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Libya–United States relations are today cordial and cooperative, with particularly strong security cooperation only after the Gallup poll conducted in March and April 2012 found that Libyans had "among the highest approval" of US leadership in the entire Middle East and North Africa region.[2]
However, for decades prior to the 2011 Libyan Civil War, the countries were enemies and engaged each other in several military skirmishes. The Libyan government of Muammar Gaddafi funded terror operations against the United States, most notably the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing, to which the United States retaliated by bombing Libya, and the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
When the Libyan civil war broke out in 2011, the United States took part in a military intervention in the conflict, aiding anti-Gaddafi rebels with air strikes against the Libyan Army. With the success of the revolution and the overthrow of Gaddafi, US President Barack Obama said that the United States was "committed to the Libyan people" and promised partnership in the development of a new Libyan state.[3]
According to a 2012 poll conducted by Gallup, 54% of Libyans approve of U.S. leadership, compared to only 22% and 19% respective approval for China and Russia's, and 75% of Libyans say they approved of NATO's military intervention in the civil war.[4]
The United States supported the UN resolution providing for Libyan independence in 1951 and raised the status of its office at Tripoli from a consulate general to a legation. Libya opened a legation in Washington, D.C., in 1954. Both countries subsequently raised their missions to embassy level.
After Muammar Gaddafi's 1969 coup, U.S.-Libyan relations became increasingly strained when Gaddafi nationalized the oil industry.[5] In 1972, the United States recalled its ambassador. Export controls on military and civil aircraft were imposed during the 1970s, and U.S. embassy staff members were withdrawn from Tripoli after a mob attacked and set fire to the embassy in December 1979. The U.S. Government designated Libya a "state sponsor of terrorism" on December 29, 1979.
On August 19, 1981, the Gulf of Sidra incident occurred. Two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 jets fired on U.S. aircraft participating in a routine naval exercise over international waters of the Mediterranean claimed by Libya. The U.S. planes returned fire and shot down the attacking Libyan aircraft. In December 1981, the State Department invalidated U.S. passports for travel to Libya and, for purposes of safety, advised all U.S. citizens in Libya to leave. In March 1982, the U.S. Government prohibited imports of Libyan crude oil into the United States and expanded the controls on U.S.-origin goods intended for export to Libya. Licenses were required for all transactions, except food and medicine. In March 1984, U.S. export controls were expanded to prohibit future exports to the Ras Lanuf petrochemical complex. In April 1985, all Export-Import Bank financing was prohibited.
United States adopted additional economic sanctions against Libya in January 1986, including a total ban on direct import and export trade, commercial contracts, and travel-related activities. In addition, Libyan Government assets in the United States were frozen. When Libyan complicity was reported in the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing, which killed two American servicemen, the United States responded by launching an aerial bombing attack against targets near Tripoli and Benghazi in April 1986 (see Operation El Dorado Canyon). At least 15 people died in the U.S. air strikes on Libya – including leader Colonel Gaddafi's adopted 15-month-old daughter – and more than 100 were injured. Subsequently, the United States maintained its trade and travel embargoes and brought diplomatic and economic pressure to bear against Libya. This pressure helped to bring about the Lockerbie settlement and Libya's renunciation of WMD and MTCR-class missiles.
In 1991, two Libyan intelligence agents were indicted by federal prosecutors in the U.S. and Scotland for their involvement in the December 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103. In January 1992, the UN Security Council approved Resolution 731 demanding that Libya surrender the suspects, cooperate with the Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 investigations, pay compensation to the victims' families, and cease all support for terrorism. Libya's refusal to comply led to the approval of UNSC Resolution 748 on March 31, 1992, imposing sanctions designed to bring about Libyan compliance. Continued Libyan defiance led to passage of Security Council Resolution 883—a limited assets freeze and an embargo on selected oil equipment—in November 1993. In March 2003, Tripoli secretly approached Washington and London with an offer to reveal the scope of its WMD programs. This led to covert negotiations in Libya, which in turn resulted, on December 19, 2003, in the country's public disclosure of the extent of their WMD research and capabilities.[6] UN sanctions had been lifted on September 12, 2003, after Libya fulfilled all remaining UNSCR requirements pertaining to the Lockerbie bombing, including renunciation of terrorism, acceptance of responsibility for the actions of its officials, and payment of appropriate compensation to the victims' families.[7]
After its public announcement of December, 2003, the Gaddafi government cooperated with the U.S., the U.K., the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons toward these objectives. Libya also signed the IAEA Additional Protocol and has become a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention.
In recognition of these actions, the U.S. began the process of normalizing relations with Libya. The U.S. terminated the applicability of the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act to Libya and the President signed an Executive Order on September 20, 2004 terminating the national emergency with respect to Libya and ending IEEPA-based economic sanctions. This action had the effect of unblocking assets blocked under the Executive Order sanctions. Restrictions on cargo aviation and third-party code-sharing have been lifted, as have restrictions on passenger aviation. Certain export controls remain in place.
