text:
The Mediterranean Massacre
Israel as the blond beast
The condemnations, the imprecations, the expressions of shock are rolling in, as the nations of the world raise their voices in protest over the Mediterranean massacre carried out by Israeli commandos, but rather than get into specifics, I want to note a general pattern that this incident seems to confirm.
It is often said, by Israel's defenders, that the Jewish state is part and parcel of the West: that Israel, the only democracy in the region, must be defended because they are, after all, reliable allies who share our values, the heritage of Athens and Jerusalem. That has been the conventional wisdom – and it's wrong. The Mediterranean Massacre underscores the wrongness of this assumption.
Israel is not a Western country, and hasn't been for some time: helped along by this latest incident, the realization of this fact by Western governments and peoples will represent a turning point in the Jewish state's relations with the civilized world, especially including Jews in the Diaspora. I have argued this for years: that the successful aliya program pushed by the Israeli government has displaced the old European-derived Israeli elites with a new, more Asiatic influence, one that is now – with the rise of the Israel far right – the dominant factor in Israeli politics.
Birthed by leftist Zionists who sought to build an egalitarian community in the midst of a desert, the modern state of Israel has taken on the characteristics of its neighbors – gone native, so to speak, both culturally and politically. The large scale infusion of North African and Asiatic populations has changed Israeli society irrevocably, so that, today, the rise of a thuggish fascist demagogue like Avigdor Lieberman, the former bouncer turned Foreign Minister, is all too believable. Lieberman isn't a political anomaly: he and his party represent what is the dominant trend in Israeli politics.
In understanding how the Israelis justify killing sixteen civilians in international waters – and kidnapping hundreds – we have to look at it from the viewpoint of a savage. Now I don't mean by that term someone necessarily wearing animal skins, and wielding a club: savages can wear Armani suits, and wield nuclear weapons, as the history of the twentieth century attests. In the West, however, the culture and especially religious belief prevents the celebration of savagery as civic virtue: when we commit atrocities, we justify it as a proportionate use of force in retaliation for previous acts of aggression by the victims of our wrath. Hiroshima and Nagasaki – and the arguments used to buttress the case for killing hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians – come to mind. The death of innocents is explained away as "collateral damage."
The savage mind, however, works differently. Shorn of what we would recognize as a moral sense, the savage glories in his capacity for pitiless violence. It's a survival mechanism: in his world, red in tooth and claw, instilling fear in your opponent means winning more than half the battle. As a survival strategy, it's like the one inmate who mutters ominously to himself while exhibiting all the characteristics of a violent psychotic: the other prisoners give him plenty of space because they think he's liable to do anything. So, too, in the case of the Israelis, who are signaling their willingness to go to any lengths in order to instill the fear of their wrath far and wide.
Yes, they're telling us, not even you in the West – our "friends" and allies – are exempt. We'll kill your people, and kidnap them with impunity. We'll steal your secrets, and the identities of your citizens: we'll spy on you, and collaborate with your enemies (and ours). Nothing is beneath us. The voice of the Israeli Attila rings loud and clear, and it is telling us what was clearly said by Ron Torossian, organizer of the June 1 "we stand with Israel" demonstration outside the Turkish UN mission:
"I think we should kill a hundred Arabs or a thousand Arabs for every one Jew they kill."
This precisely describes the guiding principle of the Israelis' strategic vision: respond to a few stray rockets with a full-scale invasion and prolonged occupation and blockade. Respond to the imaginary "threat" of a ship full of unarmed "activists" and journalists by launching a military assault, murdering sixteen and wounding a good number of the survivors. Torossian, who has taken on the job of defending this act of savagery, is at least honest in accurately transmitting the Israeli view and its implications. After all, why stop at killing a mere thousand Arabs: why not a hundred thousand, or a million?
This is the voice of the savage being raised in the midst of our advanced industrial civilization: it's as if a giant atavism suddenly reared its shaggy head above the New York City skyline, shaking its fist and roaring as skyscrapers tremble. It is Nietzsche's blond beast speaking in Hebrew. The IDF is beyond good and evil, the settlers Overmen with Brooklyn accents.
To add a note of hilarity to this foreboding scene, we have the Israelis and their amen corner claiming the crew and passengers "ambushed" the poor defenseless IDF, complaining that they beat their assaulters with whatever makeshift weapon they could lay hands on. The "proof" that this was a boatload of "militants" – terrorists, in fact, in league with al Qaeda and Hamas – is that they defended themselves. It's funny how, even in justifying a brazen assertion of dominance, the defenders of the Jewish state revert to the role of the victim. Old habits are hard to break, but one has to wonder: what kind of mental processes allow a person to make such arguments?
We are dealing, here, with a sociopathic tendency that only takes on the superficial appearance of a political ideology. The classic profile of the sociopath is one so fixated on the fulfillment of his own desires that every means are used to achieve his ends. Out of such raw materials serial killers are made, and also dictators like Stalin and Hitler. Add the animating factor of religion to the mix, and a monster arises out of the bubbling brew, a bestial creature bereft of morality, and without any check on its inherently destructive nature.
In Israel's case the creature can more accurately be termed a monster in the Frankenstein mold, that is, a monster created by the mad scientists who have been in charge of US foreign policy since the Reagan years. We nurtured the young Frankenstein when he was but a babe in the cradle, recognizing the Jewish state at a crucial moment in its development, and since that time subsidizing it, arming it, and protecting it from its own worst impulses – until, today, we have a perfectly monstrous juvenile delinquent turned sociopath on our hands, who's mugging the neighbors, stealing from our wallet, and thumbing his arrogant nose at all and sundry for good measure.
A few columns back, I asked: Have the Israelis gone crazy? The Mediterranean Massacre answers that question with a resounding yes.
So what do you do when one of your neighbors, or friends, goes off the deep end, and starts making life difficult for everyone around him? Well, you can call the cops, but in this case that's not possible: the US-brokered resolution passed by the UN Security Council managed to condemn the violence while not mentioning its authors. The Obama administration, for its part, "stands with Israel," as Jack Tapper reports for ABC News:
"I'm told there won't be any daylight between the US and Israel in the aftermath of the incident on the flotilla yesterday, which resulted in the deaths of 10 activists… 'The president has always said that it will be much easier for Israel to make peace if it feels secure,' a senior administration official tells ABC News."
If the only way we can make the Israelis feel "secure" is by allowing them to engage in international piracy on the high seas, then perhaps this is the sort of high-maintenance relationship we can no longer afford. When Israelis are allowed to kill and kidnap Americans, without having to endure even a mild rebuke, one has to wonder what, exactly, is going on in Washington, D.C. Yes, the Israel lobby is one of the most powerful, but surely there's someone in those circles willing to stand up for America and American interests – isn't there?
Although information is still sketchy, there may be as many as nine Americans traveling with the flotilla, including Joe Meadors, a veteran of the 1967 bombing of the USS Liberty: no word yet as to whether he survived the Mediterranean Massacre. Other possible American victims of Israeli state terrorism include Ann Wright, former US Army colonel and Deputy Chief of Mission to Afghanistan. Underscoring the dire physical threat posed by the flotilla to Israel's national security, we have the 81-year-old Ambassador Edward L. Peck, former State Department Chief of Mission in Iraq and Mauritania, Deputy Director of the Cabinet Task Force on Terrorism at the Reagan White House, and State Department Liaison Officer to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. These are the dangerous "militants" who "ambushed" the delicate flowers of the IDF.
If the Israelis killed or injured a single American – and we still don't know – the "we stand with Israel" position of the Obama administration approaches treason. That's a word the War Party uses with promiscuous abandon, but in this instance I'm using it because it precisely describes the policy of sacrificing one's own citizens on the altar of fealty to a foreign capital. If "a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils," as our first President put it, then Obama's craven act of appeasement in this instance epitomizes all that Washington feared and warned against.
As I have long warned, the political evolution of Israeli society is taking a disturbing turn, and the one question that we ought to ask ourselves is why hasn't the Israeli government had to suffer any blowback on the home front? Why isn't the Israeli public up in arms over this brazen violation of international law and common sense? Why do the fascist thugs in possession of the Israeli state still enjoy the support of the Israeli people?
The answer is that Israeli society has long ago been poisoned by the bacillus of fascism, and – sheltered under the umbrella of US military and financial support – the bacterium has flourished in the perfect Petri dish of generous American aid. Now the creature has broken out of the laboratory, and is roaming the world in search of victims – and finding them in a couple of boat loads of lefty journalists and international do-gooder types. What we ought to be asking ourselves, somewhat nervously, is: who's next?
Read more by Justin Raimondo
- A Feast of Scandal – November 26th, 2015
- Turkey's Stab in the Back – November 24th, 2015
- Myths of Empire – November 22nd, 2015
- Hillary Clinton's Road to War – November 19th, 2015
- Who's Behind the Islamic State? – November 17th, 2015
81 Responses to "The Mediterranean Massacre"
This is a brilliant article. But I think that it's wrong to contrue "savagery" in terms of primitivism and the state of nature. I think that the kind of savagery you are talking about is a form of decadence. It is a twisted form of cultural sophistication, a kind of fake primitivism.
And I think we really need to recognize that there is an element of like father like son here, in reverse. The brutal, malevolent fascism we see more and more clearly in Israel is in large part an imprint from us, though influences from Russia, etc., surely do play a role. When we look at Israel, we are really looking in a mirror.
And as I have thought about this today, knowing that every single representative I have in DC, from Presidency to Senate to House, would enthusiastically support Israel's vile brutality, it is hard to escape the terrible feeling that we are living in the Belly of the Beast.
Keith Olbermann did not say "Israel" even once during Tuesday's show. Rachel Maddow gave the matter only a brief segment. She passed no judgment. She only summarized what was being reported and said that, because the country involved was Israel, the matter would be observed with minute acuity, whatever that was supposed to mean. No, Rachel. Because the country was Israel, the matter will be observed with a blind eye.
"who's next?"…. Ask the country that has Israeli subs parked off its coast. That should answer anyone's questions.
comparison with fascism is not real.Fascism was an ideology based in a lay theory.A such kind of theory is easy to oppose and for those who believe in it is easy to abandon when it is clear that the ideology was wrong.Not such is the case with Israel,their superiority-Netaniahu said a couple of days ago addressing to 189 countries :"you are flawed and hypocritical" on their demand that Israel have to adhere to NPT- Israeli fanaticism which is religious and every real event they interpret in an one direction :the struggle of the chosen people with different subhumans who oppose to see in Jews the leading role given by God.The comparison doesn't suit the way followed by each one:the fascists didn't use a corrupted proxy to do their wars.When Germany was defeated Hitler recognized that his belief in the superiority of German nation was wrong.So the Nazism comply to Popper theory of falsiability.This is not the case with a religion believe especially in fanatic form how is principle of "chosen people".
Well it appears that Israel has wasted no time in paying Turkey back for daring to broker a unilateral nuclear solution with Iran. We all know who's next on the hit list and unfortunately we can only sit by with our hands tied and watch the horrors unfold. The lunatics have now taken over the asylum and they know there in no one left who can stop them. The Nazis are back in power and this time they are armed with nuclear weapons. God help us all!
Who's next, you ask- well, at some point, it's going to occur to someone to wonder why the Israelis actually have not one or two, not one or two hundred, but upwards of five hundred thermonuclear weapons. Ultimately, those weapons are intended for the only country in the world that can really harm Israel. That's the real "Sampson Option."
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mohammed Al Rahbi , David Bailey. David Bailey said: The Mediterranean Massacre http://is.gd/czb7r #antiwar #peace #israel #freedomflotilla #flotilla […]
Expect Brazilian victims next. Warmups for the attack on Iran?
I would like to think that marriage counselling might work, but Ms Israel and Mr US seem to be so locked into a pattern of violent, abusive and self destructive behaviour that it is difficult to see how they can ever develop a loving caring relationship. It is probably best for all concerned, neighbours and family included, that they be encouraged to divorce and go their seperate ways.
I'm afraid you are right. Still not all jews fall for that mental trap, that might make them better inherently, if they just don't use their own senses and reason to grasp the world, but thus at the same time makes them paradoxically LESS than human. Daniel Barenboim for one brilliant example, Martin van Creweld probably another, since he seems quite reasoned and normal in his writings..
Why hasn't anyone, and I mean anyone questioned the footage supplied by the IDF? They had plenty of time to prepare this attack. The film we have seen again and again in the media and the internet, showing the commandoes being attacked; every attacker having a mysteriously handy iron bar, was filmed by whom and when exactly?
As everyone knows how the Israelis operate, the IDF propaganda machine filmed this long before Monday morning, in order to prepare for the demonisation of the activists on board. They were already decided to make an example of this flotilla to stop further flotillas in the future.
The IDF film was a fake and the media complicit in its exploitation.
However, the next flotilla must contain not boats in single figures but a hundred or more boats with thousands and thousands of activists. Either that or the Turks will have to provide military cover right until the Gaza shore.
The US government has shown that it is under Israeli control, and is the real culprit. Why the complicity? Because as others have commented, US public opinion is not outaged by these massacres, but support them. Consequently, the problem is with the US street. I mean the 2006 Lebanon slaughter, the 2009 Gaza genocide, a fascist Foreign Minister hasn't dented Israeli support in the US street.
Obviously the Israelis are testing Obama. Expect further provocations — and an escalation of the level of audaciousness of the acts (and the propaganda that follows).
Israel,savages with nuclear weapons which I'm sure the Israeli government uses to blackmail the world with the threat of nuking the oil fields of the middle east. Until the American taxpayers decide that they don't want their tax monies given to Israel, $1000 for each Israeli yearly, which subsidizes Israel's socialized medicine and pays for massages with snakes and/or chocolate lotion the bilking will continue aided and abeted by the Congressional Zionists, Israeli firsters who are traitors to America.Savages with nuclear weapons, America's nightmare paid for by American taxes. If these seems insane, it's because it is insane.
To hear the wasy the Israeli's tell it, the boats occupants were attacking Israel with knives and some pipes awaiting for the commando helicopters to arrive so they could jump from the deck of the boats thereby knocking the helicopters from the sky with a subsequent invasion. The Israeli government is attributing what they did in the 1940, against the British, and ascribing it to the peace activists.
You've hit it, it's a Co-Dependent relationship which is a mental illness.
Sure Israel is a Western country. Just like Nixon's America or Hitler's Germany.
Notice another dead issue–Israel helped south Afracia with acquiring building 10 nukes. Get this, one was tested and Israel was present. After the S.A. regime fell, 6 nukes wer sent to USA and destroyed. Remaining 3 lost in transit– What arrived in America was 3 steel shipping containers of concrete bloocks. Who got the shipping contract? Israel! Where did they end Up? Israel!
Did America investigate? Nope! Hush Hush . Now if that was North Korea doings–Millions of fried Koreans.
Notice this recent story has been buried by our glorious B'assturd Kosher medias?
Thes recent IDF killings will be history–in no time. Just like the Sept 11 attacks–all forgotten,even though evidence points to Israel Firsters did the dirty Kosher deed. Stupid Americans? Right on !
God would not be happy with the killer nation : Nazi Israel.
Do we really believe this happened without a US green light? Is it worth noting that in the immediate aftermath of the Turkish-Brazilian interference in our nice march to war with Iran that it is the Turkish vessel in the flotilla on which the massacre took place? Will the Turks when they go to NATO for redress and support find deaf ears until they scuttle the Iran uranium deal?
Right. The way I put it to myself was that we actually do have an example of a state giving nukes to terrorists.
Yes… You r totally correct. The US gov. is evil. Has been for over 100 years
I disagree with the assertion that Israel was once a civilized, Western nation that has somehow descended into barbarism in recent decades. From its inception, Israel has been a vicious, expansionist entity. Consider all the massacres (Deir Al whatever, etc.) committed during the founding of the Zionist state, the crazy invasion of Sudan, the so-called "unfortunate affair", the attack on the US Liberty, even mentioned within the same article. If there has been a change in tone, an added brazenness, the cause is the confidence of complete power, not any slow change in ideology. Why does Justin persist in peddling this nonsense?
you are a war criminal like your leaders
Hitler would have been so proud , as israel MAKES SURE THAT THE NAZI LEGACY IS ALIVE.
While I completely and utterly agree that what occurred was pre-mediated state terrorism by Israel, I do not agree that Israel is a non-Western entity. While it may have had its fling with a kind of left wing egalitarianism, it emerged as a Western colonizing beachhead. Think South Africa. Was not South Africa an extension of Western imperialism and colonalization? Of course. But like South Africa these satelites become geopolitically toxic and pathological in their rendering outmoded genocide and conquests. We now have interenational laws and tribunals, that while frequently ineffective do provide the reference point for what is legal and what is lawless. There lies the main difference. To say that Israel has become like its surrounding neighbors – facistic – verges on a degradation of the Arab world and the kind of dehumanization that has created states like the US (who slaughted with impugnity millions of natives) and Israel who harbors the same dna for conquest using the US founding as its model.
Am not clear about grouping of North African and Asiatic as immigrant cultures influencing Israeli policy. You mention Lieberman, who immigrated from Russia as "Asiatic." However, Russian Jews are largely Ashkenazi, as are European Jews, while North African Jewish immigrants are Sephardic, long discriminated against in Israel.
And to consider another point: "…Why isn't the Israeli public up in arms over this brazen violation of international law and common sense?…" Why is not US public up in arms over our imperial ventures? For the same reason. When elites go crazy, people have little power. I do not doubt that there are plenty of citizens in Israel that are mortified by the brutish character of their leadership. Their media, just like ours, will insure that they have no voice. If you add to this breaking the doors in the middle of the night, shooting family dogs, making up charges, indefinite detentions, taking away rights to attorney, keeping incommunicado, shipping people accross globe for torture — all powerful incentives to keep quiet.
Zbignew Brzezinski, the Bilderberger's elder, warned the cozy circle of elite that they are in danger. Never before in the history of mankind has the population been so politically aware. That is the danger, he claims. The warning has "internet" written all over it.
Same thing with progressive radio. Deplorable. Bankrupt. Barren.
"John Charles Hagee (born April 12, 1940) is an American founder and senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, a non-denominational charismatic church with more than 19,000 active members. John Hagee is the chief executive officer (CEO) at his non-profit corporation, Global Evangelism Television (GETV).
