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US Puppet Cuts His Strings
April 15, 2010 by TMO · Leave a Comment
Thwarted by the American government on compromise with Taliban, Karzai has begun openly defying his patrons
By Eric Margolis
U.S. President Barack Obama inspects a guard of honor with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, March 28, 2010. REUTERS/Jim Young |
April 11, 2010 "Toronto Sun" — Henry Kissinger once observed that it was more dangerous being America's ally than its enemy.
The latest example: the U.S.-installed Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, who is in serious hot water with his really angry patrons in Washington.
The Obama administration is blaming the largely powerless Karzai, a former CIA "asset," for America's failure to defeat the Taliban. Washington accused Karzai of rigging last year's elections. True enough, but the U.S. pre-rigged the Afghan elections by excluding all parties opposed to western occupation.
Washington, which supports dictators and phoney elections across the Muslim world, had the chutzpah to blast Karzai for corruption and rigging votes. This while the Pentagon was engineering a full military takeover of Pakistan.
The Obama administration made no secret it wanted to replace Karzai. You could almost hear Washington crying, "Bad puppet! Bad puppet!"
Karzai fired back, accusing the U.S. of vote-rigging. He has repeatedly demanded the U.S. military stop killing so many Afghan civilians.
Next, Karzai dropped a bombshell, asserting the U.S. was occupying Afghanistan to dominate the energy-rich Caspian Basin region, not because of the non-existent al-Qaida or Taliban. Karzai said Taliban was "resisting western occupation." The U.S. will soon have 100,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, plus 40,000 dragooned NATO troops.
Karzai even half-jested he might join Taliban.
Washington had apoplexy. A vicious propaganda campaign was unleashed against Karzai. The New York Times, a mouthpiece for the Obama administration and ardent backer of the Afghan war, all but called for the overthrow of Karzai and his replacement by a compliant general.
An American self-promoter, Peter Galbraith, who had been fired from his job with the UN in Kabul, was trotted out to tell media that Karzai might be both a drug addict and crazy.
Behind this ugly, if also comical, spat lay a growing divergence between Afghans and Washington. After 31 years of conflict, nearly three million dead, millions more refugees and frightful poverty, Afghans yearn for peace.
For the past two years, Karzai and his warlord allies have been holding peace talks with the Taliban in Saudi Arabia.
Karzai knows the only way to end the Afghan conflict is to enfranchise the nation's Pashtun majority and its fighting arm, the Taliban. Political compromise with the Taliban is the only – and inevitable – solution.
But the Obama administration, misadvised by Washington neocons and other hardliners, is determined to "win" a military victory in Afghanistan (whatever that means) to save face as a great power and impose a settlement that leaves it in control of strategic Afghanistan.
Accordingly, the U.S. thwarted Karzai's peace talks by getting Pakistan, currently the recipient of $7 billion in U.S. cash, to arrest senior Taliban leaders sheltering there who had been part of the ongoing peace negotiations with Kabul.
It was Karzai's turn to be enraged. So he began openly defying his American patrons and adopting an independent position. The puppet was cutting his strings.
Karzai's newfound boldness was due to the fact that both India and China are eager to replace U.S./British/NATO domination of Afghanistan. India is pouring money, arms and agents into Afghanistan and training government forces. China, more discreetly, is moving in to exploit Afghanistan's recently discovered mineral wealth that, says Karzai, is worth $1 trillion, according to a U.S. government geological survey.
Russia, still smarting from its 1980s defeat in Afghanistan, is watching America's travails there with rich enjoyment and not a little yearning for revenge. Moscow has its own ambitions in Afghanistan.
This column has long suggested Karzai's best option is to distance himself from American tutelage and demand the withdrawal of all foreign occupation forces.
Risky business, of course. Remember Kissinger's warning. Karzai could end up dead. But he could also become a national hero and best candidate to lead an independent Afghanistan that all ethnic groups could accept.
Alas, the U.S. keeps making the same mistake of seeking obedient clients rather than democratic allies who are genuinely popular and legitimate.
Democratization in the Former Islamic Majority Soviet Republics
March 18, 2010 by TMO · Leave a Comment
By Geoffrey Cook, MMNS
The Case of Kazakhstan
In looking for a unique subject to write on, your author came upon some of his notes of a discussion with an ethnic Kazakh (or the citizen of the newly independent Kazakhstan). The "new" nation is now the ninth largest country in the world in geographical area, but only the sixty-second in population because of the largess of its open spaces. In this essay the name of the source, place and date of the interview will be kept anonymous because of the possible political ramifications of my interviewee's comments.
The newly independent land in Central Asia, separated from its Islamic roots for several centuries, had been violently Russified (made in the image of the Slavs in Saint Petersburg), and secularized over a period of their captivity under the Russian Empire, and later under the policy of secularization after the Communist Revolution in the European Center of the U.S.SR. It has only been recently (1991) that they have gained independence from Moscow, and have been able to connect with the remainder of the Islamic World, and for this reason Islam, tinged with the Soviet secularism currently found in Central Asia, is developing its unique Muslim modernism of its own.
Kazakhstan, because of Josef Stalin's policy of internal deportation within the (former) Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, is an ethnically diverse Republic (where many of its contemporary citizens are descended from unwilling immigrants…much like Afro-Americans in the Western Hemisphere). Therefore, religious freedom is granted to all. Yet, Kazakh Muslims dominate the social landscape. As in all the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a loose organization of the (now) independent (post-) Soviet (Colonial) States, the societal environment has been in a flux into the first decade of this new century. In fact, Altmay, the then capital of the Kazakh Republic was the last to declare its sovereignty of the non-Russian territories (to do so far). Many of these Central Asian and Eurasian States have often held on to the past U.S.S.R. political paths with its bureaucracy, and their methodologies still dominate although with the younger generation pushing for Western-style economic "liberalization" and (democratic political reforms are gaining interest). The question that was being asked in this lunchtime meeting was is Kazakhstan the next Central Asian Republic to go down the path toward Western ways?
The dominant feeling amongst the Kazakhstanis was that political reorganization was absolutely necessary, but most other States in the region discouraged such restructuring because of the threat to the financial and procedural status quo. Within Kazakhstan itself, the Russian period has exited with an enormous embedded corruption. One of the hefty problems is the remaining clannishness within the culture – especially the ruling elite. The strongest clan actors – whether blood relations or not — are those who owe their allegiance to the Executive and the Bureaucrats – especially in the new center, Astana. These political actors make most of the States's decision without any larger (more democratic) consultation. "The Presidency is controversial," since it supports an economic "liberalization" that is Neo-Ricardian in form, and has gained the imprimatur of most of the international organizations — who matter – as the way to stabilize their economy. Although Kazasthan is struggling to rediscover its Islamic roots, its Civil Society has not protested its strategy of the development corrupt of a new un-Islamic State-controlled neo-Capitalism. Kazakhstan's government has opted for a similar market economy as most of the post-Marxist States of the old Soviet Union, and has not incorporated any Islamic financial procedures at all. Both the Capitalist and Leninist theories have to be adjusted to fit into the Muslim monetary tradition. "Our President is the founder of [the modern Kazakhi] " predatory financing! The current Administration is leading the country into a systemic process of privatization.
One of the post-Communist Republic's largest challenges is that of political secession. The ruler is an oligarch (one of a group of wealthy decision makers with the State itself). There is a great possibility that his eldest daughter will succeed him into the State Executive's office in time. Officials and businessmen will grab "shares" of the Commonwealth while the bureaucracy, in classic totalitarian fashion has been employed to develop policy; and, thus, to maintain the rapacious State; and, consequently, to assist the elites to control and oppress, for the President is concerned over any feasible democratic opposition that may arise. It is largely his peers within the Oligarchy who supports the status quo. Yet contenders are arising, and Kazakhstan is nominally a two-party State, but, still, the laws have been crafted to discourage challengers. In fact, two of the leaders of the "loyal" opposition have been persecuted as enemies of the State.
