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Click here for "A Field of Billboards for Farmers Field," by Tibby Rothman and Jill Stewart.
Over the next few days, Gov. Jerry Brown may be asked to sign a special bill pushed by Los Angeles politicians, which would set aside state environmental laws to make life easier for Farmers Field, AEG's unprecedented attempt to squeeze 72,000 fans, a $1.2 billion NFL stadium and a sea of ultrabright LED billboards into a tight space in a dense neighborhood next to two of the world's most congested freeways.
Under intense pressure from AEG president Tim Leiweke, who has proposed building the stadium downtown, the state Legislature this week will decide whether to send Brown the new law written specifically for AEG's billionaire owner, Philip Anschutz, to let AEG skirt the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Taking a hard-sell stance, Leiweke claims the Legislature must act before it adjourns late on Sept. 9, and cannot wait until lawmakers return on Jan. 4, or the stadium project could implode.
The law, still being hastily cobbled together at press time by Sen. Alex Padilla of Pacoima and Assembly Speaker John Pérez — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's first cousin — would "fast-track" court challenges to AEG's Environmental Impact Report (EIR), forcing citizens to go directly to the state Court of Appeals, which would have just 175 days to issue a ruling.
"The whole Superior Court process is eliminated, which is unprecedented," says David Pettit, National Resources Defense Council senior attorney. "Unless someone like us gets involved, and has the money to pay a litigator, you're out of luck."
Leiweke argued that AEG needed a special law so it can avoid time-wasting "frivolous" lawsuits by rivals — such as Majestic Realty. In return for getting around the state environmental act, Leiweke promised L.A. politicians he would build the most green-friendly stadium in the nation.
But the special bill appears to be aimed not so much at Majestic, which can afford to hire teams of top-flight attorneys for appellate court, but at ham-stringing neighborhood groups, local activists and other honest critics who might see the stadium's traffic congestion — and its up to 41 LED billboards and signs glaring into hundreds of millions of passing cars — as too much environmental degradation for the benefits.
Those key environmental issues were never investigated by the Los Angeles City Council during its several months of hearings and negotiations with AEG. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl concedes, "The transportation issue is the one issue no one's addressed."
Well, that and the sea of proposed billboards (see sidebar). Douglas Carstens, a well-known environmental attorney who has challenged the conclusions in several Environmental Impact Reports for L.A. developments, says, "I've seen carts put before horses before, but this is a whole new level of that. Sounds to me like the City Council bought a pig in a poke."
If legislators abide by Leiweke's wishes, Brown must decide whether to approve or veto the hotly debated environmental exemption by Oct. 9, his legal deadline for signing new bills into law.
Pettit, Carstens and other Sacramento watchers also are concerned that Pérez and Padilla may push the final wording of the law through shortly before midnight on Sept. 9, when the cameras have gone home, using a legislative tactic for reducing transparency and public debate, known as "gut and amend."
Using high-octane tactics, AEG has already pressed the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Villaraigosa to follow its oft-changing deadlines, implying the stadium project's demise if certain of its dates were not met.
Traffic congestion, infrastructure and urban livability experts say the 15 council members and Villaraigosa badly jumped the gun in early August by signing a "memorandum of understanding," or MOU, giving Farmers Field the city's blessing. They say City Council leaders Jan Perry, Eric Garcetti and Rosendahl needed far more information.
L.A. City Council members each earn $178,789 a year. They vote unanimously 99.993 percent of the time, with members often failing to read the fine print before making major decisions. They signed the MOU without knowing any public costs of environmental mitigation, and now, Carstens says, they "are going to find out later that traffic mitigation is going to cost millions," with taxpayers stuck with most of that bill. He warns that while City Council leaders insist "the MOU is not binding, it sounds binding to me, like the council already has made the commitment to build the stadium. Sounds like the Environmental Impact Report is an afterthought."
AEG spokesman Michael Roth promises that the EIR "will have the most extensive study of downtown traffic that will ever be done," and says the MOU was a business deal and was not meant to contemplate "things like 'signage' — but the EIR will contemplate things like that."
Robert Shanteau, a California consulting traffic engineer who helped create statewide standards for traffic signals that detect bicycles and motorcycles, is bothered that no City Council member seriously broached the subject of the massive costs to rebuild downtown roads and possibly freeway on-ramps and off-ramps. Those infrastructure needs were left out of both the MOU and the city's key analysis, the so-called "Comprehensive Economic Analysis of the Proposed Downtown Los Angeles Stadium and Convention Center Project."
"In working for public agencies," Shanteau says, "I have found it impossible to provide unbiased professional input on a project when the City Council members have already made up their minds they want it."
Greg Nelson, who was chief of staff to ex–City Councilman Joel Wachs and later was a L.A. city department head, agrees. There's a real danger, Nelson says, that "AEG will present [the EIR] the way it sees it, and the City Council will just OK it."
An expert on the inner workings of City Hall, Nelson worked for Wachs in the 1990s, when the councilman famously accused Tim Leiweke and AEG of trying to soak taxpayers to construct Staples Center. Rabble-rousing and finger-pointing, the colorful Wachs made enemies but also became a local hero, wrenching concessions from AEG. No worse for it, AEG has raked in a fortune from Staples Center since.
But no nervy, Wachs-like leader exists among city-level politicians in L.A. today. At a July hearing in Van Nuys, shortly before the City Council approved the MOU, Rosendahl — a former cable executive and the council's supposed "tough questioner" on AEG — appeared befuddled. He admitted that Farmers Field traffic could cause "gridlock — paralysis trying to get around," but as to the pricey infrastructure fixes that will necessitate, he said, "The cost? I don't have any idea what the cost is going to be."
Traffic engineers and environmental leaders say congestion downtown can be expected to worsen drastically, despite rosy depictions by AEG, with "mitigation" around Farmers Field easily costing tens of millions of dollars. Under the city's longtime approach to development, they say AEG won't pay for more than a fraction of that, while taxpayers can expect to pay about 90 percent. And they expect the mitigations to fall short, leaving downtown with permanent new traffic problems. Roth sees it differently, assuring L.A. Weekly that an extensive traffic study launched by AEG, which he says has long been under way, will show that "we will be OK on traffic."
Another potentially key negative impact that was never investigated by city leaders Villaraigosa, Perry, Rosendahl and Garcetti allowed AEG to include in the MOU specific language that would let AEG erect a vast array of up to 41 bright signs including LED billboards along the 10 and 110 freeways near Farmers Field.
The plan, if fully realized, could fundamentally alter the southwest section of downtown, turning a key entryway to the city for 113 million visitors, commuters and other motorists annually into a Blade Runner–like scenario. Daily, 311,000 motorists on the interchange of the sluggish 10 and 110 freeways would be forced to view dozens of brightly lit displays, many of them commercials. The plan is an extreme departure for the Los Angeles Convention Center next to the proposed stadium, upon whose publicly owned land — and walls — AEG's dozens of displays would be mounted.
Nobody on the City Council — not Garcetti, who claims to be "green"; not Rosendahl, who says he is "accountable" — ever asked Angelenos if this is what they want downtown to be. Instead, Greg Nelson saw the attitude from AEG toward a compliant City Council as: "Approve this [stadium deal] now — or the whole thing is in the shitter.' "
The bottom line is that Farmers Field — the stadium that's free to L.A. taxpayers — will be far from free.
Longtime Pico-Union resident Jane Scott painted an ugly urban tableau when she told the City Council what has happened to her neighborhood in the 12 years since Staples Center opened. Scott lives on the west side of the 110 freeway, just a football field or so away from the future stadium's end zone. When the Lakers, Clippers or Kings play, Scott is trapped — afraid to go out because the Staples traffic snarl might not let her get home.
"We have trouble with parking, and traffic, and crime since Staples Center was built. Limos and Staples employees park in the neighborhoods," Scott told a recent standing-room-only crowd squeezed into the City Council's ornate marble chambers. "There are prostitutes, and 11th Street is closed off numerous times so we can't get to our neighborhoods."
Scott and another neighbor were the only two dissenting voices during the long public-comment session held July 29. They were drowned out by 48 speakers who praised AEG's football dream.
The only trouble with dreams, though, is you eventually wake up. That's what worries Shanteau, the consulting traffic engineer. He has been critical of two L.A.-related Environmental Impact Reports, writing a rebuttal of Metro's report on the Metro Rail Expo Phase 2 planned to run from Culver City to Santa Monica and castigating another EIR for its absurdly upbeat take on traffic congestion at a proposed complex in West Hollywood.
Perhaps as soon as late this fall, the "transportation portion" of a preliminary EIR will be completed by a team hired by AEG, according to the City Council's chief legislative analyst, Gerry Miller. "Don't worry," Leiweke says, "because professional football games are played on Sunday, when there is little traffic along the 10 and the 110."
