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Howard Dean, (Democrat) Former Governor of VermontDean is a physician who previously shared a medical practice with his wife, Dr. Judith Steinberg. He's the father of two nearly grown children. Dean was born into a wealthy New York family in 1948. The oldest of four brothers and the son of a wealthy, conservative stockbroker, he grew up in the Hamptons and the Upper-East side where he attended elite private schools. (His grandmother was a bridesmaid to President Bush's grandmother). In 1967, he entered Yale University. While at Yale, Dean discovered that he had an innate sympathy for the civil rights movement and the plight of the poor. He steered clear of radical protests and student demonstrations, later saying that he instinctively distrusted ideologues, but he also came to oppose the escalating Vietnam War.
Taxes & Spending:"I am a true fiscal conservative though," said Dean. "I cut taxes in Vermont, taking the highest municipal income tax (in New England), and making it the lowest." "The biggest problem with our economy right now is that Republicans don't know how to manage money," started Dean, later saying the opposing party has the habit of borrowing, spending, borrowing, spending." "In a Dean Administration, the Democratic Party would reclaim the mantle of fiscal responsibility."
"Social justice can only be achieved through a balanced budget", Dean said. He thinks he will appeal to fiscal conservatives, because he is the only Democrat in the field who has balanced a budget:
From his campaign site: "To help finance this effort (Universal Health Care) , we must repeal the President's tax cuts -- which have thrown America back into the huge deficits of the 1980s -- and balance the federal budget. We cannot build crucial social programs without a solid financial foundation." "The first round of (Bush) tax cuts (with some exceptions in the estate and retirement areas) should be repealed."
Social Services Funding: Dean "Supports some faith-based initiatives because he believes that charities do very good work. However, he does not support giving tax money to organizations that do not abide by federal anti-discrimination laws. He stated that if elected, he would try and ensure that organizations that discriminate would not receive federal funding."
Welfare: Promotes "welfare reform" "...we resist attempts by President Bush to dictate to the states how we run our ... welfare programs..." He condemned the Bush administration's welfare reform proposal, or more formally the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reauthorization bill, as "a step backwards for everyone who believes in welfare reform." "We are particularly concerned about the extraordinary rigidity of the 40-hour work week [requirement]," Vermont was the first state in the nation to reform welfare on a statewide basis. Then-Governor Dean's initiative requires work and limits the amount of time a welfare recipient can receive assistance, but supports children and their working parents with health care, child care, and job training.
The bulk of those tax cuts went to those in the top 2 percent of income earners - people like Ken Lay and other corporate plunderers of the American economy. Left behind are middle class and working people, many of whom, in exchange for their tiny tax cuts, have lost their jobs or their health insurance - casualties of an economy limping along under the weight of Bush's economic policies. Our children will pay the bills for all this financial recklessness.
Security & Terrorism: "I would repeal that part and any other part of the PATRIOT Act that violates our Constitution."
Foreign Affairs: Dean said that he's the only candidate with previous experience in government who has opposed the war with Iraq from the start. "I have serious concerns about the increasingly unilateralist approach to foreign policy we have seen from the current Administration, particularly in the President's posture toward Iraq."
The Washington Post reported: Former Vermont governor Howard Dean has taken a consistently hard line against Bush's policy, telling Democratic audiences around the country that, unlike his rivals for the nomination, he would have opposed the congressional resolution authorizing Bush to go to war. But his vociferous opposition comes with a caveat. "If the evidence is there [that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction]," Dean said yesterday, "we would go to the Security Council, and if they refused to act, we would have to do so in 60 days." Dean opined that by enunciating pre-emption as a doctrine, Bush had inadvertently encouraged the Chinese to claim a "clear and present danger" in Taiwan.
In a "The Nation" magazine interview, he stated that he favors the formation of a Palestinian state, but believes that terrorism must end before that happens.
Education: Warned against "harebrained" ideas like school vouchers. Dean criticized the president's education plan, called the "no child left behind" act, by calling it the "no school board left standing" act. "Everybody running for president except for me and the Republicans got together on this wonderful bipartisan bill that is the second largest unfunded mandate in the history of education," he said.
"As President, I will also work to strengthen our schools with improved student health centers, a focus on parental involvement, recruiting and retaining outstanding teachers and administrators, and resources to fund key mandates."
"The federal government must recognize that an enormous number of our teachers are retiring in the coming years and provide incentives to inspire a new generation of great teachers."
The New York TImes reported that "Taking a page from philanthropists who adopt elementary school classes and promise to pay tuition for those who make it to college, Howard Dean proposed a $7.1 billion program on Thursday to guarantee eighth graders who commit to higher education $10,000 a year in grants and loans."
Dean said he would also use tax credits so college graduates would never owe more than 10 percent of their annual income in loan payments and would retire their debt within 10 years. For students who become nurses, teachers, police officers or firefighters or otherwise pursue public service, the loan repayments would be capped at 7 percent of annual income.
Dean said he would quadruple AmeriCorps, the program that enlists young people for two years of domestic service, to 250,000 slots a year.
Healthcare: From his campaign site: "As a doctor, I understand the fear facing families without health insurance. As a Governor, I am proud that virtually every child under 18 and more than 90 percent of adults in Vermont are eligible for health coverage. But as a country, the United States can do better on this front."
Said his plan of providing universal health insurance through expanding Medicaid and added it could be paid for with half of the president's tax cut. The country needs health insurance, says the doctor, yet Congress is arguing about the wrong thing, the patients' bill of rights, which would not make the slightest difference because "it would not bring health insurance to a single American."
Social Security: Dean criticized the idea of allowing private individuals to invest their Social Security savings in the stock market. "Allowing individuals to invest money in the stock market is foolish," he said. "Social Security is not a retirement program; it is a safety net for people so they don't starve." Dean linked the tax cuts to homeland security, saying, "The enormous tax cuts are not only undercutting Medicaid and Social Security, Mr. President. The enormous tax cuts that you have passed are actually undercutting our ability to defend ourselves."
Illicit Drugs: We need to treat drugs as a public health problem.. That's difficult to do. We actually don't have a lot of drug users in our jails; the ones we have in there are drug users who are also dealers. Jails not a particularly effective way to get people to stop using drugs; treatment is.Trade: "I do not agree that we ought to get rid of NAFTA and the WTO. But you can't get into the European Union unless you have exactly the same labor and environmental and human rights standards that you do in all those countries. We ought not to be in the business of having free and open borders with countries that don't have the same environmental, labor and human rights standards. And if you do that, we're going to be able to create manufacturing jobs in America again and they'll stay in America."
In an interview with "The Nation" magazine, Dr. Dean--who believes in a scientific fact based approach--would direct the FDA to evaluate medical marijuana. Whatever the conclusion, he'd accept their findings.
As Governor, Dean adopted the National Governors Association policy, which in part said, "The nation's Governors urge the President and Congress to fully fund drug and alcohol abuse education, drug courts, treatment, prevention, and law enforcement efforts, including the initiative to combat and clean up methamphetamine production laboratories, at the state and local levels of government."
Ex-felons' Voting Rights: During a Miami Beach NACCP forum in July 2003, this candidate expressed support for restoration of voting rights of felons who served their sentences.
Gun Policy: Dean received an "A" grade from the NRA. However, N.R.A.. executive director Wayne LaPierre says Dean today is "totally trying to have it both ways." Yes, Vermont has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the nation. But Dean opposes a federal bill that would grant gunmakers immunity from lawsuits and supports background checks for buyers at gun shows—two positions that put him at odds with the N.R.A.. He agrees with most positions of Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
Abortion Policy: Dean explained that in his opinion, the government should have no say in what a woman should choose. "It's none of the government's business."
Environmental Policy: Dean received was not rated by the League of Conservation Voters. He is courting the environmental vote. He was the keynote speaker at the California League of Conservation Voters lunch. "As President, I would bring my commitment to our environment to the White House."
