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The Travails of Modern IslamNews Abroad
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
It occurred to me that I should try and fit what I know into the mission of this organization, so I will try something new. It will be a certain level of abstraction and I invite you in the Q&A to become far more specific.
I am a historian of the Muslim world and, in addition to the day-to-day issues that come up, I look at this civilizational unit as a whole. That's what I'll do now.
To start with, the Islamic religion prevails in majority-Muslim countries stretching from Senegal to Indonesia, and is not simply a Middle Eastern phenomenon. Muslim people can now be found in substantial numbers in Europe, North America, Latin America, and indeed, Oceania.
The Islamic religion is also a civilization. One scholar gave it the name Islamicate, suggesting it can be seen along the same lines as the Italianate. I find this a useful concept. Islamicate civilization includes non-Muslims who live in majority Muslim countries and who share certain attributes. For example, art can be called Islamicate. You can usually tell which is Muslim art; it's not exactly Islamic as it's not connected to the religion.
I spent the first part of my career trying to understand the nature of the connection between Islam and other aspects of life. In particular I took a topic that's a little bit exotic for the dissertation and my first book, titled Slave Soldiers and Islam. I examined a form of military organization which is unique to the Muslim world and asked how can this phenomenon be connected to the religion of Islam, how can slaves be used as soldiers within these organizations? Of course, slaves were used as soldiers in emergency capacities in various places at various times, but the Muslim use of slaves as soldiers between roughly the years 800 and 1800 was not occasional and not only during emergencies. It was a centralized, very significant institution called the Mamluk Institution, or the Janissary Institution, and could be found over the centuries in different continents.
What possible connection could there be with what is happening today? To make a long story short, my thesis was that Islam demands of Muslims are so onerous to fulfill that for various reasons the Muslim populations withdrew from political life. As a result of this, the rulers needed to reach out to non-Muslims and the best way to do that was through this exotic form of slavery. That insight was one a step towards the larger question of how Islam influences politics.
In the broad sweep of history, the Islamic religion got off to a very fast and successful start. Muhammad himself fled Mecca in 622 A.D. By the time of his death, however, he was ruler of Arabia and within 100 years his followers had gone from Spain to India. This was more than just a military conquest. The Muslim faith was successful in culture, the arts, and the economy and created the great empires of its age. Had you looked around the world say precisely a millennium ago, August 20, 1010, you would've concluded that Islam was the most successful civilization, more so than those of China, Europe or India.
Starting from about 1200, especially after the Mongol invasions, the civilization of Islam declined and stagnated for a long time. The striking fact was that Muslims long were generally unaware of this downturn although it finally became vividly obvious around 1800, especially when Napoleon landed in Egypt and wiped out the Ottoman and Mamluk armies. Napoleon brought with him a cadre of scientists who started studying the flora, fauna, and archaeology, savants who would eventually crack the code of Egyptian hieroglyphics. His was not only a military expedition but a scientific one as well. The contrast between the Egyptians and the French was stark and shocked Muslims into realising that, during their long period of stagnation, Europe had surged ahead.
Trauma followed. Muslims had assumed that they were blessed by God in both spiritual and mundane ways. Now they worried that God had forsaken them, which led to a profound reassessment of what it means to be a Muslim. Muslims saw themselves challenged by Europe and more broadly by the West, and this is a challenge that Muslims still face today. How is it that the people who should be on top—militarily, economically, politically, culturally, scientifically, technologically—how is it that they now sit at the bottom in terms of literacy, longevity, Nobel Prizes per capita, Olympic medals per capita? Indeed, whatever index you choose, Muslim states are at the bottom. Muslim people are not doing well; some of the worst countries in the world include Somalia, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Iraq, all of which are majority Muslim. This is a great strain, a great challenge: What went wrong and how do they fix it? Indeed, Bernard Lewis wrote a book titled What Went Wrong?
How do Muslims explain all this?
Over the course of the past two hundred years, there have been three major explanations. The first one was what one might call the liberal Western explanation, namely emulating the French and the British. These nationalities descended upon Muslim lands in particular; they built empires; they offered themselves as models. They were extremely successful and Muslims tended to emulate them. The symbolic figure of this trend was Kemal Atatürk, the ruler of Turkey between 1923 and 1938, who removed Islam from public life, replaced Arabic words with French words, brought in Belgian and Swiss legal codes, and in all made Turkey look increasingly Western.
But this didn't work. By the 1920s and 30s, despite Atatürk, there was a sense that this liberal effort had failed. So Muslims adopted another approach. The approach that appeared at that time to be most impressive was the illiberal Western approach. The 1920s were the hey-day of totalitarian societies, with Mussolini and Lenin in particular showing the way. These offered models that proved very influential; Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt symbolizes this approach to politics. For the next fifty to sixty years, the fascist and communist models prevailed in large swaths of intellectual and political life. They didn't do too well either, they didn't solve the problems of weakness and poverty.
So, with the disappointment in these two movements came a third solution, namely the Islamist one. The goal of this movement was not to emulate one form or another of Western ideology or power; it was to return to Islamic experience and to draw on the wisdom and achievements of Muslims in the past and to rehabilitate the Muslim world by learning from Islamic experience. The goal is to do something that is old, that draws on Islamic successes of past centuries. Ayatollah Khomeini symbolizes this approach.
Of course, you can't go back. You can emulate seventh-century Islam but you can't repeat it. Islamist movements of recent decades have created a new ideology, not revived something old. I am convinced this will be a failure too. The so far number-one experiment, the Islamic Republic of Iran, has failed by any standard, if only because a great majority of its subjects are rejecting it.
Bin Laden and Wahhabi-style Islamism clearly have no future. How can they run countries? Just imagine Bin Laden as ruler; it would be like the Taliban and it wouldn't work. Even a less extreme version, such as that in Iran, is not workable in the long term. Instead, what we're seeing is that the Islamists are evolving into something that is more sustainable. Turkey offers the outstanding model here. The Turkish Islamists run and win elections; they don't depend on violence. They exercise good economic stewardship and good governance more broadly. While Turkey has many problems, its Islamists have shown that an alternative exists. An era has begun in which Islamists in part use violence on the Bin Laden model and in part they work the political system.
Many Islamist groups are making a name for themselves by engaging in social services. One of the tensions now in Pakistan is that the Islamists, as happened with the earthquakes some months ago, are coming in first with the most aid for the victims of flooding. They win good will and respect for their work.
Getting back to the central issue, how Muslims answer the question"What went wrong?" Are they approaching a functional answer? I think not but that we are in a very dark period of little creativity, much instability, and much violence. I don't see any improvements soon but I do anticipate the potential for improvement. Anything that can get worse can, logically, also get better, and I expect a working out of the Islamist impulse, to be followed by something more constructive. At some point, Muslims will begin to discard it and to look elsewhere. I don't know what they're going to look for. Will it be return to the 19th century and Western liberalism? Will it be following the Chinese model?
In the meantime, things could get worse. Chemical, biological and nuclear weapons are within grasp and could be used. This threat could lead to far greater instability. There is also considerable anger within the Muslim world as the great majority of Islamist victims have been Muslim, for example in Algeria and Darfur.
Certainly 9/11 was a major event in which some three thousand non-Muslims were killed. Other events like Bali and Madrid were about two hundred people. But these are not large numbers by, say, the standards of the two world wars. So far the West has shrugged off Islamism and not seen it as a truly significant threat. That could change. There could be a far stronger reaction. We are at a point of flux. We will see anarchy in the countries that I named, starting with Somalia (which has experienced twenty years of anarchy). There will also be desperation, extremism, violence, brutality and misogyny.
One implication of this is that Muslims will want to leave their homelands. Where do they go? They don't go to other Muslim countries though there are exceptions. (Afghans go to Iran in huge numbers.) But by and large, they don't want to go to Turkey or Egypt or Indonesia. They want to go to the West for its economic well-being, freedom and security. As you in Australia know, with your substantial number of Lebanese, Somali, Afghan, Iraqi and other refugees, distance is not much of a deterrent.
The number of refugees is likely to grow. The challenge of mixing Islam and the West is already a major topic in much of Europe although not so much here in Australia or in the United States. And this is happening at a time when European birth rates are falling. Europeans are having two-thirds of the children they need to sustain their numbers. There is an expectation that immigrants will cover the shortfall. In addition, the Christian religion in Europe is declining as is the sense of cultural confidence. At the same time, Muslim immigrants have plenty of children, religion and cultural confidence.
The West has never experienced such a challenge. I expect Europe will go in one of two rather unpleasant directions. One is to continue the trends of the last fifty years with more Muslims, more Islamic law and more tension, until it transits to becoming an Islamic society. The other is that Europeans at a certain point say—"No, we don't like this. We're going to stop it. We're going to use whatever means are necessary to stop it. We're going to throw people out; we might even kill them." It is too early to predict which trend will prevail.
The Muslim world, to sum up, is burdened by a sense of glory of its past success and power. It feels acutely the trauma of modernity. It's looking for excuses. At this moment, Islamism is the favorite solution but I see it as temporary. This population of over a billion people is in general stress and turmoil. I expect things will get worse before they get better. But they will eventually get better.
On that optimistic note, I conclude.
QUESTION: You seem to intimate that the AKP (the Turkish Justice and Development Party) is the model. But aren't they becoming more and more anti-democratic? They're trying to take over the army. The free press that Turkey had is less free now after eight or so years. It would seem that the AKP can only go in one direction. It's going to become more and more authoritarian and totalitarian. Would you agree with that?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: I agree with the facts that you've presented and I could present more evidence along those same lines. As the AKP has felt stronger, particularly vis- à-vis the military, it has stopped being so tentative and careful and has taken these sort of steps. Should it vanquish the military, should it do well in the next election which occurs by July 2011, I expect more squeezing, more pressure.
I agree with you, but I don't see why you conclude that this renders the AKP not a model. It looks like a pretty good model to me. It took power by being electorally attractive and then it changes the system. This is very different from Khomeini. I accept your facts but come to a different conclusion.
QUESTION: The less liberal you become the closer you get to the Iranian position. So alright, it won't happen suddenly with an ayatollah landing at the airport as happened in Iran. It'll just take thirty years rather than an instant landing; that's all I'm saying. Am I off the track there?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: No, we're not disagreeing. There are two ways for Islamists to attain power, through violence or through the system. Working through the system is a brilliant evolution away from violence. Islamists were in the past dependent on violence. Khomeini got to power and then wanted to spread revolution, he didn't think about developing political parties. But Hezbollah, for example, which began as a Khomeini artefact in the early 1980s has become a political party of great influence in Lebanon. This is a more supple and flexible kind of approach to taking power than was the case earlier.
QUESTION: To follow the Turkish discussion, what will be the chance of them getting into Europe and can you try and explain why the British government is now favouring their entry to Europe?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: The chances of Turkish accession to the European Union are very small. Nobody wants it—the Europeans don't want it and the Turks don't want it. Some leaders are trying to push it through. As for David Cameron, I have the sense that he may be not only the leader of the government, but it seems that Nick Clegg is really running the show.