Traffic, shmaffic, according to Leiweke, who's been quoted as saying, "You can fire a cannonball down the 110 on Sunday and you wouldn't hit a thing." On the Farmers Field website, AEG makes the claim that "to limit congestion, Farmers Field will utilize four freeways and over 20 interchanges (on-/off-ramps), and continue to use the successful traffic and parking model employed by Staples Center, L.A. Live and the Los Angeles Convention Center."
AEG spokesman Michael Roth says AEG expects traffic will move in and out of Farmers Field like it does with a Lakers game, because people leave early to get home.
"This is L.A. Have you looked at a Laker game with 10 minutes to go?" Roth asks. "The stands are half-full. Same at Dodger Stadium. We never have horrendous traffic problems at Staples. On Sunday, at 10 in the morning, 11, at noon, the 110 is desolate."
Many neighbors dispute that claim, but even if true, a Lakers sellout game is just 18,000 people. An NFL football sellout is 72,000 — nearly four times as many humans and their cars.
Quentin Fleming, a consultant who teaches strategic management at USC's Marshall School of Business, was at a June meeting in Mar Vista where Leiweke and an AEG traffic engineer again touted downtown's easy-in/easy-out access.
Fleming couldn't believe what he was hearing. "AEG's claim defied reality," he says. "If the stadium is going to be as 'successful' as AEG claims, traffic is going to be a nightmare."
Traffic experts say the most likely surface streets to require significant upgrades would include Venice and Pico boulevards, South Grand Avenue, Olympic Boulevard, Ninth, 11th and 12th streets, Figueroa and Flower streets, Olive, Hill and Main streets, South Broadway and South Union Avenue in Pico-Union west of the 110.
The City Council's Memorandum of Understanding with AEG fails to mention any of this. And the key report paid for by the city, its "Comprehensive Economic Analysis," manages to say exactly nothing about traffic — or the millions of dollars in roadwork the stadium will necessitate.
AEG's choice of location — in the center of a crowded downtown entertainment destination — has some traffic experts scratching their heads. It doesn't make sense to Lisa Schweitzer, associate professor at USC's School of Policy, Planning and Development. Schweitzer also is part of the METRANS Transportation Center team at USC and California State University, Long Beach, charged with analyzing large transportation issues in the region for the U.S. Department of Transportation and Caltrans.
"The 10 and the 110 are already a mess, and AEG is wrong about a couple things," Schweitzer says. "AEG is assuming no one travels on Sunday. That's not true. Weekend traffic can flare up. People go shopping on Sunday. They go to the beach. They go to Home Depot and Walmart. People do things on Sunday they don't have time to do during the week. The 10 and the 110 can get bad on Saturdays and Sundays."
James E. Moore II, a USC professor and director of the school's Transportation Engineering Program**, says, "We have no business making the stadium decision without this level of [traffic] analysis in all dimensions."
Despite nearly a year of talks between the Villaraigosa administration, City Council leaders and Leiweke, "Thus far the analysis has not been done," Moore says.
Like Schweitzer, Moore isn't buying Leiweke and AEG's claim that downtown congestion during weekend football games from August to mid-January — Saturday college tilts, Sunday NFL matches — will be minimal. Some 20,000 fan-filled cars will meet crowds of Angelenos as they return home from trips to the desert, mountains and other locales. Downtown's many weekend events "have impacts on the freeway and street congestion," Moore says. "It is true of Dodger Stadium, it is true for the Coliseum and Staples Center, and it would be true of the proposed facility."
The downtown neighbors see all this up front. Mark Lee and other business owners and residents of the heavily Latino Pico-Union neighborhood, just across the 110 from the Convention Center and proposed stadium site, are scared for their little corner of L.A., a hodgepodge of mom-and-pop businesses and old homes inhabited by working-class and poor Angelenos.
Lee, a Pico-Union Neighborhood Council board member, says that group has yet to take a stand, so he's speaking only for himself and his friends. He asked 20 business owners and residents in Pico-Union about their concerns.
"Fifteen of the 20 people I asked were in fear of the new stadium. Very scared of the size," Lee says. Beyond that, "The community is scared AEG is going to come in and buy property to build parking lots. They're scared about traffic from a 72,000-seat stadium. Are they going to block Pico [Boulevard] and make it one-way for games?"
One of his neighbors, teacher Victor Citrin, several years ago needed to get home to administer medicine to his son. He was blocked for nearly an hour from reaching his house near the Olympic Boulevard exit of the 110 — stopped by a typical mess of stalled traffic letting out of Staples Center.
"Why would you build a 70,000-seat stadium in downtown, with all its inherent problems, when people in the City of Industry support a stadium there?" Citrin asks.
But the traffic techies and neighbors in Pico-Union aren't thinking about the nearly 113 million cars per year that will drive past AEG's proposed field of billboards — a captive freeway audience whose huge numbers could allow AEG to charge top dollar to advertisers who place their commercials on signs affixed to parking garages and Convention Center buildings next to Farmers Field. Over time, the arrangement could bring AEG significant riches.
A San Diego Convention Center official laughs aloud when informed that L.A.'s Convention Center — particularly the giant, curving turquoise wall along the South Hall — would be slathered with advertisements. San Diego allows no commercial advertising on its widely admired convention complex.
Dennis Hathaway, a leading activist fighting L.A.'s forest of 10,000 billboards — many of which were illegally erected while L.A. politicians took billboard-industry campaign money and looked the other way — says that because the City Council hurriedly agreed in the MOU to language stating that "billboards are an essential element for the financing for the Convention Center and the stadium," the City Council members and Villaraigosa have backed themselves into a corner.
The MOU "implies that they can't do the whole deal without the billboards. So the billboards have become a necessity, even though those billboards have never been before a hearing before the City Council." Hathaway calls the emerging situation, and the never-discussed billboard blight it would impose on Angelenos, "outrageous."
Perry, Rosendahl and City Councilman Tony Cardenas are among those promising Angelenos that AEG will pay its "fair share" to lessen the environmental impact of its stadium on Los Angeles.
Yeah, right, Shanteau says. The problem is in the accounting and who's doing it.
Typically, Shanteau says, a developer will claim that a new project adds a small percentage to pre-existing traffic in the area — 10 percent, say. But once completed, the project might instead cause "a 100 percent increase in traffic delay." Under an ineffective math formula typically applied by cities, if roadway upgrades and mitigations cost $1 million, "the developer is only [held] responsible for $100,000" — reflecting the original false estimate that the project would cause a 10 percent bump in traffic. "The public would need to come up with the other $900,000."
He expects Farmers Field to be a far worse scenario, potentially doubling existing traffic delays — but with AEG still paying just a few cents on the dollar for expensive "mitigation," with taxpayers forced to foot the rest of the bill.
Shanteau warns that within Los Angeles City Hall, officials are rarely truthful about how badly the traffic will worsen from a specific project. The promised road widening, restriping, signal and left-turn lanes and intersection improvements "are either never made or happen long after the project is built."
Attorney Carstens agrees, saying traffic mitigation doesn't work 99 percent of the time in L.A. or other California cities. "In most cases, a city council approves a project, then comes up with costly mitigation that developers don't want to pay for." Instead of improving the 20 surrounding intersections where traffic is permanently worsened, a developer may offer to fix three — and the politicians agree to that.
"That's the way L.A. is set up," Carstens explains. "Let's say $40 million will be needed for traffic mitigation [for Farmers Field]. If the city says the streets three or four blocks away from the stadium need work, AEG might take the stance that those streets are the city's responsibility — that AEG is only responsible" for streets next to the stadium.
Rosendahl insists AEG will have to provide enough "mitigating dollars" for transportation infrastructure. "I haven't seen it in writing," Rosendahl says. "But that's one question I'm going to be clear about." As to how much of the tab AEG will pick up, he hastens to add: "We'll see. Time will tell."
He says he was promised by city staff that the upcoming EIR will provide the answers to these many questions. But Rosendahl, formerly a local political talk-show host, knows the pitfalls of such assurances. People sue over the "answers" provided in Environmental Impact Reports, in part because those details can downplay the negative effects of development on a community's environment or livability. If Brown and the Legislature exempt AEG from key requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, and the new law's language leaves enough vagueness and wiggle room for AEG, honest challengers to the Farmers Field EIR could be quashed.
Shanteau notes that in the EIR, "The impacts will be identified by the traffic engineer paid for by AEG. Are there likely to be impacts? Well, yes," he laughs. "The freeways in L.A. are not efficient. The first intersections next to a freeway are almost always bottlenecks."
Schweitzer's gold standard calls for replacing the ramps leading from the 10 to the 110 and replacing the 10's exit onto Grand Avenue. But she says the proper Farmers Field upgrade will never happen because "there's no money and no political will" to tackle such an undertaking in these fiscally strapped times. "If they're going to make it work, they're going to have to really reach out to public transit. It's a better strategy than saying, 'Traffic is light on Sunday.' "