He would not sign the Kyoto global warming treaty as it stands, but negotiate to eliminate the current exemptions for under-developed countries' production of greenhouse gases.
Regarding Bush's environmental policy Dean said, "It's appalling. Essentially what he's done is try to undo most of the environmental policy in the last 50 years. Drilling in the national parks is essentially his solution to the energy dilemma. Gutting the Clean Air Act and daring to call it Clear Skies. Opening wilderness to more logging under the guise of Healthy Forests. He's even threatening our national monuments. The assaults are sweeping."
Minority Issues: In her Profile in Courage Essay Contest Prize Winning Essay, Stephanie Dziczek of Holmes High School, Covington, Kentucky, wrote "Minority champions like Dean, with the courage to hold principle and respect for all people above common opinion, are the reasons that today women can vote, African Americans are legally protected from discrimination, and homosexuals can engage in civil unions." Increased the number minorities in judgeships and other prominent positions.
Civil Liberties: Dean has not been scored by The American Civil Liberties Union. Dean, who is running on his civil rights record as governor, is well-known for signing Vermont's law legalizing gay civil unions.
The Vermont Civil Liberties Union was alarmed by then Gov. Howard Dean's call for a "re-evaluation" of some of America's civil liberties following this week's terrorist attacks. Dean said "I think there are going to be debates about what can be said where, what can be printed where, what kind of freedom of movement people have and whether it's OK for a policeman to ask for your ID just because you're walking down the street." Later Dean backed away when asked about them later. He pointed out that he was not advocating for such restrictions, merely predicting what he believed would be the salient issues in the debate. When asked what, if any, impingement he supported, Dean had no answer. "Right now (Sept 23, 2001) we have to let things cool off. Proposed changes in the Constitution ought to be served cold."
Websites: http://www.deanforamerica.com - Official Dean campaign website http://www.Time.com - "The Cool Passion of Dr. Dean" http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/01/29/iraq.democrats.ap/ - Iraq http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/News/Story/33681.html - Dean's comments on civil liberties cause alarm nytimes.com - Dean Proposes $7.1 Billion to Help Cover College Costs http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/dean.html - Welfare http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/01232003/news/9082.htm - Various views http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9030-2003Jan17.html - Balanced budget, etc. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3707-2003Jan30.html - Foreign Affairs, etc. http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_show.html?article=17658 - Balanced budget, etc. http://dean2004.blogspot.com/2003_01_19_dean2004_archive.html - Faith based initiatives, post 9-11 security http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/News/State/Story/51501.html - School Vouchers www.concordcoalition.org - The Concord Coalition www.atr.org - Americans for Tax Reform http://www.candidatesonguns.org - http://www.candidatesonguns.org www.CNN.com - Felon's voting rights resored http://126.96.36.199/search?q=cache:Un4cRZktCT0C:www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/dean/dean0702/deanintpt3.html+%22Howard+Dean%22++War+on+Drugs&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 - Illegal drugs http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_1529.shtml - Education Issues http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030114-055421-9771r - Social Security. www.ntu.org - National Taxpayers Union www.childrensdefense.org - The Children's Defense Fund www.bipac.org - Business-Industry Political Action Committee www.nra.org - The National Rifle Association www.gunfree.org - The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence www.plannedparenthood.org - Planned Parenthood www.nrlc.org - National Right to Life Committee www.lcv.org - League of Conservation Voters www.naacp.org - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People www.aclu.org - American Civil Liberties Union http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/capbeat/2002/010302capbeat_2002.shtml"> - Civil rights www.vote-smart.org - Vote-Smart.org


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ArabAd – SPECIAL REPORT APRIL 2014
May 6, 2014
My company Firehorse is featured in ArabAd, the monthly communications and business magazine. The special report is on the production industry in the MENA region.
My company Firehorse is featured in ArabAd, the monthly communications and business magazine. The special report is on the production industry in the MENA region.
One year before the Second Gulf War, in 2002, I had the privilege of filming the treasures of southern Iraq. I filmed Mudhifs, the guesthouses of the disappearing Marsh Arabs, built from reeds in the same way as their ancient Mesopotamian ancestors. I (more…)
Fourteen years ago, my partner Najat Rizk and myself began to document the Arab World in a series of television documentaries, current affairs programmes, talk shows and biographies. Our subjects ranged from religion to politics and social issues, from history to archaeology, from arms dealing to drug trafficking. We filmed it, lived it and have the archive to prove it. A few months ago we began digitising our archive and today I am proud to share with you some of those wonderful moments. Please click the following link if you would like to explore the Arab World as we have and to see it in both its highest and lowest moments: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-goU96Bp33nHSz87pBioU37sOiP4_cJe
I have the great honour and pleasure in announcing that I have been working with UNRWA to help launch their unique visual archive on the history of the Palestinian refugees since 1948. The site was launched yesterday after a great deal of hard work from teams on either side of the Atlantic. If you want to have a look at the archive please visit the UNRWA home page for the link.
The following extract is taken from the UNRWA home page for the Archive Collection;
"Collective memory is a vital element of communal identity, and this rich archive documents one element of Palestinian identity: the refugee experience. Digitization was our only option for preservation and I am grateful to the Welfare Association, Bank of Palestine, PADICO, Wataniya and PalTel, as well as to the Governments of France and Denmark, for making this possible." – Filippo Grandi, UNRWA Commissioner-General.
Ever since it was established, UNRWA has recorded all aspects of the life and history of Palestine refugees through film and photography. This has led to a rich audiovisual archive, containing more than 430,000 negatives, 10,000 prints, 85,000 slides, 75 films and 730 videocassettes. In 2009, the UNRWA Archive was inscribed by UNESCO in the Memory of The World list, recognizing its historical value. Digitizing the archive not only rescues and preserves all the material, but also makes it easier to categorize and disseminate, giving new life to this historical resource.
The archive consists of images and films taken by UNRWA photographers (and their predecessors) throughout the tumultuous second half of the twentieth century and start of the twenty-first. It includes iconic images of Palestinians having to leave their homes, in 1948; the establishment of refugee camps, in the 1950s; the second flight, in 1967; the hostilities in Lebanon; and the unrest from the second half of the 1980s to the early twenty-first century. The lives of Palestine refugees are central to the archive, often in the context of UNRWA work, but its portraits of important public figures and scenes of turbulent political events serve as a reminder of the troubled context that has become part of the community's collective memory over the past six decades.
The buzz at this evening's closing ceremony at the Beirut International Film Festival was palpable. A week long celebration of film ended with an award ceremony for the best short films and best documentaries. Having watched all the films as a member of the jury it was my great honour to read out the winners. Out Of The Darkness a documentary by Lebanese Sonia Habib won the gold Aleph statuette and Sanctity, a Saudi Arabian film by Ahd Kamel won best short film. I want to thank the organisers and most especially Ms Colette Naufal for allowing me to participate in this wonderful forum for Lebanese and regional films. It was refreshing to see a younger generation of film makers tackling tough subjects from rape to pleasure marriage and from revolution to the right to drive. Unfortunately due to the political instability plaguing us at the moment most of the winners could not attend the festival or pick up their prizes.
It was a great opening night for the Beirut International Film Festival showing Alphonso Cuaron's Gravity. I was very pleased to see a great turn out with a lot of members of our industry and of all generations. The press was there in force too giving young Lebanese film makers a platform which they don't normally have to express themselves.
I am very honoured to have been chosen as one of the jury members of the Beirut International Film Festival taking place from the 2nd to the 10th of October 2013. When I arrived in the Arab world 20 years ago there were very few locally made films outside countries like Egypt and there were even fewer documentaries made by Arabs for Arabs talking about topics and issues which are important to society as a whole. I am happy to say that today the story is very different and the plethora of films and subjects I have been watching are a breath of fresh air. On the whole I have found that in the documentary genre especially story structures are tighter and production values are high, not to mention the overall polished professionalism that the film makers are exhibiting. I am very proud to be able to see this evolution. I hope that many of you will be able to join us at the BIFF. Looking forward to seeing you there.
