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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - View original article
Achalasia | |
Classification and external resources | |
A CXR showing achalasia ( arrows point to the outline of the massively dilated esophagus ) | |
DiseasesDB | 72 |
MedlinePlus | 000267 |
eMedicine | radio/6 med/16 |
MeSH | C06.405.117.119.500.432 |
Achalasia | |
Classification and external resources | |
A CXR showing achalasia ( arrows point to the outline of the massively dilated esophagus ) | |
DiseasesDB | 72 |
MedlinePlus | 000267 |
eMedicine | radio/6 med/16 |
MeSH | C06.405.117.119.500.432 |
Achalasia ( /eɪkəˈleɪziə/), also known as esophageal achalasia, achalasia cardiae, cardiospasm, and esophageal aperistalsis, is an esophageal motility disorder involving the smooth muscle layer of the esophagus and the lower esophageal sphincter (LES).[1] It is characterized by incomplete LES relaxation, increased LES tone, and lack of peristalsis of the esophagus (inability of smooth muscle to move food down the esophagus) in the absence of other explanations like cancer or fibrosis.[2][3]
Achalasia is characterized by difficulty swallowing, regurgitation, and sometimes chest pain. Diagnosis is reached with esophageal manometry and barium swallow radiographic studies. Various treatments are available, although none cure the condition. Certain medications or Botox may be used in some cases, but more permanent relief is brought by esophageal dilatation and surgical cleaving of the muscle (Heller myotomy).
The most common form is primary achalasia, which has no known underlying cause. It is due to the failure of distal esophageal inhibitory neurons. However, a small proportion occurs secondary to other conditions, such as esophageal cancer or Chagas disease (an infectious disease common in South America).[4] Achalasia affects about one person in 100,000 per year.[4][5]. Prevalence of the condition is 10 in 1,000,000 individuals. There is no gender predominance for the occurrence of disease.[6]
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The main symptoms of achalasia are dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing), regurgitation of undigested food, chest pain behind the sternum, and weight loss.[7] Dysphagia tends to become progressively worse over time and to involve both fluids and solids. Some people may also experience coughing when lying in a horizontal position. The chest pain experienced, also known as cardio spasm and non-cardiac chest pain can often be mistaken for a heart attack. It can be extremely painful in some sufferers. Food and liquid, including saliva, are retained in the esophagus and may be inhaled into the lungs (aspiration).
The cause of most cases of achalasia is unknown.[8] LES pressure and relaxation are regulated by excitatory (e.g., acetylcholine, substance P) and inhibitory (e.g., nitric oxide, vasoactive intestinal peptide) neurotransmitters. Persons with achalasia lack nonadrenergic, noncholinergic, inhibitory ganglion cells, causing an imbalance in excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. The result is a hypertensive nonrelaxed esophageal sphincter.[9]
Due to the similarity of symptoms, achalasia can be mistaken for more common disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hiatus hernia, and even psychosomatic disorders. Specific tests for achalasia are barium swallow and esophageal manometry. In addition, endoscopy of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum (esophagogastroduodenoscopy or EGD), with or without endoscopic ultrasound, is typically performed to rule out the possibility of cancer.[4] The internal tissue of the esophagus generally appears normal in endoscopy, although a "pop" may be observed as the scope is passed through the non-relaxing lower esophageal sphincter with some difficulty, and food debris may be found above the LES.
The patient swallows a barium solution, with continuous fluoroscopy (X-ray recording) to observe the flow of the fluid through the esophagus. Normal peristaltic movement of the esophagus is not seen. There is acute tapering at the lower esophageal sphincter and narrowing at the gastro-esophageal junction, producing a "bird's beak" or "rat's tail" appearance. The esophagus above the narrowing is often dilated (enlarged) to varying degrees as the esophagus is gradually stretched over time.[4] An air-fluid margin is often seen over the barium column due to the lack of peristalsis. A five-minutes timed barium swallow can provide a useful benchmark to measure the effectiveness of treatment.
Because of its sensitivity, manometry (esophageal motility study) is considered the key test for establishing the diagnosis. A thin tube is inserted through the nose, and the patient is instructed to swallow several times. The probe measures muscle contractions in different parts of the esophagus during the act of swallowing. Manometry reveals failure of the LES to relax with swallowing and lack of functional peristalsis in the smooth muscle esophagus.[4]
Characteristic manometric findings are:[citation needed]
Biopsy, the removal of a tissue sample during endoscopy, is not typically necessary in achalasia, but if performed shows hypertrophied musculature and absence of certain nerve cells of the myenteric plexus, a network of nerve fibers that controls esophageal peristalsis.[10]
Sublingual nifedipine significantly improves outcomes in 75% of people with mild or moderate disease. Surgical myotomy provides greater benefit than either botulinum toxin or dilation in those who fail medical management.[11]
Both before and after treatment, achalasia patients may need to eat slowly, chew very well, drink plenty of water with meals, and avoid eating near bedtime. Raising the head of the bed or sleeping with a wedge pillow promotes emptying of the esophagus by gravity. After surgery or pneumatic dilatation, proton pump inhibitors can help prevent reflux damage by inhibiting gastric acid secretion; and foods that can aggravate reflux, including ketchup, citrus, chocolate, alcohol, and caffeine, may need to be avoided.
Drugs that reduce LES pressure are useful. These include calcium channel blockers such as nifedipine,[12] and nitrates such as isosorbide dinitrate and nitroglycerin. However, many patients experience unpleasant side effects such as headache and swollen feet, and these drugs often stop helping after several months.
Botulinum toxin (Botox) may be injected into the lower esophageal sphincter to paralyze the muscles holding it shut. As in the case of cosmetic Botox, the effect is only temporary and lasts about 6 months. Botox injections cause scarring in the sphincter which may increase the difficulty of later Heller myotomy. This therapy is only recommended for patients who cannot risk surgery, such as elderly persons in poor health.[4]
In balloon (pneumatic) dilation or dilatation, the muscle fibers are stretched and slightly torn by forceful inflation of a balloon placed inside the lower esophageal sphincter. Gastroenterologists who specialize in achalasia have performed many of these forceful balloon dilatations and achieve better results and fewer perforations. There is always a small risk of a perforation which requires immediate surgical repair. Pneumatic dilatation causes some scarring which may increase the difficulty of Heller myotomy if the surgery is needed later. Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) occurs after pneumatic dilatation in some patients. Pneumatic dilatation is most effective on the long term in patients over the age of 40; the benefits tend to be shorter-lived in younger patients. It may need to be repeated with larger balloons for maximum effectiveness.[5]
Heller myotomy helps 90% of achalasia patients. It can usually be performed by a keyhole approach, or laparoscopically.[13] The myotomy is a lengthwise cut along the esophagus, starting above the LES and extending down onto the stomach a little way. The esophagus is made of several layers, and the myotomy only cuts through the outside muscle layers which are squeezing it shut, leaving the inner muscosal layer intact. A partial fundoplication or "wrap" is generally added in order to prevent excessive reflux, which can cause serious damage to the esophagus over time. After surgery, patients should keep to a soft diet for several weeks to a month, avoiding foods that can aggravate reflux.
Most recommended fundoplication along with Heller's myotomy is Dor's fundoplication. It consists of 180 to 200 degree anterior wrap around the esophagus. It provides excellent result as compared to Nissen's fundoplication which is associated with higher incidence of the post surgery dysphagia.[14]
Follow-up monitoring: Even after successful treatment of achalasia, swallowing may still deteriorate over time. The esophagus should be checked every year or two with a timed barium swallow because some may need pneumatic dilatations, a repeat myotomy, or even esophagectomy after many years. In addition, some physicians recommend pH testing and endoscopy to check for reflux damage, which may lead to a premalignant condition known as Barrett's esophagus or a stricture if untreated.