Hagee is the President and CEO of John Hagee Ministries, which telecasts his national radio and television ministry carried in the United States on 160 TV stations, 50 radio stations, and eight networks, including The Inspiration Network (INSP), Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), and Inspiration Now TV. The ministries can be seen and heard weekly in 99 million homes. John Hagee Ministries is in Canada on the Miracle Channel and CTS and can be seen in Africa, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and in most Third World nations.
Hagee is the founder and National Chairman of the Christian-Zionist organization Christians United for Israel, incorporated on February 7, 2006. He has incurred controversy for his religious beliefs and comments regarding Nazism, Catholicism, Islam, homosexuality, Jews, and Hurricane Katrina.However, on April 25, 2008, Hagee backed away from his comments regarding Hurricane Katrina by saying, "But ultimately neither I nor any other person can know the mind of God concerning Hurricane Katrina. I should not have suggested otherwise."
Has the Reverend Hagee by any chance pontificated about the "mind of God" on recent events in the Mediterranean or in the Gulf of Mexico for that matter?
Ah yes, San Antonio, hard behind the Wall Against Mexico built by Boeing under the direction of Bush's Neo-Con Homeland Security Chertoff, who also contracted out to an Israeli security firm to build an electronic battlefield behind a portion of it.
The Israelis, you see, have a lot of experience building walls to isolate, separate, and contain.
Wonder how many Israeli contractors are involved in the new plan to build a wall around Baghdad?
Is Erik Prince's Evangelical Blackwater/Xe still trying to get contracts for its military contractors as Border Patrol agents?
Or will the whole business of domestic security be subcontracted out to Amway or Artistry Cosmetics?
Such a small world after all.
Move everybody into the staterooms, then film the passenger violence with thugs dressed in civvies and life jackets.
Witnesses said the commotion lasted 1.5 hours. Plenty of time to clear the decks and stage the resistance.
Also, I had speculated that the IDF mistakenly believed they had jammed comms before the assault. This was later confirmed by an Israeli spokesperson. Imagine what the story would have been had the jamming worked.
Justin, I think you are letting the West off too easy.
Is there a list of the dead from the Gaza Flotilla?
Everyone agrees that we've just seen yet another act demonstrating a potentially world ending arrogance and evil at work, right?
Regardless of exactly how, when or where the perpetrators and their supporters happened to come about their inhuman cruelty and brutality, the most important thing to do now is to stop them, before they start WW3 and thus potentially end life on this planet as we know it.
This is why I don't understand why antiwar.com does not take up the cause of 9/11 Truth, and push for a real investigation of the events of 9/11.
The 9/11 Truth movement (while it does have its loons, agents provocateurs calculating mis-directors, etc.) it is basically a group of sincere, well-informed, patriotic people awakened to the fact that our whole planet is in danger of extinction unless we expose and stop the organized evil that threatens to consume us.
How many wake-up calls does everyone need before the looming greater danger is apparent?
American politicians and media have to get over the heebie-jeebies.
(I couldnt resist that one)
This is what happens when the belief in being The "chosen" people finds political expression. The belief in being better than the rest of humanity because of what a burning bush told one's ancestors was interesting and quaint before the existence of the Jewish state. Now, when that jingoistic and nakedly racist idea finds expression, the results are homicidal.
Israel = Nazi Germany
Thoughtful. Very thoughtful. Yet, we allow it because we don't raise our voice enough. The US has to come to terms with it not being a bipolar world.
Why are our congress critters not demanding the immediate release of their US citizens from the IDF? Where's our governments support in aiding our countrymen illegally hijacked by pirates on international waters. Boy, but they are quick to defend hijacked vessels and crews from Somali pirates using lethal force. What's the difference between an IDF pirate and a Somali pirate?
I agree with much of what Justin is saying here but I disagree with his assertion that as Israel has turned into this evil monster it has somehow become 'eastern.' The eastern Jews had been living peacefully in Muslim lands (including Jerusalem) for ages. The Jews from Western nations are the ones who brought all the ammunition with them and promptly unleashed the terror on the local Arab population.
While the ancient war in East (as in West) were used to be quite brutal (although with far fewer deaths than the modern wars), a marked difference was that the eastern kings always tried to create peace and harmony among all their subjects. Machiavelli was not an eastern sage.
Except that in an abusive marriage, the violence and abuse takes place between the spouses. This relationship is more like Mickey and Mallory Knox…
Justine writes:
"In the West, however, the culture and especially religious belief prevents the celebration of savagery as civic virtue: when we commit atrocities, we justify it as a proportionate use of force in retaliation for previous acts of aggression by the victims of our wrath."
This implication is incorrect. No culture celebrates savagery as civic virtue. ALL cultures, including the Israeli one, justify their savagery as "proportionate use of force," "self-defense," "retaliation."
The massacre of the aid workers on the ship is a case in point. Israel is justifying it as a case of self-defense against the workers' aggression.
It would be nice if you understood the Nietzsche references you were making. You seem to have an idea of Nietzschean philosophy straight out of a bad translation in 1940.
It would also be nice if you used an east/west, asiatic/european division that applies to cultural influences on political ideology after the Roman Empire. The concepts of asiatic autocracy made it around the world long before modern times, just as liberal western values did.
How very racialist is the notion that Israel didn't import its fascist ideas with Ashkenazim from Europe; also, how very bizarre a scenario considering Europe is where fascism became famous.
I agree with the opinion that Israel has savage policies. However, Justin implies that this is due to the influx of North African and Asiatic populations. The author ignores the long tradition of criminal actions on the part of Israel. Israel thuggery was an integral part in the birth of that country. How else can we understand Irgun and the Stern gang? Weren't Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, definitely not Asiatic nor North African in origin, terrorists par excellence? "
In the West, however, the culture and especially religious belief prevents the celebration of savagery as civic virtue: when we commit atrocities, we justify it as a proportionate use of force in retaliation for previous acts of aggression by the victims of our wrath." Well, in other parts of the world, we call this hypocrisy. The West is equally murderous if not more (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) than the rest of the world, except that westerners justify their actions inventing arguments that they themselves don't believe.
"The savage mind, however, works differently. Shorn of what we would recognize as a moral sense, the savage glories in his capacity for pitiless violence. It's a survival mechanism: in his world, red in tooth and claw, instilling fear in your opponent means winning more than half the battle." I cannot think of a nation that glorifies more the military, large scale violence and death than the US (Rolling Thunder, Shock and Awe, etc). This, of course, follows a long tradition in the West that goes through Nazi Germany to the Crusades.
". The large scale infusion of North African and Asiatic populations has changed Israeli society irrevocably, so that, today, the rise of a thuggish fascist demagogue like Avigdor Lieberman, the former bouncer turned Foreign Minister, is all too believable. "
Is it me, or is thiis rank racism? Justin seems to be arguing that Israel just isn't white enough anymore to act in a civilised European manner.
"Shorn of what we would recognize as a moral sense, the savage glories in his capacity for pitiless violence."
Oh puhlease. This is just rubbish. Animals "lack a moral sense", do they therefore "glory" in their capacity fo violence? If you want to see "glorying in a capacity for violence" check out a military parade or weapons magazine.
This is an ignorant and flatly stupid article.
I would also call it racistic.
People vote for whoever they vote for no need to guess their origin.
When pushed enough people move to the right.
After 1000's of Israelis were murdered during the Oslo meat grinder.
I object to Justin characterizing Israel as "non-Western". It's a racist Euro-settler state as savage as any of the others that have come before it, like the U.S., Canada and South Africa. I don't care much for Justin characterizing Israel as somehow "Asiatic", whatever that might mean, which comes across as racist to me. The implication of Justin's argument is that Israel is some kind of mad aberration from Western behavior, both past and present. Reminds me of liberal fantasies of George W. Bush as some kind of a radical break with past U.S. government behavior, when in reality he was just another chapter in the savage history of a rapacious imperialist power.
Deuteronomy 20:16 "Only in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes."
Deuteronomy 7:2 "and when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them."
Numbers 31:17 "Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man."
The Israelis PWN themselves. Read the last paragraph and follow the links:
Justin you mentioned Kidnaping . How much ransom are the jews requesting . Yugoslavia never tried to keep out the muslim activists , and they to were accused of using disproportant force . evidentently they did no\\t use enough force . Where is Yugoslavia now ?
Is it me, or is this rank racism?"
It's you.
Asia is a place, not a race. In the place called Asia, there was no Enlightenment, no successful liberal (anti-absolutist) revolutions, no concept of the individual as anything more than an appendage of the collective, i.e. the all-powerful State. By imbedding itself in a region where such conditions prevai, the Israeli settler colony — which grew out of the European socialist-Bundist milieu — has taken on the illiberal characteristics of its neighbors: what was supposed to be a socialist utopia has been transformed into a militaristic, clerical-reactionary , expansionist state.
"the Israeli settler colony — which grew out of the European socialist-Bundist milieu -"
Fairer surely to say that Israel "grew out of" the European colionialist occupation mileu, as a supposed response to the European mechanised genocide mileu.
And do you *really* see militarism and expansionism as Asiatic rather than Western state attributes?
Oh Justin. A few months ago you claimed that you want to welcome Israel back into the warm embrace of the civilized western world. Back then I disagreed on the grounds that the so called civilized world is mere fantasy. The same civilized western world you continue to believe in is the world that gave birth to the atrocities committed by Hitler, the ethnic cleansing of Native Americans committed by the Europeans of yesteryear and the same civilized world that used Algerians for nuclear radiation experiments and imported slaves to work the cotton fields of the southern colonies.
When I look at this shining-city-on-the-hill that you keep seeing in the western world, I see misery and genocide. Sure, it has it's pros and cons like anything else in life, but it ain't that special, certainly not civilized in the universal sense.
Tonight, when I read your article about the massacre at sea, I thought, even if for a moment that – that you had finally abandoned those delusions of exceptionalism.
But, much to my disappointment you drew a link between the African and Asiatic people to racists in the Israeli government, racists like Avigdor Lieberman.
The only hitch in your theory is the fact that Avigdor Lieberman was born and raised in Lithuania. Have you looked it up on a map? I will save you the trouble, it's in northern Europe.
Adding insult to injury, you go on to claim that the Asiatic origins of the Israeli political landscape are the culprit.
Again, the only hitch in that argument is the simple fact that most of the bigoted and delusional messianic discourse comes from the colonist settlers, proudly made in the good old USA. Go talk to a dozen settlers in the occupied territories and see how fluent they are in English. Their Hebrew is funny as it's peppered with an American accent.
Once upon a time you came across as a sane, knowledgeable and principled person.
These days you are espousing racist rhetoric and racist views. Have you always held such views, or does your ethnic origin have something to do with your new-found opinions?
Is there any reason why you are so obsessed with ethnic distinctions and the racial superiority of one region or another?
I meant to write Moldova. Avigdor Lieberman was born in Moldova. That's in Eastern Europe.
I don't think this ostensible shift away from the west to a more "savage" orientation holds water. The leaders of the World Zionist Organization were rather frank about their savage intentions well before Israel became a state, and that has held true to one degree or another since, depending, it seems, on how circumspect they needed to be. Vladimir Jabotinsky, for example, made it clear that Zionism was a self-justifying concept and that the Palestinians would be forced behind an "iron wall". Later, Mosche Dayan said that, since there was no solution, they'd all live "like dogs". The early correspondence has no lack of this kind of sentiment. There's been no remarkable shift.
Which goes to show you what I have been saying all along since Obama was elected, Maddow and Olberman are now official news "heels". Under President Bush, they were patriots ("faces") in sheep's clothing, denouncing GWB's every move but the silence is deafening under Obama. Turn off your TVs everyone. They are compromised elitists and nothing they say can be trusted, even when they attempt to partially tell the truth.
Somali's are black Africans. So much for President O'BushBombya endearment towards Africa, although his ancestry is in Kenya not far away, The fact that the black african Somali's fishing grounds ae being stolen from them, the audacity of them to retaliate.
I may not agree with you except for Justin's racism and his censoring me.
The "Samson Option" is the scariest most insane thing I have ever heard of. I only hope that Russia or China will call these lunatics out on their little Global Blackmail. Remember once you pay a blackmailer you will never be off their hook. Pure evil.
Raimondo is blinded by anti-Israel bias. He ignores the geopolitical forces that influence Israel's behavior, and pontificates instead, condescendingly, on the "evolution of Israeli society". He's certain it's a "savage" and "fascist" society that "glories" in violence, so purely for reasons of flawed character it stands guilty of crimes like "piracy" and a "massacre".
No mention is made of any practical realities or pertinent facts, such as the continued need to blockade Gaza because it's run by an Iranian proxy army dedicated to Israel's destruction. No mention either that the armed "humanitarians" who greeted the Israelis had clearly planned a deliberate provocation.
Actually, what's scary and insane is being persecuted for two thousand years because bigots like yourself always need a scapegoat (and property to steal). What's scary and insane is having an entire continent round you up and shove you into an oven, along with 6 million of your brethren. And what's pretty scary and insane is a world that judges you by a double standard, never stops seething at you, and openly considers a genocidal "solution" (like hoping that Russia or China will incinerate us) whenever they've got a problem with us. Yes indeed, a world full of raving genocidal monsters like yourself is pretty damn scary and insane, believe me!
The silence and tepid response of the US government is not benign, and it penetrates into every pore of our ignorant society, one in which, all of a sudden, the Turks are the enemy.
Everything turns on a dime.
Geopolitical forces? Of course. Turkey must be made to suffer for its agreeing to take nuclear materials from Iran.
It may well be that with Turkey out of the picture, the US will join Israel in having no friends in Moslem states. Interesting times and interesting effects.
I am sure Israel is delighted in the gullibility of the our hillbillity. The Lord will be coming back soon. Look busy.
The real "axis of evil": Wall Street, Washington and Tel Aviv. They are evil on steroids.
So it was all staged? The film's a fake? Yeah, right!
I wonder how many self-serving delusions you desperately need to cling to!
As long as Israel's enemies are as intellectually impotent and deranged as you are, the less she has to fear. The more nutjob conspiracy theorists, the better!
…you mean, NPR? They're to the right of FOX. Have been since about 1994.
The lunatic is armed to the hilt.
Also note attack on USS Liberty. 1967.
What's scary to me is that Western states would support the establishment a nurture the growth of a theocracy. This is a blatant violation of the separation of church and state.
"hillbility" – that's good. Hillbilly nobility. Blankenship, for instance. Boone Pickens.
I agree with you, but good sense won't have any effect on Herr Raimondo's brain. His preconceived notions about Israel aren't going to change. He sees what he wants to see, reality be damned. He's as mentally imbalanced as he accuses Israelis of being.
Ms. Israel is not the only democracy in the Middle East.
In fact, it's not a democracy at all but part of the Global corporate/financial/militarist EMPIRE — just as is Mr. US (and their children, like little UK).
The dysfunctional Global EMPIRE family — posing as Ozzie and Harriet, while exploiting, raping, and killing like cross between Hitler, Manson, and Dahmer.
Empire, and more importantly 'empire-thinking' is a cancerous pathology, or as Kurt Vonnegut used to say, "bad chemicals circulating through the brain" of a country — and turning it into an Empire.
Or as Christopher Hedges recently wrote, the 'will to Empire' turning all the world into a family of "Little Eichmanns"
Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine
So, hasbara or are you IDF?
In fact photos of supposed weapons found on the ship are faked. The Israelis forgot about the metadata in modern digital cameras: http://www.politicaltheatrics.net/2010/06/the-gaz… http://i.imgur.com/u9Kul.jpg http://www.flickr.com/photos/israel-mfa/466296568…
etc etc etc
Also the boat was Turkish. Turkey is a member of NATO and could invoke Art 5. Be very careful what you do IDF if you don't want a real war.
Also Max Blumenthal has confirmed that the raid wasn't bungled it was planned to be violent. http://maxblumenthal.com/2010/06/the-flotilla-rai…
Also, and this has been kept very quiet: an American teenager was one of the dead, with 4 bullets in his head and one in his chest… http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/stor…
Thank you for your excellent article, the background history of the perpetrators, and the terrible violence, kidnapping and murder of the humanitarians on the ship. I pray for the families of those who lost their lives or were injured.in the massacre. I also read on another on-line publication, that a reporter on the ship who was taking photos of the assault, was shot through the head and died, and that some bodies may have been thrown overboard.
The mainstream media, as usual, saturates our lives ad naseum with the smallest details on Lindsey Lohan's life, or whomever is the star of the moment in Hollywood, but provides very little information on the real situation in the Middle East, what's happening to the Palestinians, the possibility of a nuclear attack and the start of World War III.
I thought Israel was U.S.A ?
Most comments here are made by people who are obviously pacifists.
There is nothing wrong with that in a society where your neighbors do not want to kill you.
In a bad hood you better own a big gun and use it when in need of it.
Anyone else will either be killed or raped and then killed.
But self defense is not allowed, the jews should know better bow their heads and commit mass suicide. This is what we are allowed to do if we were to listen to you. Hopefully none of you who are so eagerly obsessed by Israel will have to go through what we went through over the last 500 years of expulsion, murder, rape,gassing, mass theft by western european countries we lived in and the list goes on. Nobody can tel us what to do and how to defend ourselves. Rest your souls in peace and move on to more important issues.
[…] from our wallet, and thumbing his arrogant nose at all and sundry for good measure. more at http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2…nean-massacre/ This guy and Pat Buchanan are the intellectual paragons of "paleoconservatism"…I […]
The people in Israel are no angels, but who is. Asfter tasting 2000 years of Islamo-Christian love, they are trying to survive "BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY"
[…] going any further, just reflect upon all the apologist responses to the global condemnation of the Mediterranean Massacre. All the toadies that carry the water for the Zionist despotism are predictable and deceitful. […]
[…] going any further, just reflect upon all the apologist responses to the global condemnation of the Mediterranean Massacre. All the toadies that carry the water for the Zionist despotism are predictable and deceitful. […]
[…] going any further, just reflect upon all the apologist responses to the global condemnation of the Mediterranean Massacre. All the toadies that carry the water for the Zionist despotism are predictable and deceitful. […]
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.