QUESTION: Dr. Pipes, perhaps starting from Gallipoli onwards, there's been a very emotional, special relationship between Australia and Turkey, with a very high regard on both sides. How would you see Australia being able to capitalize on that to influence events in modern Turkey?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: The goal of the AKP is not to be a bridge between the West and the Muslim world. It is to be a leader of the Middle East. The foreign minister is a strategist who came up with a notion called Strategic Depth. I don't see where Australia fits into that, despite a century of history.
QUESTION: In relation to the two questions of what went wrong and how do we fix it, do you see a difference between hardcore Islamists and those that are less committed?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: They are roughly the same. Various versions of Islamism exist. For example, in Saudi Arabia women can't drive, can't do this, can't do that. In Iran, they can. The Iranian idea is that they've created an Islamic republic where women are safe. In the Saudi vision, danger lurks in every corner and females need to be protected. There are many such differences in both style and substance. But in the end, all Islamists aspire to the same thing which is the application of Islamic law. Islamic law differs slightly in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and India. They have different schools, but these are again details and in general the aspiration to apply Islamic law is common to all Muslims.
QUESTION: How significant do you think is the link between Turkey and Israel, especially after the Israeli boarding of the Turkish aid boat?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: The Turkish government has used anti-Zionism primarily as a vehicle for isolating and discrediting the military. The military is its priority target, for it stands between the AKP and complete sovereignty. The military could at any moment push the Islamists aside, as it did as recently as 1997. But the military now feels weak. It reads the polls and follows elections like everyone else and it doesn't have the confidence to take over. The AKP has accused the military and others of engaging in anti-government activities and is arresting former military officers and wresting control of senior appointments.
QUESTION: Two things jumped out at me. The first related to the successful economic situation experienced by the West, at least until the event of the Global Financial Crisis. The second related to the effective use of technology. What impact did all this have on Islam and how are they likely to evolve?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: The Muslim world in general is performing poorly in economic terms. Malaysia and Turkey would be the two exceptions. The great feature of the Muslim world is resources, not too different, in fact, from Western Australia. You don't so much make things as you export commodities. But Western Australia is just a small part of the West. There are almost no inventions from within the Muslim world. Which Egyptian company has an R&D department? Where's the entrepreneurship? It's just not there. There's little creativity. When there is, people go West. There are plenty of very talented Muslims but they don't have the opportunity to develop within their own countries. They go somewhere else—for medicine, computers, whatever it might be. The discovery recently of one trillion U.S. dollars worth of minerals in Afghanistan confirms the trend. Westerners find things and extract them. I see the Muslim world locked into this scenario for a long time to come; it's a little comparable to how the Soviet Union was spying forever on the West and getting its technology, information and insights from it.
This kind of dependence is hard to break. It requires cultural confidence. I've done some work comparing Japan and Turkey. I chose the two countries because Japan had the Meiji Revolution and Turkey had the Atatürk Revolution. Both leaderships not only modernized but Westernized. In Japan, the emperor insisted on ballroom dancing as a facet of Westernising. Likewise, Ataturk banned the turban. But a closer look at this comparison finds that Japanese had an inner confidence that manifested itself in a cultural ease. You can learn, adapt, and remain Japanese. Women, for example, can wear Japanese clothing for formal occasions and Western clothing for casual occasions and it doesn't mean a thing. It's impossible to imagine a Turk donning a traditional outfit without that being a huge cultural and religious statement. Women who wear burqas do not do this on a part-time basis; it's a major cultural assertion. The Japanese can play with cultural differences but not the Turks. The Japanese eat French food one day and on the next eat Japanese—again, it doesn't mean a thing. If you're Egyptian or Turk, however, you eat a certain kind of food and that says who you are. There's this fear among Muslims that they'll lose what it is to be a Muslim. They hold on in a way that the Japanese do not.
QUESTION: You mentioned earlier that the world population of Muslims was well over a billion people. Are you suggesting that all Muslims are Islamists and have hegemonic ambitions vis- à-vis the West?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: No, I'm not suggesting that. Somewhere between 10 percent and 15 percent of Muslims, roughly an eighth of the Muslim population, seeks the total application of Islamic Law.
QUESTION: Do you believe Islamic and European communities will rise, especially given the migration of large numbers of Muslim people to Europe? Or will this lead to conflict?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: There used to be a clear divide between Muslim countries and the West. Until 1955 there were no significant Muslim populations in the West with the exception of some indigenous populations in places like Albania, Yugoslavia and Russia, but certainly not in Western Europe, not here and not in the Americas. Indeed in 1965 there were about 150,000 Muslims in the United States from a population of about 150 million. Now it's more like three million out of a population of 300 million. In France Muslims are thought to be between 5 percent and 10 percent of the population. So there is a new-found presence of Muslims in the West. Simultaneously, Christians in the Muslim world are disappearing. In Iraq, for example, attacks on Christians, especially since 2003, have led to a massive exodus. The same has happened in Bethlehem and Nazareth, which have for centuries had Christian majorities, but no longer.
Malaysia presents an interesting case. Things there appear to be in flux and the role of non-Muslims in Malaysia is still open to question. One can easily imagine that the Islamic movement is trying to push non-Muslims out or convert them. Middle Eastern Christian and Jewish communities that have been in place for fourteen hundred years are disappearing. There are virtually no Jews left in Egypt and the Christian population is extremely stressed, especially in the last thirty years, and is leaving. So, simultaneously, the expansion of Islam in the West and the reduction of the West in Islam are taking place.
QUESTION: Given as you say that the search within the Muslim world for an answer to the question of what went wrong, and also the relatively small number of committed Islamists anyway, do you see any potential for some sort of reformation movement developing within Islam as a potential solution to what went wrong?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: I am hopeful for a reformation, that there are and will be Muslims who re-read the scriptures of Islam in light of modern times. This is the opposite of what Islamists believe. Islamists take the scriptures and read them in a severe and archaic way. This proves, at any rate, that the scriptures are wide open to interpretation. A debate, I should add, is now taking place in the West between those, like me, who say that Islam is a historical phenomenon that changes and another group that says,"No, Islam is unchangeable, it is an essential core. Jihad is this, the Koran is that. It's unchangeable and Islam is an enemy."
QUESTION: In relation to the European experience in the Islamic Balkans, is there anything that we can take from that and extrapolate more widely? Is there anything that happened in the last twenty years in the Balkans that may lead us to believe that we're not necessarily going into that dark period?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: I would, unfortunately, draw the opposite conclusion. Balkan Islam was moderate. Then along came the Wahhabis, the Saudis, their money, their institutions and it's changing toward Islamism as are other parts of the Muslim world. Historically, the more repressive movements came from the Middle East and that they influence the periphery. You can see how powerful they Islamists have become in Nigeria, Bangladesh and Indonesia. People often say,"Well, can you take Indonesian ideas to the Middle East" and I reply,"It's worth a try, good luck", but I doubt the Saudis are going to listen to Indonesians.
QUESTION: Last century I visited Istanbul a couple of times. It impressed me as a modern European city, certainly in comparison with other Muslim cities like Cairo. So my question is why do you think the liberal model failed or is failing at the moment in Turkey?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: You are asking"Who lost Turkey?" Of course, it may not be lost and things could still work out. That said, what likely will have lost Turkey was not European coolness. Nor economic problems. Rather, it concerns the seemingly small matter of Turkish electoral law which requires that representation in parliament be limited to parties that win 10 percent of the vote, a very high threshold. In other countries the threshold is on the order of 1 percent, 2 percent or 5 percent. In 2002 the vote was 34 percent for the AKP and 19 percent for the CHP, the leftist party. And the AKP's 34 percent resulted in it gaining 67 percent or two-thirds of the seats. Had that election law been different, or had the moderate left and moderate right managed to work together, I the AKP would not have dominated as it did.
QUESTION: So you think rather than Turkish society becoming more radically Muslim, it's just the vagaries of politics and it could swing back?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: Yes, it could swing back. I think the next general elections, which take place in 2011, are critical. Should the AKP win this, it's over. They're there for a long time. Should they lose it, it can be redeemed. So, the next election is the key.
QUESTION: How does the Obama administration, including the top brass in the Pentagon and within State, see the situation? Is there any clarity of understanding or appreciation of the magnitude of this whole phenomenon?
DR. DANIEL PIPES: I mentioned the debate between people of my persuasion who think the problem is radical Islam and those who think the problem is Islam itself. But there is a third position I didn't mention. This is the establishment position, which is the position of most of those in government, journalists and academics who believe that the problem really has nothing to do with Islam at all. It's the problem of radical extremism, of terrorism, of Al-Qaeda. Some politicians go so far as to say it's an anti-Islamic phenomenon. This is the prevailing attitude of the Obama administration. Whatever the topic might be, they bleach Islam out of it.
To give you one example. The Fort Hood Massacre in November of last year when an army major of Palestinian-Muslim background took out a gun and killed fourteen people. Every sign indicated he was a jihadi. But the report that came out recently on what happened didn't mention Islam. The cause of this denial here lies deeper than political correctness. If you're going to acknowledge it's something to do with Islam, then you have to address Islamic issues. Institutionally, if you're the U.S. military, that's not easy to do, so you don't.
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Fahrettin Tahir - 10/28/2010
Turkey was far bigger than she is today and it was not legitimate to take away from her European regions which had majority or exclusive Moslem populations as did happen.
If Ataturk and Co had spent their energy to recover lost territories Turkey could not have developed. Instead they made what remains an unfair peace and concentrated on developing the rest. The Arabs too could do exactly the same.
You are right of course that ideology does not prevent industrialisation unless it is being used as a substitute for development. Opium for the people.
omar ibrahim baker - 10/28/2010
" the Ottoman Empire at WWII, " should, of course, read " the Ottoman Empire at WWI, "
omar ibrahim baker - 10/28/2010
Neither Arab Nationalism/Socialism nor Islamism, per se, is intrinsically, structurally or doctrinairly incompatible with or is in conflict or in an a priori rejection and dismissal of " industrialisation and social development ".
The sine quo non to achieve your, and our, cherished ambitions of " industrialisation and social development " is national sovereignty and territorial integrity and security; both under incessant colonialist/imperialist attack by the West/USA and Israel.
Could Turkey have ever succeeded in achieving both, or be on its way to, had the Western occupation armies of WWI remained directly or indirectly on Turkish soil or had they, before departing, implanted an ALIEN nation/state, meant to fragment and dominate as is Israel, on Turkish soil??
That is where you tend to err: neither objective could ever be realized anywhere without genuine national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security!
(Do you not notice how fervently antagonistic Friedman and ilk are to both Arab Nationalism/Socialism and Islamism?
Is that out of their general good will towards or keen desire for the Arabs to avoid wasting their time and resources or out of their realization that either will be detrimental to Israel's short term ( territorial expansion and total ethnic cleansing of Palestine from its indigenous Arab population) and long term ( regional predominance) ambitions and designs ?
I wish you will ponder that and the above and wish you well)
Fahrettin Tahir - 10/27/2010
There is an interesting new book:
The Berlin Baghdad Express
The Ottoman Empire and Germany's bid for World Power
Sean McMeekin
Allen Lane /pinguin Group 2010
N. Friedman - 10/27/2010
I think you are quite correct.
Fahrettin Tahir - 10/27/2010