Looking up at the stars, from my balcony overlooking a wintry Mediterranean sea, my heart smiles to see Orion looking down on me. The great Greek hunter, father of the biblical Nephilim, ancient Egyptian constellation of rebirth and the afterlife has been my winter companion these past twenty years. It seems fitting that the constellation is shining brightly in the sky on this last day of a defining year, a giant frozen Nimrod forever chasing the seven sisters across the dark void. I have often asked myself why this particular constellation calls to my senses and my intellect?
At the end of this year and end of this age, it occurs to me that the symbols of Orion are very relevant in my life as it has played out in 2012. The first part of the year I spent inventing an afterlife for myself. The life I wish to live after the end of this life and just like the Mayans meant by the end of an age, so I mean by the end of an era and the beginning of a new one, built on the ashes of my life experience. If anything, 2012 showed me that it is time to move into a new phase of being, working, living. But how does a middle-aged woman go about re-inventing her life?
I find that I, like most people, hold on to things tightly, things like experience, like success, like pain, like fear. So for a start, I had to let go and hope the fall did not break my neck. Then I had to decide on my path and no matter how murky, set about finding people to help me clear it. This I did with the aid of partners, friends and colleagues. I travelled and I met new people with exciting new ideas for an old analoguer like me, ideas which will allow me to re-invent myself in a brave new digital age. I know I am being deliberately vague but I can't reveal my secrets just yet, though I can mysteriously say that the American bible belt is in my future and you can make of that what you will.
You are probably asking yourselves why re-invent your life? Surely the status-quo we all work so hard towards should not be messed with but I say to you that just when you want to sit and stretch on your laurels life has a way to shake things up making you move on to new and frightening places, with or without your permission. So like Orion, I spent six months hunting in the void and found the beginnings of a re-birth and vision which will shape my future and hopefully put food on the table at the same time.
In the last part of the year, I directed a biography documentary series on the life of one of Lebanon's most famous war lords. Like the Nephilim this man was viewed by some as a god-like giant and by others as a harbinger of death and destruction. I feel oddly close to this man whose life was a tightrope walk between bloodshed and demise, living in a period of this country's history which I did not experience first-hand. Working on the series it occurred to me that he, like Orion, was hunting for a solution to the many problems swamping his people, his country and his identity. I wonder sometimes if he is standing behind me while I edit his life into viewable chunks. His charismatic face calling out to me from the afterlife about his longings and his regret. Watching him in jerky black and white images or Polaroid coloured video I wonder what he would make of this digital age of ours and what he would make of me re-interpreting his life? I can see him waggling his finger and shaking his head in sorrow because here, in Lebanon, seemingly nothing changes, only time passes. But that sentiment is not absolute, things do change and in the retelling of a life cut short by assassination my protagonist is now like Orion stuck as a giant in the void of this country's history. And it is so easy to get stuck in the quagmire that is the Middle East. Its problems stifling. Its vision short. Yet for all that my rebirth will be from here because no other place can invent and re-invent a stubborn hunter like Nimrod, a phalli-centric god like Osiris, a skirt chaser like Orion and little old me.
I wish you all a lovely happy New Year.
'His warm hand moving down my spine, taking the sheet with it, making my skin tingle and coming to rest just above my bottom.
I smiled.
I had done it. I finally had done it. I found him. He was right there in bed with me and it wasn't the tequila talking! I was naked in bed with him having been given so many orgasms I lost count and I knew he was it. He was the shadowy-faced man I'd been daydreaming about since I could remember…'.
'Are you British or Arab Miss?'
I turn blind sided by this polite question from a cleric in his black and white clerical outfit complete with beard, headdress and a startling mole growing out of the side of his nose. I stare at nose mole trying valiantly to remember why I was staring. Oooooh yes multiple orgasms he interrupted with stupid question of identity.
'half and half.' I say and pointedly return to my iPad to finish what the riveting shadowy man was about to do to the heroine multiple more times.
'Muslim or Christian?'. Now I ask you how fair is it that my sister travelling last week to Singapore gets to sit (so she tells me) next to a real live shadowy special ops guy who looks like Aaron Eckhart (and who apparently has washboard this and that) and who is traveling the world to find himself (poor lost lamb) and I end up traveling today next to a man in a frock who wants to ask about my religion. So I expound in Arabic no less for an hour on Bhuddism. He was an Iraqi cleric going from Baghdad to London for a conference on religious dialogue. Our conversation then deteriorates to how many children I have and when I say none he tells me I am not trying hard enough… Now really, I ask you…why me? What did I do to deserve this particular messenger? Sadly I had to stop reading because nose mole seemed to be staring at me every time I came to any juicy bits…turned me right off the shadowy man let me tell you. Don't you just hate it when that happens.
Reflections on the SOLON War Crimes Conference
Maya Mounayer-Rigby1
I recently attended the first WAR CRIMES conference held by SOLON, in February 2009, at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. I would first like to congratulate SOLON on the calibre of speakers and delegates that this conference attracted. The organisers brought together under one roof some of the foremost experts on all aspects of war crimes from the four corners of the world. It was a veritable International Who's Who of lawyers, judges, historians, philosophers and even forensic anthropologists. For me, one of the most notable subjects discussed was the access to justice for witnesses/victims in war crime courts. It was interesting to note the difference between The Hague and Cambodia in regards to the rights and representation of 'victims.' The creation of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in 2006, set up to deal with the war crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge allows, for the first time, the victim's right to participate in the trials with the same legal rights as the prosecution and the defence. This is clearly not the case with the ICC or ICTY who, from what I heard, could almost be seen to seem to treat victim/witnesses as a necessary nuisance and certainly without the same rights as set out by the ECCC. There are lessons to be learned from that.
There were many debates within the seminars about the usage of the term 'victim'. In his presentation, Jose Pablo Baraybar, Executive Director of the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF), made a pertinent point when he stated that perhaps, instead of the concept of victim-hood and its psychological implications, we should re-enable the survivors of war atrocities to be (in his words) 'actors' and not 'subjects' in the process healing of war-torn societies. Listening to the speakers, an unpalatable reality was brought forcefully home: it is simply impossible for international and national war crime tribunals to right the wrongs committed against vulnerable people. All recognise that there have been 'victims' of war atrocities, but on the other hand should these people be sacrificed for the sake of balancing national and international interests? How useful would it be in the national interest to prosecute war crimes decades after the event? Would it not be better to attempt to foster some kind of closure in order to bring stability to that country? Lesley Abdela and many others argued that this was not the way forward but it is clearly an on-going debate. While Jose Pablo and those on the Bosnian panel pointed out that it was impossible and unrealistic to hope that all the perpetrators could be brought to trial. At a conservative estimate it would take 20 years; and the Bosnian panel honestly estimated that they had, at most, ten years before the witnesses/victims would stop being 'useful' in terms of their memories, as they aged. A shocking way of expressing it, maybe – but it was a measure of how difficult the task they face actually is, forcing on them such practical estimations. It made sense to me to debate these issues.
As a Lebanese, I recall a friend talking to me of how, during the Civil War there, when he was in the Lebanese Army, one day he was fighting for his country and shooting (to kill) Syrians and also against the militias. Then the next, he was helping to train his former enemies, who might eventually kill him, having benefitted from his training methods, because a peace treaty had been signed. It was almost like the twilight zone for him to be sleeping right next to your enemy of yesterday. But for the sake of closure he had felt he had to do it, but we forget that men like him are human beings and emotions like that are not so easily closed, just because a government signs a peace treaty. In Lebanon the only person to be imprisoned for war crimes was Dr Samil Geagea of the Force Libanaise, who served a sentence of eleven years, while all the other militia war lords went on to become politicians. Is that a way forward, as it has forced them to work together? Of course there were not (apart from Sabra and Chattila, which were a different matter) war crimes on the scale being seen in some places, but the massacres of Christians in the Chouf by the Druze have never been dealt with, and while it was, in one sense, part of a long tradition of hostility between the two communities, it was a shocking event when neighbours rose against neighbours and it has left a lasting legacy of distrust between the two communities. But there has been no question of prosecuting any perpetrators and even today, Christians are reluctant to return to their former houses in the Chouf. So I remain unsure about the importance of war crimes tribunals but convinced that something needs to be done – a veil being drawn over such atrocities is neither respectful nor healing. Perhaps Jose Pablo Baraybar's suggestion of reconstructing the drama for those left is the best we can hope for in the majority of cases?
