text:
Whether they are made of cow or snake or bird, whether they are black, brown or flaming orange, whether they are round, pointy or square, when you buy cowboy boots, you're buying more than foot protection.
Arnold Schwarzenegger knows it when he buys a pair of sharkskins.
Bruce Springsteen knows it when he buys a pair of vintage boots.
Ronald Reagan knows it when he buys a pair of his beloved Luccheses (if, indeed, he pays for them at all).
Cowboy boots come with more than exotic leather, more than fancy stitchery, more than a high heel, though that high heel may very well have something to do with giving cowboy boots their added dimension--their élan.
These are shoes with an attitude. Built into every pair by its maker is a swagger, an arrogance, a joie de vivre; attributes that are also brought to every pair by its wearer. Step into cowboy boots and you step up, the change in altitude in no small measure begetting a change in attitude.
"I think everybody associates cowboy boots with a kind of manliness," says Tom Gerwing of the Alberts Boot Co. in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. "You're advertising that manliness by wearing them."
Whether you are buying a $400 pair of calfskin boots to wear with your denims or a $5,000 pair of black alligator boots as a dashing accompaniment to your tuxedo, you are also buying into the legendary individualism of the cowboy. Cowboy boots are a truly American fashion statement made popular more than a century ago by a small group of dusty roustabouts and the cobblers who provided them with their most important possession.
"They are a part of our life in Texas," says custom-boot maker Jack Reed. "We wear them because our daddies wore them, and everybody around you wears them. They go back to the days of the cattle drives, and they are still used as work boots today."
The origin of the boots was utilitarian and, in fact, protective footwear for horsemen was worn centuries ago by the hordes of Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan. The American cowboy needed protection on his feet and lower legs for the long trail rides through the Southwest. At some point, he also decided he needed something for his vanity, and the decorative cowboy boot became part of Americana.
Today, it is even more a part of Americana, with flourishing boot companies from coast to coast providing nourishment for both the sole and the soul. Millions of pairs of cowboy boots are purchased in the United States and Canada every year, some to the rich and famous, though mostly to those who are neither rich nor famous.
How unlikely it is that today's cowboy-boot wearer would have associated with yesterday's cowboy. The cowboy of myth, essentially the cowboy of Westerns, was an upstanding, though individualistic, member of society who upheld certain principles of civility and rode to the rescue of maidens while wearing a white hat--and his boots, of course. In truth, he was a member of an untrustworthy, uncivil lot, a drifter not unlike the tumbleweed that blew around him.
Still, we choose to believe the myth, for our own sake rather than history's. We choose to believe that the cowboys were like Tom Mix and Gene Autry and Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers. And in contemporary life we take from both myth and reality the cowboy boot as a symbol of our pride, of our stature, of our individuality.
My, how individual cowboy boots can be. From cowhide to lizard, from kangaroo to python, cowboy boots can be made for every taste and every wallet. They can be made with grandiose stitching and inlay work, with any sort of toe from pointed to square, or with high heels or low heels, though there are those who would argue that the arrogance factor is greatly diminished with a lower heel. Most of all, they can be made to fit both the person and the personality.
The common cowboy boot is made of cowhide with minimal decorative stitching, a heel of 1 7/8 inches and in a shade of brown or black. Its wearer is looking for something that is both comfortable and fits with the Western image of denim jeans, a plaid shirt and a broad-brimmed hat.
There is far more to cowboy boots than cowhide, and even far more to cowhide than the conventional, off-the-shelf boot. First, however, you ought to know a little about the boot itself. Simply put, a cowboy boot is divided between the vamp, or shoe part, and the shaft, that part which protects the leg usually to a point above the bend of the calf muscle. The vamp and shaft are made separately and can often be of two different leathers.
A popular way to get the look of very exotic and expensive leathers is to use the exotic for making the vamp and a less expensive leather for the shaft. Putting together an alligator vamp with a cowhide or kangaroo shaft could cut the cost of a full alligator boot by half or more.
All sorts of leather can be used. A light, surprisingly tough and naturally distinctive leather is full-quill ostrich, with all those little bumps where the feathers were pulled out. Absolutely waterproof and tough-as-nails leather includes Norwegian ox and stingray, if you can find a boot maker willing to work with these needle-bending exotics. Python is probably the loudest of the leathers. You can get eel, shark, bullfrog and camel. A lovely and less costly substitute for full alligator is anteater.
Some people like to let the leather do the talking, preferring that there be little or no ornamentation other than the natural grain of the beast itself. Others want to do the talking themselves, and through the skill and magic of the boot maker, they can accomplish this with elaborate stitching and leather inlays in the shaft or with overlaid leathers on the vamp called foxing.
This is where the boot maker really comes to the fore. The custom boot is the ultimate expression of its wearer's personality and its maker's expertise. And while there are a number of boot companies that produce store-bought boots with sufficient personality to satisfy most boot wearers, getting a custom pair is a real kick.
The major boot companies can all accommodate the custom-boot wearer. The big companies, like Tony Lama and Justin Boots, the not-quite-so-big boot companies like Lucchese and Rios of Mercedes, and the individual boot-making operations like Dave Little and Jack Reed and James Leddy, are all located in Texas. Custom boots can be ordered through many Western-wear shops. Billy Martin's in New York City, the epicenter of urban-cowboy fashion, sells a full line of conventional boots by top makers and also fills custom orders.
Gary Van der Meer is the vice president of Billy Martin's, in charge of the boot department, where he sells and designs boots and takes care of custom orders. Van der Meer loves boots and is a collector. "They are an expression of nostalgia for an era when it was every man for himself," says Van der Meer. "They are wearable art, and they make you taller."
Being an individualist himself, Van der Meer wouldn't tell you which kind of boot to buy, but he does offer these tips on what to look for in a quality boot. One, make sure the side stitching on the shaft is straight; it's an indication that the leather has been stretched evenly. Two, make sure the steel shank inside the arch of the shoe has been pegged to keep it from sliding around. Three, the sole stitching should be buried; that is, a groove should be cut into the sole, and the stitching should be insidethe groove.
In Billy Martin's you can find the Lucchese line, which includes the sharp and sophisticated black-cherry alligator. You can find Martin's own line of boots made by Eddie Kimmel of Comanche, Texas. You can find the outrageous boots by Rocketbuster of El Paso, Texas, which include the commemorative Roy Rogers and Dale Evans boots. Only 50 pairs of each were made; they are autographed on the inside by their namesakes. The Roy Rogers boot is $5,000, the Dale Evans, $3,500.
Martin's also sells vintage boots, which is a euphemistic way of saying they are used. Vintage cowboy boots are probably the only upscale used-shoe market in the world, with buyers paying more than $5,000 for boots with elaborate inlay and tool work in good condition. From his store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, Mark Fox does a big business with the Hollywood crowd in vintage boots for both wearing and collecting.
Of course, you could go to Texas. On further consideration, maybe you should go to Texas. This is where the heart of the boot-making industry is, and it is quite possible to lose your heart to a custom pair of boots.
Want a pair with flaming dragons on the shaft? Want elaborate, saddle-work tooling from the toe to the collar? Want a likeness of your sweetheart on the toe? It can all be done, with money and patience. Elaborately inlaid boots can cost as much as the most exotic leather. Remember that inlays have to be duplicated for two boots, and a pair of boots with flamboyant and complicated inlays can take a boot maker more than 200 hours. Your cost: at least $5,000. And the wait could be more than a year.
Ah, but what price patience when it comes to affairs of the feet, or is it really the heart? While the first-time wearer almost always finds the boots difficult to walk in the first few days, he also finds that his feet adapt to this new angle of walking, and in turn his psyche also adapts. Cowboy boots have a way of breaking you in.
Paul Newman still has a pair of boots that he wore in the movie Hud. He buys low-heeled ropers today. Wayne Gretzky and his wife Janet Jones bought matching alligator boots from the Alberta Boot Co., one of Canada's finest. Malcolm Forbes was a cowboy-boot wearer. Mickey Mantle, a native Oklahoman, loves them. They are standard attire for Robert Redford. And that paragon of American style, Ralph Lauren, loves to be seen in them.
Whatever style you choose, whatever the leather, whatever the embellishment, cowboy boots are for those who set themselves apart--or wish to. These boots are made for walking and much, much more.
Jeff Williams is a senior sportswriter for New York Newsday.
Sources for Cowboy Boots
Justin Boot Co.
Fort Worth, Texas
(817) 332-4385
Tony Lama Boot Co.
El Paso, Texas
(915) 778-8311
Nocoma Boot Co.
Nocoma, Texas
(800) 433-0915
Rios of Mercedes
Mercedes, Texas
(210) 565-2634
San Antonio, Texas
(512) 828-9419
El Paso, Texas
(915) 562-1114
Alberta Boot Co.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
(403) 263-4605
Bell Custom Boots
Abilene, Texas
(915) 677-0632
Jack Reed
Burnet, Texas
(512) 756-7047
James Leddy
Abilene, Texas
(915) 677-7811
Eddie Kimmel
Comanche, Texas
(915) 356-3197
Dave Little
San Antonio, Texas
(210) 923-2221
Dave Wheeler
(713) 665-0224
Billy Martin's
New York
(212) 861-3100
Mark Fox
Los Angeles
(213) 936-1617
Mongerson Wunderlich
(312) 943-0833
J.W. Cooper
(305) 441-1380
Cavenders Boot City
Six stores in Texas
(800) 256-8588
Boot Town
Six stores in Texas
(800) 222-6687


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Remember David Ward, the British MP who went full anti-Semite yesterday? Well, he defended his remarks by citing Nobel Laureatue Elie Wiesel. Mr. Wiesel did not take kindly to his words being appropriated in defense of anti-Semitism:
He then went on to defend himself by using the words of Holocaust survivor, Professor Elie Wiesel: "I swore never to be silent whenever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."
But Professor Wiesel has issued a harsh rebuke to Ward, telling The Commentator, exclusively: "Although he quotes me correctly, I am outraged that he uses my words at the same time he utters shameless slanders on the State of Israel."
Liberal Democrat HQ will be expected to act swiftly to remove Ward from the party, with many campaigners and commentators now stating that his position as a Liberal Democrat MP is untenable.

