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Varieties available all year
A cabbage is honest goodness with no pretensions. It is a supremely beautiful vegetable, an absolute work of art visually, and with its tight, audibly squeaky leaves bursting with goodness and vitality, why is it not acknowledged and revered?
The overcooking of former years has made it a much-maligned vegetable in the western world. Chefs and restaurants continue largely to ignore seasons and prefer to offer endless dull green string beans and the ever-in-season calabrese broccoli. When were you last offered a bowl of fragrant, buttered green cabbage in a restaurant? Isn't it time for a rethink?
Fresh cabbage lightly cooked is full of goodness, packed with vitamins, minerals and flavour and it's not expensive. So I hope I can encourage you to start eating more of it.
Buying cabbage: Cabbage should always be eaten as fresh as possible – it loses nutrients if stored for too long. An unwrapped fresh cabbage should look bright and crisp, with its outer leaves intact (often if it's had its outer leaves removed, it was because they were limp, which is not a good sign). The heart should feel firm and the leaves should squeak as you pull them apart.
To prepare cabbage: with a leafy variety such as spring greens, it's best to discard any tired, floppy outside leaves, then separate the other leaves down to the central bud and place them one by one on a flat board. Then, using a sharp paring knife cut out the stalks, running the point of the knife down each side. When the stalks have been removed, pile the leaves on top of each other and, using a larger knife, shred the cabbage into strips, then do the same with the centre bud to shred that, too.
For a more compact variety, such as Savoy, once the outer leaves have been discarded, halve and then quarter the cabbage lengthways, then cut out the hard core from each quarter and discard. Finally, slice thinly across each quarter to shred it.
To cook cabbage: I have tried every method under the sun for cooking cabbage and I am now convinced that boiled cabbage needs plenty of water. The secret is to shred it quite finely and cook it briefly in rapidly boiling water. What I do is pack it down quite tightly into a saucepan, sprinkle with salt, then place the pan over a high heat, pour in boiling water from the kettle, which re-boils instantly, and time it for 3-5 minutes.
The one way to tell if it's cooked is to bite a piece, as you would pasta. Then tip it into a colander and squeeze out as much excess water as you can, using a saucer to press the cabbage down. Then turn the saucer on its side and use chopping movements to push any excess water out.
Serve it straightaway in a hot bowl, tossing it with a minute amount of butter, and season it with salt and pepper. One medium-sized cabbage will serve 4 people.
Types of cabbage: Spring greens or cabbage green. Not really spring greens any more, as they are now available all year round, but they seem to have a luscious edge in spring that is lacking in the winter months. Look for small, tender leaves that look perky, sound squeaky and are not too floppy and tired.
Winter cabbages. These are the larger, fatter, rounded varieties. Savoy has crinkly leaves and a superb flavour; January King has flowery leaves with a purple tinge; round cabbage has green outer leaves but gets whiter towards the centre and is good for coleslaw.
Pointed cabbage. This is a lovely variety – tight, green and leafy. Best in April, May and June, as it's home grown, but still good imported from Spain at other times of the year.
Bubble and Squeak Rösti
Bubble and squeak is a classic leftover recipe for greens, but making it rösti-style and adding some mature Cheddar adds a new dimension. These little individual rösti are brilliant served with sausages or leftover cold turkey and ham and a selection
Baked Stuffed Cabbage Leaves
This inexpensive dish is a version of the famous Greek dolmades or stuffed vine leaves, given an English twist with minced beef but also true to the Mediterranean with the inclusion of cinnamon, marjoram and rice.
Thick Country Soup
Vegetarians and meat-eaters alike will love this really thick soup crammed with beans, rice and a host of wintry veg. All you need is some good bread and cheese to go with it…
Stuffed Cabbage Leaves with Toasted Pistachios and Pine Nuts
Redolent of Greece, Turkey and the Middle East where stuffed vegetables are de rigueur, this lovely vegetarian recipe is a flavourful way to eat cabbage in the winter months.
Minestrone with Orecchiette and Borlotti Beans
Delia describes this soup as 'one of the best I've ever tasted' and we're certainly not arguing with that! Some soups are hearty and filling enough to make a substantial lunch and this Italian classic is one of them: just add bread…

subset: commoncrawl


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Yes sir I got me some stones to play with. :biggrin2:
Yes sir I got me some stones to play with. :biggrin2:
Gesshins, no doubt
I have a stone addiction issue......not enough money to get them all!!
Love the Broidas...they are a classy bunch.
agree with everything here
class act all the way on these two wonderful people
keep it up guys!!!
What I've been enjoying lately is there unique non knife items.
I agree. I ended up with a pair of fish tweezers too. And if I hadn't bought a benriner a couple of months earlier, I would have picked up one of those too.
"What happened to those other underpants you had?" -- Flight of the Conchords
I gotta say that most of the last couple of knives I have bought were from Jon. Very personal service and yeah the packaging is awesome! Now only if the knife box could be wrapped in a tenugui....


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Prior to Phillip's address, Quinton informed the board that the information on the dilapidated trucks and any repair or replacement costs had been given to County Administrator Will Hooker prior to the meeting.
Hooker, who had to leave earlier in the meeting due to a family matter, was unavailable to comment or provide the specs at the time.
"I guess what we need to do is get on the next meeting's agenda since he has the books so that you all can decide which way you want to go on the fire trucks," said Quinton.
"Can you guys just go ahead and give us a brief summary," asked Supervisor Donny Whitten. "Then we can get with Mr. Hooker and address the situation at the next meeting."
Phillips said that the truck in Benoit is outdated and needs to be updated to a newer model.
"He (Hooker) has the specs on them from two companies," said Phillips, who added one of the trucks in Cleveland was also outdated.
"We were trying to get something like a ladder truck so that we can get on top of buildings and get things out without having to wait on a vehicle." he added. "We really need to update the vehicle to a better truck."
Board Chairman Andrew Williams asked if they were to look at the specs and advertise a bid.
"I believe that the way fire trucks are now that they are on state contracts," said Quinton. "We will have to check on that but you can go on a state contract and be legal without having to advertise for bids."
Supervisor Larry King asked about the repair work being done on one of the trucks in Shaw.
"We are currently having some issues with repairs," answered Quinton. "We've got some trucks in the shop that have been there awhile and are still not repaired."
According to Quinton and Phillips, the BCVFD uses Cleveland Truck & Tractor Repair.
Phillips gave an example of some of the situations.
"We called and said that we were bringing the truck in for fine tuning and he said to bring it to them and it would take about 15 minutes to fix them," said the Chief. "They have been there now going on two months."
"These are the people that you all recommended," said Supervisor James McBride.
"If you can give me the name of another source I will be glad to use them," said Quinton.
The EMA director said that unless the county was willing to pay around $1,500 to have the trucks towed to somewhere like Memphis that the options were limited as to where they could be taken and fixed by a qualified technician.
"Its my understanding that we have an agreement," said Whitten.
"We can take a truck up there for servicing and it might take two weeks and then we might have to carry it back because it is not completely serviced," explained Phillips. "But, there are not many places around here that are qualified to work on them."
Phillips said that at this time he believed that there were three trucks in the shop.
Quinton asked the board's advice on how to handle the situation.
"I think that we need to have a better, more concrete understanding," said Whitten.
"Ain't nobody going to hold the county hostage," said McBride. "Whatever it takes to get them fixed is what we need to do," McBride agreed.
At McBride's request, Whitten said that he would go down to Cleveland Truck & Tractor Repair to see what was going on.
The board then agreed to accept the EMA director's report and discuss Phillip's request at the next scheduled meeting on Dec. 17.


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Not unless he or she has worked long enough and recent enough prior to the disability. In the case of Robin McCann, she's worked more than 20 years total, but because she did not work five consecutive years on her last job, she is finding out she does not qualify for any state or federal benefits, having exhausted her COBRA insurance on May 6.
"I never knew none of this!" Robin said. "That shocked me that I couldn't get TennCare or disability. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who think they're going to be able to draw something if something happens, and they may not. They need to check into it."
Robin and her husband of 14 years, Donnie, have two children and no answers as to how they will cover her mounting medical bills and medicines that total more than $1,000 for two prescriptions.
"The stress level is enormous," Donnie confessed. "We have thousands and thousands of dollars worth of doctor bills. That leaves us destitute."
In December 2010 Robin was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle that interferes with the heart's ability to pump blood with sufficient force. She was also diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
"The doctors believe that I caught a virus and it attacked my heart," Robin said. "It came on suddenly. I had not been sick and I was healthy up until then. Originally, I was diagnosed as having an upper respiratory infection. It kept getting worse and worse so my husband took me to the emergency room at SkyRidge (Medical Center), and they diagnosed me with pneumonia. Then we had to go back to the ER on Dec. 26, 2010, and they told me I had congestive heart failure."
Her physicians put her on Milrinone, a medication used for patients suffering from heart failure.
"That's when I went and applied for disability," Robin said. "I filled out all the paperwork and the doctors at Vanderbilt (hospital) did too. I sent it in and they said I was denied. So I went up there. I asked them how could I possibly be denied? They told me why. It was because I didn't work five years straight. I had no idea after working all these years if I had to get disability something like that would affect it. It's crazy!"
"The paper they sent us had age groups and every age group was different," Donnie recalled. "Like if you're 18 to 20 you only have to have one year of work history and you can get disability. If you're 20 to 30 you have to work two years to draw disability, but if you're in your 40s then you have to work five years in a row to draw disability."
With her condition getting worse, Donnie said in April 2011 the doctors wanted to try heart surgery and the couple agreed, trying to correct the problem.
