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Testimony :: Bill Frelick
Director of Policy - U.S. Committee for Refugees
Bill Frelick
Director of Policy
U.S. Committee for Refugees
before the
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
February 28, 2000
Thank you, Chairman Smith, for the opportunity to testify regarding the humanitarian needs of
displaced persons from Kosovo.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, which for 42 years
has defended the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced persons in this country and
throughout the world. Our organization has been documenting the conditions of refugees and
displaced persons in former Yugoslavia since the beginning of the conflict, as indicated, in part, by
our publications and previous testimony before this Commission and other congressional panels:
Yugoslavia Torn Asunder: Lessons for Protecting Refugees from Civil War (1992)
Croatia's Crucible: Providing Asylum for Refugees from Bosnia and Hercegovina
"'Preventive Protection' and the Right to Seek Asylum: A Preliminary Look at Bosnia
and Croatia," International Journal of Refugee Law (1992)
Human Rights and Humanitarian Needs of Refugees and Displaced Persons in and
outside Bosnia and Hercegovina, Helsinki Commission testimony (January 25, 1993)
"Civilians, Humanitarian Assistance Still Held Hostage in Bosnia," Refugee Reports
(February 1993)
Voices from the Whirlwind: Bosnian Refugee Testimonies (1993)
Last Ditch Options on Bosnia (1993)
East of Bosnia: Refugees in Serbia and Montenegro (1993)
"No Escape: Minorities under Threat in Serb-Held Areas of Bosnia," Refugee Reports
(November 1994)
"War and Disaster in the Former Yugoslavia: The Limits of Humanitarian Action,"
World Refugee Survey (1994)
"The Death March from Srebrenica," Refugee Reports (July 1995)
Bosnian Refugees, Hearing before the Subcommittee on International Operations and
Human Rights of the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives
(September 25, 1995)
Germany to Begin Returning Bosnians, Refugee Reports (September 1996)
Bosnian Minorities: Strangers in Their Own Land, Refugee Reports (October 1997)
State Department Welcomes, Then Backs Off, Serbian Humanitarian Centers in
Kosovo, Refugee Reports (September 1998)
Shaky Ceasefire in Kosovo; Displaced People Come Out of Woods, Fears Remain,
Refugee Reports (November 1998)
Fighting Heats Up Kosovo Winter, Refugee Reports (February/March 1999)
"Kosovo: The Outpouring of Misery," Refugee Reports (March/April 1999)
"The Kosovo Refugee Crisis," Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Subcommittee on
Immigration, (April 14, 1999)
"Here Come the Kosovars," Refugee Reports (May 1999)
Destination Unknown: From Kosovo to No-man's Land (January 2000)
"Reversal of Fortune: Serbia's Refugee Crisis," Refugee Reports (January 2000)
I traveled extensively in Serbia and Montenegro from December 3 to December 18, 1999, visiting
municipalities near Kosovo, including the Sandjak regions, as well as in the Belgrade area and
Vojvodina, near the Croatian border. The trip included visits to both government-controlled
municipalities and opposition municipalities. I met with federal and local government officials,
representatives of international humanitarian agencies, and nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs). Mostly, however, I met with refugees and displaced people. The focus of my trip was on
the needs of an estimated 200,000 people, mostly Serbs and Roma (Gypsies) newly displaced
from Kosovo, as well as the conditions for some 500,000 mostly ethnic Serb refugees from Croatia
(mainly from the Krajina region) and Bosnia (from Federation areas).
General Conditions
In Serbia, looks can be deceiving. The Serbs are a proud people, and do not want to show a
foreigner, particularly an American, that they are suffering. They are also a society used to a
relatively high standard of living. Their needs, therefore, are not always immediately obvious.
Generally (the notable exception being Roma), refugees and internally displaced people appear to
be in good health, to have clean accommodations, and to be adequately clothed. Yet, current
estimates place unemployment in Serbia at more than 30 percent, and joblessness among
refugees and displaced people is likely to be at least twice that percentage. Many factories were
damaged or destroyed by NATO bombing, and in many cases were functioning poorly before being
knocked out of commission. Agricultural production is also down by about 30 percent.
As is true of the population generallyÑand particularly true of its vulnerable segments, such as the
elderly, the infirm, and single women with childrenÑthe main problem for refugees and displaced
people is the lack of jobs and income. They simply have no earning power. A person who earns
the average Serbian income of 80 Deutsche marks (DM) (about $40) per month cannot afford 150
to 250 DM (between $75 and $125) per month for food.
Although needy refugees are receiving food aid, the problem is not principally a lack of food; food
assistance, in effect, serves as an income supplement, saving money that would otherwise be spent
on food. The capacity for food production in Serbia has not diminished, according to a World Food
Program (WFP) official, but because the government has set prices for staples at a low level,
producers of sugar, vegetable oil, and milk have either stopped production or sell their products
elsewhere or on the black market (at prices that the poor cannot afford).
The Yugoslav government is often late in paying retirees their pensions, stretching out the pay
periods, or missing pension checks entirely. Elderly refugees from Croatia have not been able to
claim their pensions from the Croatian government, despite having paid into the Socialist Federal
Republic of YugoslaviaÕs (SFRY) social security system during their working lives, before the break
up of Yugoslavia and Croatian independence. In actuality, even if retirees did receive their
pensions on a regular basis, that would not cover living expenses. Some pensioners have received
coupons for firewood, for example, but lack the money to hire someone to transport the wood to
their homes.
The government's social welfare system has essentially collapsed, and the rolls of social cases
continue to grow. Some 33 percent of the population is reportedly living below the poverty level.
The percentage among the uprooted is undoubtedly higher.
Although health care is supposedly free, decent and timely health care usually comes at a high
(bribed) price. There is a critical shortage of pharmaceuticals. The problem stems, in part, from
President Slobodan Milosevic's takeover of the country's leading pharmaceutical firm, ICN, and a
near monopoly of the pharmaceutical industry by the JUL party, the extreme nationalist party headed
by Mira Markovic, President Milosevic's wife.
Some economists predict either more price fixing and malnutrition or another round of
hyperinflation and heightened economic instability. Some predictions are dire, including warnings
that the death rate among vulnerable groups, such as pensioners, could increase sharply.
Conditions for Refugees and Displaced People
It is hard to distinguish between conditions for the old caseload refugees from Bosnia and Croatia
and those for the newer arrivals from Kosovo. In both cases, the quality of their living conditions is
dictated less by their length of stay or by their status as refugees or internally displaced persons,
than by their own resources, including the precious existence of relatives in Serbia or Montenegro
willing and able to help. Another obvious factor is whether the displaced person is an ethnic Serb
the overwhelming majority or a Roma.
Collective Centers In general, people living in collective centers are worse off than those living in
private accommodations. They lack the means job, savings, or family that would enable them to live
in a private home. Often, they are elderly or lacking the skills in demand in an economy where jobs
are scarce.
Although people in collective centers generally live in poorer conditions than those I visited in
private accommodations, collective centers have an advantage: residents pay no rent or utilities
and receive food and other humanitarian assistance regularly. On the other hand, most collective
centers are grim. They often lack privacy, and the people living in them, especially the refugees
from Bosnia and Croatia, tend to be elderly. Heating is sometimes poor, in part, because the
centers were not constructed for residential purposes.
Collective centers vary widely in quality and population density. Some, including converted schools
and hospitals, are not especially overcrowded and provide separate rooms for families. Others,
often former cultural centers, are dismal, drafty, and crowded.
The main difference between collective centers for refugees and those for the newly displaced from
Kosovo is the contrasting demographics of the residents themselves. Refugees who, often after
five years are longer, still remain in collective centers, tend to be elderly and feeble. They often
appear listless. Collective centers for the internally displaced, on the other hand, tend to have more
families, more children, and include men and women in the prime of their working years. They
appear less passive, and are more likely to express anger or make demands.
Whether one lives in a decent collective center or a bad one seems to be a matter of dumb luck. I
visited a relatively nice collective center on the Avala mountain outside Belgrade, a former
psychiatric hospital. Just down the road, I dropped in on another collective center, a converted
restaurant, now home to 129 people from the same village in Kosovo as those in the neighboring
collective center. Cots were crowded together with no partitions separating them. The residents
wore their winter coats indoors. Because of a three-way dispute between the Serbian
Commissioner for Refugees, the owner of the restaurant, and the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) over the rent for the facility, the heat was turned off. (It is not a privately owned
facility, but socially owned, so ownership is at least indirectly governmental, yet the problem
apparently stems, in part, from a disagreement between the restaurant owner and the Serbian
Commissioner for Refugees.)
The residents were angry, suspicious. They said that the people in the collective center just down
the road were receiving more food and warmer winter clothing. They said that the Red Cross, which
had supplied canned food, had stopped. They accused the Red Cross of delivering old clothes in
bad condition.
The residents expressed anxiety that the winter cold would intensify and that the building would not
provide sufficient protection from the falling temperatures. Some were sleeping in the restaurant
porch, cots flat against plate glass windows. They asked for wood planks to cover the drafty
windows. I had seen other collective centers where the residents had built partitioned "rooms"
using planks supplied by local municipalities. In this case, however, the municipality had not agreed
to provide boards, and no one else had responded to their request. The residents said that ten of
the children had contracted pneumonia.
Private Accommodations Although the overwhelming majority of refugees and internally displaced
personsÑabout 90 percentÑare living in private accommodations, the lack of housingÑalong with
the lack of jobsÑremains a principal obstacle to local integration. Refugees living in private
accommodations divide into three groups:
1) The majority of the refugees and displaced people are living with family or friends, and may or
may not be paying rent, depending on their ability to pay.
2) Many refugees (fewer among the displaced) have moved out of the homes of family and friends,
and are now paying rent. In order to afford to rent, such persons usually have jobs or other sources
of income.
3) Finally, a relatively small, but not insignificant, portion of refugees and displaced people live in
homes they have constructed themselves. In the case of the internally displaced from Kosovo,
some built homes (or partially built them) in Serbia proper in advance of their flight.
Even if the people renting privately are supposedly better off than those in collective centers, it is
clear that their existence is also often precarious. I spoke with refugees and displaced people living
in overcrowded conditions in private homes who were worried that their relatives would tell them to
leave. I visited with a family in a collective center in Smederevo who had been living with relatives
but moved into the collective center when the relatives could no longer support them.
The refugees who are able to make an income, pay rent, and live in a home not shared with local
residents, often complain of the high rental costs, as well as the costs of utilities and firewood.
Nevertheless, some refugee families I visited appeared virtually indistinguishable from the local
community and appear to be fully integrated.
Humanitarian Assistance Pipeline
The existing network for distributing humanitarian aid in the FRY operates almost exclusively
through the Yugoslav Red Cross (YRC). The Red Cross system has had a virtual monopoly, and no
other agency comes close to it in terms of a national network for aid distribution, particularly at the
local level.
When the new influx from Kosovo erupted in the summer, the YRC did not have the capacity to
deliver humanitarian assistance. Through the help of international agencies, including the
International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC), UNHCR, and WFP, it significantly improved its capacity to deliver aid. From delivering
3,000 metric tons of aid in August, the YRC delivered 20,000 metric tons in November, and plans to
continue at that level through 2000.
Nevertheless, the YRC has proven controversial. During the conflict in Kosovo, it was exclusively
associated with the Serb community. Its critics have accused it of wrongful conduct from corruption
to participation in ethnic cleansing. Its defenders in Serbia say it is the only effective humanitarian
organization capable of delivering the quantity of assistance demanded by the humanitarian needs
of the country.
In late 1999, allegations surfaced that the YRC branch in Zemun, a Belgrade municipality, had
diverted hygiene packets and rice intended for refugees. The European Community Humanitarian
Office (ECHO) and IFRC investigators confirmed the allegations.
As it turned out, however, the diversion was neither surreptitious nor for profit in the local market.
On the contrary, the board of the Zemun Red Cross branch voted on October 18 to make a one-time