I think the issue Western political thinking is trying to understand is why the Arabs are replacing the two nonfunctional ideologies nationalism/socialism with the third which also does not work anywhere it is tried.
It would be far more intelligent to invest oil income in industrialisation and social development to catch up with the West instead of further ideological prerogatives.
omar ibrahim baker - 10/27/2010
The following is as much commentary as an exposition of alternative interpretation and presentation of events.
In his impressive tour de force Pipes however can NOT help the old real Pipes reasserting itself/
That is manifest in a number of commissions, omissions, misinterpretation and
falsification of events and motives all pointing to a certain direction with an ulterior, Zionist, objective in mind to instill in his audience.
Foremost but certainly not all among which one would note:
1-The Muslim answer to "What Went Wrong" presented by Pipes "GOD forsake US" was never as pervasive and influential as he claims it to have been; except, inevitably, in the very meager, and progressively ostracized, milieus of ineffectual conservative, actually reactionary, "Scheiks" and "ulamas" that had by that time, the post 1800,lost all credibility and influence.
The really effective and influential answer to that question that came from RELIGIOUS sources were the voices of Mohamed Abdo, Al Afghani, etc who far from seeking refuge in the ridiculous "God forsake us" hypothesis were all out for material modernization, education a la Western/then European models, Women education and liberation, public participation in the running of state and national affairs etc
Soon they were joined by other non religious voices ( Al Kawakibi, Kassem Amin, Ali Mubarak, Taha Hussein etc ) that embraced the same goals and ADDED to that the need for modern public administration and militarily apparatus to establish a strong modern state.
That era soon witnessed the decline of the religious and the ascent of the modernist, secular, the adoption of Parliamentary government systems in Egypt, Syria, Iraq and a general liberal Western democracy type outlook.
It ended, inspirationally and intellectually among the, mostly Western, educated then the general public, with the unveiling of the Sykes/Picot agreement and the Balfour Declaration
With the former being a clear declaration of an unabated colonialist Western design, approved by the USA, to subjugate and rule over a divided Arab world and the latter as the practical implementation of a concerted preplanned policy to perpetuate Arab (geographical/political/economic) fragmentation and disunity through the implantation of a permanent advance Western colonialist armed Western base: Israel in Palestine after de Arabizing it through ethnic cleansing and mass expulsion of the Arab population.
The culmination of those Western designs came with the West supported Zionist success in establishing Israel in Palestine despite Arab opposition
Thence date the ever widening chasm separating the Arab/Moslem worlds from the West of Western Europe and increasingly of the USA.
2-The violent rejection of that, mostly West oriented and fundamentally pro West, era was inaugurated by the revolt of Jamal Abdul Nasser and comrades in 1952 in Egypt and a succession of military coups d'états in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen all of which professed ARAB NATIONALIST/SOCIALIST objectives.
(Pipes is being the real Pipes here when he depicts that era, contrary to unassailable historical evidence as the era of "the fascist and communist models ")
Interestingly that era also witnessed the lowest point of (Islamic) religious political influence and public acceptance due to the ultra secular disposition of the ruling Nasserist and Baathist regimes with variations thereof.
It ended with the Arab military collapse in the 1967 war with Israel.
3-The succeeding era was, inevitably, the Islamist era that not only banked on the failure of the Arab Nationalist/Socialist/secular orientation of the defeated Arab regimes but much more and increasingly so on the emergence and spiraling of the Western-American/Israeli ( Christian/Jewish) strategic alliance that could only be faced and defeated by its historical nemesis : a doctrinaire Islam based and driven PAN Islamic alliance. .
We still are in that era and it promises to be not only the most violent but also the most radicalizing of the greatest number of Moslems
Post Script:
With the collapse of the last Islamist system, the Ottoman Empire at WWII, all Moslem countries that were part of it, mainly Arab countries of the Orient soon to be joined by a newly independent North Africa( the Arab world), was faced with two options:
1-Acquissence and submission to Western/Christian domination progressively evolving into Israeli/Jewish regional predominance though originally attained with Western support but , increasingly turning flagrantly into Israeli/Jewish , with Western, mainly American, inability to stand up to ,internal and external, Jewish influence.
2-Rejection of ALIEN domination and vigorous pursuit of self assertion to achieve national political, economic and cultural independence and national territorial integrity and security.
The main obstacles to the national sovereignty option and the main foe to combat has been, still is, the WEST since Sykes-Picot and the Balfour declaration in whose outputs, a fragmented Arab world and Israel, the region still lives
We are now living the era where Islam and Islamism undertook, not only by default but also by rising public acceptance and support, the front role and the leadership of the ongoing battle to attain national sovereignty and territorial security
More than any other single factor the West's neo colonialist ambitions of ( Sykes-Picot) and the implantation of Israel in Palestine were the determining factors in the rise of the Islamist movement and its majoritarian public acceptance
Up to the collapse of the Nationalist/Socialist era in 1967 the Islamist movement was resigned to a substantially social, cultural/religious role
The collapse of the Nationalist/Socialist era in 1967 was an open invitation to it to assume a leading political role that met with quasi unanimous public support that is making it now into THE political leader
Fahrettin Tahir - 10/26/2010
Though I am not a religious person I think that the author overplays the role of religion and entirely avoids the role colonialism played is destroying the social fabric of Islamic societies.
The Napoleon shock was not because his people read the hieroglyphs, Turks could have done that if they had thought it important.
The shock was superior weapons and the destruction they brought.
The Christians used this power to subject the Islamic world. It is no wonder that the most advanced Islamic country is Turkey which never became a colony.
Turkey started her industrialisation effort in the 1840ies and the democratisation in the 1850ies.
Both failed because of regular Russian initiated wars, once every 20 years, which bankrupted Turkey and mass murdered the European Moslems who would have had no problems in leading the Islamic world into the modern world. That exactly was what the Christians were determined to prevent. They had to be kept underdeveloped so they could be made into colonies.
Free trade, the price Turkey paid for limited British support against Russia, at a point where the US was industrialising behind 44 % tariffs did the rest.
When oil was dicovered the British immediately constructed be modern middle east so they could install idiotic governments which let them steal the stuff. Later the US joined the Brits.
After the 1990ies Western governments made a war of the Kurdish PKK against Turkey possible to prevent the integration of the Kurds into Turkey's growing industrial economy. As a result the Kurds remain as poor and difficult as the Somalis, and the Afghans. Turkey leading historian Ilber Ortayli recently said without the war Turkey would have catched up witrh France.
That was the reason for the Wests support.
But then it is intellectually more comfortable to discuss that the Moslems are at fault for behind so backward.
Fahrettin Tahir - 10/26/2010
Though I am not a religious person I think that the author overplays the role of religion and entirely avoids the role colonialism played is destroying the social fabric of Islamic societies.
The Napoleon shock was not because his people read the hieroglyphs, Turks could have done that if they had thought it important.
The shock was superior weapons and the destruction they brought.
The Christians used this power to subject the Islamic world. It is no wonder that the most advanced Islamic country is Turkey which never became a colony.
Turkey started her industrialisation effort in the 1840ies and the democratisation in the 1850ies.
Both failed because of regular Russian initiated wars, once every 20 years, which bankrupted Turkey and mass murdered the European Moslems who would have had no problems in leading the Islamic world into the modern world. That exactly was what the Christians were determined to prevent. They had to be kept underdeveloped so they could be made into colonies.
Free trade, the price Turkey paid for limited British support against Russia, at a point where the US was industrialising behind 44 % tariffs did the rest.
When oil was dicovered the British immediately constructed be modern middle east so they could install idiotic governments which let them steal the stuff. Later the US joined the Brits.
After the 1990ies Western governments made a war of the Kurdish PKK against Turkey possible to prevent the integration of the Kurds into Turkey's growing industrial economy. As a result the Kurds remain as poor and difficult as the Somalis, and the Afghans. Turkey leading historian Ilber Ortayli recently said without the war Turkey would have catched up witrh France.
That was the reason for the Wests support.
But then it is intellectually more comfortable to discuss that the Moslems are at fault for behind so backward.
Fahrettin Tahir - 10/26/2010
In this weeks Economist (www.economist.com) are several articles about Turkey under the AKP. The bottom line is: this voice of the British establishment loves it!
All articles published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the voice of the German establishment show, they aso love the AKP.
They expect the AKP to give the West what it always wanted in Cyprus, the Aegean Sea, the Kurdish secession, and Armenian expectations.
For these reasons they have supported the economic boom which makes AKP governmnet possible.
No previous Turkish government had such support from Europe.
SEcularist member of parliamenet and composer Zulfu Livaneli wrote that a previous German foreign minioster ahd told him "we, meaning the European Union, control the AKP.
Before the AKP Turkey had a secularist government which lost the elections after an economis crisis the secularists are sure was engineered by the US to replace the secularist government with an Islamist one which had promised to support Mr Bush Iraq invasion.
So we are not only talking about how Islamic societies are deveopling but what western manipulations are effecting in the Islamic world.
Fahrettin Tahir - 10/26/2010
omar ibrahim baker - 10/25/2010
Surprisingly totally atypical of Pipes' oeuvre in that it actually raises objectively some pertinent issues and questions.
FAR from faultless though.
Moslem Civilization:
It is wrong and unfactual to speak of a present day Moslem "civilization".
That was correct and factual in the era of the real and universal Moslem Empire (approx. 580-850 AD) which really ended with the decline then fall, actually midway, of the reign of the Abbasside caliphate.
What we can seriously consider as a permanent factor in present day Moslem life is Moslem, or Islamic, CULTURE which, as Pipes correctly points out, includes and encompasses, as the dominant and prevailing culture, both Moslems and non Moslems, almost solely Christians, living in Moslem, mainly Arab, lands.
Slave Armies:
Started with mamluks ( =owned) won in war or bought or were the descendants of past mercenary armies that chose to settle in the Moslem Empire who were eventually totally assimilated in their respective Moslem communities up to the point of total integration which included, inter alia, adoption, unobstructed inter marriage, often with the daughters of their former owners, hereditary rights etc then assumed major administrative, political and military leading roles and eventually ultimate, supreme, power in their domains.
As such it is historically inaccurate, actually fallacious, to deem them as slaves in the literal meaning of the word.
Should a distinction be drawn, to distinguish them from their past Arab masters, I contend it is far more accurate to designate them as:
a-for some as Arabised Moslems drawn into the service of the, originally, Arab Moslem Empire that gradually evolved into a pan Islamic Empire
b-for others as non Arabised Moslems or recent converts to Islam that retained their original "nationalist" , mainly Turkic , Persian or Circassian (Shirkassian), identities drawn into the service of , and the opportunities, that the Islamic Empire, as a universal power, presented and afforded them.
Interestingly some of of the latter category retained their original Christian faith; mainly among the Armenians and Georgians!
Overall their depiction as SLAVE ARMIES is inaccurate and misleading.
Serge Isaac Baruch - 10/25/2010
Dr Pipes is very scholarly in his conclusions about Obama's administration and the liberally Left 'elite's' to the problem of Islam. In straight language it should be called cowardice. Historically, denial and appeasement are the habitual response of the Left to any fascistic challenge. It is indeed another indicator of the strong ideological connection between totalitarian mass movements: Nazism, Communism, and Islam. Though the latter is much older, it is a welcomed newcomer.
Serge Isaac Baruch - 10/25/2010
Dr Pipes is very scholarly in his conclusions about Obama's administration and the liberally Left 'elite's' to the problem of Islam. In straight language it should be called cowardice. Historically, denial and appeasement are the habitual response of the Left to any fascistic challenge. It is indeed another indicator of the strong ideological connection between totalitarian mass movements: Nazism, Communism, and Islam. Though the latter is much older, it is a welcomed newcomer.
- In Trump's America, is the Supreme Court still seen as legitimate?
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- University of Utah appoints first Mormon Studies professor
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- Decline in History Majors Continues, Departments Respond