"They replaced a mitral valve and repaired the tricuspid valve in her heart," he said. "After that she got better. She was back to her old self. She had energy and everything! She went back to work and sometime during September or October she started to get sick again. The doctors said her heart had grown and the cardiomyopathy was getting worse. They classified her condition as terminal if she didn't get a heart transplant. The doctor walked in the room and said, 'It could take up to three years to get a heart.' I said, 'Does she have three years?' He said, 'No.'"
Fortunately, Robin, 43, received a heart transplant on Jan. 8, 2012, and the procedure was a success. Only this time when she tried to return to work, she was met with a different reception.
"I went back but there was nothing," she said. "I put another application in and kept checking back with them. Finally someone told me to come up there because a position had opened up. It was something I was familiar with and could do. I sat there for an hour and no one would talk to me. A man came in and said hello, then told the office lady to tell me he didn't have time to talk to me. Then they hired a girl who was there the same day I was. I was mad! I was very upset."
According to Robin, she was led to believe once she was healed she would be given work back at her old job, although nothing was put in writing.
"I've been out of work for about three years now," she said. "I'm able-bodied. I can work and I want to work. But no one will give me a chance. I'd like someone to help me as far as getting a job, getting insurance — just lead me in the right direction as to where we can go to get assistance. Because everywhere I've turned and everywhere my husband has turned — there is no help. Maybe someone will hear about our situation and tell us what to do."
"They told her after she went to the disability office the second time (in 2011) that they could probably get her on SSI (Social Security Income) since she didn't qualify for disability," Donnie said. "Then they said I made too much money. I bring home $23,000 a year for a family of four. I'd like to see one of them do it with all of these medical bills and everything else. Her medicine is $170 a month. That was our copay with COBRA," he stated.
"Our cobra insurance ran out on May 6, so now we have nothing," Robin added. "I've applied for other insurance for people with pre-existing conditions but it's $579 a month with a $1,000 deductible. Besides, two of my rejection medications that I have to take are not on their prescription plan."
"One of her prescription medications is $756 and the other is like $650," Donnie added.
The couple said it's possible that the new health care reform will help when it goes into effect in 2014, but "We've got to make it until then," Donnie said. "We've applied for TennCare but an adult can't get it unless you're on disability and SSI."
"I called a few lawyers and Social Security Advocates and they said that is correct," Robin said. "I don't know what we're supposed to do."
Jessica Carrasquillo, an accredited disability representative and CEO at Social Security Advocates said, "I suggest if people stop working due to a medical condition that they not wait before filing for disability benefits, because they will run into the same issue the McCanns have run into. File immediately. Better yet, contact us and we'll handle it for you."
"There needs to be a standard law for everybody, is what I think," Donnie said. "If they're going to let a 20-year-old work one year and get disability, then they ought to let everyone work one year and get disability — if they need it. I mean, Robin needs it!"
According to the official website of the U.S. Social Security Administration, "To qualify for Social Security disability benefits, you must first have worked in jobs covered by Social Security. Then you must have a medical condition that meets Social Security's definition of disability. In general, we pay monthly cash benefits to people who are unable to work for a year or more because of a disability. Benefits usually continue until you are able to work again on a regular basis. In addition to meeting our definition of disability, you must have worked long enough — and recently enough — under Social Security to qualify for disability benefits."


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Want a NOOK? Explore Now
Uninterested in conventional professions such as law, medicine, or the ministry, Nathaniel chose instead to rely "for support upon my pen." After graduation, he returned to his hometown, wrote short stories and sketches, and chanced the spelling of his surname to "Hawthorne." Hawthorne's coterie consisted of transcendentalist thinkers, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Although he did not subscribe entirely to the group's philosophy, he lived for six months at Brook Farm, a cooperative living community the transcendentalists established in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.
On July 9, 1942, Hawthorne married a follower of Emerson, Sophia Peabody, with whom he had a daughter, Una, and a son, Julian. The couple purchased a mansion in Concord, Massachusetts, that previously had been occupied by author Louisa May Alcott. Frequently in financial difficulty, Hawthorne worked at the custom houses in Salem and Boston to support his family and his writing. His peaceful life was interrupted when his college friend, Franklin Pierce, now president of the United States, appointed him U.S. consul at Liverpool, England, where he served for four years.
The publication of The Scarlet Letter in 1850 changed the way society viewed Puritanism. Considered his masterpiece, the novel focuses on Hawthorne's recurrent themes of sin, guilt, and punishment. Some critics have attributed his sense of guilt to his ancestors' connection with the persecution of Quakers in seventeenth-century New England and their prominent role in the Salem witchcraft trials in the 1690s.
On May 19, 1864, Hawthorne died in Plymouth, New Hampshire, leaving behind several unfinished novels that were published posthumously. He is buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts.
Author biography from the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of The Scarlet Letter.
Among Hawthorne's peers at Maine's Bowdoin College: author Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Franklin Pierce, who would later become the country's 14th president.
In its first week of publication, The Scarlet Letter sold 4,000 copies.
Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, at the Pemigewasset House in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Ironically, former president Franklin Pierce had advised him to go there for his health.
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The perfect strappy wedges are a spring wardrobe essential—and this go-with-everything pair is guaranteed to please. From denim to date night, they're sure to be your warm weather go-to.
• Platform wedges. Open toe. Crisscross straps at vamp.
• Cork heel. Adjustable buckle closure with elastic goring.
• 1 ¼" platform
• 4 ½" heel
• Material: Leather
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GUESS gladly accepts unworn, unwashed or defective full-priced merchandise for up to thirty days after purchase date. Original receipt, hygiene strip and tags must be attached. Unfortunately, pierced jewelry, innerwear, fragrances, lotions and items marked "final sale" are not returnable. Sale merchandise may only be returned to a store for an exchange. Shipping charges are not refundable.
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Tom Karst, National EditorDispelling the "rural myths" about the Food and Drug Administration's proposed produce safety rules is going to be a major job function for Jim Gorny in the months ahead.
Recently, I had a chance to interview Gorny, senior adviser for produce safety for the Food and Drug Administration, about the newly released produce safety and preventive control rules.
So far, the FDA is making all the right moves. Participation by FDA officials in various Web seminars and other expected outreach efforts intend to make the proposed rules as comprehensible as possible to the trade and to consumers.
Of course, media reports, including The Packer's own reporting, have gravitated to the flashier parts of the proposed rule, details about the anticipated costs and the numbers of exempted farms.
It is easy for the conversation to be diverted, as this reader comment on a story in The Packer talking about the need for universal food safety practices by all sizes of farms.
He wrote:
"Everything that I have heard or read is aimed at the grower, packer and processor, but what about the consumer? I was in Wall Mart (sic) the other day and watched at least 20 people in a short time pick up fruit and produce and set it back down and then someone else would pick it up and take it home. Where was those peoples hands before they picked up the produce and possible were they sick or healthy? I think we are spending billions of dollars trying to over-regulate an industry that wasn't broke, making it impossible for the smaller operations to stay in business. We are regulating this country right into bankruptcy. All these regulations cost you the consumer in the end. Whether that be in the form of higher taxes or higher prices for the things you buy. We are regulating the affordability of the middle class to live in this great place we call the USA. We are going to have the safest and cleanest country in the world but we won't be able to afford to live here! There has to be a happy medium."
That may be the heart-felt conviction and realistic appraisal of many growers, that the FDA is trying to "fix a system that isn't broke." And what about consumers, for Pete's sake?
Others are drawn to the debate about whether the proposed produce safety regulations give a break to domestic farms versus foreign farms, or vice versa.
Gorny said the FDA has written a proposed rule that is remarkably flexible.


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By Brian Liskai
(Attica, OH) Just like the temperatures, the UMP Summer Nationals Hell Tour will heat up when they make their 27th event in 31 days at Attica Raceway Park on Friday, July 13. The UMP Late Models and Modifieds will compete on Central Ohio Farmers/Summit Racing Equipment Night, along with the Fremont Fenced 305 Sprints.The UMP Summer Nationals began racing on June 13, and other than three scheduled days off, they have only missed one race – a cancellation because of the heat on July 1 – as of July 10. The Hell Tour was scheduled to be 28 races over 31 days and at tracks in eight different states. Attica Raceway Park holds the 27th.The Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals for the UMP Modifeds were added to The Hell Tour last year and as of July 10, had competed in 15 events.So far for the UMP Late Models tour, as of Tuesday, Brian Shirley leads the Summer Nationals Points. Shirley leads the nationals with five wins. Shannon Babb, who claimed the win at Attica in 2011 for the Hell Tour – his fifth consecutive win in the 2011 nationals after a fantastic battle with Jeep Van Wormer – sits second in the 2012 Summer Nationals points with two wins. Jason Feger, who won the 2010 Attica Summer Nationals event and earned the championship, sits third with three wins along the Hell Tour in 2012. Brandon Sheppard is fourth with a win while Ryan Unzicker is fifth with a win. Other winners (as of July 10) along the Hell Tour are Brian Birkhofer with a pair of victories, Billy Moyer Jr. with three wins; local star Jon Henry with a win; Billy Moyer with two wins; three time Summer Nationals champion Dennis Erb Jr. with a win; Scott Weber with a victory; and Rodney Melvin with a victory.The Summer Nationals first visited Attica in 2010 with Feger picking up the win that wrapped up the Hell Tour championship. In 2011, Babb made it five Summer Nationals victories in a row with his win at Attica, but it wasn't easy as he and Van Wormer swapped the lead several times throughout the feature. It was Babb's eighth victory over 22 days of racing.For the UMP Modifieds, 2011 marked the first year of their Hell Tour under the sponsorship of Summit Racing Equipment. Their tour in 2011 began June 13, and they have competed in 15 events as of July 10. For the second consecutive year, Mike Harrison enters the final week of the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals looking to close out a championship.So far, Ray Bollinger, David Gilpin and Michael Long each have two modified victories during the Hell Tour with Harrison, Matt Mevert, Matt Cooper, Dean Hoffman, Jacob Poel, Brent Mullins, Larry Anderson, David Wietholder and Jeff Curl each scoring a victory. Gilpin leads the national UMP modified point standings.Last season at Attica, Brian Ruhlman scored the UMP modified victory during "The Hell Tour" stop.Attica Raceway Park will pay the UMP temporary membership fee for the late models in the top 25 of the track's weekly points and the highest in the track's top 25 points will get a provisional starting position in the $5,000-to-win feature event.Gates will open at Attica at 4 p.m. Friday, July 13, with racing at 7:45 p.m. Tickets are $18 for Adults, $15 for Seniors with teens ages 11-15 just $10 and kids 10 and under free. Pit passes are $30.