grant of hygiene parcels and rice to school employees in the municipality because of their irregular
and low incomes and very bad living standard.
According to the local Red Cross branch, the school employees had not been paid since May
1999. The schools are used for distributing Red Cross aid to its beneficiary lists. Additional
parcels were distributed to 250 employees of the Teleoptik factory in Zemun and to 300 employees
of a shoe factory there. The Red Cross reportedly used warehouses located at both factories to
store humanitarian assistance.
ECHO visited 13 Red Cross branches in the Belgrade area, and found that similar diversion had
occurred in 8 of the 13. This suggests that the problem is systemic and not limited to Zemun. All
branches in question were temporarily closed, according to ECHO.
The Yugoslav Red Cross has agreed, in principle, to an independent audit. In a December 2
memo to all Red Cross municipal branch offices, the Secretary General of the YRC, Dr. Rade
Dubajic, summarized the YRC executive board's November 25 decisions. On the one hand, the
board stated that "aid cannot be distributed to persons who do not fit the criteria". It said, "We have
received some serious complaints by the donors in regard to the obvious cases of disrespecting
the set criteria in certain municipal Red Cross branches and distributing the assistance to the
people that cannot be the beneficiaries of the international humanitarian aid."
On the other hand, the same memorandum directed local branches not to cooperate with
international humanitarian organizations in their monitoring efforts. It prohibited international
humanitarian organizations from obtaining lists of beneficiaries, from meeting with municipal Red
Cross branches without prior YRC permission, and prohibited local branches from filling out forms
or questionnaires from international humanitarian organizations without consulting with the YRC or
the Serbian Red Cross.
Alternative Distribution Networks?
In December, the U.S. government restricted its humanitarian funding in FRY to ensure that U.S.
funds do not directly or indirectly support the Milosevic regime. The earmark specifically prohibits
U.S. funds from being used in support of activities and operations of the YRC or the Serbian
Commissioner for Refugees (the government refugee agency) without congressional notification.
This meant that UNHCR's FRY budget would be reduced by 20 percent that part of its costs
associated, particularly, with renting socially owned collective centers, as well as its more limited
use of the YRC in distribution of non-food items. The WFP, on the other hand, uses the YRC for 100
percent of its food warehousing and distribution, and the IFRC and ICRC are similarly tied to the
YRC as their local partner. Although U.S. AID funds food assistance elsewhere in the Balkans, it
has cut its funding of WFP in the FRY entirely.
U.S. bilateral assistance is to be directed to international NGOs with the intention of creating an
alternative network for distributing humanitarian assistance. The U.S. government is encouraging
partnerships with UNHCR that can distribute directly to beneficiaries.
During my visit, I examined the capacity of NGOs in Serbia to develop alternative distribution
avenues. I met with a number of NGOs already operating in Serbia, including Caritas, CARE,
International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC, which works with the Serbian Orthodox Church),
the International Rescue Committee, and Catholic Relief Services (CRS). All showed potential for
increased involvement, depending on donor interest. Some of the NGOs have had major
humanitarian assistance operations in Kosovo that could be replicated in Serbia proper. Thus far,
however, none has a network that could effectively reach beneficiaries nationwide.
Such international NGOs could coordinate their activities, however, and provide direct assistance
to collective centers. But, in the short term at least, they would have great difficulty in reaching most
of the refugees and displaced persons in private accommodations without using local Red Cross
branches. They would also have difficulty finding appropriate warehouse space and in renting that
space. Clearly, the cheapest avenue is to rent space from "socially owned" facilities rather than
privately owned ones. But this presents another roadblock. In addition to higher costs for privately
owned warehouses, if an international NGO locates a cheaper "socially owned" warehouse, it runs
into the same difficulty UNHCR has had with paying "rents" to socially owned collective centers: the
money paid to socially owned facilities ultimately reaches the coffers of the government and other
elites closely tied to the Milosevic regime.
Despite problems associated with some local Red Cross branches, I found that the local branches
often operate independently of central authorities and seem to have good rapport with the local
beneficiary populations. I visited key opposition municipalities in various parts of the country
Kraljevo, Nis, Cacak, Novi Pazar, Sombor and found that all had good relations with their local Red
Cross branches. Although opposition municipality officials complained about the higher echelons of
the Yugoslav and Serbian Red Cross, they had only praise for the local branches, and interacted
collegially with them.
Most often, local opposition officials complained of actions at the government level. For example,
Sombor, an opposition municipality in Vojvodina bordering Croatia, has attempted a local
integration project to help refugees construct private homes. Sombor has not received any support
for infrastructure development, roads, water lines, sewage, or electricity from the federal Yugoslav or
Serb republic authorities to support this initiative.
Despite other problems opposition municipalities have, I found no substantiation of the charge that
food and humanitarian assistance per se are being manipulated in ways that deny such aid to
needy populations in these municipalities or that direct the aid into opposition municipalities in
order to draw more uprooted people into them.
Possibilities for Return
The most noticeable difference in attitudes toward return is not between refugees from Bosnia or
Croatia and the displaced from Kosovo or between men and women, but rather between
generations. Older people, generally, seem more interested in return. Younger ones, on the other
hand, tend not only to see greater obstacles to return, but perhaps to see greater opportunity in not
a) Return to Croatia? My visit was prior to the election in Croatia and coincided with President
Tudjman's death. Attitudes might well have changed since these occurrences in Croatia. At the
time of my visit, however, refugees I spoke with (particularly men of military age) said that fear for
their personal safety was the major obstacle to return.
Several refugees expressed concern that they might be falsely charged with war crimes if they
returned. They all denied having been involved in any criminal activity, but all men of military age
from the Krajina, in particular are presumed to have played some role in the military or in civil
defense forces. A bearded refugee from Knin, the capital of the Krajina region of Croatia, perhaps
in his 30s, living in a dismal one-room collective center in Subotica near the Hungarian border, told
me, "I can't go home. There is no work. I wouldn't be safe. They have lists of war criminals. I
worked for the railroad. I never hurt anyone, but I could be accused."
Even those who take active steps to return often find their way blocked. An 80-year-old refugee
from Lika, a town in the Krajina, now a resident of a collective center in Kraljevo, told me that he had
applied to the Croatian authorities four times to repatriate. He said that he had filled out the various
forms, but never received a reply.
b) Return To Kosovo? Internally displaced persons are generally less concerned than refugees
about war crimes accusations per se. Their greater concern is the general level of danger for
non-ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. I often heard refugees say that they feared returning to Kosovo as
it is now, but that they would return if the Yugoslav army and police went back. People displaced
from Kosovo accuse the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) of committing crimes against them. Many
said that they would not feel safe unless the Serb police and army returned in force, punished those
who had committed crimes, and removed "the immigrants from Albania out of Kosovo, the people
with blood on their hands."
Among both refugees and internally displaced persons are people, usually the elderly, who
express intense feelings of connection to their lost properties. Many people insisted that they were
interested only in returning to their original homes, and categorically rejected relocating. "I was born
in the same house as my father, my grandfather, and my great grandfather," said a man displaced
from Musutiste, a mixed Serb and Albanian village in Kosovo. "I do not think we stand a chance
here. There is no money. We can't earn a living."
I asked him if he would you go anywhere else. "I would never move to another part of Kosovo," he
said, "only to the place where my father's and grandfathers' graves are."
A young man also living in the collective center (perhaps the old man's son) had been listening
quietly to the interview. But hearing this, he spoke: "I'd go to Australia. I'd go to any country that
would take me."
Integrating Locally: Citizenship for Refugees
Although the prospects for refugee repatriation may have improved somewhat since the death of
President Tudjman, the election of Stipe Mesic as president, and the dawn of a new political
landscape in Croatia, real progress toward significant repatriation has yet to occur. In the past,
hopeful rhetoric from Croatia has not been matched by positive action. It remains likely that the
majority of Croatian refugees will not go back. Sharing language, culture, and ethnic identity with
the local Serb population, the overwhelming majority of refugees ought to be able to integrate in
Serbia. The obstacles, however, are both economic and legal.
FRY's citizenship law did not come into effect until June 1997. So far, about 42,000 refugees have
become naturalized FRY citizens, and another 41,000 have applied for citizenship. Although no
refugee applicants have been denied outright, the grant of citizenship is not automatic.
Furthermore, the government suspended the processing of citizenship applications during the
NATO bombing. Government officials said that FRY's citizenship application records were
destroyed in the bombing. By the end of 1999, it had not resumed processing applications.
FRY does not permit dual citizenship. Many refugees who still have property claims in Croatia are
particularly reluctant to surrender their Croatian citizenship, fearing they might forfeit the chance to
be compensated for their losses.
Some of the younger Croatian refugees have another reason for not wanting to surrender their
Croatian passports for FRY ones. Many want to leave Yugoslavia, and visa-free travel from FRY is
not open to the more attractive countries of preferred destination, such as Germany, which does not
require visas from persons traveling on Croatian passports.
Documents for Internally Displaced People
Unlike refugees, the people displaced from Kosovo are already Yugoslav citizens. That does not
mean, however, that they have no problem with documents. In fact, many of the internally displaced
cite lack of residence documents as their chief complaint. Such documents are routinely issued by
one's local municipality, and have generally been required for health care, education, driver's
licenses, and passports.
In general, people moving from one municipality to another are expected to de-register from the
place they are leaving before registering in a new location. This was not possible for people fleeing
Kosovo on short notice, however. Retrieving personal documents has been very difficult. In seven
Kosovo municipalities, these documents are completely missing.
The need for documents to gain access to health care was quickly resolved when the Ministry of
Health waived the requirement to show such documents. Although the Ministry of Education was
slower to respond, it has now allowed displaced children to register for school without the proper
residence documents.
These ad hoc, temporary arrangements were made as winter approached and the authorities
recognized that displaced people would not be able to return to Kosovo quickly. However, the
Serbian authorities are not resigned to losing Kosovo and insist that the durable solution for the
displaced is to return to Kosovo. They may be reluctant, therefore, to issue permanent documents
that will enable the displaced to integrate completely in their new local Serbian communities outside
This problem is likely to be even more intense for Roma and other non-Serb minorities, as local
Serb authorities and populations have already demonstrated strong resistance to their local
Roma in Serbia: A Different Story
Roma and gypsies were caught in the middle of the ethnic conflict in Kosovo. Neither Serb nor
Albanian, the Roma in Kosovo, as elsewhere, tended to adapt to the ethnic group they perceived as
dominant, learning that language and trying to accommodate themselves with that group. Kosovo's
swift reversal of fortune, therefore, proved disastrous for many of Kosovo's Roma, as the returning
ethnic Albanians often perceived them as Serb collaborators.
There are currently between 40,000 and 50,000 displaced Roma in FRY. About 15,000 to 20,000
are in the central and southern areas bordering Kosovo. Another 15,000 are in the Belgrade area.
The other 10,000 are living in Montenegro.
Although the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo may have perceived the Roma as being aligned with the
Serbs, that has hardly made them welcome to local communities in Serbia. Pre-existing Roma
communities in Serbia occupy the lowest rungs of the socio-economic ladder. They appear at night
as street cleaners and live in squalid slums in industrial sectors or in makeshift encampments under
bridges or in abandoned buildings. The new arrivals from Kosovo often gravitate to local Roma
settlements, making it difficult to distinguish the displaced from the general, and also destitute,
Roma communities.
I visited a Roma family living in such a pre-existing Roma settlement, a tightly packed ghetto in the
Mali Leskovac industrial outskirts of Belgrade. The slum is called "Deponija," which translates to