text:
China says drought won't affect world food prices
Beijing (AFP) Feb 15, 2011
China sought Tuesday to alleviate fears about the global impact of a drought in its wheat-growing regions that has raised concern it could send world food prices soaring.
The situation "will not affect international food prices", foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told reporters at a regular press briefing.
"The recent drought may have some impact on winter wheat production but authorities are taking active measures to minimise the impact," he said.
He added that China had "abundant" reserves of grain that were sufficient to meet the nation's needs.
The dry spell in northern China's wheat heartland has caused considerable concern abroad, and even sparked a UN warning last week about the impact on winter crops, a key harvest for the world's biggest producer of the grain.
If China were to buy a large amount of wheat overseas due to a crop failure, prices on world commodity markets would surge at a time when food costs are already causing governments headaches.
Concerns eased somewhat after snow fell over the weekend across much of northern China including major wheat-producing provinces Shandong and Henan.
But experts say more precipitation will be needed to alleviate the dry spell, which has affected at least 7.7 million hectares (19 million acres) of wheat crops.
Beijing has earmarked 13 billion yuan ($2 billion) to combat the drought and has announced measures including diverting water to affected areas and constructing emergency wells and irrigation facilities.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links
Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Feb 14, 2011
The problem with phosphorus, a critical element in fertilizers and food, is, as comedian Rodney Dangerfield would say, that it "can't get no respect." Increasingly scarce, yet commonly overused in agricultural fields, polluting streams and lakes, this essential component of our bones, our DNA, the periodic table and the dinner table may soon join oil on the endangered species list - withou ... read more
|The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The virtual life has gripped the entire town of tech immigrants. No matter what even celebs take to the internet mediums to flash out any news or make any statement. Likewise also there are many fan clubs and fan page created online by many star struck fans who pour their heart out virtually to support their stars. But sometimes it all goes wrong.
There have been rise in cases where in people are duping the naive crowd into believing that these fan clubs are actually associated directly with the actor and you can draw in some help from these clubs as well.
And when a certain 'fan club' under Akshay Kumar's name came under scanner that has been duping people by promising them a job in the actor's production house, the actor got very agitated about this.
The actor took to micro-blogging website Twitter to reach out to his fans to steer out any misunderstanding. Akshay tweeted "Heard some upsetting news… some members of my "FAN CLUB" have been misleading some fans and duping them of money with false promises of landing an assistant directors job on my films (sic)."
Heard some upsetting news… some members of my "FAN CLUB" have been misleading some fans and duping them of money w… http://t.co/42DOIYH2TJ
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) March 3, 2014
He added, "If you are my fan, you know my story… there is no shortcut to success. Please don't be naive and don't give away your hard earned money to crooks (sic)."
"To those involved in this scam, may you get what you deserve (sic)."
Akshay Kumar advised them on not being so naive and know about such duping activities going on and avoid falling prey to these con. And also steer clear of such thousand and more fan pages sprouting out every other day.