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On Monday February 27th, 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files, over five million e-mails from the Texas headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.
Re: [MESA] =?windows-1252?q?Fethullah_G=FClen=27s_Grand_Ambition?=
Released on 2012-10-12 10:00 GMT
Email-ID | 1038765 |
Date | 2011-11-14 14:01:19 |
From | firstname.lastname@example.com |
To | email@example.com |
List-Name | firstname.lastname@example.com |
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
From: Emre Dogru <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Sender: firstname.lastname@example.com
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2011 02:13:11 -0600 (CST)
To: mesa<email@example.com>
ReplyTo: Middle East AOR <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Subject: [MESA] Fethullah GA 1/4len's Grand Ambition
Fethullah GA 1/4len's Grand Ambition
Turkey's Islamist Danger
by Rachel Sharon-Krespin
Middle East Quarterly
Winter 2009, pp. 55-66
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Translations of this item:
As Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve KalkA:+-nma
Partisi, AKP) begins its seventh year in leadership, Turkey is no longer
the secular and democratic country that it was when the party took over.
The AKP has conquered the bureaucracy and changed Turkey's fundamental
identity. Prior to the AKP's rise, Ankara oriented itself toward the
United States and Europe. Today, despite the rhetoric of European Union
accession, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoA:*an has turned Turkey away
from Europe and toward Russia and Iran and reoriented Turkish policy in
the Middle East away from sympathy toward Israel and much more toward
friendship with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria. Anti-American,
anti-Christian, and anti-Semitic sentiments have increased. Behind
Turkey's transformation has been not only the impressive AKP political
machine but also a shadowy Islamist sect led by the mysterious hocaefendi
(master lord) Fethullah GA 1/4len; the sect often bills itself as a
proponent of tolerance and dialogue but works toward purposes quite the
opposite. Today, GA 1/4len and his backers (FethullahcA:+-lar,
Fethullahists) not only seek to influence government but also to become
the government.
In 1998, Fethullah GA 1/4len left Turkey for the United States, reportedly
to receive medical treatment for diabetes. Since his voluntary exile, GA
1/4len has resided on a large, rural estate in eastern Pennsylvania,
together with about 100 followers, who guard him and tend to his needs. It
is from his U.S. base that GA 1/4len has built his fame and his
transnational empire.
Today, Turkey has over 85,000 active mosques, one for every 350
citizensa**compared to one hospital for every 60,000 citizensa**the
highest number per capita in the world and, with 90,000 imams, more imams
than doctors or teachers. It has thousands of madrasa-like Imam-Hatip
schools and about four thousand more official state-run Qur'an courses,
not counting the unofficial Qur'an schools, which may expand the total
number tenfold. Spending by the governmental Directorate of Religious
Affairs (Diyanet IAA*leri BaAA*kanlA:+-A:*A:+-) has grown five fold, from
553 trillion Turkish lira in 2002 (approximately US$325 million) to 2.7
quadrillion lira during the first four-and-a-half years of the AKP
government; it has a larger budget than eight other ministries
combined.[1] The Friday prayer attendance rate in Turkey's mosques exceeds
that of Iran's, and religion classes teaching Sunni Islam are compulsory
in public schools despite rulings against the practice by the European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Turkish high court
(DanA:+-AA*tay).[2] Both Prime Minister ErdoA:*an and the Diyanet head Ali
BardakoA:*lu criticized the rulings for failing to consult Islamic
GA 1/4len now helps set the political agenda in Turkey using his followers
in the AKP as well as the movement's vast media empire, financial
institutions and banks, business organizations, an international network
of thousands of schools, universities, student residences
(A:+-AA*A:+-kevis), and many associations and foundations. He is a
financial heavyweight, controlling an unregulated and opaque budget
estimated at $25 billion.[3] It is not clear whether the Fethullahist
cemaat (community) supports the AKP or is the ruling force behind AKP.
Either way, however, the effect is the same.
GA 1/4len's Background
Born in Erzurum, Turkey, in 1942, Fethullah GA 1/4len is an imam who
considers himself a prophet.[4] An enigmatic figure, many in the West
applaud him as a reformist and advocate for tolerance,[5] a catalyst of
"moderate Islam" for Turkey and beyond. He is praised in the West,
especially in the United States, as an intellectual, scholar, and
educator[6] even though his formal education is limited to five years of
elementary school. After receiving an imam-preacher certificate, he served
as an imam, first in Erdirne and later in Izmir. In 1971, the Turkish
security service arrested him for clandestine religious activities, such
as running illegal summer camps to indoctrinate youths, and was, from that
time on, occasionally harassed by the staunchly secular military.[7] In
1981, he formally retired from his post as a local preacher.
To build an image as a proponent of interfaith dialogue, GA 1/4len met
Pope John Paul II, other Christian clergy, and Jewish rabbis[8] and
emphasizes the commonalities unifying Abrahamic religions. He presents
himself and his movement as the modern-day version of tolerant, liberal
Anatolian Sufism and has used the literature of great Sufi thinkers such
as Jalal ad-Din Rumi and Yunus Emre, pretending to share their moderate
teachings.[9] Quotes from their teachings adorn Fethullah's GA 1/4len's
propaganda material. The movement, its proxy organizations, and
universitiesa**including Georgetown, to which it donates moneya**hold
conferences in the United States and Europe to discuss GA 1/4len. In
October 2007, the British House of Lords feted GA 1/4len with a conference
in his honor.
GA 1/4len was a student and follower of Sheikh Sa'id-i Kurdi (1878-1960),
also known as Sa'id-i Nursi, the founder of the Islamist Nur (light)
movement.[10] After Turkey's war of independence, Kurdi demanded, in an
address to the new parliament, that the new republic be based on Islamic
principles. He turned against AtatA 1/4rk and his reforms and against the
new modern, secular, Western republic.
In 1998, GA 1/4len departed for the United States, reportedly to receive
medical treatment for diabetes. However, his absence also enabled GA
1/4len to escape questioning on his indictment in 2000 for allegedly
promoting insurrection in Turkey in a series of secretly-recorded sermons.
Since his voluntary exile, GA 1/4len has resided on a large, rural estate
in eastern Pennsylvania, together with about 100 followers, who guard him
and tend to his needs. These servants are educated men who wear suits and
ties and do not look like traditional Islamists in cloaks and turbans.
They follow their hocaefendi's orders and even refrain from marrying until
age fifty per his instructions. When they do marry, their spouses are
expected to dress in the Islamic manner, as dictated by GA 1/4len
himself.[11] It is from his U.S. base that GA 1/4len has built his fame
and his transnational empire.
GA 1/4len's Education Network
The core of GA 1/4len's network is his educational institutions. His
school network is impressive. Nurettin Veren, GA 1/4len's right-hand man
for thirty-five years, estimated that some 75 percent of Turkey's two
million preparatory school students are enrolled in GA 1/4len
institutions.[12] He controls thousands of top-tier secondary schools,
colleges, and student dormitories throughout Turkey, as well as private
universities, the largest being Fatih University in Istanbul. Outside
Turkey, his movement runs hundreds of secondary schools and dozens of
universities in 110 countries worldwide. GA 1/4len's aim is not
altruistic: His followers target youth in the eighth through twelfth
grades, mentor and indoctrinate them in the A:+-AA*A:+-kevi, educate them
in the Fethullah schools, and prepare them for future careers in legal,
political, and educational professions in order to create the ruling
classes of the future Islamist, Turkish state. Taking their orders from
Fethullah GA 1/4len, wealthy followers continue to open schools and
A:+-AA*A:+-kevi in what Sabah columnist Emre AkAP:z called "the education
The overt network of schools is only one part of a larger strategy. In a
2006 interview, Veren said, "These schools are like shop windows.
Recruitment and Islamization activities are carried out through night
classes ... Children whom we educated in Turkey are now in the highest
positions. There are governors, judges, military officers. There are
ministers in the government. They consult GA 1/4len before doing
The AKP's controversial education policies, coupled with the Islamist
indoctrination in Fethullahist schools, have accelerated the Islamization
of Turkish society. During AKP's first term in government, the ErdoA:*an
government has changed textbooks, emphasized religion courses, and
transferred thousands of certified imams from their positions in the
Directorate of Religious Affairs to positions as teachers and
administrators in Turkey's public schools.[15] Abdullah GA 1/4l, Turkey's
first Islamist president and a GA 1/4len sympathizer, appointed a GA
1/4len-affiliated professor, Yusuf Ziya A*zcan, to head Turkey's Council
of Higher Education (YA 1/4ksekAP:A:*retim Kurulu, YA*K). He has also used
his presidential prerogative to appoint GA 1/4len sympathizers to
university presidencies.