Another powerful voice was Cissa Wa Numbe. He had gone around to all the villages and asked questions of them that they wanted to hear answered at the conference. Essentially, it seemed, one of the most urgent ones for them was: Why were all these war trials instituted against the weaker third world countries? How easy would it be to institute proceedings against a powerful Western nation? It was so powerful a point to make, that it really resonated with me, especially coming from such a passionate and good speaker as Cissa Wa Numbe. But all the speakers at the conference seemed impassioned about their particular subject of expertise and it was clear that they were all fighting the good fight. As long as they carry on doing so, the perpetrators of war crimes around the world will not go unpunished. Although, unfortunately, I was unable to attend the closing Round Table discussion for the ways forward in terms of policies and practices, I overheard the Honourable Shireen Fisher tell Dr Judith Rowbotham, one of the main organizers, that there must be a follow-up conference in 2011. I have to say, as an impartial observer, I second that motion. Watch this space!
1 MA student in Asian and African History at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
This very serious corner of Life Through A Loop is reserved for the writing of my very serious sister – Mayada Mounayer-Rigby AKA the academic who covers war crimes conferences and other heavy pursuits like why women in Lebanon got suffrage but have not participated in politics. Well the conferences are heavy and the subject matter arousing in its potential for subjective debate but her turn of phrase and her keen eye kept me reading and at the end of the day that is worth space on any blog. So if you enjoy history, politics and/or the history of politics then this is the spot for you.
If you enjoy any part of this blog please tick the LIKE and FOLLOW buttons.
'Justice? – Whose Justice? Punishment, Mediation or Reconciliation?'
3 to 5 March 2011, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
Maya Mounayer-Rigby
The eagerly awaited 2nd Biennial War Crimes Conference, organised by SOLON, was held 3 to 5 March 2011 at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS), Russell Square, London. This year SOLON was supported in hosting this event by the following partners:
I am aware that I cannot possibly do justice to all the papers presented over the three-day conference so what follows are just some of the highlights of the 2nd Biennial War Crimes Conference. Please click on the link below to continue reading:
It is the night of New Year's Eve and all the house is silent. The rooms are dark and I can see the lights flickering on the bays of Jounieh and Beirut from my arm-chair. Then all is dark. Ah yes it is 6 PM. The room shakes, the glass rattles, I hear a roar, the lights flicker on, off, on again and die. The engine roars, rolls and 60 seconds later we have lift off. Where I live in Lebanon we have electricity four hours on and four to six hours off depending on whether the government power station is limping, lagging or PMSing on that particular day. It is New Year's Eve and you would think the government would be generous enough for 24 hour electricity on the this the last day of the year but I think maybe they are afraid that the year will go out with a bang. Unfortunately not the big fireworks that we are so fond of here but rather the big bang of Lebanon's electricity stations exploding under the pressure. But, our generator is powered up, the lights are on and my mother is insisting I see the suckling pig she is cooking for our New Year's Eve dinner. My mother lives above me and since the generator is on, the lift is off. So I trudge up the stairs to stare at a suckling pig which took one hour to get into the oven. Ovens today, it seems, are not built to cook suckling pigs. God but the smell is delicious. (more…)
"Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning." Bill Gates
As I walked up onto the stage of the large auditorium at the Congre Istanbul Merkezi (Istanbul Congress Center), with my partner of twelve years, Najat Rizk, to collect our AllWorld Network Arabia 500 medals, I was reminded of Bill Gates' quote about partnerships and success. In our case a truer word could not have been spoken. In no way is the next thought logical or business like but our partnership has an ingredient which to me is akin to magic. Laugh it up if you must but I tell you there is a secret ingredient which made itself known from the first instance. Anne Habibi, one of the co-founders of the AllWorld network, referred to us as the 'Dynamic Duo' of the Arab production world. Thanks Anne, you know we are going to be arguing for the rest of the week as to who is Batman and who is Robin? Almost from that first instance there was a synergy between us but it was not necessarily a given. Two women, two film-makers, two ambitions but we shared the same vision, wanted to climb the same mountain, are almost exactly the same age and interestingly, I had named the company for my horoscope and it turned out it was one she shared – so we are both Firehorses. And if you know anything about Firehorses then you know that after the blinkers are off the relationship should go downhill fast. But not for us. I have had other partners, good ones, successful ones but no one like Najat and for her no one like me. Coincidence? Serendipity? Who knows but I do know that though we could have had success solo, together, the lows have not been lonely and getting to the highs has been an adventure worthy of a television documentary. Who would have thought, two women living in a predominantly patriarchal society, would face it head on while making films on Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, Israel's relationship with Hezbollah, among others and come through it with their reputations made as serious film-makers, setting the stage for Firehorse to become one of the premier production companies in the Arab world for Factual Entertainment. What makes our double act so special? Is it that Najat is a doer and I am a writer? Could it be that her knowledge and love of regional politics and my love of history and of story structure make for one strong film? Is she Robert De Nero to my Martin Scorsese? Too American. Am I David Lean to her Alec Guinness? Too British. Is she Johnny Depp to my Tim Burton? Too weird. We come from different backgrounds, different countries and types of upbringing. She is a child of war torn Beirut, growing up dodging rockets while going to school and inhaling the politics of the middle east with her packed lunch. I grew up in London in the 1980's. New Wave music, big shoulder pads and whether Boy George was gay or asexual were the landmarks of my childhood. I remember staying home from school when the IRA put a bomb in letterbox. I remember walking past the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980 and wondering what the police were doing surrounding the building and closing all the roads (ok – give me a break I was…young) but that is the extent of violent politics affecting my childhood. My biggest angst was surviving the Opus Dei elements at my school instead of surviving to see another day. So not the same childhood. Not the same early adulthood either but interestingly she did geography and geo-politics at university and I did archaeology and history. Then she became a producer and I became a writer-director and that is where we came together. We have never competed for each other's positions either while making a film or within our company. In the end I guess I am Mouna to her Najat and that has worked for us over, above and through all the times and different moods that colour our relationship. Looking back at the last twelve years and what made our partnership so special (aside from the magical ingredient) was trust. Trust encompasses so many elements; love, respect, friendship to name a few and whether we are talking films, formats, strategy or having a screaming match, we never lost site of our baby. Firehorse. We created it as film-makers. We are evolving it as creative entrepreneurs. I think I have just coined a new term? Do I get another entrepreneurship medal for that? Pretty please. Finally, as we receive our AllWorld Network medals for being part of the Arabia 500, I would like to thank Anne Habibi and Deidre Coyle the co-founders of AllWorld for a wonderful three days in Istanbul for networking, for learning, for sharing and for a little reflection on the meaning of entrepreneurship, business partnership and extending your hand in friendship and business to people and countries never before on our radar. Namely Pakistan here we come. Hope you are ready for us Firehorses. PS: I am definitely Batman to Najat's Robin. I am taller. You cannot have a short Batman to a tall Robin – it aesthetically wrong. Ok I am also older…by a few minutes… so that makes me Batman. And finally Batman does not have a Frenchy accent! Yes, I am Batman to her Robin. Too right.