subset: commoncrawl


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Muslim Statistics (Persecution)
This page contains statistics concerning the persecution of non-Muslims. For further statistics of a similar nature, see Terrorism, Homosexuals and Antisemitism. For statistics covering the persecution of Muslims, see Crime & Prejudice.
Five of the nations ranked least peaceful in the world by the Global Peace Index are Islamic countries. Please note, the GPI does not take violence against women and children into consideration.[1]
|2010 Rank
|2010 Score
|2009 Rank
|2009 Score
|2008 Rank
|2008 Score
|2007 Rank
|2007 Score
In 2010, 8 of the top 10 persecutors of Christians were Islamic countries.
Of the top 10 countries on the 2011 WWL, eight have Islamic majorities. Persecution has increased in seven of them. They are Iran, which clamps down on a growing house church movement; Afghanistan, where thousands of believers cluster deep underground; and Saudi Arabia, which still refuses to allow any Saudi person to convert to Christianity.
Others are lawless Somalia, ruled by bloodthirsty terrorists threatening to kill Christian aid workers who feed Somalia's starving, impoverished people; tiny Maldives, which mistakenly boasts it is 100 percent Islamic; Yemen with its determination to expel all Christian workers; and Iraq, which saw extremists massacre 58 Christians in a Baghdad cathedral on Oct. 31.
Of the top 30 countries, only seven have a source other than Islamic extremists as the main persecutors of Christians.The top 10 in order are North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen, Iraq, Uzbekistan and Laos, which has a Communist government. Iraq is new to the top 10 list while Mauritania dropped out, going from No. 8 to No. 13.[3][4]
A Christian is murdered every five minutes for their belief.
. . .
Egyptian diplomat Aly Mahmoud said that in his country laws have been passed that will protect Christian minorities, for example, prosecuting those who give speeches that incite hatred and banning hostile crowds outside churches.
"However, the danger is that many Christian communities in the Middle East will die from emigration, because all Christians, feeling threatened, will flee," he said.The diplomat suggested Europe prepare for "a new wave of emigration, this time from Christians fleeing the persecutions."[5]
In 2011, 9 of the top 10 persecutors of Christians were Islamic countries.
Topping the list is North Korea, where the Stalinist regime enforces cult worship of its leaders.
. . .
What's more, a decade's worth of Open Doors surveys shows that "the persecution of Christians in these Muslim countries continues to increase," the group's Dr. Carl Moeller reports.
. . .
Afghanistan (2), Saudi Arabia (3), Somalia (4), Iran (5) and the Maldives (6) form a bloc where indigenous Christians have almost no freedom to openly worship. For the first time Pakistan (10) entered the top 10, after a tumultuous year during which the nation's highest-ranking Christian politician, Cabinet Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, was assassinated for his attempts to change the blasphemy law.
The rest of the top 10 is composed of Uzbekistan (7), Yemen (8) and Iraq (9). Laos was the lone country to drop from the top 10 list, falling to No. 12 from No. 10.
While persecution has worsened due to persecution by Muslim extremists, without question North Korea once again deserves its No. 1 ranking.
. . .
There are significant moves on the World Watch List, including Sudan moving up 19 spots to No. 16 – the biggest leap of any country from 2011. Nigeria jumped 10 spots to No. 13. Egypt, racked by violent protests and upheaval during the Arab Spring, rose four positions to No. 15. Increased Islamic extremism triggered the upward movement of Sudan, Nigeria and Egypt.
Muslim-majority countries score worst for religious freedom and social hostilities involving religion.
The study by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, released Tuesday, found that nearly one-third of the world's population lives in countries where religion-related government restrictions or social hostilities rose significantly between mid-2006 and mid-2009.
Geographically, the Middle East/North Africa region boasted the largest proportion of countries – 30 percent – where official restrictions on religion increased over that three-year period.
Digging deeper, the 117-page report reveals that countries belonging to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) dominate many of the most serious measures tracked at the end of the survey period in mid-2009.
Seven of the ten countries with the highest – that is, worst – grades when it comes to government restrictions on religion were OIC countries – Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Maldives, Malaysia and Indonesia. The other three were China, Burma and Eritrea.
Of the 10 countries on that benchmark index, six are designated by the U.S. government as "countries of particular concern" for religious freedom violations – Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.
A separate index in the Pew report graded countries according to levels of social hostility involving religion. Eight of the top ten countries in that index were Muslim-majority states – Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Egypt. The other two, India and Israel, have Hindu and Jewish majorities respectively, and large Muslim minorities.
In an index measuring official interference with religious practice, 18 out of 26 countries (69 percent) whose government "prohibits worship or religious practices of one or more religious groups as a general policy," were OIC members – Brunei, Chad, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The other eight were Burma, China, Eritrea, Laos, Madagascar, Monaco, Tuvalu and Vietnam.
A grading of countries where conversion from one religion to another is restricted was also dominated by Islamic states, accounting for 25 out of 29 countries listed (86 percent). They were Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Comoros, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
The four non-Muslim countries were Eritrea, India, Israel and Vietnam.
Taking the conversion issue a step further, among 13 countries where there were incidents of physical violence over conversions from one religion to another, 10 (77 percent) were Muslim – Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Comoros, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria. The other three were India, Mongolia and Nepal.
Sixteen out of 26 countries/territories where "religion-related terrorist groups" perpetrated violence that resulted in ten or more injuries or deaths" were OIC members – Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan, Palestinian territories, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan and Yemen
The 10 non-Muslim countries were Central African Republic, China, Congo, Ethiopia, India, Israel, Nepal, Philippines, Russia and Sri Lanka. (The report does not provide a breakdown of actual attacks, but in at least some of those countries – India, Israel, the Philippines and Russia – terror activity is largely attributed to Islamist groups.)
Blasphemy, 'defamation'
The Pew report also examined the issue of "defamation" of religion, tracking countries where various penalties are enforced for apostasy, blasphemy or criticism of religions.
"While such laws are sometimes promoted as a way to protect religion, in practice they often serve to punish religious minorities whose beliefs are deemed unorthodox or heretical," it said.
It found 21 Muslim countries in that category – Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Maldives, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Western Sahara and Yemen.
The study also found 23 non-Muslim countries where penalties are enforced for such criticism of religion – Austria, Brazil, Burma, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Iceland, India, Italy, Malta, Mauritius, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
"Eight-in-ten countries in the Middle East-North Africa region have laws against blasphemy, apostasy or defamation of religion, the highest share of any region," it said. "These penalties are enforced in 60 percent of the countries in the region. In Europe, nearly four-in-ten countries (38 per cent) have such laws and nearly a third (31 per cent) actively enforces them."
The report did not, however, draw a distinction between the types of penalties enforced in Muslim and non-Muslim countries for breaching these laws.
A study by Human Rights First, released last March, documented more than 70 cases in 15 countries where the enforcement of blasphemy laws resulted in problems of various kinds since 2007.
Of the 70 cases, only four were not in Muslim countries. They were in Austria (where a woman was fined for "denigrating" Islam during a lecture); India (where nine people were charged over a magazine article said to have injured the sentiments of Hindus); Sri Lanka (where a convert from Buddhism to Islam was accused of offending Buddhism); and Poland (where a provocative rock star was accused of insulting religious sentiments in the predominantly Catholic country).
By contrast, the vast majority of the cases documented in the report took place in Islamic countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan – and included lengthy prison terms and the imposition of the death penalty, as well as extrajudicial retribution such as mob attacks and killings.
One country that did not feature in the Pew survey's country scores was North Korea – not because it is not a problem, but because of difficulties obtaining accurate information in the reclusive Stalinist state.
"The sources clearly indicate that the government of North Korea is among the most repressive in the world with respect to religion as well as other civil liberties," the report said. "But because North Korean society is effectively closed to outsiders, the sources are unable to provide the kind of specific and timely information that the Pew Forum coded in this quantitative study."
The religious freedom advocacy group Open Doors has listed North Korea at No. 1 on its annual World Watch List of countries most hostile to Christians for the past nine consecutive years.The rest of the top 10 on its 2011 list were Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen, Iraq, Uzbekistan and Laos. Apart from communist Laos, all are OIC member-states.[8][9][10]
In 2012, Islamic countries, including Turkey, comprised 12 of top 16 'worst persecutors'.
This year, Uscirf named 16 countries as the most egregious and systematic religious freedom violators in the world and recommended them for official "Country of Concern" (CPC) designation by the U.S. State Department. They are: Burma, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, (north) Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
I thought Afghanistan should be on the list as well and said so in my dissent, which is excerpted further down in this column.
Christians, Jews, Baha'is, Mandeans, Ahmadiyas, Rohingya Muslims, Yizidis, Alevis, Shiite and Ismaili Muslims in Saudi Arabia, African traditional believers in Sudan, Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners, Sufi Muslims, Pakistani Hindus, independent Buddhists in Vietnam, Cao Dai, and many others groups and individuals are persecuted in these 16 countries. They suffer arrest, torture, imprisonment and even death for religious reasons, as well as other pressures. All these groups are covered in the Uscirf report.Christians are far from the only religious group persecuted in these countries. But, Christians are the only group persecuted in each and every one of them. This pattern has been found by sources as diverse as the Vatican, Open Doors, Pew Research Center, Newsweek, and The Economist, all of which recently reported that an overwhelming majority of the religiously persecuted around the world are Christians. Globally, this persecution is experienced by all Christian faith traditions from Pentecostal and evangelical to Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox.[11][12]
Secular study finds that Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world, and Muslims are their biggest persecutors.
But Western politicians and media largely ignore the widespread persecution of Christians in the Middle East and the wider world because they are afraid they will be accused of racism.
They fail to appreciate that in the defence of the wider concept of human rights, religious freedom is the "canary in the mine", according to the report.
The refusal of young Christians in the West to become "radicalised" and mount violent protests against the attacks on their faith also helps to explain the "blind spot" about "Christianophobia" in influential liberal Western circles.
The report, Christianophobia, written by journalist Rupert Shortt and published by Westminster think-tank Civitas, lays bare the scale of the vendetta against Christians across the globe.
They are more likely to be the target of discrimination or persecution that any other religious group and they are particularly at risk in Muslim-dominated societies. Oppression is magnified by anti-Americanism and the false belief that Christianity is a "Western" creed, even though it originated in the Middle East and has been an integral part of that region's belief systems for 2000 years.
Mr Shortt quotes expert findings that between a half and two-thirds of Christians in the Middle East have left or been killed over the past century.
The pace of this assault is now intensifying with the rise of militant Islam in countries such as Egypt, Iraq and now, with the civil war, Syria.
Across the world as a whole, some 200 million Christians (10 per cent of the total) are socially disadvantaged, harassed or actively oppressed for their beliefs.
Mr Shortt writes: "Exposing and combating the problem ought in my view to be political priorities across large areas of the world. That this is not the case tells us much about a questionable hierarchy of victimhood.
"The blind spot displayed by governments and other influential players is causing them to squander a broader opportunity. Religious freedom is the canary in the mine for human rights generally."
The report surveys in detail the extent of Christian persecution in seven countries – Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Nigeria, Burma, China and India. And it cites findings from the Freedom House think-tank report to highlight the way that Muslim-majority countries are the most hostile to Christians.They impose the greatest curbs on religious freedoms and make up 12 of the 20 countries judged to be "unfree" on the grounds of religious tolerance. Of the seven states receiving the lowest possible score, four are Muslim.[13]
. . .
After the Dec.6,1992 incident in Ayodhya, India (destruction of the disputed Babri mosque) Anti-Hindu forces in the rest of the world reacted as follows:
Pakistan - 242 temples damaged/ destroyed.
Bangla Desh- 357 temples damaged/ destroyed...
Britain - 4 temples damaged.Attacks on 56 other temples in rest of the world.[14]
This reflects the state of religious freedom in that country ten years after the United States first invaded it and overthrew its Islamist Taliban regime.
In the intervening decade, U.S. taxpayers have spent $440 billion to support Afghanistan's new government and more than 1,700 U.S. military personnel have died serving in that country.The last public Christian church in Afghanistan was razed in March 2010, according to the State Department's latest International Religious Freedom Report. The report, which was released last month and covers the period of July 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010, also states that "there were no Christian schools in the country."[15]
That is despite the fact that Jews have lived in Afghanistan for nearly three millenia, and had a local population that was 40,000 strong as of the mid-1800s
. . .
The last Jew in Afghanistan is known by name. Also, there is only one synagogue left in that country.
But the State Department report says that synagogue is no longer "in use for a lack of Jewish community."
According to media reports, by the end of 2004 there were only two known Afghan Jews left in Afghanistan. But one died in 2005, leaving just one survivor.
According to the State Department, "in the 20th century, small communities of Bahais, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, and Sikhs lived in the country, although most members of these communities emigrated during the years of civil war and Taliban rule.""By the end of Taliban rule, non-Muslim populations had been virtually eliminated except for a small population of native Hindus and Sikhs," reads the report.[16]
Archbishop Chrysostomos II said that 120 churches have become mosques, museums, or storage facilities and that Turkey is attempting to eliminate Christianity in the area.[17]
The number may increase to 250,000 by the end of 2011, according to Naguib Gabriel, the head of the Egyptian Federation of Human Rights, which released the report.[18]
Sadly, the vulnerability and abduction of Coptic Christians is not a new problem. Going back to the 1970s, when Anwar Sadat used Islamism to solidify his leadership of Egypt, Coptic women and girls have been abducted, forced to marry their captors, and coercively converted to Islam. No doubt, in some cases, women chose to elope, marry across religious lines and cut off relations with their families. Yet the Egyptian government's claim that this is what has happened to every one of thousands of disappeared women and girls defies reason.
. . .
. . .
Coptic lawyer Mamdouh Ramzy said 100,000 Copts have applied for emigration to the US, and others have applied to go to Scandinavian countries. He added that changes to the demography of Egypt will have extremely dangerous repercussions.[20]
