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Jetradar compares cheap flights to Krasnodar from 2,500 cities across 728 airlines and hundreds of travel websites from all over the world. We can find the cheapest flights to Krasnodar with no commission or additional cost to you.
The most popular tickets to Krasnodar are in July, August and December. The low season for purchasing tickets is February, March and November.
Krasnodar is served by these airports: Pashkovsky. Direct flights to Krasnodar are offered by 18 airlines.
Depending on the number of days remaining before departure, the price of airfare for Krasnodar could change by more than 12%.
Jetradar suggest buying flights to Krasnodar in advance in order to choose the conditions for your flight based on your preferences and financial resources.

subset: commoncrawl


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According to UFC president Dana White, UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is the biggest draw in the UFC with welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre in hot pursuit.
That means extra attention and media scrutiny for those who share the bill with Lesnar, and the spotlight is not always a welcome addition.
"Everybody thinks it looks easy," White said. "Try spending three months answering the same questions over and over again. And especially as they get closer to fight time, they get more and more miserable and cranky and irritable. It's tough on guys."
The top-billed fighters of UFC 121 all agree that it's part of the job, but most admit it's a major drag.
UFC 121 takes place this Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and features a heavyweight title match between champion Lesnar (5-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and challenger Cain Velasquez (8-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).
Martin Kampmann (17-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) said his co-main event fight with Jake Shields has drawn more media than ever before, and he's chomping at the bit to stop talking and start fighting at UFC 121, which features a two-fight "UFC Prelims" broadcast on Spike TV before the pay-per-view main card.
"That's what I'm here to do," Kampmann told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "But I know we've got to do the promotion, so hopefully more people tune in to watch the fight. But it's alright. I can deal with it."
Shields (25-4-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has headlined several cards in his 11-year career as an MMA fighter, but he's never done it under the UFC banner. Although he has experience with media attention, he admits his first UFC fight has brought a whole new level of attention.
Still, he sees it as a necessary evil.
"Press definitely gets old," he said. "But you've got to do the press if you want to make the good money. Honestly, I'd rather do no press, but if I had no press paying attention to me, that's a bad sign. So it's good to have to turn down interviews all the time."
Tito Ortiz (15-7-1 MMA, 14-7-1 UFC), who meets Matt Hamill (9-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) on the card, has turned down more than a few interviews in his day as a five-time light-heavyweight champion. Nothing's changed for "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" – he still loves to cut a good promo and hype a fight. This card is different, though. After going 0-3-1 in the past four years of competition, he's been given the least prominent placement since his early days in the UFC as the second televised bout of the evening.
He said it's a relief not to shoulder the burden of promoting a main event. And besides, it's not as if he gets ever gets a break from the spotlight given his long and infamous career inside the octagon.
"You've got to have a lot of patience," Ortiz said. "I was at the UFC (Fan) Expo for three days. I signed eight hours each day, and the No. 1 question I had was, 'How do you feel?' It's monotonous, but at the same time, it's my job.
"There isn't anybody who does it better than me because I can educate fans on what this stuff is really about. Guys come in and say, 'I kick people's asses. I knock people out.' That's not what they want to hear. They want to understand the psychology we go through to get ready for a fight."
Hamill, meanwhile, has been drawn into a PR campaign for which he didn't sign up. Ortiz stirred the pot early after their fight was announced when he gave an interview on HDNet's "Inside MMA" program and claimed Hamill had a soft head as the result of being deaf. An advocate for the deaf community, Hamill was put on the defensive and forced to answer questions about Ortiz's comments, which added to his existing misery surrounding the spotlight.
"He hates it," said Duff Holmes, Hamill's trainer and manager. "He's just a simple guy. He's a small-town guy from Ohio, and he just never liked the attention. When he gets all this press and everybody asks him the same question over and over, it drives him a little crazy.
"Plus, he doesn't understand most of them, which is why you get the same answers from him a lot."
Velasquez has been blitzed with questions on ethnicity since the UFC began pushing his Mexican heritage not only as a centerpiece of the card's promotion but also a way to mobilize a potential new fanbase for the sport.
While the challenger said he understands the rationale behind the marketing ploy, he admits that it's been an additional burden. Nonetheless, he's hanging in there.
"It's part of the territory," he said. "It's pretty simple."
Lesnar quickly picked up the mantle of "ornery son of a [expletive]" in his dealing with the press, though he appears to have mellowed a bit since his recovery from a life-threaning bout of diverticulitis.
That doesn't mean he likes having cameras around, particularly the ones that invaded his camp for the UFC 121 edition of the "UFC Primetime" pre-event TV series.
"It's very basic for me," he said. "When I go home, I don't buy into any of the BS. It's pretty basic: train, family, sleep (and) fight. That's my life. I like it."
Ortiz, though, has advice for fighters who gripe and groan about the monotony.
"Better than working a 9-to-5 job," he said. "I did construction, and the hell with that."
In addition to the above three fights, UFC 121's main card features welterweights Diego Sanchez (21-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) vs. Paulo Thiago (13-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and heavyweights Gabriel Gonzaga (11-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) vs. Brendan Schaub (6-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC).
Saturday's full card includes:
- Champ Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez (for heavyweight title)
- Martin Kampmann vs. Jake Shields
- Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago
- Matt Hamill vs. Tito Ortiz
- Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Brendan Schaub
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)
- Ryan Jensen vs. Court McGee
- Patrick Cote vs. Tom Lawlor
PRELIMINARY CARD (un-aired)
- Sam Stout vs. Paul Taylor
- Mike Guymon vs. Daniel Roberts
- Chris Camozzi vs. Dongi Yang
- Jon Madsen vs. Gilbert Yvel
For complete coverage of UFC 121, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.


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He blunders through the last dream
of the night. I hear him, waking.
A brick and concrete stall, narrow
as a heifer's haunches. Steel bars
between her trap and his small yard.
A froth of slobbered hay droops
from the stippled muzzle. In the slow
rolling mass of his skull his eyes
surface like fish bellies.
He is chained while they swill his floor.
His stall narrows to rage. He knows
the sweet smell of a heifer's fear.
Remembered summer haysmells reach him,
a trace of the herd's freedom, clover-
loaded winds. The thundering seed
blows up the Dee breathing of plains,
of cattle wading in shallows.
His crazy eyes churn with their vision.
By Gillian Clarke
from Letters from a Far Country (1982)
Fun fact: The River Dee (Welsh: Afon Dyfrdwy, Latin: Deva Fluvius) is a river in the United Kingdom. It flows through parts of both Wales and England, forming part of the border between the two countries.


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Some unique artwork has recently appeared on San Diego's Embarcadero. An eye-catching sculptural facade is part of the new two-hotels-in-one-building project that was recently completed at the site once occupied by historic Lane Field.
Marriott's dual Residence Inn and SpringHill Suites San Diego Downtown/Bayfront has been open for about two weeks. A couple days ago, I walked right up to the lobby entrance to snap several pics…
I received a comment from the artist! In it he writes:
"My name is David Franklin and I am the artist that created the rippling facade for the new building. Its called "California Rain" and is the product of the percent for art in the Port of San Diego public art program…"
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk!
You can see many more Cool San Diego Sights by following my blog on Facebook or Twitter!