text:
PEACH TREE, TEXAS (Jasper County). Peach Tree is at the junction of State Highway 63 and Farm Road 254, six miles west of Jasper and seventy-three miles north of Beaumont in northern Jasper County. Early settlers who came to the area before the Civil War named their community for the wild peach trees they found nearby. The fertile land proved attractive, and Ramsey C. Armstrong, Sr., opened a private school called the Peach Tree Academy about 1870 on a branch of Lewis Creek. At the time 100 persons lived at Peach Tree, which also had a store, a gristmill, and a post office from 1872 to 1890. A few scattered farmhouses and a church still mark the little community.
James M. McReynolds, A History of Jasper County, Texas, Prior to 1874 (M.A. thesis, Lamar State College of Technology, 1968).
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.Robert Wooster, "PEACH TREE, TX (JASPER COUNTY)," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hvp25), accessed November 30, 2015. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Get Texas history everyday,
with day by day
Each day's email tells a little bit more of the story of Texas and links to our collection of more than 27,000 articles


text:
Updated 10/30/2014
A few miles' drive south of town you'll find the retail outlet of this company that produces those small, handsomely packed, superfine chocolate bars sold in fancy-food shops and groceries throughout the country. Although Hershey Company now owns the company, Dagoba was founded in Ashland, and its operation remains here, where a small retail shop—open weekdays only—sells its goods.
1105 Benson St., Ashland, Oregon, 97520, United States
Website: www.dagobachocolate.com
Updated 10/30/2014
No Thanks