The Indonesian Protestant Church Union, locally known as PGI, counted 54 acts of violence and other violations against Christians in 2011, up from 30 in 2010.
The number of such incidents against religious minorities in general also grew, from 198 in 2010 to 276 in 2011, but the worst is perhaps yet to come if authorities continue to overlook the threat of extremism, said a representative from the Jakarta-based Wahid Institute, a Muslim organization that promotes tolerance.
Rumadi, who goes by a single name, said his Wahid Institute also observed an attempt to institutionalize intolerance in this archipelago of about 238 million people, of whom about 88 percent Muslim. At least 36 regulations to ban religious practices deemed deviant from Islam were drafted or implemented in the country in 2011.
A Jakarta-based civil rights group, the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, noted that both the government and groups in society were responsible for the incidents, with the main violators including religious extremist organizations such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).
. . .
The Setara report cited a February incident in which a mob of about 1,500 Muslim extremists brutally killed three members of the Ahmadiyya community, which is seen as heretical by mainstream Muslims, in the province of Banten near West Java.
The report, part of a larger HRW publication monitoring human rights in more than 90 countries, also said violence continued to rack Papua and West Papua. The report said the authorities used excessive force against peaceful protesters in these Indonesian provinces, where a low-level separatist insurgency has been going on for decades.
Elaine Pearson, the group's deputy Asia director, said attacks on religious minorities and police violence in Papua "got a lot worse in 2011."
"The common thread is the failure of the Indonesian government to protect the rights of all its citizens," she said.
The report said senior government officials, including Minister of Religious Affairs Suryadharma Ali, Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi, and Minister of Human Rights and Law Patrialis Akbar, "continued to justify restrictions on religious freedom in the name of public order."Incidents of sectarian violence "got more deadly and more frequent" last year, with 184 cases of religious attacks in the first nine months of 2011, the rights group said. Churches as well as Ahmadi mosques and communities in various places came under assault.[22]
. . .
Indonesia's Christians have suffered most, perhaps. The Indonesian Communion of Churches says about 80 churches have been closed each year since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took power in 2004, and an additional 1,000 congregations have faced harassment.[23]
In 2006, Mr. Yudhoyono, in a new decree on "religious harmony," tightened criteria for building a house of worship. The decree is enforced only on religious minorities... More than 400 such churches have been closed since Mr. Yudhoyono took office in 2004.
Although the government has cracked down on Jemaah Islamiyah, an Al Qaeda affiliate that has bombed hotels, bars and embassies, it has not intervened to stop other Islamist militants who regularly commit less publicized crimes against religious minorities.
. . .
Mr. Yudhoyono is not simply turning a blind eye; he has actively courted conservative Islamist elements and relies on them to maintain his majority in Parliament
. . .
Data from local NGO Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) estimates more than one million people suffered rights abuses between 1965 and 1998 that took place largely under President Suharto's military rule, which ended in 1998 with his forced resignation.
. . .
In 2000 the Indonesian parliament created human rights courts to hear and rule on cases concerning gross violations of human rights. Over 12 years, 12 cases have come before the country's four human rights courts, with no resulting convictions.
. . .
Data from the Jakarta-based NGO Setara Institute calculated nearly 130 violations of religious freedom nationwide from January to June 2012. Most happened in West Java against minority religious groups such as the Ahmadiyah
. . .
In 2008 the government issued a joint ministerial decree banning Ahmadis from disseminating their beliefs on the basis the reformist movement "deviated" from mainstream Islam in its teachings.
. . .
Christians were targeted in at least 50 of 264 cases of religious freedom violations in 2012, more than any other group, Naipospos added. Setara recorded 54 such cases against Christians in 2011, following the especially volatile year of 2010, when there were 75 cases against Christians.
Setara's Report on Freedom of Religion and Belief in 2012 notes that the 264 cases of religious freedom violations overall last year include 371 "acts" against religious minorities, as one case often involves more than one attack or action.
The Setara report came days before more than 200 local Muslims threw rotten eggs at Christians going to a worship service in Bekasi on Christmas Eve.
. . .
Suffering at least 50 cases, Christians were the main target of religious freedom violations and violence in the Sunni Muslim-majority country. The Shia minority witnessed 34 incidents against their members, and Ahmadiyyas – a Muslim minority sect seen as heretical by Sunni Muslims – were the targets in 31 cases.
. . .
Many violent attacks were carried out with impunity by local Sunni Muslims, indicating that "the virus of intolerance" has trickled down from extremists to ordinary residents, Naipospos said. On top of the list of non-state actors were "citizens," responsible for 76 cases of religious freedom violations – as opposed to the extremist group Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which was behind 24 cases, and the MUI, which was responsible for 25 cases, according to the report.
State officials were involved in 154 of the 264 cases of religious freedom violations. The report says police officials were involved in 40 cases, followed by district administration officials at 28 cases.The 264 cases occurred in 28 of the country's 33 provinces, the most volatile region being Java Island, where more than 2.5 million Christians live.[27]
One section of this report focused on religious minorities. A total of 214 case reports were recorded by the Statistics section. These reports indicate that during the last year, 378 citizens were arrested, on nine occasions religious minorities were prevented from conducting their religious services . There were four instances of beating, 13 cases of destruction or closure of religious minorities' property, 30 cases of harm to their employment security, three occasions where minorities were prevented from burying their dead. In 18 cases religious minorities were prevented from conducting financial activities, in 106 instances they were summoned by security or judicial entities. İn addition, 186 other cases of Human Rights violations for religious minorities were reported.
Some 116 religious minorities were sentenced to a total of 3,572 months in prison, 204 months of suspended imprisonment sentence, 25 Million Rial (2,500 dollars) of fines, 250 lashes and 1716 months of deprivation of social rights.
From the 214 extracted reports, 274 violations of religious minorities' rights affecting 876 people were recorded. Baha'is with 100 occasions were in first place, Darvishes with 46 instances were in second place, Christians with 29, Sunni Muslims with 26 and Ahl-e-haqs with 6 were in the next places.
In this regard, Baha'is with 47% topped the watch list of the Rapporteurs on Human Rights. Dervishes with 21%, Christians with 14% and Sunni Muslims with 12% were ranked from 2 to 4 on the watch list.This summary report reveals only a small fraction of the broad violation of human rights against religious minorities in Iran. This unit stated that the report reflects only 3% of statistical errors. The news' from news agencies, official authorities of the regime and also NGOs were cited as sources used in compiling the report.[29]
"Before 2003, there were around 2.1 million Christians in Iraq, but now there are not more than 500,000 of them," Masho said.He criticized the Iraqi government for being unable to protect Christians, and said that it did not even fulfill its promises to compensate them.[30]
. . .
Among the Christian victims of 2010 there are 33 children, 25 elderly and 14 religious. In 2010 Hammurabi recorded 92 cases of Christians killed and 47 wounded, 68 in Baghdad, 23 in Mosul and one in Erbil.[31]
Around 27 percent of minority women faced discrimination in admission to educational institutions and were forced to take Islamic studies for absence of any alternative subject, said National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) executive director Peter Jacob.
A study titled "Life on the Margins" conducted by the commission with rights activists, media and people from various walks of life has just been released.
The research, based on interviews with minority women, was led by Jennifer Jag Jivan and Jacob and assessed by three prominent minority women, Asiya Nasir, Ernestine C. Pinto and Pushpa Kumari.
Jacob said the study looked into social, political and economic conditions of minority women with a baseline survey conducted in 26 districts of Punjab and Sindh, the two provinces where 95 percent of minorities in the country lived.
As many as 1,000 Hindu and Christian women were interviewed.The study looked into issues such as legal disparity, laws concerning minorities, religious and gender biases, forced conversions that affected everyday life of minority women.[34]
These were the findings of an annual report, the Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan, released by the Jamaat Ahmadiyya Pakistan on Wednesday.
. . .
"There have been 210 deaths after the imposition of these discriminatory laws in 1984, 254 assassination attempts on various Ahmadis, 23 Ahmadi places of worship were demolished and 28 were sealed by the administration, 16 places of worship were forcefully taken over, 29 graves of Ahmadis were opened and desecrated and 57 Ahmadis were refused burial in common graveyards," the report read further.
The report also read during 2011 Ahmadis were not allowed to build places of worship anywhere in Pakistan.
. . .
Furthermore, without Computerised National Identity Cards, over 150,000 non-Muslims have been unable to register their children for secondary school examinations since 2001.Hindus are also unable to get their marriages registered in the absence of formal laws in the country.[36]
. . .
While authorities claim to have arrested dozens of suspects in attacks against Shia since 2008, only a handful have been charged, and no one has been held accountable for these attacks.[38]
After the 2011 floods, 130,000 Hindus were forced to leave their homes and 86,500 ended up on streets of various cities in Sindh. Whereas 27 Hindu children were kidnapped for ransom from different parts of northern Sindh. The primary school enrolment rate of scheduled caste Hindu girls is only 10.2 percent. Ahmadi students have been especially targeted by the hate campaigns. In Hafizabad, 10 Ahmadi students, including seven girls and a teacher, were expelled from school on account of their religious affiliation.[37]
. . .
In most cases, minorities refuse to register FIRs fearing a reprisal, while the police try to play down the incident.[39]
. . .
The biggest anti-Shiite group, Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), operates openly in Pakistan.According to Hasan Murtaza, an independent researcher, 456 Shiites have been killed this year through Monday in violence that has stretched across the country. Of those, 103 deaths took place in Karachi and 120 in the western city of Quetta.[40]
. . .
Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland recently said during a meeting that there are currently 16,000 ongoing cases against Turkey, making it the country against which the second-highest number of cases have been filed.
. . .
In its 2010 report, the Strasbourg-based court again listed Turkey as the country most often found to be in violation of the convention. The highest number of judgments finding at least one violation of the ECHR concern cases from Turkey (228)
. . .
In its annual "Report on Human Rights Violations," released in January, the country's Association of Protestant Churches notes mixed indicators of improvement but states that there is a "root of intolerance" in Turkish society toward adherents of non-Islamic faiths.
. . .
The report documented 12 attacks against Christians in 2011, including incidents in which individuals were beaten in Istanbul for sharing their faith, church members were threatened and church buildings attacked. None of the attackers have been charged. In some of the attacks, the victims declined to bring charges against the assailants.
. . .
"There are at least five church leaders who have bodyguards, and at least two have a direct phone line to a police protection unit," the report states. "Several churches have police protection during worship services."
. . .
Along with attacks, Christians in Turkey continue to have problems establishing places of worship.
. . .
The report also identifies state policies that single out Christian children for harassment or vilification.
. . .
- ↑ Riane Eisler - Dark underbelly of the world's most 'peaceful' countries - Christian Science Monitor, July 26, 2007
- ↑ Global Peace Index - Methodology and Data Sources
- ↑ Islamic Countries Dominate Open Doors 2011 World Watch List - ASSIST News, January 5, 2011
- ↑ 2011 World Watch List - Open Doors, accessed January 11, 2011
- ↑ "Sociologist: Every 5 Minutes a Christian Is Martyred", Zenit, June 3, 2011 (archived), http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/sociologist-every-5-minutes-a-christian-is-martyred.
- ↑ Islamic States Pledge Tolerance as Report Says They Practice Persecution - UN Watch, January 13, 2012
- ↑ Dr. Carl Moeller - Islamic-Majority Countries Top Open Doors 2012 World Watch List - Open Doors, January 4, 2012
- ↑ Patrick Goodenough - Countries With Worst Religious Freedom Grades Are Mostly Islamic - CNS News, August 10, 2011
- ↑ Rising Restrictions on Religion - Pew Research Center, August 9, 2011
- ↑ Blasphemy Laws Exposed: The Consequences of Criminalizing "Defamation of Religions" - Human Rights First, March 2011
- ↑ Nina Shea - The World's Worst Religious Persecutors - Hudson Institute, March 20, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) - Annual Report 2012
- ↑ Christianity at risk of wipe-out in the Middle East, warns new Civitas study - Civitas: The Institute for the Study of Civil Society, December 23, 2012
- ↑ News India Times, March 1993
- ↑ Edwin Mora - Not a Single Christian Church Left in Afghanistan, Says State Department - CNS News, October 10, 2011
- ↑ Edwin Mora - Only One Jewish Resident Left in Afghanistan, Says State Department - CNS News, October 11, 2011
- ↑ Prelate laments desecration of churches in Cyprus - CWN, August 22, 2012
- ↑ Emad Khalil - NGO report: 93,000 Copts left Egypt since March - Al-Masry Al-Youm, September 25, 2011
- ↑ Rep. Christopher H. Smith - SMITH: Escalating violence against Coptic women and girls - The Washington Times, July 26, 2012
- ↑ Moataz Nadi - Coptic leaders voice concerns over president's policies toward Christians - Egypt Independent, September 10, 2012
- ↑ Anti-Christian Incidents Nearly Doubled in Indonesia in 2011 - Compass Direct, January 4, 2012
- ↑ Thin Lei Win - Violence against Indonesia's religious minorities surges -HRW - AlertNet, January 24, 2012
- ↑ Kate Hodal - Indonesia's atheists face battle for religious freedom - The Guardian, May 3, 2012
- ↑ Andreas Harsono - No Model for Muslim Democracy - New York Times, May 21, 2012
- ↑ Anthony Kuhn - Hard-Line Muslims Confront Indonesia's Christians - KERA News, May 24, 2012
- ↑ No Justice? Indonesia Struggles to Address History of Human Rights Abuse - IRIN News, December 2, 2012
- ↑ Ordinary Muslims in Indonesia Violating Rights, Study Finds - Morning Star News, January 4, 2013
- ↑ Daniel Tovrov - Youcef Nadarkhani: Iran Says Pastor Guilty of Rape, not Apostasy - International Business Times, October 2, 2011
- ↑ Religious minorities spent 3,776 months in prison in 2011 - Mohabat News, January 17, 2012
- ↑ 1960 Christians killed in Iraq since 2003 – survey - Aswat al-Iraq, December 26, 2009
- ↑ Naman Tarcha - 2010 a terrible year for Iraq's Christians - AsiaNews, July 15, 2011
- ↑ Kidnapped Pakistani Christian may be sold abroad - Catholic Culture, June 13, 2011
- ↑ Minority MPA says young Hindu girls subjected to gross injustice in Pakistan - ANI, March 1, 2012
- ↑ Minority women in Pakistan face harassment: Study - IANS, March 16, 2012
- ↑ Hate campaign against Ahmadis reaches new heights - Daily Times, May 3, 2012
- ↑ Zahid Gishkori - Intolerance growing in South Punjab: Report - The Express Tribune, September 3, 2012
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 2,000 minorities girls converted to Islam forcibly: report - Daily Times, September 5, 2012
- ↑ HRW expresses concern over sectarian killing in Pakistan - Geo.TV, September 6, 2012
- ↑ Rabia Ali - Religious intolerance: Second church attacked in Karachi in 10 days - The Express Tribune, October 20, 2012
- ↑ Saeed Shah - Anti-Shiite violence rises in Pakistan as Islam's sectarian divide moves beyond the Middle East - McClatchy News, November 30, 2012
- ↑ ASIA/PAKISTAN - Blasphemy and forced conversion: two young Christians rescued in Lahore - Fides News Agency, March 19, 2013
- ↑ George Whitten - Dozens of Churches Destroyed In Tanzania; East Africa Violence Spreading - Worthy News, November 13, 2012
- ↑ Human rights: Turkey has highest conviction rate in EU court - ANSAmed, January 27, 2012
- ↑ Turkish Christians Subject to Discrimination, Attacks, Report Says - Compass Direct, February 15, 2012