"garbage dump." Their home, a small dwelling with concrete walls, a rusted tin roof, and windows
made from plastic sheets, is set in a muddy, potholed alley. They borrowed the equivalent of $200
for the downpayment on the place, and pay about $25 monthly in rent. They huddle around a stove
provided by UNHCR, supplementing their meager diet with staples (flour and oil) provided by the
Red Cross, and other humanitarian goods provided by a Roma association. Despite the
assistance, a nine-year-old boy is obviously malnourished, looking the size of an American child half
that age.
"We owned three large houses in Kosovo in the town of Srbica, a young man, who heads the
household, told me. There is no work, no way to earn money to pay the rent, he said. "It takes
money to make money." He added, "There is no glass for the window, no door, no wood for heat,
not enough food."
His elderly father started to say that he was afraid to leave the house. Four days ago, "skinheads"
came into the neighborhood and killed a "Shiptar," the word for an Albanian. The son hushed him,
saying, "We don't want to talk about that. We feel free to walk outside. We have no problems." Yet,
he refused to have his picture taken.
The children speak only Albanian. They can't go to school now, their father explains, because they
don't speak Serbian. "We have had enough of this misery," he said. "We want to return to our
home in Kosovo." He showed as much attachment to his home and property in Kosovo as any
displaced Serb. He said he would only return to his own home. Nowhere else would do. But, "We
will remain here until the army or the police return to Kosovo. Only the Serb police and military
would make us feel safe."
Local municipalities often turn a cold shoulder to the Roma, hoping that if they refuse to provide
shelter or assistance, the Roma will move on. I saw this situation in Kursumlija, a municipality that
borders Kosovo, which has struggled generally with the influx of displaced people. A group of
Roma took over a semifinished, large concrete structure in the center of the town.
The building had no windows, not even plastic sheeting to break the gusts of frigid wind whipping
through. The muddy ground was strewn with litter. A basement with standing water of indeterminate
depth appeared to be filled with sewage and trash. An oily liquid dripped from ceilings throughout
the structure. There was no evidence of humanitarian assistance of any kind.
The structure was teeming with people. Dirty, poorly clothed children crowded about. Each family
had fashioned its own living space. Those places protected from the elements had no light.
I went into one small space, picked at random. It was dark, dank, and dirty. A woman and three
children were huddled by an old stove. She told me that her husband had been taken by the KLA on
June 15. They dragged him out of their house in Kosovo Polje, and then set the house on fire. She
and her children were still in the house. She turned to what appeared to be a pile of blankets. She
lifted the top blanket, and exposed a baby of indeterminate age. The child scrawny, malnourished
had severe scarring covering her legs. The mother said that the baby was caught in the burning
house. She said that she knew nothing of the whereabouts of her husband. She was unaware that
the International Committee of the Red Cross has a family tracing service. No one from the Red
Cross had been there. She said she that believes her husband is dead. She appeared passive,
fatalistic, expecting nothing.
Roma in Montenegro: Yet a Different Story
I also visited a large Roma settlement in Montenegro, known as Konik, built on a large, pre-existing
Roma settlement near the garbage dump on the outskirts of the capital, Podgorica. Konik held
about 1,600 people in August. No census had been taken, and the count fluctuated daily, but the
camp population had reached about 2,800 by December, an average increase of 300 people per
Although local officials there were no less unwelcoming toward the Roma, another element had
markedly improved their conditions compared with what I saw in Serbia: the presence of
international NGOs.
I participated in a meeting with a group of international NGOs and the mayor of Podgorica. They
were having a heated debate about whether or not to construct a water pipe to serve the camp or to
keep trucking water in. It was a debate almost unthinkable in the current Serbian context. Who in
Serbia would advocate on behalf of the Roma? Who would build and service camps for them
despite resistance from local officials? The Roma in Kursumlija were not receiving water, trucked
or otherwise.
But in Montenegro the question of how to deliver water was open to debate. No one suggested
that piping in water would be difficult. Doing so, however, would suggest another step toward
permanency, and the mayor was insistent that the Roma have to leave, that they must go back to
Kosovo. (His unstated concern appeared to be that conditions should not be better in Konik than
other places in FRY for fear that this would attract more displaced Roma to the Podgorica area.)
A similar controversy has raged regarding shelter. Italian NGOs (with generous support from an
Italian government that does not want the Roma to move on to Italy) built sturdy, high-quality wooden
barracks when the influx first started. They were willing to expand on them for new arrivals.
However, the local authorities insisted that the new arrivals be placed in tents. Therefore, NGOs
constructed "Konik II," a tent encampment next to the "Konik I" barracks.
Konik is located in a valley surrounded by hills. As such the ground tends to be damp and muddy;
also, it is subject to high winds that funnel down from the hills. Trying to create a more sanitary
environment for the tents in Konik II, humanitarian agencies first put down a layer of stone and
gravel. Shortly before my visit, a night of swirling winds blew the tents away. Konik II looked
devastated. About 1,000 of its residents abandoned the tent encampment and piled into the
barracks and a community center in Konik I, creating overcrowded conditions in any hard-shelter
structure. Ironically, except for a handful of UNHCR tents that survived the wind storm, most of the
tents that remained standing in Konik II were makeshift ones built in traditional style in the mud. The
mud held the poles down in the harsh wind, whereas the tents built on gravel could not be firmly
Both Konik camps were beset with problems. But international NGOs, UNHCR, and other players,
including the municipal authorities, were on hand working to solve them. Nothing comparable
currently exists in Serbia to help displaced Roma.
Relatively few refugees from Bosnia and Croatia have been resettled from Serbia to third
countries. Since 1992, about 15,000 refugees have been resettled out of UNHCR's Belgrade office
in FRY.
Under the current procedures, to be considered for U.S. resettlement, the principal applicant of a
family must first establish his or her refugee claim. In the FRY context, this means that the person
has fled from another country, almost always Bosnia or Croatia; internally displaced people from
Kosovo are not eligible.
The United States resettled 2,149 refugees from FRY in 1999, fewer than anticipated. During the
first four months of 1999, UNHCR conducted no status determination interviews because of the
emergency. At that time, UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) were able
to move some refugees already in the resettlement pipeline via Hungary. Since then, however, the
process of interviewing and moving refugees has become more complicated.
Because the United States and FRY have severed diplomatic relations, U.S. officials are no longer
conducting refugee status interviews in Serbia or Montenegro. As before, IOM prepares cases for
the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Now, however, the INS interviews take place
just across the border, in Timisoara, Romania, and refugees approved by the INS for U.S.
resettlement fly to the United States from there. By the end of 1999, UNHCR and IOM had arranged
for about 4,000 resettlement interviews in Timisoara.
At the present time, all candidates for U.S. resettlement must be referred by UNHCR, which in
doing so follows strict criteria for priority one (P-1) cases set forth by the U.S. government. These
are cases of compelling concern, such as torture victims, persons at risk of refoulement or
otherwise in danger in their first asylum country, and persons in urgent need of medical care.
Once a refugee leaves Serbia under UNHCR's auspices, the governments of FRY and Romania
consider him or her to be wholly UNHCR's responsibility. Romania will not allow refugees to
remain, nor will Serbia allow them to return. If, for any reason, the INS rejects the applicant, UNHCR
is duty bound to find another country willing to resettle the refugee. Places are not readily available,
and other countries the Nordics, in particular, which are usually generous in offering resettlement
places are sensitive about serving as a back up for cases rejected by the United States.
Since the bombing campaign, the U.S. program has largely been confined to two groups of
refugees. The first group, most of whom originally fled from the Krajina region of Croatia in 1995,
are "double refugees." In 1995, the FRY authorities placed thousands of newly arriving refugees in
Kosovo, putting about 14,000 of them in collective centers, as part of an effort to alter the
demographic composition of Kosovo by introducing more ethnic Serbs into the province. Many of
the refugees living in these collective centers were in grave danger when tensions and violence
escalated in 1998 and 1999. UNHCR and the U.S. government had already identified them as
being in need of resettlement before all but about 600 of them fled from Kosovo following the entry
of KFOR and the return of the ethnic Albanian refugees.
The others still being resettled in the United States are ethnic Serb refugees originating from the
Bosnian Federation, the predominantly Muslim and Croat part of Bosnia, who meet the criteria
established as priority two (P-2) by the U.S. government (including former detainees, members of
ethnically mixed marriages, victims of torture, and surviving spouses of persons killed in detention)
whose status UNHCR has upgraded to P-1. UNHCR has "converted" about 20 percent of the
existing P-2 caseload into the P-1 category.
In theory, a third group would be eligible: refugees originating from Bosnia who have close
relatives from the United States (spouses, unmarried children, and parents) who submit Affidavits of
Relationship (AORs) on their behalf. However, because no refugee processing post exists within
the FRY and because UNHCR is unwilling to be responsible for non P-1 cases in Romania,
potential priority three (P-3) cases (like P-2 cases) cannot gain access to the system. Furthermore,
Beginning on April 1, 2000, Bosnians will no longer be eligible for P-3 processing.
Because UNHCR considers those persons who arrive from Muslim or Croat-controlled regions of
Bosnia and Croatia as prima facie refugees, its protection officers do not conduct individual
refugee status determination interviews. However, if making a P-1 resettlement referral, they must
do so. Before referring such cases to the INS in Romania, UNHCR must also be virtually certain
that the INS will agree with its assessment and grant the case. Consequently, UNHCR has
converted relatively few P-2 or P-3 refugee cases into P-1s.
Prospects for Local Integration
Assessing realistically their prospects for return or resettlement, many refugees are reconciled to
staying in Serbia. Even so, they need help in integrating.
A middle-aged refugee from Croatia in a collective center in Pancevo told me, "I won't return. My
house was destroyed. It's not so much a safety issue. It would be difficult to start from scratch." He
added that his son, who lost a leg in the war, would never go back. Despite severe unemployment
among refugees in Serbia, he thought he had a better chance in Serbia than back in the Krajina. "I
can get seasonal agricultural work, and some temporary construction work." He said, "I would
prefer to be relocated somewhere else in Serbia where I could have land to build a house and
If he's lucky, he may get his wish. Some refugees have been able to build their own homes. I
visited with a few of these families both in Montenegro and Vojvodina. In some cases, homes were
well furnished with telephones, televisions, refrigerators, etc. In agriculturally rich Vojvodina, a
region bordering Croatia and Hungary with a large concentration of refugees of Croatian origin,
some municipalities are cooperating with international humanitarian organizations to provide
building materials to refugees who have decided to integrate locally.
The program is open to certain refugees who apply for Yugoslav citizenship. The municipality
promises a job to one member of the family and the family members build a home on land provided
by the municipality. After they build the house, they are required to turn in their refugee cards,
rendering them ineligible for humanitarian assistance. After ten years' occupancy, they will be
considered co-owners of the property with the municipality.
Although this is still a modest program, the refugees who participate in it seem to be delighted with
the chance to establish new roots, and it appears to provide a good model for others who see no
prospects for return. "I am more than happy with this situation," a refugee from Banovici, Bosnia,
who had been living with a family in Kula municipality since 1992, told me.
While the international community, including our own government, has good reason to isolate the
Milosevic regime, it also needs to recognize that isolating the Serbian people hurts the most
vulnerable elements of its society, including the elderly, people with disabilities, refugees, and
displaced people. Weakening the weakest elements of this society does not necessarily weaken
the regime. Paradoxically, it might even strengthen Milosevic's hand, giving him a convenient
scapegoat for the many ills confronting Serbia.
Humanitarian assistance, therefore, has both a direct benefit in keeping people from hunger,
disease, and exposure, as well as an indirect political benefit in making the society more open. The
contrast between Serbia and Montenegro helps to illustrate this. International NGOs play an active
role in Montenegro, bringing direct benefits as the deliverers of humanitarian assistance. But they
also bring that nettlesome, but oh-so-healthy trait peculiar to NGO's advocacy.
Serbia is not monolithic. International NGOs will find local partners. Together, they might go a long