text:
FREDONIA, Ky. (4/2/13) – The Kentucky State Police (KSP) investigated a single-vehicle, injury collision that occurred on KY 70, approximately one mile east of Fredonia, on Tuesday, April 2, 2013, at 11:05 a.m.
The preliminary investigation revealed that Anna Beabout, 71 of Kuttawa, KY, was operating a 2003 Buick Century eastbound on KY 70 when she was distracted by a vehicle approaching her from behind. Ms. Beabout's vehicle exited the right side of the roadway and struck several trees. Her vehicle came to rest off of the roadway.
Ms. Beabout, who was wearing a seatbelt, was transported via ambulance to the Caldwell Medical Center for treatment. There were no passengers.
Trooper First Class Chris King investigated the collision. Trooper First Class Darron Holliman, Trooper Ben Sawyer, the Fredonia Volunteer Fire Department, Princeton Fire & Rescue, and Caldwell County EMS assisted at the scene.
SurfKY News
Information provided by Trooper Stu Recke
Photos provided by SurfKY Graphics
LIKE SurfKY on Facebook - Click here to LIKE us now.
© Copyright 2015 SurfKY News Group, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, or rewritten without permission. SurfKY News encourages you to share this story on social media.
|< Prev
|Next >


text:
Thursday, February 23, 2012
© Copyright 2015 Henry Herald
Five people were arrested following a drug raid in Stockbridge by the Flint Circuit Drug Task Force.
All of the suspects appeared in Henry County Magistrate Court Wednesday, before Judge Wesley Shannon. Juan Alberto Contreras-Ramirez, Maria Magdalena Corral, Jose Juan Guerrero-Estrada, Jesus Bernal Peinado, and Victor Hugo Corchado Gonzalez are charged with trafficking marijuana.
Judge Shannon bound their cases over to Henry County Superior Court.
According to Maj. Chad Rosborough, the drug raid was the result of an investigation conducted by task force agents.
"Approximately three months ago, we received information to a possible drug-trafficking organization," said Maj. Rosborough. He said the information his agency received led to a residence, at 589 McCullough Road, in Stockbridge.
Tuesday, they got enough substantial information to obtain a search warrant for the house. Agents executed the search warrant around 3:30 p.m. "They found about 550 pounds of marijuana and $3,000 in cash," said Rosborough. "The estimated street value is $300,000."
The four men and one woman were arrested without incident, or injuries.
"This is the largest marijuana bust we have made since the task force was combined in May," Rosborough said.
The suspects transported the marijuana, which was welded inside large equipment, such as automotive parts, said Rosborough. He added that the drugs have not been linked to any auto repair shop.
"During our investigation, it appeared the marijuana was coming from the Mexico and Texas areas, and was being transported here, to Henry County," he said.
None of the suspects lived at the Stockbridge home where they were apprehended, he added. "They were using it strictly as a stash house."
Task force agents never went to the home to purchase drugs. Rosborough explained that the trafficking charge stems from the large quantity of marijuana found inside the house. "Anything over 10 pounds of marijuana is an automatic charge of trafficking marijuana," said Rosborough.
The suspects remained in the Henry County Jail without bond at press time, Wednesday.
More like this story
- Drug Task Force arrests two in Stockbridge ( June 23, 2011 )
- New drug task force makes ecstasy bust ( June 1, 2011 )
- State Court employees arrested on drug charges ( November 18, 2011 )
- State Court employees arrested on drug charges No bond set for alleged drug dealer ( November 18, 2011 )
- Drug task force raids Stockbridge 'pill mill' ( September 8, 2011 )


text:
I went from a ragular home to river front property over night. Just wanted to share some of the photos of the Clatskanie river in my front yard.
Flooding in Clatskanie Oregon
By: IliciaSubscribe Channel: Weather & Scenery Location: Clatskanie, Oregon
+ Comment!
This story is inappropriate and should be flagged for moderation. Please choose from one of the following options:


text:
Wrap Around Neck Support
Average Customer Rating(4 ratings)
Featured Customer ReviewUsed in bed and in car. Suitable for strains and nerve inflammation [ read more ]By Rosy from Mentor OH
Customers who viewed this product also viewed:
14% viewed
(13 ratings)
Imak Products Wrap Around Neck Support
- Includes removable Gel pack
- Latex free and washable for easy care
- Provides Hot and Cold Pain Relief
- Wraps around neck - velcro closure
Product Overview
Imak Products Wrap Around Neck Support
Wrap Around Neck Support
This innovative Wrap Around Neck Support provides soothing, non-invasive relief to sore and stiff necks. The support wrap comfortably hugs your neck, providing gentle but firm support. It helps relieve pressure on the spine and neck muscles. The Neck Support comes with an extra long 22" gel pack that can be heated or chilled and is easily inserted into the pocket opening.
Features of the Wrap Around Neck Support:
- Heat Therapy is commonly used to relieve pain due to muscle spasm, sore muscles, tension, stress, whiplash, arthritis.
- Cold Therapy commonly used immediately after an injury to reduce swelling and relieve pain. Also ideal to relieve headaches.
- Cotton Terry material is soft and comfortable against your skin.
- Removable Gel Pack can be frozen or heated. Slips easily into pocket opening.
- Moisture-resistant lining prevents moisture build up from heated or frozen gel.
- VERSATILE: Velcro Closure adjusts to a perfect fit to provide ideal support.
- Off White Color
- Neck Support is 36 inches long and 5.5 inches tall
- Removable Gel Pack is 10 inches long and 3 inches wide
Wrap Around Neck Support Reviews Summary
Wrap Around Neck Support is also listed in these categories:
You have already voted for this. Thank you
You cannot vote for your own question or answer. Thank you
Wrap Around Neck Support
Ask the community about this product and get answers. Share your knowledge and advice. Learn More about Q&A.
1 Question | 0 Answers
I need a new jell pack for mine...where can I purchase one...Gerri Reed
Asked on Jan 3, 2013 2:10:40 PM by Gerri
Yeah, good question!
(0) Yes - (0) No
Report as inappropriate
Know the answer? Be the first to share!
Part Number(s): 715 5012
Because our price on this item is lower than the manufacturer's suggested retail price, the manufacturer does not allow us to show you our price until you place the item in your shopping cart. Retailers like Allegro Medical have the legal right to sell products at prices we set. However, adding the item to your cart allows us to show you our lower price consistent with our promise of always offering you the lowest possible prices on the widest selection of medical supplies, medical equipment and life enhancing products.
Adding this item to your shopping cart won't require you to buy it. However, our prices do change. If you decide to purchase this item now you are guaranteed the price now displayed in your shopping cart. Complete your purchase by clicking on the "checkout" button or simply remove the product from your cart if you decide not to make your purchase at this time.


text:
Get the latest Flash player
Date: 4 years ago
Runtime: 3:02
Views: 5,167
All Comments
hot love button
Mmmm look at the pretty slick pussy!
thank you so much for posting this,highly charged!!!
God you are just dripping full of fun, i can just imagine how great your juices must taste, mmm
hmmm you're so sexy...i love how you slowly build yourself to an orgasm, holding in your cum waiting to gush out...i just wish i was there to slide something a little more fun inside than that toy
That clit she has looks so perfect and suckable. I wanna see her orgasm!!!!!


text:
David Schlosser, one of three partners behind Naked Dove, sits among the microbrewery's tanks and kegs.
- Filed Under
"There's No Place Like Hope Happy Hour" will be held Tuesday at Donnelly's Public House in Fairport.
The second annual benefit for Mt. Hope Family Center will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the pub at One Water St., at the corner of Liftbridge Lane.
Musician Tommy Brunett will perform, and hors d'oeuvres will be served. Beer, wine and spirits tastings will include one led by David Dove Brewing Co. brewmaster Dave Schlosser. Schlosser said on Facebook that he would offer tastings of three Bock beers brewed this year: Exposinator Doppelbock, Bare Bock and the soon-to-be ...