text: Sun-scorched Mercury is only slightly larger than Earth's Moon. Like the Moon, Mercury has very little atmosphere to stop impacts, and it is covered with craters. Mercury's dayside is super-heated by the sun, but at night temperatures drop hundreds of degrees below freezing. Ice may even exist in craters. Mercury's egg-shaped orbit takes it around the sun every 88 days.

subset: commoncrawl


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There have been two recent studies which consisted of scanning the brains of people who have been sleep deprived compared to people who have had enough sleep. The studies showed that people reacted differently when deciding on having healthy or unhealthy food depending on how much sleep they have had.
The results showed that the areas of their brain that were activated were those related to reward and those that were inhibited were the area's that related to behaviour control. The results may explain the link between sleep deprivation and obesity.
Dr Marie-Pierre St-Onge led one of the studies said, "The results suggest that, under restricted sleep, individuals will find unhealthy foods highly salient and rewarding, which may lead to greater consumption of those foods."
The study was conducted over five days on 25 men and women who were of normal weight. They were then allowed either 4 hours or up to 9 hours and were then shown images inside an fMRI scanner of healthy and unhealthy foods. Those who were sleep deprived and shown healthy images, the reward centres of the brain were not active compared to when they were shown images of unhealthy food and these same areas were very active.
Dr St-Onge carried on saying, "This may suggest greater propensity to succumb to unhealthy foods when one is sleep restricted.
"Indeed, food intake data from this same study showed participants ate more overall and consumed more fat after a period of sleep restriction compared to regular sleep."
Stephanie Greener who conducted the work at the University of California said, "It seems to be about the regions higher up in the brain, specifically within the frontal lobe, failing to integrate all the different signals that help us normally make wise choices about the food we eat."
This research does help explain other studies that have found a link between a lack of sleep and obesity by showing how the brain can't make the right choices about food we should eat after being sleep deprived.
Maybe this is why many fast food restaurants, hopefully with the appropriate restaurant insurance are open till the early hours of the morning? Whether you are selling healthy or, perhaps not so healthy, food no matter what time of the day make sure you have the right insurance policy. This will mean your business can carry on as usual even in unforeseen circumstances.


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BOSTON—Marian Hossa, who missed the Chicago Blackhawks' 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins in Monday's Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals with an upper-body injury is "likely to play" in Game 4 on Wednesday, coach Joel Quenneville said on Tuesday.
The Blackhawks had to juggle their lines with Hossa out of the lineup, and Ben Smith played his first playoff game after not even taking warmups. Quenneville admitted that not having Smith take warmups was a move designed because the coach did not want to "tip our hand" that "something was up" with regard to the lineup.
Smith's quick entry impressed his teammates, although it did not inspire them to victory as the Bruins got a 28-save shutout from Tuukka Rask.
"It was crazy," Chicago winger Patrick Sharp said of Smith. "He didn't really have the typical game-day preparation. I don't know if he had a nap or a decent meal. He just kind of showed up to the rink and jumped into the Stanley Cup Final. For a guy that works as hard as Benny does, I thought he played great, put pucks in good scoring areas, had a good chance in the second period there, that's something he'll always remember, and it gave us a lift to see him roll in here to put his gear on."
The Blackhawks will get an even bigger lift if they see Hossa put his gear on for Game 4. The 34-year-old winger has seven goals and eight assists in this year's playoffs, and with Chicago working on a 122:26 scoring drought since Game 2, his offensive exploits will be welcomed.
"We're in a hole right now, so we want to make sure tomorrow we prioritize the importance of that game," Quenneville said. "It's a different level. ... Very important game tomorrow night. We have to win tomorrow night."
Quenneville also did not rule out the chance that he might play stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews on the same line in Game 4.


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Topic: Great news
I will be forever thankful to this board as I would have never found Dr. Kato. He successfully removed the tumor, half the liver, gallbladder and resected the hepatic artery and portal vein AND got clean margins. There is no doubt in my mind that you saved my mother's life.
Dr. Kato recommends post op chemo, but I cannot discuss this with mom yet as she is only 6 days post op. She sailed through the 9 hour surgery with one day in ICU and she will leave step down when a bed becomes available. The care she is receiving at Columbia Presbyterian is outstanding. Dr. Kato is the most humble man I have ever met. He s truly a gift from God.
I haven't been much of a contributor on this site, but I pray for all of the people on this site suffering from this awful disease.


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Gaining weight during pregnancy is normal and healthy, but excess weight can lead to obesity later in life. In one study, 256 pregnant women in the first trimester received dietary counseling plus daily probiotics or a placebo, or a placebo with no counseling, through the end of exclusive breastfeeding, up to six months after giving birth. The probiotics were Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium lactis.
At the end of the study, about half the women who took a placebo had a waist size of 31.5 inches or larger compared to 26 percent for the probiotics group. Excess weight, particularly around the waist in women, raises chances for disease, and doctors recommend levels below 35 inches.