way toward building a more tolerant and committed civil society. But NGOs will also need to tread
carefully. There is a great deal of sensitivity right now in Serbia toward the international community.
Serbs feel stigmatized, misunderstood, resentful. These are sentiments expressed among the
refugees and the displaced, as well as in the local community. If NGOs do their job right, they will
reduce xenophobia and establish inroads of dialogue and understanding.
Although there are still groups and individuals in need of third country resettlement from among both
the "old caseload" of refugees from Bosnia and Croatia and the newly displaced from Kosovo, and
although political changes in Croatia suggest that it is too early to give up on repatriation,
nevertheless, the mostly likely outcome for the overwhelming majority of refugees and displaced
people is not to return to Bosnia, Croatia, or Kosovo.
International humanitarian agencies and NGOs should recognize that most refugees and displaced
people will remain in Serbia and Montenegro, and should work to facilitate their local integration.
Integrating refugees and displaced people assumes that there is an economy and a society
capable of absorbing them. Given the international economic sanctions on Serbia, direct
reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country's economic infrastructure appears not to be an
option. However, at the micro-level, even at the municipal level, the limits of the sanctions should be
tested. It is an ancient axiom of charitable giving that it is better to give a man a portion of a field to
till himself than to give him food outright. Continuing to provide only basic humanitarian goods to
refugees and displaced people might keep them from becoming cold, malnourished, and ill (all
good things), but, after a time, it also breeds dependency, passivity, and hopelessness. The
international community needs to think about, and work toward, real and sustainable solutions. With
some important exceptions, focusing on local integration would be the most realistic, cost effective,
and beneficial approach for most refugees and internally displaced people. If helping them to
integrate in Serbia and Montenegro also helps the larger society there to heal, so be it.
I. Humanitarian Assistance
1) The U.S. government and other donors should direct bilateral funding to international
nongovernmental organizations to develop alternative networks to deliver humanitarian assistance
in Serbia.
The U.S. government is already committed to this course of action. The U.S. government, ECHO,
and other donors should, indeed, encourage NGOs to develop partnerships inside Serbia, as well
as Montenegro. This will not only establish alternative networks for the delivery of humanitarian
assistance, thus breaking the Yugoslav Red Cross's monopoly and introducing healthy competition
that will hopefully make the YRC more accountable as well, but will also encourage the development
of an active and vibrant local NGO sector in the FRY.
2) The U.S. government and ECHO should establish a set of conditions that the Serbian
Commissioner for Refugees (the government entity) and the Yugoslav Red Cross need to meet in
order for donors to restore, or continue, multilateral aid funding that involves the Yugoslav Red
These conditions (which have been agreed to in principle but have not been fully implemented)
should include:
1) The successful completion of a full, independent audit by international auditors of the Yugoslav
Red Cross, the Serbian Red Cross, and local Red Cross branch offices in the Serbian Republic.
The audit should not be limited to specific allegations that have already been raised. The audit
should include an examination of the beneficiary lists to ensure that the lists are accurate and that
beneficiaries meet the stated criteria for receiving aid.
2) A full and complete registration of internally displaced persons and refugees. The registration
exercise should be independently funded and conducted jointly by Red Cross and UNHCR field
staff, supervised by UNHCR and monitored by the Swiss government.
3) Ongoing access at all levels of the YRC of its operation for international monitors.
4) Accurate and complete lists of registered refugees, internally displaced persons, and other aid
beneficiaries to UNHCR, ICRC, IFRC, ECHO, and WFP, updated regularly.
5) A legal framework for the work of international NGOs in FRY, allowing NGOs to import the
finances, goods, and services needed to provide humanitarian assistance in FRY without
6) Direct access for international NGOs, operating as implementing partners of recognized donors
and international humanitarian organizations, to beneficiary populations.
3) WFP and other international humanitarian agencies that use YRC warehouses and delivery
systems should reassess the fees that YRC charges for distribution and warehousing on a quarterly
basis, and seek to reduce these fees to the actual costs.
WFP reports that the $70 flat-rate fee per ton of humanitarian assistance charged by the YRC until
recently has now been reduced to $64, but that it could (and should) be reduced further. Economies
of scale suggest that per ton rates should be reduced as the quantity increases.
4) UNHCR should more strictly and systematically monitor the fee it pays to the Serbian
Commissioner for Refugees for the cost of collective centers to ensure that payments made at the
federal and republic level actually reflect real costs and that these fees are, in fact, being allocated
fairly by the authorities to those who administer the collective centers locally.
UNHCR should seek to minimize any funds that are not used for expressly humanitarian purposes
directly related to the running costs of the collective centers themselves and basic assistance for
collective center residents. Currently, payments are made on a formula of 70 cents per day per
refugee or displaced person in a collective center, currently amounting to about $10 million to
support refugees and displaced persons in more than 600 collective centers. UNHCR field offices
in Serbia need to monitor these payments carefully to ensure that collective center residents are, in
fact, receiving a level of assistance consistent with this payment and that the central authorities
allocate these payments on a regular and nondiscriminatory basis according to the actual number of
residents in particular localities.
Ultimately, UNHCR has no choice but to work with the governing authorities in Serbia if it is to serve
40,000 of the most vulnerable refugees and displaced people who comprise the collective center
population. UNHCR's involvement is essential to ensure that this vulnerable population is cared for
appropriately, and not subject to manipulation. UNHCR's monitoring is critically important to holding
the Serbian authorities accountable to maintain satisfactory standards of responsible treatment for
these people.
5) UNHCR should earmark a portion of its fee to the Serbian government for collective center
support to reflect the number of internally displaced Roma who live in "unofficial" collective centers.
With no support from Serbian authorities at the municipal, republic, or federal level, displaced Roma
from Kosovo are squatting in abandoned buildings and other sites "unofficial" collective centers.
After UNHCR conducts its census of the refugee and displaced population in Serbia, it should
demand equal treatment for displaced Roma. The Roma cannot remain invisible and unassisted.
They must be counted, acknowledged, and helped. UNHCR needs to use every carrot and stick at
its disposal to pressure the authorities to assist them. International NGOs seeking to work in Serbia
should also focus their attention on this vulnerable and needy population.
6) Donors should support local integration projects that work directly with local municipalities in
Most refugees and displaced people will not return to their original homes in Bosnia, Croatia, and
Kosovo. Local municipalities should be encouraged to integrate them and make them contributing
members of their communities. UNHCR and NGOs, if adequately funded, have been able to enter
into agreements with certain municipalities whereby the municipality provides land, primary
infrastructure (such as roads, sewage and water lines), and a job to a refugee family. In return,
UNHCR and its implementing NGO partners provide building materials for self-help construction of
homes, secondary infrastructure, farming equipment, and other transitional assistance. Although
initially expensive, such projects create self-sufficiency, productivity, and stability.
II. Resettlement
Among the hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons in and around
Serbia and Montenegro, there are smaller subgroups who cannot integrate locally in the area of first
asylum and who cannot return to their places of origin on account of a well-founded fear of
persecution. Ordinarily, such persons might be considered for resettlement to third countries.
However, most of these people are displaced internally, and, thus far, UNHCR has not interpreted
its guidelines on internally displaced people to include referring them to third countries for
1) The United States should institute refugee processing out of Podgorica, Montenegro.
Prospective applicants from Serbia are able to cross into Montenegro without having to obtain a
visa, since Montenegro is still officially part of the FRY. It would also be easy to transport
recognized refugees in Montenegro via Croatia. A nongovernmental organization in Podgorica
could prepare cases in the same way that IOM does in Belgrade (the Joint Voluntary
AgencyÑJVAÑmodel). INS officers could conduct circuit rides to Montenegro where they would
conduct interviews. Montenegro would be safe and relatively friendly toward U.S. officials.
There are precedents for this: in both Vietnam and Cuba, in the absence of diplomatic relations,
the INS has conducted refugee status interviews. This would introduce much needed flexibility into
the program. Not only would it enable UNHCR to refer cases, but it would also allow a JVA to
generate cases by making an initial assessment that an applicant meets the U.S. government's P-2
or P-3 criteria.
The most important advantage of processing out of Montenegro is that the INS would have the
flexibility to reject cases without creating a demand that UNHCR seek other countries to resettle
rejected cases. This would give UNHCR greater latitude to refer cases that it is not absolutely
convinced the INS will accept, avoiding the present problem in Romania where it is seeking a 100
percent approval rate (the approval rate currently stands at 98 percent).
2) President Clinton should issue a presidential determination permitting the United States to
consider admitting certain categories of internally displaced persons in FRY as refugees for
purposes of the U.S. resettlement program.
The Refugee Act of 1980 allows the United States to accept as refugees people departing directly
from their country of origin. This requires a presidential determination a formal notice in the Federal
Register and has been used to admit as refugees people arriving directly from Vietnam, Cuba, the
former Soviet Union, and for a short time, Haiti and Romania.
In many respects, persons fleeing from Kosovo to Serbia proper appear more like refugees than
internally displaced people. Kosovo is presently outside the control and jurisdiction of the central
authorities in Belgrade. It is ruled by the international UNMIK (UN Mission in Kosovo) administration
and de facto by ethnic Albanian authorities. Although in the abstract Kosovo is still under FRYÕs
ultimate sovereignty, this distinction has no meaning on the ground for the foreseeable future. In
effect, Serbia and Montenegro function very much like countries of first asylum for persons seeking
refuge from Kosovo. If such asylum seekers are unwelcome in Serbia and Montenegro, few other
options are currently available to them. Because of this reality, and because IDPs who have fled
from Kosovo to Serbia proper or Montenegro would have a well-founded fear of persecution if
returned to Kosovo, internally displaced people fleeing from Kosovo ought to be considered as
refugees for purposes of the U.S. resettlement program.
3) To facilitate the processing of refugees of special humanitarian concern to the United States, the
U.S. government ought to expand P-2 criteria to include refugees from Croatia who meet the same
criteria that now apply for P-2 category refugees from Bosnia.
4) The United States should also provide P-3 processing for refugees from Croatia.
5) The U.S. government should consider creating a P-2 category for double refugees who had
resided in collective centers in Kosovo in order to expedite their processing.
Many of the uprooted in Serbia have been displaced multiple times. Among the people recently
displaced from Kosovo are thousands who were already refugees from Croatia or Bosnia, known
locally as "double refugees." Many had been placed in collective centers in Kosovo, part of
Belgrade's effort to alter Kosovo's ethnic demography. Ethnic Albanian nationalists saw the
settlement of ethnic Serb refugees in Kosovo as a provocation; they became a target of ethnic
Albanian anger. Often, Serbian police or military were quartered in these same collective centers,
making the refugees living in them even more vulnerable to attack. The P-2 criteria for double
refugees should be limited to those who resided in collective centers in Kosovo. There are other
refugees who chose to live in Kosovo, had good jobs there and nice houses. Such people have
more resources and less need for resettlement.
7) The following vulnerable groups who are unable to integrate locally in the area of first asylum and
who cannot return to their places of origin on account of a well-founded fear of persecution should
be considered for the U.S. resettlement program:
a) Roma and Hashkalija (Gypsies) who fled from Kosovo to Serbia proper, Montenegro, or
Macedonia who led a sedentary life in Kosovo prior to their departure, who are Albanian speaking,
and who would have a well-founded fear of persecution if returned to Kosovo.
Roma, and other "Gypsy" subgroups such as Hashkalija, have been particularly scapegoated,
accused by ethnic Albanian nationalists as having collaborated with the Serbian regime that
controlled Kosovo until June 1999. In many cases, they have experienced severe persecution.
Some do not speak Serbian, making their integration in Serbia or Montenegro all the more difficult,
and making it impossible for their already disadvantaged children to go to school. Contrary to
popular belief that all Roma are nomadic, most of the Roma living in Kosovo were homeowners.
b) Ethnic Albanians