In this emergent nation, free again to dig deeply into its Muslimness, Islam itself is being discouraged through its Socialist past.
Muslim Revival in Chechnya
December 17, 2009 by TMO · Leave a Comment
Adapted by TMO from an article by Amie Ferris-Rotman, Reuters
GROZNY, Russia – Adam, 52, keeps his three wives in different towns to stop them squabbling, but the white-bearded Chechen adds he might soon take a fourth.
"Chechnya is Muslim, so this is our right as men. They (the wives) spend time together, but do not always see eye to eye," said the soft-spoken pensioner, who only gave his first name.
Hardline Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov is vying with insurgents for authority in a land ravaged by two secessionist wars with Moscow. Each side is claiming Islam as its flag of legitimacy, each reviles the other as criminal and blasphemous.
Wary of the dangers of separatism in a vast country, Moscow watches uneasily as central power yields to Islamic tenets. It must choose what it might see as the lesser of two evils.
Though polygamy is illegal in Russia, the region of Chechnya encourages the practice, arguing it is allowed by Shari'a law and the Koran, Islam's holy book.
By Russian law, Adam is only married to his first wife of 28 years, Zoya, the plump, blue-eyed mother of his three children, with whom he shares a home on the outskirts of the regional capital Grozny.
His marriages to the other two — squirreled away in villages nearby — were carried out in elaborate celebrations and are recognized by Chechen authorities.
The head of Chechnya's Center for Spiritual-Moral Education, Vakha Khashkanov, set up by Kadyrov a year ago, said Islam should take priority over laws of the Russian constitution.
"If it is allowed in Islam, it is not up for discussion," he told Reuters near Europe's largest mosque, which glistens in central Grozny atop the grounds where the Communist party had its headquarters before the Soviet Union fell in 1991.
"As long as you can feed your wives, and there's equality amongst them, then polygamy is allowed in Chechnya," he added.
Islam is flourishing in Chechnya which, along with its neighbors Dagestan and Ingushetia, is combating an Islamist insurgency which aims to create a Muslim, Shari'ah-based state separate from Russia across the North Caucasus.
Though Islam first arrived in the North Caucasus around 500 years ago, in Dagestan's ancient walled city of Derbent on the Caspian Sea, religion under Communism was strongly discouraged.
Kadyrov, like most of his region's one million people, is Sufi, a mystical branch of Islam which places a greater focus on prayer and recitation.
Political analysts say that in exchange for successfully hunting out Islamist fighters, the Kremlin turns a blind eye to Kadyrov's Muslim-inspired rules.
Today Grozny's cafes hold men sipping smuggled beer out of teacups as alcohol has been all but banned, single-sex schools and gyms are becoming the norm and women must cover their heads in government buildings.
Clad in a tight hijab, Asya Malsagova, who advises Kadyrov on human rights issues and heads a state council dealing with the rights of Chechen prisoners, told Reuters: "We believe every woman should have a choice — but we prefer she covers up."
Animals are also being used to reintroduce Islam at Chechnya's round-the-clock Muslim television channel, where 60 young bearded men and headscarved women create children's programs in large studios adorned with photos of Mecca.
A bevy of bumble bees joyfully scream "Salam Alaikum" (Peace be with you) upon entering the studio of Ruslan Ismailov, who is making a full-length cartoon on hi-tech Apple computers for the channel, which is called "Put," meaning "The Way" in Russian.
"The bees appeal to children, and they will teach them how to live properly by the Muslim faith," Ismailov said.
Set up two years ago by the state and broadcast to thousands across the North Caucasus, instantly becoming one of the top channels in the region, it also features programs for women on how to keep home and reading Qur`an throughout the night.
"It's no secret what Chechnya has been through," said the channel's general director Adam Shakhidov, sporting a ginger beard and traditional black velvet cap.
"Two wars, the Soviet Union and today's Muslim extremism… it's time to show the true beauty of Sufism and install the basis for Shari'ah," he said.
As in the Days of the USSR
December 17, 2009 by TMO · Leave a Comment
By Sara Daniel, Le Nouvel Observateur
Shahnawaz Tanaï, former defense minister for Najibullah's pro-Soviet government, compares the two occupations of Afghanistan.
In the last presidential election, he came in sixth out of 41 candidates. A good showing for a man who was once defense minister to Najibullah, the former pro-Soviet president of Afghanistan, murdered by the Taliban. Shahnawaz Tanai nostalgically evokes the "good old days" of the Soviets, which he seems not to be the only one to miss. According to him, there are many commonalities between NATO's occupation of Afghanistan and the Soviet period. First of all, the Russians, like the Americans, relied on warlords of evil repute in order to take over power. Then Russia, like NATO today, was unable to pacify the country because of the open border with Pakistan, which assured the Mudjahadijn a rear staging base. "In 1985, six years after the beginning of the Soviet invasion, the debates began in Russia, exactly like today in the West, on the legitimacy of the government in place in and on the Soviet Union's economic troubles …The Russian Army's morale was at a nadir and people in Moscow were wondering about the opportunity of sending more soldiers: Brejnev was for, the KGB was against …" In 1988, Najibullah sent his defense minister to Moscow to convince Gorbachev to stay in Afghanistan: "I gave him the advice I could give the Americans today: to envisage the stages of a withdrawal, you must first secure the major axes and the principle cities, Mazar, Herat, Kabul, and give the army logistical support." Najibullah's former minister remembers a meeting between Najibullah and Fidel Castro: "Castro advised Najibullah to appear less dependent on Gorbachev. Karzai should also put some distance between himself and the Americans …"
NATO Seeks Russian Help in Afghanistan
October 8, 2009 by TMO · Leave a Comment
By David Brunnstrom
An Afghan man heads home at the end of a day's work in Kabul October 7, 2009. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood |
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO urged Russia on Wednesday to expand its role in Afghanistan, including by equipping and training Afghan security forces fighting the Taliban.
While reiterating a call on European allies to step up their commitments in the country as the United States weighs a further boost in forces, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said it was also in Russia's interests to do more.
He said agreements allowing transit of military supplies to Afghanistan via Russia could be expanded.
"Next, Russia could provide equipment for the Afghan security forces. Thirdly, Russia could provide training. These are just some examples. I think we should explore in a joint effort how we could further Russian engagement," Rasmussen said.
"I know from the Russians that they are interested in a stronger engagement and we have to find ways and means because basically Afghanistan is one of the areas in which we share interests with Russia," he told a monthly news conference.
Russia has said it fully backs U.S.-led efforts against the Taliban although it would not send its own soldiers to fight in the country where Moscow lost a 10-year war in the 1980s.
Rasmussen said he was pleased by the improvement in relations between NATO and Russia since a freeze imposed by the alliance after last year's war between Georgia and Russia, even if there were still "fundamental areas on which we disagree."
"But we can create a web of cooperation that is strong enough to survive these differences. We have to make NATO-Russia cooperation too good to lose," he said.
Rasmussen again called on European NATO allies to step up commitments in Afghanistan, chiding them for failing to provide all the 400 police trainers they had promised. "It is a bit embarrassing," he said. "I would encourage all members of the European Union to do their utmost to ensure full deployment."
Rasmussen urged the Netherlands to reconsider plans to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year, asking them to stay and help train Afghan forces.
"I would regret a Dutch withdrawal," he said. "We are at a critical juncture, where there should be no doubt about our firm commitment. Any such doubts will simply play into the hands of those who want us to fail … we need all allies contributing."
Rasmussen said it was essential there was a fair balance between the contributions of the United States and its partners, and for that non-U.S. allies needed to do more. He said this was important not just for Afghanistan but for the future of NATO.
"I am afraid many in the U.S. will wonder about Europe as a real partner in security," he said. "That would be damaging over the long term for NATO and the transatlantic relationship."