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President Obama's upcoming visit to Israel, along with the formation of a new Israeli government, is an opportunity for the United States and Israel to formulate a joint strategy toward the challenges of the Middle East. The two countries view the main trends in the region with concern: Iranian efforts to acquire military nuclear capability continue unabated, and in Syria, the struggle between the Assad regime and opposition forces continues, joined by the concern that strategic weapons could end up in the hands of extremist elements.
In addition, there has been no progress on the Palestinian issue, nor has a solution been found to the "crisis of honor" between Israel and Turkey. Political Islam continues to intensify, and the Muslim Brotherhood has tightened its hold in Egypt.
The complex processes underway in the Middle East have affected the policy of the government of Israel, which is working on the assumption that the current period is not suited to initiative or proactive measures. They have also influenced the policy of President Obama, which perceives that the along with its domestic issues, the United States has limited power to address world problems in general, and those of the Middle East in particular. Hence, the trend is for the United States to distance itself from the problems of the Middle East, withdraw US forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, reject a military option against Iran, and refrain from intervening in Syria.
Nevertheless, moments of decision are approaching when these problems will require intensive treatment; if left ignored, the situation in several theaters could well spiral out of control. Close strategic coordination with the second Obama administration is therefore essential for Israel.
A mapping of interests between the United States and Israel highlights a number of basic common interests as well as conflicting situational interests stemming from different views on how to respond to the challenges. The United States and Israel share an interest in preventing Iran from acquiring military nuclear capability, but they differ on the means to this end. Israel and the United States anticipate that the Assad regime will fall and that Syria will be cut off from the radical axis led by Iran. Both aspire to strengthen the peace agreement and to maintain the stability of Jordan. Both have accepted the reality of Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt, and strive to preserve stability and effective governance as well as the peace treaty. Although the United States and Israel do not see eye-to-eye on the ability to promote a permanent settlement with the Palestinians and the regional changes that would result from a solution, the government of Israel is prepared to return to the negotiating table without preconditions.
Formulating a Joint Regional Strategy
The leading recommended principles of a joint Israeli-US regional strategy are:
1. The United States does not disassociate itself from the Middle East, and is committed to prevent the region from falling into the hands of radical Islam.
2. Reinforced bilateral strategic relations, and deepened special defense ties.
3. Full transparency between the leaders; avoidance of steps that surprise the other side.
4. The United States will refrain from challenging the government of Israel with a demand to stop building in Jerusalem, which runs counter to the Israeli consensus. In return, Israel will formulate a restrained policy of construction in settlement blocs only.
5. An ongoing dialogue to determine priorities toward integrated efforts to political, security, diplomatic, economic, and social regional challenges.
6. A common understanding that actions, not words, are what matter in the Middle East, and therefore objectives must be promoted with steadfastness, including a willingness to use force.
On the basis of these principles, it is recommended that an integrated systemic strategic approach be formulated that maps linkages and unintended consequences and allows engagement with several challenges at once.
The first layer: Stopping the Iranian military nuclear program
President Obama should provide Israel with assurances that he will implement his strategy of prevention and will not slide into a strategy of containment. Confidence building can be based on three elements:
1. Joint planning of the military option, including maintaining the results of a military attack over time.
2. Mutual understandings about a reasonable arrangement with Iran. It appears that Israel will be asked to show flexibility on the issue of Iranian uranium enrichment, as long as any material enriched above 3.5 percent is not stored in Iran.
3. Stepped up sanctions against Iran as long as it procrastinates in the negotiations
The second layer: The Palestinian arena
The Prime Minister of Israel must assure President Obama that he will make every effort to jumpstart the political process with the Palestinian Authority. While emphasizing that currently there is little chance of achieving a permanent status agreement, Israel proposes three complementary options: (a) continued pursuit of a permanent settlement, based on a willingness to return to negotiations with no preconditions to discuss all issues; (b) negotiations on transitional arrangements, comprising measured steps toward a permanent settlement with the rule that anything agreed upon will be implemented; (c) barring other options, coordinated unilateralism, i.e., in the absence of a Palestinian partner for a permanent agreement, Israel will shape the situation by itself in accordance with the concept of separation, with a willingness to withdraw from areas in Judea and Samaria and redeploy along the line of the security fence in the Jordan Valley, while maintaining freedom of action for the IDF throughout the West Bank. In tandem, the economic, governance, and security collapse of the PA should be prevented. Gaza will be outside the arrangements as long as Hamas does not accept the three fundamental Quartet conditions.
The third layer: The day after Assad
Coordination is needed between Israel, the United States, and the West regarding Syria in the post-Assad regime era. In the immediate term, this involves formulating a joint US-Israeli policy for preventing the use of chemical and biological weapons and preventing the transfer of strategic weapons to Hizbollah and other extremist elements. The greater emphasis should be on neutralizing the influence of Iran and Hizbollah in Syria (cutting Syria off from the radical axis); preventing jihadist elements from taking over the country; and supporting the establishment of a stable, pro-Western government that is committed to internal reconciliation and Syrian unity.
The fourth layer: Stabilizing the Syrian perimeter
Given the special role of the Hashemite Kingdom as an anchor of stability in the region and a loyal ally of the United States and Israel, special attention should be paid to its survivability and stability, endangered by its economic weakness. Turkey has a vital role to play in the area and in building a post-Assad Syria. Thus, Israel should respond to the American request and find a formula for apologizing to Turkey. At the same time, a joint American-Jordanian-Turkish effort must be promoted to prevent Iraq from disintegrating or falling under full Iranian influence. Backing is also needed for a Western effort, possibly led by France, to change the internal balance in Lebanon in favor of stabilizing forces that oppose Hizbollah.
The fifth layer: Egyptian stability and governability in Sinai
The first goal is to preserve the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty and honor the security commitments of the military appendix. The United States should form a coalition of Western states that will assist in reconstructing Egypt's collapsing economy with the following conditions: a commitment by the regime to maintain the peace treaty with Israel, the application of effective governance in Sinai, and effective Egyptian action to stop weapons smuggling to the Gaza Strip. The United States, Israel, and European Union states must help Egypt acquire the tools to deal with the needs of the Bedouin tribes in Sinai and build sources of employment and income to replace smuggling. At the same time, Israel can help the regime in Cairo by providing relief for the Gaza Strip and by implementing and expanding the understandings reached at the end of Operation Pillar of Defense.
Since Israel has limited capabilities to deal successfully with a variety of challenges at once, it is essential that it achieve close strategic coordination with the United States. Israel's Prime Minister must take advantage of President Obama's visit to formulate a joint strategy for coping with the challenges of the Middle East based on overlapping interests, and on issues where there is a gap, define the shared objectives so as to map the best course of action and way to deal with the problems. A policy of give and take is needed, with each side respecting the interests of the other and in return, receiving assistance in promoting its vital interests. The basis for this is an ongoing strategic dialogue and maximum openness.
The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) is an independent academic institute that studies key issues relating to Israel's national security and Middle East affairs.


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text:
Lawrence, Kansas is a great place to be a geek. It's home of the University of Kansas and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction. Every year since 1979 they've handed out the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best science-fiction novel of the year, and in 1987, they added the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short science fiction of the year.
These are two pretty prestigious awards for winners, and the campus holds an awards ceremony and the Campbell Conference every July (July 5-8 this year). There are also novel and short story writing workshops lead by some of the best in the industry, so this is a great place to be for the aspiring writer, too. For those who don't want to register or attend the all day conference, there's also a massive book signing every year.
Now, I realize not everyone is lucky enough to live in Lawrence or have the financial means for a summer trip to the area. For everyone else, I suggest checking out AboutSF, an educational outreach effort by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and the Science Fiction Research Association. There are interviews, podcasts, and plans for teachers including reading guides and sample projects. The reading guides actually make great summer reading lists for yourself or your kids.


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Happy New Year friends! I'm excited for all the possibilities that 2013 holds! I must admit that I'm happy to close the door on 2012, and move forward into 2013.
As I sat trying to think up goals for 2013 and a word to focus on, the word GRATEFUL kept coming to mind. I wanted to focus on being grateful and giving thanks in each and every situation of my life (good & bad). So last week I settled on the word grateful! Just when I thought I was all set the word LEARN kept popping up in my everyday life and in my mind constantly. Learn is such a powerful word! It truly encompasses everything I want to accomplish, not only in 2013, but for the rest of my life.
When I first thought about what I wanted to learn this year, many things jumped out at me. I do want to learn a lot of different skills and crafs, but I also want to learn things that can't necessarily me measured, photographed, or physically touched.
So this year I want to LEARN:
-how to knit
-how to play the cello
-how to be more grateful for my everyday life
-how to give grace, even when I don't want to give it
-more about my community
-how to be more patient with my girls
-how to find balance in my life
And most importantly….
-I want to learn how to fully trust God with EVERY aspect of my life! I want to learn to let go of my insecurities and doubts and trust that God is in control and remember that He has NEVER let me down!
Here is to a great year of LEARNING!!
Make it great!


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Flip Saunders starts retooling Wolves scouting staff: Philo, Crawford among those let go
MINNEAPOLIS – Flip Saunders has started the restructuring expected when he took over as Minnesota Timberwolves president last week.
Saunders fired international scouting coordinator Pete Philo, regional scout Curtis Crawford and Will Conroy on Tuesday. The moves were made as Saunders clears room to get a staff together for next month's draft.
Philo was instrumental in ushering in a new focus on foreign players. He helped land point guard Ricky Rubio, guard Alexey Shved and put the Timberwolves at the forefront of that growing trend. He also played a key role on draft night.
Crawford is a close friend of Brandon Roy's and was moved into a scouting position after he did not make the team last training camp.


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I've made a commitment to do Murph once a month.
Celebrating our freedom from sin seemed like a good time to start.
For those of you unfamiliar with CrossFit, Murph is a Hero Workout, named after Lieutenant Michael Murphy , a Navy Seal, who died fighting for our freedoms. This was one of his favorite workouts and it is traditionally done by most CrossFit boxes on Memorial Day in his honor. The workout is: 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 air squats, and then finish it off with a 1 mile run.
This is one of my absolute favorite workouts, and I've been itching to do it for a while now but with the Open and my wrist, it didn't happen until now.
I PR'ed by 2 minutes. Butterfly pull-ups and my run made the difference.
Did get a couple of blood blisters on my hands from the 100 pull ups.
Totally worth it.
I needed this one. Mentally more than anything. Plus, I love to go long and it's rarely programmed due to time constraints at the gym.
Side Note: I woke up today not sore at all. When I used to do this workout, it would destroy me for a few days. It was actually the first workout I ever did in CrossFit. I know I work hard and am fit, but it doesn't hit me how fit until I do something like this.
Happy Easter, one and all!


