for bowl games, minimizing recruiting risk is possible for the SEC.

The Big 12 has a big problem, and the new SEC bowl pool system will make postseason recruiting inroads in the state of Texas much more difficult moving forward.

The recruiting rise of the Texas A&M Aggies after the move to the SEC, the subsequent de-emphasis of recruiting in Texas for the Oklahoma Sooners and the continued struggles of the Texas Longhorns have led to a major talent drain for the Big 12 Conference, with much of the talent heading to the SEC.

Of the top 30 players in the state of Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, 11 of them are committed to SEC schools, including nine pledged to the Aggies. The Big 12, meanwhile, has six, with none of the top 15 players pledged to its member institutions.

The elite talent in the state isn't headed to other conferences, either -- recent Texas running back decommit Jordan Stevenson pledged to the Wisconsin Badgers, making him the only top-30 player going to a conference other than the Big 12 or SEC.

Non-conference matchups could help provide the head-to-head boost that Big 12 schools need in recruiting, but the SEC now possesses the ability to limit risk in that regard.

The upcoming bowl games marked the first time the SEC put six teams into a pool instead of the bowls getting their choice in a descending order. After the College Football Playoff and the New Year's games select their teams, the Capital One Bowl gets the first choice.

Then theOutback Bowl in Tampa (vs. Big Ten), Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl in Nashville (vs. ACC/Big Ten), TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl in Jacksonville (vs. ACC/Big Ten), AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis (vs. Big 12), Texas Bowl in Houston (vs. Big 12) and Belk Bowl in Charlotte (vs. ACC) all draw from a six-team pool.

The conference then consults with the member institutions and officials representing the bowl games to determine placement.

"This bowl process gives us the best opportunity to address several issues that impact SEC fans, including the creation of intriguing matchups, the accommodation of travel for fans, reduced ticket obligations for our schools and a variety of assignments to help prevent repetitive postseason destinations," said retiring SEC commissioner Mike Slive when the new ties in were announced.

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How the SEC's new bowl system can be used as a recruiting weapon

Harry Hill as Professor Branestawm.

HARRY Hill as a mad professor? Of course! Its a perfect fit.

Hill makes his acting debut as Professor Branestawm in a story taken from Norman Hunters classic childrens books adapted by Fast Show actor and author Charlie Higson.

Branestawm is the original mad professor, an absent-minded inventor oblivious to the chaos his harebrained creations cause when they go wrong. Which they always do.

If it werent for the efforts of his long-suffering housekeeper Mrs Flittersnoop (Vicki Pepperdine) and his dim but loyal best friend Colonel Dedshott (Simon Day), the professor would long ago have blown himself to smithereens.

Set in the picturesque English landscape of days gone by, the hour-long special sees schoolgirl Connie (Madeline Holliday) come to the professors rescue when evil businessman Mr Bullimore (Ben Miller) and local councillor Harold Haggerstone (David Mitchell) unite to have Branestawm kicked out for being a dangerous menace. However, they have their own plans for a giant munitions factory in the middle of the town.

Hill has revealed hes something in common with his character he was a budding schoolboy scientist and inventor himself. I loved that stuff, he says. Me and a couple of friends set up a little chemical industry in Kent when I was about 11. We made smoke bombs, stink bombs and fireworks and sold them to the kids at school.

We were quite good at it but one of our friends resigned because he couldnt cope with demand. He was giving people the produce on credit and not taking any money, so he had to go.

I loved the Professor Branestawm books as a kid, he adds. I was fascinated by Heath Robinsons illustrations too. Its a thrill for me to be playing the prof.

It would seem this classic of childrens literature has found its perfect match in Higsons inventive adaptation and a kindred lead with the warmly hilarious Harry Hill. The result is great knockabout fun.

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The Sentinel published Christmas TV: The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm...

Deaths Grave, Chiura Obata (18851975), Deaths Grave Pass and Tenaya Peak, High Sierra, USA, 1930, Color woodcut, Private collection

When Kimi Hill was in her teens, just turning the corner on self-absorption and curious about her familys history, her aging grandfather, artist/educator Chiura Obata, resorted to communicating exclusively in his native Japanese, a language she didnt speak.

Cut off from Chiura Obata, the then 20-year-old Berkeley resident had little idea of the important role he played in art history, and particularly in the history of Japanese Americans in the Bay Area. Fortunately, Hill became the primary caretaker of her grandmother, Haruko Obata, for the nine years after Obata died in 1975.

Gradually, Hill got to know her grandfather through her grandmothers stories and through his paintings, drawings, photographs, letters and documents. Seeking ever more intimate insights, she visited abstract connections: the memories of people who were strangers to her but had known her grandfather; reference materials in libraries and archives relating to his years as a respected, influential professor of art at UC Berkeley. She found the most profound answers and clues to her grandfathers legacy in the beauty of natural settings Obata had cherished, like Yosemite National Park.

An exhibit, Yosemite: A Storied Landscape, running now through Jan. 25, 2015, at the California Historical Society in San Francisco, offers Bay Area residents the same opportunity.

Struggle,Chiura Obata (18851975), Struggle, Trail to Johnson Peak, High Sierra, California, 1930, Color woodcut, Private collection

Alongside Yosemite stories, and reflections from more than20artists, historians, scholars, ecologists, naturalists and more, a small collection of watercolor paintings, woodblock prints, photographs and artifacts open a window on the intriguing life of Obata.

Obata traveled to the United States and San Francisco in 1903, leaving Sendai, Japan, where hed spent most of his early years. Trained in sumi-e (ink) brush painting, the brash, talented 18-year-old had no intention of immigrating: America was merely a pitstop on his way to Paris salons, the hotbed of artistic creativity at the time.

Temporarily made homeless by the 1906 earthquake, Obata continued as he always had: drawing and painting in a city refugee encampment eyes wide open for the next piece of art he might create. Meeting Haruko, a skilled ikebana (flower arrangement) artist, dreams of Paris were abandoned. The Obatas began a family and established roots in Japantowns local art community.

California in the early 20th century offered an odd embrace to Japanese immigrants: holding them at arms length with national legislation like the 1924 Asian Exclusion Act, prohibiting them from becoming American citizens and simultaneously, at least in San Francisco, mesmerized by, and adoring of, decorative Japanese art. Obata received a number of significant commissions (creating sets for San Francisco Operas production of Puccinis Madama Butterfly beingjust one example) and participating in group shows as part of the East West Art Society, an artists association he helped found.

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Chiura Obata: A story of resilience, a passion for Yosemite

Kohsantepheapdaily - Thousands of hectares of forest land clearing in Kulen district
Kohsantepheapdaily - Thousands of hectares of forest land clearing in Kulen district kohsantepheap khmer koh santepheap video koh santepheap daily koh santep...

By: Chong Doeung

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Kohsantepheapdaily - Thousands of hectares of forest land clearing in Kulen district - Video