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Thank you for the full intro/report a month ago, which somehow I missed until now.
Your read of the permaculture scene seems accurate to me. Many of us find it very challenging to advance permaculture in this era, during which consumption continues to seem to work.
Hi Chris,
Welcome to Home Energy Pros. Feel free to join the conversation in the Forum and Groups. And share your energy efficiency photos, videos and upcoming events. If you're blogging about home performance, this is the place for you!
Don't forget to add your location on our Member Map.
Diane, HEP Moderator
Welcome to the permaculture group, Chris. Let me know of resources you recommend for others' learning journeys.
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Moderator: Mahavihara moderator
David N. Snyder wrote:Noble Eightfold Path:
in Sinhala script: ආර්ය අශ්ටාංගික මාර්ග
in Thai script: อริยมรรคแปด
Kare wrote:None of these is in Pali. The Sinhala script version seems to be in Sanskrit (or maybe in Sanskrit-influenced Sinhalese). The Thai script version is in Thai.
cooran wrote:The Pali Language (article from University of Queensland)
blackspaven wrote:Yeah, that's what i'm gathering and I what I tried to allude to in my original post. That's kinda why i'm looking to see if anyone can help me with finding what they look like in either Devanagari or Magadhi as one seems to be a general language of India and the other is what is believed to be the language of the original Buddha so might be a safe bet that it's pure in it's origin on that basis [...]
blackspaven wrote:Okay, so if i'm reading this correctly, the following is the pali/Davangari for the aspects of the eightfold path??
अरियो अट्ठङ्गिको मग्गो
सम्मादिट्ठि सम्मासङ्कप्पो सम्मावाचा सम्माकम्मन्तो सम्माआजीवो सम्मावायामो सम्मासति सम्मासमाधि
I'm presuming that the first line is the actual words 'Noble Eightfold Path' the second being the aspects themselves, and are the spacing's correct or does it not make a difference?? (anyone know how to make it any bigger to make it a bit clearer to transcribe??)
blackspaven wrote:Ah, just noticed a pattern... does up to this bit mean 'right/correct'?
blackspaven wrote:Had a look on that link ( I have firefox so it shows up fine), and I can see where you would have gotten it from,... or rather I would have if I could read it! Is there any way you could show me where on that folders bit on the side it shows you where the aspects are shown so I can see them a bit larger, as it appears to show things bigger on the right hand side of the page, but obviously I can't find it... cos I can't read it.
blackspaven wrote:Sam?? Thank you SOOOO much for all your help on here!!!
I now have exactly what i'm after, so I can go ahead with what I wanted to do. It's nice to get a little cheer up in the middle of the day, so thanks for all your input and effort again, it's massively appreciated and couldn't have done it without your help. Give yourself a pat on the back and a chocolate frog. .
blackspaven wrote:One last question, but I think I already know the answer to this one: with that particular type of script, I read about the line on the top running through it all, but does it have to join up if you're writing in a sentence, such as the list of the eightfold path? I'm guessing not, as the website link appears to be broken up into individual words/aspects, but just thought i'd double check.
[Devanagari:] अयमेव खो, आवुसो, अरियो अट्ठङ्गिको मग्गो एतस्स निब्बानस्स सच्छिकिरियाय, सेय्यथिदं – सम्मादिट्ठि सम्मासङ्कप्पो सम्मावाचा सम्माकम्मन्तो सम्माआजीवो सम्मावायामो सम्मासति सम्मासमाधि।
[Roman:] Ayameva kho, āvuso, ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo etassa nibbānassa sacchikiriyāya, seyyathidaṃ – sammādiṭṭhi sammāsaṅkappo sammāvācā sammākammanto sammāājīvo sammāvāyāmo sammāsati sammāsamādhi.
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text:
Original Article Can Be Found Here
Platforms: PlayStation 3//Xbox 360
Publisher: EA Developer: Insomniac Games
Genre: Third Person Shooter Platform Played: Xbox 360
The past few years have seen gaming narratives that attempt to capture an emotional response from the gamer. Telltale's critically acclaimed The Walking Dead and Naughty Dog's The Last of Us are two games in particular that have controlled our emotions and made us experience what the character is going through. Fuse takes this narrative design and throws it out the window; taking narrative back to when games were primarily about having fun.
Right from the start, Fuse's campaign feels cliché; a team of four mercenaries, each with unique pasts, being paid to destroy a top secret chemical compound called Fuse, that the government is unaware of. As the story progresses, the team find themselves uncovering a terror plot and, armed with Fuse powered weapons, they decide to go out of their way to save the Earth. While clichéd, the campaign is filled with humour and banter between the characters. One of my favourite moments in the game involved the team obliterating enemies while discussing Dalton's (the leader of Overstrike 9) relationship with a psycho. The conversational banter between the four Overstrike 9 members flows brilliantly and did not feel forced. I found myself enjoying every minute of the 8 to 9 hour campaign.
At its core, Fuse is a cover based third person shooter. While the shooting felt floaty at times, I adjusted quickly to it and did not have many problems with aiming. Besides your usual guns (assault rifles, shotguns, snipers, etc.) each of the four characters has a special Fuse weapon. Each weapon has a different ability and they all have their different uses. For example, Dalton's 'mag shield' is great for advancing on enemies if there is no cover, while Jacob's 'arcshot' is better for taking out those pesky snipers who are preventing your advance. The weapons can be used in tandem to create combos and score more experience. Often these combos will be accidental, but turning three enemies into crystal and watching supernovas explode from it looks spectacular.
Stealth fans will be happy to know that some combat situations can be cleared without ever entering into a fire fight. While it's not possible to clear a room without killing, stealth kills allow patient gamers the ability to minimize, or completely eliminate, the amount of enemies they will have to engage in a gun fight.
Combat was not perfect, though. The cover based system worked well when transitioning into cover, but moving from cover to cover quickly is not as smooth as something like Gears of War's system. None the less, it was manageable and did not take away from the experience.
Fuse has several enemy types to mix up its combat. These range from your typical soldier, to soldiers who can turn invisible, to mechanised robots, and even bigger mechanised robots. Rooms of the same type of enemy can get boring because of the lack of improvisation in strategy; however, when Fuse throws three or four different types of enemies at you, things can get frantic. The good kind of frantic. During one of the missions, I saw soldiers enter the room and turn invisible, but as I searched for them, a mech wielding a flamethrower caught me off guard and forced me to change my tactics. It is a nice change from the lack of enemy variety in other shooters and I was forced to think on my feet and change my strategy on the fly frequently.
Fuse also features some boss fights throughout the campaign. While most are generic, hit the weak spot fights, they often forced movement and awareness on the battlefield. One boss had the ability to destroy cover, turning the arena into an open field, which prompted a literal run and gun boss fight. I enjoyed all the boss fights as most shooters typically avoid boss battles. Fuse's boss battles are quite fun, too.
Fuse paces itself well; the action is mostly fast and adrenaline fuelling. However there are sequences, like wall climbing, that have been added to intentionally slow the pace down before more intense shooting sections. I found they were spaced out nicely and lasted just long enough.
Insomniac has placed a lot of emphasis on Fuse being a co-op based game, as the single player and co-op content is the same. Even in single player there are always four playable characters in the game. Instead of locking the player into one character, Insomniac has implemented a 'Leap' feature. Leap allows you to jump to any AI controlled character at any time. I love this feature and it is very fitting for a game like Fuse. While single player is fun, the design philosophy of Fuse shows when more human players are playing. From what I have played, the more human players there are the more fun the game becomes. The AI is capable, but being able to coordinate your strategy and having an understanding of how each character is supposed to be played not only puts less pressure on you, but also allows for some great stories of teamwork and success. It also allows most situations to be addressed differently.
At first, I was quite sceptical about having three AI partners, but Fuse's AI work well. The AI is aware of each character's strengths and what they should be doing in a fight. Dalton's AI will put up his mag shield to help the team advance, and Izzy will focus on the riot shield soldiers to crystallise and stun them. Additionally, the AI does not leave it all up to you to heal the team; when a player goes down, they will rush over the try to help them (even rushing over to heal the player).
The main problem I have with Fuse is its lasting appeal. Fuse offers two game modes; campaign and a wave based Echelon Mode (which has no humorous banter between characters like in the campaign). I cannot see anything that will keep gamers coming back in the long run. The campaign has four difficulty levels (one of which is unlocked after beating the game on hard) and the Echelon mode has six maps, but each map only has 12 waves which can be beaten easily with four human players. The XP system adds longevity, but the shortness of the wave based mode does not help.
While Fuse is an extremely fun game, it does not offer enough to differentiate itself from the pack. Fuse has a great enemy variety, interesting weapons, and an enjoyable story and is a refreshing entry into an industry that has been engulfed in 'sequelitis'. While Insomniac's first multi-platform title will probably not be receiving any Game of the Year nominations, it is a game everyone should play because it evokes the true reason why we all play video games- to have fun. Also if you have friends to play it with, play it with them. This game is much more enjoyable when you are wreaking havoc with your friends.
+ Fun, fun, fun
+ Banter between characters
+ Fuse weapons
+ Enemy variety
- Cliché plot
- Few game modes
- Does not do much to stand out.
Score: 7.8/10
Nathan Manning is an Editor for AnalogAddiction. You can find him on Twitter and AnalogAddiction there as well if you wish.