Incidence of achalasia is 1 to 2 per 200,000. Disease affects young adults in their 20s and 30s.[citation needed]


text: This just in: Can you fit these into the news section: Please make sure you put the headline in the contents section as well xxk UNDER NEW CONTRACTS: V-Ships installs PurpleFinder DSAS on all ships http://www.purplefinder.com Pole Star Space Applications has won its plum contract: V.Ships, which manages 650 ships, has decided to install its DSAS ship security alert system on its vessels. DSAS will be fitted on all ships under V.Ships' full technical management, in two phases, one to meet the July 2004 deadline and the other by July 2006. The tracking data will be integrated into Pole Star's Purplefinder web based tool enabling V.Ships to track where its vessels are online. Pole Star will also provide after sales customer and technical support. "Our selection followed a comprehensive market review of the various competing products from which we concluded the DSAS solution offered the optimum solution based on functional, operational, and commercial factors," says V.Ships. "It was important for V. Ships to select a product where all aspects of the solution had been considered from ship equipment and installation, through satellite service, to shore application and alert management process, and importantly after sales support and warranty options. "In addition to the size of order and prestige of securing such an order from the world's leading ship manager, the most rewarding aspect of this is the fact that V Ships undertook a detailed evaluation of all competing products, and selected the DSAS solution," says Pole Star. "We have served the industry well over the past 5 years offering fleet tracking solutions, and it is recognised that we have not just set up shop to exploit the fact that the ISPS code dictates ships must carry equipment." === UNDER NEW PRODUCTS ABS guidance on ergonomic design of bridges http://www.eagle.org Class society ABS has released a set of "Guidance Notes on Ergonomic Design of Navigation Bridges," the first in a set of practical guides about human factors in marine safety. "We recognize that the vast majority of shipping accidents involving collisions and groundings stem from activities on the navigation bridge," says ABS Manager of Safety Assessment & Human Factors Denise McCafferty. "When bridge activities rely on interfaces that are awkward for the mariner, human errors relating to judgment and vessel control can occur." ABS did some work in 1998 about ergonomics on marine systems, and this work builds on it. It looks at practical criteria for ergonomic design and layout of interfaces in the navigational bridge arec. There is a process to identify individual vessel bridge requirements to guide the application of ergonomic design principles. The criteria is aimed at providing designers and engineers with practical guidance and work processes to use from the concept stage for effective integration of ergonomics and engineering. According to ABS, effective ergonomic design is about "integrating personnel with systems and their interfaces," including controls, displays, alarms, video-display units, computer workstations, labels, and overall workspace arrangement. "Our goal is to use HFE [human factors engineering] to significantly improve personnel performance and safety while reducing the potential for human error," says ABS.

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Harry PayneSubmitted by Vog46 on Wed, 01/30/2013 - 4:34pm.
Wrote an Op-Ed piece for the SNO yesterday about this. Then two bullets down from that you have this: "Vote against the measure that uses temporary debt as an excuse to permanently gut a system which has allowed family and community economic stability" so does it add to the debt? The monies do have to be repaid as far as I know. Vog »
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Cataclysm Class Preview - Druid
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In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm we'll be making several changes to class talents and abilities. Here you will get a glimpse into some of the changes we have in store for the druid. The information you're about to read is certainly not complete, and is only meant to act as a preview of some of the exciting new things to come. Let's kick things off by checking out some of the new druid spells and abilities!
New Druid Abilities
Thrash (Level 81)
: Thrash deals damage and causes all targets within 10 yards to bleed every 2 seconds for 6 seconds. The intent here is to give bears another button to hit while tanking. Talents will affect the bleed, such as causing Swipe to deal more damage to bleeding targets. 5-second cooldown. 25 Rage.
Stampeding Roar (Level 83)
: The druid roars, increasing the movement of all allies within 10 yards by 40% for 8 seconds. Stampeding Roar can be used in cat or bear form, but bears might have a talent to drop the cooldown. The goal of this ability is to give both bears and cats a little more situational group utility. 3-minute cooldown. No cost.
Wild Mushroom (Level 85)
: Grows a magical mushroom at the target location. After 4 seconds the mushroom becomes invisible. Enemies who cross the mushroom detonate it, causing it to deal area-of-effect damage, though its damage component will remain very effective against single targets. The druid can also choose to detonate the mushroom ahead of time. This is primarily a tool for the Balance druid, and there will be talents that play off of it. No cooldown. 40-yard range. Instant cast.
Changes to Abilities and Mechanics
In addition to the new abilities listed above, we intend to make changes to some of the other abilities and mechanics with which you're already familiar. This list and the summary of talent changes below it are by no means comprehensive, but they should give you a good sense of our goals for each spec.
All heal-over-time spells (HoTs) will benefit from crit and haste innately in Cataclysm. Hasted HoTs do not reduce their duration, but instead add additional HoT ticks. Haste will also benefit Energy generation while in cat form.
Unlike the other healers, Restoration druids will not be receiving any new spells. They have plenty to work with already, and our challenge instead is to make sure all of them have a well-defined niche. A druid should be able to tank-heal with stacks of Lifebloom, spot-heal a group with Nourish and Regrowth, and top off lightly wounded targets with Rejuvenation.
We want to add tools to cat form and depth to bear form. If a Feral cat is going to fill a very similar niche to that of a rogue, warrior or Enhancement shaman, it needs a few more tools -- primarily a reliable interrupt. Bears need to be pushing a few more buttons just so the contrast between tanking and damage-dealing is not so steep.
Barkskin will be innately undispellable.
We will be buffing the damage of Mangle (cat) significantly so that when cat druids cannot Shred, they are not at such a damage-dealing loss.
Druids will lose Abolish Poison with the dispel mechanics change, but Restoration druids will gain Dispel Magic (on friendly targets) as a talent. All druids can still remove poisons with Cure Poison and remove curses with Remove Curse.
New Talents and Talent Changes
Tree of Life is changing from a passive talent to a cooldown-based talent, similar to Metamorphosis. Mechanically, it feels unfair for a druid to have to give up so much offense and utility in order to be just as good at healing as the other classes who are not asked to make that trade. We are exploring the exact benefit the druid gets from Tree of Life. It could strictly be better healing, or it could be that each heal behaves slightly different. You also will not be able to be banished in Tree of Life form (this will probably be true of Metamorphosis as well). Additionally, we would like to update the Tree of Life model so that it feels more exciting when you do decide to go into that form. Our feeling is that druids rarely actually get to show off their armor, so it would be nice to have at least one spec that looked like a night elf or tauren (and soon troll or worgen) for most of the time.
We want to make the Feral cat damage rotation slightly more forgiving. We do not want to remove what druids like about their gameplay, but we do want to make it less punishing to miss, say, a Savage Roar or Rake. The changes here will be on par with increasing the duration of Mangle like we did for patch 3.3.3.
Balance druids will have a new talent ability called Nature's Torrent, which strikes for either Nature or Arcane damage depending on which will do the most damage (or possibly both), and moves the Eclipse meter more (details below). The improved version of Nature's Torrent also reduces the target's movement speed. 10-second cooldown.
Restoration druids will have a new talent called Efflorescence, which causes a bed of healing flora to sprout beneath targets that are critically healed by Regrowth.
We plan on giving Feral cats and bears a Kick/Pummel equivalent -- an interrupt that is off the global cooldown and does no damage. We feel like they need this utility to be able to fill the melee role in a dungeon or raid group, and to give them more PvP utility.
We want to make sure Feral and Balance druids feel like good options for an Arena team. They need the tools to where you might consider a Feral druid over an Arms warrior, or a Balance druid over a mage or warlock. Remember that the PvP landscape will probably look pretty different for Cataclysm with a focus on rated, competitive Battlegrounds.
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Mastery Passive Talent Tree Bonuses
Spell Damage
Spell Haste
Feral (Cat)
Melee Damage
Melee Critical Damage
Bleed Damage
Feral (Bear)
Damage Reduction
Savage Defense
HoT Scale Healing
: We are moving Eclipse from a talent into a core mechanic of the class and making it less random. Balance druids will have a new UI element that shows a sun and a moon. Whenever they cast an Arcane spell, it will move the UI closer to the sun, and buff their Nature damage. Whenever they cast a Nature spell, it will move the UI closer to the moon, and buff their Arcane damage. The gameplay intention is to alternate Arcane and Nature spells (largely Starfire and Wrath) to maintain the balance.
Bleed Damage and Savage Defense
: Feral druids will receive two sets of passive bonuses depending on whether the druid is in cat or bear form. Bleed Damage will be improved for cats. Savage Defense is the current bear mechanic for converting crits into damage absorption and will be improved for bears.
HoT Scale Healing
: HoTs will do increased healing on more wounded targets. The mechanic is similar to that of the Restoration shaman, but with HoTs instead of direct heals. In Cataclysm, we anticipate druids using a greater variety of their spells so there is a distinction between healing and HoT healing.
: This is a mechanic to ensure that tank damage (and therefore threat) doesn't fall behind as damage-dealing classes improve their gear during the course of the expansion. All tanking specs will have Vengeance as their second talent tree passive bonus. Whenever a tank gets hit, Vengeance will give them a stacking attack power buff equal to 5% of the damage done, up to a maximum of 10% of the character's unbuffed health. For boss encounters we expect that tanks will always have the attack power bonus equal to 10% of their health. The 5% and 10% bonuses assume 51 talent points have been put into the Feral tree and the druid is in bear form -- these values will be smaller at lower levels. Remember, you only get this bonus if you have spent the most talent points in the Feral tree and are in bear form, so you won't see Balance, Restoration, or Feral druids in cat form running around with it. Vengeance will let us continue to make tank gear more or less the way we do today -- there will be some damage-dealing stats, but mostly survival-oriented stats. Druids typically have more damage-dealing stats even on their tanking gear, so the Vengeance benefit may be smaller, but overall the goal is that all four tanks do about the same damage when tanking.