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We just upgraded to 4.5.2 from 4.0.5. We really like the Zimbra basic web interface. We have a small snafu though, we have 5 mailstores. If we choose the basic client and don't get the mailstore where our mailbox resides, we get "Client Error Occured, please try again." If we go to the url of the correct server we can login fine.
Any suggestions?

subset: commoncrawl


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First Alert 3040DF Digital Security Box, Black/Silver
Digital Security Box with 847.12 Cubic Inches Capacity The 3040DF is a digital Security Box that is secure and large enough to store laptop computers up to 17 in. The box holds 8-1/2 by 11 in. paper flat, is constructed with double steel walls and is insulated for protection against fire. The security box also includes a 48 in. security cable (650 lbs. of tensile strength) that can be attached to stationary objects to allow for additional protection, as well as a foam liner that helps protect valuables from jostling when on the move. Features: Programmable digital electronic lock with override key Stores laptop computers up to 17″ Holds 8-1/2 x 11″ documents flat Insulated double steel wall construction Includes a 48″ security cable (650 lbs of tensile strength) Convenient carrying handle Protective foam floor mat Interior Dimensions: 4.38″ H x 16.63″ W x 11.63″ D 90-day limited warranty First Alert is America's most trusted, recognized safety brand, helping to protect what matters most. From children and family to your home and business, First Alert's mission is helping protect the lives, well-being and valuables of its customers. First Alert's products offer a sense of preparedness and assurance that enable a higher quality of life.Read More →


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The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) offers these tips to make sure your pets are kept safe during extreme winter conditions.
Keep your pets warm and indoors. As always cats should stay inside. Since cats left outdoors may stay warm in car wheel wells or under hoods, you should awake any sleeping animals by wrapping on your car hood before starting the engine.
Trips outside should remain short during the winter months. While dogs need outdoor exercise, lengthy walks can prove harmful especially when wind chill is a factor.
Dogs should remain leashed and supervised when outdoors throughout the year. However in the winter do not bring them near bodies of water even if they appear frozen.
Shorthaired dogs such as Greyhounds, Beagles, Chihuahuas and clipped breeds should be dressed in protective clothing.
Wipe off your dogs foot pads and stomach fur after returning from the outdoors.
Outdoor shelters for pets should be dry, secure from wind and only large enough for them to stand up, turn around and lie down. The shelter floor should also be elevated from ground level and have dry bedding. A steady water supply should be provided in plastic bowls and checked on so that it does not freeze.
Pets that spend a greater amount of time outdoors also require more food.
Antifreeze products containing ethylene glycol are highly toxic and can produce life-threatening kidney damage, even in small amounts. Many windshield washer products contain methanol, which if ingested can cause drooling, vomiting, drunkenness and severe central nervous system depression.
Ice melt products may contain ingredients that can be very irritating to the skin and gastrointestinal tract, and could also potentially result in more severe effects including depression, weakness, disorientation, low blood pressure, cardiac problems, seizures, coma and even death depending on the type of ice melt and circumstances of exposure.
This information was provided by the MSPCA.