AEG believes that persuading NFL fans to use mass transit is one answer to traffic congestion, while other solutions are "still to be determined," says AEG spokesman Roth.
"We're committed to light rail," Roth says. "Tim [Leiweke] was in Portland [in mid-July] taking a look at their system. ... Our goal is to have a Super Bowl where 50 percent of the people walk to the game from public transit stations and hotels."
But Schweitzer says a key part of the transit plan — a proposed 1.7-mile streetcar between ritzy Bunker Hill and Staples Center/Farmers Field, championed by downtown city councilman Jose Huizar — will be a hole down which to pour taxpayer money.
Schweitzer estimates the cost to be $150 million, dismissing the streetcar idea as "a very expensive toy that takes a lot of money to build and operate."
Perry, who hopes to ride her leadership of the council's Stadium Ad Hoc Committee to the mayor's office, says she, too, is counting on public transit to make it all work.
"If you go look at the Blue Line platform after a hockey game, it's pretty packed," Perry says. "We have the Blue Line, the Red Line, 50 or 60 other bus lines. I want AEG to help us maximize that potential."
Even Pettit, the NRDC attorney fighting the special legislation AEG is demanding in Sacramento, says of possible future NFL games, "I'd love to get on a train, go downtown, drink all the beer I want, get back on the train and go home."
But for now, it seems a stretch to imagine persuading a major portion of Southern California NFL ticket-holders to rely on mass transit.
The issue was touched on — barely — at the City Council's July 29 meeting. AEG is going to build parking lots for 4,000 cars, with a net gain of 1,600 parking spaces after it tears down parking at the city-owned Cherry Street Garage and Bond Street Garage. AEG also plans to use extensive parking spaces at the TCW building at Figueroa and Ninth and another parking structure on Flower, buildings AEG already leases for Lakers parking, Roth says.
For all the talk of mass transit and streetcars, AEG is assuming 20,000 cars will stream downtown for games and Farmers Field concerts.
Around Los Angeles City Hall, the cheerleading for AEG is so thick it's easy to forget that Leiweke and company aren't the only football game in town.
Majestic Realty, led by developer and longtime player on the L.A. political scene Ed Roski, wants to build a stadium 15 miles east of Los Angeles, at the Grand Crossing site in the City of Industry, with 75,000 seats and 22,400 parking spaces.
Roski's stadium is just over a mile from the 60 (Pomona) freeway, one of the least congested freeways in the Los Angeles region, used by east-west commuters as a relief valve when the 10 is impacted like a wisdom tooth.
Compared to squeezing a stadium onto cramped space at the 10 and 110 freeway interchange downtown, a stadium built near the 60 is a traffic no-brainer. The 60 in the City of Industry is less jammed for more hours of the day than the 110, 10 or 5 downtown. Majestic Realty's Grand Crossing site would absorb more game-day traffic — far more cheaply and easily.
Majestic Realty vice president John Semcken calls Roski's proposed location "our greatest asset," modeled after highly successful NFL stadiums built several miles outside of their big host cities.
The popular Dallas Cowboys stadium was built not in downtown Dallas but in a less congested suburb, Arlington, about 20 miles west. The Jets/Giants stadium was built not in New York City but in less congested East Rutherford, N.J., several miles away. Gillette Stadium, home to the New England Patriots, was built not in Boston but in Foxboro, 22 miles southwest. The proposed Majestic stadium site is closer to Los Angeles — 15 miles away — than all but the Jets/Giants facility are to their host cities.
"Football stadiums require a lot of space to provide an NFL game-day experience and meet the demands of the fans," particularly to cater to the huge and prized tailgating subculture, Semcken says. "We have 600 acres and 25,000 parking spaces offering fans everything they need to have the ultimate experience before, during and after the game. A football stadium's location and the fan's experience go hand in hand.
"We are 20 minutes east of downtown Los Angeles, 15 minutes north of Disneyland, equidistant from Beverly Hills and Newport Beach and at the center of this ever-growing region. Our stadium sits at the crossroads of four counties and two major freeways and presents perfect access to over 15.5 million fans."
Yet much as AEG hopes to do over the course of the next several days, Majestic pulled off a masterful lobbying trick in Sacramento two years ago, getting special legislation passed to avoid complying with the California Environmental Quality Act. Majestic in turn promised to create a hard-to-believe 50,000 jobs. Frothing at that possibility in bad economic times, the Legislature jumped at the opportunity.
Now with the tables turned, Majestic is complaining that AEG is twisting arms in Sacramento, with one Majestic official telling the Weekly that AEG's recent protestations that it was not " 'asking for anything' [from legislators] after traveling to Sacramento several times just doesn't hold water."
The NFL, for its part, isn't picking sides. Brian McCarthy, the league's vice president for communications, says, "We are monitoring all stadium-related developments in the Los Angeles area. ... We have been briefed by their executives on their plans. We would like to return to the Los Angeles area but will only do so under conditions that make sense for the NFL and the community."
Most importantly, while locals like Leiweke, Perry, Rosendahl, Garcetti and Villaraigosa have been in a great hurry, the NFL's McCarthy warns: "We don't have a time line."
Former District 10 city councilman Nate Holden was around when AEG proposed building Staples Center in the mid-1990s.
In Holden's eyes, AEG is working the city over pretty good to get what it wants this time around. Holden, currently president of the Marina City Club Condominiums Association in Marina del Rey, has nothing but praise for Leiweke's PR skills. "He has the personality, the ability to communicate with people, and he's likable."
Make no mistake, Holden says, "AEG and Tim Leiweke are doing this for themselves, for their business. They gain the confidence of the city and show the benefits, but sometimes you think the city doesn't read the fine print."
But there is no Joel Wachs doing serious homework and advancing truly tough questions. And there's no skeptical Nate Holden–style council member breaking up the council's troubling, 99.993 percent unanimous voting record on issues large and small.
Holden was in Washington, D.C., when the City Council, led by Wachs, approved the Staples Center deal. Even with the Wachs-won concessions, Holden voted no by telephone. Later, privately, top Staples Center negotiators reveled in how they had squeezed several million dollars out of Wachs at the eleventh hour, when he'd been worn down.
The Los Angeles City Council can make gross errors in deliberations, and no one knows the damage they've done until later, Holden says.
"The council is not stupid. They're just not aware of the way things transpired that led to where we are today. Nobody on the City Council knows how this deal is going to move from A to Z. Only AEG and Tim know how it's going to move from A to Z. Tim Leiweke is a smooth operator."
** Correction: The original version of this story mistakenly reported that James Moore was director of RAND's Corporation Operations Research/Transportation Space and Technology Program. In fact, he was a visiting scholar at RAND during the 2010-11 academic year. p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }
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Roma turn on the style
Roma gave Genoa a footballing lesson at the Stadio Olimpico to keep up the chase of Juventus at the top of Serie A with a 4-0 win.
Last Updated: 12/01/14 4:30pm
Roma gave Genoa a footballing lesson at the Stadio Olimpico to keep up the chase of Juventus at the top of Serie A with a 4-0 win.
A stunning Alessandro Florenzi overhead kick was followed by goals from Francesco Totti, Maicon and Medhi Benatia as the Giallorossi bounced back from their first defeat of the season last weekend.
Genoa ended the game with 10 men after Francesco Matuzalem was shown a red card on the hour mark.
Genoa made a confident start but it proved to be a false dawn and they fell behind when Totti earned a free-kick just outside the area in the 25th minute.
The Roma captain lined up a free-kick which was blocked by the wall, the ball eventually looping up to Florenzi who, with his back to the goal, chose the acrobatic approach with an overhead kick which could not have been more accurate, hitting the right-hand upright on its way in.
Roma laid siege to the Genoa goal and they break through for a second time when Totti's shot deflected inside the helpless Mattia Perin's near post.
It was the 37-year-old's first goal since October 5 and his first at the Olimpico since March.
Maicon added a third to crown an emphatic first-half performance with Totti getting the ball rolling on a punishing counter-attack from deep in his own half.
Dodo sent Florenzi out wide and his cross served Maicon with just Perin to beat, and the Brazilian full-back made no mistake, beating the Genoa goalkeeper from close range.
There was no let-up in the second half either with Totti's corner headed in by Benatia for his fifth goal this season.
Things went from bad to worse for Genoa when they lost Matuzalem to a second yellow card, even though the referee took a while to produce a red, only doing so after consulting with his assistant.
By that time, Matuzalem had left the field, substituted by Isaac Cofie, who was then ordered to leave the field, and leave Genoa with 10 men.
They could have had nine, in Totti's opinion, when his shot was blocked on the line by Thomas Manfredini, although the Genoa defender appeared to use his upper body and not his arm.
Mattia Destro came on to provide even more firepower to the Roma attack and, in truth, he should have added his name to the scoresheet, but he lifted his best chance over the bar with only Perin to beat.
Enough damage had been done, though, with Roma winning comfortably and remaining eight points adrift of Juve, but importantly two ahead of Napoli, who won at Hellas Verona.