text:
View Poll Results: Your favorite of our boy names?
- Voters
- 66. You may not vote on this poll
James Owen
William Jude
Jude Tyler
Jude Truett
William Todd
Multiple Choice Poll.
Results 1 to 5 of 10
Thread: Days to go - vote on your pick!
December 16th, 2012 10:53 PM #1Junior Member
- Join Date
- Jul 2012
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- 18
December 16th, 2012 11:09 PM #3
December 16th, 2012 11:32 PM #5
I voted Jude Tyler. While I adore both Truett and Jude, and would have loved to vote for Jude Truett (or even something like Truett William/Truett Jack/Truett Jude), I found it very hard to say Jude Truett--the D sort of melts into the T, and the two U sounds are so close to each other. Truett Jude works a bit better, but I think something like Jude William or Truett William would work better. Or even Jude Owen or Truett Owen.
Good luck!Ashley | namenerd | Christian | storyteller
princesinhas e príncipes:
Isabelle Aurora Grace ▪ Adele Sofia Eloise ▪ Everett Joshua Charles ▪ Casper Nathaniel Eden
thinking about today:
Violet Fiala Elisabeth ▪ Daniel Torin Elijah ▪ Evangeline Dagny Hope ▪ Hugo Emerson Jack
Claire Everly ▪ Jack Jasper ▪ Delphina Lily "Della" ▪ Thomas Brynjar ▪ Hazel Isabella
Sebastian Malachi ▪ Katherine Aurora ▪ Grayson Amory ▪ Grace Amélie ▪ Reuben Sebastian
December 16th, 2012 11:42 PM #7Junior Member
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- Jul 2012
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Good point, ashthedreamer! Thanks
December 17th, 2012 12:06 AM #9Senior Member
- Join Date
- Nov 2011
- Posts
- 1,758
I like James Owen best with your last name. William (and this is just my opinion) sounds okay with your last name's pronunciation, but I like the short, strong, one-syllable-d name James with it better. I really like Jude as a name, but James stands out more to me (when said with your last name) than Jude does (for me, the d of Jude blends with the B of your last name, and you miss the effect of the hard d sound in Jude. if that makes any sense?)
Whichever way you choose, all are lovely names. Congratulations on your baby boy!♥ Henry John, Charles Wesley
♥ Eleanor Lily, Margaret Jane


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Note: This item is more than 11 years old. Please take the publication date into consideration for any date references.
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News Release
Media Contact: TPWD News, firstname.lastname@example.com, 512-389-8030
April 3, 2006
TPWD Game Warden Field Notes
The following are excerpts from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement reports.
Game wardens continue border lake cleanup ... Wardens participating in the third wave of Operation Pescador seized 13,400 feet of illegal gill net on Falcon Lake. Wardens apprehended four violators and seized four boats and motors. Wardens have seized a total of 68,450 feet of gill net, 12 boats and motors, and have arrested 18 violators since the beginning of this operation.
Young waterfowlers jump the gun ... The Abilene office received a call about some young people hunting ducks illegally at Fort Phantom Lake March 15. A Taylor County game warden responded and located the suspects. One of them was almost 14 years old, and the other two were 11 and 12. The game warden educated the young men about places you can't hunt, open and closed seasons, hunting migratory birds with a pellet rifle and hunting license requirements. The grandmother of one of the young fellows offered to handle the situation, and the suspects were released to her.
Fishing felons ... A Harris County game warden checked three subjects fishing at Sheldon Reservoir March 12. Two of the subjects were found to be in possession of marijuana and a loaded .38-caliber pistol. A criminal history check on the two subjects came back that both had prior felony convictions. The third subject, who was driving, admitted he had more marijuana in his vehicle and gave consent to search. Warden Spitzer's search revealed a bag of marijuana along with 5 grams of cocaine, speed pills, a loaded .25-caliber pistol and an ASP baton. Felony cases are pending in county court.
Who's that fisherman? Two south Texas wardens worked a plain clothes detail on the South Padre Island jetties March 12. Eleven citations were filed for exceeding the daily bag limit of sheepshead, and 53 fish were seized.
If they'd been better shots, they would have gotten bigger fines ... On March 11 at approximately 10 a.m., a Pecos County game warden received a call from the sheriff's office in reference to a suspicious vehicle with blood running out of the bed of the truck. The game warden located the vehicle and made contact with the driver. Suspects first told the game warden that the blood was from a coyote. Further investigation revealed the driver and passenger had killed one white-tailed doe and one mule deer doe from the public road at approximately 2 a.m. The suspects, one juvenile and one 17-year-old admitted to shooting at approximately six deer during their excursion but had managed to kill only two. Several charges were filed as well as civil restitution.
Theoretically, that was a bad idea ... On March 6, two Van Zandt county game wardens wrapped-up an illegal alligator case almost two years in the making. The original tip came from a beautician at a nail salon who informed the fiancee of one of the wardens of a subject killing a five-foot alligator from a county road 21 months prior. After some extensive backtracking, wardens located the shooter, who immediately confessed to the crime. he shooter said he had shot the alligator, and then much to his dismay ran into a game warden the very next day. The shooter asked the warden about theoretically hunting alligators and was informed it was highly illegal to kill them. The shooter returned home and buried the alligator in a very deep grave with the bucket of a tractor. The case ended with the shooter and accompanying wardens digging up the alligator in a remote cow pasture with the same tractor. Multiple cases are pending.
Gotta run, Warden, but here's my parole officer's card ... On March 6, an Orange County game warden to check a vehicle parked along an isolated county road in Vidor. Upon making contact with the driver, a crack pipe and hypodermic needle fell onto the roadway. A scuffle ensued, and the suspect jumped into a nearby swamp and fled into the woods after being pepper sprayed. Fortunately, the driver left his driver's license and parole officer's card in his vehicle. Two hours later the suspect returned to his residence where the game warden placed him under arrest for multiple violations, including tampering with physical evidence, resisting arrest, and evading arrest or detention.
This boat was no party ... A game warden boarded a snapper fishing vessel returning from a state water fishing trip March 6. Twelve people were cited for no non-resident fishing license, 48 red snapper were seized $300 in revenue confiscated and $2,200 civil restitution assessed.
Game warden helps transport heart attack victim ... A Chambers County game warden was asked by the sheriff's office to assist in transporting EMS personnel to a camp house on the Trinity River that can be accessed by boat only March 2. An individual had suffered a heart attack and needed assistance. The subject was transported to the hospital and was listed in stable condition.
Don't poach in front of the game warden's home ... On March 1, two game wardens were returning from a public hearing in Carthage. Approximately one mile from one of the game warden's home, they observed a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road. Subjects were observed putting something in the back of the pickup truck. When the subjects were approached, they advised they were coon hunting but could not get the spotlight to work. Upon further investigation, it was found that both subjects did not have a hunting license, driver license, or insurance, and an open container of alcohol was in the vehicle.
Game warden rescues kayaker ... A Refugio County game warden received a call for assistance from the local sheriff's office Feb. 25. A kayaker had become lost on Copano Bay near Bayside. The kayaker had called from her cell phone and stated that she did not know where she was and that she was very cold and tired. The game warden launched his patrol boat and made contact with the kayaker and asked her to describe the surroundings. The game warden was able to determine her location and made his way toward her. The low tide forced the game warden to beach his boat on shore, and walk about half a mile through shoulder-high grass to the kayaker's location. The kayaker was very tired and shivering from the cold, and she was very grateful the game warden for his assistance and quick response.
Reckless immigration ... An Aransas County game warden was returning to Rockport from a meeting in Refugio Feb. 24 when he observed a vehicle being driven very erratically. The game warden activated his emergency lights and siren in an attempt to stop the vehicle. The vehicle continued into Rockport at high speed and moving all over the roadway. Two other game wardens as well as the Aransas County Sheriff's Department responded to assist the first game warden. The vehicle stopped at a residence and five male subjects ran to a nearby wooded area. The first game warden held nine other subjects in the vehicle while the other game wardens and sheriff's deputies located and apprehended the other five subjects. When the smoke cleared, the driver was charged with reckless driving and the other 13 subjects were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.
Shellfish violators keep wardens busy ... On February 20, two Harris County game wardens caught an oyster boat captain harvesting oysters in a prohibited area in Galveston Bay. Thirty-eight sacks of oysters were returned to the reef, and the captain was transported to the Chambers County Jail. Game wardens all along the coast have had a busy spring checking oyster boats and returning under-sized shellfish to local reefs.
Wardens rescue inadvertent bridge jumper ... On February 19, Bowie and Cass County game wardens responded to the county line for a wreck involving five vehicles and three pedestrians on the Sulphur River Bridge, which had iced over. The pedestrians jumped over the bridge to get out of the way of the oncoming wreck when one subject landed close to the river in a rocky area. It was believed she landed in the water, so the wardens were called out with their boat. The wardens located the subject and transported her in critical condition by boat to a waiting EMS unit. There were no fatalities in the accident.
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(5.4.16 i)