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Tom Medley, Iconic Automotive Figure Dies at 93Written by Thom Taylor on March 3, 2014
We are sad to report that one of the cornerstones of Street Rodder, Rod & Custom and Hot Rod Magazine, and hot rodding in general, Tom Medley passed away today. Tom Medley was the first employee of Bob Petersen as HOT ROD's Cartoon Editor starting with the second issue of HOT ROD in 1948.
Of course, we've covered Medley's attributes before in Street Rodder Magazine. If you recall, in mid-October of 2012, Medley's very own '40 Ford Deluxe was all but nearly destroyed in a garage fire. Medley escaped injury, however, his '40 Ford was not so lucky and was heavily damaged.
Hot Rod Magazine caught up with Medley over the summer in June and even brought out the restored Ford to Hot Rod's Hot rod Homecoming. Read up on the update HERE.
Rod & Custom Magazine also chronicled his entire life and career in this full story. It covered everything from his first gig to when he finally retired.
Medley had a prolific career during his decades with Petersen Publishing. Among his professional highlights:
- He created the beloved cartoon character Stroker McGurk
- Drew the early cutaway illustrations and cartoons for HOT ROD
- Photographed hundreds of features for both HOT ROD and Rod & Custom
- Was ad manager for HOT ROD
- As publisher of Rod & Custom, he made the decision to switch R&C's editorial content to street rods in 1966
- Spearheaded the Street Rod Nationals in Peoria, Illinois, in 1970
- Spearheaded the National Street Rod Association [NSRA], also in '70 [and created the logo that is still in use today]
- Coined the term "Street Is Neat"
- Served as editor and publisher of Petersen's Street Rod Quarterly for years
- Generally worked behind the scenes in many capacities at Petersen from 1948 until his retirement in 1984
And these were only his publishing exploits. He was also a crack go-kart racer, car builder, upholsterer, political cartoonist, and in many ways the face of modern hot rodding today. To say he was woven into hot rod culture is an understatement. Medley was 93 years old. He is survived by his son Gary and grand daughter Sarah.
More Photos From This Article View Slideshow
Knowing "war is hell," Cpl. Medley did this lighthearted greeting for many a war-weary GI. Almost invisible to the eye was a circled 45 for 1945, a Tom Medley trademark to this day.It's not every day a corporal gets a call from a general. Commanding General Parker of the 78th Infantry Division in Germany, where Tom was assigned, knew of Tom's artistic talent. You're looking at the early genius of Tom for brilliantly chronicling (on two pages) the drive of the 78th during World War II. Tom's two pages did what a 30-page booklet took to describe the assault across Germany. Note how Tom circled the year, which he carried through with all his cartoons at Petersen: Cpl. Tom Medley, 45.Here's Tom and his wife, Rosemary, who he met by chance when he should have been at a YMCA dance while in the Army. Seeing her walk by while waiting on a curb he danced with her right there in the street. "Best move I ever made," he says.Tom covered every form of racing, from Bonneville to the Indianapolis 500, El Mirage to go-kart races in the early years as well as his other assignments for Petersen Publishing. "Petersen didn't know he was getting a photographer when he hired me," Tom says.Stroker in the Dragmaster VW-powered VolksRod. Tom's pencil sharpener had more miles on it than an Offy at Indy because it never sat idle for long. Stroker was not only busy providing "Laughs from here and there" in Hot Rod; Stroker later moonlighted for many of the Petersen Publishing advertisers and staff members on special occasions.We call it doodle; Tom calls it "phony." The longer Tom is on the phone with someone the more detailed his phony becomes. Is Tom really listening to the conversation or concentrating on a phony? Any scrap of paper close by becomes his sketch pad. "Hi Boy Harry" could be the start of another Stroker. Love that lantern jaw. Wouldn't you like to follow Tom around and snatch up his papers?That's a very corporate-looking Tom behind the wheel of Dick Scritchfield's Deuce, founder of the L.A. Roadsters. R&C Editor Bud Bryan stuffed in the middle while Scritchfield probably ended up with a bruised rib squeezed next to Big Bud. Sorry we couldn't identify the folks in the back.


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WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- Stephen Colbert's wax figure has been unveiled at the Madame Tussauds wax museum in Washington, D.C. It will be featured in a new media gallery with a replica of "The Colbert Report" set.
Colbert visited the museum Friday to unveil the wax figure. Madame Tussauds tweeted out photos of Colbert with the figure at the replica show set on Friday afternoon.
Madame Tussauds Facebook Page: (http://www.facebook.com/dcwax/)
Madame Tussauds on Twitter: (@DCWax)
Designers from Madame Tussauds went to Colbert's New York studio in June to take more than 250 measurements and photographs of the Comedy Central star to create the wax figure.


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These cuts and updos will make your hair look incredible.
5 New Haircuts to Try for Summer
These cuts and updos will make your hair look incredible.More
To get this look, start with freshly washed hair, create a low side part, and mist with volumizing spray, followed by a light hairspray for grip and hold. "Hold a medium-size curling iron vertically to wrap sections of hair around from mid-length to the ends," says Cutler/Redken styling and grooming expert Jenny Balding. Set with another light coat of hairspray.
When braiding fine hair, boost volume with a texturizing hair powder, which will also add some grip to help strands stay in place. "Start the braid around the hairline and work your way down and along the side," says Balding. "This makes it look like there is more hair than there is." Once your braid is complete, use your fingers to gently pull hair apart and rub ends for even more volume.
6 Things That Are Unexpectedly Aging You


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Nov 13, 2015
Security in the Mediterranean Region: Challenges and Opportunities
Aug 17, 2015
Helsinki Commission Organizes Bipartisan Congressional Delegation to Represent United States at OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Session in Helsinki
May 1, 2015
Helsinki Commission Calls for Release of Imprisoned Journalists in OSCE Region
Press Release
Feb 17, 2015
Chairman Smith Calls for Strong International Response to Slaughter of Egyptian Christians in Libya
Press Release
Jan 30, 2015
Chairman Smith and Rep. McGovern Introduce "Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act"
Press Release
Sep 10, 2014
Crackdown on Civil Society Threatens Democracy
Jul 16, 2014
Political Pluralism in the OSCE Mediterranean Partners?
Jul 16, 2014
Rep. Alcee Hastings (Ranking Member - House) - U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Jul 9, 2014
Shibley Telhami (Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development) - University of Maryland
Jul 9, 2014
William B. Taylor (Vice President for Middle East and Africa) - United States Institute of Peace
Jul 9, 2014
William Roebuck (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs) - U.S. Department of State
Jul 9, 2014
Zeinab Elnour Abdelkarim (Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa Programs) - The International Foundation for Electoral Systems
Jul 9, 2014
Sen. Ben Cardin (Chairman) - U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Jul 9, 2014
Rep. Chris Smith (Co-Chairman) - U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Jul 9, 2014
Live Webcast: Political Pluralism in the OSCE Mediterranean Partners?
Press Release
Jun 27, 2014
U.S. Helsinki Commission to hold briefing on OSCE Mediterranean Partners
Press Release
Feb 28, 2012
Live Webcast and Witness added: U.S. Helsinki Commission to hold Hearing on Missing Persons with Queen Noor
Press Release
Nov 15, 2011
From Arab Spring to Coptic Winter: Sectarian Violence and the Struggle for Democratic Transition in Egypt
Nov 10, 2011
U.S. Helsinki Commission to Hold Hearing on Egypt
Press Release
Jul 29, 2011
U.S. Helsinki Commission Welcomes Recognition of Romani Victims of Nazi Genocide; Urges Other European Nations to Act
Press Release
Jul 28, 2011
U.S. Policy and the OSCE: Making Good on Commitments
Jul 26, 2011
Chairman Smith Calls Attention to Plight of Coptic Christians in Egypt
Press Release
Jul 22, 2011
Minority at Risk: Coptic Christians in Egypt
Jul 15, 2011
Helsinki Commission to Hold Hearing Entitled "Minority at Risk: Coptic Christians in Egypt"
Press Release
Feb 2, 2011
Commission Leadership Condemns Violence, Calls for Egyptian Transition to Democracy to Begin
Press Release
Jan 28, 2011
Commission Leadership Concerned About Unrest in Egypt
Press Release
Nov 30, 2010
Cardin: OSCE Summit an Opportunity for Clinton, Kazakhstan on Human Rights
Press Release
Nov 15, 2010
Watch now: The Helsinki Commission Story
Press Release
Nov 1, 2010
OSCE 2010 Informal Ministerial: Kazakhstan Persistence earns a Summit in Astana
Sep 22, 2010
Senate Committee Passes Cardin, Boxer, Brownback Bill Addressing Child Trafficking
Press Release
Aug 3, 2010
Commission Marks 35 Years of Helsinki Final Act
Press Release
Aug 2, 2010
Statement on a resolution marking the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act
Jul 27, 2010
Copenhagen Anniversary Conference: 20 Years of the Copenhagen Document
Jul 15, 2010
Helsinki Commission to Hold a Hearing on Iraqi Refugees and Iraqi Allies
Press Release
Jun 14, 2010
Legislation, Leadership Needed to Fight Human Trafficking
Press Release
May 4, 2010
Commissioners Call for Political Leadership to Prevent Inter-Ethnic Conflicts
Press Release
May 4, 2010
Mitigating Inter-Ethnic Conflict in the OSCE Region
May 4, 2010
Hearing on Inter-Ethnic Conflict
Apr 27, 2010
Helsinki Commission to Hold Hearing on Inter-Ethnic Conflict
Press Release
Apr 21, 2010
2009 OSCE Mediterranean Conference in Cairo is a Success: Highlights Importance of Revisiting Annual Conference Administration
Feb 2, 2010
Commission Calls for Kazakhstan to Lead OSCE by Example
Press Release
Jan 28, 2010
ROOM CHANGE: Hearing on Kazakhstan's Leadership of the OSCE
Press Release
Jan 13, 2010
Cardin, Lugar Support Iraq's Commitment to Transparency in Oil and Gas Industry
Press Release
Dec 30, 2009
Corruption: A Problem that Spans the OSCE Region and Dimensions
Dec 11, 2009
REPORT: Seminar on OSCE Mediterranean Partner Engagement
Dec 11, 2009
Helsinki Commission Releases Mediterranean Seminar Report
Press Release
Dec 9, 2009
Commission Calls for Renewed Focus on Iraqi Refugee Crisis
Press Release
Dec 8, 2009
Helsinki Commission to Host Iraqi Refugee Event
Nov 23, 2009
Helsinki Commission to Host Iraqi Refugee Event
Press Release
Oct 28, 2009
Hearing on U.S. Policy toward OSCE
Oct 22, 2009
Helsinki Commission to Hold Hearing on U.S. Policy Toward OSCE
Press Release
Oct 12, 2009
Hastings Lays out Plan for Stronger Middle East Engagement
Press Release
Oct 5, 2009
U.S. Helsinki Commission Mediterranean Seminar on OSCE Mediterranean Partner Engagement - Summary Digest
Jul 23, 2009
The Future of the OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation
Jul 16, 2009
Helsinki Commission to Host Mediterranean Forum
Press Release
Jun 8, 2009
Cardin, Hastings Comment on Elections in Lebanon
Press Release
Jun 4, 2009
Statements on President Obama's Address in Cairo, Egypt
Press Release
Feb 13, 2009
Helsinki Commission Chairman Cardin to Lead Congressional Delegation to Israel, Syria, and Austria
Press Release
Jan 26, 2009
Co-Chairman Hastings Chairs Meeting in Israel on Countering Discrimination in the Mediterranean Region; Meets with Prime Minister Olmert
Dec 31, 2008
U.S. Helsinki Commission Chairman Alcee L. Hastings Visits OSCE Mediterranean Partners to Advance Regional Cooperation
Nov 12, 2008
Georgia Debate and Mediterranean Forum Highlight OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Fall Meetings in Toronto
Sep 10, 2008
**HEARING POSTPONED** Helsinki Commission Hearing on the Regional Implications for a Mediterranean Union
Press Release
Sep 8, 2008
Iraqi Refugees: A Humanitarian Surge Is Needed for an 'Invisible' Humanitarian Crisis
Aug 11, 2008
OSCE 101: Briefing for Civil Society
Press Release
Apr 28, 2008
Iraqi Refugee Crisis: The Calm before the Storm?
Apr 16, 2008
Sodertalje, Sweden Accepts 5,000 Iraqi Refugees
Apr 10, 2008
Hearing on the Iraqi Refugee Crisis
Apr 10, 2008
Hastings-Delahunt to Hold Press Conference Urging Iraqi Government to Aid Refugees
Press Release
Apr 3, 2008
U.S. Helsinki Commission to Hold Hearing on the Iraqi Refugee Crisis
Press Release
Mar 19, 2007
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Convenes Winter Session
Nov 23, 2005
The Meaning of Egypt's Elections and Their Relevance to the Middle East
Nov 9, 2005
Helsinki Commissioners Call On Egypt to Protect Coptic Christians
Press Release
Oct 12, 2005
Egyptian Elections "First Step on a Long Road" Say Helsinki Commissioners
Press Release
Oct 12, 2005
The Meaning of Egypt's Elections and their Relevance to the Middle East
Oct 6, 2005
Helsinki Commission to Hold Briefing on the Implications of the Egyptian Election Results
Press Release
May 5, 2005
Lebanon: Development and Prospects
May 3, 2005
Helsinki Commission to Hold Lebanon Briefing
Press Release
Feb 26, 2004
Hearing: The Bulgarian Leadership of the OSCE
Oct 28, 2003
Democracy and Human Rights in Mediterranean Focus of Commission Briefing
Oct 3, 2003
Briefing: Democracy and Human Rights in the Mediterranean Partner States of the OSCE: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia
Oct 1, 2003
Helsinki Commission Briefing Features Democracy and Human Rights in the Mediterranean
Press Release
Oct 10, 2002
Hearing: U.S. Policy Toward the OSCE
Sep 1, 2000
Report: U.S. Statements at the 1999 OSCE Review Conference