NATO is looking to an expanded effort to beef up the Afghan police and army as the route to eventual withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan, where they have been since toppling the Taliban after the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
There are more than 100,000 foreign troops in the country, but they have struggled to contain a widening Islamist insurgency while mounting casualties have made the mission increasingly unpopular with Western public opinion.
(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Reality Check for Obama in Afghanistan
February 19, 2009 by TMO · Leave a Comment
He's facing pressure to increase US troop levels there. Has Washington learned nothing from the Soviet experience?
Courtesy Walter Rodgers
between the U.S. troop commander in the area and local tribal leaders near Khas Kunar refugee camp, Kunar Province, eastern Afghanistan February 18, 2009. REUTERS/Oleg Popov |
Oakton, Va. – History may not repeat itself, but all too often it recycles mistakes. In 1961, before the Vietnam War became full-fledged, former Gen. Douglas MacArthur warned President Kennedy not to fight a land war in Asia. Over the next 14 years, more than 58,000 Americans died as Washington ignored his advice and ramped up operations.
Today, the US is stuck in another land war in Asia: Afghanistan. The original mission was to capture Osama bin Laden, disable Al Qaeda, remove the Taliban, and keep the country from being a safe haven for terrorists. After seven years of fighting, hundreds of dead US soldiers and thousands more wounded, those objectives have not been met.
And now the US wants to double down, adding as many as 30,000 additional US troops there to get the job done.
Sharp lessons from the Soviets
It's unfathomable that Washington learned so little from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which ended in an ignominious retreat followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union three years later. The Soviets lost 15,000 soldiers.
In the brief honeymoon after the collapse of communism in the early 1990s, US and Russian intellectuals and officials met to analyze the Afghan war and concluded it would have required 750,000 to 1 million Soviet troops to subdue Afghanistan. But Moscow never deployed more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan at any one time. The Soviets discovered they could win battles but never hold more than a few cities in a country the size of Texas.
The United States now has 33,000 troops in Afghanistan. Even if President Obama agrees to double that amount, the effort will be wasted. Half a million US troops might not be enough. It wasn't in Vietnam. Mr. Obama needs to recognize that hesitation to expand the war in Afghanistan has nothing to do with will or cowardice and everything to do with wisdom.
The totalitarian Soviets lacked the political will to deploy three quarters of a million troops. Kremlin mossbacks knew even the docile Russian populace of the Communist era wouldn't buy it. In 1979, when the ruling Politburo reluctantly decided to send in the troops, it was bitterly opposed by the chief of staff, Marshal of the Army Nikolai Ograkov. He flatly first told then-Defense Minister Dimitri Ustinov and later party leader Leonid Brezhnev that a war in Afghanistan would be a huge mistake. So controversial was the decision to commit Russian forces that only a handful of senior members of the ruling Politburo participated. In the end, those elders chose to go in, primarily because they feared the US was trying to destabilize Afghanistan and sew it into the West's patchwork encirclement of the Soviet Union.
It took nine years before Moscow concluded that its war in Afghanistan was a mistake. After the cold war, Russia declassified documents on Afghanistan and the West learned that on more than a dozen occasions between March of 1979 and the December invasion, Brezhnev refused to intervene despite destabilization of the Soviet Union's southern border.
As a correspondent based in Moscow in the 1980s, I made several trips into Afghanistan with the Soviets. When I returned to Moscow, my Russian office manager asked me what it was like there. Waxing enthusiastic, I told her, "It was magnificent, straight out of Kipling and the 19th century." Her blue Slavic eyes narrowed. "No, Walt, you are wrong. Afghanistan is the 14th century."
After 9/11, when hordes of reporters traveled to this mystical, medieval land, the recommended reading was historical fiction of the late George MacDonald Fraser's first "Flashman" volume on the Anglo-Afghan War of 1839-1842. The entire retreating British column of upwards of 16,000 men, women, and children – save for one survivor – was wiped out by the forefathers of those who drove the Soviets out 150 years later. Obama would be well advised to read "Flashman" and realize how little Afghanistan has changed.
It would be delusional to expect any American expeditionary force to liberate and enlighten Afghans, freeing women from resurgent Taliban. There's an adage familiar to all who worked there: "There only two times an Afghan woman leaves her home: when she gets married and when she dies." Afghanistan is a land polka-dotted in graveyards beyond counting. UNICEF says 20 percent of all Afghan children die before their fifth birthday. The entire US Army will not be able to convert greedy warlords to modernity.
Afghanistan is a feudal quilt of tribes. It's disingenuous to call it a country. It is a failed state, perhaps best babysat by its regional neighbors: Russia, Iran, China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and India.
Their individual interests and goals in Afghanistan may differ, but none is eager to have a rejuvenated Al Qaeda caliphate led by loose cannons such as Ayman al-Zawahiri or Osama bin Laden, whom they cannot control. If three regional superpowers – India, China, and Russia – opt to sit on the sidelines in their own neighborhood, what logic is there for American intervention from an ocean and continent away?
Even as they request more troops, US generals have acknowledged that an Iraq-style "surge" won't work. "Afghanistan is not Iraq," said Gen. David McKiernan, who leads US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. General McKiernan, who led ground forces in Iraq in 2003, has described Afghanistan as "a far more complex environment than I ever found in Iraq." Today, the Pentagon talks of achieving not victory or lasting democracy but merely progress against militants.
No good options left
There are no good options left after the Bush administration's unnecessary war in Iraq. An increased American intervention in Afghanistan might have been more welcome six years ago. Now it is probably too late. Yet a total American withdrawal from Afghanistan would leave in its wake anarchy and bloodbath. An ugly Taliban triumph would ensue. The Taliban need to be contained, but not exclusively by the US, so Obama must persuade NATO and Afghanistan's near neighbors to play a larger, perhaps dominant, role.
Pakistan can no longer labor under the ill usion that it can manipulate events from across the border. If the Pakistanis have learned anything since 9/11, it should be that Afghanistan's growing destabilization increasingly threatens their own society. Imagine for a moment that the Obama administration were to announce a withdrawal from Afghanistan in six months. The regional powers who know their own neighborhood far better than Washington would quickly come up with a formula and the troops to stabilize the failed state. If there is no constituency among these neighbors to "fix" Afghanistan, then the US can no more go it alone than could the Russians.
The resurgent Taliban may be unstoppable. The Bush administration was warned of that four years ago but spent most of its resources instead in Iraq. Still, accommodation with the Taliban, who are brutal and medieval, is not the same as capitulation to bin Laden. Recall that in the late 1990s, the Taliban was initially reluctant to have an Arab-led Islamist jihad waged from Afghanistan. The past seven years of US bombing and war in the countryside have sharply reminded the Taliban that they were better off without bin Laden as a guest. The Sudanese were persuaded of that more than a decade ago.
The idea of creating a secular national army in Afghanistan to fend off the20Taliban is not only tardy but smacks of the usual American mind-set of throwing money and advisers at a problem. The Afghan tribes speak Pashto, Dari, Uzbek, and Turkmen with some Baluchi, Pashai, and Nuristani thrown in for good measure. Which language is the Afghan Army going to fight in?
The real challenge to a new Afghan Army, however, is that it is not aflame with the Islamic cohesiveness that fires the Taliban. Until it is, it will be little more than a collection of uninspired, unmotivated militiamen more interested in collecting a monthly American paycheck than in creating a unified nation out of the ashes of 30 years of war.
It is still not clear what Obama thinks other than that, unlike George W. Bush, he says Afghanistan is more central to the war on terror than Iraq. On that he is correct. Washington and Kabul just agreed to a strategic review of the war. Whatever option Obama chooses, he must not risk the same mistake the Soviets made in underestimating the energized power of the Islamic faith. An enlarged American footprint in Afghanistan runs the risk of repeating Russia's fatal miscalculations. War, like politics, is the art of the possible.