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10 Oatmeal Cookie Recipes We Love
Whether they're a morning pick-me-up, a smile tucked away in a lunchbox, or a treat savored at night with a cool glass of milk, oatmeal cookies feel just right for fall. Here's a collection of a few of our favorites, some bold and spicy, others rich and buttery, some with chocolate or dried fruit and others with creamy fillings. We hope they'll inspire you to get baking!
Chai Oatmeal Raisin Cookies: Spiked with cardamom, cloves, ginger, and a pinch of black pepper.
Erin's Salty Oat Cookies: Oatmeal maven Erin Zimmer (editor of Serious Eats, national) has gotten the whole SE team addicted to these lightly salty, chewy cookies. We've been known to eat them for breakfast. Hey, there's oatmeal in there, after all.
Blueberry Oatmeal Grape-Nuts Cookies: Toasting the oats enhances their flavor, and blueberries add a burst of sweetness.
Double-Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies: Tons of chocolate and a handful of chopped cranberries make these oatmeal cookies stand out from the crowd.
Karen DeMasco's Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies: From the pastry chef of New York's Locanda Verde, a crisp-edged sandwich cookie that's chewy in the middle.
Maggie's Secret-Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies: An old family recipe from the co-editor of Serious Eats: Sweets. They're spicy, chewy, and addictive.
Guinness Oatmeal Cookies: These chewy, crisp-edged cookies are made with a little bit of beer! Serve with stout and chocolate mousse for the full effect.
Salted Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin Cookies: Buttery and filled with oats, these monster cookies are enhanced with chocolate chips and a sprinkle of fleur de sel.
Gluten Free White Chocolate Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies: Tired of raisins? Dried blueberries make these chewy cookies a bit different.
Homemade Do-Si-Dos Girl Scout Cookies: Cakespy's take on these peanut butter cookie sandwiches are sweet, nutty, chewy, and fun to make.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Four Horsemen-A mystery unveiled
October 24, 2009
©PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THIS IS COPYRIGHTED INFORMATION. USE OF THIS INFORMATION IN REPRODUCTION or ANY OTHER MANNER CONSTITUTES COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND IS A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY LAW©
A long time ago, when I was still considered a child I tried to sketch what I envisioned and dreamed regarding this painting and was unable to. Believing it just wasn't my time, that I hadn't yet earned the right I continued on with my life. Although I had made bets with myself to read the entire bible, I often became discouraged because I did not understand what I was reading and still do not…mostly. I would put the bible up and forget about it. I had read or heard that if you simply ask for understanding, you will receive it. I also read not to test God, but the rebel I am an have always been went ahead and tested him. I asked for understanding. Sometime later, I read Revelation like I always did, as an artist and not a religious person. I got to the Four Horsemen and found my heart pounding in realization…
I had earned the right, I finally understood!
Once widely used to classify races of humans and still used in Forensics and medical sciences, I find it interesting that the four primary races match the colors of the horses in overall color, (please see blog regarding the Pale Horse separate from this entry) as well as the roles the horses represent. The terms are not used as much publicly due to the "offensive" projections people feel they create. For this piece, I will use them for scientific and artistic purposes in order to express my theory as I see it. All I can tell you is if you feel offended, close the blog.
Theoretically, the Caucasian-white, Australoid-red, Negroid-black, and the Mongoloid-pale (In art the lightest basic color in the color scale before white, classified as "pale"). One could argue the "pale" theory but I am not here to argue that, I am here to express my theory as an artist, keep an open mind, continue researching the subject and make sure I have scientific evidence and proven information.
The terms are used in physical anthropology and intricate details of each skull type are used to classify the originations of various humans or the regions of the world from which they were first known to inhabit. It is interesting information and you may not be who you think you are! In science and through excessive research, it has been found that:
Caucasoid people were/are indigenous to Europe (see European countries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe), Western and South Asia, as well as a Western section of Central Asia and North Africa.
Australoid-Australoid peoples ranged throughout Australia, New Guinea, and Melanesia, as well as different parts of Oceania , Philippines,Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and the Southern Middle East.
Negroid are people from a Southern portion of North Africa and sub-Sahara Africa.
Mongoloid people are East and Southeast Asian, the Eastern portion of Southeast Asia, Polynesia, Far East Central Asia, Greenland, Far Eastern region of South Asia and the Americas! (This is very significant in the story of The Four Horsemen.)
See link for geographical reference to race originations:
Please note that ALL people classified in the origin may not have an active role in the events represented by their horses' role.
So, what does all this mean?
These are the Four Horsemen of Revelation:
The White Horse-Caucasoid
The Red Horse-Australoid
The Black Horse-Negroid
The Pale Horse-Mongoloid
According to Revelation the White Horse:
"…And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer…"
EUROPEAN MAJOR WARS/Events:
French Revolution 1789, Industrial Revolution-Second half of the 18th century, Russian Revolution 1917. See: World War II Timeline…Germany, Hitler, Soviets, etc… It is astounding information! http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ww2time.htm
And in current times the threat of The New World Order-The wealthiest most powerful bloodlines in the world.
The 13 bloodlines are:
The Astor Bloodline
The Bundy Bloodline
The Collins Bloodline
The DuPont Bloodline
The Freeman Bloodline
The Kennedy Bloodline
The Li Bloodline
The Onassis Bloodline
The Reynolds Bloodline
The Rockefeller Bloodline
The Rothschild Bloodline
The Russel Bloodline
The Van Duyn Bloodline
Also as a 14th bloodline theirs a Merovingian (Merovingian – a Frankish dynasty founded by Clovis I that reigned in Gaul and Germany from about 500 to 750 bloodline) which has something to do with the European Royal Families and also 3 interconnected bloodlines,
The Disney Bloodline
The Krupp Bloodline
The McDonald Bloodline.
It appears throughout time, the Caucasian race has utilized the bow and crown given to him.
Some text theorize the White Horse is the Antichrist but does not link the theory to research, although if I had to look at it in that manner, I would have to agree.
If a person looked at these horses as not only races of people but the timelines and peaks of their reigns, that person could calculate events before they happen. The times overlap yet there are definite peaks, as you will see in The Black Horse theory.
Biblical years v.s current years: http://www.direct.ca/trinity/360day.html
The Red Horse-Australoid:
"…And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword…"
The focus on The Red Horses Australoid origin would obviously focus on the Middle East in current times all the way back to biblical times. Peace has definitely been taken from the earth for a long, long time due to the discord. The Middle East fight among themselves and indeed kill each other.
My confusion came when I thought about the American Indians and their skin colors so similar to Middle Eastern. I thought they did fight amongst themselves and kill each other too, along with others but if they were here before "white men", they did not fit into the Australoid origin theory. My entire theory was shot…But then I started thinking, well then, where did they originate from?
SHOCKINGLY, this is what I surely did not expect to find:
Skulls of peoples with Australoid morphologies have been found in the Americas, leading to speculation that peoples with phenotypical similarities to modern Australoids may have been the earliest occupants of the continent.
"…and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of balances (scales) in his hand…"
I went over some of this material in my post regarding the Black Horse previously. I stated as the artist, and as a human being that I felt no man in history had given so much toward equality in the world as Martin Luther King, even losing his life for it. It was his actions which gave birth to all of the equal rights movements for so many things in current history.
For me, the balances (scales) are equality and therefore justice by weight of evidence measured. I also noted that the rider of the Black Horse will be Martin Luther King. The equality explosion occurred in effort to obtain equal rights for African Americans, and all people in general. So it would center around the Negroid race.
"…And behold, a pale horse, and he who sat on it, his name was Death. Hades followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him…"
Mongoloid people are East and Southeast Asian, the Eastern portion of Southeast Asia, Polynesia, Far East Central Asia, Greenland, Far Eastern region of South Asia and surprisingly enough, the Americas!
Shocking to realize WE (Pale Americans) are the Pale Horse!
Is it coincidental that we are currently on the brink of World War III? Is it too far fetched to think that America does not have a major role in the unsettled politics of our current times and the overall turmoil of the world? Are we the rider named Death?