We hope you enjoyed this preview, and ask that you provide your initial thoughts and feedback on what was presented here. Please keep in mind, what you've just reviewed is a work in progress and as we move closer to the Cataclysm beta, you'll see these changes as well as others continue to develop in response to testing and feedback.
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May 12, 2011, 11:39 PM | |
By Golly Wayne! I have 175 bucks from my royalty quarter, so I think I find another 75 bucks put into my own Radian! yepper fer sure! Now then, do I want a pro or 'regular'??!
Johnny |
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May 12, 2011, 11:52 PM | |
Hi Johnny,
From everything I have read about the different Radian models I don't believe one is really any better than the other as far as thermaling goes. The Pro is a wee bit heavier and you obviously get to fiddle with camber and flaps but the simple R/E plane is hard to beat when it comes to relaxed flying. If you already have a charger, batery and a RX you can get either one for roughly what you have now. The original Radian goes for 175 and the Pro goes for 189 as a PNP version. Wayne |
May 13, 2011, 10:21 PM | |
Thanks guys!:
Hoss! I like the mousefart part- if I keep talkin' to it, it shouldn't come down! I need some relaxin'- and flight- as i'll be working tomorrow as well! Maybe 4th of July for the C- but I did say the same about last years' bird too! Johnny |
Latest blog entry: Captain Canardly Concepts up and running
May 14, 2011, 08:44 AM | |
sdy. ny
Joined May 2007
3,034 Posts
My transparent red has yet to show up the vendor sent trans orange instead!Looks like it will be tuesday before I get the red stuff.I took time out from the sinbad build to finish up the aileron servo fitting and push rods and took the right wing to the sing shop for the lettering.With luck I should be able to recover the left wing nights through the week and get my sign guy to paint the trim so I can give her a toss next weekend.
May 15, 2011, 05:05 AM | |
I think we had the weather that was supposed to be in your locale. Cold and rainy all day yesterday, windstorm and heavy rain all night. My wife told me they had a bunch of tornados touching down only a few miles from our farm. None of that up here in Saginaw, but the weather was/is most definitely not good for outdoor flying.
May 15, 2011, 10:39 AM | |
Would you like some of ours? We have REAL ones here. Strong enough to thermal a school bus, although thankfully not as often as they have out in places like Kansas. Still, you're welcome to have some of them if you'd like.
I remember clearly April 4, 1974. From the top floor of our hi-rise dorm in Cincinnati we watched the storms and the occasional funnel cloud marching towards us from Kentucky, just across the Ohio river, like an advancing army. Someone at another window saw a funnel cloud drop down right over the girls' dorm right next to ours, then disappear back up into the cloud. Then they sent us all down to the designated shelter area in the basement, where we spent the next several hours listening to pocket radios. It was like living through "The War of the Worlds" - "They've hit St. Bernard!" "They wiped out Xenia!!" About four years later I was taking flying lessons toward my Single Engine Land rating (I already had my private license in sailplanes then), at a little grass airport between Dayton and Cincinnati. We were working on night flying. On a clear night, visual navigation can actually be easier in some regards than during the day. For each town of any significant size there is a yellow blotch printed on the sectional charts, and at night the blotch on the ground formed by the lights of the town is the same shape as the blotch on the chart. Except Xenia. Even that many years later, Xenia still looked like a billiard ball, a round yellow blotch on the ground, with a half-mile wide black stripe right through the middle of it, marking where the tornado had gone through. Don (who is wearing his blue plaid shirt today, and might try flying his little electric heli in the living room in a little while) |
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She obtained board certification from The American Board of Family Medicine for Family Practice.
Dr. Nico Roscoe specializes in family practice in DuBois, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Nico Roscoe has been compared 263 times. Details of Dr. Roscoe's 9 years experience as an MD, her hospital affiliation and education at American University of the Caribbean are available on your free doctor report.
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Dr. Nico Roscoe has been identified as specializing in Family Practice.
She obtained board certification from The American Board of Family Medicine for Family Practice.
A hospital affiliation covers any doctor who has an affiliation, association or admitting privilege with a hospital. A doctor's particular affiliation to a specific hospital can translate to the overall quality of that provider.
Dr. Roscoe is affiliated with 1 hospital:
Dr. Nico Roscoe has been confirmed to have a license in Minnesota and Pennsylvania
Dr. Roscoe attended medical school at American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine and graduated in 2006 having 9 years experience.
While there is no proven correlation between the quality of one's educational institution and the quality of one's professional competence, it is often an indicator. Medical schools have various levels of selectivity (some are harder to get into than others), and both the quality of their clinical training and level of research are measured. Additional medical training in both residency and fellowships and the facilities they are conducted at also provide a history of the doctors' level of training and experience.
Patients may also know Dr. Nico Roscoe MD as:
898 Beaver Dr, DuBois, PA 15801
Clearfield-Jefferson Primary Care Associates, 33 Beaver Dr, Suite 1 DuBois, PA 15801
DuBois Regional Medical Center East, 635 Maple Ave, DuBois, PA 15801
DuBois Regional Medical Center East, 635 Maple Ave, DuBois, PA 15801
145 Hospital Ave, Suite 313 DuBois, PA 15801
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Choose your language اختر لغتك
زبان خود را انتخاب کنید
Your selection will be remembered for your next visit
سيذكر اختيارك لزيارتك القادمة
انتخاب شما به خاطر سپرده خواهد شد برای بازدید بعدی شما
Negative ions are blown out independently from an outlet separate from the hot air outlet. Thanks to this independent system, the negative ion moisturizing effect is increased. 1. Moisture penetrates deep into hair cuticle. 2. Negative ions & moisture coat the surface of the hair. *All illustrations are representations only.
Quickly dries hair roots with a strong air flow while preventing hair damage due to excessive exposure to heat. You can select from 3 temperature settings and 3 speed settings according to your preference.
You can select from 3 temperature settings and 3 speed settings according to your preference.
When you clasp the Ion Charge Panel on the grip, the negative charge on the surface of hair is reduced enabling negative ions emitted from the dryer to more easily penetrate hair.


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Forum List » Guru News and Commentaries Guru News, Stock picks and commentaries Vitaliy Katsenelson on Berkshire Shareholder Meeting, Munger, Budget Deficit and China
Posted by: Vitaliy Katsenelson
(IP Logged)
Date: May 15, 2012 02:59PM
I am back from Buffett's Omaha. Every year I come back feeling supercharged for the year ahead. This year was no different. From morning till night I had the pleasure of sharing and debating ideas with investors from all over the world. Though I did not plan it this way, the first day I had dinner with value investors/friends from the UK, on the second from Germany, and on the third from Spain. I have at least a dozen stock ideas to research and new thoughts to process.