text:
At Global Epicurean, we pride ourselves in delivering a truly exceptional culinary experience. In order to do so, we go to great lengths to learn all about a region and be able to showcase the best a place has to offer. We cooperate with local hoteliers, chefs, and producers to bring you the most amazing culinary experience. We do not lead trips in places we don't know thoroughly, and we bring that expertize directly to you.
Here's our currently offered destinations:
Emilia Romagna
Piemonte (Piedmont)


text:
Eight one-bedroom apartments, eight two-bedroom apartments, and 24 three-bedroom townhomes could be built in southeast Marysville, with construction scheduled to begin in September, if The Pioneer Group, a Topeka based development firm, along with the Marshall County Community Resource and Education Center can get tax credits from the state housing authority. The location of these apartments and townhouses would be on property owned by Mick Keating and is south of Highway 36 two blocks, between 16th and 17th Street. They would be available in June 2014. Also, The Pioneer Group is expected to close on the purchase of the Pony Run and Elm Creek Apartments with rehabilitation of the apartments starting in June.
Tags June Marysville Mick Keating purchase
About Kevin Rippe
Kevin Rippe was born in Marysville and moved to Smith Center at the age of 1, then graduated from Smith Center High School in 1995. He graduated from Cloud County Community College in 1997, and joined the staff of KKAN/KQMA radio in Phillipsburg a year later. Since June of 2011 Kevin has been with us here at Your Country KNDY. You can hear Kevin on daily news reports, as well as calling area high school football and basketball. Kevin lives in Marysville with his wife Melissa, and 4 children Brennen, Jacob, Bailee, and Joshua.
Related Articles
OOOT Concert Set For Sunday
August 26, 2015
Nemaha County Commission Meeting Minutes – June 22, 2015
June 29, 2015


text:
HARRISBURG >>PHEAA is encouraging students and families to watch out for scams promising a State Grant award or offering assistance in completing applications in exchange for a fee.
The application process for the need-based State Grant program is easy to complete and a variety of free resources are available to assist families. Awards are determined by a PHEAA-administered awarding formula and no one can be guaranteed to receive an award regardless of any promise made by scammers.
First-time Pennsylvania State Grant applicants planning to attend a community college are required to submit their application by Aug. 1.
Eligible students enrolled in the summer semester must complete the application by Aug. 15.
For information on the higher education financial aid process, schedules for free financial aid nights and FAFSA Completion Sessions, reminders of financial aid deadlines, and video clips offering tips and information pertaining to planning for higher education, students can join PHEAA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pheaa.aid.


text:
1. Event and project ideas Whether your guild is recently formed and thinking about its first event, or has been hosting a luncheon for 10 years and wants to do something different, you can contact the Seattle Children's Hospital Guild Association for ideas.
We will help you brainstorm options that complement the skills, interests and resources of your guild members.
We can also put you in touch with other guilds that have held events similar to what you are interested in.
Start your planning by reviewing these project ideas (PDF).
2. Promotional materials The Guild Association must review drafts of your promotional materials, such as save-the-date cards, invitations, flyers and media releases.
We can provide you with the correct Seattle Children's logo to use in your materials, as well as patient photos and hospital facts.
3. Event supplies The Guild Association has a variety of supplies you can borrow for your event, including banners, table runners, aprons, collection jars, cash boxes, credit card machines, charge slips and balloons.
Fill out a supply request form to reserve the supplies you need.
4. Event speakers If you would like a speaker from the hospital at your event, the Guild Association can try to secure a physician, staff member or member (s) of a patient's family.
We will recommend best practices for highlighting the speaker and for working with a family.
If you have an existing relationship with a physician or patient's family who may speak at your event, tell us so we can help you make sure proper consents are in place.
5. Event promotion Tell the Guild Association about your upcoming event so we can list it on our online calendar of events and in Connection magazine, Guild News and Guild Notes if space allows.
Fill out the Guild Event Form (DOC).
Ask us for a mailing list of other guilds in your area so you can invite them to your event or let them know about an upcoming project.
After your event, the Guild Association would like to acknowledge your hard work and celebrate your success in the "Round of Applause" section of Guild News.
Send a post-event press release to inform the public of your event results.
6. Templates and resources The Guild Association has a variety of templates and printed resources that can help you with your event or project, including:
The Guild Association Resource Guide (PDF) is a comprehensive manual that provides information about your guild's officers and responsibilities, fundraising, compliance, auctions, publicity, policies and more.
Review the list of resources available online.
Contact us if you don't see what you're looking for.
7. Workshops We offer informational workshops on topics such as sponsorship and how to grow your event, compliance and the role of the treasurer, auction reconciliation and media support.
Contact us if you are interested in attending a workshop.
8. Treasurer support Your role as guild's treasurer is vital and can seem overwhelming.
We can help you complete each step of the Treasurer's Report (PDF). We have created easy-to-use spreadsheets available online.
Contact us with any questions or to set up a meeting with us to go over more complex issues.
9. Compliance support The Guild Association Resource Guide (PDF) is an excellent tool for all guild members with compliance-related questions.
The Guild Association accountant and compliance manager work to ensure that guilds are compliant with fundraising rules and regulations and to avoid penalties, which jeopardize our nonprofit status.
Contact us with any questions you may have.
10. Developing goals and increasing revenue Using past events as your baseline, what do you want to improve upon? Do you want to increase your audience, attract more sponsors or improve your silent auction?
The Guild Association will work with you to brainstorm achievable goals and how to reach them.
Foundation and Guild Association206-987-2153
or 800-635-1432 (toll-free)


text:
I've integrated new facebook ios sdk to my app, implemented authentication to facebok within my app, and implemente post to wall. I'm using internal facebook credentials stored in settings in iOS 6.
Now I need to open a UIWebView on a specific facebook page (http://facebook.com/what-so-ever). But when my UIWebView is loaded it seems that the user needs to login to his facebook account again. Is there a way to keep facebook authentication within my app in UIWebView?


text:
Direct Mail
Put your offer right into your ideal customer's hands with direct mail
Make your next direct mail campaign a breeze
In a world saturated with e-everything, many businesses are rediscovering the real impact direct mail marketing can offer.
Think about it…at the end of the day, the mailbox is the one advertising channel that simply cannot be ignored. The Unites States Postal Service reported that "many people look forward to receiving their daily mail. In fact, 98 percent of consumers bring in their mail the day it's delivered, and 77 percent sort through it immediately."
How it all comes together
By coordinating your direct mail campaign from start to finish, we ensure that every step of the process is given the proper care and happens precisely according to plan. Our experience and resources make this an effortless task. From strategic planning, list acquisition and the creative design process to the printing and delivery, you can count on us to execute your project on time and on budget.
- Acquisition
- New Homeowners
- Radius/Demographic Mailings
- Saturation
- New Product Announcements
- Drip Campaigns (B2B, B2C)
- Retention
- New Product/Service Announcements
- Sale/Event Announcements
- Welcome Campaigns
- Postcards
- Spectaculars
- Personalized Letters
- Invitations


text:
Red Hook High School's Dennis Hare puts up a shot in his team's 68-57 state Class A regional semifinal victory over Maine-Endwell at Johnson City High School on Tuesday.
- Filed Under
The Red High School boys basketball team advanced to Friday's state Class A regional final with a 68-57 regional semifinal win over Maine-Endwell at Johnson City High School on Tuesday.
"It's a great win. I'm so thrilled for the kids and other coaches on the team,'' Red Hook coach Matt Hayes said. "We had great fan support. We had three fan buses come up here.
"I get a sense in town they are excited about this, too.'' ...


text:
- Filed Under
Bob Clegg, Port Huron city engineer, said he loves to share good news and he'll have some for the city council on Monday.
He will be presenting an amendment to the city's sewer services ordinance that dictates the allowable pollutant load from industrial wastewater.
The changes are possible, he said, because local industries are releasing fewer pollutants into the system. ...


text:
Aug. 28, 1903: Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted dies. Olmsted revolutionized landscape design with his work on New York's Central Park, the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and parks and neighborhoods in Atlanta, Boston and elsewhere. Olmsted spent his last years confined to MacLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., whose grounds he designed.
Aug. 28, 1981: The journal Science publishes a paper by James Hansen and five other scientists warning that increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will trap heat, melt polar ice and glaciers, raise sea levels, and open the ice-bound Northwest Passage.
Aug. 28, 1990: Plainfield, Ill., is partly destroyed by a powerful tornado, with 29 lives lost.
Aug. 28, 2012: The Obama Administration approved rules calling for a dramatic increase in fuel efficiency for U.S. vehicles, nearly doubling the rate to 54.5 miles per gallon.
Photo of factory smoke: danielfoster437/Flickr
This feature is compiled by Peter Dykstra, an MNN contributor and publisher of Environmental Health News and The Daily Climate.
The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.