Obama must remember that it is intolerable in the eyes of Muslims to be subjugated and occupied by non-Muslims, whether in Iraq or Afghanistan. Western military occupation didn't work for the Crusaders in the Levant, for Napoleon in Egypt, or for the British in Iraq. Obama needs to be mindful of this as he decides whether to expand a war in southwest Asia, a historic graveyard of empires.
• Walter Rodgers is a former senior international correspondent for CNN.
Did U.S., Israel Provocateur S. Ossetia Conflict?
August 14, 2008 by TMO · Leave a Comment
Does the Sun Come Up in the Morning?
Courtesy Kurt Nimmo, Infowars
August 9, 2008–Dead civilians in South Ossetia. But you will not hear much about it on CNN or Faux News. Because they are too busy reporting ad nauseam about the extramarital shenanigans of CFR darling John Edwards.
In order to find out what's really going on in Georgia, you have to read the international press on the internet. Bush, McCain, and Obama may cast blame on Russia, but reading the international press you get a different perspective.
Soldiers from the Ukraine, the United States, Georgia and Azerbaijan partake in "Peace Shield 2005" on the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine.
Russia accuses U.S. of orchestrating conflict
"Russian officials believe that it was the USA that orchestrated the current conflict. The chairman of the State Duma Committee for Security, Vladimir Vasilyev, believes that the current conflict is South Ossetia is very reminiscent to the wars in Iraq and Kosovo," reports Pravda, the Russian newspaper.
Recall the CIA admitting it "helped to train the Kosovo Liberation Army before Nato's bombing of Yugoslavia," according to The Sunday Times. The KLA is a perfect outfit for the CIA. "Known for its extensive links to Albanian and European crime syndicates, the KLA was supported from the outset in the mid-1990s by the CIA and Germany's intelligence agency, the Bundes Nachrichten Dienst (BND). In the course of the 1999 war, the KLA was supported directly by NATO," writes Michel Chossudovsky. "The KLA had extensive links to Al Qaeda, which was also involved in military training. Mujahideen mercenaries from a number of countries integrated the ranks of the KLA, which was involved in terrorist activities as well as political assassinations." Of course, "links to Al Qaeda" translate into links to the CIA.
"The things that were happening in Kosovo, the things that were happening in Iraq – we are now following the same path. The further the situation unfolds, the more the world will understand that Georgia would never be able to do all this without America. South Ossetian defense officials used to make statements about imminent aggression from Georgia, but the latter denied everything, whereas the US Department of State released no comments on the matter. In essence, they have prepared the force, which destroys everything in South Ossetia, attacks civilians and hospitals. They are responsible for this. The world community will learn about it," Vasilyev told Pravda.
Indeed, the world will learn about it, but not by way of America's corporate media, more interested in the entirely meaningless baby-making of Clay Aiken and Jaymes Foster. Bread and circuses shall suffice in America.
U.S. loads up Georgia with weapons to fight "al-Qaeda"
The Federation of American Scientists website reveals that Georgia is the most recent recipient of U.S. weapons and aid, receiving 10 UH-1H Huey helicopters (four for spare parts only) and $64 million in military aid and training to fight Arab soldiers with alleged ties to Al Qaeda that have been participating in the Chechen war and are now taking refuge in the Pankisi Gorge region in northern Georgia. Like many of the recent aid recipients, claims that Georgia has become an al Qaeda sanctuary are dubious at best.
"The rapid increase in US strategic influence in the Caucasus has alarmed Russian policy planners. Moscow is keen to take steps to shore up its eroding position in the region. However, Russian officials have limited options with which to counter US moves while at the same time maintaining cordial relations with Washington," Eurasia.net reported on April 8, 2002. "The most prominent US moves in the Caucasus are the decision to dispatch military advisers to Georgia and a March 29 State Department announcement on the lifting of an arms embargo imposed on Armenia and Azerbaijan. Both actions have the potential to tilt the military establishments of all three Caucasus nations away from Russia and towards NATO."
Imagine Canada decided to enter a military and diplomatic alliance with Russia and Canada began arming itself to the teeth with Russian weapons and training with Russian military advisers. Can you guess what the reaction of Bush and the neocons would be?
It doesn't take much imagination.
Rose revolution
The Rose Revolution was not a simple uprising but was aided by the CIA and Ambassador Richard Miles
CIA engineered Georgia's Rose Revolution
Of course, this al-Qaeda presence is not so dubious when one considers the well documented fact the supposed Islamic terror group is a CIA contrivance. As well, this absurd concern for al-Qaeda's presence under Georgian beds helped make possible Georgia's so-called Rose Revolution. "The Rose Revolution was not a simple uprising but was aided by the CIA and Ambassador Richard Miles (think Serbia). From early 2002 onwards the CIA had been operating in Georgia, supposedly to combat Al Qaeda," explains researcher James Schneider.
It appears the CIA has worked behind the scenes for quite a while in Georgia. Back in 1993, for instance, CIA agent Fred Woodruff was assassinated by unknown assailants outside of Tbilisi. "Spokesmen for the State Department and the C.I.A. declined to confirm that Mr. Woodruff was working for the intelligence agency. But high-ranking Administration officials said he was, adding that he was not spying on Georgian officials but was training Mr. [Eduard] Shevardnadze's security forces," the New York Times reported at the time. So tight was the CIA with the former president of Georgia, they engineered the "bloodless" Rose Revolution and pitched him out on his ear.
In the wake of Georgia's much vaunted — by the U.S. corporate media — "revolution," the installed government of autocrat Mikheil Saakashvilli wasted little time imposing "democracy" neocon-style, resulting in violent suppression of opposition political rallies. "Georgia was rocked by opposition rallies for six days last November as protesters occupied central Tbilisi demanding Saakashvili's resignation over allegations of corruption and increasing authoritarianism," reported RIA Novosti. "The Georgian leader responded by sending in riot police to crack down on protesters on November 7. Over 500 people were injured according to Human Rights Watch as police used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons to break up the demonstrations." In addition, Saakashvilli's goons used "non-lethal" weapons of the sort developed by the Pentagon (see video).
U.S. military holds "exercises" in Georgia immediately prior to conflict
Last month, Aljazeera reported that "a total of around 1,650 soldiers form the US, Georgia and several other East European countries, have begun exercises on the formerly Russian-controlled Vaziani base, the Georgian defense ministry said."
NowPublic reported on July 17:
US officials insist the long-planned wargames have nothing to do with the recent dispute between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But they give Washington a chance to support pro-west Tbilisi at a critical time.
If you believe this, I have a bridge for sale.
In fact, these "long-planned wargames" were so important the State Department packed up and shipped off Condi Rice to Georgia. Her arrival was nicely timed to coincide with "a deadly firefight between Georgian troops and separatists in a Russian-backed breakaway region…. Ahead of Rice's arrival, a senior State Department official who did not want to be identified told reporters that unchecked conflict in the region could lead to catastrophe. The official also said Moscow should realize its Soviet empire is gone."
Catastrophe, indeed, although Russia's response to Georgia's invasion of South Ossetia demonstrated Russia's resolve to reclaim its supposedly evaporated empire.
Israel gets in on the act
Let's not forget America's junior partner in chaos and mass murder, Israel. "In addition to the spy drones, Israel has also been supplying Georgia with infantry weapons and electronics for artillery systems, and has helped upgrade Soviet-designed Su-25 ground attack jets assembled in Georgia, according to Koba Liklikadze, an independent military expert based in Tbilisi. Former Israeli generals also serve as advisers to the Georgian military," reports the International Herald Tribune.
No wonder the horrific photos emerging from South Ossetia have that Lebanon invasion look about them. Israel has over fifty years of experience in invading small countries and has consistently specialized in murdering and tormenting civilians.
Blind eyes all around
As Lavrov explains it, the "Georgian administration has found the use to its arms, which they have been purchasing during the recent several years… We have repeatedly warned that the international community should not turn a blind eye on massive purchases of offensive arms, in which the Georgian administration has been involved during the recent two years."