Second Global Entrepreneur Summit
Day Two
'Cash flow is more important than your mother.' quote by Professor Kenneth Morse
What makes a tired, jaded and somewhat disheartened Arab woman entrepreneur sit up, take notice and regain her enthusiasm? It could be the fact that the sessions today, at the Second Global Entrepreneur Summit and AllWord Network, were extremely interesting and enlightening. Could be the enthusiasm of other business men and women, could be that we are being actively feted by government ministers, Harvard professors and Venture Capitalists. Could be the story of the Saudi woman who won the AllWorld Network number one start up and got up to accept her prize in front of 500 Saudi men who gave her a standing ovation. Could be all of these things.
But while listening to Professor Kenneth Morse, ex MIT, ex Harvard, expound on the fire in the gut of entrepreneurs and their inexhaustible drive to achieve their dream, even when every one around them is telling them to give it up. I remembered.
I remembered those gut aching, joyous days when Najat and I shared a small desk, one computer, a telephone, in a two by four room convinced that we were the Arab world's answer to David Attenborough. We were going to make documentaries that were going to blow Arab broadcaster's socks off. We had a company, we had a vision but we didn't have a business plan, or a strategy, we had no capital, hell we had no money. VC's were not beating a path to our door. In fact I can safely say I had no idea what venture capital was and wouldn't have believed we could be eligible for it. Finance, though needed to survive, was not something we actively pursued. In hindsight it seems crazy.
So how did we make it with no money to speak of, other than that earned on projects in an ad hoc way? We had an idea. One based on my love of history and Najat's knowledge of the region. Something no one had done before. A series of documentary programmes on the religions of the Arab world. Through Najat's contacts at the time we met the head of Al Jazeera television. He loved the idea for the new documentary channel Al Jazeera was launching and asked us to develop the series. Of course, like most Arab broadcasters, development fees were and are unheard of and of course were not forthcoming.
We spent a year developing the project, researching, writing treatments, working on budgets, living on peanuts. You could have sent a rocket to Mars and brought it back on the energy we had. Finally the series was ready to unveil to the powers that be at Al Jazeera. Off we went, borrowing money to travel to Doha. They loved it. Wanted it. Started the contractual process. We went back to Beirut to wait. And wait. And then war broke out.
The Second Gulf war started and a few months in, the Americans were very unhappy with the way Al Jazeera was portraying the events in Baghdad. Putting pressure on the Qatari government, the American administration had the head of Al Jazeera removed from his post. Had they but known what this would mean to two woman sitting in a tiny office in Jounieh in Lebanon, I am sure President Bush would have had second thoughts about the whole matter.
Oh. My. God. Please replace the man in Munch's Scream with me and Najat and you'll get some idea of our initial reaction.
Once we recovered from the melt down you would have thought that that was that. But hell no! We could see the potential, the business, the success, the money and we had the bit between our teeth. We were entrepreneurs and did not know it.
For six months Al Jazeera put us off telling us that the contract was being written, it was in the legal department, in finance, in HR, they lost it, they found it, they moved premises and lost it again. One bright morning, we decided as a last ditch effort to borrow more money and go to Doha and search the Al Jazeera offices ourselves, if necessary, for the contract.
Arriving in Doha, we make our way to the Al Jazeera Documentary offices for a meeting with the new head of channel. The previous day we had arranged with his assistant, who knew and liked Najat and I to look for the contract. She did. And God bless that woman she found it and had it ready for her boss's signature.
Now the contract was for a 15 part documentary series of the religions (and sects) of the Arab world and we had budgeted for that. The budget took into consideration among other things, five crew (director, producer, camera man, sound engineer and assistant producer) travelling to 15 countries and staying approximately three weeks in each country for the filming. That description alone should give you a clue about the size of budget I am talking about – large and for broadcasters outsourcing factual entertainment (a rarity in those days) – very large. The head of the channel solemnly read the contract which I believe he had not actually seen before the day we arrived in Qatar. He very slowly took out a pen, while Najat and I sat like statues too afraid to move lest he change his mind. Whereupon he said 'I would like to make one change.' We looked nervously at each other and at him but said nothing. He said 'I wish to remove a word and then I will sign the budget.' We were numb. He scratched the word out. As the contract was in Arabic and upside down I was unsure which word was struck-through. Najat clutched my hand. He said I think for this budget we can take out the word Arab. Hmmm….My brain scrambled to re-arrange the title of the series. The Religions Of The World… Not …Arab World. The budget was made for the Arab world not the world. What? How? Is he kidding I thought? One look at Najat told me, no, he was not kidding. If we wanted this contract then we had to accept this condition though no way in hell was that budget going to cover the world! The world required a much, much larger budget!
To cut a long story short. We accepted the contract. We accepted to give the broadcaster a letter of credit and a guarantee for 25% of the money. How we got the bank to accept this is another story. We accepted things we had no idea of. No one had done this before. We are still accepting things that should not be. There are no adequate safeguards in place for companies like ours in the Arab world and maybe there never will be. But having said all that – wow – what a time it was for us and is for us now in this region. That series, did not make us rich but it did put us on the map. Work followed and apart from a few glitches, such as invasions and skirmishes, we have grown into the company we are today.
I believe over the last decade I have matured into an entrepreneur even if I was not born one and today I am no longer tired even though the battles facing pan-Arab entrepreneurship seem only to get tougher. I am no longer tired as I recognise and feel again the gut aching enthusiasm for what I do.
The second Global Entrepreneur Summit, Istanbul and AllWorld Arabia 500 + Turkey
Day One
All's changed, changed utterly, a terrible beauty is born.
William Butler Yeats quoted by US Vice President Joe Biden at the second Global Entrepreneurship summit in Istanbul today Saturday 3 December 2011.
Woke up this morning feeling cranky. Gluttony is so very unattractive in people never mind a woman who should know better. Gluttony plus middle age and you have a recipe for a sleepless night even when you are sleeping on the signature bed in one of Istanbul's leading funky hotels – the W. Stumbling out of bed as I did not want to miss Vice President Biden's speech at the opening of the second Global Entrepreneurship summit I look around my 'Wonderful' room and find a big puddle of Water on the floor. Room not so Wonderful then, well at least not in the way it is advertised on the W Istanbul website. Last time I was in Istanbul it was storming and it rained inside my room in my 5 star hotel on the Bosphorus. So maybe the room is Wonderful and I am carrying my very own rain cloud every time I step into the amazing capital of the Sublime Port. Unfortunately I don't have time to ponder the mystery – Joe Biden awaits.
My business partner Najat and I are in Istanbul at the invitation of the ALLWORLD NETWORK for the Second Global Entrepreneur Summit under the aegis of Prime Minister Erdogan with Vice President Joe Biden opening the conference. When we get to the Congress Conference Hall we find hundreds of people lining up to register. It is now 10.25 am and Joe Biden is about to start. We are told by conference staff to quickly move into the conference hall and register later. So much for security. We were told we could not enter the conference without A) registering and B) our photo IDs hanging around our necks. Ah well Turkish and American secret service must trust entrepreneur's then…yes that must be it – we entrepreneur's are a trust worthy lot. Especially us fast growth entrepreneurs. It must be the fast return on your investment that makes us so special.
The conference is opened in Turkish by a lovely young woman swiftly followed by a corporate film in Turkish but really it is classically made so it is not hard for two veteran film-makers to understand. Lots of speeded up images showing work, people and clouds going into the future. Half way through I lose the thread when the same images are shown a second time with images of poverty segueing into split screens of beautiful people, poetic sunsets and multiracial kids playing with corn. But I guess those kids are the fast growth entrepreneur's of the future and the corn is the high yield or return on your investment. Yes that must be it.
We soon realise that we will need the simultaneous translators as most of the speeches are in Turkish. So I go to find them. Sorry, madam, the girl tells me – without registration you cannot get a translator! Ok, too bad Erdogan's speech will be a mystery.
After a few speeches His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the Minister for Economy for the United Arab Emirates is introduced. Gist of speech – UAE is using it's oil money to create a knowledge based economy and next year the third global summit for Entrepreneurs will be in the UAE – of course. He then laments the fact that the Arabs and Muslims did not come up with it themselves but it is yet another American initiative extended towards Muslim and Arab countries even after the 9/11 tragedy.