text:
Mayor's guest column: The 'Other' Edmonds
We so often think of Edmonds as the tranquil, scenic community with a gorgeous seaside-like setting. A small, quaint town with a rich history and great pride, all tucked away in "The Bowl".
Not true! First of all, we are not a "small" town. We are a city of nearly 40,000 people. We are the third largest city in Snohomish County. We are becoming a city with growing diversity; many races, many religions, and many beliefs. As I door belled in my political campaign for mayor, I was stunned to find how dramatic the changes have become from the time I was on the City Council, oh so many years ago.
One of the most noticeable and dramatic changes has taken place on our two mile stretch of Highway 99 and its surrounding neighborhoods. The International District on the Highway demonstrates the growing ethnic diversity, and the diversity of businesses from the County line to 212th Southwest clearly shows us there is room and need for well, thought-out improvements and growth.
We all know about the planned growth of Swedish/Edmonds. The campus itself is growing with a new parking garage and the addition of 72,000 square feet of medical facility. These changes have and will bring more supportive health facilities, jobs and quality health services to the community.
The International District itself has attracted a sprawling market, fine restaurants and a diverse group of businesses to the area. We have first rate automobile dealerships on Highway 99, dealerships such as Volkswagen, Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Mazda providing great service and adding to our economy.
Not lost in all of this are our quality neighborhoods surrounding this business community. Just as in the Edmonds Bowl, where we have neighborhoods surrounding the business community, the same is true on Highway 99. As Councilmember Adrienne Fraley-Monillas reminds us, Highway 99 is not just a business community, it is a separate neighborhood made up of a rich mix of businesses and single- family homes, as well as apartments and condominiums. It is also a neighborhood of rich economic and ethnic diversity. A neighborhood we need to pay very close attention to.
To that end, in the coming months the Planning Board and City Council will have a thorough look at how we may be supportive of smart growth decisions to encourage mixed-use developments including retail, offices and housing units. All of you know how the City of Shoreline has made improvements over several years to their stretch of Highway 99. We don't need to have the same look, but we need to compliment the quality improvements in that community.
Similar quality improvements will take vision, years, patience and dollars to accomplish. As an example, with the assistance of our state legislative delegation, we had $10 million in both the Senate and House Transportation Budgets to begin the improvement process, but as you may know, the Legislature did not approve any Transportation Budget this year. We will pursue that money again next year. For our city's long-term betterment we need to work with great determination to enrich neighborhoods throughout our city, including The "Other" Edmonds.
6 Comments
Also you have North Edmonds that riches to Picnic Point Road which has quit family oriented neighborhoods. Beautiful trees surround this area with an aura of living in the country. Creeks run through the neighborhood to the Sound. frogs, owls woodpeckers can be heard in early morning hours from the porch. It is a beautiful place to raise your kids – and we are a part of Edmonds (sometimes forgotten)
I disagree……Edmonds is a small quaint town (40,000……don't think too many would refer to that as a city)…….with a rich history and a whole lot of pride……..all the way up to the eastern border at the highway…….Many have moved here to get away from the current CITY development SPEAK…and action…….Seattle being a prime example. And yes., Edmonds is FINAaLLY becoming diverse……..Can we get some affortable housing all over Edmonds without tearing down more existing architecture and letting the mighty bulldozer rule and pound the fragile environment here…. This is a creative town……I think it is entirely possible
Tere – the Puget Sound Regional Council defines Edmonds as a city in their master plan – what makes Edmonds very cool is that we have most of the "luxuries and services" of a city yet the atmosphere of a small town.
As far as diversity, there are over 50 different languages and cultures represented in our Edmonds schools – which makes the learning environment interesting and global.
Affordable housing is a tough one to tackle – but certainly not impossible. Improving revenue channels into the city will help keep housing "more" affordable (at least the tax side of it), but we do have limitations on land. There are those who are passionate on both sides, who both have legitimate concerns, on this issue. If the goal is affordable housing, then there will need to be compromise.
I agree that this town is creative – so let's put more of that "creativity" into keeping Edmonds sustainable, both environmentally and economically.
Something Mike didn't mention. With all of that diversity kids are graduating high school at a nearly 90% clip.
How about that for diversity.Another reason to love Edmonds.
2013/2014 Census – Population Demographics, Edmonds, Washington
Population: 39,709
White 33,114 83% White
Asian 2,800 7% Asian
Hispan/Lat 2,121 5% Hispanic/Latino
Bl/AfricanAm 1,045 2% Black/African Amer.
other Race 709
Amer Indian 290
3 or more Race 152
Nat.Hawai PacIs 134
More affordable housing in ALL of Edmonds rather than just certain areas would make ALL of Edmonds diverse. This is something we would like to see and certainly possible for the future of Edmonds and how it fits into the rest of the GLOBAL community.
……maybe thinking inside the "BOWL" and changing old school thinking and planning in regards to the "bowl"
More affordable housing is possible in in bowl if we use our creativity to set it as an objective and look at creative ways to accomplish it. We just need to set it as a goal and make the needed trade offs to accomplish it.


text:
Doc LouisStreet Art // Saturday, July 09, 2011
As far as video games go, Mike Tyson's Punch Out ranks high in the classics list. With unique characters such as Don Flamenco, Piston Honda, Soda Popinski, King Hippo, and Bald Bull, it's hard not to love how silly this game is. So here is the coach Doc Louis who finally gets his shine.
The Art of OaKoAkJuxtapoz // Monday, March 14, 2011
Some of the best street art has humor built into it. In the case of French street artist, OaKoAk, they take what the city gives to them and creates a witty street piece. Who hasn't wanted to turn a tile doorstep into a piano, or a sewer cover into a Viking's shield? More after the jump . . .


text:
Whenever I speak to just about anyone in the handmade community, the question that seems to pop up again and again is: How do I get more people to find me? Besides building your own Handmade Trifecta, is there more you can do? The answer is yes, if course! One of the best thing you can do is advertise on blogs that support and appreciate what you do.
For the next 3 days, I am offering a special discount on both advertising and consulting. My traffic is booming and I try to achieve 3 unique objectives with advertising:
- I only post ads for handmakers and those who directly support the handmade community. I made the decision this year that the LAB will never be a affiliate driven site. My goal is to have as many handmakers as possible have a shot at exposure. I also don't want to be obligated to do sponsored posts unless I truly believe in the product and it supports you, handmakers of the world.
- Advertising should be affordable. I know what it takes to run a creative business and I don't want to see you struggle with high advertising costs. That's why my rates are affordable and fixed for 2013. No matter how big IAMTHELAB.com gets, I'm not going anywhere without you. If the handmade community didn't exist, neither would I.
- Offer something more than an ad. While it's true that people do click on ads, I wanted to do more than just sell you a little LAB real estate. So, even for those who just purchase a regular ad, I always do at least one sponsored post per month to make sure that my readers see you. I often do interviews and, if you are really fun & chatty, you might be offered a chance to be a guest poster.
All funds from my programs go directly back into the LAB. For instance, this year I will need to move the LAB to a larger hosting platform to handle the traffic. With all that said, I'm running a special for the next 3 DAYS ONLY on all my advertising and support programs. Here's the goods:
LAB Partners: You get an ad in the sidebar, a big sweet ad in our blog stream, LAB Support and more. Learn more here and then get a $25 discount by clicking on the box.
LAB Support: Want some help getting off the ground in 2013? Why not try a little one-on-one with me via a phone consultation? Imagine how much we can get done in one hour! Read about my LAB Support program here and then come back and click on the box to get the discount.
Advertising: Get 6 months at a great discount for the next 3 days. Read more here about my advertising program and then come back and get this outstanding deal.
Thank you for your support & for helping me help you.


text:
Class: Cars, Off-road / SUV — Model origin:
Minor action vehicle or used in only a short scene
◊ 2007-03-29 17:38
|Dodge Power Wagon(looks pretty heavy).
◊ 2007-03-29 18:27
|Dodge WC-63 6 X 6, w/winch.
- DodgeMan
◊ 2007-03-29 20:11
Still a Power Wagon, but yeah.
◊ 2007-03-30 03:37
|WC 63 weighs in about 8500 lbs!!! Quite the load especially when loaded w/ cargo.
I think Dodge started marketing the "Power Wagon" in 1946 w/ the WDX. I know many of these military Dodge trucks share the flat fender Power Wagon "look" (WC's & M37) but I don't think they were ever officially called Power Wagons.
◊ 2007-03-30 08:24
|They did. I remember an article "Collectible Automobiles" where they featured a 1946 Power Wagon. Seems Dodge sold "civilized" military trucks under that label that were not longer needed by the army.
◊ 2007-04-01 06:00
|The civilized flat fender "Power Wagons" of 1945-46 through the early 1970's were different (improved)from the earlier military models. Again I don't think Dodge called the WWII trucks Power Wagons, that all started after '45. Very common term for a military Dodge 4x4 but not correct...just like "jeep" and "Jeep". No "Jeeps" until after WWII when all the "jeeps" were built.
◊ 2009-03-12 01:42


text:
December 1, 2015
A Dothan man faces a robbery charge after he allegedly robbed the 'Check N Go' on Ross Clark Circle.
According to the Dothan Police Department, Aaron Keith Rekvina, 29, of North Pontiac Avenue, entered the store while in possession of a taser and a baton. He allegedly demanded money; he took off with an undisclosed amount.
The suspect was not located at that time of the alleged robbery, but investigators working leads throughout the night identified Rukvina as the robber.
He has been charged with first degree robbery. His bond has not been set at this time.
Click Here to access the online Public Inspection File
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or email@example.com.


text:
- Age / Gender:
- 22, Male
- Location:
- Canada
- Joined:
- 12/17/09
- All Stats >
User Statshot
- Community Stats
Level 3 Audiophile
Normal Whistle
Ranked as Civilian
Contact Info / Websites
Recent Game Medals
Whiskered Away 5 Points Level Up once. Medal Stats.
Fishmonger 10 Points Defeat Psycho-Goldfish. Medal Stats.
SECRET MEDAL 5 Points Unlock this medal to see it's details. Medal Stats.
Big Fuzzy Hug 5 Points Defeat BigFuzzyKitten. Medal Stats.
First Blood 5 Points Hit your first enemy. Medal Stats.
Total Medals Earned: 5 (From 2 different games.)
Favorite Audio
|Trance Song
|Morning Sky (Kaze no Ne)
|Video Game Song
|Drum N Bass Song
|Kirby's Adventure Remix
|Video Game Song