Unfortunately, the international community will likely "turn a blind eye" to the U.S. and Israel arming, training, and obviously orchestrating the current conflict, same as they by and large turned a blind eye to Israel's criminal invasion of Lebanon back in 2005 and the U.S. invasion and ongoing occupation of Iraq. In regard to the latter, the "international community" — indeed, the whole of the American people — are so disorganized and demoralized they cannot address the simple fact the neocons lied a nation into war. Nixon was bounced for far less.
It looks like Russia will be obliged to deal with Georgia's treachery on its own. Regrettably, Russia's response will entail even more murder of innocents and wholesale destruction, as this is how government historically deals with threats – real, imagined, or provocateured.
Community News (V10-I31)
July 24, 2008 by TMO · Leave a Comment
Asif Chaudhry appointed US envoy to Moldova
WASHINGTON, D.C.—A Pakistan born agricultural economist has been appointed as the new American envoy to Moldova. Asif Chaudhry will take over the charge as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Moldova from August, the Pakistan Post reported.
In an interview with the journal, Chaudhry said he was the first Pakistani appointed as United States' ambassador to another country on merit, and was proud to be the first Pakistani-American to take oath on Holy Quran.
Dr.Chaudhry, a member of the US Foreign Service, was born and raised in a farming family in a small village in Pakistan, Mr.Chaudhry completed his Bachelor's degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan, before going on to the American University of Beirut, Lebanon for a Master's degree in Agricultural Economics. He completed a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Washington State University, Pullman Washington, and had a brief stint as Assistant Professor of Economics at Montana State University, Bozeman Montana, before joining FAS.
Mr. Chaudhry's language skills include Russian, Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic, and Polish. He is an avid squash player. He is married to Charla Chaudhry and they have two sons and a daughter.
He has also served as the Assistant to the General Sales Manager (GSM)in FAS Washington from 1999-2002, and was the GSM's principal advisor on USDA commodity assistance programs for the Former Soviet Union and other Eastern European Countries. Prior to assuming this role in Washington, he served at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow during 1996-1999, where he was assigned as the Senior Agricultural Attaché and was promoted to the position of Agricultural Counselor after one year.
In his first overseas tour (1992-1995), Mr. Chaudhry served as the Agricultural Attaché in Warsaw, Poland overseeing the USDA assistance programs designed to help with the transformation of Poland to a post-Soviet free-market economy. He worked as a Marketing Specialist and an Agricultural Specialist in the Horticultural and Tropical Products Division of CMP prior to converting to Foreign Service and starting his overseas career.
Obama campaigns hires Muslim liaison
WASHINGTON D.C.—US presidential aspirant Barack Obama's campaign has created a Muslim liaison to reach out to the community, the Politico website reported.
The website reports that the position will likely be filled by Haim Nawas, a Jordanian-American. She had worked in a similar capacity for the campaign of Gen.Wesley Clark in 2004.
Obama's campaign did not confirm the report at print time.
An Obama aide told the Politico.com that the job had been created, but said the campaign had not made a final decision on who would fill it.
Former prison guard files discrimination lawsuit
CHICAGO, IL—A former guard at Kane County Jail in Illinois has a filed a federal lawsuit claiming that he lost his job because of his Muslim faith. Abal Zaidi worked for a six month period in 2006 as a correctional officer at the county jail located in Geneva.
He claims that he was fired after the new sheriff mandated that all office employees be clean shaven. Zaidi objected to the order because having it was "an expression of his Muslim practice and belief."
He was initially asked to show the religious meaning of the beard but was never given the opportunity to do so.
Zaidi claims that he was fired despite having a flawless record and good performance reviews.
The one-count suit claims violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and seeks a written apology from the sheriff's department; all wages and benefits he would have received if not for the discrimination; compensatory damages; punitive damages; attorney fees; additional relief; and an unspecified amount of money.
Township assessor forwards anti-Muslim email
FRANKFORT, IL—An assessor with the Frankfort township in Illinois has forwarded an email containing vile anti-Islamic comments.
The e-mail, circulated last month, said America should follow the lead of Australia's former prime minister John Howard, who said Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law should get out of Australia.
"Once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our pledge, our Christian beliefs or our way of life, I highly encourage you to take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, the right to leave," the e-mail said, supposedly quoting Howard.
"Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, American citizens will find the back bone to start speaking and voicing the same truths," the e-mail continued. "If you agree, please send this on."
The assessor did not respond to a request for comments.
"New Urgency" to Curb Iran
April 24, 2006 by TMO · Leave a Comment
"New Urgency" to Curb Iran
By Christian Lowe
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Wednesday it wanted to refrain from taking action before a U.N. deadline set for Tehran to halt uranium enrichment expired, but a top U.S. official believed other countries were inching toward action.
Tensions remained high, with oil prices hitting a new high above $73, partly driven by fears the dispute could disrupt shipments from the world's fourth-largest oil exporter.
"What I heard in the room last night was not agreement on the specifics but to the general notion that Iran has to feel isolation and that there is a cost to what they are doing," UnderSecretary of State Nicholas Burns told reporters.
"Now we need to go beyond that and agree on the specifics of what measures we need to put that into operation," he said.
He said Iran's shock announcement last week that it had enriched uranium to a low level and planned to produce it on an industrial scale had focused the minds of the international community.
The US and its European allies say Tehran could divert highly enriched uranium to make bombs.
"What is new is a greater sense of urgency given what the Iranians did last week … Nearly every country is considering some sort of sanctions and that is a new development. We heard last night and again today that all of those that spoke are looking at sanctions," Burns said.
In a surprise development, an Iranian delegation appeared later in the day in Moscow for talks with officials from the EU3—Britain, France and Germany—although one European official said he did not expect a "breakthrough."
The Security Council on March 29 gave Iran a month to halt enrichment and answer questions from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on its nuclear program.
Russia and China, which both have veto power in the council, say they are not convinced sanctions would work. U.S. officials had hoped to use the talks to persuade them to take a tougher line on Iran, which it suspects of seeking nuclear weapons.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said some countries, including Russia, wanted to wait until the U.N. nuclear watchdog reports on Iranian compliance on April 28 before acting.
"We are convinced of the need to wait for the IAEA report due at the end of the month," Lavrov told reporters.
An Iranian delegation headed to Moscow for talks on the dispute, Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki told state radio.
He said officials from the Foreign Ministry and the Supreme National Security Council would "discuss possible solutions which could pave the way to reach a comprehensive understanding based on a recognition of Iran's right to nuclear technology."
Iran says it only wants nuclear power for civilian use, but Russia said Tehran was not responding to international demands.
One diplomat from a country that opposes Iran's nuclear work said Iran could suggest a "pause."
"This is to prepare the ground for renewing negotiations with the Europeans," the diplomat, said about the proposal. It was unclear how long the pause would be.
A senior EU3 diplomat said he would welcome Iran's presentating such an initiative and halting their enrichment research. But it would have to be more than a brief technical pause in order for the Europeans to revive negotiations with Tehran.
Burns said Washington was opposed to allowing Iran any kind of pause, calling some of Iran's negotiating positions "a ruse."
Market worries that the nuclear crisis might disrupt Iranian oil exports pushed oil above $73 a barrel, a fresh record.
Tuesday's meeting of deputy foreign ministers from Russia, China, the United States, Germany, France and Britain underlined international differences over punitive action against Iran.
All the powers have said they are determined to solve the problem through diplomatic means, but the US is alone among them in not ruling out military action.
Pres. Bush plans to raise the issue during PM Hu Jintao's visit.


text: With the latest model released by Land Rover, ARB engineers have created another eye-catching deluxe winch bar that is robust and practical. With folded pans, up swept wings, splash guards, Hi-Lift jack points, wing CB aerial mounts and O.E. style buffers, the Land Rover LR4 deluxe bar looks original and offers superb protection while retaining full SRS airbag compatibility. Read More→

subset: commoncrawl


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Webmail. Create A Book. NCLC - National Consumer Law Center. Our Courses. Intro to Computer Science (CS101) When does the course begin?