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Charles, Sun beat Liberty to reach East finals
- Tina Charles had 25 points and 14 rebounds
- Kara Lawson hit five three-pointers
- The Liberty led by 16 in the second before Connecticut went on a 14-0 run
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Kara Lawson didn't get discouraged after missing some 3-point shots she felt she should have made. She knew she would hit some if she kept shooting.
Tina Charles had 25 points and 14 rebounds and Lawson scored 15 points — all on three-pointers, including two late in the fourth quarter — as the Connecticut Sun closed with a 14-0 run to beat the New York Liberty 75-62 on Saturday night to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
"I had some looks in the second half and I was missing them. I don't usually miss those," Lawson said. "I kept telling them on the bench 'there's one coming.' I didn't know there were two coming."
Lawson hit a 3 with 3:58 left start the Sun's game-ending run. She was fouled and converted the free throw for the four-point play that put the Sun ahead for good, 65-62.
Plenette Pierson had just rallied New York from a five-point deficit, scoring with 4:20 left to put the Liberty ahead 62-61.
After Jones hit a jumper with just under 3 minutes remaining to push Connecticut's advantage to six, Lawson made another 3 to make it 70-62.
Asjha Jones scored 18 points to help the Sun complete the two-game sweep.
"When it was time to step up all of the best players stepped up tonight," Connecticut coach Mike Thibault said. "Our three All-Star players stepped up. It was terrific, but we had great performances from a lot of people. It was as ugly start that you can get that nobody would like to watch, but one of the best things about this team is we hung in there on the road."
Thibault kept reminding his team about the importance of rebounding. The Sun allowed New York 17 offensive rebounds in the series opener in Connecticut on Thursday night. They outrebounded the Liberty 44-28 in Game 2..
"Point of emphasis from Coach," Lawson said, "and Tina gets 14 rebounds."
Thibault added: "If you really want to know why Tina is the MVP of the league, just watch a tape of the second half."
The Sun will next face the winner of the Atlanta-Indiana series, which the Dream lead 1-0 heading into Sunday's game at home. Connecticut hadn't won a playoff series since 2006, when they defeated Washington in the East semifinals to advance.
Cappie Pondexter scored 20 points to lead New York.
"They are a great team and played well all year," Pondexter said. "Tina, the MVP of the league, played outstanding. Asjha made key buckets in the third quarter that gave them a run."
New York scored the game's first 12 points and Connecticut missed its first 12 shots from the field. The Sun's first points came on Jones' two free throws with 5:27 remaining in the first period.
The Liberty led by 16 in the second before Connecticut used a 14-0 run to cut the lead to 27-25.
New York led 33-27 at halftime, holding Connecticut to 29 percent shooting (10-for-34).
The Liberty scored the first four points of the third quarter to extend the lead to 10 points.
However, the Sun used a 17-6 run, capped by Jones' turnaround bank shot, to take their first lead — 44-43 — with 5:12 left in the third. Jones scored 12 in the period.
"We started out well, strong, a lot of energy," Pondexter said. "They made adjustments at halftime and I think the depth that they had wore on us."
Essence Carson scored with 8.6 seconds to go in the period to give the Liberty a 52-50 lead after three.
"They have a lot of good players and they are very hard to guard," New York coach John Whisenant said.
Renee Montgomery hit a 3 for Connecticut with 8:30 remaining in the fourth quarter to give Connecticut a 55-52 lead.
"I'm really proud of our team," Jones said. "It would have been easy to fold early. Their defense was smothering. What a difference a year makes. We stayed with it."


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Hess Recreation Center (UAF)
Hess Recreation Center
Fairbanks Campus
1866 Yukon Drive
Description: The Harriet and Luther Hess Recreation Center opened in 1970, in the Moore-Bartlett-Skarland residence hall complex, which was completed in 1969. It was originally designed as a dining hall and called the Harriet and Luther Hess Dining Commons. In 1984, Alaska raised the legal drinking age from 19 to 21 and the university made plans to develop Hess Commons into a social hall with non-alcohol related activities. It currently serves as a meeting area for students.
In 2002, the newly remodeled Hess Rec Center opened with heavy usage for meetings, social events, conferences and training sessions. Student Services bought new furniture at a cost of more than $300,000 for the center.
UA Regent: Harriet Hess


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Microsoft's Internet Explorer development team has confirmed there will be a browser extension system for Project Spartan, meaning developers will be able to extend its functionality with software that can be built directly into the browser.
"Yes. We're working on a plan for extensions to a future update to 'Project Spartan,' the developer relations team for IE said during a Q&A chat on Twitter Tuesday.
The news is significant since it indicates some type of a developer ecosystem will evolve around the browser, allowing functions to be added that are not supported natively. Such extensions could allow tabs to be given specific color codes, or allow bookmarks to be catalogued in new ways, or Web pages to be archived locally.
Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox have their own systems for adding functionality to those browsers. The Microsoft developers didn't say if the Spartan extensions will be available through the Windows 10 Store, which is being remodeled for the new OS.
The team also eliminated any doubt that Spartan will become the default Windows 10 browser. "IE will be available for Windows 10 and can [be] enabled by the user," they said in one tweet.
"Spartan is the successor for both desktop and modern IE," they said in another. "It will be finger friendly on touch machines," indicating that Spartan will likely follow Microsoft's Continuum design methodology, discussed at the Windows 10 preview events.
While Spartan will be the default browser in Windows 10, Microsoft has indicated that users will have the option to enable IE if they wish. In the latest Windows 10 Technical Preview build, "Internet Explorer 11" is clearly listed as one of the features users can turn on or off by checking a box.
The team didn't describe Tuesday how Windows 10 users will activate IE 11, but in Windows 8.1, "legacy features" such as DirectPlay, and add-ons such as Windows Media Player, are added by means of a dialog box called "Turn Windows Features on or off."
Spartan didn't ship with the Technical Preview of Windows 10, but a Web page that displays when the OS preview is installed indicate that the first developer builds of the browser will be offered separately in the coming days.


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(CNN) -- He was its founder and strategic guiding force, but now that Osama bin Laden is dead, who are al Qaeda's most wanted leaders?
The leaders whose influence and violent ambitions make them high-priority targets by intelligence agencies around the world.
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri has played a defining role in al Qaeda for over a decade as bin Laden's deputy. He is now widely regarded as the organization's de facto leader.
Born into a wealthy family in Cairo, al-Zawahiri is a physician and founding member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), a militant organization that opposed the then secular Egyptian government of Hosni Mubarak and sought its overthrow through violent means.
Like bin Laden, al-Zawahiri also went to Afghanistan during their fight against the Soviets, although he was there primarily to offer his medical expertise.
By the 1990s, he again refocused his attention on undermining and attacking the Egyptian government and, eventually, the U.S..
In 1998, when the EIJ effectively merged with al Qaeda, he sent a fax to the Al-Hayat newspaper warning Americans. Three days later on August 7, suicide truck bombers hit the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people.
The FBI is offering a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture -- the same as the reward for bin Laden -- reflecting al-Zawahiri's importance to the United States.
Paul Cruickshank, a CNN terrorism analyst, said: "Of all al Qaeda's senior leaders, al-Zawahiri is probably the one in most jeopardy. Western intelligence officers have told us that in recent times bin Laden and al-Zawahiri were probably in relatively close geographic proximity and also in touch to some degree, so all this information may help America track down al-Zawahiri."
Anwar al-Awlaki
An American-born radical cleric who now lives in Yemen, Anwar al-Awlaki is the public face of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), one of the most active al Qaeda affiliates.
Born in New Mexico, he preached at a mosque in Virginia before leaving the U.S. for the Middle East. The U.S. regards al-Awlaki as the biggest threat to its homeland security.
U.S. officials say al-Awlaki helped recruit Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, the Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a transatlantic flight as it landed in Detroit, Michigan, on December 25, 2009.
The militant cleric is also said to have exchanged e-mails with accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hassan who killed a dozen fellow soldiers and a civilian in a rampage at the Texas base.
AQAP claimed responsibility for the attempt to ship explosives into the United States via cargo planes late last year.
Earlier this month al-Awlaki narrowly survived an American drone assault after he switched vehicles with fellow jihadis, a senior security official told CNN.
At a U.S. congressional hearing earlier this year, Michael Leiter, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said: "I actually consider al Qaeda in the Arab peninsula with al-Awlaki as a leader within that organization as probably the most significant threat to the U.S."
Ilyas Kashmiri
Regarded as one of the most dangerous men in the world by counter-terrorism officials on three continents, Kashmiri is a veteran jihadist who in his early years fought Indian security forces in the disputed territory of Kashmir and the Russians in Afghanistan, where he lost an eye.
After falling out with his sponsors in the Pakistan military, Kashmiri moved his base of operations from Pakistani Kashmir to North Waziristan, the semi-autonomous tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
As commander of "Brigade 313," part of Harakat-ul-Jihad-Islami (Movement for an Islamic Holy War), he formed a close relationship with al Qaeda.
Kashmiri's number one enemy is still India. His group was thought to be responsible for the bombing of a bakery popular with foreigners in Pune in 2010. But there is plenty of evidence he has ambitions beyond South Asia.
Terrorism analysts have described Kashmiri has al Qaeda's "military brain."
Intelligence sources on both sides of the Atlantic also believe Kashmiri is trying to get teams into Europe to launch coordinated Mumbai-style attacks in several cities.
Saif al Adel
A former Egyptian army lieutenant and long-time member of Ayman al-Zawahiri's Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), Saif al Adel is believed to have returned to the tribal areas of Pakistan last year after a period of house arrest in Iran.
Adel has provided military and intelligence training for al Qaeda members as early as 1990 and was a member of al Qaeda's "shura" council.
According to a former jihadist, Adel is believed to currently occupy the "chief of staff" position within al Qaeda, managing insurgent paramilitary operations in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, with a special remit to manage the group's relations with other jihadist groups and affiliates.
He is wanted by the FBI in connection with al Qaeda's 1998 attacks on the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people.
Abu Yahya al-Libi
Abu Yahya al-Libi made his name by escaping from the Kabul-based Bagram Air Base in 2005. He had been captured by Pakistani forces in the border tribal areas and handed over to U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Since his escape he has emerged as one of al Qaeda's leading senior ideologues and strategists.
Al-Libi has also proven to be an effective propagandist, appearing in dozens of videos posted on Islamist web sites.
According to former jihadists, al-Libi's charismatic speeches are particularly popular among a younger generation of militants across the Arab world.
He is thought to be hiding in the mountainous tribal border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.