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As you know, LeBron James is returning to Cleveland tonight to face what will perhaps be the most hostile home crowd a former hometown player has ever been forced to confront. There are so many reasons for Clevelanders to hate LeBron. He quit on them during the playoffs. He undermined his coaches. He deserted the Cavs on national TV. He never apologized. He's secretly immature and breathtakingly entitled. HE THROWS FRENCH FRIES AT PEOPLE.
I'm not sure he has any redeeming qualities anymore. He can't even keep the Heat from hovering near .500.
So expect the usual smattering of boos and hisses tonight, along with some creative signwork and perhaps some tasteless chants about James' mom. I was trying to think if there was anything that would resemble this event in any other sport, particularly football. Obviously, the closest thing we had to LeBron's situation in the NFL is when Brett Favre left Green Bay and joined the Vikings two years later. But Favre's betrayal and eventual return to Lambeau don't quite match up with what LeBron will face this evening. Consider a couple factors:
1. Favre was traded by his team. He didn't necessarily ditch Green Bay voluntarily.
2. He won a title with the Packers.
3. He spent a year in New York before heading to Minnesota.
4. The Packers were still quite talented without him.
5. He already played Green Bay (and beat them) in Minnesota before returning to Lambeau.
6. Favre did NOT hire Jim Gray to hold a one-hour infomercial to kick Green Bay in its collective crotch.
Football also suffers from the distance between players and fans. When Favre takes the field, he's much farther away from the closest fan than LeBron will be this evening. There's no sideline buffer in the NBA. There's no helmet over your head. You're fully exposed. The fans are right on top of you.
Also, unlike Favre, there's a clear sense with LeBron that he NEVER wanted to be in Cleveland, that he never liked playing there, that he never cared about winning a title there, that he never cared about the city in any way. Some people in Green Bay still love Brett Favre. NO ONE in Cleveland still loves LeBron. That's the real reason you're going to see so much open vitriol tonight. And I don't know that we'll ever see a similar situation in any sport again (especially since no future athlete will be dumb enough to televise his free agent decision again).
For it to happen in the NFL, you'd have to take the best (or one of the best) players in the game, put him in a town that has never won a title (or the Jets, because they earned their suffering), then have him leave that town on national TV and treat it with callous indifference after the fact. Who does that leave us with? Ryan Fitzpatrick? I don't see it.
So savor this evening, sports fans. For hate this intense only comes but once in a lifetime.