This class is self paced. You can begin whenever you like and then follow your own pace. It's a good idea to set goals for yourself to make sure you stick with the course. How long will the course be available? How To Get Google Books On Any E-Reader. Logo gratuit: 4 outils pour créer un logo gratuitement. Unlocking the goldmine: new legal proposals to open up Europe's public sector « Digital Agenda Commissioner – Neelie Kroes. Imagine we had a resource available that could stimulate new innovations, a market worth tens of billions of euros, and increase the transparency and governance of public life.
We do – it's the data held by Europe's public institutions. And today I announced legal proposals to unlock this treasure trove. Benefiting not just web entrepreneurs, but journalists, academics, anyone who has a smartphone or uses public services. The test site for the Commission's own data portal - going live 2012. JailbreakMe: Apple issues emergency iPhone/iPad security patch. Over 170,000 people are part of the Sophos community on Facebook.
Why not join us on Facebook to find out about the latest security threats. Hi fellow Twitter user! Electronic Markets. Location-based social networking unveiled - The Independent Florida Alligator: Social Networking. Location-based services have become very popular, especially in the context of mobile marketing.
Tech titans like Google, Facebook and Twitter have already entered the arena with Google Latitude, Facebook Places and location-enabled Tweets. In fact, Google carved its own niche by patenting location-based advertising earlier in May. StopBadware - Welcome to StopBadware. TigerDirect.com - Computers, Computer Parts, Computer Components, Netbooks & Electronics. 5 Twitter Services and Applications to Bypass 140 Character Limit (Firefox extensions included) A lot of people I know are twitterholics and I believe the way things are going I might also become one of them.
Some of the people have also started to use it as one medium where they can discuss or have a communication around social media because it's usually the social media guys who you'd see making most noise on Twitter or for that matter friendfeed. In these situations one often feels the need of 140 character limit annoying. I dugg for some twitter based application and services which can bypass the 140 character limit or shorten your messages on twitter. TinyPaste is TinyURL for text. It allows you to write as much as you can and when you are done, it gives you a tinypaste URL which you can tweet. Top 10 Uses for Wi-Fi (That Aren't Just Connecting to the Internet)
@Whitson Gordon: Yes, exactly half - meaning the other half are about W/ phone.
This was suppose to be an article about Wi-Fi not Android. In fact the author seems to get rather confused about what the article is about (based on the title of the article) when the statement is made: "Okay, so we kind of cheated on this one—it does involve connecting to the internet, but it's definitely not in the traditional Wi-Fi sense. " RaopX Streams Any Audio (Not Just iTunes) from Your Mac to Your AirPort Express.


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Love reading teen books but have reached adulthood? The Teen Books for the Youthful Adult Book Club is for adults who want to discuss exciting teen reads.
Refreshments provided. Registration is not required. Copies available at the Library.
The book club is taking a break in August but will return in September on new night.
January 30 the sky is everywhere by Jandy Nelson
February 27 Rash by Pete Hautman
March 27 Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
April 24 The Diviners by Libba Bray
May 22 Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson
June 26 Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks
July 17 Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver


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General Overview:
Quik-Start™ Mixture is designed to repair bare spots in the lawn or to quickly control erosion on bare soil areas. It will germinate in 7-10 days and can be mixed or overseeded with any other grass seed blend.
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I've three, probably, Beaucarnea recurvata, with new growth a much lighter green than I recall over the past 3-6 years. They have been in a sun room with much light for a few years. Largely ignored, watered irregularly, that sort of thing.
I'm not noticing anything other than new growth appears different, unfamiliar. I really like the plants and wonder if I should not/do something different. I will try and find my camera and that may take a while. In the meantime ... any thoughts? |
Follow-Up Postings:
- Posted by cactusmcharris 4 / Interior BC (My Page) on Wed, Jul 25, 12 at 14:32
Thoughts, I've had a few But not so many to mention Watering, I've had some qualms I could go on this for some time, but wanted to spare you the grief - if anything, I'm guessing, you're not watering it enough during this most prime growth period for your B. r. plants. |
Jeff, If your so inclined, I'd like to listen to your musings and theories about watering the pony tail palm. |
- Posted by cactusmcharris 4 / Interior BC (My Page) on Fri, Jul 27, 12 at 0:38
Rob, Year-around, just less so in winter (unless you've got a greenhouse). Back in the day, any self-respecting San-Diego-based-succulentist had one PIG'd that was the size of a small elephant's foot, never mind the ones that are many feet across/around at Norma's house or at a botanical garden. If it's warm and sunny, they're going to grow, IME and IMO. I'd be curious to hear about your question from others, too. |
- Posted by albert_135 Sunset 2 or 3 (My Page) on Sun, Jul 29, 12 at 14:37
I was looking a pictures over at Google images. Many of those in pots have a caudex that is large relative to the diameter of the pot and often the pot is shallow relative to diameter. Is this ideal? Does it really matter? How to instructions elsewhere say to repot in the spring. Is this ideal? Does it really matter? |
- Posted by cactusmcharris 4 / Interior BC (My Page) on Sun, Jul 29, 12 at 14:46
Albert, The root systems one these aren't that deep, so yes, and spring, when their rate of growth is increased* by higher temps and more sun, is the ideal season to repot, although these can be repotted as well on December 21st, too - you'd just want to be more careful about watering then. OTOH, it may not really matter, but aesthetically, it's pleasing to me to have it in a shallow pot. |
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Bethel Fellowship Assembly Of God
1807 Charleston Estates Dr
Florissant, MO 63031
Visit website
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Promote your business through our innovative Marketplace system! It's free to sign up!
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Log in & claimBusiness ID: 10082387 | Universal ID: d8f3d978-4cbe-5dbe-838d-3a83eb0aa086


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6 reviews for Regenerescence Naturelle — Stimulating Scalp Treatment
5 out of 5
JesseM – :
I needed something to pamper my scalp with and found this suggestion on pintrest, shopping around I found it for a good price on Amazon, a little goes a long way so the bottle should last out a little less than a year if used 1-2 times a week. i use it on my dirty scalp and go in the sauna for 15/20 minutes at the gym and wash out in the morning, it makes my scalp feel hydrated and my hair has more volume at the roots. product smells grate and the eye dropper makes it easy to apply. would totally buy this again!
5 out of 5
Anon-e-mouse – :
I used this (Regenerescence) with the Huile de Palm, and my hair looks incredible.
I sectioned off my hair and applied the Regenerescence to my scalp. Then applied the Huile de Palm to the rest. Sat under the heat cap for 40 minutes.
Then shampooed once. Geesh! Just gorgeous hair! Now I wish I hadn't cut off all my damaged hair (14 inches). It probably could've been salvaged with this stuff.
This "pre-poo" product is FAR SUPERIOR to any after-shampoo conditioner I've used.
Expensive, but worth every penny! And it smells divine! -
5 out of 5
Emma Lou Singer – :
I always keep a bottle of this on hand for when my scalp starts to get a little dry, especially in the winter months. It really does the trick!!
5 out of 5
Jamie Rosen – :
Discovered this at a friend's spa party, we all brought our own products, and it is fabulous!! I put it right on my dry hair and wrapped my hair in a towel. Couple of glasses of wine later I shampooed and my hair felt soft and looked thick and beautiful! Now I'm using it every other week. Love the dropper, makes it easy to apply.
5 out of 5
Chantal B – :
My hair was so dry this past winter, I had a bad case of flakes and it was REALLY embarrassing! I don't usually use a lot of products because I have sensitive skin, but a friend recommended this and I had to try something. I was really happy to discover that it's made with essential oils and all natural ingredients and it works great! I'm so pleased with the results, my scalp totally cleared up and my hair looks shinier and healthier than ever. Love it!!