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I injured myself the other day. I tripped after crossing a road and could feel myself going down. Until bang! I collided with the ground. A huge chunk of flesh came out my foot. It is really painful, and is struggling to heal. Every night it forms a scab, and then in the morning I put on shoes for the day, the scab breaks, and I have a new wound all over again. Self-sabotage. In just the same way I self-sabotage my inner healing. I build up resistance, and then break it all down again. I lost myself somewhere along the way, and am still looking. Where am I? What happened to me?
29 thoughts on "Injury"
Oh dear Vonita, I am so sad to hear this. Get well soon. Actually I am same as you, and I injur myself in the home! Yes, now one can make as me… My love get mad with my accidents in the home, like a child,:) I hope you feel better soon. Love, nia
sorry but should be like that, "Actually I am same as you, but maybe more than you 🙂 I injur myself in the home, yes, no one can make as me…"
"Inner" wounds are the most difficult to heal… It can leave an "emotional" scar that can ruin the rest of your life. Just let go…
It is true there is a link to inner injuries or struggles or a visible sign of the problem. Foot – Mobility, getting stuck. And that getting stuck is the problem that healing cannot take place. When you find a way to make that cut you might be surprised what could happen. It can be something new… or something old in a new dress!
I can't leave the scab alone. I tend to pick off as soon as it forms. And, the healing has to start all over, inside and outside. Hope your wound heals soon.
Hope your foot is better soon. Eventually the scab should get hard enough to heal. I would think if you wrapped a piece of gauze with medical tape around your foot that might do the trick of letting it heal better. My brother was leaning back on a chair once. He let the chair fall as I walk by and it broke my toe. It reall hurt a lot so I know sort of how you feel. As for your emotional healing I offer the saying 'Wherever you go; there you are.' You are building and working on yourself even as you struggle with pain. It's helping to make you stronger. I think we all face times where we are lost but we can always be who we want to be and create ourselves as we wish through our choices. Look forward to the present, not to the past. Praying for you!
Oh my goodness, I'm sorry my comment notifications were getting all confused, sorry nanonoyz I didn't mean to call you Lynz!! 🙂
Your analogy is perfect, Vonita, and I know so many of us have been in that place.
My foot is starting to heal, thank you. Good to hear from you! 🙂
Self sabotage is one thing . Experiencing an accident quite another. The fact that you tripped and fell on the sidewalk and injured yourself was accidental. You did not get up in the morning and tell yourself that you would somehow injure yourself on that day.
With the case of self sabotage you would either consciously or sub consciously plot to trip yourself up in your life. Something would be driving you to pull the plug on yourself whenever smething of any consequesnce was about to happen in your life.
Don't blame yourself for the accidental tumbles you experience in life. We all have those awkwardly embarassing moments. You're only human.
Begin to contemplate those other psychoogical moments in life when you feel you are actively sabotaging yourself. This active reflection might help you lessen the opportunitites for such negtive self indulgences.
Carpe diem. Appreciate yourself. Enjoy each day. Stay optimistic.


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49ers quarterback Alex Smith threw TD pass with blurred vision before leaving with concussion
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith threw a 14-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter of Sunday's 24-24 tie against the Rams while playing with blurred vision before coming out with a concussion.
Coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday that Smith connected with Michael Crabtree six plays after he began experiencing blurred vision on a 1-yard keeper early in the second quarter. Six plays earlier, he had taken a vicious hit from St. Louis linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar.
Smith scrambled to his left and started to slide before turning when Dunbar got him in the back of the neck with 1:10 left in the first quarter. He briefly grabbed his face mask and grimaced but stayed in the game.
"He said he had the blurred vision after the quarterback sneak," Harbaugh said. "There's no telling. Did that earlier hit contribute? I don't know. I don't know Alex knows for sure, either."
Second-year backup Colin Kaepernick entered for the next offensive series after a hurried warm up. Because No. 3 quarterback Scott Tolzien was inactive, wide receiver and special teams player Kyle Williams would have stepped in at quarterback in an emergency.
Harbaugh expressed concern at the thought the 28-year-old Smith played through some concussion symptoms.
"Yeah, that's something, you don't want him out there with blurred vision," Harbaugh said. "We talked about it. What he expressed was he came up from the sneak and he had blurred vision and he felt that it would go away. He came over to the sideline and sat down and felt it would go away and it didn't. He told me he had blurred vision and that's when we made the move."
Harbaugh said the QB improved overnight and would see a neurologist later Monday. His status is unclear for next Monday night's game against the Bears is uncertain.
"Rather than speculate, we'll let it play out," Harbaugh said. "There's a progression and evaluations that have to be gone through before we'll really know anyway. ... He's doing much better, had a good night sleep last night, symptoms were positive today. He'll be visiting with the neurologist later this afternoon that will be the next step."
Harbaugh, himself a 15-year NFL quarterback in his day, figures he had multiple concussions during his playing career. He appreciates the increased awareness and serious NFL stand on the issue.
"I think it's a major point of emphasis," Harbaugh said. "I don't have a medical degree. I'm confident in the way the doctors, especially our doctors, their understanding of it and their professional opinion."
Tolzien could be called upon to do more in practice this week as the NFC West-leading Niners (6-2-1) prepare for Chicago's visit to Candlestick Park in prime time.
"There's a possibility he could get more reps," Harbaugh said, unwilling to guess on Smith's status. "Well, certainly, Dr. Harbaugh won't be qualifying, quantifying that."
Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL


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Soaking in atmospheric electricity
Space Science News home
to understanding thunderstorms
"Fair weather electricity deals with the electric field and the electrical current in the atmosphere, and the conductivity of the air," explained Dr. Lothar Ruhnke of Airborne Research Associates in Weston, Mass. He recently retired from the Naval Research Laboratory but continues "doing research for fun."
The discovery of the fair weather circuit followed Ben Franklin's demonstration that lightning is caused by electricity. (Would-be experimenters take heed: Old Ben was exceptionally lucky. Others replicating his experiment have been killed, so don't try it.) Later experimenters showed that clear, calm air carries an electrical current which, it turns out is the return path for the electrical display we know as lightning.
Above: Diagram shows fair weather "circuit," showing normal potential between the ground and atmosphere. credit: NASA/MSFC (Dooling)
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Atmospheric electricity is like a massive photographic flash. An electrical charge is built up, a switch is closed, and electrons barge across a gas, ionizing it and producing light. But a flash is a complete circuit. In the case of the Earth, Ruhnke explained, the atmosphere completes the circuit.
December 3: Mars Polar Lander nears touchdown
December 2: What next, Leonids?
November 30: Polar Lander Mission Overview
November 30: Learning how to make a clean sweep in space
"All three values are very difficult to measure," Ruhnke said. The current is 10-12 amps per square meter - "almost nothing." The field is about 100 volts per meter, meaning that the electric potential increases by about 200 volts from the ground to the top of Michael Jordan's head when he's standing still. Finally, air is an excellent insulator, so its conductivity is close to zero.
|Web Links
|Human Voltage (June 18, 1999) Scientists discuss biology, safety, and statistics of lightning strikes.
News shorts from Atmospheric Electricity Conference (June 16, 1999) Poster papers on hurricanes and tornadoes summarized.
Soaking in atmospheric electricity (June 15, 1999) 'Fair weather' measurements important to understanding thunderstorms.
Lightning position in storm may circle strongest updrafts (June 11, 1999) New finding could help in predicting hail, tornadoes
Lightning follows the Sun (June 10, 1999) Space imaging team discovers unexpected preferences
Spirits of another sort (June 10, 1999) Thunderstorms generate elusive and mysterious sprites.
Getting a solid view of lightning (June 9, 1999): New Mexico team develops system to depict lightning in three dimensions.
Learning how to diagnose bad flying weather (June 8, 1999): Scientists discuss what they know about lightning's effects on spacecraft and aircraft.
Three bolts from the blue (June 8, 1999): Fundamental questions about atmospheric electricity posed at conference this week.
Lightning Leaders Converge in Alabama (May 24, 1999): Preview of the 11th International Conference on Atmospheric Electricity.
What Comes Out of the Top of a Thunderstorm? (May 26, 1999): Gamma-rays (sometimes).
Lightning research at NASA/Marshall and the Global Hydrology and Climate Center.
"When you measure the fair weather electric field, you're measuring the effects of all the thunderstorms on the Earth," he said.
But it's not evenly felt. Ruhnke said that scientists once thought the effect was evenly spread across the planet, so a measurement in Tokyo was as good as one in Kansas. It turns out that local turbulence, winds, and other fluctuations also cause small variations in the fair weather electric field.
"It's a great challenge to sort out local variations and sources from thunderstorms," Ruhnke continued. "If you could separate these effects, you could monitor the total thunderstorm activity locally."
Such a measure is important to various environmental studies, including the production of nitrous oxides (NOx), so the relative natural and industrial contributions can be measured.
Another is global warming. Ruhnke noted that Ralph Markson, a colleague at Airborne Research, examined 45 years of fair weather data taken by balloons from the surface of the Earth to the stratosphere. One of the factors that affects the existence of thunderstorms in the atmosphere is temperature.
"If there is any global warming, you should see an increase in thunderstorms and the electric field," Ruhnke said. "Markson sees no changes in the ionospheric potential." Because of variations in instruments, the growth of cities, and other effects, Ruhnke said that direct measures of global warming are quite difficult.
Left: Thunderstorm at sunset near Abilene, Texas, May 17, 1978. Even without lightning, there's electricity in the air, although it's so weak that scientists have difficulty measuring it. (NOAA)
The fair weather field also becomes a sensor for air pollution, he noted, because aerosols - droplets and dust particles - attract and effectively neutralize ions.
He has recorded the difference in the air of Greenland and Antarctica where, 30 years ago, it was "nearly perfect" as shown by its ion content. "Now the air is fairly polluted around the globe."
In 1996, the first-ever coordinated simultaneous measurements were made for two days over Darwin, Australia, and Weston, Mass., - opposite sides of the world - to demonstrate that a single reliable measurement can be globally representative.
Ruhnke noted that fair weather conditions also are affected by the magnetosphere in the polar regions where the Earth's magnetic field leaves the upper atmosphere exposed to space. While many people have tried to link solar activity to terrestrial weather, he noted that no conclusive link has been found.
45th Weather Squadron at Patrick AFB, lightning reference page.
National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, OK
Numerical Modeling at NSSL
The New Mexico Tech 3D Lightning Mapping System
Lightning Detection and Ranging project at Kennedy Space Center.
National Severe Storms Laboratory Photo Library, where we got a lot of the neat pictures in these stories.
More Space Science Headlines - NASA research on the web
NASA's Earth Science Enterprise Information on Earth Science missions, etc.
return to Space Science News Home
|For more information, please contact:
Dr. John M. Horack , Director of Science Communications
|Author: Dave Dooling
Curator: Bryan Walls
NASA Official: John M. Horack


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Parents have weighed in on reopening schools. Teachers have weighed in. Public health experts, too, along with cities, states and President Donald Trump.
But what about the kids themselves? As the grown-ups fret, kindergartners to high schoolers faced with a range of scenarios for virtual and in-person classes are expressing both fear and glee over leaving home to learn.
Many said they're most worried about fellow students breaking the rules on wearing masks and keeping their distance, especially in areas that are hot spots for the coronavirus.
"We'll be home in a month," said a skeptical Peter Klamka, an eighth-grader in Las Vegas, in a county that logged 95% of new coronavirus cases reported in Nevada early last week.
The 13-year-old will return to his private school in about three weeks.
"Some kids will be more responsible than others. I'm not looking forward to it but I've got to go school so I'd rather be there in person," Peter said.
Not yet 5, kindergartner Rivington Hall in Westport, Connecticut, will begin her first big-kid year in September, at least in part on Zoom after finishing preschool at home.
"I'd rather go to school because it has more toys and it's more fun," she said as she munched on animal crackers and sipped from a juice box.
Anxious parents around the country are looking to schools that have already opened for signs of how it might go. One, North Paulding High School in suburban Atlanta, rescinded a five-day suspension for a student who shared photos and video of crowded hallways and few students in masks after doors opened this month.
The school has since suffered an outbreak of COVID-19, along with other schools in hard-hit Georgia.
Nearly 50 miles away in Alpharetta, Georgia, 10-year-old Collier Evans will attend school remotely when he begins fifth grade Aug. 17. He could have gone in person full time or picked a blended option but said he was anxious about returning to school.
"My parents and me, we said we don't want to go in a classroom, get sick and then I'd bring it home and get my family sick," Collier said.
As for distance learning, he said: "I hope it's going to go better than last year. You had to wait in a queue for like 30 minutes to ask the teacher one question."
In Tucson, Arizona, 10-year-old Simon Joubeaud Pulitzer returned to his private school Aug. 3, his blue button-down uniform shirt and tie in place. He was happy to see his friends again and have face-to-face access to his teachers.
Did he feel safe?
"Not the first day but after, yes, I felt a bit safer," Simon said. "All kids were following the rules."
Those rules include masks worn indoors, socially distanced desks and only two kids per outdoor picnic table at either end for lunch.
Most American parents said it was unsafe to send their children back to school, with more than 80 percent favoring school conducted at least partly online, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School survey conducted by Ipsos. But many expressed displeasure at the quality of online instruction.
As summer winds down, the mixed feelings mirror the lack of consensus around the country on how to balance virus risks and schooling.
Some Scandinavian countries with far fewer cases than in the U.S. reopened schools with new safety protocols and have had no outbreaks connected to their operations. In Israel, schools that reopened when virus activity was low ended up shutting down a few weeks later when cases spiked.
In the U.S., some school districts plan a mix of in-person classes and online learning to help maintain social distancing. Other districts, including those in Miami, Houston and Los Angeles, are starting classes online only.
Ella Springer, 14, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, will start her sophomore year of high school at home after her school board rescinded an in-class option to open the fall semester. That could change as the year progresses.
"At first I was wanting to go back to school in person but I feel like, watching the numbers in Wisconsin, it makes more sense to go back virtual because it's rising,'' she said. "It's pretty boring at home but what can you do? Last year the virtual was easier for me to slack off at home because it was a loose kind of thing, but I feel like this year will go a lot better since they've had the whole summer to prepare."
Aiden Anderson, 11, in Orlando, Florida, will begin sixth grade at home for two weeks, then happily head out to school in a state that's among the nation's worst hot spots for the virus.
"I don't like that there's two weeks online," he said. "At home it's so easy to get distracted."
In Littleton, Colorado, 8-year-old Will Asbury is going into third grade. School starts Aug. 24 and he'll be there in person. There was a distance learning option but Will and his little sister, Luca, wanted to go.
"I'm going to feel good because I get to see my friends. Masks are a bummer but at least we get to play with our friends during recess and see them at lunch," he said.
Of distance learning, 6-year-old Luca got right to the point: "I didn't like it."
She's hoping for a unicorn mask to wear when she returns to the classroom.
Alec Blumberg is a high school freshman and his sister, Amelia, a high school senior in Great Neck, New York. Their school, for now, decided on full time, at-home learning to start in September with a possible staggered approach in person later on, allowing half the students in at a time.
"I really want to go back. It would be nice to interact with people and have a more separate life at school and home," Alec said. "But if the school lays out a plan, will the kids follow it? I'm really not sure."
Amelia, 17, said exactly how responsible students will be is what worries her the most, based on what she's seen among peers.
"Some people aren't as careful as others," she said. "They aren't following any type of safety measures, which really scares me. But I really want to go back. It's the last year. We didn't even get to say goodbye to any of our teachers when we left last year."
School for Indianapolis, Indiana, seventh-grader Maria Beck started July 30. The 12-year-old is attending online full time. At first, her school district was going to offer some in-person instruction, then changed its mind. There's been a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in her area.
"I'm a big extrovert," Maria said of missing face-to-face school. "But so far, it's been going very well. I do hope we get to go back some day."
Her third-grade sister, 8-year-old Felicity, said she, too, is OK with distance learning. Among the things she misses most about real school? Lunch.
"I'd be scared that I'd get sick," she said of returning to school, "but I'd be really happy that I'd be able to go back."