Beyond Turkey, the Fethullahist schools also serve as fertile recruiting
grounds. In his Institut d'Etudes Politiques doctoral thesis on GA 1/4len
schools in Central Asia, Bayram BalcA:+-, a French scholar of Turkish
origin, wrote, "Fethullah's aim is the Islamization of Turkish nationality
and the Turcification of Islam in foreign countries. Dozens of Fethullah's
a**Turkish schools' abroada**most of which are for boysa**are used to
covertly a**convert,' not so much a**in school,' but through direct
proselytism a**outside school.'" BalcA:+- explained, "He wants to revive
the link between state, religion, and society."[16] The schools of GA
1/4len's Nur movement in Central Asia have worked to reestablish Islam in
a region largely secularized by decades of Soviet control. BalcA:+-
explained, "The aim of the cemaat is to educate and influence future
national elites, who will speak English and Turkish and who will one day
prove their good intentions towards Fethullahists and towards Turkey."
Several countries in the region have taken steps against GA 1/4len's
educational institutions because of such suspicions. Uzbekistan has banned
the schools for encouraging Islamic law,[17] and the Russian government,
weary of the movement's activities in majority Muslim regions of the
federation, has banned not only the GA 1/4len schools but all activities
of the entire Nur sect in the country.[18]
Neither Uzbekistan nor Russia are known for their pluralism, but suspicion
about GA 1/4len indoctrination has spread even to more permissive
societies such as that of the Netherlands. In 2008, members of the
Netherland's Christian Democrat, Labor, and Conservative parties agreed to
cut several million euros in government funding for organizations
affiliated with "the Turkish imam Fethullah GA 1/4len" and to thoroughly
investigate the activities of the GA 1/4len group after Erik Jan ZA
1/4rcher, director of the Amsterdam-based International Institute for
Social History, and five former GA 1/4len followers who had worked in GA
1/4len's A:+-AA*A:+-kevi told Dutch television that the GA 1/4len
community was moving step-by-step to topple the secular order.[19] While
the organizations in question denied any ties to the GA 1/4len movement,
ZA 1/4rcher said that taqiya, religiously-sanctioned dissimulation, was
typical in the movement's interactions with the West. An unnamed former GA
1/4len follower who also once worked in GA 1/4len schools and
A:+-AA*A:+-kevi reported that Fethullahists called the Dutch "filthy,
blasphemous infidels" and that they said "the best Dutchman is one who has
converted to Islam. All the Dutch must be made Muslims."[20] Indeed, of
the thousands of Fethullahist schools in more than one hundred countries
that allegedly teach moderation, none are located in countries such as
Saudi Arabia or Iran that exist under domineering strains of official
Islam, and most appear instead geared to radicalize students in secular
Muslim and non-Muslim societies.
Eviscerating Checks and Balances
Fethullahists have also made inroads into Turkey's 200,000-strong police
force. Their infiltration has had a compounding effect, as Fethullahist
officials have purged officials more loyal to the republic than the
hocaefendi. According to Veren, "There are imam security directors; imams
wearing police uniforms. Many police commissioners get their orders from
imams."[21] Adil Serdar SaAS:an, former director of the organized crimes
unit within the Istanbul Directorate of Security, confirmed these
statements in reports he prepared on the Fethullahist organization within
the security apparatus. In a 2006 interview, he said,
Fethullahists began organizing inside the security apparatus in the 1970s.
In police academies, students were being taken to A:+-AA*A:+-kevi by class
commissioners. One of those commissioners is now the director of
intelligence at the Turkish Directorate of Security. During my time at the
[police] academy, those in the directorate who did not have ties to the
[GA 1/4len] organization were all pensioned off or fired in 2002 when the
AKP came to power. a*| I was at the top of my class when I graduated from
the police academy, and throughout the twenty-four years of my career, I
maintained and was honored for my stellar record. After 2002, the AKP
blocked my promotions. They promoted only those officers whose files were
tainted with allegations that they were engaged in reactionary Islamist
activities. a*| Belonging to a certain cemaat has become a prerequisite
for advancement in the force. At present, over 80 percent of the officers
at supervisory level in the general security organization are members of
the [GA 1/4len] cemaat.[22]
Such statements, however, may have consequences.[23] In October 2008,
Turkish police arrested SaAS:an on suspicion of involvement in the
so-called Ergenekon plot to overthrow the Turkish state.[24] Most Turkish
analysts believe that the Ergenekon conspiracy, short of any evidence of
unconstitutional activities, is more a mechanism by which the Turkish
government can harass critics.[25]
Writer and journalist Merdan YanardaA:* provided statistics to illuminate
the Islamist penetration of the Ankara Directorate of Security. He
Prior to Ramadan, personnel at the Directorate of Security in Ankara were
asked whether they would be fasting during Ramadan, in order to establish
the number of meals that would be needed during that period. Of the 4,200
employees, only seventeen indicated that they would not be fasting.
Considering that some of the seventeen might have been sick or taking
medications, the numbers speak for themselves. [26]
Wiretapping scandals in spring 2008 also highlighted GA 1/4lenist
penetration of the security service's most important units. After the
Turkish Security Directorate obtained a blanket court permit in April 2007
to monitor and record all the communications in Turkey including mobile
and land-line telephones, SMS text messaging, e-mail, fax, and Internet
communications,[27] Turks have grown uneasy about having telephone
conversations fearing intrusion into their privacy. Recent leaks to
pro-AKP media of recordings of military personnel meetings, lectures, top
secret military documents, strategic antiterrorism plans, private medical
files of commanders, and contents of personal conversations between state
prosecutors have shocked the nation as has the appearance on the Internet
video site YouTube of some of those recordings.
The alleged network of Fethullah followers in the security system has an
impact on domestic affairs as they use restricted technology or privileged
information to further their political agenda. In February 2008, for
example, several websites posted the voice recording of a secret speech
delivered by Brig. Gen. MA 1/4nir Erten announcing the timing of an
upcoming Turkish military operation into Iraqi Kurdistan, details of a
private discussion with the chief of the General Staff, and private
information concerning Gen. Ergin Saygun's health.[28] The following
month, several websites including YouTube posted a secretly recorded
conversation between prosecutor Salim Demirci and a colleague regarding
ErdoA:*an and Efkan Ala, then governor of Diyarbakir and subsequently a
counselor of ErdoA:*an's office. ErdoA:*an responded by ordering a
criminal investigation against Demirci.[29] In June 2008, the Islamist
Vakit published Saygun's entire medical file, disclosing information about
his diabetes as well as the treatments and medications he had received in
the GA 1/4lhane military hospital.[30] Others whose tapped conversations
appeared on Islamist websites and in GA 1/4len's newspaper network
included ErdoA:*an TeziAS:, the former head of Turkey's Higher Education
Council, and prominent members of the center-left opposition Republican
People's Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP). Many Turkish journalists
believe that Fethullahist-dominated police tap their communications, and
according to reports, the head of the wiretapping unit, who was appointed
by ErdoA:*an in August 2005, is a Fethullah follower.[31] Islamist
newspapers including Vakit, Yeni AA*afak, Zaman, and the pro-AKP Taraf
published leaks from private conversations held inside government offices
and military headquarters. The Islamist, pro-AKP media has reported
alleged confidential evidence relating to the police investigation of the
so-called Ergenekon plot that posits a secularist cabal of military
officers, journalists, and professors sought to overthrow the AKP
government.[32] The net effect of such leaks is to tar the reputations of
or intimidate AKP's political opponents and the Turkish military.
Islamization within police ranks also contributes to police brutality
against anti-AKP demonstrators. On May 1, 2008, the police used gas bombs,
pepper gas, water cannons, and clubs against workers who wanted to
celebrate May Day peacefully in Istanbul's Taksim Square, the traditional
site of demonstrations in Turkey's largest city; scores were injured.[33]
Labor unions and opposition parties condemned the police brutality and
accused ErdoA:*an of using police to silence opposition voices.[34] Police
also suppressed labor protests in Tuzla (Istanbul) shipyards.[35]
Similarly, police have harassed individual citizens after they criticized
ErdoA:*an's policies. ErdoA:*an's own security guards abducted a
46-year-old man from Antalya for speaking out in public against his social
security policies, taking the man to a deserted location where the guards
beat and threatened him. The victim alleged that his attackers said they
could easily plant guns or drugs on him and kill him.[36]
While Turkey's military is guarantor of the constitution, Veren alleged
that Fethullahists had also entrenched themselves within the military,
police, and other professions:
The Fethullahist military officers were once our students, who we
financially supported, educated, and assisted. When these grateful
children graduated and reached influential positions, they put themselves
and their positions at the service of Fethullah GA 1/4len a*| [GA 1/4len]
directs and instructs, and, through them, maintains power within the state
a*| When GA 1/4len's students graduate from the police or military
academiesa**as do the new doctors and lawyersa**they present their first
salaries to Fethullah GA 1/4len as a gesture of their gratitude. Newly
graduated officers even bring him the swords that they receive during the
graduation ceremony.[37]
According to Veren, GA 1/4len has argued that the military expels no more
than one in forty Islamist officers; the rest remain in undercover cells.
While such allegations may seem the stuff of conspiracy theory, recent
leaks to pro-AKP media suggest a number of Islamist sources within the
military ranks, creating speculation that followers of GA 1/4len now
populate the senior infrastructure of the Turkish General Staff. Such
speculation gained additional credence after the August 2008 Supreme
Military Council (YA 1/4ksek Askeri AA*ura, YAAA*), which, for the first
time, declined to expel suspected Islamists from military ranks.