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Fort Garry Hotel, Winnipeg, Manitoba:
In just two years Winnipeg's eerie-elegant Fort Garry Hotel will turn one hundred. A century is long time to tally up ghost stories, and the Fort Garry has its share. According to local folklore (and a slew of online claims), a woman was killed—or, alternately, killed herself—in room 202 of the hotel. Websites with user comments tell stories of ghosts seen by visitors, including an oft-retold tale of former liberal MP Brenda Chamberlain woken by spirits during a visit. If guests don't receive the haunting they're hoping for, they are likely to still enjoy the stay—this heritage hotel is full of old world presence and charm.
Frank Slide, Alberta:
On April 23, 1903, the town of Frank, Alberta, became the Frank Slide. The adjacent Turtle Mountain literally fell on top the sleeping town. Seventy-six were reported dead. Many more bodies may remain under the un-touched wreckage of the town. These corpses are the source of ghost stories about Frank Slide and the surrounding Crowsnest Pass. The site is beautiful to boot—even staunch non-believers should feel a sense of awe on a visit to this lengthy stretch of creepy Rocky Mountain crumble.
L'Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland:
This UNESCO World Heritage Site is said to be haunted by Vikings. L'Anse Aux Meadows became a Norse settlement in AD 1,000. People tell stories online of a longboat seen in the ocean along L'Anse Aux Meadows and screams heard in a nearby forest. According to the stories, the site's hauntings only happen on the anniversary. If you're set on Nordic ghost hunting, they say the date is June 23. Book your bed and breakfast early.
Gibraltar point lighthouse, Toronto Island, Ontario:
Mr. John Paul Radan Muller was the first Gibraltar point lighthouse keeper. Muller was murdered by two soldiers seeking his bootleg American whiskey. To add insult to injury, the soldiers dismembered Muller—and likely drank his whiskey. Some say Muller can still be seen heading up to the tower on nights when storms surround the island. Others claim they heard his moan or the sound of footsteps up the tower. If a visit yields no ghosts, be sure to take in the island's other pleasures, including a park, beach, and superb view of the Toronto skyline.
Hi-Ottawa Hostel, Ottawa, Ontario:
The Chateau Laurier is by far the most infamously haunted hotel in Ottawa. But budget travelers in Canada may be more familiar with the ghosts of the Hi-Ottawa Hostel. A one-time jail, the converted hostel was the site of the hanging of Patrick James Whalen in 1869. Guests often claim this cheap travel spot is haunted by his presence. The hostel plays up its heritage, calling itself the Hi-Ottawa Jail Hostel on Facebook and offering up space online for guests to share otherworldly stories from their visits.
Think we've missed one of Canada's spookiest travel spots? Send us an e-mail and tell us your best Canadian ghost story!


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Whenever I talk about Christianity and the issues, passions and positions that so many Christians hold, someone inevitably lobs the "Why do you bother? What you are doing doesn't make any difference!" argument into the mix. This comes both from people of faith who have been burned-out by living what feels like a life of futility as well as from those who are committed to work against the kinds of change that many Christians hope to see.
Believe me, there are times when I wonder the same thing . . .
- Who cares what the Presbyterian Church (USA) says about immigration?
- Why bother signing a petition on gun violence?
- Why boycott anything?
- And don't get me started on issues of racism, poverty and economic justice.
Seriously, why bother? What we do, doesn't do anything, anyway. What a bunch of losers!
At a certain level, the question of effectiveness is a valid one, but when it comes right down to it, I do not enter into these seemingly fruitless endeavors only to find success. Of course when facing some of the world's messed up situations that need to change, success is fulfilling, perseverance is important and stewardship of resources vital, but for many Christians, we do not live and express our faith solely so we can get something in return. Instead, by living our faith in response to what and who God has been in our lives, we return thanks to God . . . even if/when those expressions don't always lead to an immediate reward, success or victory.
Not just about semantics of faith, the perspective with one sees blessings, rewards and gifts from God greatly determines one's perspective on faith. On one hand there are some who believe in what is often called the "property gospel" in that, if you are faithful, God will reward you. This is a very simplistic read, but basically you are faithful in order to earn God's blessings of spirit and material prosperity. And yes, there are many passages in the Bible that are used to support this perspective, Joshua 1:8 for example:
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
And then there are those, like myself, who understand blessings and gifts from God as something completely unearned or undeserved, so in response to God's blessings in life: material, physical and spiritual, we live faithfully. We express love in the world, because of the love that God has shown us and not in order to earn it. There are also many passages that support the idea of grace freely given by God, such as Romans 5:1-2:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Now keep in mind that there is much wrapped into all of this and we could go on and on and on: understanding of faith itself, the role of salvation, the nature of Jesus Christ, how we measure success, etc. but in case you were wondering why some of us Christian losers bother doing stuff that seems like a waste of time, now you know.


text: Excellent multimedia enjoyment with Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster Design Eee PC™ VX6 Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium Undeniable style with Lamborghini-inspired design Stunning premium sound powered by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower® Next Generation NVIDIA® ION™ discrete graphics with NVIDIA ® Optimus™ Technology offers both better graphic performance & long battery life. Massive 12.1" 16:9 HD LED-backlit glare-type display for multimedia enjoyment Enjoy Full HD 1080p video playback on a HDTV via a HDMI port USB3.0* enables to transfer data at speeds up to 10 times** faster than USB2.0 Easy Mobile Connectivity with built-in 802.11n* and Bluetooth 3.0* Shop Modal header Driven by Style, Wrapped in Prestige Inspired by the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 roadster, the ASUS-AUTOMOBILI Lamborghini Eee PC VX6 epitomizes elegance and power fused in perfect harmony. Clad in either shiny piano black or pearlescent white, this notebook PC contrasts and combines delicate refinement and style with sheer powerhouse performance. It spoils users with a responsive chiclet keyboard and glossy touchpad, reacting to every movement and gesture with the comfort of carefully engineered ergonomics and soft, tactile palm rests. While the computing is as relentless as the performance of its supercar namesake, the VX6 doesn't stop there. It delves into indulgent multimedia layering, enveloping users in audio by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower®, resulting in crystal clear, dynamic and powerful sound that's bound to sweep listeners off their feet and take them on a journey of adventure, whatever their fancy. This is much more than just a netbook PC – it's an amalgamation of everything exciting, thrilling and enticing about the marriage of the world's best cars with its greatest computers. Prepare to ignite a new passion. Delivering Multimedia Enjoyment in Droves The next generation NVIDIA® ION™ discrete graphics processor found in the ASUS-AUTOMOBILI Lamborghini Eee PC VX6 enables it to deliver a visual experience never before seen on netbooks. The VX6 is capable of smooth, crystal-clear playback of high definition videos in 1080p on its 12-inch 1366 x 768 HD widescreen display with the 16:9 display ratio. Hardware decoders embedded within the VX6 perfectly decode H.264, VC1 and MPEG2 file formats while the HDMI-output port enables Full HD 1080p playback on large screen displays. Unprecedented Performance Meets Energy-Efficiency The ASUS-AUTOMOBILI Lamborghini Eee PC VX6 defies the notion of netbooks being designed just to cater to basic computing needs. The VX6 packs the Intel® Atom™ D525 dual core processor, as well as the next generation NVIDIA® ION™ discrete graphics processor with NVIDIA® Optimus™ technology to deliver a netbook with hard-hitting multimedia performance capabilities. NVIDIA® Optimus™ technology intelligently switches between integrated and discrete graphics to provide the optimum graphics solution required, thereby extending battery life in the process. High Speed, Efficient Connectivity The ASUS-AUTOMOBILI Lamborghini Eee PC VX6 comes with USB 3.0*, enabling you to transfer data at speeds up to 10 times** faster than current USB 2.0 connections. Speed and efficiency in a stylish mobile platform, your VX6 is a perfect combination of beauty and performance. Also, the VX6 is capable of charging mobile phones via USB even when the Eee PC is switched off. The mobile phone can also draw power from the Eee PC's battery. The VX6's built-in 1.3M Pixels webcam ensures you can video chat with friends easily, while Wi-Fi 802.11n* and Bluetooth 3.0* ensures that you're well-connected even when you are on the road. .Bluetooth 3.0 *Availability is dependent on selected model, country or operator support. Check with your local ASUS website for more details. **Speeds quoted are component specification. Actual speeds may vary by configuration and devices used


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Since my Mom is here with me these days, I get treated to Chuda Bhaja, my favorite breakfast, on Sundays.
Chuda – 1 cup
handful of peanuts
1 small potato chopped into small pieces
1 small Onion chopped into small pieces
2-3 green chili chopped into small pieces
few curry leaves
1 inch ginger chopped into small pieces
How To
Heat a pan and fry the chuda without oil for a few minutes. Add salt to the chuda.
Take the chuda out of the pan and keep aside.
In the same pan dry roast the peanuts until they are cooked (about 5-7 min on low fire). Take out the peanuts and keep aside.
In the pan, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add green chili and curry leaves and fry for a minute
Add the potatoes and fry for few minutes.
Add the onions and fry till transparent. Add the cut ginger and roasted peanuts.
Add the fried chuda and mix everything well.
Serve hot.
This chuda bhaja has to be eaten within an hr or so , else it gets soggy. If you want to keep for a longer time like a week or so, skip the potatoes and onions. It still tastes great!