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Cosmetic Plastic Surgeons in San Diego
You can choose a cosmetic plastic surgeon in San Diego from this list with confidence, knowing that he or she possesses exceptional training, outstanding credentials and experience with all areas of the face and body.
This list features only plastic surgeons in the city of San Diego. To widen your search, choose a nearby city from the list to the left, or click here to search by ZIP code.
|Surgeons highlighted below have purchased an Enhanced Practice Profile
|Personal Website
Keyianoosh Paydar, M.D.200 S. Manchester Avenue Suite 650 Orange, CA Tel: Click for phone number714-456-5253
|85.47 Miles
Garrett Wirth, M.D.200 S. Manchester Suite 650 Orange, CA Tel: Click for phone number714-456-5253
|85.47 Miles
Al Aly, M.D.Do not mail , Tel: Click for phone number971-529050179
|85.48 Miles
Jed H. Horowitz, M.D.3991 MacArthur, Ste. 320 Newport Beach, CA Tel: Click for phone number949-720-3888
|85.56 Miles
Larry S. Nichter, M.D.3991 MacArthur Blvd. Suite 320 Newport Beach, CA Tel: Click for phone number949-720-3888
|85.56 Miles
Thanh N. Nguyen, M.D.210 Hospital Circle Suite G Westminster, CA Tel: Click for phone number714-890-4000
|87.01 Miles
Robert A. Hardesty, M.D., FACSAesthetic Skin and Laser Center 3833 Jurupa Ave., Suite 200 Riverside, CA Tel: Click for phone number951.686.1100
|87.15 Miles
Robert A. Hardesty, M.D., FACS4646 Brockton Avenue Suite 302 Riverside, CA Tel: Click for phone number951-686-7600
|88.06 Miles
Todd Rau, M.D.1467 Ford Street Suite 101 Redlands, CA Tel: Click for phone number909-792-1100
|92.25 Miles
Michael E. Hill, M.D., PhD, FACSDept. Plast Surg Coleman Pav. 11175 Campus St.Ste.21126 Loma Linda, CA Tel: Click for phone number909-558-8085
|92.38 Miles
The surgeons listed above are members of The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, licensed by the state of California and certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS).
Choose Your Plastic Surgeon Carefully
Remember, any licensed physician is legally allowed to advertise as a "cosmetic" surgeon, even if he or she has no formal surgical training. Your body is nothing to take chances with, so avoid the risk. Selecting a board-certified plastic surgeon from this list is your assurance that your doctor has the highest quality training and advanced surgical skills.
ABPS Certification and ASAPS Membership Matters
The ABPS is recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties to certify doctors in the specialty of plastic surgery. Following medical school, ABPS-certified plastic surgeons must have completed a minimum of 5 years of surgical training, including an accredited plastic surgery residency program. Members of ASAPS must be in at least their third year of active practice following ABPS certification.


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While they don't need to get a big break, a record deal or even any more fame and fortune, some pretty exciting big names are on the SXSW 2013 music lineup.
These big acts include Prince, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more who will bring some of the more impossible lines of fans to venues in Austin, Tex., this week.
We've put together a list of the best big acts on the SXSW 2013 music lineup. Start forming an orderly queue at these venues now. Then, of course, there's always the scores of upcoming bands that will have smaller lines and might be the next big headliners.
5) Vampire Weekend
March 15, 5 p.m. -- SXSW Radio Day Stage, festival registrants only
March 16, 12:15 a.m. -- Stubb's, 801 Red River, badges and wristbands
Vampire Weekend might not be at superstar status yet, but with its third album due out in May, the band is kicking off a huge 2013 that includes some of the top festivals and venues.
4) Depeche Mode
March 15, 10 p.m. -- Brazos Hall
The term "Most Popular Electronic Band" has been used to describe Depeche Mode, who is set to release its 13th studio album this year. This is Depeche Mode's first SXSW showcase, where the band will play some new material.
3) Yeah Yeah Yeahs
March 13, 11 p.m. -- NPR Music's SXSW Showcase, Stubb's
The much-anticipated fourth album from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs comes out next month -- the first since the hugely successful "It's Blitz" in 2009. Yeah Yeah Yeahs are defined by some of the most explosive live shows -- frontwoman Karen O has even been known to injure herself on stage -- and a return to SXSW where the band was first discovered in 2001 will be a quite the moment.
2) Prince
March 16 -- La Zona Rosa?
At this point a performance by Prince hasn't been 100 percent confirmed, but according to hitfix.com, the legendary artist will play his first SXSW on Saturday. So far this year, Prince has released a few new tracks and performed a number of surprise shows. It's mysterious, but it seems that he's gearing up for a pretty exciting year.
1) Dave Grohl's Sound City Players
March 16 -- 9:15 p.m. to 2 a.m., Stubbs
It's almost as if Dave Grohl trying to crown himself king of music, or king of rock at least. He's spent most of his year performing shows with and leading around the Sound City Players, which includes Trent Reznor, Josh Homme, Stevie Nicks, Rick Springfield, Rick Nielsen, John Fogerty, Paul McCartney and more. On top of that, he's the keynote speaker at SXSW 2013 and performing the same night.


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The Ukiah City Council is holding a special meeting tonight to discuss how the city's planning policies should be interpreted when it comes to new businesses and the competition they might create.
In his staff report prepared for the meeting, Planning Director Charley Stump wrote that when the Ukiah Planning Commission in April rejected Walmart's request to expand its store on Airport Park Boulevard, the commission "found that the project was inconsistent with the General Plan Goal ED-1 - Support a Strong Local Economy.'"
Stump also notes that "the City Council has not had an opportunity to review the Planning Commission's interpretation of this General Plan Policy because ... the Walmart project was not appealed to the City Council."
At the time of the Planning Commission's ruling, Chairwoman Judy Pruden said the commission had "to find that the project complies with these three goals: whether it will support a strong local economy;' whether it will promote, attract or assist in developing businesses, particularly those that add value to resources already found or processed in the Ukiah Valley;' and whether it will promote business development, emphasizing local ownership of businesses in order to keep capital growth within the community.'"
The economic impact analysis completed for the project determined that an expanded Walmart selling many more grocery items would put more than one local grocery store out of business, and four out of the five commissioners said they believed the project did not comply with the three goals.
In his report, Stump wrote "staff believes that the City Council should review (the goal of Support a Strong Local Economy) and provide guidance to the Planning Commission and staff regarding how the existing General Plan should be interpreted."
He said staff seeks guidance on:
Confirmation that bundling the General Plan Goals with the underlying findings, policies and implementation measure is the proper method for interpreting the goals
The past Planning Commission and City Council practice of interpreting "Support a Strong Local Economy" has been to support all new businesses citywide. Should this practice continue?
It has been suggested by some members of the public that detailed economic impact information should be required for new businesses as part of the review and decision-making process to determine if new businesses would adversely affect existing businesses. Should this information be required? If so, should it be required for all new businesses, certain types of businesses and/or certain-sized businesses? What information should be required?
When is new business competition acceptable and when is it not? If there is evidence that sales at an existing business are weak and additional competition could put it out of business, would that competition be unacceptable? If the competition would reduce revenues of an existing business, but not cause it to go out of business, would that competition be acceptable?
That discussion will be led by Stump and City Attorney David Rapport. The second part of the meeting is a discussion of the city's four strategic goals and how they may have changed since being adopted.
The four goals are:
1. Maintain downtown historic place as a regional center of civic and economic activity.
2. Planning valley-wide takes place based on sound planning principles.
3. Develop a prioritized plan for maintaining and improving public infrastructure.
4. Council and staff work together to create a more responsive and effective workplace environment.
The special meeting begins tonight at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at 300 Seminary Ave.


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It was sunny and warm in New York the past two days. I hiked at Tallman Park and then walked the Pier at Piermont which shoot outs about half way into the Hudson River. I'm one of the few people happy to see our economy tank hard beacuse it's pushing green tech. The song "Electricity" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark was recorded in 1978 but every one should put it on their iPod, walk outside and stare at some trees and give it a listen:
Our one source of energy
The ultimate discovery
Electric blue for me
Never more to be free
Nuclear and HEP
Carbon fuels from the sea
Wasted electricity
Our one source of energy
All we need to live today
A gift for man to throw away
The chance to change
has nearly gone
The alternative is only one
The final source of energy
Solar electricity
This song ties into a new job I hope to be starting soon. It's time to sign up and help nature. We are not going to make it into outer space so soon so we need this air here breathable. By the way there is one very easy thing you can do today to help the environment: click here
Buy this song: iTunes
photo credit: onlinewoman