The AKP government has also aided the GA 1/4len movement with its
reorientation of the judiciary. Over the first five years of his rule,
ErdoA:*an replaced thousands of judges and prosecutors with AKP
appointees. Now that the president is Islamist, it is unlikely that he
would veto the appointment of Islamists to the bench, as did his
predecessor Ahmet Necdet Sezer. Indeed, it now appears that the government
intends to appoint thousands more to judicial positions.[38] The AKP has
also enacted a law that would require applicants for judgeships to first
interview with AKP bureaucrats in order better to gauge and adjudicate
applicants' adherence to Islam. The results of the AKP's targeting of the
judicial system are already apparent as anti-secular, pro-AKP officials
have been at the forefront of some controversial trials, such as the case
against Van University president YA 1/4cel AAA*kA:+-n,[39] the AA*emdinli
investigation in which the prosecutor tried to implicate Gen. YaAA*ar BA
1/4yA 1/4kanA:+-t before he became chief of the General Staff, and, most
recently, the Ergenekon probe.
Indeed, it is such overtly political and vindictive prosecutions that have
led some former GA 1/4len sympathizers, such as University of Utah
political scientist Hakan Yavuz, to a change of heart. In one interview,
Yavuz told odatv.com that four important legal cases had changed his
thinking: the case against AAA*kA:+-n; the Semdinli case; the Atabeyler
operation, uncovered in 2005, involving an organized crime group with
alleged plans to assassinate Prime Minister ErdoA:*an;[40] and the
Ergenekon probe. Yavuz explained, "The cemaat has attempted to steer all
four cases. Look at the slanderous reports in archives of the cemaat's
newspapers, how they defamed Yucel AAA*kA:+-n. And now it's Ergenekon.
Keeping [prominent] personalities in jail for over a year without
indictment is inexplicable." Yavuz also suggested GA 1/4len's cemaat spoke
differently to its members than to outsiders and that it was pursuing a
political agenda that conflicted with the founding philosophy of the
modern Turkish republic. He accused Fethullahists of "co-optation" and
said that they were recruiting people and paying them moneya**without any
formal receipts or recordsa**to write and speak favorably about the
movement while criticizing the secular Turkish state.[41]
The Fifth Estate
If the police, military, and courts might normally protect rule-of-law
from within official Turkish government structures, there might still be
an external check to abuse of power in the Turkish media. The Turkish
media has traditionally been relentless in its reporting of abuses of
power and corruption. Soon after assuming office, however, ErdoA:*an
proved intolerant of the concept of a free press. The AKP government has
systematically sought to create a media monopoly to speak with one voice
and on behalf of the government. ErdoA:*an lashes out at media organs that
he does not control. In his first term, ErdoA:*an brought more than a
hundred lawsuits against sixty-three journalists in sixteen publications,
against many writers, as well as the leaders and members of parliament of
all opposition parties. The number of lawsuits may be far greater. In
2008, ErdoA:*an declined to answer a parliamentary inquiry by a Democratic
Left Party deputy demanding information on how many lawsuits ErdoA:*an had
initiated against journalistsa**claiming that such information was in the
realm of his private life."[42] Most of ErdoA:*an's lawsuits against
journalists involve criticism that any other democracy would consider
legitimate. In 2005, for example, he sued Cumhuriyet cartoonist Musa Kart
for depicting him as a cat entangled in a ball of string. Last year, he
sued the LeMan weekly humor magazine for ridiculing him in its January 30,
2008 cover.[43]
ErdoA:*an lost some of his lawsuits, and courts threw out others, but the
effect has nonetheless been chilling. Journalists know that not only does
the prime minister seek to make them financially liable for any criticism,
but that the AKP might even seek to assume control of their publications.
During AKP's 6-year rule, the government has seized control of several
media outlets and subsequently sold them to pro-AKP holdings affiliated
with the GA 1/4len community. In April 2007, for example, the governmental
Saving Deposit Insurance Fund (Tasarruf MevduatA:+- Sigorta Fonu, TMSF)
seized Sabah-ATV, Turkey's second largest media group in a predawn raid.
The TMSF, staffed by ErdoA:*an appointees, then sold the group to
A*alA:+-k Holding, the CEO of which is ErdoA:*an's son-in-law. A*alA:+-k
financed the purchase with public funds taken as loans from two
state-owned banks and by partnering with a newly-founded, Qatar-based
media company that bought 25 percent of Sabah shares. It was Abdullah GA
1/4l who introduced Ahmet A*alA:+-k to Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa
during his January 2008 visit in Syria; A*alA:+-k also accompanied GA 1/4l
in February and ErdoA:*an in April when they visited Qatar. Media reports
indicated that other consortiums that had initially shown interest in
purchasing Sabah-ATV with their own money pulled out of the tender shortly
before the bid after ErdoA:*an contacted them, leaving A*alik the sole
bidder.[44] Sabah has since become a strong advocate of the AKP
government. In September 2008, ErdoA:*an demanded all party members and
aides boycott newspapers owned by the DoA:*an Media Group after it
reported on laundering of money to Islamist charities.[45]
Excluding the Islamist television and radio stations, newspapers such as
Zaman, Sabah, Yeni AA*afak, TA 1/4rkiye, Star, BugA 1/4n, Vakit, and Taraf
all have AKP and/or GA 1/4len-affiliated ownership. By circulation, such
papers represent at least 40 percent of all newspaper sales in Turkey.[46]
What Are GA 1/4len's Intentions?
Conglomerates have long had a dominant position in Turkish society.
Secular businessmen such as AydA:+-n DoA:*an and Mehmet Emin Karamehmet
have interests not only in industry but also in media, the banking sector,
and even education. Never before, though, has a single individual started
a movement that seeks to transform Turkish society so fundamentally. GA
1/4len now wields a vocal partisan media; a vast network of loyal
bureaucrats; partisan universities and academia; partisan prosecutors and
judges; partisan security and intelligence agencies; partisan capitalists,
business associations, NGOs, and labor unions; and partisan teachers,
doctors, and hospitals. What makes GA 1/4len so dangerous? GA 1/4len's own
teaching and sermons provide the best answers.
In 1999, Turkish television aired footage of GA 1/4len delivering sermons
to a crowd of followers in which he revealed his aspirations for an
Islamist Turkey ruled by Sharia**a (Islamic law) as well as the methods
that should be used to attain that goal. In the sermons, he said:
You must move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your
existence until you reach all the power centers a*| until the conditions
are ripe, they [the followers] must continue like this. If they do
something prematurely, the world will crush our heads, and Muslims will
suffer everywhere, like in the tragedies in Algeria, like in 1982 [in]
Syria a*| like in the yearly disasters and tragedies in Egypt. The time is
not yet right. You must wait for the time when you are complete and
conditions are ripe, until we can shoulder the entire world and carry it
a*| You must wait until such time as you have gotten all the state power,
until you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional
institutions in Turkey a*| Until that time, any step taken would be too
earlya**like breaking an egg without waiting the full forty days for it to
hatch. It would be like killing the chick inside. The work to be done is
[in] confronting the world. Now, I have expressed my feelings and thoughts
to you alla**in confidence a*| trusting your loyalty and secrecy. I know
that when you leave herea**[just] as you discard your empty juice boxes,
you must discard the thoughts and the feelings that I expressed here.
He continued,
When everything was closed and all doors were locked, our houses of isik
[light] assumed a mission greater than that of older times. In the past,
some of the duties of these houses were carried out by madrasas [Islamic
schools], some by schools, some by tekkes [Islamist lodges] a*| These isik
homes had to be the schools, had to be madrasas, [had to be] tekkes all at
the same time. The permission did not come from the state, or the state's
laws, or the people who govern us. The permission was given by God a*| who
wanted His name learned and talked about, studied, and discussed in those
houses, as it used to be in the mosques.[47]
In another sermon, GA 1/4len said,
Now it is a painful spring that we live in. A nation is being born again.
A nation of millions [is] being borna**one that will live for long
centuries, God willing a*| It is being born with its own culture, its own
civilization. If giving birth to one person is so painful, the birth of
millions cannot be pain-free. Naturally we will suffer pain. It won't be
easy for a nation that has accepted atheism, has accepted materialism, a
nation accustomed to running away from itself, to come back riding on its
horse. It will not be easy, but it is worth all our suffering and the
And, in yet another sermon, he declared,
The philosophy of our service is that we open a house somewhere and, with
the patience of a spider, we lay our web to wait for people to get caught
in the web; and we teach those who do. We don't lay the web to eat or
consume them but to show them the way to their resurrection, to blow life
into their dead bodies and souls, to give them a life.[49]
Many GA 1/4len supporters and members of the Islamist media affiliated
with the cemaat suggested the sermons were somehow forged[50] but the
denials are unconvincing given the video footage and reports by GA 1/4len
movement defectors.
U.S. Government Support for GA 1/4len?
Many Turkish analysts believe that, prior to ErdoA:*an's election, GA
1/4len and his supporters in the U.S. government helped obtain an
invitation to the White House for him at a time when ErdoA:*an was banned
from politics in Turkey due to his Islamist activitiesa**an event viewed
as a U.S. endorsement ahead of the 2002 Turkish elections. That the U.S.
government and, specifically, the Central Intelligence Agency support the
GA 1/4len movement is conventional wisdom among Turkey's secular elite
even though no hard evidence exists to support such allegations.
When Turkish secularists are asked to defend the view that GA 1/4len
enjoys U.S. support, they often point to his almost 20-year residence in
eastern Pennsylvania. After the Supreme Court of Appeals in Turkey
(YargA:+-tay) confirmed on June 24, 2008, a lower court's ruling to acquit
GA 1/4len on charges that he organized an illegal terrorist organization
to overthrow the secular government in Turkey, GA 1/4len won another legal
battle, this time in the United States. A federal court reversed U.S.
Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Service decisions that would have denied GA 1/4len's application for
permanent residency in the United States on the basis that GA 1/4len did
not fit the criteria as someone with "extraordinary ability in the field
of education." The Department of Homeland Security characterized GA 1/4len
as neither an expert in the field of education nor an educator but rather
as "the leader of a large and influential religious and political movement
with immense commercial holdings."[51]
While the court ruling that allowed GA 1/4len to remain in the United
States may provide fodder for Turkish analysts who suggest U.S. support
for GA 1/4len, the process is actually more revealing. Indeed, the U.S.
government noted that much of the acclaim GA 1/4len touts is sponsored or
financed by his own movement. GA 1/4len attached twenty-nine letters of
reference to his June 18, 2008 motion, mostly from theologians or Turkish
political figures close to or affiliated with his organization. John
Esposito, founding director of the Saudi-financed Prince Alwaleed Bin
Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, who, after receiving
donations from the GA 1/4len movement sponsored a conference in his honor,
also supplied a reference. Two former CIA officials, George Fidas and
Graham Fuller, and former U.S. ambassador to Turkey Morton Abramowitz also
supplied references.
The letters may have worked. On July 16, 2008, U.S. district judge Stewart
Dalzell issued a memorandum and order granting GA 1/4len's motion for
partial summary judgment and ordering the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Service to approve his petition for alien worker status as an alien of
extraordinary ability by August 1, 2008. The court found that the
immigration examiner improperly concluded that the field of education was
the only statutory category in which GA 1/4len's accomplishments could fit
and that GA 1/4len's accomplishments in such fields as theology, political
science, and Islamic studies should also be considered. The court further
determined that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service
Administrative Appeals Office erred in concluding that GA 1/4len's work
was not "scholarly" by applying an unduly narrow definition of the term.
Finally, with regard to the statutory requirement that the applicant show
that his or her entry into the United States would substantially benefit
the United States, the court found that GA 1/4len had met the
Regardless of the legal rationale behind his current stay, the U.S.
decision to grant GA 1/4len residency will enable his movement to continue
to imply Washington's endorsement as the AKP and its Fethullahist
supporters seek to push Turkey further away from the secularism upon which
it was built.
GA 1/4len enjoys the support of many friends, ideological
fellow-travelers, and co-opted journalists and academics. Too often,
concern over GA 1/4len's activities is dismissed in the Turkish, U.S., and
European media as mere paranoia. When Turkey's chief prosecutor indicted
the AKP for attempting to undermine the secular constitution, the
pro-Islamist media in Turkey along with Western diplomats and journalists
dismissed the case as an "undemocratic judicial coup."[53] Yet at the same
time, many of the same outlets and officials have hailed the Ergenekon
indictment, assuming a dichotomy between Islamism and democracy on one
hand, and secularism and fascism on the other.[54] The repeated branding
in Islamist outlets of Turkey's Islamists as "reformist democrats" and of
modern, secular Turks as "fundamentalists" has to be one of the most
offensive but sadly effective lies in modern politics.
Indeed, Turkey has never seen a single incident of attacks on pious
Muslims for fasting during Ramadan, whereas in recent years there have
been many incidents of attacks on less-observant Turks for drinking
alcohol or not fasting.[55] While women who cover their heads in the
Islamic manner can move freely in any area of the country, uncovered women
are increasingly unwelcome in certain regions and are often attacked.[56]
Contrary to the impression prevalent in the Westa**that the conflict is
between religious Muslims and "anti-religion, secular Kemalists"a**the
fact remains that the majority of Turks, secular included, are traditional
and observant Muslims many of whom define themselves primarily as "Muslims
first."[57] While the Turkish constitution recognizes all Turkish citizens
as "Turks," the dominant sentiment in the country has always been that in
order to be considered a Turk, one must be Muslim. The complete absence of
any non-Muslim governor, ambassador, or military or police officer attests
to the prevalence of Islam's dominance in the Turkish establishment.
Therefore, it appears GA 1/4len is not fighting for more individual
freedoms but to free Islam from the confines of the mosque and the private
domain of individuals and to bring it to the public arena, to govern every
aspect of life in the country.[58] AKP leaders, including GA 1/4l and
ErdoA:*an, have repeatedly expressed their opposition to the "imprisonment
of Islam in the mosque," demanding that it be present everywhere as a
lifestyle. Most Turks vividly remember statements by AKP leaders not long
ago rejecting the definition of secularism as "separation of mosque and
state." GA 1/4l has slammed "secularism" on many occasions, including
during a November 27, 1995 interview with The Guardian. What Turkey's
Islamists really want is to remove the founding principles of the Turkish
Republic. So long as U.S. and Western officials fail to recognize that GA
1/4len's rhetoric of tolerance is only skin-deep, they may be setting the
stage for a dialogue, albeit not of religious tolerance, but rather to
find an answer to the question, "Who lost Turkey?"
Rachel Sharon-Krespin is the director of the Turkish Media Project at the
Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Washington D.C.
[1] Can DA 1/4ndar, Milliyet (Istanbul), June 21, 2007; Reha Muhtar, Vatan
(Istanbul), June 22, 2007.
[2] Milliyet, Mar. 10, 2008; HA 1/4rriyet (Istanbul), Mar. 10, 2008.
[3] Helen Rose Ebaugh and Dogan Koc, "Funding GA 1/4len-Inspired Good
Works: Demonstrating and Generating Commitment to the Movement,"
fgulen.com, Oct. 27, 2007.
[4] Merdan YanardaA:*, Fethullah GA 1/4len Hareketinin Perde Arkasi,
Turkiye Nasil Kusatildi? (Istanbul: yah Beyaz YayA:+-n, 2006), based on
interviews with Nurettin Veren on KanaltA 1/4rk television, June 26, July
3, 2006.
[5] "Fethullah GA 1/4len Is an Islamic Scholar and Peace Activist,"
International Conference on Fethullah GA 1/4len, Erasmus University,
Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Nov. 2007; J. J. Rogers, "Giants of Light:
Fethullah GA 1/4len and Meister Eckhart in Dialogue," The University of
Texas, San Antonio, Tex., Nov. 3, 2007.
[6] See for example, Rogers, "Giants of Light"; USA Today, July 18, 2008.
[7] BA 1/4lent Aras, "Turkish Islam's Moderate Face," Middle East
Quarterly, Sept. 1998, pp. 23-9.
[8] Anadolu AjansA:+- (Ankara), Feb. 10, 1998.
[9] Booklets on Anatolian Sufism with citations from Mevlana Celleddin
Rumi distributed at the "Muslim World in Transition: Contributions of the
Gulen Movement" conference, London, Oct. 25 a** 27, 2007.
[10] Aland Mizell, "Clash of Civilizations versus Interfaith Dialogue: The
Theories of Huntington and Gulen," KurdishMedia.com, Dec. 31, 2007; idem,
"Are Islam and Kemalism Compatible? How Two Systems Have Impacted the
Kurdish Question?" Iraq Updates, Nov. 28, 2007.
[11] Interview with Nurettin Veren, KanaltA 1/4rk television, June 26,
[12] Ibid.
[13] Sabah (Istanbul), Dec. 30, 2004.
[14] Veren interview, KanaltA 1/4rk, June 26, 2006.
[15] Cumhuriyet (Istanbul), Dec. 23, 2007.
[16] Bayram BalcA:+-, "Central Asia: Fethullah Gulen's Missionary
Schools," Oct. 2001.
[17] Interview with Merdan YanardaA:*, GerAS:ek GA 1/4ndem (Istanbul),
Nov. 20, 2006.
[18] HA 1/4rriyet, Apr. 11, 2008.
[19] Erik-Jan ZA 1/4rcher, "Kamermeerderheid Eist Onderzoek Naar Turkse
Beweging," NOVA documentary, July 4, 2008.
[20] Cumhuriyet, July 9, 2008; Netherlands Information Services, July 11,
[21] YanardaA:*, Fethullah GA 1/4len Hareketinin Perde Arkasi, Turkiye
Nasil Kusatildi?
[22] Adil Serdar SaAS:an, interview, KanaltA 1/4rk, July 3, 2006.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Samanyolu television, Oct. 13, 2008.
[25] See, for example, Michael Rubin, "Erdogan, Ergenekon, and the
Struggle for Turkey," Mideast Monitor, Aug. 2008.
[26] YanardaA:* interview, GerAS:ek GA 1/4ndem, Nov. 20, 2006.
[27] Vatan, June 2, 2008; HA 1/4rriyet, June 2, 2008.
[28] "SOK! Tuggeneral Munir Erten den SOK aciklamalar!" accessed Oct. 27,
[29] "Sok Video! Cumhuriyet Savcisi Salim Demirci," accessed Oct. 27,
[30] Vakit (Istanbul), June 14, 2008.
[31] Vatan, June 2, 2008; HA 1/4rriyet, June 2, 2008.
[32] BBC News, Feb. 4, 2008; Frank Hyland, "Investigation of Turkey's
a**Deep State' Ergenekon Plot Spreads to Military," Global Terrorism
Analysis, Jamestown Foundation, July 16, 2008.
[33] Reuters, May 1, 2008; Sendika.org, Labornet Turkey, May 1, 2008;
Vatan, May 1, 2, 2008; Milliyet, May 1, 2, 2008; HA 1/4rriyet, May 1, 2,
[34] Vatan, May 2, 2008; Milliyet, May 2, 2008; HA 1/4rriyet, May 2, 8,
[35] HA 1/4rriyet, Feb. 28, 2008.
[36] Milliyet, May 14, 2008.