4 out of 5
Liana G – :
I was pretty devastated when my stylist noticed my hair was thinning slightly in the front near my part. I've always had thin hair but have tried to take care of it and keep it healthy, so this was a big bummer to hear. She recommended this naturelle oil to stimulate my scalp and I have to say that it really works!! So happy, I've only been using it for a couple months but I already see new growth and my hair looks better than ever. And it comes with a dropper, which makes it really easy to apply just the right amount
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This deal is good for any four- or five-course class that is regularly priced at $50. Upcoming gastronomic jam sessions with you and a gourmandizing guru include a May 4 summer seasonal themed class from chef RC Lumpkin—where you'll master roasted garlic soup, pan-sautéed haricot vert, and grilled peaches with honey—as well as an all-Asian delight kapow-wow with Dorothy Huang, who will help you master the intricacies of chicken and coconut-milk soup, sweet and sour shrimp, and three-mushroom lo mein. Of course, you get to eat everything you make, so be sure to bring your own wine or equally classy Capri Sun to Hollandaze Gourmet.
The showrooms at Abbey's Home Furnishings brim with furniture from top brands such as Ashley, Bassett, and Omnia Leather that suit every living space. Browsers discover a cornucopia of dining sets, ranging from ornate hand-carved tabletops to contemporary chairs and noshing surfaces ($699–$1,600). Couples can lounge across love seats and sofas upholstered in fine fabrics or plush leather ($799–$1,199), or take turns staring at saddleback bar stools ($69). With more than 50 different styles of family-room furniture, decorators can tailor living rooms according to almost any theme. Lonely bed frames fill the hole their last mattress left with beds of varying firmnesses, from cloud-like softness to less-yielding body buffers ($799–$1,299). Though not included with today's Groupon, furniture on its last legs finds salvation with Abbey's repair services, which give forlorn pieces their confidence back with necessary parts and heartfelt compliments.
Incredible values, huge selection and laid back – no hassle shopping make it a cinch to deck out your home without having to break the bank. The Gage family, with stores in Austin since 1941, brings you this new exciting concept. Come have a shopping experience that is, well….fun!
Endorsed by financial author Dave Ramsey and highlighted on Oprah Winfrey's Life Lift blog, eMeals charts out a week's worth of dollar- and health-savvy dinner recipes to relieve the burden of kitchen-related stress. Each week, organized grocery lists based on food style, family size, and even grocery store showcase flavorful culinary creations for discerning palates. Plans developed by working parents capitalize on sale items at stores such as Walmart, Publix, and Kroger, and an "any store" list can be used to navigate the aisles of other favored grocers. Family meal plans serve seven meals for three to six people, whereas plans for two are tailored to singles, couples, or a pair of sock puppets on a date atop a chest of drawers.
Special paleo, gluten-free, clean-eating, low-fat, and portion-controlled meal-plan options aid nongeneric eaters in assembling targets for their teeth and fitness regimens. The classic version of the Walmart family plan supplies culinary sustenance to families of three to six for an average weekly cost of $75?$85 and takes advantage of the store's regularly discounted prices. A duo can fill a Publix cart for $50?$60 a week, including side dishes.
Born of founder Jane DeLaney's desire to feed her family stress-free dinners provisioned from an organized list without coupons, eMeals allows shoppers to spend more time at the table and less time wandering about the grocery store uttering monophonic 10th-century chants in dismay.
Everyone has a different vision of how their living space should look, which is why ART on 5th fills its three-level, 6,000-square-foot gallery with art to suit all tastes. Works by notable names such as Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Theodor Seuss Geisel—better known as Dr. Seuss—rub shoulders with rotating collections from some 60 lesser-known artists.
In addition to displaying fine paintings, ART on 5th offers custom-framing services, and backs each of its frames with a lifetime guarantee. The store's artisans meticulously choose a flattering frame for each piece from more than 3,000 styles—helping artwork mesh stylistically with its destination, be it a living-room wall or an endless hall of mirrors. They eschew colored, paper mats in favor of neutral-toned, hand-wrapped linen mats, leaving some wiggle room between art and frame and imbuing each piece with richness and depth. Each frame is hung with kevlar, a bulletproof material that prevents damage caused by rusted hanging wires and showboating '80s action-movie stars.


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For the sixth time in nine weeks this Pac-10 season, a participant in Oregon's games has been named Pac-10 player of the week.
In this case it's UCLA forward Jasmine Dixon, who had 31 points and 20 rebounds against the Ducks on Saturday. She had 17 points despite foul trouble in Corvallis two days earlier.
To review, Taylor Lilley was named player of the week for the Ducks on the opening week of Pac-10 play this season. Since then, players from Arizona, Stanford, UCLA (twice) and California have been named player of the week for their performances against the Ducks and Beavers.
There's no real mystery to this. The Beavers are the worst team in the league, and the Ducks play a style that leads to big statistical performances for both teams. Still, an interesting note.
And I could see the streak continuing this week. If the Ducks complete season sweeps of Washington State and UW this week, which would mean sweeping a pair of road games, you'd have to think an Oregon player would be a strong candidate to collect the award a week from today.


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3D Artists Group
Arts & Literature
Are you a 3D artist? Are you looking for some inspiration? Do you just want to collaborate or know who your fellow artists are? Doesn't matter what application you use or how you do it... if you're a modeller, animator, skinner or looking at getting started with 3D, then this is the group for you!
Your work is really impressive, those render just look so brilliant. Nice work, dude, nice work!
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.
I have always been a military tech fan and have been creating various designs in 3d for years. Would like to share some of these creations with others who share the same passion. I hope you enjoy. More of my work may be viewed on my Deviant Art page. :)


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Sun, Nov 10, 13 at 12:47
Hi, I have a singer prelude sewing machine. When I start sewing my thread keeps bunching up underneath my fabric wich locks up my needle. If I look at the problem closer, seems that my upper thread is getting stuck around my bobin hook. Please help, I've tried everything! |
Follow-Up Postings:
- Posted by dancingirl (My Page) on Mon, Nov 11, 13 at 6:54
Could it be the feed dogs? Are they down, perhaps? Watch to see if they move when you sew " on air" for testing. |
- Posted by lazygardens (My Page) on Tue, Nov 12, 13 at 7:19
All kinds of things: 1 - bobbin tension too tight |
check to see if the top thread has come off of the thread take up lever, that will cause the machine to jam up also.. like someone else said, a bobbin inserted backwards will jam up the machine also.. |
Please bobbin winding properly and change the needle then check the timing. |
- Posted by ruthieg__tx (My Page) on Sat, Dec 21, 13 at 17:42
I hope you solved your problem but thought I would add that I agree with serger... that kind of problem usually means the thread isn't threaded right on the upper part of the machine and it usually is the little eye that moves up and down.... |
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DJ Muggs was notably absent from Cypress Hill's Rise Up LP, as he suggested in our recent interview that B-Real wanted to take the group in a different direction. Despite this, Muggs has been keeping busy as a producer with a number of offshoot projects, the latest being Kill Devil Hills, a collaborative LP with Non-Phixion frontman Ill Bill. With today's saturated, formulaic approach to making albums, Bill and Muggs take it back to basics, with the one-producer/one-emcee blueprint that helped carve out many a classic album during hip-hop's greatest eras.
Kill Devil Hills is a breath of fresh air, almost ironically, because the music itself is more akin to the polluted city streets of New York. While New York rap has taken on a life of it's own in the last decade, many have forgotten about the raw, dusty sound that helped carve out the city's identity, through acts like Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Nas, and Kool G. Rap & Polo. Bill doesn't claim to be a gangster, thug, or drug dealer; instead he's somewhat of a street-reporter-meets-conspiracy-theorist, rhyming about everything from armed robberies to terrorist attacks to full on alien abductions. This aspect of his personality has resonated in his music since his earliest pre-9/11 Non-Phixion records, and with the aftermath of the 2001 attack on New York City, his wide-eyed theories don't sound that crackpot after all.