subset: commoncrawl


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Good, Better, Best: Cool Cuckoo Clocks
One of my best friends had a cuckoo clock growing up, and I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. But as an adult, I've never been into the whole German-kitsch look, so I was never particularly interested in bringing a cuckoo clock into my life.
But right now, it seems, everyone wants to put a cute, modern spin on the iconic design. Combining surprising colors and materials with the traditional cuckoo clock silhouette, these products would add a playful touch to your decor. Here are a few finds to suit three difference price points.
Good: Who'd have thought that the discount-store behemoth could create such a stylish clock? This Wal-Mart Retro Cuckoo Clock ($14.88) has lacy detailing that echoes older designs, but it doesn't have a cuckoo sound.
Two even better cuckoo clocks, so
Better: Offering more traditional design cues, the Urban Outfitters Starlight Cuckoo Clock ($48) has a modern silver gleam and features images of pine cones, woodland creatures, and a pop-out bird.
Best: The Diamantini Domeniconi Cuckoo Clock by Pascal Tarabay ($278) is the smartest of the bunch. You can opt for a soft, subtle cuckoo or a louder tone, and the bird quiets down at night using a light sensor. It's available in orange, white, black, stainless steel, and light blue.


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"I've never done this before."
That's what Cherish Doutrich, 26, was thinking as she pulled her car over on the side of a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, road earlier this summer to talk to a crying woman and her baby. "I didn't feel right now turning around. In the back of my mind I was a little nervous, but I thought, I'm willing to take that chance. Most likely she really needs help."
As it turns out, she did need help. Jenedith Fontanez, 23, also of Lancaster, had recently been kicked out of her home because she couldn't pay her rent on time. She had lost her job after pregnancy complications put her on bed rest, she said. Scared, and with her hungry 8-month-old son Isaac at her side, she didn't know where to turn.
Doutrich let her into her car and helped her calm down. "She gave me a bit about her, what was going on with her," she tells PEOPLE. "So I took her back to my house."
There, her husband, Andrew, 27, helped devise a plan. The couple took Fontanez – who needed some formula for her son – to a local market, and stocked a cart of essentials for her. While she wasn't looking, Andrew withdrew $500 from an ATM and slipped it into her diaper bag.
"They dropped me off, and I went to change my son's diaper," Fontanez recalls to PEOPLE. "Out of the clean diaper came a wad of $20 bills. I was chasing after them, asking them to take it back, but they said no, they wanted me to get a place."
Two weeks later, she got her own place – and a whole lot more. After her story was published, the single mother received an influx of calls from strangers wanting to donate furniture, dishes, food and more.
"It's amazing," Fontanez says. "People are still calling."
So much so, that she's started to help others in need, matching families who can't afford such items with donors who are willing to help via Facebook. But she doesn't want to stop there: Fontanez – who plans to take nursing courses in the fall and will continue volunteering with her local high school's teen parenting program – hopes to create an organization for the homeless to help them find jobs and places to live.
"We need people to motivate each other," she says. "For people who are down on their luck, positivity and support from the community are what we need."
For now, though, she's just thrilled to have a home to call her own with Isaac and her daughters Inelis, 7, and Arielis, 5 (all pictured). "It's so much that I can't wrap my head around everything," she says. "I want to give back, and never want to miss an opportunity to help someone else, because I've been there."
She also feels that she's found lifelong friends in the Doutrichs. "Meeting Cherish just changed my whole life," Fontanez says. "She's an awesome person to talk to. She's amazing. People like her don't come around often."
For her part, Cherish, an elementary school teacher who works with autistic children, wants her act to encourage others to help.
"I hope this will open the eyes of a lot of other people," she says, "to look around and be more aware of their surroundings."


text:
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HICKS, TEXAS (Lee County). Hicks is three miles northwest of Tanglewood in far northwestern Lee County. The area was first settled in the 1860s, and by the mid-1880s a small community had begun to develop. A school was built there in 1887, and two years later, when the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway came through, a townsite called Niles was laid out on land owned by the railroad. Around 1910 large lignite deposits were discovered near the townsite. The Rockdale Coal Company began operating a strip mine and opened a commissary to sell supplies to the miners. In 1911 the town received a post office called Hicks with R. L. Scarbrough as postmaster. The community's population was reported at 150 in 1914, but it began to decline soon thereafter. In 1926 the town had an estimated fifty residents, and during the mid-1930s it had a small station and a few scattered dwellings. In the 1980s it was a dispersed rural community.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:Lee County Historical Survey Committee, A History of Lee County (Quanah, Texas: Nortex, 1974).
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All copyrighted materials included within the Handbook of Texas Online are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 related to Copyright and "Fair Use" for Non-Profit educational institutions, which permits the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship, education, and inform the public. The TSHA makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law.
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.Handbook of Texas Online, Christopher Long, "Hicks, TX (Lee County)," accessed November 22, 2017, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hvh62.
Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
For more information about towns and counties including physical features, statistics, weather, maps and much more, visit the Town Database on TexasAlmanac.com!


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This pressure obviously weighs heavily on alto saxist Ori Kaplan, whether consciously or not, and provides the major fly in this album's otherwise catching and rhythmic soup. All the more tragic, too, because Kaplan has, with this Percussion Ensemble, seized upon an idea central to the secret that has always moved jazz along: the difference is in the drumming. Rhythm (and its attendant percussive choices) was the force more than any other which took jazz beyond swing into bop, and even further into Coltrane's stratospheric sixties. Certainly, drum ensembles are amongst the oldest combinations in music, and not even particularly new to jazz. But the spaces left to be explored in such a context remain altogether enticing.
Kaplan, in true Tonic/Knitting Factory form, has not established a percussion ensemble proper, but rather placed his own Bird-on-Braxtonian-speed alto in communion with the surprisingly large color palette of master drummer (unofficially) Susie Ibarra and more unknown Geoff Mann. Kaplan also made a wise choice by enlisting pianist Andrew Bemkey to provide a tonal layering for his own sharp and jagged lines, and a sort of sonic mattress full of the Princess' unsettling peas. There is obviously a great deal of energy here, and an admirable amount of forethought; as well, the constantly changing roles of Ibarra and Mann (from djembe and djun-djun to regular trap drums, and even a stint on mandolin) provide a backdrop which becomes foreground in just the right way: inadvertently.
However, the ideas have a hard time carrying their freshness straight through to the end. At a short (for CDs) 48 minutes spread over ten tracks, cutting off the final three may seem like pushing the limits, but that is really what would have created the most powerful statement. Kaplan arrives on the opening "Crisis Dream" blowing fire over the almost-backbeat of Mann and the bent-angle vamps of Bemkey. This is an enthusiasm echoed in Susie Ibarra's frenetic djembe in the furious sections of "Blow Daddy", and is weighted beautifully by the sultry-groove drone of "Slow Boat", or the should-have-been-album closer "Prayer for Ramon". Throughout, Kaplan and crew embrace rhythm and its surrounding spaces head-on, seizing on tempo when called for, letting it collapse when insupportable.
Sadly, then, this could have emerged as a succinct and tightly-argued statement, qualities more and more scarcely seen in this digital era. The question and response quality between the back to back "Sky Drops" and "Dark Sun" are the perfect example of this - with the same instrumentation, the first formless and congealing, its reply pointed, quick, and bullet-hard; the contrast that shadows their sameness exhibits the breathless sort of coherence-through-experimentation at which this group excels. It is a true shame, then, that the last three tracks - in a barely-twitching, aimless kind of way - shroud that whole argument in one final, dissipated question mark: why include them at all?