[37] YanardaA:*, Fethullah GA 1/4len Hareketinin Perde Arkasi, Turkiye
Nasil Kusatildi?
[38] "Turkish Judiciary at War with AKP Government to Defend Its
Independence," MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 1520, Mar. 27, 2007.
[39] "The AKP Government's Attempt to Move Turkey from Secularism to
Islamism (Part I): The Clash with Turkey's Universities," MEMRI Special
Dispatch No. 1014, Nov. 1, 2005; "Professor from Van University in Turkey
Commits Suicide after Five Months in Jail without Trial," MEMRI Special
Dispatch No. 1025, Nov. 18, 2005.
[40] Zaman (Istanbul), Apr. 18, 2008.
[41] Odatv.com, May 30, 2008; HA 1/4rriyet, June 13, 2008; AkAA*am
(Istanbul), June 16, 2008.
[42] Radikal (Istanbul), Apr. 7, 2008.
[43] HA 1/4rriyet, Oct. 21, 2008.
[44] HA 1/4rriyet, May 14, 2008.
[45] HA 1/4rriyet, Sept. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 2008.
[46] Milliyet, July 14, 2008; Cumhuriyet, July 15, 2008
[47] Turkish channel ATV, June 18, 1999.
[48] Ibid.
[49] Ibid.; "The Upcoming Elections in Turkey (2): The AKP's Political
Power Base," MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 375, July 19, 2007.
[50] Sabah, Jan. 2, 3, 2005.
[51] "Fethullah Gulen v. Michael Chertoff, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of
Homeland Security, et al," Case 2:07-cv-02148-SD, U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
[52] Ibid.
[53] Turkish Daily News (Ankara), Mar. 16, 2008; Vakit, June 7, 9, 2008;
Yeni AA*afak (Istanbul), June 9, 2008.
[54] Mustafa Akyol, "The Threat Is Secular Fundamentalism," International
Herald Tribune, May 4, 2007; "Islam Will Modernizea**If Secular
Fundamentalists Allow," Turkish Daily News, May 15, 2007; "Mr. Logoglu Is
Wrong, Considerably Wrong about Turkey," Turkish Daily News, May 24, 2007.
[55] Vatan, Aug. 21, 2008; Turkish Daily News, Sept. 23, 2008.
[56] HA 1/4rriyet, Feb. 14, 2008; Milliyet, Feb. 14, 2008; Vatan, Feb. 14,
2008, Cumhuriyet, Feb. 14, 2008.
[57] Yeni AA*afak, July 7, 2006.
[58] "Turkish PM Erdogan in Speech during Term as Istanbul Mayor Attacks
Turkey's Constitution, Describing It as a**A Huge Lie': a**Sovereignty
Belongs Unconditionally and Always To Allah'; a**One Cannot Be a Muslim
and Secular,'" MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 1596, May 23, 2007.
Emre Dogru
Cell: +90.532.465.7514
Fixed: +1.512.279.9468


text:
A Fashion Week Hackathon With All the Right Ratios?
Silicon Alley is awfully fond of putting "proximity to other industries" in its plus column. As the line goes: We're down the street from the top media, financial, and fashion companies in the world! Despite being neighbors, however, fashion and tech have had some trouble understanding each other–hence the growing number of fashion startups that have hung up their stilettos for good.
Into all that drama jumped Decoded Fashion with an exceedingly practical idea: a fashion hackathon where industry insiders tell techies what's actually lacking in the market. In other words, rather than the umpteenth street style photo-sharing apps, how about the next Fashion GPS, a digital tracker for samples and look books used by designers like Lanvin, Dior and many, many more. Read More


text:
Nia24 At-A-Glance
Strengths: Good cleanser and scrub; some very well-formulated moisturizers for use on face or body; company provides complete product ingredient lists on their Web site; there is legitimacy behind most of their claims for nicotinic acid (a derivative of niacinamide).
Weaknesses: Expensive; very small line of products, which limits its appeal; no AHA or BHA exfoliants; no anti-acne products; sole sunscreen contains irritating fragrance chemicals; some jar packaging.
As you may have guessed from this line's name, Nia24 is all about the B vitamin niacinamide. We have written about niacinamide extensively in the past, and without question it is one of many valuable ingredients for skin. Topical application of niacinamide has been shown to increase ceramide and free fatty acid levels in skin, prevent skin from losing water content, and stimulate microcirculation in the dermis (Sources: British Journal of Dermatology, September 2000, pages 524–531; and Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, April 2004, page 88).
Niacinamide also has been shown, in studies from Procter & Gamble (whose Olay brand sells several niacinamide-rich products), to be an effective option for lightening sun-induced skin discolorations, both on its own and when combined with acetyl glucosamine (Sources: Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, March 2007, pages 20–26; and British Journal of Dermatology, July 2002, pages 20–31).
Nia24 is working hard to position itself as the superior, doctor-designed choice for those seeking niacinamide. To that end, the two physicians behind this brand (Dr. Myron Jacobson and Dr. Elaine Jacobson) tout their years of research on niacinamide and how this led to their development of a patented niacin molecule, which they have termed Pro-Niacin. Both of the Jacobsons have published some of their research on the Pro-Niacin ingredient, which is listed as myristyl nicotinate, but as it turns out, how it performs on skin isn't fundamentally different from how "regular" niacinamide functions.
Myristyl nicotinate is a derivative of nicotinic acid, a component of vitamin B3 (niacin). It isn't the same ingredient as niacinamide, but functions in nearly the same manner (Source: www.naturaldatabase.com). Just like niacinamide, there is research on myristyl nicotinate's ability to improve skin barrier function, mitigate signs of sun damage, and reduce the incidence of atopic dermatitis, commonly known as dry skin. Niacinamide and myristyl nicotinate are both compatible with several prescription drugs used to treat various skin conditions and are believed to enhance their efficacy and/or minimize the negative side effects. Myristyl nicotinate is stabilized to prevent the release of, or quick conversion to, nicotinic acid, which can cause facial flushing, particularly in those dealing with rosacea (Sources: Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, February 2007, pages 893–899; Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy, November 2007, pages 1176–1182; and Experimental Dermatology, November 2007, pages 927–935, and June 2007, pages 490–499).
So why should consumers choose Nia24's patented version of niacinamide over other products (particularly those from Olay)? Well, according to the company, their version of niacinamide penetrates skin better than other forms. It stands to reason that getting niacinamide further into the skin means the benefits it provides will be that much greater. Of course, these allegedly enhanced benefits come with enhanced price tags. This isn't an affordable line by any stretch of the imagination, though at least most of the formulas are good.
We would love to see published, peer-reviewed research that compares the Pro-Niacin molecule with other forms of niacinamide, such as what Olay or the Estee Lauder companies use. Because such comparative research doesn't exist, you're left to take Nia24's word that their form of this B vitamin is the one to beat. We wouldn't bank on that, but on the other hand, the research on niacinamide in general is strong enough to support its use for a variety of skin concerns and conditions. Bottom line: Nia24 isn't the only game in town when it comes to niacinamide and its derivatives, and their claims of superiority aren't supported in peer-reviewed, published studies. You'll very likely see your skin improve from using Nia24 products, especially if you're dealing with an impaired skin barrier, dryness, and discolorations. However, you're just as likely to see the same benefits from using less expensive products that contain efficacious amounts of niacinamide. Although Nia24 deserves credit for not resting solely on niacinamide, the Nia24 products are also further proof that expensive products don't necessarily mean better or more effective products.
For more information about Nia24, call (866) 642-3963 or visit www.nia24.com.
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Floor Lamps
Midnight Reader Floor Lamp
Midnight Reader Floor Lamp
One's good, the other's not
I bought a pair of the floor lamp Midnight readers several years ago. One is excellent and has posed no problems. The other, about a year ago, didn't turn off, and the on/off function seems stuck in that it resists turning. I took it to a repair shop and they said the rheostat needed replacement. So I had that done. It still doesn't work properly. My other Midnight reader turns on and off effortlessly. So, I have to give this a 50% positive rating.
September 23, 2011
I Made a Mistake
A great design, good light, but the workmanship is not what it seems or should be. Problems especially with the Dimmer switch - flimsy and frequently non-functional. I would not buy again and would advise you think very carefully and shop around before spending this kind of money. Disappointment with the product and that Levenger would promote it.
March 27, 2010
Quality, designed beautifully and put the joie de vivre back into my reading in any room.
November 14, 2008
Well, in terms of reading in bed next to my light sensitive spouse it is the best lamp of its type I've ever used. When you want no spill, there is no spill--and my wife is sensitive even to passing car headlights. The design is quite elegant. BUT. BUT. The stick came out of the base early on and has never sat properly and sometimes doesn't "catch," making it hard to turn on the light and even harder to control the amount of it. Sadly, my wife has occasionally been awakened not by light but by the stream of four-letter words coming from my side of the bed. I'm about to junk the light and was checking here to see if the model had been improved since I bought it six years ago, but I don't see any evidence of that. Too bad--I liked it in theory.
March 23, 2008
great halogen lamp
The lamp is excellent. My parents have 2 of these that are around 10 or 15 years old and they are still working perfectly. My only complant concerns the small screw that prevents the lamp housing from falling off. It would be nicer if it were more secure. If the screw loosens the housing of the halogen bulb can fall off and the glass comonents could break. One of the 2 were loose when I recieved the lamps and the housing fell off. Otherwise a great product with functional style.
February 29, 2008
Works well, but too expensive
The lamp works really well, has a lot of adjustability in the brightness/focus of the light, is easy to assemble and looks great. The price seems pretty steep, but if you are looking for a good reading lamp that lights up your reading material and doesn't shine in the eyes of any of the other people in the room this works really well. You can easily read while others watch TV in the same room.