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Meal Type
Featured Videos
Featured Content
Featured Brand Sites
Product By Category
Tools & Info
Cooking Tips
Healthy Living
Your Kids
food&family Magazine
18 servings
Read MoreRead Less
Tap or click steps to mark as complete
Prepare as directed, substituting 1 cup BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks for the chopped chocolate.
For easier slicing, wrap bread and store overnight before slicing to serve.
* Nutrition information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients used.
Very good. But I made mine with smoked sausage and was very hard to keep lit.
My family loves this.m
Though the bread is very moist, I found that I prefer my banana bread without chocolate.
K:14560v0 :62840


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Tech at Night: Google, FCC, Civil Defense spectrum
That's one of the most boring and least unique Tech at Night titles ever, but I'm going to war with the links I have. Slade Gorton's priorities are horribly wrong. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. On Tuesday the Greg Walden subcommittee held hearings on "Use of Spectrum with Public Safety." I've already explained why I think the D Block of wireless spectrum | Read More »


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|Youth hunter education challenge set for Flagler
|Written by Holyoke Enterprise
Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC) will be held at the Flagler Lake State Wildlife Area in Flagler May 5-6 starting at 7 a.m. each day.
The event is being co-sponsored by the Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Kiowa and Yuma counties 4-H shooting sports programs and the Kit Carson County Pheasants Forever Chapter.
YHEC is recognized as one of the most comprehensive youth hunting programs anywhere in North America. The Youth Hunter Education Challenge is the NRA's (National Rifle Association) "graduate studies" program in outdoor skills and safety training for young hunters and/or outdoor enthusiasts.
The program is conducted under simulated hunting conditions to provide the best practical environment for reinforcing and testing a young hunter's skills; from shotgun, rifle, bow and muzzleloader shooting at a variety of targets and sporting clays to wildlife identification, map-and-compass orienteering and much more.
YHEC participants (youth and adults, too) get hands-on training in eight skill areas.
Call the Extension Office in Burlington 719-346-5571 ext. 302, Extension Office in Kiowa County 719-438-5321, Extension Office in Yuma County 970-332-4151 or the Area Extension Office in Cheyenne County 719-767-5716 to request a shooter information packet that has all the information one needs to know about the events and how to sign up. There will be something for everyone from the young to the young at heart!
There will be two one-day events, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The program will only be able to handle 50 shooters per day, so space will be limited and on a first come, first served basis.
The deadline to sign up and pay is Friday, April 27.
Adults interested in helping run the various challenges are encouraged to contact Perry Brewer, YHEC coordinator at 719-349-1358.
Holyoke Enterprise March 1, 2012


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In 1969, the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair opened in upstate New York. During the three days from Aug. 15-18, dozens of acts – including The Who, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Joan Baez – performed before the crowd that had gathered on Max Yasgur's 600-acre farm.
For a complete look at the music festival that started it all, check out this VH1 "Behind the Music" Woodstock special.


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I need to track who is using the IMAP server on my installation. Is there a log of this information already, or if not is there a tweak to some configuration to get Zimbra to spit this stuff out.
I can see more of what's going on with the web interface, but those users who only use IMAP are lost.


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Worked With:
Sharon Lawrence
Birth Name: Sharon Lawrence
Born: 06/29/1961
Birth Place: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Born: 06/29/1961
Birth Place: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Lawrence was born June 29, 1961, and raised first in Charlotte and then Raleigh, NC, where her father was a television news anchor. A Junior Miss pageant winner, Lawrence intended to follow in her father's footsteps by studying journalism at UNC Chapel Hill, but when the on-air part of the job began to hold more appeal than the news reporting, she moved to New York City to pursue acting. She had already been singing on cruise ships and at night clubs to earn money during college, and her seasoned pipes brought Lawrence her first break in 1984 when she was cast opposite Anthony Quinn in a national tour of "Zorba." Harold Prince's revival of "Cabaret" marked her Broadway debut in 1987, and the... Continue Bio >>
Popular Movies:
More Credits >>


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Many people living with diabetes suffer stigmatisation and discrimination. However, stigma is particularly pronounced for girls and women, who carry a double burden of discrimination because of their health status and the inequalities perpetrated in male-dominated societies.
Families of girls and women with diabetes may withdraw support and force them to keep their health status secret. This discourages them from seeking diagnosis and treatment and creates diabetes-related guilt and depression.
Girls and women with diabetes can be discriminated against in terms of marriageability, which in many societies represents their main route to economic and social status, particularly in rural areas. Moreover, women with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are more likely to be divorced, separated or abandoned by their husbands, leaving them financially vulnerable.


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Option #2.
Llamas are sweet critters and nice for packing lighter loads, but horses and mules are going to make quick work out of an elk pack out.
Try to set up something with a packer, if you can. You also won't have to worry about caring for the llamas while you are out there stalking bulls.


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Performance improvements
New Tab page
Notification Bar
One Box
Pinned Sites
Tab enhancements
Web-focused browsing
Windows 7 integration
ActiveX Filtering
Add-on Performance Advisor
Compatibility View
Cross-site scripting filter
Domain highlighting
Download Manager
InPrivate Browsing
SmartScreen Filter
Tab isolation and recovery
Tracking Protection
Fast and responsive web experiences for Windows.
The new browser makes any website shine.
Pinned Sites, Jump Lists, and more—it all works together.
Go to a web address or start a search—all from the same place.
Get to your favorite sites in one click.
Built-in protection helps keep you safer online.


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Life balance coaching is a process of accessing intuitive guidance, deep listening, insight dialogue and a compassionate, non-judgmental presence, to support people in ways that returns them and their life to a place of balance and peacefulness. You will leave feeling inspired and empowered to live a more authentic and joyful life.
Please Call


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Skill. Experience. Technology. The three words to remember, for the one you never want to hear.
Our goal is to provide you with the most innovative and comprehensive cancer care possible. You have questions and our experts have answers.
You won't go through this alone. Highly-skilled physicians and specialists use advanced technology and treatment to better understand cancer, detect it earlier and treat the disease more effectively.
Together, we'll do all we can to help make cancer part of your past rather than your future.
To learn about locations and services near you, please select a region.


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New arrivals- Colombia Dos Payasos Tolima, Colombia Huila Finca El Junin, Costa Rica Guillio Francesca Finca El Espino, Guatemala Bourbon Finca San Diego Buena Vista
We're adding new coffees today! First are two very fine Colombian offerings: the Colombia "Dos Payasos de Tolima" with caramel and spice tastes. It's a customer favorite that stays sweet from light to dark roasts. Also being added is the Colombia Huila -Finca El Junin, Humberto Diaz, a bright cup with aromatic fruits and syrup-like body. Next, from one of our favorite coffee farmers, is the Costa Rica Guillio Francesca -Finca El Espino with milk chocolate, sweet molasses and fruit in the finish. Lastly, it's Guatemala Bourbon -Finca San Diego Buena Vista from the Acatenango region. It has a classic Guat. profile with vanilla, caramel, and red apple finish. Click on the reviews to learn more about the flavor profiles and particular farms.