Charlie Munger, in his usual brilliantly succinct manner, spit out a few terrific zingers at the Berkshire meeting: "If an investment comes with a high commission, don't even read the prospectus [run away]" and "Prostitution is a step up for compensation consultants" and "If short-term performance is something that turns you on, you should not be in this room." Watch this interview with Munger. He is too old (88) and too rich to try to be politically correct – he is very refreshing. Seek out people who disagree with you While answering a question on his political views and their impact on Berkshire (see question 13), Buffett said something that really resonated with me, though for a different reason: "If you are going to choose your friends and your investments if they agree with you, you are going to have a very peculiar life." I have a dentist friend. He was born in Russia, moved to Israel when he was 7, spent 20 years in Germany, and then moved to Denver about 10 years ago. He is extremely smart, very well-read, and a thoughtful person. His multi-continent background gives him a unique perspective on things. However, I have yet to meet a person with whom I disagree more about US and global politics. In the past I used to get angry at him. After one of our regular debates, I'd sometimes go into avoidance mode for a few months. His disagreements were passionate but also well-thought-out and backed up with facts and his own theories. Last winter he invited to me to go skiing with him. Overall he is a pleasant person, but I was a bit hesitant – it is a two-hour drive each direction from Denver to the mountains. Four hours of disagreements in one day? But I went along, and instead of disagreeing with him I started to listen. I tried to identify the specifics of our disagreement, what assumptions both of us were making. And then tried to focus the discussion on these more precise points of disagreement. In the end we each learned from the other. Our views have not changed much (political views are like religion beliefs, nearly impossible to change), but this summer we are going to go off bicycling together, and I am looking forward to it. This applies to investing as well. When you are long a stock you are naturally trying to seek out investors who have the same opinion, and naturally stay away from those who have contrary views. Instead, we should try to do the opposite, seeking out smart people who, after doing their research (a very important point), came to a different conclusion from ours. This point is a bit more nuanced. If I talk to a momentum growth investor about Xerox, I know exactly why he'll be avoiding it; there is no momentum in the stock price. His view will bring me very little insight. However, the perspective of a smart fundamental investor who's done thorough research but arrived at a different conclusion might be very valuable. When we find someone who disagrees, we need to identify exactly where the differences in opinion lie (assumptions, new/missing important data points, etc.) and then methodically and objectively try to refute those points. If you cannot, maybe you are not as right as you thought you were. I've seen Jim Chanos do this. When he presents an idea he'll say, "Bulls make the following assumptions…" and he'll impartially spell them out; and then he'll go, "But here is why we think they're are wrong" (or the results are not achievable etc.). Speaking of Jim, he was interviewed in the Graham and Doddsville newsletter. I really liked this interview, because it went deep into Jim's unique investment process. He also recently participated on an investment panel on China at the Milken Institute. It is worth watching. The budget deficit is a stimulus In answer to a question, Buffett said something along the lines of "When government runs a 10% deficit, it is a stimulus, though nobody calls it that." But the bond market will not let us run 10% deficits forever. Unless an unlikely miracle happens and, due to super economic growth, we fill in that hole, taxes will have to go up, government spending will have to be cut, and/or money will have to be printed. It is hard for me to see how the current (artificially set by the Fed, insanely low) long-term interest rates will stay there. As Buffett mentioned, elimination of the deficit will be destimulating, so the future may hold a weird combination of low real growth and still-high interest rates. China = post-bubble Japan? On a different topic, The (UK) Telegraph has a fairly bleak article on the sorry state of the Chinese economy, which is coming to resemble the Japanese post-bubble economy at an increasing rate. Here are some scary excerpts, with my comments:
Guru Discussed: Charlie Munger: Current Portfolio, Stock Picks Stocks Discussed: BRK.B, BRK.A, FXI,
Re Vitaliy Katsenelson on Berkshire Shareholder Meeting Munger the Bedget Deficit and China
Posted by: smgilbert
(IP Logged)
Date: May 15, 2012 03:40PM
Nice article Vitaly but. Due to Fed price manipulation (QE 1,2, .... infinitie series?), bond prices impart little to no information. Isn't it more than a little strange that running huge deficits and huge money creation barely move the growth needle? Besides, all the other info you cite sounds pretty deflationary, e.g. China, etc. The inflation cake may be baking in the oven but I think with a long time lag as there's more than a whiff of deflation in the air. Maybe Dr. Ben with settle our differences for us? All he needs to do is come out and state loudly that with the end of QEII there'll be no more QE's on his watch. Then we'll send how the market reacts, and the direction that corporate hiring and investments numbers follow. Guru Discussed: Charlie Munger: Current Portfolio, Stock Picks Stocks Discussed: BRK.B, BRK.A, FXI,
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Flickr Find: iPod armor edition
Wow, as if there weren't enough reason to carry around your iPod, Kevin Garrad of the 3rd Infantry Division has evidence that an iPod can save your life. Apparently, he had the iPod in his outside pocket when he was shot with an AK-47; the iPod seems to have slowed down the bullet enough to prevent it from penetrating his body armor. Flickr user tikigod, who posted the image, says that it has been seen inside Apple, and they're working on getting Kevin a replacement.
[Via Digg]
Update: I ran across a bit more information, including links to some more pictures. I'm pretty sure this is legitimate. [via Digg]
Software Updates
more updates- Apple Remote Desktop updated with Yosemite support
- OS X Yosemite 10.10.2, iOS 8.1.3 updates now available
- Sports Illustrated 120 SPORTS channel comes to Apple TV
- Logic Pro X update brings AirDrop support, new effects, tools, and more
- Parallels Access 2.5 released, adds file manager, computer-to-computer remote access
- The Google Translate iOS app is about to get a lot smarter


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- The Cut To Free Tee / Free the Black Cardinal Sticker
Products I'm releasing for my brand Free Movement Projec - Finally, I get to release a new tee for my brand, The Free Movement Projec. It's been a while since I was able to release something for FMP. However, I have been spending my time bettering my designing skills and getting the hang of Adobe Illustrator. What I have here is the introduction of FMP's mascot, Free the Black Cardinal.
Why a black cardinal?
The black cardinal, or melanistic cardinal, is a rare breed. Genetically different due to a melanin disorder, they are forced to stand out from the rest. Yet, they still fly just as high, if not higher, than their counterparts. That characteristic is embodied in the Free Movement Projec! - Product shots are coming shortly!


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3 tips for branded content in the social realm
Journalists, entrepreneurs, marketers and media folks recently attended a great panel hosted by Outbrain's Content Conversations meetup.
Shane Snow, Co-Founder of our meetup partner Contently, led Katrina Craigwell, Digital Marketing at GE, and Jonathan Perelman, VP Agency Strategy and Industry Development at BuzzFeed through a discussion on one of the hottest in topics in digital media: how brands interact with consumers on social media platforms.
As much as "native advertising" and branded content's been covered recently, there's still a sense, according to Perelman, that brands are just now getting their bearings in the social media realm. Craigwell and Perelman shared insights on what brands should consider as they seek to engage consumers on social platforms.
Let People In
We tend to think of marketing as a "push" exercise, don't we?
How can I push my message out to consumers?
Let's make a big marketing push this year!
How can I extend my reach?
To take a page out of Paul Arden's book, content marketing is all about thinking the opposite. Sometimes we need to turn off our marketing caps and think like the everyday human beings we are trying to reach. In Craigwell's world, that means rather than obsessing over how to push a product or sales pitch, take a deep breath and consider letting people in.
Let consumers see who you are as a brand. What inspires you? What are your values? What is your knowledge expertise? What makes you laugh? Don't be afraid to take them behind the scenes or show them a side of your brand you don't typically "market." Content allows you to share stories that resonate, but in order to share yours, you have to know what it is. Coming up with honest answers to the aforementioned questions is a great way to start.
Make It Shareable
There's "viral" media and then there's "shareable" media. If you think you're in the viral media business, you're in the wrong business. By its own definition, viral media spreads itself. Creating media in a vacuum and hoping it propagates around the web is not a strategy, and anyway, you don't want your content to spread itself. You want to inspire living, breathing human beings to share the content with their friends, family and peers.
Ask yourself this: would I share this? Creating content with this simple question in mind is a great way to steer your content toward positive engagement rather than the vast viral media graveyard. It's also the difference between antiquated SEO (link-building) and smart SEO (engaging content).
Work Together, Play Together
BuzzFeed is among a number of key players ushering in a new era of digital media partnerships, as publishers and brands find that they more in common than real estate constrictions on a web page. Content marketing is teaching both groups how to come together to create engaging experiences for their mutual audiences. With new territory comes mistakes, but as Perelman put it, therein lies the opportunity as well. These content partnerships are so new, the sky's the limit on how far brands and publishers go to engage audiences and create something special across platforms.
Got great content? Amplify it with Outbrain and get your content recommended on premium publisher sites across the web. Learn more
Jason Fox
Business:An "Internet Marketing Specialist" with a goal to Educate, Enrich and Empower Entrepreneurial Real Estate Agents and Small Business Owners.
Me:#GoHawks, #BringBackTheSonics, #MaybeNextYearMariners, #ILoveMyKids #SeattleSunLover #SeattleWaterLover #BFF
Blog:Focuses on WordPress Websites, Content Management, SEO Services, SEM Campaigns, Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, Beautiful Design, IDX, and more.
Latest posts by Jason Fox (see all)
- The Template For Making a Good-Looking Blog Post - February 18, 2015
- How To Add Custom Fonts to WordPress - February 9, 2015
- Best Times To Post for Social Media Effectiveness [Infographic] - January 26, 2015


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12-14-2014, 09:45 PM | #1 (permalink) |
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: The Mitten
Posts: 86
use of super 8
i have been seeing the use of super 8 and other old cameras popping up a lot recently.
Im just wondering what peoples thoughts are on this. i personally enjoy the effect and have been playing with the idea of getting one myself. also where would i do that.. |
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12-14-2014, 09:50 PM | #2 (permalink) |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Mountains
Posts: 10,727
I can't remember if it's Super 8 or 16mm that needs to be sent off for development/post production. Your best bet for finding a camera is a pawn shop/craigslist/your grandparents.
Now if you're using the digital Super 8 filter. It has its time and place and has to be used correctly. Shooting urban rails is a no no, shooting pow then yes. Lighting is also an issue. It never hurts to play with it and figure out how it works and if you like working with it.