February 5, 2008
Great lamp!
I was initially reluctant to spend this much for a floor lamp but I decided to take the plunge and try it out anyway. I am glad I did! Without a doubt this is the best reading lamp I have ever owned. It can adjust from giving blinding light down to a soft warm glow on the page. In fact I liked it so much I bought the smaller version for my nightstand. Now I can enjoy reading in bed without worrying about keeping my wife awake. This is really a great product that is very well made. I have now had both lamps for over 3 years and have not even needed to change out the bulbs yet!
January 24, 2008
We bought 2 of these lamps for the bedroom as both me and my husband love reading in bed. So far they work very well. The lighting is good. The overall structure of the lamp is very solid. We hope they will stand the test of time.
September 15, 2007
I bought this lamp a couple of years ago. The lighting is good, however, the lamp head no longer remains cool to touch, the dimmer stick becomes detached from the base; using the wrench to reattach is useless. I am the only user and there are no children so inappropriate handling is not the issue. I expected a higher quality from an expensive lamp.
September 9, 2007
I bought one of these lamps several years ago with the intent of using it as my main reading lamp. Although the bulb is very bright and it provided good illumination, the design of the piece left a lot to be desired. Within the first year of use, the flexible neck "broke" -- becoming impossible to adjust. Rather than remaining in place, the bulb end of the lamp would just droop down pointing directly to the floor. Although I've been pleased with other products I've purchased from Levenger, this one was a complete bust. And at $400 a big bust at that...
August 4, 2007
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text:
I have a few MTB items for sale as follows:
1. Rockshox Reba fork set at 100mm of Travel - it was initially on a 2007 Gary Fisher Rig (would that make it G1 Series?) and it has 7.5" of steerer tube with starfangled nut installed. In addition it will come with a remote handlebar switch for the lockout and an internal floodgate control mechanism. Fork functions fine - dual air sprung - there is a slight rub on one stanchion but it does not leak at all - I'd like to get $200.00 for this fork. I can provide numerous pics to those interested.
2. I have a nice Dirt Drop Bar/Brake Lever/Bar Wrap/brake cable and housing set up available. The bars are On-One Midge Bars (25.4mm clamp size) and the Brake levers are Dia Compe. These will work with V-Brakes or Mechanical disc Brakes. I would like to get $50.00 for this set up that included the bars, bar wrap, brake levers and brake cable and housing. If needed - we can talk about the addition of a set of Avid Mechanical Disc brake calipers with adapters (and possibly rotors). In addition I have a few high rise Dimension stems that might be of interest. Again I can take numerous photos if you need them.
3. I have a 29er/CX Disc Single Speed specific wheelset for sale as well. These consist of a slightly mismatched set of Salsa Delgado Cross rims as a base. The rear is laced to a Novatec SS disc hub and the front is laced to a Shimano XT front hub. I'd like to get $100.00 plus shipping for these (or best offer). Again - happy to take numerous photos for those interested.
I will also accept all reasonable offers for the above items.
Local pickup would kick serious butt (I live in Burlington, CT and work in E. Hartford, CT so anything within reasonable driving distance in and around Greater Hartford, CT is doable) but I'm also happy to ship. If local - cash is king. If not, PayPal works great too.
I can be reached via email at firstname.lastname@example.com if you want to reach me that way. Replies in the thread and PMs work too.


text:
Editorial: The Fast-Changing World of Saving Energy
What further changes can we expect for 2015 and beyond?
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Home Energy Publisher Tom White speaks with CEO Derek Smith about his work in the Pacific Northwest.
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January/February 2015
Magazine highlights
Investing in Multifamily Energy Upgrades
By Julieann Summerford
The Top Three Financial Benefits of Energy Efficiency for Multifamily Housing
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The different types of windows homeowners might consider may include wood, vinyl, and fiberglass. Most people think that ...
Recycling Your Air Conditioner
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In today's technology-fueled world, innovations are being made at a rapid rate that help simplify human ...
Unlocking the Power of Grey Water
By Rob Nicely
Along with this blog, Carmel Building & Design is introducing the first in a series of videos&...
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Shawna Henderson, reporting from way out here on the edge of the world. Well, from Nova Scotia, Canada, ...
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The search giant wants a dismissal of a suit that claims the company violates antitrust laws by requiring smartphone vendors to make its own apps the default on Android devices.
After less than four hours of deliberation, the jury in the class action antitrust case finds Apple not guilty of anticompetitive conduct almost a decade ago.
The jury hears closing arguments in a class action case about the decisions made almost a decade ago to limit competitors' access to Apple's iPod.
In a trial questioning Apple's use of software updates, iTunes chief Eddy Cue says they were necessary because hackers wanted to break apart the company's digital-music ecosystem.
Some consumers accused Apple of unfairly boosting iPod prices because it banned music from services other than the iTunes store. They're asking for $350 million, and even Steve Jobs will make an appearance in court, via taped deposition.
As European regulators ponder Google's fate in a probe into the search giant's business practices, a Yelp-led group of competitors takes to the company's Chrome store to make a point.
Amid a tangle with EU regulators over how it displays search results, Google gets into a war of words with Rupert Murdoch's media giant.
After three previous settlement attempts, regulators say formal objections are the "logical next step" if the two sides can't come to an agreement.
In sharply written letter opposing settlement offer in EU case against Google, News Corp. exec says Google is stifling competition and exploiting its dominant market position.
The Microsoft CEO's itinerary has not been disclosed, but the reason for his trip may be to delve a bit deeper into the antitrust investigation in China.


text:
Washington, D.C. might be the nation's capitol, but our country was born in The City of Brotherly Love. It's where our forefathers declared that we're all created equal. It's one of the most gay-friendly cities in the entire world. Brothers and sisters, welcome to Philadelphia.
Over ten flights leave Atlanta daily for the two-hour trip to Philly. Ease down at Philadelphia International Airport and catch a cab or car service to your playground for the duration of your visit. The city is wondrously walkable so there's no need for a rental car.
Head up I-95 while taking in the Delaware River on your right then roll onto South Broad Street for a "straight" shot into the city. You're entering…The Gayborhood.
Fenuxe's Philly home is at the Loew's Philadelphia Hotel. You've got the finest amenities, the cleanest skyline view and you're within walking distance of the best of gay Philadelphia. The city's Gayborhood is not nearly as spread out as Midtown Atlanta's.
Cue up some culture and hit Antiques Row in historic Washington Square West. The Fenuxe find is definitely Blendo, a trendy trip of a shop full of unique clothing, housewares and jewelry that's a sin to leave empty-handed. A stop by the gay-owned shops Open House and Urban Décor will make for a new featured item for your living room back home.
If you want to know where the gays gather, head for Rittenhouse Square Park. It's a gorgeous, green gift of a park surrounded by diverse residential architecture and high-end retail shops. Rittenhouse Square Park is much smaller than our beloved Piedmont Park, but size doesn't matter here. The gorgeous fountain in the center, the jazz bands, the remarkable artwork for sale and the occasional dance troupe roll up into one big friendly atmosphere that's considered the gay cultural center of Philadelphia.
When it's time to dine, you've got the ultimate freedom of choice. Philadelphia has one of the best restaurant scenes in the country…outside a certain Southern city of course. If you're still in the park, don't miss, well…Parc. Sit on the bustling patio at this fab French restaurant but if you can't get a table outside don't worry—they open the windows on most summer days so you can enjoy that fresh Philly air from indoors.
There's also a pair of grand gay dining options just two blocks from Loew's. The best Mexican food in town is at Lolita and right across the street is an impressive Indian restaurant called Bindi—both are owned by a lesbian couple and will leave you counting down to your next visit. Like many restaurants in Philadelphia, Lolita and Bindi are part of the BYO (bring your own) culture, so make sure to stop by State Liquor Store on your way.
Philadelphia delivers when it comes to the gay nightlife scene, and your visit won't be complete until you stop by Woody's. This Philly fixture draws an eclectic crowd and it's always jumping. Start at the main bar at street-level to get the lay of the land, then make your way to the second floor for the cute cocktail lounge and dancefloor.
Bars have a 2AM curfew in Philadelphia, so if you're still on Gay Atlanta Standard Time, go one block over to Voyeur. The three-floor funhouse skirts the curfew laws by being "members only" but you can get into the massive megaclub by knowing a member, so just make friends on the way in. You'll flashback to Backstreet.
End your phenomenal Philly visit on a high note at Independence Hall. Not only is it the spot where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were created, it's also the site of the first LGBT rights demonstration, on the 4th of July, 1965. Four years before Stonewall, the fight had already begun in Philadelphia.
It is all too obvious how our nation's founders got the inspiration to declare everyone has the right to life, love and the pursuit of happiness. It all started in Philadelphia, where living, loving and being happy is a given—especially if you're gay.


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Members of the Scientific Leadership Council (SLC) serve as PHA's leadership and are cardiologists, pulmonologists and rheumatologists – leading PH experts that branch out into all areas of scientific exploration and treatment of pulmonary hypertension. Not only do they guide the vast array of medical education PHA offers to both the medical and patient communities, they also are involved in the development of cutting edge research exploring various aspects of PH such as the implications of genetics in pulmonary hypertension, treatments for children living with PH, PH and associated diseases and much more.
Many past and present members of the SLC were involved in the creation of the Expert Consensus Document on Pulmonary Hypertension, lead in the development of the Journal Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension and the comprehensive treatment fact sheets and consensus statements available as resources on our website.
Crystal Weber, RN (non-voting)Chair-Elect, PH Professional NetworkChair, PH Professional Network Publications CommitteeDuke UniversityDurham, NC