text:
Donkey Kong 64
Boss FAQ by Mojo_
Version: 1.3 | Updated: 01/02/00 | Search Guide | Bookmark Guide
Date Started : 12/12/99
Last Updated : 01/02/2000 ( 00? )
Questions or Comments email@example.com
By Mojo (email@example.com) (C) 1999 Mojo
You may only use this FAQs elsewhere if you have my permission...
which I will gladly give to you if you ask!
V.1.3 Updated Puftoss Strategy; corrected Dogadon-Reborn part.
V.1.2 Fixed up some more mistakes; added some links and Contact area.
Added cheesy "DK" logo
V.1.1 Fixed up some spelling mistakes; finished K.Rool Boss guide.
V.1.0 Started FAQs
I'm making this boss guide for Donkey Kong 64 because its one of the greatest
games I've ever played and I wanted to help others playing it!
The Bosses in Donkey Kong 64 aren't exactly the hardest you'll come across, but
some of the tough one's will put a split in your Banana!
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Quick Over-view of Donkey Kong 64
Getting to Bosses
Level 1 Jungle Japes Boss : Army Dillo
Level 2 Angry Aztec Boss : Dogadon
Level 3 Frantic Factory Boss : Mad Jack
Level 4 Gloomy Galleon Boss : Puftoss
Level 5 Fungi Forest Boss : Dogadon-Reborn
Level 6 Crystal Caves : Army Dillo-Reborn
Level 7 Creepy Castle : K-Rool (fake)
Final Boss/Hideout Helm : K-Rool (real!)
For More DK64 Info
Quick Over-view of Donkey Kong 64
Platform : Nintendo 64
Release : November 24th 1999
Players : 1-4 Simultaneus
Compatibility : REQUIRES N64 EXPANSION PAK (its included too!), Designed for N64
Rumble Pak.
Cartridge : 256 Megs and Yellow Game Pak
ESRB Rating : E Everyone - Mild Animated Violence (WARNING Donkey Kong DOES run
around with no pants on...)
Devolper/Publisher : Nintendo & Rareware
Getting to Bosses
To get to each boss you must have enough Bananas from each world to enter. Feed
these Bananas to Scroff and Troff and they'll open the door to the Boss!
Jungle Japes boss: 60 bananas
Angry Aztec boss: 120 bananas
Frantic Factory boss: 200 bananas
Gloomy Galleon boss: 250 bananas
Fungi Forest boss: 300 bananas
Crystal Caves boss: 350 bananas
Creepy Castle boss: 400 bananas
Level 1 Jungle Japes Boss : Army Dillo
Level : Jungle Japes
Bananas needed : 60
Character used : Donkey Kong
Difficulty : Easy
Description :
Here's a battle-brained brawler that you have to be careful with. Army Dillo is
one of K. Rool's meanies that takes the military thing a little too far. He has
armor, hazardous twin flamethrowers, and the ability to curl up into a lethal
steamroller. Be sure you fight fire with explosive fire!
How to beat em':
1) To avoid his fire balls zig-zag.
2) Once Army Dillo pauses grab the TNT barrel and chuck it at him!
3) Run in circles away from Army Dillo as he rolls around.
4) Repeat process 3 times and you'll win!
5) Grab the DK Key and take it to K.Lumpsy.
Level 2 Angry Aztec Boss : Dogadon
Level : Angry Aztec
Bananas needed : 120
Character used : Diddy Kong
Difficulty : Easy
Description :
Q. How dangerous could a little dragonfly be?
A. It depends on who its father is. Dogadon is the dangerous daddy that is more
dragon than fly. He spits fiery phlegm and keeps you dancing to keep away.
How to beat em':
1) To avoid his fire balls zig-zag.
2) Once Dogadon pauses grab the TNT barrel and chuck it at him!
3) Repeat process 3 times and you'll win!
4) Grab the DK Key and take it to K.Lumpsy.
(seems the same to the previous boss....)
Level 3 Frantic Factory Boss : Mad Jack
Level : Frantic Factory
Bananas needed : 200
Character used : Tiny Kong (you MUST have her pony-tail spin attack)
Difficulty : One of the hardest in the game!
Description :
Here's the thing...he's a jack-in-the-box, but he's mad! He bounces from tile to
tile (but never diagonally) trying to squish Tiny. Mad Jack is one of K. Rool's
demented inventions that was created to stop the Kongs from taking over.
Note: The camera angles perhaps make this the most frustrating boss in the game.
You probaly won't beat him this first try but keep on trying.
How to beat em':
1) Avoid Mad Jack by staying one step ahead of him.
2) When he stops take a quick looks around. You'll see two buttons you can
stomp; one on a white square one on a blue. Stomp the one that has the same
color that Mad Jack is on.
3) After 3 hits he'll start to shoot out lasers. Lure him to a dummy square
then quickly move to the stomp-button one.
4) Later the boss turns invisible. You can only track him by the sparcle he
leaves behind. Remember falling off doesn't hurt. Getting hit does.
5) After a couple more hits this boss will be history.
6) Grab the DK Key and take it to K. Lumpsy.
Level 4 Gloomy Galleon Boss : Puftoss
Level : Gloomy Galleon
Bananas needed : 250
Character used : Lanky Kong
Difficulty : Easy/Moderate
Description :
Sometimes it's a little huffy about being so puffy, but this enormous fire-
breathing puffer fish goes out of its way to knock Lanky off his little seashell
motorboat. You may be shocked when you discover how to stop it.
How to beat em':
***Due to a couple emails regarding a more detailed version of this Boss
strategy I made one!
Controls during this battle:
Press A to Jump
Press Z to Accelerate (go)
Press R to keep behind Lanky
Basically you go through the DK Stars within the alotted time to give Puftoss a
After five shocks Puftoss is a goner!
Keep circling the boss looking for the DK Stars.
After each successful shock you have less time to go through the next set of
Try not to pay attention to the timer, it'll just screw you up. Consentrate on
finding the DK Stars.
Level 5 Fungi Forest Boss : Dogadon-Reborn
Level : Fungi Forest
Bananas needed : 300
Character used : Chunky Kong
Difficulty : Easy
Description :
Remember Dogadon from Angry Aztec? Well this is him again! Though you basicly
do the same thing you'll have to be quicker on your feet!
How to beat em':
1) To avoid his fire balls zig-zag.
2) Once Dogadon pauses grab the TNT barrel and chuck it at him!
3) After four hits Dogadon will start to pound the ground causing the platform
to sink.
4) After each hit now you'll get a chance to become big. Every time you do lay
as many punches on Dogadon as you can. Note: If you don't do enough in the
allotted time the platform will sink!
5) After that Dogadon should fall to a Kong again.
6) Grab the DK Key and give it to K.Lumpsy.
NOTE : On step number 4 use only the quick punches (rapidly tapping B) NOT the
primate punches (Z+B)! They take far too long.
Level 6 Crystal Caves Boss : Army Dillo-Reborn
Level : Crystal Caves
Bananas needed : 250
Character used : Donkey Kong
Difficulty : Easy
Description :
Don't you think Rare is getting a little un-original making the bosses repeats?
Any way this Army Dillo is basically the same as before.
How to beat em':
1) To avoid his fire balls zig-zag.
2) Once Army Dillo pauses grab a TNT barrel and chuck it at him!
3) After three hits run circles to get away from him, and flip jump to avoid the
shock waves.
4) After that Army Dillo will fire homing-missiles at you. Dodge them then
after a few more TNT hits he'll go down.
5) Grab the DK Key and give it to K.Lumpsy.
Level 7 Creepy Castle Boss : K.Rool (cardboard)
Level : Creepy Castle
Bananas needed : 300
Character used : All Kongs
Difficulty : Moderate
Description :
The Kremlings have set up a fake K. Rool for all the Kongs to fight, and just
like the cardboard K. Rool, this boss is nothing more than a paper tiger, er,
How to beat em':
1) Use the cannon to shoot a Kong at K.Rool when he's not shooting his lasers
(otherwise you'll get hit in mid-air!)
2) After 3 hits K.Rool will make a ghost image of himself. After 6 hits he get
3) When he's not shooting lasers, K.Rool will pop up quickly from wall to wall,
while an enemy ghost Kremling will appear as a distraction.
4) Constantly move to avoid getting shot by a laser and kill the ghost Kremling
to replenish health. Here's the tough part: On almost reflex-type action, the
Kong has to be in the cannon the moment K. Rool appears in front of it.
5) Stand as close as possible to a cannon and watch the wall. If K. Rool pops up
first, great - K. Rool will appear on the three other walls first before
returning. Listen to the sound cues and anticipate the return of K. Rool to the
wall the Kong's cannon faces (as the fourth growl is heard).
6) If a Kong is watching the wall, and K. Rool doesn't appear on the first two
sounds, by process of elimination, K. Rool will show up 3rd or 4th. Anticipate
this and jump in the barrel the moment K. Rool pops up. After 9 hits, the fake
K. Rool will be history. You have five lives - one for each Kong - so don't be
scared to guess the correct wall at the end for that final hit.
Final Boss - K.Rool (real!)
Level : Hideout Helm/DK Isles
Character used : All Kongs
Difficulty : Hard
How to fight him :
Completing Hideout Helm is necessary to get to the last K.Rool boss battle - a
12-round slugfest in true boxing fashion (right down to the hilarious cheating
on the Kremlings' part). To fight K. Rool, get the final eighth boss key in
Hideout Helm then take it to K. Lumsy. Without giving too much of the story
away, this unlocks the entrance to K.Rool's boss battle, near the waterfall area
on the main island in Isles. Once inside, the Kongs have 12 rounds to defeat out
K. Rool.
How to beat em':
Donkey Kong vs. K.Rool:
1) At the beggining, climb up the nearest turnbuckle and wait there until the
blast barrels appear atop the turnbuckles. Jump in and shoot Donkey at K. Rool
when he lets his guard down and waves to the crowd.
2) After the first hit, K. Rool will begin to fake his crowd wave once - so
don't shoot right away. Jump over the ground shockwaves and run to each of the
other three barrels. For the last shot on K. Rool, the window of opportunity is
3) Count the shakes K. Rool makes. On every 7th shake, K.Rool will let down his
guard. Time Donkey's shot so he strikes K.Rool right after that 7th shake.
Diddy Kong vs. K.Rool:
1) Dodge the flying gloves until a jet pack barrel appears. Flip jump into the
barrel to fly up to the lights right above K.Rool. Shoot the two red targets on
each of the lights while flying to make it fall on K. Rool's head. Repeat the
process 3 more times, keep moving constantly to avoid the flying gloves.
2) REMEMBER: At all costs, don't fall on anything that will turn off Diddy's jet
Lanky Kong vs. K.Rool:
1) This part gets tough more from the camera angle views rather than the
difficulty factor. At the start, wait for 4 switches to come up outside the
ring. While avoiding K. Rool, use the B button to stretch the arms out to hit a
switch. This should make a barrel appear.
2) Grab the barrel with the B button and throw it anywhere in the ring
(preferably in the middle) to break it. This reveals the banana peel inside.
Now, run to a trombone music pad and play the trombone tenor - but only when the
banana peel's between K. Rool and Lanky. When K. Rool hears the noise, it'll run
straight to Lanky. If the peel's placed correctly, K. Rool will slip on the
3) Repeat the process with the remaining switches and music pads to continue.
Tiny Kong vs. K.Rool:
1) Use the pony tail attack to fly above K.Rool's shockwave attack. When the
Tiny's mini monkey barrel appears, quickly flip jump into it to turn small.
2) Run into K.Rool's shoe. Dodge the moving toes, then shoot the toe that sticks
up. Repeat 4 times until all of K.Rool's toes are red.
Chunky Kong vs. K.Rool:
1) At the beggining of the battle, search for a blue stomp switch in the middle
of the ring to Simian Slam. While dodging K. Rool's rope-bouncing attack, run to
a corner where a round pad with Chunky's face on it lies. Press Z on the pad to
turn invisible and make K. Rool visible. Run to the center again and flip jump
into the Hunky Chunky barrel.
2) As K.Rool runs at Chunky, use the primate punch to knock down K.Rool just
before he attacks. Generally, try to execute the primate punch as rapidly as
possible on each attack. Repeat three more times. On the third attack, K. Rool
will turn invisible and attack quickly - so primate punch quickly once that
screen pops up.
3) On the final attack, Chunky must predict K. Rool's arrival while invisible
and zigzagging toward Chunky. Just primate punch repeatedly if you can't do
If you have questions about this FAQs or DK 64 email me at
If you want to use this FAQs on your site or something, just ask and include the
If u foound anyee misstakes (eg. Spelling errors) Please email me and I'll
correct it.
I'd like to thank Nintendo and Rare for making such an awesome game!
Credits : www.donkeykong64.com Got some of the game info and Boss descriptions
from here
www.videogames.com Got some info on how to properly beat some bosses
gamefaqs.com and CJayC For Dispalying this FAQs!
My Donkey Kong 64 Strategy Guide.
My N64.
Everything Donkey Kong is (c) by Nintendo.
FAQS stats
Pages -7
Words - 2274
Characters - 13,692
Lines - 358
For More DK64 Info
This guide only covers the games bosses.
If you want a Walkthrough/FAQs I strongly suggest you go here:
or you can goto
www.gameguides.com for a complete DK64 guide that helped me get through the game
www.donkeykong64.com is the offical site for Donkey Kong.
GameFAQs has lots of FAQs n' stuff for most games.
View in:


text:
ABU MAHMOUD, a respected leader of the Syrian rebels, says the 'beautiful' revolution is over, accusing fellow commanders of corruption.
"Our beautiful revolution has been confiscated by thieves and corruptors," Mr Mahmoud said as he struggles to hide his bitterness at the way the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's regime is being fought these days.
Some rebel leaders have "enriched (themselves) shamefully at the cost of true revolutionaries who die on the front line," he says.
Mr Mahmoud's remarks confirm growing reports of looting and corruption by leading insurgents in rebel-controlled areas of strife-torn Syria.
Speaking from his home in the town of Atme - a key rebel rear base on the border with Turkey - Mr Mahmoud says he now watches his back, taking his Kalashnikov with him when he heads out "chopping wood or grazing goats in the mountains".
Rebel fighters who took up arms against Mr Assad's forces in the initial days of the rebellion are increasingly abandoning their fight, frustrated at the level of corruption in their leadership, he says.
"These so-called commanders send us to die and they themselves stay behind to make money. They don't come to the front line to fight and yet they are the ones who are heading the rebellion," complains Mr Mahmoud.
"Wherever they go, they rob, they steal whatever they can carry and sell it illegally in Turkey - be it cars, electronic goods, machines, fuel, antiques, anything you can imagine!"
Mr Mahmoud cites the names of a dozen commanders from the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) - the main group fighting Mr Assad's forces - who he says are engaging in such practices in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo.
One officer, whose unit of around 100 fighters is reputed for "raids" on abandoned apartments in Aleppo, has sold "arms, cars and even his office in the border town of Bab al-Hawa" to build two beautiful homes and marry a third wife.
Mr Mahmoud also tells of a former craftsman from Atme who was broke before the uprising but who now controls a fleet of luxury cars through assisting the FSA in coordinating its logistics and moving internally displaced people.
"The problem is that a lot of these officers are getting overseas support."
Mr Mahmoud, a former regime officer in his 30s who defected to the rebellion, is now chief of "Battalion 309", a unit of 35 men staying in tents in the olive groves.
He is known for his honesty and his fighters praise him for his courage and modest lifestyle - evident from his old and rickety 4X4 vehicle.
His tiny group of fighters have fought almost everywhere in the region, most recently in Aleppo - a fierce battleground since last July.
"We fought with only seven Kalashnikovs that were taken from the enemy," says a proud Mr Mahmoud.
"My men took turns in groups of seven on the front line," he says, adding that three of them were killed over the past months.
He said his group used to receive some money from Mustafa Sheikh, a former head of the FSA but this support has now stopped.
"On the front line we got some ammunition from officers but no weapons or money. We were being sent like sheep to be slaughtered. And we had nothing to eat," says a disillusioned Mr Mahmoud.
"Who are we fighting for? For our country? Or for those who steal from Syrians and quietly climb the ladder of the revolution?"
Mr Mahmoud has refused to integrate his battalion with other rebel units.
"I did not find any honest (group) that suited me," he says, questioning even the ideology of jihadists who have been launching some of the most brutal attacks on regime forces.
"I have a problem with the Islam that comes with these people. It is not the Islam that I know," he says, questioning the identity and the political agenda of the jihadists.
Some of his men have left him while others are "working in the village", he says.
"Today we are here but our heart is at the front," says the chief of Battalion 309.
"We have abandoned the revolution but the revolution will not (abandon) us. That day may come when the hour of fighting returns."
Originally published as 'Our beautiful Syrian revolution is over'