Angry Snowboarder Because someone has to call it how they see it! |
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- Home Photo Galleries Photo
Photos: Taunton resident captures Boston Marathon bombing suspects
Bob Leonard of Taunton happened to capture several quality photos of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects while photographing the event Monday. He sent them to the FBI Thursday to help identify the suspects. "I also have a friend with family members in homeland security, and the family members immediately passed the first email to the undersecretary, who also moved them to the Joint Terrorist Task Force," he said in an email to the Taunton Daily Gazette. "I uploaded and passed on the other 12 suspect photos, as the evening wore on." The photos in this gallery are the same ones he passed along to the FBI.
Posted Apr. 19, 2013
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Follow @quotations - Get daily quotes on Twitter. Subscribe to Quotes of the Day with our Email Service or with your newsreader: (what's this?) Follow us on Twitter and get more daily quotes! Don't forget to stop by the Motivational Quotes of the Day. Starling Fitness: Fitness weblog from the authors of The Quotations Page Hear Motivational Quotes set to music at Affirmation Station Starling Travel: Travel weblog from the authors of The Quotations Page Find out what happened Today in History (Scope Systems) You can include these quotations on your own Web page. Read classic books, essays, plays, and poetry online at The Literature Page.
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"My ability to throw a baseball was a gift. It was a God-given gift. And I am truly appreciative of that gift. It took me a while to figure that out... and when I finally did, I dedicated myself to be the best pitcher I possibly could be, for as long as I possibly could be."
Nolan Ryan
"My God is a God of unfathomable!"
"In the midst of the turmoil, the fear, the anxiety that's in our nation and in our world, as I was walking and meditating, I heard the voice of God. I've heard that voice many times; it's familiar to me, and there's no way that I can fail to understand it's His voice because I'm familiar with it."
Oral Roberts
"I pity the Gods, I feel so sorry for them. A common God has infinity power, has knowledge of emotions but never felt them nor does the God has the ability to grow stronger or weaker. Unlike humans, we have the different kind of power. We can push limits up no matter how high it can get, we can feel love and hate, we can even learn and explore. But to already know it all must be so damn boring. Gods will never understand us, will never understand how lucky we are."
J C A Rowe
"I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game."
Walt Whitman
"The baseball gods are showing me a little bit of everything this year. We just seem to make a mistake at the most inappropriate time."
Willie Randolph
"The baseball gods owed us one, but I think we earned it, too."
Dave Brundage


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DeWALT Mitersaw
From i3Detroit
Revision as of 20:31, 18 November 2012 by Djscholl (Talk | contribs) (Undo revision 4384 by Djscholl (talk))
Remember to always; clean up and return the equipment to a fully functional, safe state before you leave. This includes returning any safety mechanisms to fully working order. |
DeWALT Mitersaw
For sawing wood.
Basic Info
- Ownership: Paul Kerchen
- Location: This mitersaw is located at the south end of the wood shop.
- What it looks like:
Manufacturer Information
- Make/Model: DeWALT DW 705
- Part Number: S/N 14165
not specified
- Use with wood only, please!
Authorized Users and Trainers
No equipment access set up. See User:pajamapuma or Equipment Access Project for help.
Other References
- Band saw consumables are on this list: Wood Shop Consumables


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By Dan Malovany
Rocky Mountain Pies has mapped out a strategy to conquer the competitive pie category. The goal is not to climb to the top, but to partner with customers and be the best at what it does.
Pie sales are flat, as a whole. Ingredient costs are soaring, and innovation is lacking. Getting increases in pricing is challenging, and competition in the category is as fierce as ever.


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DEA Congressional Testimony October 3, 2001
Statement by:
Asa Hutchinson Administrator Drug Enforcement Administration
Before the:
House Government Reform Committee Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources
Date: October 3, 2001
Executive Summary
Asa Hutchinson DEA Administrator
Opium poppy flower.
Opium pod being scored. Photo: UNDCP
DEA employs a global approach to attacking drug organizations that fuel the terror network. In 2000, Afghanistan produced 70 percent of the worlds opium supply and 80 percent of the opiate products destined for Europe. Unlike their counterparts in Colombia, the terrorists in Afghanistan enjoy the benefits of a trafficker-driven economy that lacks even a recognized national government.
DEA intelligence confirms the presence of a linkage between Afghanistans ruling Taliban and international terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Although DEA has no direct evidence to confirm that Bin Laden is involved in the drug trade, the sanctuary enjoyed by Bin Laden is based on the Talibans support for the drug trade, which is a primary source of income in Afghanistan. Credible DEA source information indicates ties between the Taliban and the drug trade. The Taliban directly taxes and derives financial benefits from the opium trade. They even provide receipts for their collected drug revenues.
In 2001, Afghanistan produced approximately 74 metric tons of opium, a substantial reduction from the 3,656 metric tons produced in 2000. Despite this significant decrease and the Talibans claims of lab destructions, DEA has seen no decrease in availability, and no increase in the price of Southwest Asian Heroin in the United States and European consumer countries. This indicates that significant amounts of opiates still remain available. According to the United Nations, up to 60% of Afghanistans opium crop is stored for future sales. Since the Talibans opium ban of July 2000, the kilogram price of opium has skyrocketed from US $44 to over US $400. This price increase, which was limited to the immediate region and did not resonate to international markets, appeared to be a means for the Taliban to capitalize on a rise in the price of a commodity over which they exercise nearly total control.
DEA will continue to aggressively identify and build cases against drug trafficking organizations contributing to global terrorism. In doing so, we will limit the ability of drug traffickers to use their destructive goods as a commodity to fund malicious assaults on humanity and the rule of law.
Chairman Souder and Ranking Member Cummings, it is a pleasure for me to appear before you and the other members of this Subcommittee for the first time in my capacity as the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). I know that all of DEA deeply appreciates this Subcommittees leadership and support in our fight against international drug trafficking, and I look forward to continuing our very successful and productive relationship.
I appear before you today to testify on the connection between international drug trafficking and terrorism. As the tragic events in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. so horrifyingly demonstrate, terrorist violence is indeed a threat to the very national security of the United States. Accordingly, the degree to which profits from the drug trade are directed to finance terrorist activities, as well as the extent to which both types of organizations rely upon the same money laundering and smuggling facilitators or systems, is of paramount concern to the DEA.
Heroin lab in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan produced over 70 percent of the worlds supply of illicit opium in 2000.
Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan
DEAs mission is to target the powerful international drug trafficking organizations that operate around the world, supplying drugs to American communities, employing thousands of individuals to transport and distribute drugs. Some of these groups have never hesitated to use violence and terror to advance their interests, all to the detriment of law-abiding citizens. We see in these groups today a merger of international organized crime, drugs, and terror. While DEA does not specifically target terrorists, per se, we can and will target and track down drug traffickers involved in terrorist acts, wherever in the world we can find them.
As a law enforcement agency, DEA aims to gather evidence sufficient to arrest, indict, and convict criminals. When DEA operates in foreign posts, we work within the legal systems of our host nations, and of course within the structures of the U.S. legal system, in cooperation with our host nation police agency counterparts. Our evidence must be usable in a court of law, and it must withstand intense scrutiny at every level of the criminal justice process. With that in mind, my testimony will be limited to presenting DEAs view from a law enforcement perspective of the threats resulting from drug trafficking and terrorism. DEAs interest in terrorism and insurgencies is based on three considerations: National Security, Force Protection, and Foreign Intelligence.
Drug Trafficking Receipt from Afghanistan
Honorable Road Tax Collectors: Asalamo Alaikum, Gentlemen, the bearer of this letter, who possess 4 kilograms of white good, has paid the custom duty at the Shinwar Custom. It is hoped that the bearer will not be bothered.
Signed by Incharge of Shinwar Custom Stamp Nangarhar Province Shinwar Loy Wolaswal Custom Section
29/6/76 (Afghanistan Calendar Date which is September 20, 1997)
(The stamp at the top had an Arabic text meaning "In the name of GOD WHO is merciful)
Second receipt is for 3 kilograms white good dated 29/6/76.
Third receipt is for 3 kilograms white good dated 29/6/76.
Afghanistan is landlocked and drug traffickers must rely on land routes to move morphine base and heroin out of the country. Opiates are consumed regionally, as well as smuggled to consumers in the west. It is estimated that 80 percent of opiate products in Europe originate in Afghanistan.
Morphine Base: The primary market for Afghan morphine base is traffickers based in Turkey. Morphine base is transported overland through Pakistan and Iran, or directly to Iran from Afghanistan, and then into Turkey. Shipments of Afghan-produced morphine base are also sent by sea from Pakistans Makran Coast. Routes north through the Central Asia Republics, then across the Caspian Sea and south into Turkey are also used.