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|FCCLA organizes for 2013-14
|Written by Holyoke Enterprise
Holyoke's local FCCLA chapter kicked off the new school year with the 2013 Chapter Leadership Workshop Tuesday, Aug. 20 at the city park.
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America at Holyoke High School is advised by Karen Ortner and led by an elected officer team.
The 2013-2014 officer team began the workshop by reciting the FCCLA creed. President Brenda Hernandez welcomed the 21 students in attendance.
Historian Rubi Canales coordinated a competitive icebreaker in which students gripped hands with one another across a circle and worked together to untangle themselves from one another to form an empty circle.
The workshop continued with an explanation of "What is FCCLA?" by vice president Megan Vieselmeyer. The answer to the particular question is that FCCLA is an extracurricular organization which helps students to be involved in the community and to focus on learning about family, career and community-related improvements.
To read more, subscribe to our e-Edition. Call 970-854-2811.


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Find no-charge trials of Microsoft software and special pricing that can help you provide savings to your customers. As a Microsoft Partner Network member you can access promotions that can reduce your own software and training costs.
View offers
You can access training and sales and marketing benefits that can strengthen your competitive advantage. According to Wygwam CEO Gregoire Malvoisin, being a Microsoft partner is "hugely profitable."


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Drillbit Taylor
|Release Date: March 21, 2008
|Running Time: 102 mins.
|MPAA Rating: PG 13
|Box Office: $32,853,640.00
|Genre: Comedy
Owen Wilson
Leslie Mann
Nate Hartley
Troy Gentile
All Cast & Crew >>
Summary:It all begins on the first day of high school, when a trio of anxious freshmen--chubby Ryan, freakishly skinny Wade and their shrimpy tagalong, Emmit--become the instant target of the school's senior psycho-in-residence, Filkins, the ultimate school bully. As what they were hoping to be the best years of their lives are suddenly turned into a daily living hell, the boys realize they have only one choice--to hire their own personal bodyguard. Enter Drillbit Taylor, not the best but definitely the cheapest of the mercenaries, hit men and bodyguards who answer their online ad. Drillbit is steely, dangerous and skilled in covert black-ops and exotic martial arts. He's also a complete fraud. He b... Full Summary >>


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GUESS Women's Silver Tone Multi-Function Watch
- Hidden push-button clasp
- Quartz movement
- Imported
Shipping your purchase is easy on belk.com. Depending on the destination of your package, you can expect it to arrive within 4-7 business days. Shipping Information
Returns are easy on belk.com. Easy returns
It's the vintage California lifestyle that makes G by GUESS® fashion for the next generation. As the latest brand from denim pioneer GUESS®, G by GUESS® was created for young, hip and trendy women with an eye for the freshest looks and hottest styles. The G by GUESS® footwear collections incorporate fashion-Sforward merchandise along with a variety of basics perfect for those with an eye for the freshest looks and hottest styles at an attainable price.
More from: GUESS


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A neonatal nesearch lab is accessible 24 hours per day, seven days per week in the first floor of the Oak Street research lab area. There are two lab top working areas along each side with a sink. There is an Assco Air Systems hood with gas inlet. The following equipment is located in this area:
Neonatal Research Nurse
A 24 hour per week neonatal research nurse (Mary Naples, RN) was hired on October 1, 1996. She was our research chart abstractor for 25 months as part of the AHCPR grant coordinated by Dr. Doug Richardson at Boston Children's Hospital/Beth Israel and involves seven NICU sites. The grant studied Severity Illness in NICUs by using the SNAP and NTISS scores. All data is available for future studies in collaboration with the SNAP-II Study Group. Fellows can have access to this data for projects. The research nurse is currently involved in the PCVL study, Vitamin C and Nephrocalcinosis study, and Hemangioma and ROP study.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
In the past, the UMass Memorial Health Care under Dr. Weisberger and bioengineer, Dr. Chen, developed a neonatal/small animal pulmonary function laboratory in conjunction with the WPI Bioengineering Department. Biomedical engineering students were able to develop a portable system capable of making biological measurements. The lab equipment (AT&T PC computer with six A to D convertors, monitor, printer, software, and transducers) was purchased by Neonatology from a grant from the UMass Memorial Health Care Neonatal Fund and Mead Johnson ($15,000). Future collaborative projects using WPI graduate engineering students are available. Yearly requests for potential projects are circulated by the Biogengineering Department of WPI.
Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology
The Foundation is located approximately three miles from UMass Memorial Health Care. The foundation has many basic scientists involved in extensive research. The facilities are of the highest quality. Many staff physicians at UMass Memorial Health Care are on the board at the foundation. If the research interests of the fellow are similar to those being conducted at the foundation, a collaborative effort could be arranged. This Foundation is currently merging with the University of Massachusetts Medical School. This will provide an opportunity for more studies that combine clinical researchers with bench researchers.
Tufts Veterinary School
Tufts is located in Grafton, Massachusetts about eight to ten miles from UMass Memorial Health Care. Both are large and small animal facilities are available with the full time veterinary staff. Members of their faculty have rounded in our nursery in the past and have interest in collaborative projects. Fellows can utilize these facilities if they collaborate with a Tufts' faculty.
Premier Research
UMass Memorial Health Care is a member in Premier Research which is a network of the nation's finest teaching and research medical centers providing high quality clinical research services to pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechnical companies worldwide. This network provides sponsors direct access to the extensive clinical trial resources at these medical centers for the purpose of conducting multi-site studies. Premier Hospitals have conducted over $60 million in clinical trials involving 600 experienced physician investigators and 300 on-site clinical research coordinators. Multi-center studies involving newborns/pregnancies would provide our NICU/Division of Reproductive Medicine an opportunity to be involved as a member in these clinical trials. These studies would be a source of projects for our fellows and faculty.
The Vermont-Oxford Data Network
The UMass Memorial Health Care NICU has been a member of the Vermont-Oxford Data Network since 1991 and the coordinator is Dr. Francis J. Bednarek. This network is comprised of around 250 NICU centers in the USA and abroad. It provides an opportunity to be involved in a large NICU database and participate in multicenter clinical trials. Recently completed trials are the antepartum maternal steroid experience (This data was presented at the NIH Consensus Symposium on Antepartum Steroids), an Exosurf vs. Survanta Trial (This data was presented as an abstract at Seattle, WA, May, 1994 in poster presentation and published in Pediatrics.), and data collection on < 23 week gestation neonates. The data for these studies is collected prospectively on formal, printed, uniform data sheets. The data is transferred confidentially to Vermont monthly where it is collated yearly and each NICU is given an individual report and a compared report to 250 centers. More extensive data comparisons are available for a purchase price. The individual NICU receives a computer disk of its data that can be used for research purposes. The data can also be used for quality assurance purposes. A neonatal research nurse is responsible for collecting this data.


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May 30, 2016
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The wife of Robin Williams says he was in the stages of Parkinson's disease and was sober at the time of his apparent suicide.
In a statement Thursday, Susan Schneider said that Williams was struggling with depression, anxiety and the early stages of Parkinson's when he was found dead earlier this week..
The wife of the actor-comedian said he was not ready to share his Parkinson's diagnosis publicly.
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.


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The Apple of my eye
Today marks two months since Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines. After the storm, World Vision communicator Annila Harris visited survivors and met sponsored child Apple, whose family is benefiting from World Vision relief supplies. The way this little girl cared for her baby sister, Roalyn, taught Annila that even when a disaster takes away almost everything, the most important thing in life is still family.


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Hoover Dam Bypass
There has been construction at the Hoover Dam building a bypass that will cut down our guests' travel time to and from the ranch. Construction has been going on for a few years now, but we believe by 2011 it should be all done. For an update on the project, go to the following link.


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Another eye catching design from Manto! This MMA T-Shirt features a large screen print on the front, representing the Manto Australia BJJ & Surf Challenge, that took place on Feb 25th 2012 on Cronulla Beach, NSW, Australia.
This particular Manto T-Shirt is a regular fit, crew neck T-Shirt. As we have come to expect from Manto, this is a superb quality item and is a worthy addition to any MMA Athlete or Fan's wardrobe!
- 100% Heavyweight Cotton
- Screen Print Design
- Crew Neck
- MANTO ORIGINAL Jacquard Label
- Regular fit
We do our best to provide accurate sizing info for all items of MMA Clothing & Equipment that we sell at MMA Universe.
You can find our sizing information here
Should you be unable to find the information you need you can contact us at any time, we would be delighted to help you!
We do our best to ensure that our shipping prices are as fair and competitive as possible. We offer four tiers of delivery each with their own benefits and we offer free delivery options with orders of £50 or more.
If you place your order with us before 2pm GMT on Mon-Fri, we guarantee to ship your order the same day. Orders placed after this time may not be processed until the next available working day (but we'll do our best to get your order on it's way ASAP). Our typical delivery times are:
|United Kingdom:
|Within 48 Hours of shipping
|Within Europe:
|Within 5-7 Days of shipping
|Outside of Europe:
|Within 7-10 Days of shipping
MMA Universe have simple returns policy where if you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase, you can return it within 14 days of receiving it for any of the following:
- Exchange your purchase for another size or colour, or a new item entirely.
- Return your purchase for MMA Universe Store Credit.
- Return your purchase for a refund.
- Return your purchase for a replacement if it is damaged or faulty.
Items to be returned for exchange or refund must be unworn and in the original packaging, unless faulty, in which case please wash them first!You can find more information about our returns policy here


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May 30, 2016
Two men went to the hospital and two are in jail after an East Lansing fight broke out just before 1:00 a.m. Sunday. Police say the suspects used a tire iron to injure three victims.
The victims suffered head injuries and facial lacerations, but they are expected to be okay. One was treated and released at the scene. Two others were treated and released by Sparrow Hospital.
East Lansing police say the two brothers who committed the violence, Aaron and Paul Brooks, tried to flee from the scene but officers caught up with them and pulled them over during a traffic stop.
The two men are now in Ingham County jail facing charges of felonious assault, which carry penalties of more than a year in jail.
Police say alcohol contributed to the violence.
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 firstname.lastname@example.com.