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Yesterday at Knotts Berry Farm, the park tested a new snack item — bacon and chocolate funnel cakes — to see how well guests liked them. Apparently they were very well received — so much so that management at Disneyland, only a few miles away, became aware of it.
"Is this the beginning of a snack-food arms race? Could be." says Traci Ranksmeller, a little person who lost her bus fare and now lives inside a Disneyland concessions cart. "This morning, Disneyland began selling a new product, Chocolate Churro Turkey Legs. I don't know if it's a permanent offering or a test, like Knotts, but it definitely seems like a response. In any case, I predict that they'll be more popular than last Christmas' Peppermint Chimichangas."
Tags: Chocolate Churro Turkey Legs, Knotts Berry Farm, Peppermint Chimichangas


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DHEC sides with Bluffton medical facility
COLUMBIA - A Bluffton medical facility, St. Joseph's/Candler imaging center, has survived an initial challenge to its right to acquire new scanning technology.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control Board voted Thursday not to hear an appeal from Hilton Head Health System, L.P., which objected to an earlier decision by agency staff not to require the Bluffton facility to pursue a coveted "certificate of need" for its new equipment.
In a letter from its attorney on Jan. 23, Hilton Head Health System, L.P. had argued that the cost of the CT scanner was more than the $600,000, which means it would require St. Joseph's/Candler to obtain a certificate of need from the state.
On Jan. 9, staff for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control decided the Bluffton facility did not need to apply for a certificate, because the cost of the CT scanner was only $576,000.
It was unclear Thursday what Hilton Head Health System's next step would be after the board's decision. Parties that do not get the chance to press their case in a final review conference commonly appeal the dispute to the S.C. Administrative Law Court.
St. Joseph's/Candler is the region's only faith-based, not-for-profit health institution, according to its website. The dispute centers around the facility's purchase and installation of a new 8-slice computed tomography equipment, known as a CT scanner.
It is used for a diagnostic procedure that uses x-ray equipment to take cross-sectional pictures of the body, and can detect or confirm the presence of a tumor, show its size and location and guide a biopsy, among other functions, according to The National Cancer Institute.
Reach Sarita Chourey at firstname.lastname@example.com or (803) 727-4257.


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A no-brainer for the greater good … just sayin'
Having spent a goodly amount of my early childhood laid up with one illness or another–including bouts of Measles, Chicken Pox, German Measles (Rubella), Mumps, not to mention continuous weeks and weeks of fever, swollen glands, strep throat, oh and a positive TB test that still means I need to get a chest X-ray every ten years or so–the notion that a few vaccinations could spare my blessedly healthy daughter weeks of that sort of misery was a no-brainer.
Okay. Perhaps there was a bit of a selfish motivation as well. Did I really want to sit up night after night nursing a highly contagious sick child who could "take a turn" and end up hospitalized or worse?
Reading the Little House On The Prairie series and the Betsy and Tacy books to my daughter reminded me of what the pre-vaccination/pre-antibiotic world was really like for small kids. In both series, siblings and friends of the main characters died rather uncerimoniously of Measles and Whooping Cough, Maleria or other infections, or spent part of their childhood in iron lungs or other contraptions to help limbs withered by Polio. Coming to those parts of the stories, I wanted to skip over them to spare my daughter the pain of what those losses meant in a much more precarious world than the privileged one of early 21st century America.
I didn't though. I plowed through and explained that the world of those books was the world of places scattered throughout Asia, Africa and South America. Places where diseases, long controlled here and in other industrialized (post-industrialized) nations, represent mere glimmers of our collective past.
It puts me in mind that one of the negatives of privilege and its uglier cousin, entitlement, is the ability to forget that the niceties we all have access to are built on the work, toil and pain of others.
Sure. I can understand that for some people, such things as vaccination can bring about frightful consequences, but for those for whom it will not, don't we owe it to those few who truly cannot take the risk to endure the "stick" and any momentary discomfort for ourselves and our kids?
And whether it's measles today or some other forgotten horror tomorrow–maybe we should all have a bit of a group think about what it means to be a member of a community where we all pitch in for the greater good. Just sayin'.


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Hey It's Jet Here.
We're participating in the Channukah Crawl this year, whoo hoo! Today, Catself along with PerPetually Speaking are up. Tomorrow, share the last Hannukah (I know, I spell it differently!) post with Cat Wisdom 101.
Our friend, Miss Jodi, Heart Like a Dog, initiated this great idea to update readers on previous posts. She created a lovely badge to go with her idea and has successfully turned her wonderful idea into a robust blog hop!
We ordered our Dogs of Blogville Calendar this week. Miss Jodi, Sampson and Delilah worked their fingers/paws to the bone creating this fabulous project. The proceeds will divide evenly between two of our fellow bloggers who suffered severe damage in Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy.
Saturday: A+ Customer Service
Thanks to all of you who admired the color of JJ's new leash/harness. You appreciated the less than frequent experience of great customer service. Update: Mom does not feel secure with the handle of the EZYdog Cujo leash and wrote to Mr. Brady again. She told him she read the return instructions AFTER throwing the tags away. He said we could send that segment of the leash back and exchange it for the Mutley, which has a handle Mom feels confident with. Double A+ EZYdog!
Black & White Sunday: Hannukah with Friends
We enjoyed receiving so many comments appreciating the Channukah Crawl, since many blogpals were curious about our holiday's history and customs. You expressed how fun it was to have Miss Mary Ann and Dixie celebrate with us. They generously gave us two gifts: super yummy (dried sweet potato) treats and super fun toys. Mom's still holding out because she knows Little Miss Chewminator will extinguish their sweet lives in less than 3 minutes!
Mischief Monday: Borrowed Mischief
Oh did we receive fun captions and comments about Sonoma's antics in the dishwasher! Mom shared with Miss Jennifer, since she thoughtfully shared Sonoma's mischief anticipating (I'm sure of it!) that Little Miss Festival of Lights and I would be on our best behavior! OH! OH! The paperback of Snoopy's Master Mischief Class arrived… our copy crossed the Casa Jet threshold on Wednesday night! Yippee, Yahoo… a MUST READ (BIAS ADMITTED!) Great for the holidays, remember half of the proceeds helps Therapy Dog Programs!
Tasty Tuesday: Latkes for K9s or Lassie Latkes
For those unfamiliar with latkes, you enjoyed learning about the history and modern interpretations. Many of you shared your family's preferences regarding toppings: applesauce (Casa Jetty) and/or sour cream! Little Miss Latke and I did the major happy dance when Mom prepared such beautiful samples for us. She barely had time to snap pictures! Mom posted step-by-step photos on her Kitchen Counselor FB page for your review!
Wordless Wednesday: Bandannas and Babushkas
Thank you for admiring the pawesome Hannukah bandannas made by Mollie, Alfie and Miss Stella and gifted to us by Savannah and Miss Linda. You complimented our modeling style and got a kick out of
our Mom's goofing around changing the bandannas to babushkas! Yes, I rocked a babushka… I'm just manly man enough to do it!
Wednesday and a Half: Knotted (An Adaptation of Rapunzel Starring Princess Zena)
When preparing our Thursday post, we popped over to our pal PZ (Princess Zena) and coincidentally found one of our favorite styles of her posts – her story posts… as we read on… it featured… ME as the Handsome Prince! Wowee wow wow… we just HAD to reblog it… if you didn't have a chance to read it… besides having a starring role, yippee yahoo… PZ and her Producer created an amazing rendition of the timeless tale. Thank you ever so much, PZ… you gave us a wonderfully unexpected gift.
Thankful Thursday: Awards and Appreciation
We felt deeply fortunate to receive the Blog of the Year Award from Miss Ann of My Pawsitvely Pets. Thanks for understanding we could only share the award with a few of the endlessly deserving blogs. We explained what made us choose each blog we bestowed the award on.
Glad you thought the toys Mom gave to Austin for Hannukah rocked as much as Austin did. Mr. Andy reports that Austin continues to tote the two new toys all over the house! When Miss Judy mentioned that Austin likes all the toys Mom picks out, Mom replied that's because they're JJ tested and approved!
Another great Festival of Lights week.