Heroin: Heroin is trafficked to worldwide destinations by many routes. Traffickers quickly adjust heroin smuggling routes based on political and weather-related events. Reports of heroin shipments north from Afghanistan through the Central Asian States to Russia have increased. Tajikistan is a frequent destination for both opium and heroin shipments, although Tajikistan serves mostly a transit point and storage location rather than a final destination. While some of the heroin is used in Russia, some also transits Russia to other consumer markets. Heroin transits India en route to international markets. Heroin also continues to be trafficked from Afghanistan through Pakistan. Seizures are frequently reported at Pakistans international airports. Heroin is also smuggled by sea on vessels leaving the port city of Karachi. Heroin produced in Afghanistan continues to be trafficked to the United States, although generally in small quantities.
Given our mission responsibilities, DEA remains fully engaged in participating, with the rest of the U.S. Government, in understanding the connection between drugs and terrorism. DEA brings useful information to the table for the use of other agencies, and benefits from the expertise of our counterparts.
The recent attacks perpetrated on our Nation graphically illustrate the need to starve the financial base of every terrorist organization and deprive them of the drug proceeds that might otherwise be used to fund acts of terror. Unlike their counterparts in Colombia, the terrorists in Afghanistan enjoy the benefits of a trafficker-driven economy that lacks even a recognized national government.
Sadly, the profits of the drug trade help fund this chaos and perpetuate human suffering. The cells of terrorists are dispersed beyond the geographic boundaries of Afghanistan, much in the same manner as other international narcotics syndicates. Accordingly, DEAs approach to both the drug trade and the terror network must be equally global in scope.
Afghanistan, The Taliban, and Osama Bin Ladin
The DEA has not maintained a presence in Afghanistan since January 1980, when the office was closed for security reasons as a result of the Soviet invasion in December 1979. Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops 10 years later, civil strife has ensued in Afghanistan. Consequently, DEA covers Afghanistan from its two offices in Pakistan: The Islamabad Country Office and the Peshawar Resident Office. In addition to Pakistan and Afghanistan, the DEA Islamabad Country Office also includes in its area of responsibility Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman.
Afghanistan has been at war since 1979, the year that the Soviet Union invaded. Afghan resistance fighters, the Mujahedeen, fought the Soviets for 10 years. After the Soviets withdrew in 1989, the various Afghan factions began fighting one another for control of the country. This led to a general lawlessness throughout the countryside. The Taliban is a fundamentalist Islamic movement that began in the summer of 1994. Mullah Mohammed Omar, leader of the Taliban, was reportedly a religion student (or talib) and a former guerilla commander during the Soviet occupation. Omar became outraged when two young women from his village were kidnapped and raped by Mujahedeen and he led a successful attack on the Mujahedeen encampment. The group quickly gained support and was joined by entire units of Mujahedeen, who brought military skills and weapons. This force was known as the Taliban and their stated goal was to disarm all Afghans and establish an Islamic government would be elected when all Afghan refugees had returned and the country was at peace. Although the Taliban now control much of the country, they continue to battle opposition forces (a loose-knit coalition called the Northern Alliance) for territory. No elections have been held in Taliban-controlled territory, and the Taliban continue to be led by Mullah Omar, who is assisted by a council of religious leaders. Islamic law has been instituted in Taliban-controlled territory.
The Taliban are primarily composed of Sunni Muslims belonging to Afghanistans ethnic Pashtun majority, while those opposed to the Taliban represent other ethnic groups or include Shiite Muslims. [Note: Sunni and Shiite Muslims represent the two primary religious divisions in Islam. Shiites regard Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed, as his legitimate successor and ignore the three caliphs who actually did succeed Mohammed. Sunnites consider the first three successors of Mohammed to be legitimate.] Afghanistan remains essentially divided along tribal lines with some local areas and entire provinces controlled by tribal leaders. Their support is necessary to rule the country effectively, but for any single leader that support is difficult to obtain.
DEA intelligence confirms the presence of a linkage between Afghanistans ruling Taliban and international terrorist Osama Bin Laden. The al-Qaida organization, which is recognized as a terrorist entity by the U.S. Department of State, is openly led by Bin Laden. Although DEA has no direct evidence to confirm that Bin Laden is involved in the drug trade, the relationship between the Taliban and Bin Laden is believed to have flourished in large part due to the Talibans substantial reliance on the opium trade as a source of organizational revenue. While the activities of the two entities do not always follow the same trajectory, we know that drugs and terror frequently share the common ground of geography, money, and violence. In this respect, the very sanctuary enjoyed by Bin Laden is based on the existence of the Talibans support for the drug trade. This connection defines the deadly, symbiotic relationship between the illicit drug trade and international terrorism.
The Islamic State of Afghanistan is a major source country for the cultivation, processing and trafficking of opiate and cannabis products. Afghanistan produced over 70 percent of the worlds supply of illicit opium in 2000. Morphine base, heroin and hashish produced in Afghanistan are trafficked worldwide. Due to the warfare-induced decimation of the countrys economic infrastructure, narcotics are the primary source of income in Afghanistan, a country dependent on agricultural production where opium is the most profitable cash crop. As the country is landlocked, drug traffickers must rely on land routes to move morphine base and heroin out of the country. Opiates are consumed regionally, as well as smuggled to consumers in the west. It is estimated that 80 percent of opiate products in Europe originate in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, but the Taliban does not implement the countrys international obligations.
The Taliban is not recognized as the national government in Afghanistan and opposing factions continue to battle for control of the country. In addition, intelligence indicates that corruption is widespread within the Taliban, and among the senior leadership. Even if the current political attitude in Afghanistan should change, little or no enforcement activity can be expected in the future, since the Taliban authorities lack the political will to interdict and investigate.
The Taliban, a fundamentalist Islamic group enforcing a rigid social code, now controls roughly over 90 percent of Afghanistan, while a loose coalition of opposition forces (referred to as the Northern Alliance) maintains control of portions of northeast and central Afghanistan.
Growing Areas: Afghanistan
DEA possesses credible source information indicating ties between the drug trade and the Taliban. Current indicators suggest that the Taliban derives a significant amount of income from the opiate trade. Acting as the defacto-government of Afghanistan, the Taliban taxes all aspects of the opium trade. DEA intelligence reveals that taxation is institutionalized, but not standardized. It is even institutionalized to the point that the Taliban provides receipts for collected revenues. While the current tax rate for cultivated opium appears to be ten percent, processing and transportation of the product is sporadic and taxed at varying rates.
According to the official U.S. Government estimate for 2001, Afghanistan produced an estimated 74 metric tons of opium from 1,685 hectares of land under opium poppy cultivation. This is a significant decrease from the 3,656 metric tons of opium produced from 64,510 hectares of land under opium poppy cultivation in 2000.
The Taliban reportedly banned the cultivation of cannabis in October 1996, and in late 1997, banned opium poppy cultivation. In 1999, the Taliban decreed that opium poppy cultivation would be reduced by one-third in 1999-2000. However, as illustrated by the chart above, there have been steady increases in opium production between 1996 and 2000. The Taliban did report that opium poppies were destroyed in Qandahar and Helmand Provinces. This eradication effort was apparently in response to an agreement with the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP), which agreed to fund alternative development projects on the condition that cultivation be reduced in Qandahar. In fact, there was a 50 percent reduction in the three UNDCP target districts in Qandahar, but there was not a one-third reduction overall, as promised by the Taliban.
Taliban officials claim to have destroyed a large number of heroin processing labs in Nangarhar Province in the spring of 1999. However, reports suggest that heroin processing continues in Nangarhar. Laboratories are located throughout Afghanistan, with a significant number of conversion laboratories located in Helmand Province. Taliban officials also reportedly destroyed two heroin conversion laboratories in Helmand Province in October 2000.
On July 28, 2000, Taliban leader Mullah Omar, recognizing the importance of world opinion, issued a decree banning future opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. The decree states that the Taliban will eradicate any poppy cultivation found in the 2001 growing season in areas under their control. Reportedly, this ban applies to any territory seized from the Northern Alliance. In February 2001, the UNDCP declared that the opium poppy cultivation ban was successful and that the 2001 crop was expected to be negligible. This marks the first real effort by the Taliban to reduce opium production. According to press reports dated August 31, 2001, Taliban leader Mullah Omar extended the opium poppy cultivation ban for another year, to the 2001-2002 growing season.
The Empty Promises of the Taliban: Despite the Talibans claims of opium eradication and lab destruction, DEA has seen no decrease in the amount of Southwest Asian Heroin availability and no increase in prices in the United States and European consumer countries. This suggests that significant amounts of opiates remain available. According to UNDCP reporting, up to 60% of each years opium crop has traditionally been stored for future sale, suggesting that significant amounts of opium are still available.