More Turkish MPs and Ministers came to the podium but no Erdogan. Ok so he will be the last or just before Biden. American politicians are either born knowing how to give speeches or they're born actors or well hell, they can't half deliver a line. Even when you've heard it all before it sounds fresh and yes – dare I say it – inspirational. Maybe it was just that I listened to 40 minutes of unrelenting Turkish. Gist of speech: wishes Erdogan, on behalf of Obama and his administration, a speedy recovery (explains his absence – most disappointed). Trade between Turkey and the US has grown 45% in the last year. He would love to be at next year's conference in the UAE – if he's re-elected – otherwise whoever. US wants deeper ties between American Entrepreneurs and significant Muslim nations. Democratic revolutions (the Arab Spring) are 'literally imbued with entrepreneurial spirit – risk, initiative, steadfast determination and a unifying ideal. The next Steve Jobs could be a Turk or possibly come from the UAE…the man behind me very solemnly told his friend that Steve was Syrian – as if that explained his genius or perhaps his rebellious spirit oh I see it must be his entrepreneurship – yes that's it.
In fact Mr Biden brought up Mr Jobs no less than four times in the speech – almost as many as the word entrepreneur. Poor Steve – no rest for genius entrepreneurs – even in death! Going back to Biden's speech he mentions women and excitedly tells the audience that if they didn't know it already women are just as clever as men. The audience applauded this incredible insight, whereupon he continued that countries who did not encourage women in business were going to be left behind. Aspiring entrepreneurs must do what comes naturally to them – dream – and in the words of Mr Steve Jobs – Think Different. Think Different for we are at an 'inflection point in history'. And entrepreneurs have a chance like never before to steer the world onto a path – a successful path from this inflection point. I was amazed by Mr Biden's hindsight or is that future hindsight..hmmm…it's a conundrum. Just how could he tell we are on an inflection point in history – could be foresight. And entrepreneurs are going to save the world or at least steer it in the right direction…
Lots of applause. More speeches in Turkish. Lunch. Interviewed by the Arabic Turkish channel but I speak in English so may get left on cutting room floor – or in the Avid. Najat is flawless.
The panel after lunch had some very interesting people including the Turkish Minister of Finance and the CEO of ABRAJ CAPITAL, the largest private equity firm in the emerging markets.
At 6pm the AllWorld Network held a drinks party to welcome the ARABIA 500 + Turkey (including Pakistan). Najat and I discovered that we are ranked third in the AllWorld country rankings for Lebanon. We are proud. The Pakistan delegation invite the AllWord delegates to Reina's – a cool Istanbuli club. We are so on.
10pm – cranky again. Back hurts. Yesterdays gluttony rears its ugly head. Ahh yes my room is Wonderful.
How often does a film-maker find a subject standing in an opportune ray of light? I came across this man standing in the doorway of his blacksmith shop in the back streets of Marrakesh while filming the documentary Arabs: A Lost Identity.
On my very second outing as a fully fledged documentary director I was let loose on an unsuspecting Arab world. First port of call Wadi Rum. What most of you don't know is that I grew up in a house in London where the film director David Lean had lunch every Sunday. Alas not with me and my family but with the family who owned the house before us. The fact that the maestro sat in the same dining room as I did gave me no small amount of frissons as I was growing up – yeah I know I was a strange child. So imagine my delight and my ambition when I found myself in the same place, with a camera and a crew. A place that my old chum David had (according to film lore) painted gold because it didn't look yellow enough for him on-screen.
My film crew and I spent hours, on a day where the temperature soared to over 42 degrees centigrade, looking for the perfect shots to be used as B-roll in a documentary film on the Buddhists. B-roll are usually general views shots that work well with more general narration, that is they are not specific to any one thing in the story. The shots were supposed to represent the birth of Buddha in his father's palace in Nepal. Since the budget did not stretch to filming in Nepal (only India and Thailand) I had to find a location that could work behind the story of the Buddha's birth and the sumptuousness of his early life in his father's kingdom. After four hours of looking we spotted a Four Seasons Hotel nestled discreetly off the beaten path and as soon as we entered we realised that we found the birth place of Buddha. Well at least for the purposes of our film.
The Buddhists is part of the World Religions Series for Al Jazeera Documentary Channel. Written and directed by Mouna Mounayer.
Ok, I think that definitely my choice of themes for the this site is getting the better of me. You have to understand that my choice was based on a) all blogs look the same and I wanted one which looks different and b) what would look good on an iPad and mobile devices. The Shelf theme really looked cool and seemed on the surface to answer all my requirements. I made a list as I was told to do by WordPress before I started about what I wanted and why I wanted it.
I love the look of this site theme – its clean and aesthetically pleasing but if you have a lot of information it takes ages to scroll through it or I have just not found the right buttons or widgets or whatever it is that they're called to make it happen. I recently told someone that I could run circles round them in the digital world. God I hate hubris.
The autobiography 'Kiss Me Quick Before I Shoot' by Guy Magar is the story of how the son of Egyptian immigrants fleeing from Abdel Nasser's 1958 Egyptian revolution became a mainstream jobbing director in Hollywood. (more…)
I bought a statue today. Yes you heard me right folks a statue. A big one. Couldn't help myself, none of the other therapies were working so I thought a little retail therapy might help. It did – until I got the bill. Then I had a heart attack. It is a very lovely statue though. Called 'La Dame Au Fleur' it was created by a French artist, Lilly Platzer, who is married to one of the Doctors working in Buchinger. They have an exhibition of her work in the clinic's foyer and the guests were all invited to a viewing and meeting with the artist. Her style is whimsical and brings a smile to the face. I really needed a smile. And I haven't been shopping since my disc incident – two and half months ago. So there. That's my excuse and I am sticking to it. But I am wondering how the hell I'm going to carry it, when I can hardly carry myself home? (more…)

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By Pastor William WallesContributing Writer
March 26, 2014 | Vol.54 N.13
We're deep in the season of Lent, the time of preparation leading up to Easter, and there was something that struck me about this season this year that I had never considered before. It's the old phrase, "In like a Lion and out like a Lamb."
Now, I'm discovering that younger generations don't seem to know this phrase, perhaps it's an idiom that's going out of style. But, although it's meant to be used for the weather in March, it got me thinking about the Jesus story in Lent instead.
In Lent we read about Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, and His path to the Cross. This all culminates with Holy Week, a week that begins with Palm Sunday and ends with Easter – the greatest day of the year.
And as I thought about it, Holy Week sure fits the phrase – In like a Lion and out like a Lamb. Palm Sunday is such an odd day, it's a triumphant parade, a raucous announcement that the King is entering Jerusalem.
It's a Lion (King) roaring that you can't keep the voices of the people quiet, even if you tried the rocks and stones would start to sing. To be fair, much of the roaring is coming from the people who don't quite understand the King Jesus truly is, but it's there all the same.
Even stranger, this parade is the start of the story, not the end. The end begins with the Lamb, Jesus, going to the Cross on Good Friday for the sins of the world. The King now goes humbly as a sacrifice for the people. It's a remarkable turn of events, and one unanticipated by the crowds on Palm Sunday. In like a Lion, but out like a Lamb.
However, the story doesn't end there. Because Good Friday isn't the end of the story either. No again that end comes on Easter when we have the Lion and the Lamb together on that wonderful morning.
We have a sacrifice and a King, risen from the grave and proclaiming Good News that life has come – new life has been re-born.
Death has been defeated by this Lion and Lamb together. For me, at least, this old phrase came to life in a new way and pointed me this March towards Easter and the joy it brings in a unique and surprising way.
I hope this year you also see and experience the Lion and Lamb in your life as well.
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Prudence gets spanked
EU action on Britain over budget deficit - Telegraph
European Union finance ministers have voted to condemn Britain for flagrant breach of the Maastricht spending rules, irked that the UK government has not even tried to keep its budget deficit below the treaty limit of 3pc of national income.