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Ron Bliss sent us this testimony of his mission awareness trip to Guatemala. He decided to take the trip after receiving a cancer diagnosis and eventually going into remission. His story is amazing, and we're honored to share excerpts of it with you.
Ron Bliss visits his sponsored friend, 8-year-old Elida, in Guatemala.
For the past five years or so I have sponsored two needy children through the Christian Foundation for Children and the Aging (CFCA) ñ a young man in Nicaragua and 8-year-old girl in Guatemala.
I thought of a mission awareness trip (MAT) to see one of my sponsored children, but have always found some reason to say, "Not this year … maybe next."
Well, I think the good Lord gave me a wake-up call with the cancer diagnosis!
One year ago I was in Arizona, facing the fifth of six chemotherapy treatments to combat a rare type of lymphoma cancer in the lungs.
A PET scan showed the tumors had shrunk and the cancerous activity appeared low, but still there. We returned to our home in Washington to wait until my next PET scan.
Days later I experienced the same symptoms as when I received the cancer diagnosis. I was running a temperature every day and experiencing night sweats.
My wife, Vonnie, and I rescheduled my PET scan for an earlier date.
During my illness I was blessed with prayers from around the country and as far away as Europe and Japan. Before my scan, I received special blessings from Holy Spirit Parish. Father Auve visited me twice, brought communion and prayed for my complete healing.
The day before we left, my daughter, Nicole, said her friend Megan wanted to give me something.
Over a year ago Megan had received two crucifixes that had been blessed in Medjugorje during one of the Holy Mother's appearances there.
The man who gave them told her to give one to her mother, who was suffering with cancer.
He told her she would know when to give the second one to someone else in need.
Through God's "amazing grace," Megan presented the crucifix to me and prayed over me. I prayed for faith "the size of a mustard seed!"
My temperature continued to climb as we boarded the plane and continued until my scan, a few days after we arrived in Arizona.
I carried the crucifix to the scan and follow-up visit with my oncologist. Through the grace of God, I believe I was healed that day!
My high temperature ceased and has not returned. The doctor said my tumors continued shrinking and the cancerous activity was nil.
Since then my cancer has been in remission, which allowed me to travel to Wisconsin one month later to attend my daughter Stacey's wedding.†What a blessing!
As soon as I felt somewhat normal, I tried to discover what God had in store for me.
Because of your prayers and God's "amazing grace," my son, Joe, and I completed a week-long MAT to Guatemala to see how CFCA works and meet my sponsored friend, Elida.
It was an amazing, eye-opening, life-changing event!! Neither of us was prepared to see firsthand the poverty of these beautiful people.
We visited several homes of sponsored children, and it was not something we were prepared for. These "homes" have corrugated metal roofs, and often the walls are made of mud, sticks or cornstalks. The floors are dirt.
Most have no electricity and if they have "running water," it means there is a hose bib somewhere nearby.
Most have no indoor kitchens, and the cooking is over open fire pits outside. An indoor kitchen means that the fire pit is indoors. In the six homes we visited, I saw two chairs and no tables.
We saw as many as six people sleeping in one room with only one bed. If the walls will support them, hammocks are used. If not, the children sleep on the dirt floor.
Available beds are made of wood with no pad or mattress, just blankets. There are no indoor toilets, only crude outdoor latrines.
Firewood for cooking is such a precious commodity I don't believe water is heated for bathing. I never saw a tub large enough to bathe in.
Yet they seem the happiest, most gracious people you would ever want to meet.
The highlight was the day I spent with Elida, her mother and 28-year-old sister. They arose at 4 a.m. to be driven in a CFCA van to the facility where we met them. What a day!
Elida is a beautiful child who lives with her parents and six siblings in a house similar to the ones I described.
One of her brothers is 23 and bedridden. He must be carried by his mother or siblings wherever he goes.
Elida is in third grade and had never seen a lake before we met with her. Neither her mother nor her sister had been able to attend school. Neither can read nor write.
Education is one of the backbones of the CFCA program, and Elida hopes to become a teacher.
Elida's father is a farm laborer, along with several of her older brothers. Their combined family income is approximately $150 per month.
We brought Elida a backpack with simple gifts like crayons, coloring books, a small stuffed doll, etc.†You should have seen her excitement and smile when she pulled out a package of pencils and showed them to her mother.
Her smile was absolutely contagious! We also gave her a soccer ball, and she carried it for the entire day!
Many of you have seen advertisements for similar programs and wondered whether the help really gets to the person you sponsor.
I can tell you unequivocally that IT DOES with CFCA! I have seen it firsthand!
CFCA has established an extremely efficient program in their offices around Guatemala.
Each office has a staff of indigenous social workers who meet monthly or bimonthly with each family. The family decides with the social worker how to spend the sponsorship funds.
They decide on such things as food, clothing, school supplies, medical treatment and even saving a little each month to purchase a pig, chicken, cow or sheep to help make the family more self-sufficient.
Most families are large and even though only one child might be sponsored, the stipend benefits the entire family.
You cannot believe how these families revere the sponsors. All the mothers and sponsored children clapped and cheered as we got off the bus and walked up the path to see them.
Talk about a humbling experience! I felt like we should have been clapping for them!
Everywhere we went the mothers and children said they pray for their sponsors every day. I'm convinced that we get more out of the sponsorship than they do since I believe God truly hears the prayers of the poor!
As long as my health will allow, I know what the good Lord wants me to do next. That is to help the poor through CFCA!
I have been given so many blessings by God; I know He wants me to return the favor by helping some of the "least of our brothers."
Mother Teresa said a life could be changed by nothing more than a smile.
I know my life was changed by Elida's smile and the smiles of the beautiful children we saw. I hope to be able to make more children smile!
If any of you want to do something, you can see the CFCA website, www.cfcausa.org.
In closing I'll quote my son, Joe, inspired to blog about a boy in blue sitting on the stoop of a humble house:
"The boy in blue taught me a lesson on that hillside in Patulul by showing me the one similarity we have that I could not deny. I didn't deserve what was given to me the day I was born. And for reasons only God could possibly know, he didn't either."
There but for the Amazing Grace of God go you or I!
God bless all of you!


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Silver Pendant Bracelet
No longer available
- Overview
Our personalized Silver Pendant Bracelet makes a great keepsake gift. The polished sterling-silver medallion is hand stamped, meaning no two are exactly alike.
- Band: 7.5" long
- Pendant: 1" diameter
- Pendant expertly crafted of sterling silver.
- Leather band features a lobster clasp for closure.
- Dimensions + Care
- Polish occasionally with a sterling silver polishing cloth.
- Shipping Info
This item will arrive in 3-5 business days. Please proceed to the Payment & Review page of Checkout for a precise delivery estimate.
- Final Sale
Final-sale items, identified by a price ending in $0.99, cannot be returned. Once placed, your order for any final sale items cannot be canceled.


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Logging next to neighborhood concerns residents
VENETA, Ore. - Local homeowners like Paul Foster wonder how long they'll have their fabulous backyard view.
That's because developer Greg Demers owns property bordering the Trinity Terrace subdivision.
Trees on about 100 acres of property are coming down. The cutting began last week and Foster agrees, it's on private land.
"You know, we're not against somebody making a dollar. We're not against somebody working. The only thing we're trying to do
is to protect the greenway," says Foster.
He explains all the neighbors want is protection for about 4 acres of property designated as greenway in the Veneta city code.
Foster insists the code limits cutting in those zones to dead or dying trees.
City Hall has a different interpretation--a tree code provision. Community Development Director Kay Bork tells KVAL News, "It's very specific
on when a tree permit is required, and if it's a Douglas Fir under 18 inches it's not considered a tree and not regulated by our code for permitting."
No permitting and no notice to neighbors that the tree harvesting was coming.
While residents may be stumped about what to do next, the City Council will hear their concerns in a meeting coming up on Monday night (6 to 7 pm).


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USDEC: China's appetite keeps markets firm
Global milk production is on the rise, but the market – especially China – is easily absorbing supplies, according to the latest Global Dairy Market Outlook from the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
Combined milk production/deliveries from the five major suppliers (EU-28, U.S., New Zealand, Australia and Argentina) was up 2.7% in the August-November period – an increase of 618,000 tons of milk per month.
Meanwhile, in the last four months of 2013, China imported a staggering 550,404 tons of milk powder, whey, cheese and butterfat – more than the purchases of Russia, Mexico, Japan and Algeria put together. This figure is up 74% from the year before. For the full year, imports were up 34% from 2012 and up 61% from 2011.
China's appetite (and willingness to pay historically high prices) has squeezed out other buyers in recent months.
Source: USDEC
December retail prices mixed
U.S. average retail dairy product prices paid in December 2013 were mixed compared to the previous month and year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
• Whole fluid milk prices averaged $3.50/gallon, up a penny from November 2013, but 8¢ less than December 2012.
• Process cheese averaged $4.35/lb., up about 3¢ from November and 9¢ more than a year earlier.
• Natural cheese averaged $5.39/lb. in December 2013, down 0.5¢ from November 2013, and down 48¢ from December 2012.
• Ice cream average $4.98 per half gallon, up about 9¢ from November, but about 2¢ less than a year earlier.
• Butter comparisons were not available.
Source: Dairy Market News
January Credit Managers' Index improves
The nation's Credit Managers' Index (CMI) is on a roller coaster, but improved in January according to the National Association of Credit Management (NACM).
The November CMI hit a two-year high, followed by a December low that took the index back to summer levels. Now, January's CMI rebounded to 57.3, the highest point in over a year.
THE CMI monitors "positive" and "negative" factors in U.S. manufacturing and service sectors. view the complete CMI report for January 2014 online.
Positive factors include sales, new credit applications and amount of credit extended. All posted gains in January.
Almost all negative factors improved, including rejections of credit applications, accounts placed for collection, dollar amount beyond terms
For a full breakdown of the manufacturing and service sectors, in addition to tables and graphs, view the complete CMI report for January 2014 online. NACM and its network of affiliated associations are the leading resource for credit and financial management information, education, products and services.
DFA acquires Maine's Oakhurst
Maine's Oakhurst will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), it was announced Jan. 31.
Oakhurst will continue to operate independently, sourcing milk from 70 independent Maine farmers that currently supply the company. Processing and bottling will continue at the company's Portland, Maine location.
The Bennett family, which has owned Oakhurst since 1921, and the existing management team will continue to manage the company's day-to-day operations. John Bennett and Tom Brigham will continue in their role as co-presidents.
Source: DFA press release
Dean plans quarterly investor call
Dean Foods Company will host a live investor webcast of its fourth quarter and full year 2013 earnings conference call on Feb. 11, 9 a.m. (Eastern). Management will discuss the financial results, as well as comment on the forward outlook.
Land O'Lakes Sauté Express Sauté Starter wins award
Sauté Express® Sauté Starter by Land O'Lakes was awarded a 2014 Better Homes and Gardens Best New Product Award.
The consumer-voted awards program honors new consumer products in the categories of Beauty, Food & Beverage, Health & Personal Care and Household.
Land O'Lakes' newest cooking innovation, Sauté Express® Sauté Starter, is a first-of-its-kind seasoned butter and olive oil meal starter that can be used to cook and flavor any vegetable or protein—such as chicken, pork, shrimp or tofu—in one easy step. LAND O LAKES® Sauté Express® Sauté Starter helps families quickly prepare a delicious meal in 30 minutes or less.
Source: Land O'Lakes
Stonyfield official organic yogurt sponsor of Boston Marathon
Runners in the 118th Boston Marathon will have new fuel powering their strides: Organic yogurt maker Stonyfield will be an official sponsor.
Through Race Weekend, Stonyfield ambassadors will appear around the course handing out samples of Stonyfield Greek Yogurt.
As part of its sponsorship, the New England company is forming Team Stonyfield, allowing qualified runners who missed the entry cutoff for the historic race to participate. Runners looking to join Team Stonyfield can enter for the chance to win a spot at www.stonyfield.com/teamstonyfield.
Source: Stonyfield