Muggs' production is well beyond what he's done for Cypress, as he has constantly evolved as a producer over the years, never getting lazy and always reinventing his sound. Kill Devil Hills is no different, presenting a wide palette of production styles for Bill and his guests to rock over. The ridiculous posse cut "Trouble Shooters" finds a classic, hypnotic RZA-esque track that slowly enraptures the listener, as each emcee competes for the top spot. While Sean Price has the most clever rhymes here, it's O.C.'s ridiculous closing verse that subtly steals the show. "Giants Stadium" also carries heavy Wu influence (including some hilarious visuals by Bill), as he and Q-Unique paint pictures over rolling drums and stuttering electric keyboard stabs. The album wouldn't be complete without an actual Wu emcee to rhyme over Muggs beats, as Raekwon and Ill Bill don ski masks for a dog day afternoon at "Chase Manhattan", with one of the most descriptively penned bank-robbery tracks (is that a genre?) heard in ages.
"Milleniums Of Murder" is another standout track, as Muggs employs a heavy, 60′s monster movie backdrop for Bill's stream of consciousness paranoia, with the only thing missing being a verse from King Geedorah. He closes things out with "Narco Corridos", a heartfelt dedication to he and Necro's late Uncle Howie, who's had a memorable presence as a part of his career in one form or another since day one.
Bill's pension for over the top conspiracy theories may be a little much for some, as he demonstrates on tracks like "2013″ and "Kill Devil Hills", firing off several unrelated topics at once and loosely tying them together. But coupled with the fact that he's got a strong lists of guests here to help balance things out, not to mention one of hip-hop's greatest producers of all time on the boards, he's got a very listenable LP with Kill Devil Hills.
Now I agree this is a great album, but seriously… a Classic? Get serious. That sort of honor is reserved for REAL hip hop classics, like Drakes release. Right Pizzo?
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Mon, Feb 6, 12 at 1:39
Southwestern Australian has a wealth of less well known flowering shrubs in the Pea Family, and this Brachysema lanceolatum is one of them. I'm using an older name for this, it has recently been completely renamed. Very useful for being deer tolerant, winter blooming and relatively low water using, and cheery red blooms. Brachysema praemorsum 'Bronze Butterfly' is a summer blooming cousin with dark bronze foliage, that is probably the more common of the two. If anyone is interested in tracking down B. lanceolatum for their garden, Annie's Annuals grows it. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Brachysema lanceolatum in bloom
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Fire engine red Antirrhinum bloomed all winter last year and lasted until hot weather in May. Not a rare plant, but a beautiful one, and certainly red. Al |
Very cool! Do hummingbirds like it? Acid test in my garden-not only must it be attractive, it needs to feed something. |
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I've been thinking about scrapping Elli's first ultrasound picture and have been looking for other LO's to see what people have done with them. I'm looking for that great big inspiration.
So far I have only found Inge's gorgeous page of her baby's first ultrasound picture. If any of you have done one and it's in the galleries somewhere or you've seen one and can find it again, could you please be so kind and put a link here or then PM me about it. I've been looking in the galleries but there's so many of us and so so so many LO's....haven't found any other than the one I mentioned already.
Thanks for your help.


text: Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland was recording tracks for her first solo project with famed producer Rick Rubin when longtime friend and guitarist Scott Patton needed a cool small-body acoustic to facilitate the set. Enter the new Takamine Pro Series model P3NY: it only took a few minutes of playtime for Scott to know that it was the right choice. Jennifer and Scott (with P3NY) recently debuted the first single That Girl (that Jennifer co-wrote with Butch Walker) on Good Morning America.


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A college education doesn't mean squat. Esp. if you live where there are no "real good" jobs. It's too easy to say, "Well just move." Not everyone can pack up & afford to move esp. if they have family close by. College is a CHOICE and always will be because people over 18 are considered adults and can make their own choices, plus college is an expensive commitment that even lots of families, mainly parents cannot afford in this day and age. You can certainly encorage a child in a skill they like but it's up to them what they do w/ it.
DS- Trevor 11/24/05
DD - Kathryn 5/7/2010 at 37+5 weeks!


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.- Two armed men entered a perpetual adoration chapel in in Mexico during the early morning hours on Feb. 29 and stole the monstrance containing the Eucharist.
"The kinds of acts undoubtedly manifest a lack of respect for God in his Church and a lack of values," said the Diocese of Orizaba, which located in the Mexican state of Veracruz.
According to the diocese, the men overpowered the five people who were in the chapel and locked them inside before making off with the monstrance.
"As the Church, such a cowardly act hurts and concerns us, but what mainly disturbs us is what they are going to do with the Holy Eucharist, which as we Catholics know is the real presence of our Lord Jesus Christ," the diocese added.
Diocesan spokesman, Marcos Palacios, said that the local Church doesn't want "the monstrance back, we want the Host. We ask those who took it to bring back, even anonymously if they want."
In the wake the incident, the diocese decided to close the chapel temporarily "to express our sorrow and offer this reaction in penance for the acts that were committed."
The diocese also invited Catholics to join in a march of reparation on March 2 through the streets of Orizaba to the Cathedral. The Eucharist will be carried in procession after which Bishop Marcelino Hernandez Rodriguez will preside at Mass.
The diocese thanked local officials for their support and encouraged Catholics to pray "for the conversion of those who carried out this sacrilegious act. May God strengthen our Church in such a difficult trial."
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The Oscars: Why It's Okay to Pity Julian Schnabel
By S.T. VanAirsdale
As divisive as he is talented, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly director Julian Schnabel has alienated everyone from journalists to Sean Young during his ego-feeding Oscar cycle. Most recently, at Monday's nominees luncheon, the Best Director candidate snapped to the Los Angeles Times: "It's interesting to be nominated for best direction, best editing, best cinematography, best screenplay, but not best picture," he said. "I don't know what else you have to do to make a picture."
It's not an especially gracious observation to make in such laudable company, but you can't blame Schnabel for nursing a grudge. It all started last year at the Cannes Film Festival, where Diving Bell premiered in competition and where Schnabel won his first of several directing prizes to follow (including a Golden Globe). Yet, as I reported on The Reeler when Diving Bell screened last fall at the New York Film Festival, he attributed the award to something of a film snob conspiracy:
[Schnabel] hinted at a juror controversy at Cannes that supposedly precluded Diving Bell from claiming this year's Palme d'Or. (It eventually went to the Romanian drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days.) "I guess they made some kind of a deal because it's a political situation, and then I got Best Director—which is more than I ever bargained for," he said with a shrug. "I shook hands with everybody, even if they didn't vote for me. Like [legendary French actor and Cannes juror] Michel Piccoli. I'm sure he didn't. He's a Communist. But I don't have a problem with that either."
Worse yet, Academy rules denied Diving Bell a shot as Best Foreign-Language Film, the category in which it won a second Golden Globe and cleaned house in almost a dozen critics group awards around the country. Finally, Miramax Films had already worked with Paramount Vantage to produce its in-house darlings—and eventual Best Picture nominees—No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood by the time it bought Diving Bell's distribution rights at Cannes.
So while Schnabel might be a tad thin-skinned, there's a little insult and even more unfortunate timing to go with his injury. I can't wait to see how he repays the cosmos—and who'll heckle him this time around—if he wins an Oscar.
S.T. VanAirsdale is the founder and editor of the New York film culture site The Reeler.


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Roberts rescues U's
Substitute James Roberts produced a superb finish from 20 yards two minutes into stoppage time to earn Oxford a 2-2 draw with Exeter at the Kassam Stadium.
The Grecians, behind early on, looked to be heading for victory when they went 2-1 up after 87 minutes with Alex Nichols looping a header in from close range.
But Roberts worked space for himself on the edge of the area and curled a left-foot shot in off the post.
Oxford had taken the lead in the 18th minute when leading scorer Danny Hylton volleyed...


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