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- Fonds
Fonds consists of patient records, manuscripts, lecture notes, course material, correspondence, published articles, speeches, photographs, subject files, and papers of various professional associations, all created or collected by Dr. Jones during his career.
The materials in this fonds were generated primarily as a result of Dr. Jones' work as a Psychiatrist in Halifax and as a faculty member at Dalhousie University. Dr. Jones was a member of many associations and the bulk of this collection consists of meeting minutes and correspondence related to these associations.


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Mossberg's Mailbox
Running Old Programs on Windows Vista
There's no other major item most of us own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help.
Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about old programs and Windows Vista, Vista Ultimate and Vista for Macs.
Can we run our old programs in the new Windows Vista? Can we use our old peripherals?
Vista should be compatible with most software that runs on Windows XP. I tested a handful of these programs, including the Firefox Web browser, Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007 and Apple's iTunes, and all worked fine. However, in any transition between operating-system versions, some programs get broken, especially older ones. You will likely need to buy new security programs, for instance.
Peripheral hardware is another matter. It depends on having the right software drivers — special small programs that control hardware — for Vista. Many hardware companies still are completing these drivers, so some functionality may be missing. For instance, while Vista was able to use my Hewlett-Packard printer, it didn't have the driver for my exact model, so I couldn't get the printer to print on both sides of the page. This driver update situation will likely persist for months.
In your review of the new Microsoft Vista, you said that "some regular users may need Vista Ultimate if their companies have particular network configurations that make it impossible to connect to the company network from home with Home Basic or Home Premium." Can you elaborate?
Some companies require that employees logging in from home be able to do something called "joining a domain." This practice makes it easier for network administrators to control access to various items on the corporate network. Microsoft doesn't consider this capability to be consumer functionality, so it isn't included in the new Vista Home Basic or Home Premium editions, just as it wasn't included in Windows XP's Home edition.
To get this domain-joining capability, you could use Windows Vista's Business edition, but it may be hard to find a consumer personal computer with that edition installed, and this edition lacks some consumer features that are in Home Premium. So, for many consumers in this position, the best choice probably is the Ultimate edition, if you have the extra money it requires.
Not all corporate networks require domain-joining, and even some that do include ways around it. If you must often log into a company network from home, a good rule of thumb is this: if you are getting in with Windows XP Home, then Vista Basic or Premium should work fine. If your company required you to use XP Professional, then you probably need Vista Business or Ultimate. To be certain, ask your network administrator at work.
Will Windows Vista run on a Macintosh?
Parallels Inc., the company that makes the Parallels software for running Windows on a Mac, says its product already can run Vista. Apple, which makes the free Boot Camp software for running Windows on a Mac, hasn't said if Boot Camp can run Vista, or whether it plans to add Vista capability, either now or when it folds Boot Camp into its forthcoming Leopard operating system this coming spring. But I would be very surprised if Boot Camp wasn't updated at some point to run Vista.
* * *
Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can't routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.
Write to Walter S. Mossberg at email@example.com


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Christmas Lights Installation
Christmas Lights Installation
Christmas Lights installation is a Home Improvement Tip that even thought is seasonal it has a profound effect in our mood that last well past the season and I would even say it last for the hole year .
Christmas lights installation is I would say one of the best Home improvements you can do on your residence, your neighbors will change the way they look at your property, it will never will be the same. In their minds they won't forget how beautiful it looks in comparison with theirs. Now you would have set a new standard of beauty looking.
Also your family will enjoy so much the Christmas Lights installation that it will be a memento the will carry for the rest of their lives, even if they are not children now . We have seen it happen. Now a days there are companies that we can hire an will install the Christmas Lights for you, professionally. Some companies even provide you the Christmas lights on a rent basis, so you do not have to worry about having to storing them apart. I am sure you will agree with me about Christmas Lights being certainly a very convenient Home improvement .
If you want to know more about a company that do Christmas Lights Installation, please visit the site.
If you want to learn about Christmas Lights please consult wikipedia


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Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
Published by
Developed by
Not an American user?
DescriptionThe nobleman Kain has been slain by a group of bandits and in his death, he is revived by the necromancer, Mortanius for his own ends. Kain is returned in the form of a vampire and yearns to exact vengeance on those who had killed him. Stronger and faster than a human being, coupled with a thirst for blood that must be satisfied regularly, he is able to dispatch his killers quickly. However, Mortanius and other forces seek to use him a tool in a greater plot. Mortanius is of the Circle of Nine, the guardians of the Pillars of Nosgoth. These pillars, the center of the world and balancing the forces, have become corrupted and the Circle members been driven mad. At the Pillars, Kain meet Ariel - a former guardian of the the Pillar of Balance, now a spirit after being murdered by an unseen assailant. She informs Kain of his relation to the Pillars and that the only way for him to restore the balance is to seek out each guardian and kill them. The fate of Nosgoth may hang on Kain decisions.
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain is a top-down game where the player controls the vampiric Kain. As a vampire, Kain is able to withstand sunlight, but is harmed by water. However, he is able to obtain several cursed abilities and spells such as being able to transform into a bat, wolf, and even a cloud mist respectively, as well as learning the ability to disguise himself from creatures of weaker mind. Kain is also fixated on murder and is a master of several ways to kill and destroy his opponents. As the enemies are slain in front of him, Kain may drink their blood to restore his health, which is always trickling away, representative of his insatiable craving. To aid in the slaughter of his enemies, Kain may equip different weapons and armor, each with its own unique properties.
Promo Images
Alternate Titles
- "The Pillars of Nosgoth" -- Working title
- "Kain the Vampire" -- Japanese title
Part of the Following Groups
- Console Generation Exclusive: PlayStation
- Game feature: FMV / cutscene player
- Legacy of Kain series
- Protagonist: Vampire
- Theme: Time Travel
- Theme: Vampires
User Reviews
Critic Reviews
|VicioJuegos.com / uVeJuegos.com
|Jan 26, 2013
|89 out of 100
|Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)
|Dec, 1996
|34.5 out of 40
|84 out of 100
|Game Revolution
|Dec, 1996
|Game Revolution
|Dec 05, 1996
|Video Games
|Dec, 1996
|80 out of 100
|High Score
|Mar, 1997
|4 out of 5
|Sep 29, 2009
|15 out of 20
|Jul 09, 2012
|Computer Gaming World (CGW)
|Dec, 1997
There are currently no topics for this game.
Cancelled Saturn releaseBlood Omen: Legacy of Kain was to also be on the Sega Saturn.
Character namesSome of the Characters underwent name changes before the game was finished. Ariel was first called Adonathiel and Moebius was named Bridenal. Vorador's name was briefly changed to Infernum, but it was changed back.
Although it has never been stated officially, it's possible that Nosgoth is derived from Nosferatu, another name for vampires, and Goth or Gothic.
Chess sequenceOne of the most important gameplay sequence that was cut in Blood Omen was the chess sequence that Vorador would have used to challenge Kain. In the words of the Silicon Knights themselves:
The chess match was a board with real people on it, which Vorador had set up to challenge Kain. Kain had to figure out which piece to move using the Control Mind spell, and, if he made a mistake, the pieces would come to life and attack him. The correct move was a classic chess checkmate
The sequence was cut because it was not working very well and the development cycle was nearing the end.
CutscenesOriginally, there was an FMV depicting Kain's murder. It was supposed to be part of the opening cinematics tell the story of how Kain becomes a Vampire.
GraveyardFirst, find the blood script in the mausoleum. Copy the symbols down on paper.
Go to the graveyard outside. Read the gravestones. Get your paper and pen ready and waste one hour of your time deciphering the code.
The symbols each represent the corresponding letters of the alphabet omitting the letters K, Q, and W.
You then can "read" the gravestones to see the names of some of the games' developers.
LegacyThe game's plot is actually the centerpiece of what in the sequels develops into an intricate vampire-time-travel-drama. Events from Blood Omen are constantly referred to in the following games, for example, the vampire Janos Audron, who is never encountered in Blood Omen and whose backstory merely adds flavour to a power-up, becomes a character of major importance in almost all sequels.
Lightning spell caveUsing the alphabet from the Nosgoth's Blood Script, you can translate the writing at the Lightning Spell cave. It says: "He will come when the moon is full and learn to call death from the sky".
TitleBlood Omen was originally going to be called "The Pillars of Nosgoth", due to the importance of the Pillars to the storyline.
Information also contributed by chirinea, Little Yoda, Mark Ennis, MasterMegid and MDMaster
Related Web Sites
- Legacy of Kain: The Lost Worlds (Website dedicated to the 'lost' content of the games in the Legacy of Kain series. Missing bosses, areas and plotlines that might have been.)
- Nosgoth Realm (every part in Legacy of Kain is here, with fan-art, screenshots, wallapaper and much much more!)
- The Nosgothic Realm (Site dedicated to Legacy of Kain)
- Wikipedia: Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (Information about Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain at Wikipedia)
Contributed to by GTramp (64982), CaKeMan (47), Grant McLellan (622) and Wolfang (168)
PlayStation Credits (121 people)
114 developers, 7 thanks