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When it comes to writing or any creative endeavour that you are serious about i.e. not a hobbyist, but that you actually want to make a paying career from (again not fame & fortune, if you crave that you're in the wrong game – go join a Big Brother house or Britain's Got (f**k all) Talent), we are so often faced with failure.
So often I feel like the Balrog on the bridge in Khazad-dûm, trying to gain access to a path closed to me, a world full of closing (or slamming) doors.
Just need to add the appropriate sentence ending:
"YOU SHALL NOT PASS – this slush pile."
"YOU SHALL NOT PASS – this competition's shortlist (or even longlist)."
"YOU SHALL NOT PASS – this agent's/publisher's criteria."
even "YOU SHALL NOT PASS – this selective writing group." etc., etc.
Trying to make a living out of any creative field in a marketplace so utterly saturated with other writers and artists, is tantamount to wading through tar to reach that Avalon-like island on the horizon. It takes a hell of a lot of hard work, some random luck, some 'who you know' and a decent product that you're trying to sell.
Of course writing and art are completely subjective, what one person considers to be masterful, another perceives as being rubbish. But I still think some basic principles apply – the mechanics of writing a good sentence or drawing a good picture, of forming those images whether in the mind or on canvas.
Sadly, the path to success is littered with amazingly talented people who never quite got to grips with marketing, social media, 'branding' or simply had the bad luck not to reach that agent or publisher at the right time who might recognise their genius.
Annoyingly, the path to success is also littered with those who seemingly had only a tenth of the talent needed, but who were either fabulously well-connected (all areas of working life will always have an element of nepotism, the famous name, the 'who you know' element etc.), or were either bloody lucky in their timing when approaching said agent/publisher, or were so fantastic at the marketing/branding side that they had tremendous success before people realised the tripe they were actually peddling.
In writing terms, the author E.L. James comes to mind, whose actual writing (aside from the dubious pro-abuser content) is simply dreadful. In terms of the art world, for me, Tracey Emin is also the perfect example of brilliant self publicity/PR with minimal talent required. As a former history of art and fine art student & artist myself, I am not anti-modern art at all, just people like Emin. Damien Hirst may not be to everyone's taste, but like Louise Bourgeois, Jenny Saville, Rachel Whiteread etc., they had a huge underlying skill level. I actually saw Hirst's early work before he made it big as part of the 1990's Brit-Art explosion and the guy is actually very talented. Although I cannot pretend to like a lot of his work, the guy CAN at least draw, his draftsmanship skills are very good, he just chooses to explore abstract and conceptual art. For me, as a drawer and artist, that is my benchmark for art, as it is for writing, that the person needs to have good basic skills in their chosen art-form. Emin cannot and never could draw proficiently, even the most basic forms, her drawing ability is quite frankly poor, and no, the irony that she was employed a few years ago as the Professor of Drawing at the Royal Academy of Art is not lost on me. 😦
But back to writing. At the heart of the matter, the writer/author needs to have skill at stringing words together, at spinning a yarn, telling a compelling story, writing memorable characters etc., etc.
"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" goes the voice in our heads as we contemplate sending work off to the latest narrowing submission window, chasing any opportunity that passes no matter how fleeting – like too many bees chasing the one elusive queen, or in fantasy speak – butter spread over too much bread. We're all chasing the same thing, the same elusive target – to be published, to have an agent, to make a living from what we love to create.
For me, so far this year, the successes I have seen have definitely been in my art rather than my writing. As dearly as I would love more people to read my work and review it and yes, love it, I am still yet another small voice amongst the din, I know this (I will be doing a separate post on 'branding' with some tips I've picked up and stolen!). But, my illustration work has, rather surprisingly, started to take off and accrue a real momentum of its own!
Some of that is due to content, to being prolific. As a writer I have always been glacially slow, I'd like to think it's quality over quantity, but in truth I wish I found writing as easy as drawing. I struggle with illness, concentration and mental exhaustion to get the words down, it seems to use a part of the brain that simply is not needed when I'm busily drawing. I don't have to try to thread complicated plotlines together and continue a narrative over a long period of time when I'm drawing. Art allows you to switch off the brain and just use your eyes, instincts and fingers to form the image you want. Because of this, I have been able to create new artwork every day as part of my daily 365 day Artmaniac Challenge, whereas sadly I seldom manage to write every day no matter how hard I try. 😦
So, success definitely is due at least in part, to being prolific, having more content out there for people to look at, assess, discuss etc. Something I fear I may never achieve with my writing. 😦
Another element which I have seen first hand, is the 'luck & who you know' factor I was talking about. In my case it was a simple snowball effect. The lovely Juliet E McKenna heard in fantasy circles and shared contacts that I was an illustrator and specialised in fantasy maps. So she contacted me and I ended up doing a fantasy map for her and her wonderful 'Secret Histories of the River Kingdom'.
Then, because of that and again 'word of mouth', the equally lovely Anna Smith-Spark asked me to do a fantasy map for her debut novel, 'The Court of Broken Knives', to be published in June 2017 by HarperCollins. That in turn led her editors at HarperCollins to look at the map I did and my other illustration work, which then led to the Head of Fiction Art at HarperCollins contacting me directly to say how much everyone at HC loved my work and to offer me a contract to be an official HarperCollins illustrator (supplier)! *SQUEAL* 😀
The contract came through two weeks ago and yes, I signed it straight away! 😀
Since then I have had almost daily requests from various people to do commissioned artwork for them, including from a New York literary group who want me to do the main image for their magazine and website. It's insane, I don't even advertise and am now having to say, "No, sorry, I can't take anymore commissions on at the moment!"
HarperCollins were also lovely enough to tell me that I had been MASSIVELY undercharging people and advised for me to raise my rates. I did, a little, but not as much as they were suggesting otherwise that would stop any Indie Authors from being able to afford me and I know how damn hard it is for indie and self-published authors anyway, so I'm certainly not going to price myself out of their reach. 🙂
So, yes, creating more content and having that 'word of mouth' and lucky break does play a massive role in creating success. Now, if only I could apply that and get the same reactions to my written work! 😀
If you're having the same struggles or successes, do let me know! 😉 xxx


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by Howard Zinn
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Previously published on November 25, 2013
November 22, 2020
[By the latter part of May, 1970, feelings about the war in Vietnam had become almost unbearably intense. In Boston, about a hundred of us decided to sit down at the Boston Army Base and block the road used by buses carrying draftees off to military duty. We were not so daft that we thought we were stopping the flow of soldiers to Vietnam; it was a symbolic act, a statement, a piece of guerrilla the after. We were all arrested and charged, in the quaint language of an old statute, with "sauntering and loitering" in such a way as to obstruct traffic.