By its own admission, Labour will need to borrow at least 3.2pc of GDP this year, even if the economy holds up well. ..(Fat chance of that)
..Britain's sins are serious. The breach has occurred at the top of the cycle when tax revenues should be at their peak. Brussels said there had been a "deterioration of the structural balance of 4.5pc of GDP" since 1999. Brussels said Britain did not qualify under the "exceptional" circumstances clause.
...The UK now has the worst fiscal profile of any developed country in the North Atlantic sphere.
The European Commission expects the UK's public debt to rise from 43.2pc of GDP last year to 47.5pc by the end of next year. The ritual of naming and shaming at EU meetings is likely to prove a constant thorn in the side for Labour.
There is no chance that the deficit can be brought back under control in the foreseeable future. The deficit always deteriorates in a downturn. Capital Economics said borrowing needs could explode to £120bn a year if the country tips into a severe recession, as many now fear.
Britain is now in an ugly predicament. Unlike Spain or the US, it cannot easily resort to a fiscal boost - either tax cuts or extra spending - to cushion the effects of the property collapse.
Remind me a gain who asked to be judged on his handling of the economy...


text: In Mira Nair's marvelous and moving cross-cultural family saga, a Bengali couple (Irrfan Khan and Tabu) make a home in the New York suburbs. Kal Penn, in a fantastic performance, is their son, whose love-hate, push-pull relationship with his heritage forms the film's spiritual core. The movie is a bit too episodic, but it will speak to anyone who ever felt pulled in different directions by his own heart.


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(CONTEST) New release announced next week – guess the band & win a signed copy
Home › Forums › VIP Forum › (CONTEST) New release announced next week – guess the band & win a signed copy
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As you can see, purchasing the greatest vehicle insurance insurance policy that you could pay for that works well the good for you plus your automobile isn't as tough as it may seem. It merely demands carrying out research, obtaining files as a way and inquiring lots of questions. The work are going to pay away once you find how it may help your car .You need to know what different kinds of coverage are given by having an automobile insurance coverage. Have you figured out what body damage liability insurance is? This kind of coverage covers any injuries or dying claims from you, along with the lawful charges, should your car injures or gets rid of somebody else.As you can tell, purchasing the best vehicle insurance plan that you can afford to pay for that works well the most effective for you plus your motor vehicle isn't as difficult as it may show uOctober 31, 2013 at 8:28 am #8994
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Make your report clear! Your driving record is the biggest thing that insurance firms take a look at when figuring out what to charge you. It can be more valuable than the auto you drive and your credit score together. Even receiving a basic speeding admission can set your costs better, so make your nasal area clean!
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You should go with a well-liked and the latest automobile around whatever else. Should your motor vehicle has to be fixed, elements will be readily accessible and remain relatively cheap. With an more mature product, you may have to acquire the parts or with a rare foreign company, have the components transported from abroad. This will increase your insurance coverage, or otherwise not be paid by it.
You can save funds by boosting your insurance deductible in the event of accident. This means you are going to pay a lot less every month, and definitely will spend a more significant section of the improvements if you get into an accident. Should this be a danger you are likely to acquire, place some cash besides.
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If you haven't read it already, I suggest reading Seema Jilani's piece about how the White House treated her and how she felt it was racist.
I think it's pretty racist… Just "saying". I mean we can blame Obama or you know blame the real problem. I am sure the security isn't "racist". They are probably not even aware of what they did.
But it hurts just the same. If not more.
You see, it's easy to deal with the racism from the idiot sitting in the wood engaging in racist LARP. We can call him an idiot and point and laugh (or point and demand he take you to all the White Women. I guarantee you nothing trolls white supremacists/nationalists/priders than that). But the real danger is the person who doesn't even realise they are being racist because that's the sort of person who does the most damage in society.
When I asked why the security representatives offered to personally escort white women without tickets downstairs while they watched me flounder, why they threatened to call the Secret Service on me, I was told, "We have to be extra careful with you all after the Boston bombings."
And all I want to say is this.
Hey idiot. The Boston Bombers couldn't possibly be more Caucasian considering they were from the Caucasus Mountain region.
Shaking with rage, I said, "We are all human beings and I only ask that you give me the same respect you give others. All I am asking is to be treating with a dignity and humanity. What you did is wrong." They stared straight ahead, arms crossed, and refused to even look at me. Up came the cruel, xenophobic, soundproof wall that I had seen in the eyes of so many after 9/11. Their eyes, flecked with disdain and hatred, looked through me.
This is something many of us have faced at one point or another. After a while it just became easier to walk away. I don't think I should do that anymore either.
The next affront came quickly thereafter. "You were here last year, weren't you? You caused trouble here last year too. I know you," they claimed, accusing me of being a party-crasher. Completely confused, I explained that this was my first time here and that I had no idea what he was referencing. Clearly, he had assumed all brown people look the same and had confused me for someone else.
Always a good laugh when that happens. I had that done to me with regards to The Amazing Meeting where slymepitters gloated at me not being able to go this year. Never mind the fact that I have never been. People "forget" and often treat us as if we are invisible. And part of the reason we wish to be invisible is that the alternative is being visible and that's just as bad. (See above)
I will cover it in more detail. But for now… MAD!


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New owner, new name, new outlook for Furniture Brands?
It's no secret that, for furniture companies like Thomasville and Drexel Heritage, the days of large manufacturing plants in the Triad and other parts of the state are long gone.
Furniture companies cut thousands of jobs over the last two decades, as production moved offshore.
What the future will look like for the industry in large measure now rests with a private equity firm based in New York.
Furniture Brands International, or FBI, owner of the Thomasville, Drexel Herigate, Broyhill, Lane, Henredon, Pearson, Hickory Chair, Lane Venture, Maitland-Smith and La Barge brands, filed for bankruptcy in September.
KPS Capital Partners on Monday announced the formation of a new company, Heritage Home Group, LLC, which acquired FBI's assets for $280 million.
The High Point Enterprise asked one local expert, Ken Smith, furniture analyst with Smith Leonard PLLC in High Point, for his take on the situation.
Smith publishes a monthly report, Furniture Insights, on the state of the industry. His answers to the following questions have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: Why would a firm like KPS Capital Partners be interested in FBI?
A: I guess, first of all, private equity guys have got to try to find opportunities and places to put their money. And (FBI) clearly has a group of leading brands in the industry, probably some of the better known names, with Thomasville, Broyhill, Lane, Henredon and others. They've got some turnaround expertise and I think they apparently have looked at it and feel like they can make some changes to bring it back to life.
Q: Do you have any sense for what the future might hold for local furniture lines like Thomasville?
A: There's been nothing but rumors. The initial thought process was that somebody would buy them and split them up — sell them off or sell certain ones off. But, then when (KPS) came in, at least it has appeared that's not in their plans, at least initially. The first group that looked at it was going to buy everything but Lane. And this group said they would only be interested in it if Lane was still involved. Which tells me that, at least they plan to keep it together.
Q: Did FBI produce a lot of its furniture offshore?
A: Yes, and I don't think you're going to see a lot of change in that. If you look at what's happening in the industry, upholstery has not gone offshore to the extent case goods have, mainly because a lot of it's custom upholstery. So, I wouldn't see a lot of change from that perspective. The reality is, with so many plants shuttered here in the (U.S.), to get back into production in a big-time way in case goods is a very expensive proposition. Can they move some product back, as they have? Yes, but I don't think you would see a big-time shift.
Q: Is it still less expensive to make furniture overseas than domestically?
A: There's certain products that are competitive. I think it really depends on things like ornate product that take a lot of labor. Certainly, what we're seeing is, a lot of it has moved from China to other southeast Asian countries. Vietnam has picked up quite a bit. I think the Philippines and some of the other countries over there have too. I think China has lost some of its volume because of things like rising labor and shipping costs, but there's still a lot of it coming out of China.
Q: Does FBI still have a lot of employees in the Triad and North Carolina?