Prior to the imposed ban in July 2000, the price of a kilo of opium was US $44. Until recently, prices of opium ranged from US $350 to $400 per kilo. The price increase, which was limited to the immediate region and did not resonate to international markets, appeared to be a means for the Taliban to capitalize on a rise in the price of a commodity over which they exercise nearly total control.
The Taliban maintains effective control of nearly all of the opium poppy growing areas in the country, even though they are not internationally recognized as the official Government of Afghanistan, and do not control the entire country. Islamic law (Sharia) has been imposed in territory controlled by the Taliban, and local Sharia courts have been established throughout the country. In 1997, the Taliban reactivated the State High Commission for Drug Control, which was originally established in 1990 by the legitimate interim government. Prior to the UNDCP reports indicating that implementation of the 2000-2001 opium poppy cultivation ban has been effective and the release of the U.S. Government estimate indicating a dramatic reduction in opium production, the Taliban made only token gestures toward anti-drug law enforcement. As a result, Afghanistan, under the Taliban, has during the past decade emerged as a vital hub of the Southwest Asian illicit drug trade.
Heroin Processing: Laboratories in Afghanistan convert opium into morphine base, white heroin, or one of three grades of brown heroin, depending on the order received. Large processing labs are located in southern Afghanistan. Smaller laboratories are located in other areas of Afghanistan, including Nangarhar Province. In the past, many opium processing laboratories were located in Pakistan, particularly in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP). These laboratories appear to have relocated to Afghanistan, both to be closer to the source of opium and to avoid law enforcement actions by the Government of Pakistan.
Heroin is trafficked to worldwide destinations by many routes. Traffickers quickly adjust heroin smuggling routes based on political and weather-related events. Reports of heroin shipments north from Afghanistan through the Central Asian States to Russia have increased.
Tajikistan is a frequent destination for both opium and heroin shipments, although Tajikistan serves mostly as a transit point and storage location rather than a final destination. While some of the heroin is used in Russia, some also transits Russia to other consumer markets. Heroin transits India en route to international markets. Heroin also continues to be trafficked from Afghanistan through Pakistan. Seizures are frequently reported at Pakistans international airports. Heroin is also smuggled by sea on vessels leaving the port city of Karachi, Pakistan. Heroin produced in Afghanistan continues to be trafficked to the United States, although generally in small quantities.
Morphine Base: Morphine base is usually produced for traffickers based in Turkey. The morphine base is then shipped to Turkey, where it is converted to heroin prior to shipment to European and North American markets. The primary market for Afghan morphine base is traffickers based in Turkey. Morphine base is transported overland through Pakistan and Iran, or directly to Iran from Afghanistan, and then into Turkey. Shipments of Afghan-produced morphine base are also sent by sea from Pakistans Makran Coast. Routes north through the Central Asia Republics, then across the Caspian Sea and south into Turkey are also used.
Cannabis: Cannabis, or marijuana, grows wild and is also cultivated in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a major producer of cannabis, much of which is processed into hashish. According to INTERPOL, Afghanistan and Pakistan together produce about 1000 MT of cannabis resin each year, with Afghanistan producing the bulk of the product.
Hashish: Hashish originating in Afghanistan is trafficked throughout the region, as well as to international markets. Although the bulk of the hashish intended for international markets is routed through Pakistan and Central Asia and sent by sea, train or truck, hashish has also been smuggled in air freight in the past.
Precursor Chemicals: Afghanistan produces no essential or precursor chemicals. Acetic anhydride (AA), which is the most commonly used acetylating agent in heroin processing, is smuggled primarily from Pakistan, India, the Central Asian Republics, China, and Europe. For example, according to the World Customs Organization, China seized 5,670 metric tons of AA destined for Afghanistan in April 2000. The AA was reportedly found in 240 plastic boxes concealed in carpets.
Drug-Related Money Laundering: As the unsophisticated banking system that previously existed in Afghanistan has been damaged by years of war, money laundering activity is completely unregulated. It is likely that the informal banking system used extensively in the region, usually referred to as the hawala or hundi system, is also used by drug traffickers. This system is an underground, traditional, informal network that has been used for centuries by businesses and families throughout Asia. This system provides a confidential, convenient, efficient service at a low cost in areas that are not served by traditional banking facilities. The hawala or hundi system leaves no paper trail for investigators to follow.
Prices: The cost for raw opium, heroin, hashish and precursor chemicals have traditionally been relatively low in Afghanistan. As stated earlier, the initiation of the Talibans opium cultivation ban in July 2000 has prompted a nearly tenfold increase in the kilogram price of opium. The price of heroin in Afghanistan also increased dramatically during the same time period, from US $579 in July 2000 to $4564 in August 2001.
According to DEA sources, however, the regional price of a kilogram of opium was as high as US $746 on September 11, 2001. In the wake of the recent mass exodus from Afghanistan, opium wholesalers were reportedly dumping their stocks of opium for as low as US $95 per kilogram, apparently in anticipation of military intervention in the region.
Key Observations:
Drug Traffickers and Terrorists: The Need for Perpetual Vigilance
By way of conclusion, we can and should continue to identify and build cases against the leaders of criminal groups involved in drug trafficking and terrorism wherever they may be found. These criminals have already moved to make our task more difficult by withdrawing from positions of vulnerability and maintaining a much lower profile than their predecessors. As they have not refrained from using violence to protect their interests, the partnership of the drug trade and the terror network will necessitate our perpetual vigilance against the threats that they present.
The DEA remains committed to our primary goal of targeting and arresting the most significant drug traffickers in the world today. In particular, we continue to work with our partners around the world to improve our cooperative efforts against international drug smuggling, and to cut off drug money as a support for international terrorism. The ultimate test of success will come when we bring to justice the drug lords who control their vast empires of crime that bring misery to the nations in which they operate. They must be arrested, tried and convicted, and sentenced in their own countries to prison terms commensurate with their crimes, or, as appropriate, extradited to the United States to face American justice. Their assets and infrastructure must be seized and forfeited. In doing so, we will limit the ability of drug traffickers to use their destructive goods as a commodity to fund malicious assaults on humanity and the rule of law.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee today. I will be happy to respond to any questions you may have.


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Series: Personal Finance Essentials
Budgeting and Financial Decision Making
This program gives students a solid grounding in a variety of real-life money matters: it provides financial decision-making methods, advises on consumer concerns such as buying versus renting, outlines insurance types and terminology, and discusses the financial scams that students are most likely to encounter. Reviewing the critical concepts of impulse buying and opportunity cost, the video also demonstrates how to set goals and create a budget based on the 50/30/20 plan. Highlights include graphical breakdowns of the PMI and PACED decision-making methods, maintaining wireless Internet security to avoid identity theft, and a realistic way to choose when faced with a not-so-simple yes-or-no financial decision.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - 9:00am
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Is there any kind of cream, such as neosporin that I can use as my face is healing from carac cream?
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25 Jan 2010
No. Your skin will heal but it may take 2 or more weeks after stopping treatment.
Unless the skin has become infected with bacteria an antibiotic cream such as neosporin is inappropriate. Talk to your doctor if you are concerned.
(Make sure you use sunscreen if you are outside and cover up as much as possible.)