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Absolutely brilliant, did a great job
They are very good!
The collect and return service was brilliant as they kept me informed of when they were picking the car up and dropping it back off again. My service cost £97.00 which I was very pleased about, I had a slight problem with my service light not been switched off but the garage took my car back and sorted this. Due to this problem they also give my car a full valet as a way of an apology which I was well happy with. I will certainly go back and recommend the garage to my friends and family
Absolutely perfect
Everything was fine
Very informative, happy with the work
The cost of Gearbox Repairs will likely differ greatly depending on which BMW model you have. Combining the varying cost of parts and the difference in labour hours needed to complete the job, different BMW models will cost different amounts for Gearbox Repairs. Take a look below at the average quote for Gearbox Repairs on WhoCanFixMyCar.com for some of the top BMW models.
|BMW Model
|Average Price
|Get Quotes
|BMW 3 Series
|BMW 5 Series
This table uses data from quotes provided on WhoCanFixMyCar.com between 24/08/2017 and 22/11/2017.
A Gearbox is the device used to increase and decrease torque, a twisting force which causes rotation, through the increase or reduction of speed. Ultimately, the Gearbox is used to change the speed of the vehicle.
If you are putting your car into a gear, only for it to slip out, it's obvious you have a fault. A likely cause is that the gears themselves will be worn down.
You will have to have the parts replaced as a result of the damage as it will only get worse as time progresses.
It would also be wise to check your transmission fluid levels as the parts may have worn down as a result of low lubricants.
Like many of the issues listed on this guide, low levels of transmission fluid can be the reason for the problem.
If you are hearing more noise than usual from your car while it is neutral, then check the levels of fluid and try topping it up.
If this does not resolve the problem, then the most likely cause will be worn down gearbox parts.
As soon as you see 'Service Engine Soon' in yellow on your dashboard, that is exactly what you should do as it is an indicator that something is about to go wrong or already has.
There are a variety of sensors on different parts of your car including ones on the transmission. They are in place to detect specific signs of an issue developing such as vibrations or jerks which you may not be able to see, hear or feel.
Paying attention to the light could help you save money on a gearbox repair so make sure to do so!
A dragging clutch is caused when the flywheel and clutch fail to disengage which makes changing gears almost impossible.
This gearbox problem will likely be accompanied by a grinding noise being emitted every time you try to change gears.
Luckily a gearbox repair cost will not be extortionate if you are suffering from this problem.
If the clutch has too much slack in the pedal then the linkage between the clutch disk and the pedal wont be able to pull the two parts apart.
Therefore, the linkage simply needs to be tightened or replaced which isn't as expensive as other gearbox repairs.
If your car simply refuses to go into a specific gear it is worth checking the level of you fluid as this is a common issue, though can be resolved by topping the liquid up.
There are other potential issues that would prevent you being able to go into a specific gear.
Occasionally the computer which is part of your car can be the source of the problem, alternatively the shift cables could require adjusting.
A burning smell in a car is never a good sign and as soon as you notice it is vital that you call a mobile mechanic or break down assistance in order to diagnose the problem and find a solution.
When it comes to the gearbox, a burning smell can be the result of transmission fluid overheating.
If the fluid system fails, then other parts of the system will suffer as a result.
Transmission fluid acts as lubricant and a cooling agent for the moving parts of a transmission as they are in constant perpetual motion as a car is driven, this causes friction and a build-up of heat.
Therefore a lack of transmission fluid will be harmful to these parts and a burning smell will be emitted.
If you ignore the burning smell in your car then an entire transmission replacement is likely to be required.
A car should not grind or shake at all so do not think that its normal even if it is gradual and only minor.
If ignored the issue will get worse and you will end up incurring a higher gearbox repair cost.
Grinding and shaking is a common symptom of a faulty gearbox when you move from one gear to the next.
There may even be an issue with the clutch if you feel these effects after you change gears.
If so it is likely that your clutch will need replacing.
The gear synchronizers in your car may be also be badly damaged or worn down if you feel shaking or grinding.
The transmission system can only operate while automatic transmission fluid lubricates, cleans and conditions the seals while acting as hydraulic fluid.
Even if the transmission fluid is below normal levels, your car will suffer and if it all leaks, you will face serious problems.
Automatic transmission fluid (ATF) is bright red and, surprisingly, smells sweet (that is if everything is in working order).
If you detect a leak and the fluid fits this description then you are in luck, all that you require is a hole to be filled.
However, if you come across liquid which is dark and emits a burning smell then the issue is likely to be worse.
Typically this will require the entire transmission system to be flushed or changed as it has become contaminated and is no longer suitable for use in the engine.
ATF liquid is different to motor oil as the engine doesn't consume any of it, therefore, if it is below its normal level, it's a fact that you have a leak.
If you would like to check the fluid level, try to locate the transmission case (close to the fill plug) and perform a visual assessment.
Once more, if you have a leak, it is essential that you address the issue and find a clutch or gearbox specialist using WhoCanFixMyCar as we will be able to provide you with a range of quotes from local mechanics.
If you try to move into a certain gear and you feel resistance, or the gearstick keeps popping out, then there is definitely an issue.
There should not be any pushback when you go into gear and so if you even feel the slightest change you should take your car to a gearbox specialist or automatic gearbox specialist as soon as possible.
Typically, this is a problem involving the clutch as well so be prepared to replace it if you run into this type of issue.
It can be difficult to diagnose the extent of a gearbox problem which involves the clutch, so the best advice is to take your car into a clutch and gearbox specialist as mentioned above.
Hearing a strange noise from your car is probably the best way to know that something isn't right.
There are a plethora of issues which could be causing a noise to come from your car engine and the gearbox is one system which could be causing a new sound.
The specific noise will vary greatly on the model of the car, part and specific issue so it is almost impossible to specifically identify an issue from a sound alone.
The biggest indicator that your gearbox has an issue will be if you hear a clunking noise when you shift gears which sound mechanical, abrupt and loud.
The same can be said of automatic gearboxes, if you notice a clunking noise as you accelerate, slow down or drive on an incline, it would be indicative of an issue with the transmission.
Even if the noise sounds severe, it may be a minor issue, however it will turn into a major one if you do not diagnose the transmission problem.
The gearbox repair cost will spiral if you neglect to address the problem.
Whether you need to replace an automatic gearbox or replace a manual gearbox, the price will vary from one garage to the next and the cost will also vary on the model of the car.
A reconditioned gearbox is a part which has been broken but has been fixed by a transmission expert. If you suffer from a gearbox problem, there is the worry about spending money on new parts, however, it is often possible to salvage engine parts and a reconditioned gearbox is ideal from those wanting to avoid spending money on expensive new parts.
Reconditioned gearbox prices vary depending on the car model however it is always worth shopping around for the best price.
Finding a mechanic you can trust to do a good job and charge a fair price, is not always easy, which is why we've simplified the process.
Finding a mechanic you can trust to do a good job and charge a fair price, is not always easy which is why we have simplified the process.
We work with a network of over 10,615 mechanics and garages across the UK so we can find competitive Gearbox repair deals for you.
To find the best Gearbox Replacement or Repair service available in your region;
You can then compare the quotes and read reviews from previous customers to find the best Gearbox deal in your area, before booking the Gearbox Replacement or Repair online.


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Map Copyright
Physical map tiles (C) 2010 Jared Updike. All rights reserved.
Using custom software[1] the map combines various public domain datasets:
- 2 Elevation data sets. SRTM data courtesy USGS. (Description on NASA website.) GTopo30 Digital Elevation Model data courtesy USGS.
- 12 Monthly color vegetation/snow datasets (visible spectrum). Blue Marble Next Generation data courtesy NASA.
- 9 Vector datasets for Water Features. Rivers, lakes, islands, shorelines courtesy Natural Earth Data. Rasterized with Mapnik and Python.
- Bathymetry data courtesy NASA.
[1] I wrote over 9,000 lines of code in C#, and ran all the tile creation jobs (days! weeks! months!) on Mono on my late 2006 MacBook Pro.


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A pet owner is hoping to find his missing three-legged cat.
Dave, four, who is nearly blind, went missing on Friday night after he climbed out of owner Matt Copley's bedroom window in Campbell Road. Mr Copley, 38, said: "Because he is nearly blind I would urge people to be careful with him if they find him and maybe call me first."
- If anyone finds Dave call Mr Copley on 01865 747314.


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Newark Airport Hotels - Hotels close to Newark AirportNewark Airport Hotels - Search for Hotels close to Newark Airport. Book your Newark Airport Hotel online and save.
Back to the category "Travel Advice"
As a country with many ancient landmarks still intact, Greece is the perfect destination for any cultural trip! There is no better place to learn about history than on a luxury heritage holiday in Greece, particularly Rhodes. read A Greek guide to a luxury heritage and outdoors escape in Lindos, Rhodes
From our window we could see the dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore and Giotto's Campanile, and the rooftops of the city stretching to the mountains beyond. read Exploring the timeless beauty of Florence
We wanted a relaxing holiday in the sun where we could simply rest and enjoy ourselves, and that's exactly what we got read Sublime spa treatments and world-famous golf in Estoril


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As soon as you switch on the machine a lighted LCD screen displays the menu options. First job is to set the clock for forward planning when you are going to wash all the dishes. Running the machine on cheaper electricity has proved to save a good sum of money. Scroll to main menu with the Novotonic knob, the LCD screen displays wash options - quick 40ْ, gentle energy save, light soiling 50ْ, normal 55ْ, intensive 65ْ, pots and pans 75ْ, hygiene pre wash, without heater (cold), pasta, plastics, tall items, glasses warm and glasses quick. And check indicators for filters and rinse aid. Apart from putting your dishes in the machine there is not much it cannot do.
Other menu options are in the settings - language, set timer, detergent type, drying plus, water hardness and also a choice to adjust the machine if you have a fitted water softener. Further options are available to change the washes in the main menu and you can save these changes. The display panel can be adjusted to suit your own environment for example the screen contrast can be altered (something like adjusting your television screen brightness) making it lighter or darker. The sound of the buzzer (indicating stop) can be lowered or switched off altogether.
The door is self-closing by just pushing the door and the sensor will draw it in to close firmly. The door has the compartments to take the detergent and rinse aid. The extra plus side is the salt compartment is also in the door. Most machines have the salt compartment inside the machine at the back and bottom, to fill these machines is can sometimes be difficult. You have to take out a tray get yourself half inside the machine to fill with salt; none of all that with this machine.
This machine has three sliding trays, the top is for spreading out the cutlery; different to most that have a cutlery basket in the bottom tray. The middle tray can be adjusted in height in case tall items are put in the bottom tray
The child proof point I mentioned is the outer casing is of high quality and will stand up to scratching and biffs.
Short name: Miele G1833


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Arsenal are interested in taking Juventus striker Mirko Vučinić on loan for rest of season [Di Marzio]
Italian football authority Di Marzio has today detailed that Arsenal are keen on taking Juventus striker Mirko Vucinic on loan until the end of the season.
With Juve apparently believed to have been initially keen, their interest wavered once they learned that Arsenal only wanted a loan deal; with the Old Lady only interested in the opposite – a permanent deal worth around £8m.
Partner of Di Marzio, David Amoyal believes that possibilities of a deal being done don't stop there, and that the parties will meet again next week to see what can be arranged.
Amoyal has written a nice profile on Vucinic which can be read here.
Would he fit the bill for Arsenal's striking needs?


text: Taveras has 7 hits and 5 walks and 3 SB's (and 0 CS). What gives? At least 3 times in the last few games my wife has scolded me for yelling "steal" so loud it wakes the neighbors. When is he going to start cutting it loose? Is Dusty giving him the red light? Dickerson has 5 hits and 5 walks and 1 stolen base attempt. What gives? I can only blame the manager. So much for small ball.


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A man with a "fanatical obsession" with small girls targeted a three-year-old child on a bus, a court heard.
Stephen Munden deliberately sat near the child and stroked her hand with his finger – in full view of the girl's mother and grandmother.
Munden, formerly of Brittany Gardens in Marchwood, was subsequently convicted of sexually touching a child under the age of 13.
The 53-year-old had denied the offence, claiming the touching was accidental.
Appearing at Southampton Crown Court for sentencing, Munden heard David Jenkins, prosecuting, tell Judge Peter Henry that the defendant had admitted ten unrelated offences of possessing or attempting to possess indecent images of children.
The defendant was arrested after using one of the public computers at Hythe library in an attempt to download images, the court heard.
Mr Jenkins said children's clothes, books and dolls were found at Munden's home and added: "He has a fanatical obsession with young girls."
Consultant physiatrist John O'Shea said the defendant was autistic and also suffered from mild learning difficulties.
He had difficulty controlling his sexual interest in small children but the girl on the bus was probably unaware of his intentions, said Mr O'Shea.
Keely Harvey, in mitigation, added: "He did not accept that he deliberately touched the child's hand."
But the judge said: "The move from non-contact offences to a contact offence is significant."
Munden was made the subject of a hospital order and detained under the Mental Health Act.