A: They don't really put out those numbers publicly. While there certainly have been cutbacks, I think, from what we hear on the street, some of their brands in the Hickory and High Point areas have continued to do reasonably well, so hopefully there wouldn't be any further cuts.
Q: FBI closed a Drexel Heritage retail store next to a Thomasville store off Business 85 in September. What do you think the future holds for these types of stores?
A: I think a lot of it will depend on what this new company's thoughts are toward having both wholesale and retail operations. Retail is just a different ballgame. Some companies have figured it out and some have continued to struggle with it. But I think that's really going to depend on their appetite for retail.
Q: I noticed in your most recent survey that furniture orders and shipments continue to increase. Does this bode well for FBI's brands and the industry as a whole?
A: I think, as the old saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. I think most everybody in the industry hopes that these guys will survive. Does that mean that people haven't been going out and trying to take their business during this period? I'm sure they have. I think a lot of it's going to really depend on how well each of the brands have been able to hold their brand together. And how much the retailers have stuck by or will stick by them.
Q: Why was FBI in such weak financial shape to begin with?
A: I think when a company is struggling somewhat to begin with and then you go through (the Great Recession), that's a hard pill to swallow. Our numbers showed the industry dropped something over 30 percent during that period of time. That's a hard thing to manage, especially when you're as big as they were. I think one thing that happened was, even the small companies, we'd never seen it drop like that. So nobody reacted as quickly as they needed to and we saw some good companies turn from black bottom lines to red bottom lines that had never seen that before.


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Margaret (Peggy) Brady-Amoon, Ph.D.
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Dr. Brady-Amoon specializes in school counseling, college student, and career development.
Within the broad fields of counseling and counseling psychology, Peggy Brady-Amoon specializes in school counseling, college student, and career development. Her research on educational opportunity, socio and multicultural counseling and psychology, and factors that contribute to underrepresented college students' success builds on more than 20 years of experience as a counselor, counselor supervisor, and administrator primarily with programs that admit, retain, and graduate at-risk, low-income students of color at rates higher than their more advantaged peers. Her teaching experience - at St. Thomas Aquinas College, Long Island University, and Teachers College, Columbia University - reflects these interests and more.
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Simulation Speeds Up
As They Get Closer to Real Time, Simulations Are Taking on Many More Varied Applications and Helping to Optimize Them
Simulations used to be so simple. They might involve a huge amount of data, but it could be chewed on for awhile. Then researchers could draft a report a few days or weeks later and make recommended adjustments to optimize a process application. Well, events are moving a bit more quickly now.
Simulations that long ago moved from static to dynamic are now so close to real time that they basically optimize processes on the fly. This can enable faster performance, but it also means coping with more complexity in much less time. In short, simulation is another job for data processing and software that can have big-time paybacks.
Optimizing Biofuels from Pulp
For instance, Chemrec's plants in Pitea and Domsjö, Sweden, recently implemented UniSim simulation software from Honeywell Process Solutions to simulate and optimize its process of turning waste from pulp and paper mills into biofuels.
Chemrec's process uses high-temperature, entrained-flow gasification of black liquor, which produces syngas—a gas mixture of mostly hydrogen and carbon monoxide that's the feedstock for several biofuels. Chemrec wanted to capitalize on its process and needed an in-house technology to help test and simulate its processes, so they could move beyond pilot-scale operation and engineer a full-scale plant.
Consequently, Chemrec selected UniSim Design software to design and simulate its process. UniSim helps evaluate alternative uses of syngas and trys out different process configurations and products. Chemrec can also use UniSim to simulate properties of concentrated electrolyte solutions, which are very important for pulp mill integration.
Read Also: Sweeter Simulation
"UniSim Design is one of the tools we used to design the full-scale plant, and it can also be used to evaluate alternative uses of syngas," says Erik Furusjö, Chemrec's process design engineer. "By trying out different process configurations, processes and products, Chemrec can now answer questions such as, 'What can we use the syngas for?' and 'What is technically and economically feasible?' "
Modeling Moves
Even motion control in process applications is getting in on the simulation act. For example, Woodings Industrial Corp. in Mars, Pa., recently had just nine months to develop a new hydraulic circuit and distributor for two 4150 m3 iron blast furnaces in China to provide better burden distribution control, improve motion control and endpoint accuracy, and increase efficiency and production to up to 16 million metric tons of iron per year.
"The way iron pellets and coke are charged in layers inside a blast furnace really affects the melting process," says Al Colucci, Woodings' engineering vice president. "The layers are created by a hydraulic distributor, which rotates at 8 rpm, and then tilts a chute in the throat of the blast furnace to deposit iron ore and coke pellets in precise locations. Our challenge was to develop more accurate hydraulic distributor control and achieve unheard of control levels."
While most burden distributors use electromechanical gearing, it's hard to maintain and repair in the heat above the blast furnace. These high temperatures also require the hydraulic valves controlling the distributor's four hydraulic cylinders to be located away from it. This requires long hydraulic lines, which create spring-like expansion and contraction of the fluid in them, and makes motion control even harder. The cylinders are controlled by Bosch Rexroth's 4WRPEH directly operated, high-response, directional, proportional valves with electrical position feedback.
Woodings adds that its Chinese client wanted to limit chute movement at the endpoint to no more than 0.25 mm, which is one-tenth of a degree. Typical distributor endpoint accuracy is within inches, but the steelmaker was certain greater accuracy would make its furnaces more productive.
To verify the targeted accuracy and repeatability of its new hydraulic system, Woodings used Bosch Rexroth's Modular Simulation of Hydraulic System (MOSIHS) software and library of parameterized hydraulic devices. Sub-models of the hydraulics, mechanicals and controls also were coupled with each other and simulated together, which allowed designers to investigate dynamic behavior of the whole system. The distributor's hydraulic circuit and controls provided input data for the MOSIHS software, while CAD drawings of the distributor, chute and rotating distributor head were imported into a commercially available, multi-body simulation program coupled with MOSIHS (Figure 2).
The simulation showed that the distributor's large, moving mass and long hydraulic lines caused low natural frequency of the hydraulic distributor system, so special control algorithms with dynamic-pressure feedback could damp system oscillations and optimize performance. "As it turns out, the cylinder load changes with the chute angle," says Charles Erdo, Bosch Rexroth's industrial machinery engineer. "The drive and controls have to react quickly to load variations as the chute working point changes and cope with centrifugal forces and dynamic loads. The simulation verified our closed-loop control strategy and demonstrated that all four cylinders remained synchronized as required."
Better Software Tools
Not surprisingly, one force enabling simulations to get closer to real time and be applied in new applications is improvements in software, especially for handling several applications.
For instance, AspenTech has launched the latest version of its aspenOne software, V8.3, to enable faster optimization of upstream, midstream and refining processes and improve plant safety. New capabilities of Aspen Hysys software include: Acid Gas Cleaning, which models gas sweetening units in one environment in Aspen Hysys, and Pressure Safety Valve Sizing, which lets users size pressure safety valves as part of the process design.
"We can now access the aspenOne and Hysys simulation environments in one click, and users are immediately informed about their target's present performance, what optimization opportunities exist and what changes are needed to get there," explains Vikas Dhole, engineering and product management VP at AspenTech. "We're also able to show economic analysis and the costs of opportunities and potential profits of making changes. We also have a web and mobile interface for aspenOne that combines model and plant data, and a new aspenOne Exchange that allows a community to share multiple solutions."
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I heard when you lose weight, the fat cells dont go away, they just shrink and in order to remove the fat cells, you need to have lipo done. Is this true?
What is the difference on the way a body looks with shrunnk fat cells vs. removing them?
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Chrissy is dedicated to getting Clay back and abandons her plans to visit Billy. Allie throws a themed party at her parent's new house that brings the whole gang back together. The tables turn for Chase, as Kylie clarifies their relationship before winter break ends. In the end, will Chrissy's elaborate planning win her back Clay?
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