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Internet of Things, Part 1: God's Gift to the NSA
Feb 12, 2014 5:00 AM PT
The United States National Security Agency's salivary glands no doubt started working overtime when it became apparent that technological advances were moving the world toward an Internet of Things -- a world where everything would be connected to everything else wirelessly or over the Web.
Almost two years ago, David Petraeus, then director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, enthused that the IoT would transform surveillance techniques, Wired reported.
The smart home, and smart devices in it, would send tagged data with geolocations that could be intercepted in real time. Items of interest could be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as sensor networks and tiny embedded servers, Petraeus said.
The mention of tiny embedded servers may have come to people's minds last month, when news that the NSA had surreptitiously embedded microphone-bearing circuit boards and USB cards into PCs to spy on their users made the headlines.
Cracking the IoT Nut
Getting into IoT devices is not at all difficult.
When consumers' washing machines, dishwashers, thermostats, lights and coffeemakers are all linked to the Internet, either independently or through the home entertainment center's routers, tracking just about every aspect of a target's life will be a breeze.
"Most home users buy a router and use the default settings," Tommy Chin, technical support engineer at Core Security, told TechNewsWorld. "Sometimes the settings are misconfigured by the manufacturer, and they will be exploited by hackers."
The NSA, of course, is the granddaddy of all hackers -- angrily described by Microsoft as an "advanced persistent threat."
Newer devices made for the IoT "usually run operating systems line Linux" and are deficient in terms of cybersecurity, remarked Ken Westin, security researcher for Tripwire.
Symantec in November found a new Linux worm, Darlioz, that appeared to have been built to target the IoT.
Hot Rod Blues
Automakers are pushing smart cars, and Microsoft, Apple and Google are fighting for a share of the in-vehicle infotainment and telematics market, which Accenture has predicted will exceed US$80 billion this year.
Samsung and BMW have jointly developed the "iRemote" application, which lets owners of Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch monitor the doors and batteries of their i3 electronic car and change the vehicle's indoor temperature using the device.
Meanwhile, the auto insurance industry is pushing smart devices that plug into a standard car port and monitor how fast and far a car goes, and how it is driven. These devices also report on the car's location.
The amount of user data gathered on people in cars by telematics systems, personal navigation devices and smartphones has spurred an investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which in December submitted a report to the Senate on this issue.
No Place Like Home
On the home front, LG has rolled out its HomeChat service, which connects users to their kitchen products through the Line" smartphone messaging app.
Recollect that LG TVs could spy on their owners, and that the company in November was forced to address this issue.
Google recently laid out $3.2 billion for Nest, which makes smart thermostats and smoke alarms that come with a mobile app. The move sparked speculation that Google wanted to better track consumers for the purpose of serving up ads to them.
However, the purchase also could be useful to the NSA, as it would allow it to get even more information on targets when it serves Google with demands for information about them -- a fact not lost on security and privacy advocates.
Nest CEO Tony Fadell waffled when asked last month whether the company would provide information on user habits to Google, only denying that integration of both companies' data was then on the table.
Fashionista Hell
Things will get even more up close and personal. At CES 2014 earlier this year, Intel talked about its plans for wearable devices.
Also, the French National Research Agency is funding research on cooperation in and between wireless body area networks in Project Cormoran.
Saving Us From Ourselves
The fact that IoT technologies are ripe for exploitation by the NSA is just the beginning. The agency now has equipment that lets it ravage the IoT.
The Nightstand -- one of the products in its 50-page catalog of spying devices -- is a standalone x86 laptop running Linux Fedora Core 3 that can be used to attack PCs running various flavors of Windows. In field operations, it has been used to inject packets into targets up to eight miles away.
The NSA also is reported to be harvesting millions of text messages worldwide daily.
The White House's Stance
Pressured by rising anger over the NSA's surveillance activities, President Obama in January outlined some measures to restrict the agency.
However, it was clear that the surveillance would not be terminated.
The U.S. needs to be able to collect data on potential terrorists' communications, Obama said.
Protect Yourself at All Times
Users should protect their home networks to prevent hacks through the IoT, Tripwire's Westin told TechNewsWorld.
They must change the default passwords on home routers; enable the built-in firewalls on the routers; and update their firmware when patches are available.
Sorin Mustaca, an IT security expert at Avira, lists cybersercurity recommendations here.
Manufacturers should use tamper-resistant licensing code for applications that sit at the operating system level, Mathieu Baissac, a security expert at Flexera Software, told TechNewsWorld.
Among other things, Baissac said, manufacturers also should ensure that applications on their devices, mobile device management systems and other products "have an easy, automated mechanism for getting the latest security patches and updates as fast as possible."


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Harnessing ICTs to alleviate poverty
Reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development requires empowering people with knowledge and the ability of taking charge of their lives. The strategic use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) can accelerate the acquisition of knowledge and the provision of basic services that enhances lives. Overcoming the challenges and seizing the opportunities offered by ICTs is be the main subject of discussion at a special session of the United Nations Group on the Information Society (UNGIS), to be held during the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in Istanbul (Turkey) on 12 May.
The session will be opened by UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, who currently chairs UNGIS. Panelists will include Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Brahima Sanou, Director of Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU, and Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Director of the Democratic Governance Practice of the Bureau of Development Policy for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Numerous examples exist to show how ICT's have contributed to reduce poverty by bringing basic services to the most vulnerable and marginalized populations for the first time in history – from community radio in Haiti to the development of service centres in Bangladesh and the explosion in the use of mobile telephones by farmers, fishermen, and micro entrepreneurs to access vital information and maintain important contacts. According to figures from the International Telecommunications Union, there are now more than five billion mobile phone subscriptions in the world, most of which are in developing countries.
ICTs have fostered the dissemination of knowledge for development and promoted good governance by enhancing transparency and accountability. For many areas of development, it has become unthinkable not to use these technologies and deploy innovative solutions on the ground.
At the same time, a number of challenges have emerged, threatening gains made so far. Climate change, rising food prices, natural disasters and the recent global economic crisis, for example, have undermined past investments and are jeopardizing future efforts by LDCs to achieve their development goals.
The UNGIS session will bring policy makers and ICT experts together to look at ways of harnessing ICTs for development, to further strengthen and leverage their power as development tools and integrate them into development strategies.
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By Corey Heller
Photo credit: John Valentine ii
What with all of the wonderful reasons why marrying a foreigner is fantastic fun (see our post 10 Reasons Why You Should Marry a Foreigner), there are some definite downsides as well. International marriage isn't always filled with rolling R's, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate, blossoming roses and "until death do us part." It also comes with heart-wrenching and, at times, heart-breaking realities that make us question our choices.
Before we begin, I would like to introduce king casino to our readers who are looking for the best way on making money without making much movement. Below are a few reasons for why I find international marriage difficult. Although I wouldn't say these are necessarily reasons not to marry a foreigner (I chose the title to match our other fun, more positive post), you might want to think long and hard about these before tying the knot with your international spouse-to-be:
10. Far away from family. One of us is always living far, far, far away from family and friends. There will never be a time when we are close to his family as well as mine. Well, staying at home earning money with fiso.co.uk is also an option if you really into her/him.
9. Loss of holiday traditions. My husband especially feels this when Christmastime rolls around: There is nothing even close to a Weihnachtsmarkt here in Seattle (and where is the smell of roasting nuts filling the air?). When I lived in Germany, Thanksgiving came and went without even the sighting of a turkey, let alone family getting together to celebrate. Things just feel a little less warm and comforting when our holiday traditions disappear.
8. Cultural misunderstandings. My husband and I have learned to appreciate most of one another's cultural quirks (this has actually been a fun process overall). However, there are times when our cultural differences rub one another the wrong way. The cultural idiosyncrasies of my husband that I love the most can also cause me the most frustration when I'm not at my best (and mine can do the same to him!).
7. What if we divorce? Being that one can never know where life will lead us, if my husband and I were to divorce (God forbid), I have no idea how difficult things could get. What if he wanted to move back to Germany? Where would the kids live? Would they live with me or him or travel between us both? All in all, international couples who divorce tend to have more difficult decisions to make when compared to those who live in the same country.
6. Learning the language. Being that I am not fluent in German (and my German seems to decline steadily each year that we live in the USA), it pains me not to be able to understand nuances of my husband's language. When we visit his family, I often don't understand subtle jokes and can feel like an outsider. My husband is completely fluent in English yet he can still feel out of place when he hangs out with a bunch of Americans using slang and subtle cultural references. I can't even imagine what it is like for couples who don't speak each other's languages!
5. It takes a lot of work. Marriage in general can be a lot of work. However, international marriages take just that little bit more. My husband had to listen to my complaints (for a long time) about how different life was in Germany. Then I had to listen to the same from him when we moved to the States. Aside from getting used to living with one another, we had overarching cultural differences to deal with which could really wear us down and test our marriage. Even today we hit cultural nuances that test our boundaries.
4. Never completely at home. Even though my husband feels very comfortable here in the States, he still doesn't feel 100 percent at home. Not only do others treat him as a foreigner, no matter how hard he tries, this country will just never hold the same degree of comfort as his country of origin. The knowledge of this weighs heavy on me from time to time.
3. The end of true vacations. Ever since my husband and I have been together vacations have taken on a whole new meaning: Visiting family. I can't remember the last time we took a long vacation that didn't have as its core visiting family members. Since we live relatively far from my American family, we alternate vacation years so that we can visit his family one year and mine the next. How else can our families see their grandchildren/niece/nephews grow up? We love visiting family but it can put an added strain on our marriage since we never really get a "true" vacation to places that we'd like to visit and don't know a soul.
2. Airplane flights are expensive. While others are investing their extra dollars in college or retirement accounts, we are saving up for our next airline tickets to Germany! $7,000 is a lot of money which we'd love to be able to invest for the future. Our choice to invest it in the present to visit family in Germany is important to us but it does hurt at times. Our children's grandmother won't be alive forever so we do what we can to visit her as often as we can. We'll hope to work out college and retirement as best we can.
1. At least one set of grandparents is always far away. Our children will never be able to have both sets of grandparents living nearby. Someone is always going to be far, far away. Skype is a wonderful thing but it still doesn't replace spending time with real, live grandparents, aunts and uncles. This can be extremely heartbreaking at times.
And here is one more general question: Where will we be buried when we die? Will it be in the country that we live in now? Or in our country of origin? Or will we let our children decide based on where they are living? Many of us know the answer already while others have no idea.
Despite this list of reasons why international marriage can be tough at times, I would never, ever exchange it for anything else. My relationship with my husband has been the most wonderful experience in my life. We feel so very lucky to have found one another.
Please share your difficulties of international marriage below in the comments section! You are certainly not alone in your struggles.
If instead you would like to share the joys of international marriage, head over to our post 10 Reasons Why You Should Marry a Foreigner (Like I Did) and tell us all about it!
Good or bad – international marriage is one of a kind!
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