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Demotix/Elyxandro Cegarra. All rights reserved.A week of horrible carnage – bomb blasts in Beirut and Baghdad and then the cold-blooded shootings in Paris. Each of these acts of terror left dead bodies and wounded lives. There is nothing good that comes of them – only the pain of the victim and then more pain as powerful people take refuge in clichéd policies that once again turn the wheel of violence.
How does one react to these incidents? Horror and outrage come first. They are instinctual. We grieve for the dead: the young parents of Haidar Mustafa (age 3), who shielded him and spared his life as the explosion in Beirut tore them to shreds. In Paris, the terrorists killed Djamila Houd (age 41), who worked for Isabel Marant, at a café. There are faces to each of the victims. Each of these faces will appear in the press and on social media. They will smile at us, telling us about their best days and their promise. None of them had an active role in any conflict. Their murder had nothing to do with them.
We will be bewildered by the incomprehensibility of these deaths – the waste of life in the face of death. We will search for explanations. It has already become clear that the perpetrators in all these bombings – Baghdad, Beirut and Paris – is ISIS or "Daesh", the group that controls a large section of Iraq and Syria as well as parts of Libya and Afghanistan (with fraternal groups in Nigeria and Somalia). ISIS, like al-Qaeda, is tentacular – it does not have a head, only limbs that are inspired to act in fury. If it is ISIS, why are they striking in these places?
For those in the west, the bombings in Baghdad and Beirut will not take up too much time – after all, the western media seems to suggest that bombings of this kind are routine in these places; they are almost natural. In October, 714 Iraqis died in acts of violent terror. These monthly numbers remain the same if we go backward to 2003, when the US invaded Iraq. For eleven years, then, Iraq has faced such an enormous death toll, with the population in a comatose trauma. There is little regard for the people here, whose death and life in death – occasioned by western wars – is now a footnote to global concern.
Macho language about "pitiless war" defines the contours of leadership.
French president Francois Hollande reacted to the Paris attacks with tough words: "we are going to lead a war which will be pitiless." But the west – including France – has already been at war against both ISIS and groups like ISIS. Who else will be attacked? Will the strategy change? Will the western leaders be able to take a longer view than one constrained by the emotional reaction of the present and be able to see past the reflex of more war? Would the western intelligentsia and its leadership be able to acknowledge that some of the strategic choices made in the west have only exacerbated animosities and conjured up a great many threats? It is unlikely.
Macho language about "pitiless war" defines the contours of leadership these days. Little else is on offer. It is red meat to our emotions.
Where did these ISIS attackers come from? The temptation is to blame religion or race, to take the eye off more substantial areas of investigation. Amnesia is the order of the day. Each terror attack on the west resets the clock. No-one must pay attention to the western and Saudi-backed World Muslim League, whose job was to destroy the forces of secular nationalism and communism in the Arab world in the 1960s and 1970s. All those who were on the good side of history fell to the sword, destroyed as anti-Islamic in order to protect the Gulf Arab emirates and the Saudi kingdom as well as western interests in oil and power.
We must not mention the western and Saudi assault on Afghanistan in the 1970s, before the Soviet intervention, to cut down that nation's communist republic. No one should talk about the creation of the "mujahideen", whose core contained a brutal kernel that exploded into al-Qaeda. Why make so much of the wars on Iraq and then on Libya and Syria, which wrecked states and turned them – like Afghanistan – into playgrounds for the "jihadis", children of the Cold War?
Disbelief will greet those who remind us of western violence, from the aerial bombardment of Libya in 1911 to the bombing of Libya in 2011 – untold numbers dead; "it was not war," wrote a journalist in 1911, "it was butchery." Few will go to their shelves and pull out Leila Sebbar's La Seine était rouge, a searing novel about the French government's murder of hundreds of pro-Algerian protesters in Paris in October 1961.
Each terror attack on the west resets the clock.
You will read these words and say, are you blaming the people who died for their own death? You will be outraged at me. You will not be outraged at the history of these countries, of the death they have occasioned, of the misery they have concocted and then denied. You will not ask, why did these thousands of Europeans go to Syria and fight these last few years, or why the French foreign minister – Laurent Fabius – seemed reticent to place the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria on the terror list?
You will not ask who influenced these young men, sanctified by their governments to go fight in a war elsewhere and then inspired by Saudi-funded clerics who told them not only to fight in Syria but to go home and create mayhem? You will think all this is made up, that I want to justify the massacres.
There is no justification here. There is only the recitation of a pitiless history that is buried under official clichés.
After 9/11, the Bush administration decided to ignore its own history. It was almost a crime to suggest that the wars to come would merely exacerbate the problem – throw fuel on the fires of hatred. A few days after that violence, I wrote, "nothing good comes from terror. It never did and it never will." What I meant was not only the terror of those who attacked the US, but also the terror that was to follow. What came of the Bush wars is not the resolution of violence – Mission Accomplished, as Bush arrogantly said – but endless wars.
Is there another way? After the Mumbai Attacks of 2008 (164 killed), the government of India did not rush to war. It opened a slow investigation into the attack and unraveled the plot and its execution. Diplomatic discussions opened with Pakistan, which is accused by India of harboring the planners of the attack. The file remains open. Patience is the order of the day. No hasty missile strike could make up for the attack in Mumbai. It would only have escalated the conflict further and drawn India and Pakistan into an intolerable war. It is far better to pursue the case prudently.
You will not be outraged at the history of these countries, of the death they have occasioned.
All parties agree that the problem of ISIS and al-Qaeda does not afford easy answers. The west has not been willing to confront its main west Asian allies – the Saudi kingdom and the Gulf emirates, whose funds continue to lubricate the networks of extremism and whose sheikhs continue to agitate young minds with dangerous ideas – including hateful sectarianism. No western country has put sufficient pressure on these countries to do anything. No western country has asked Turkey's ruling party to set aside its own domestic ambitions and allow the Kurdish militias to fight ISIS freely. Not one western power has admitted that their continuous logistical support of proxies of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey has fed the cycle of extremism.
No one has taken seriously the call from the UN member states to revise trade agreements and financial policy so that their countries are not suffocated into chaos, the breeding ground of terror. In 1992, Mali's liberal leader Alpha Oumar Konaré asked the west to forgive his country's odious debt. He could not lead his people out of division and poverty if he had to keep paying the banks every month, and if his farmers got no relief from adverse trade policy. No one listened. The US brushed him off, saying "virtue is its own reward" – meaning, pay up. Konaré could not move his agenda. He left office. The country imploded. Al-Qaeda took Mali's second city Timbuktu. The French bombed them in 2013. The country remains shattered. It is the outcome of a series of bad policies. Nobody bothers with them. They are only interested in al-Qaeda of the Maghreb and its movements.
Western policy-makers are like little boys playing with their little toys. They don't see the human suffering and the terrible outcomes of their terrible polices.
We are in pitiless times. There is terrible violence. There is awful sadness.
This is for Adel Termos, of Beirut, who gave his life so others could live.
There is an acute and growing tension between the concern for safety and the protection of our freedoms. How do we handle this? Read more from the World Forum for Democracy partnership.
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text: Some very important news is kept out of spotlight and undeservedly so. Bits of information pieced together indicate that very quietly the North Atlantic alliance is gearing up for large-scale combat operations. War preparations are not limited to weapon systems deployments and troop movements that hit headlines. No combat can be waged without logistics. Continue reading


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My darlings, Pamela has been after me to update the blog. And it seems there is a momentous occasion upon us. Super International Pajama Day 2013, which coincides with the Super Harbowl in NOLA. Normally, this is a non-event for me. Mr. Celia leaves the premises for a golf/football extravaganza with his pals somewhere else (this year in Tucson). I am not much for the big game. I usually take advantage of Mr. Celia's absence to watch movies, or marathon a series, or have the gals over for Mah Jongg. And I stay in pajamas all day. HOWEVER, we have been blessed here in the Bay Area with two championship opportunities this year. I was glued to the TV to watch the Giants win the big one in October and tomorrow this 49er fan will be watching Superbowl 2013, wearing red pajamas all day, and rooting for Jim's team. If I were the Harbaugh parents, I would be so proud.
So, join me!
Stay in and wear pajamas.
I deserve it, and I know you do, too.


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Official "Deathly Hallows" One Sheet Teaser Poster Released
Jul 02, 2010
DH Film
Warner Bros. have sent over the first official one sheet teaser poster for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" Part 1 and Part 2 and you can check it out right here in our galleries.
The poster shows a burning Hogwarts castle from across the lake with flames and smoke rising from its towers. The tagline is set against a dark sky and reads: "It all ends here." Part 1 of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be released on the 19th of November 2010, with the final installment to follow in mid-July 2011.
Many thanks to WB!


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About Physician Assistants
What is a Physician Assistant (PA)?
Physician assistants are health care professionals licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision. PAs employed by the federal government are credentialed to practice. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, PAs conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery, and in most states can write prescriptions.
PAs are trained in intensive education programs accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA).
Because of the close working relationship the PAs have with physicians, PAs are educated in the medical model designed to complement physician training. Upon graduation, physician assistants take a national certification examination developed by the National Commission on Certification of PAs in conjunction with the National Board of Medical Examiners. To maintain their national certification, PAs must log 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and sit for a recertification every six years. Graduation from an accredited physician assistant program and passage of the national certifying exam are required for state licensure.
How did the Physician Assistant profession begin?
In the mid-1960s, physicians and educators recognized there was a shortage and uneven distribution of primary care physicians. To expand the delivery of quality medical care, Dr. Eugene Stead of the Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina put together the first class of PAs in 1965. He selected Navy corpsmen who received considerable medical training during their military service and during the war in Vietnam but who had no comparable civilian employment. He based the curriculum of the PA program in part on his knowledge of the fast-track training of doctors during World War II.
What areas of medicine can Physician Assistants work in?
Physician assistants (PAs) are found in all areas of medicine. Today, over 50 percent of all physician assistants practice what is known as "primary care medicine" - that is family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology. About 19 percent are in surgery or the surgical subspecialties.
Physician assistants receive a broad education in medicine. Their education is ongoing after graduation through continuing medical education requirements and continual interaction with physicians and other health care providers.
Where do PAs "draw the line" as far as what they can treat and what a physician can treat?
What a physician assistant does varies with training, experience, and state law. In addition, the scope of the PA's practice corresponds to the supervising physician's practice. In general, a physician assistant will see many of the same types of patients as the physician. The cases handled by physicians are generally the more complicated medical cases or those cases which require care that is not a routine part of the PA's scope of work. Referral to the physician, or close consultation between the patient-PA-physician, is done for unusual or hard to manage cases. Physician assistants are taught to "know our limits" and refer to physicians appropriately. It is an important part of PA training.
Can PAs prescribe medications?
Forty-seven states, the District of Columbia, and Guam have enacted laws that authorize PA prescribing. PAs in Arkansas and Illinois have statutory authority to prescribe and will be able to write prescriptions as soon as rules are adopted. (Arkansas and Illinois are included in the 47 states.) In California, PA prescriptions are referred to as written prescription transmittal orders.
What does "PA-C" stand for? What does the "C" mean?
Physician assistant-certified. It means that the person who holds the title has met the defined course of study and has undergone testing by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). The NCCPA is an independent organization, and the commissioners represent a number of different medical professions. It is not a part of the PA professional organization, the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA).
To maintain that "C" after "PA", a physician assistant must log 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and take the recertification exam every six years.
Source: American Academy of Physician Assistants