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June 19, 2010 BY John Kim
Stefan Janoski's boat-shoe inspired skater was an interesting change of pace for Nike SB; many of their skate-shoes were the classic chunky sneakers with fat laces and tongues, but the Janoski – a perfect casual lifestyle shoe – was deemed fit for skating as well. Check out Stefan Janoski's personal collection of his own sig shoe, the Nike SB Stefan Janoski, arranged into a pyramid and a circle (with his adorable feline friend). Perhaps that picture could be the next funny "cat pic" that grew quite popular over the last couple of years. via Stefan Janoski's Twitter.
Filed under: Nike SB


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STYLE: FAIR PLAYERS; The Dealer
By Alice Rawsthorn
Published: December 3, 2006
Imagine that you'rean art dealer, and when you ask one of your artists for a work to sell at the Frieze Art Fair, he presents you with a thousand copies of Hitler's ''Mein Kampf'' in Arabic. What do you do? If you're Iwan Wirth, you place those books smack in the middle of your booth, just as the artist, the Swiss sculptor Christoph B?l, wanted. Did he ever consider just saying no? ''Absolutely not!'' Wirth insists. ''But after the piece sold, we removed it. People were stealing the books. Why would anyone want to walk around an art fair with a copy of 'Mein Kampf?' ''
Looking like a grown-up Harry Potter with unruly curls and a hearty laugh, Wirth, 36, has become one of the most powerful players in contemporary art since founding the gallery Hauser & Wirth with his wife, Manuela, and mother-in-law, Ursula Hauser, in their native Switzerland in 1992. They now have outposts in Zurich and New York, as well as three gallery spaces in London, where he and Manuela live with their four children. Frieze, now in its fourth year, is Britain's biggest art fair, drawing 152 galleries and some 63,000 visitors. It is also a highlight of Wirth's business year. ''It's the center of gravity of the London art scene,'' he says in his singsong Swiss accent, ''thrilling, exciting and completely exhausting.''
Juggling the roles of curator, construction mogul, psychologist, entrepreneur and nanny, Wirth had a frenzied Frieze week in October. After presiding over the opening of a palatial new gallery on Old Bond Street, he gave a beer-and-sausage party to celebrate an installation by B?l at his cavernous East London project space. Then there was the premiere of ''Sick Film,'' by the British artist Martin Creed. Wirth also had to buy for collectors at the London auctions that week, where he hoped to bag a Peter Doig painting for Hauser & Wirth's own collection. After all of that, in addition to taking his children to school each morning, he still had several million dollars' worth of art to sell at the fair.
Born in eastern Switzerland to an architect father and schoolteacher mother, Wirth got the art bug at 7, when he staged his first show -- copies of Giacometti and Henry Moore sculptures he made himself. ''I sold them for 75 francs,'' he remembers proudly. Wirth opened a commercial gallery in their village at 16 and set up as a private dealer in Zurich in 1990. There he met Manuela, the daughter of a wealthy Swiss family. Together they acquired an ambitious contemporary-art collection for her mother and established Hauser & Wirth. Their artists include Europeans like Isa Genzken, Andreas Hofer and Pipilotti Rist, although Wirth has a penchant for ''big boy'' U.S. sculptors like Paul McCarthy and the late Jason Rhoades. He is equally excited about B?l, whose East London show included a replica of an illegal industrial recycling plant. ''When you meet a great artist like Paul, Jason or Christoph, you just know,'' Wirth says. ''There's a particular type of energy -- and they need a big gallery like ours to support them.''
That support comes from his secondary market, which generates most of Hauser & Wirth's turnover. Like his rivals, Larry Gagosian and Jay Jopling, Wirth is an ace salesman. Having set new records at each of the first three Frieze fairs, he had high expectations for 2006. Wirth says that the frenzy of the fairs has transformed the art market, by replicating the buzz of the auction room and spurring even veteran collectors into making impulse purchases. ''If people have time to decide, they'll take it,'' he observes. ''The miracle of the art fair is that they don't.''
By the second day of Frieze, almost all of the art in Hauser & Wirth's booth has been sold, including a $480,000 McCarthy sculpture. The Old Bond Street gallery had opened smoothly, as had Creed's film, although B?l's factory installation proved trickier. Local officials panicked at possible safety risks, and then a truck crashed into a sign outside. But his only disappointment was being outbid for the Doig painting at auction. ''It was a beauty,'' Wirth lamented. ''My limit was £600,000, but I went up to £800,000, and someone bid £820,000. I tell collectors to set a limit and stick to it, but that's what happens. It's like a doctor telling his patients not to smoke and being a terrible smoker himself.''
Photo: Iwan Wirth, above the fray, in his booth at the Frieze Art Fair. (Photograph by Julian Broad)


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Shin splints cause dull pain to be felt on the lower part of the leg, on either side of the shinbone. Although there is no cure, per se, there are multiple ways to treat shin splints and relieve the pain by reducing the inflammation. For quick, easy ways to relieve pain and swelling, apply cold therapy techniques (icing the shin), take anti-inflammatory painkillers and rest your body so your shin can heal.
For long-term shin splints treatment goals, you want to make sure that you run on soft surfaces, stretch before working out and supply yourself with well-made athletic shoes that have shock absorption and arch support. Wear any athletic shoe on HealthyFeetStore.com. These shoes offer the proper amount of support and cushion that you need to stay healthy and comfortable while working out. If your shoes do not provide adequate arch support, you should buy insoles that will help align your body properly and distribute your weight evenly to prevent shin splints, flat feet or other problems from occurring in the future.


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Interior Squeak Index Thread
View Single Post
Bad Lieutenant
Drives: E90M3
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sacramento
iTrader: (
: Panel between the cup holders
Noise description: Noticeable, ticking/rattling on rough pavement.
Fix method
: The panel between the cupholders, although constructed well, uses two aluminum guides that, naturally, rattle in their respective holders. I don't have a picture, but if you use a pry tool and pop the left and right side, you'll see what I mean. In the center, there are two silicone guides, the pins that slide into these guides rest on the panel itself, and they vibrate inside the panel, in the slots where they reside. What I did was use 40 year silicone clear caulk and sort of "glue" them in place. Since it's not permanent, the silicone acts as a resonating absorption mechanism. I used the same caulking for all the guides in the A and B pillars as well as felt the heck out of those metal areas.
Thread link
? None
: A pillar
Noise description: Noticeable, rattle/echo on bumps, annoying, hard to trace.
Fix method
: Remove SRS cover, use T-25 to remove screw, pull A pillar out and up. There is a shitty plastic clip that resides in a groove in the A pillar cover itself. Use 40 year soft silicone caulk to "set" this plastic clip in the groove, it will act as a damper for it's rattling. Cut 1"x1" thin felt strip and place over the hole where the clip will attach to the metal surface. Punch hole in the felt after applied. This is the cause of the echo, the plastic against the metal. Felt any areas you see where plastic may contact. Where the A pillar meets the dash, apply krytox sparingly as this area is known for a "squeak/creak". Re-attach in the reverse.
Thread link
? None
: B pillar
Noise description: Noticeable, rattle/echo on bumps, annoying, easy to trace.
Fix method
: This is sort of a pain in the ass, as yo have to remove the plastic door entry strip first (front) and just remove partially the passenger/rear entry strip. You can then pull the B pillar from the bottom outward and down. There are two shitty plastic clips that are similar to the A pillar, they need to be silicone caulked to lock them in place and cease their rattling. You need to felt EVERY piece of metal you see. Especially over the holes where these clips reside. Punch holes in the felt over the holes. On the underside of the B pillar cover, top, you'll see a plastic groove that meets the upper section. This rattles against this upper section. Apply felt to the upper section where this piece will meet. Re-attach in the reverse, BUT, apply krytox to the underside of the entry plastic strips as these tent to creak like a bitch.
Thread link
? Many, with no real solution.
Hope these help some folks out. I am completely shocked that both the 335 and the M3 have so little insulation in the pillar areas. They are a major source of acoustics in the cabin and cheap to throw some on there during build time, and weigh NOTHING! Good luck. None of the felt applied here is visible, and the cabin is worlds quieter.
02 E39M5 | TiAg/Schwartz | Tubi Rumore | Ultimate Ti Pedals | E60 SSK | Jim Blanton 3.45 40/100% | Coby Alcantara | StrongStrut STB
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Rad Collector has the jump on a limited edition Super Nova Box from 686 and Levi's. "Right on the heels of their massive Super Nova box with New Balance, 686 has dropped another one, this time with their denim partner Levi's. Ten special collabo boxes were made and stuffed with their 3-ply raw denim technical snowboard pant collabo turned up with neon orange and turquoise accents. The entire 686 x Levi's collection is available now at select dealers."
More images follow here.