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text: THE SYNTHESIS PROJECT NEW INSIGHTS FROM RESEARCH RESULTS UPDATE July 2009 This document is an update of a previous Synthesis Report available at www.policysynthesis.org Tax subsidies for private health Policy-makers are considering modifications to the tax treatment of employer- sponsored insurance (ESI) as a way to raise revenue to help pay for health reform insurance: Who and provide incentives to reduce health care costs. Understanding how current subsidies work is important to assessing health reform proposals. This brief presents benefits and at essential information about the structure and distribution of existing tax subsidies for ESI and the implications for policy options. what cost? How does the federal government subsidize private health insurance? The tax exclusion for employer contributions to ESI is the largest subsidy for private insurance. When employers purchase or provide insurance By Len Burman,1 Surachai Khitatrakun,1 for employees, the employer contribution to the premium is excluded from income and Sarah Goodell 2 and payroll taxes. 1 Urban Institute 2 Synthesis Project Employees' contributions to ESI also are excluded from taxes if the premiums are paid through a flexible savings account (FSA). Once established by employers, workers can use FSAs to set aside a portion of their income to pay for health insurance and other expected medical expenses. KEY FINDINGS Employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are excluded from income and payroll taxes. Employers pair HSAs with a • Federal tax subsidies high deductible health insurance plan and withdrawals are tax-free if used to pay for for employer sponsored insurance will amount to health care. Employee contributions to HSAs are excluded from income, but not more than $240 billion in payroll, tax. 2010. The tax exclusion for ESI is the largest subsidy for private People who purchase insurance outside of their employment do not insurance. enjoy all of the same tax advantages. They can deduct medical expenses, including premiums, only if the expenses exceed 7.5 percent of their adjusted gross • Higher-income workers income. However, most people never reach that threshold. Insurance purchased benefit the most from the current tax subsidies. They by self-employed individuals and contributions to HSAs are excluded from income, are in a higher tax bracket, but not payroll, tax. which makes the exclusion more valuable, are more likely to work for employers offering ESI and How much are federal subsidies worth? more likely to take up ESI than lower-income workers. The tax exclusion for ESI will provide $240 billion in income and payroll • Lower-income families pay tax subsidies in 2010 (Reference 1). Other tax subsidies for health insurance the largest percent of income amount to approximately $28 billion — less than 12 percent of the value of the on insurance, but receive the ESI subsidy. smallest tax subsidy. These families spend more than a quarter of their income on health insurance coverage. The subsidy overwhelmingly benefits higher-income workers. DISCUSSION Who benefits from the current tax exclusion? Higher-income workers benefit far more from the current ESI tax subsidy Higher-income workers benefit the most from current tax subsidies than lower-income workers. For for several reasons: example, a worker in the 35 percent tax bracket saves $3,500 in income g They are in a higher tax bracket so the tax exclusion is worth more to them. taxes on a policy with an annual premium of $10,000, while a worker g They are more likely to work in jobs that offer ESI (figure 1). in the 15 percent tax bracket saves only $1,500. g They are more likely to purchase insurance offered through their employer. Higher-income workers also are more likely to have ESI than lower-income Figure 1: Worker health coverage: Percentage of nonelderly workers covered by different workers. Almost 90 percent of workers sources of health insurance, by income as a percent of poverty level, 2007 with income at least three times the 100 under 100 100–199 200–299 300 and over poverty level have ESI compared with 88 less than one quarter of workers with incomes below the poverty level. 80 69 Lower-income workers benefit only slightly from the income tax exclusion and the Medicare payroll 60 tax exclusion. Although they benefit 49 46 in the short run from the Social Security 38 payroll tax exclusion, in the long run 40 it hurts them by reducing their 24 retirement income. 19 22 20 8 7 9 5 4 4 6 2 0 ESI Private non-group Public Uninsured Source: Author estimates based on March 2008 Current Population Survey Lower-income workers who have ESI receive only a small benefit from current subsidies. g Workers do not benefit from current subsidies if their firms do not offer coverage of if they are ineligible for coverage that is offered. For example, part-time workers are often ineligible for ESI. Low-income workers are more likely to be in these situations. g People who purchase private non-group coverage receive little or no benefit from tax subsidies. Lower-income workers are more likely to have non-group coverage (figure 1). 2 | THE SYNTHESIS PROJECT POLICY BRIEF NO. 3 UPDATE, JULY 2009 | THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION | Tax subsidies for private health insurance: Who benefits and at what cost? The subsidy for the highest income families is three times the subsidy for families earning less than $20,000. DISCUSSION What is the value of the federal subsidy for families? The overall impact of the upside Families with income over $200,000 get a subsidy worth more than down subsidy is striking. Many one-third of the premium. The subsidy is worth more than $4,500 to the highest economists argue that employers income families (figure 2, table 1). pass on the costs of their contributions for health insurance to The value of the subsidy is smallest for families at the bottom of the workers in the form of lower wages. income scale, who pay the most for health insurance. Families earning Under that assumption, the tax $10,000 to $20,000 receive a subsidy of about $1,500, but spend more than one- subsidy is worth 35 percent of the quarter of their income on health insurance (figure 2, table 1). premium for families with income over $200,000. These families pay less than 5 percent of their income Figure 2: ESI subsidy rate versus premium burden, 2009 for health coverage. 60% In contrast, the subsidy is worth Premium burden 20 percent for families earning premium as percent of after-tax income $10,000 to $20,000. These families 40 pay more than a quarter of their income for health insurance (including what their employers pay in premiums). 20 The average subsidy for the highest Subsidy rate tax subsidy as percent of premium income workers is three times the average subsidy for the lowest 0 income workers. <10 10–20 20–30 30–40 40–50 50–75 75–100 100–200 200–500 500> Income in thousands of dollars Source: Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center Microsimulation Model Note: Income includes value of employer contributions to health insurance. Subsidy includes income and payroll tax savings. Table 1: ESI subsidies income (in thousands of dollars) <10 10–20 20–30 30–40 40–50 50–75 75–100 100–200 200–500 500> Subsidy rate (%) 7 20 28 30 29 29 30 34 37 35 Premium burden (%) 52 28 18 15 13 11 10 7 4 1 Average subsidy ($) 491 1,535 2,089 2,289 2,314 2,653 3,219 4,234 4,791 4,586 Source: Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center Microsimulation Model Note: Income includes value of employer contributions to health insurance. Subsidy includes income and payroll tax savings. Tax subsidies for private health insurance: Who benefits and at what cost? | THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION | THE SYNTHESIS PROJECT POLICY BRIEF NO. 3 UPDATE, JULY 2009 | 3 Policy Implications WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES Employer sponsored insurance is an integral part of health insurance coverage in the AND DISADVANTAGES OF ESI? United States. The federal subsidy for ESI, however, overwhelmingly benefits the highest- income workers and may encourage overly generous coverage. As a result, policy-makers The substantial subsidy for ESI has may want to think about ways to level the playing field including: made it the primary mechanism for > Eliminating the tax exclusion for ESI. Eliminating the exclusion would purchasing insurance and pooling significantly raise payroll and income tax receipts which could be used to provide risks among non-elderly people in the other subsidies to encourage the purchase of insurance. These other subsidies U.S. ESI covers more than two-thirds could take into account income and health status in order to assist hard-to-insure of workers and their families. populations. Eliminating the exclusion altogether would increase the cost of insurance for workers, however, and result in far less employer coverage. Tying coverage to work has a number of advantages. Employment is a > Capping the tax exclusion for ESI. An alternative to eliminating the tax exclu- natural way to pool risks because sion, is to cap the exclusion based on income, geography, or the cost of the insurance job choice usually is not tied to premium. For example, capping the exclusion at the median premium level would raise $22 billion in income and payroll taxes in 2010 while a cap at the 75th percen- expected use of health care. Further, tile of premiums would raise $12 billion (Reference 2). deducting premiums from pay, rather than billing individuals, is efficient and > Allowing non-group coverage to be purchased with pre-tax dollars. may increase participation because it This option does not have the revenue raising effect of eliminating or capping the breaks payments into smaller and more exclusion for ESI – in fact it would increase the federal subsidy — but it would manageable increments. In addition, provide a similar tax advantage to those purchasing coverage outside of the employer ESI offers a way to create large groups, system. This change may make non-group coverage more affordable to many, but it which may have lower administrative may encourage young, healthy people to forgo ESI in favor of individually purchased costs and increased bargaining power. coverage, thereby making ESI more expensive for those remaining. However, ESI also poses problems. First, it is not available to all workers. THE SYNTHESIS PROJECT (Synthesis) is an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to produce relevant, concise, and thought-provoking briefs The most vulnerable low-income and reports on today's important health policy issues. workers are much less likely to work PROJECT CONTACTS for employers offering coverage. Second, job transitions or employers' David C. Colby, Ph.D., the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Brian C. Quinn, Ph.D., the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation decisions to drop coverage may Sarah Goodell, M.A., Synthesis Project result in workers becoming uninsured. Finally, subsidies for ESI affect SYNTHESIS ADVISORY GROUP employer decisions about outsourcing Linda T. Bilheimer, Ph.D., National Center for Health Statistics and employee decisions about work Jon B. Christianson, Ph.D., University of Minnesota and retirement. Paul B. Ginsburg, Ph.D., Center for Studying Health System Change Jack Hoadley, Ph.D., Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Haiden A. Huskamp, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School REFERENCES Julia A. James, Independent Consultant Reference 1: Estimate based on the Judith D. Moore, National Health Policy Forum Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center William J. Scanlon, Ph.D., Health Policy R&D Microsimulation Model. Michael S. Sparer, Ph.D., Columbia University Reference 2: Clemens-Cope L, Zuckerman Joseph W. Thompson, M.D., M.P.H., Arkansas Center for Health Improvement S, and Williams R. Changes to the Tax Claudia H. Williams, Markle Foundation Exclusion of Employer Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums: An Important Source The Synthesis Project of Financing for Health Reform. Robert The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Wood Johnson Foundation/Urban Institute Route 1 & College Road East P.O. Box 2316 policy brief June 2009. Princeton, NJ 08543-2316 E-mail: email@example.com Phone: 888-719-1909 www.policysynthesis.org 4 | THE SYNTHESIS PROJECT POLICY BRIEF NO. 3 UPDATE, JULY 2009 | THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION | Tax subsidies for private health insurance: Who benefits and at what cost?


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