text:
Rush-hour traffic fills Main Street in Burlington on Tuesday evening. / GLENN RUSSELL / FREE PRESS
Special Report: The cost of our commuting
More coverage inside:
The innovators: What are some potential solutions to traffic headaches? Green Mountain, Page 1C.
Environmental impact: Vehicle emissions represent almost half of Vermonts climate-warming pollution. Inside Green Mountain.
Commuting diaries: Free Press reporters Joel Banner Baird, Tim Johnson and Matt Sutkoski travel by bus, bike and truck from downtown to the mall at evening rush hour and chronicle their experiences. Inside Green Mountain.
Stalled solutions: A number of transportation alternatives over the years have failed or proved less successful than hoped. Inside Green Mountain.
Youre cruising along Interstate 89 on the way to work and suddenly, ahead of you, theres a sea of brake lights.
Your brake lights go on, too. You join the slow crawl, moving exasperatingly slowly, like the worlds laziest snapping turtle, ensuring you and everyone around you is late for work.
Welcome to what is arguably Chittenden Countys biggest commuter aggravation: If one person screws up on the road somewhere in the region, or if theres one construction project, the whole system, it seems, can gum up.
Thats because theres few ways to get from here to there in Chittenden County, unless you take the equally slow option of zigzagging through residential neighborhoods, back roads and semi-secret shortcuts.
Those relatively few major routes in Chittenden County converge on Burlington, the regions nerve center. The highways all are tightly interconnected, so too are the troubles that spread when something as mundane as a fender bender, a snow flurry or a pothole repair crops up.
Theres not enough money to build roads to ease traffic problems, and besides, such solutions often dont work, said Michele Boomhower, executive director of the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Itll take improved design, and especially removing cars from the road through public transportation, car sharing and telecommuting, she said.
There are some things that we just cant fix, and some things we are going to have to be more strategic about, create some alternate behaviors, Boomhower said. We are not going to build out of it.
Traffic jams created by accidents or other minor incidents are not unique to Chittenden County. But traffic volumes are higher here than in other parts of Vermont, said Kevin Marshia, a highway design and safety engineer for the state Agency of Transportation.
That, he said, means no matter where trouble starts, all those cars will back up into adjacent highways.
And there are environmental concerns, too: Vehicle traffic accounts for Vermonts largest source of greenhouse gasses making up nearly half of the states contribution of climate-warming pollution. As cars sit in traffic many of them occupied only by the driver they spew more and more pollutants into the atmosphere.
The backup starts
Ground zero for all this might be Interstate 89s Exit 14, leading to Main Street in Burlington and Williston Road in South Burlington.
Boomhower said its certainly one of the busiest intersections in Vermont.
Like many other busy intersections and spots prone to traffic backups, the area around Exit 14 is plagued by an outdated design, years of slow, piecemeal development that has limited options for reconstruction, a lack of money to rebuild roads, a stubbornly high number of motorists who drive alone and inattentive drivers.
So when the inevitable accident happens in that area, the ripples often spread. First, East Avenue backs up. Then Colchester Avenue jams up as people use that to get around the Exit 14 traffic jam. Shelburne Road and Vermont 127 can become slow, too, as people try those routes, Boomhower said. And that exhausts the ways in and out of town.
The problem was decades in the making and is not unraveled easily without spending far more money than is available, or seeking changes in commuting behavior that most travelers so far have been unwilling to make.
Roads were built centuries ago and followed paths that made it easiest to get from Point A to Point B, without thought toward future increases in traffic, much less advances from horses to cars and trucks.
Meanwhile, buildings and houses gradually spread, restricting the chances of improvement. Williston Road, east of the I-89 Exit 14 interchange, is a mishmash of strip development, with driveways for almost every business. Turning vehicles, especially those venturing left, across the oncoming lanes, continually keep traffic flow sluggish at best.
Fixing the problem is virtually impossible without taking land from property owners and a major road redesign.
Theres lots of curb cuts and no way to fix it without a lot of money and concessions, Boomhower said.
So planners take what they can get in road improvements. One project in the works would change the right-hand lane of Main Street eastbound from Spear Street. Right now, the lane ends at Staples Plaza, confusing motorists who think the lane leads to I-89.
This confusion, and the inability for motorists to use the lane to access I-89, contributes to the daily long queue of cars crawling eastbound past the University of Vermont. A project in the works, possibly as soon as next summer, would create a right lane eastbound straight to the interstates southbound on-ramp, Boomhower said.
Were always looking to strategically make investments. There are limited resources, Boomhower said.
Even when theres money and opportunity to redesign a commuter route, planners have to be careful, Boomhower said.
Mystery backups.
That new lane near Staples might alleviate some of the queuing near UVM, but it wouldnt cure the causes of other traffic jams.
The origins of many of these jams are mysteries, having to do with the timing of peoples commutes, aftereffects of accidents, or other disruptions that might have happened hours ago.
ShawnnaLea Zemanek said she has to leave work at about 5 p.m. and always encounters a line of stalled traffic near the Price Chopper on Shelburne Road near the Burlington/South Burlington city line as she tries to pick her 2-year old up from daycare in Essex by 5:45 p.m.
Its crazy. It backs up quite a bit, Zemanek said, adding that she sees people trying to cut through residential neighborhoods to avoid the queues, but the effort seems futile.
She knows from experience that if she left work a little later, the traffic wouldnt be so bad. But she cant. And neither can many of Zemaneks fellow commuters. In their rush to get to where they need to go, motorists delay each other. There are too many cars on too little roadway, all at the same time.
Elsewhere, those long, tedious traffic jams that sometimes crop up on I-89 can arise from the most mundane reasons. It might have been caused by something as simple as somebody making an abrupt lane change.
Tom Vanderbuilt, author of the book Traffic: Why We Drive The Way We Do and What It Says About Us, explains how this works in his blog, http://howwedrive.com:
A car makes a lane change at 55 mph. The car behind must brake, slowing to 50 mph. The car behind the second vehicle has to slow to 45 mph, and that chain reaction goes backward down the highway, if traffic is thick. Soon, cars are going 15 mph, and the person who caused the slowdown is obliviously speeding home to dinner.
Traffic congestion arises in Chittenden County, and virtually everywhere else, because of a handful of drivers who might be unfamiliar with road design, inattentive or unskilled.
Highway design takes into account a whole range of likely driver behavior in order to improve safety and traffic flow, said Roger Dickinson, an engineer with Lamoureux and Dickinson, an engineering firm in Essex that often works with transportation planners.
Cars slow when their drivers cant read signs or dont understand the set-up of a road, he said. Various design standards have changed in recent years to help motorists. For instance, street signs have become larger, allowing people to see them more easily. Signs along highways have greater reflectivity, so they show up better in vehicle headlights at night, he said.
A lot of these changes are meant to assist an aging population, Sullivan said. The system really doesnt accommodate them, he noted.
As road designers try to improve traffic flow through various innovations, it takes time for driver skills and knowledge to catch up, he said. Thats why some people are flummoxed by roundabouts, thereby blunting their purpose, which is to make traffic flow more efficiently through busy intersections, said Jim Sullivan of the University of Vermonts Transportation Research Center.
Eventually, drivers become acquainted with roundabouts, and problems associated with new ones ease, Dickinson said.
Such an education process is going to be needed at Interstate 89 Exit 16, another notorious Chittenden County bottleneck.
To ease the traffic congestion and diminish the lines of cars at the stop lights there, a double crossover diamond has been designed and is due for construction in 2014 or 2015.
Double crossover diamonds have left-turning cars and through-traffic cross over to the opposite sides of the roadway near the ends of highway ramps, meaning all these cars can proceed without stopping for cars coming in the opposite direction.
The design is more efficient than whats at Exit 16 now, but drivers will need to be educated, and the intersection will have to be designed carefully for everything to work, Dickinson said.
He said when a similar crossover was built in Missouri, engineers had motorists participate in simulations of the crossover to troubleshoot problem spots and see how people would react to the new traffic pattern.
Its really an education process, he said.
Another problem that can make us sit and stew in Chittenden County traffic is driver inattention. People are talking on their cellphones, texting, paying attention to the GPS device, gawking at the accident that already is slowing down cars and trucks, or a host of other activities behind the wheel.
Data on how many crashes are caused by inattention are hard to come by, said Marshia, the state highway and safety engineer. Part of the reason is people dont own up to inattention in crashes.
Do you know how many of those become, Gee, I swerved to avoid a deer? Marshia asked.
Highway designers can do only so much to counteract the effects of drivers who arent focused on the road, Marshia said. The state is stepping up efforts to install rumble strips along the sides and on the center lines of highways to alert drivers to when theyre drifting, he said.
Still, its up to people to hang up their phones.
Its almost as if theres an addictive component to these mobile devices, Marshia said.
Alternative transit
Of course, if most people werent in their cars, driving alone, and instead riding buses or bikes, participating in ride sharing or just working from home, traffic wouldnt build as easily to a critical mass and create backups, said Boomhower, of the MPO.
According to a 2010 UVM Transportation Research Center study, 90 percent of journeys to and from work in Vermont involved only the driver in the car.
The regions array of alternate transportation systems remains nascent, Boomhower said. Its taking us some time to build the system, she said. There is a car-share program, and she gives UVM and Champlain College high marks for improving bus service on and near campuses.
There are commuters who have given up their only time in cars for alternatives.
From his perch in a Chittenden County Transportation Authority bus between his St. Albans home and Burlington, commuter Jack Tremblay said he is stunned by how many people drive alone.
Its amazing how many single commuters there are, Tremblay said.
Sometimes I pay attention during the trip if the traffic is stopped. You poke around in other cars and see other people texting, Tremblay said.
He said hes lucky to have a job that has a regular enough schedule so he usually can take the bus.
Bus ridership slowly is gaining, according to data from CCTA, which operates most of the public transit in the region. Ridership for fiscal 2011 was 2.5 million, up about 3.2 percent from the previous year. Ridership on the bus between Burlington and St. Albans that Tremblay takes was up 9 percent.
Zemanek, the commuter who encounters the Shelburne Road traffic jams, said she sees more bicycle commuters out on the road, too. As with the motorists clogging the road with their indecision and unfamiliarity, she sees problems, too, with some of the bike-riders, mostly because some are commuting neophytes, she said.
Theyre kind of new to it, Zemanek said. Im hip, and Im riding my bike to work. They dont truly know. Its the new people who dont know what theyre doing.
The fact that almost everyone in and near Chittenden County commutes alone in their vehicles is likely to continue for awhile, Boomhower said: Until the price of gas rises or the commuter experience becomes such that people find it more desirable to sit on a bus and use their iPhones and iPads.
All the evidence suggests were not there yet.
Contact Matt Sutkoski at 660-1846 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow Matt on Twitter at www.twitter.com/vermontweather.


text:
vettel threw away two race wins.
nurburgring/hungary (counting for a half each) and canada.
i think, that with that car and under the given circumstances vettel had missed some opportunities to brake records (other than qualy).
China as well. The botched start and inability to regain 1st position forced Red Bull to employ too risky 2-stop strategy.