U.S. diplomatic personnel reopened the U.S. Interest Section in Tripoli on February 8, 2004. The mission was upgraded to a U.S. Liaison Office on June 28, 2004, and to a full embassy on May 31, 2006. The establishment in 2005 of an American School in Tripoli demonstrates the increased presence of Americans in Libya, and the continuing normalization of bilateral relations. Libya re-established its diplomatic presence in Washington with the opening of an Interest Section on July 8, 2004, which was subsequently upgraded to a Liaison Office in December 2004 and to a full embassy on May 31, 2006.
On May 15, 2006, the US State Department announced its intention to rescind Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in recognition of the fact that Libya had met the statutory requirements for such a move: it had not provided any support for acts of international terrorism in the preceding six-month period, and had provided assurances that it would not do so in the future. On June 30, 2006, the U.S. rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.[8] In July 2007, Mr. Gene Cretz was nominated by President Bush as ambassador to Libya. The Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. Senate held Cretz's confirmation hearing on Wednesday, September 25, 2008. The Libyan government satisfied its responsibility and paid the remaining amount of money it owed (total of $1.5 billion) to the victims of several acts of terrorism on Friday, October 31, 2008. That same year, the United States and Libya also signed a bilateral Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation.[9]
Principal U.S. Officials included Chargé d'Affaires William Milam and Deputy Principal Officer J. Christopher Stevens.
The U.S. Embassy in Libya is temporarily located at the Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Souk al-Thulatha, Al-Gadim, Tripoli. The U.S. consular representative's office is also located at the Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel. Limited services are available for U.S. citizens.
Relations were again severely strained by the outbreak of the 2011 Libyan Civil War, in which Gaddafi attempted to crush first protests, and then an armed rebellion against his rule. The U.S. government cut ties with the Gaddafi regime, and enacted sanctions against senior regime members. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that the legitimacy of Gaddafi's regime had been "reduced to zero".[10] The US, along with several European and Arab nations, then began to call for the United Nations to authorise military intervention in the conflict. US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice successfully pressured Russia and China not to veto the resolution, and it passed on March 17, 2011.[11][12]
The US military played an instrumental role in the initial stage of the intervention, suppressing Libyan air defenses and coordinating international forces in the establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya,[13][14] before handing command responsibility to NATO and taking a supporting role in the campaign of air strikes against pro-Gaddafi forces.[15] The intervention severely weakened the Gaddafi regime and aided the rebels to victory, with the fall of Tripoli in August 2011.
The United States' first direct contact with the anti-Gaddafi opposition came on March 14, 2011 when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with National Transitional Council leader Mahmoud Jibril in Paris.[16] The US took longer than other leading NTC allies to formally recognise the council as Libya's legitimate authority, but it did so on July 15, and it granted accreditation to Ali Aujali as the Libyan Ambassador to the United States on August 15.[17] Later that month, the US led an effort at the United Nations to repeal parts of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 in order to allow unfrozen Libyan assets to be transferred to the interim government.[18] When the civil war came to an end in October, US President Barack Obama pledged to work with the new Libyan government as a partner, and said the United States was "committed to the Libyan people".[3]
US relations with the new Libyan government were thrust into the spotlight on September 11, 2012 when gunmen attacked and firebombed the US liaison office/mission in Benghazi, killing 4 Americans including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.[19] Libya's interim leader Mohammed Magarief quickly condemned the attack and apologised to the US, describing it as "cowardly" and pledging to bring the killers to justice.[20] Demonstrations denouncing the attack and supporting the United States were held in Benghazi the next day, with protesters mourning Stevens and signs declaring him 'a friend to all Libyans'.[21] Libya cooperated with the US to investigate the attack, closing Benghazi's airspace for several hours to allow US drone patrols over the city on September 14.[22]
On 27 May 2014, the United States advised all U.S. citizens in the country to leave immediately. Citing the unstable and unpredictable security situation in Libya, the United States also warned its citizens to avoid travel to the country.[23]
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of State (Background Notes).
Barack Obama, Democratic Party (United States), Republican Party (United States), Bill Clinton, John Kerry
Switzerland, Austria, Italy, United Kingdom, France
Sudan, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia
New York City, United States, American Civil War, Hawaii, Western United States
Myanmar, United States, Barack Obama, Washington, D.C., Export
United States, World War II, Barack Obama, Democracy, Vietnam War
United States, Muammar Gaddafi, Libya, Gulf of Sidra, Mediterranean Sea
Libya, United States, Italy, C, Muammar Gaddafi


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The world's largest library association's annual conference this year featured more than 100 workshops with an "equity, diversity, and inclusion" theme, according to the American Library Association's conference catalog. That included workshops with these titles (some shortened): "Creating Queer-Inclusive Elementary School Library Programming," "Developing an Online Face for a Lesbian Pulp Fiction Collection," and "Telling Stories, Expanding Boundaries: Drag Queen Storytimes in Libraries."
The ALA annual conference's workshop selections also included "A Child's Room to Choose: Encouraging Gender Identity and Expression in School and Public Libraries," and "Are You Going to Tell My Parents?: The Minor's Right to Privacy in the Library." Politically charged talks and workshops like these formed at least one-third of the conference offerings, according to the ALA's own description and a review of the conference catalog.
The titles and descriptions of the conference's approximately 300 workshops and talks are not available online. They were only published in a conference app and paper catalog reserved to in-person attendees, many of whose attendance was underwritten by taxpayers through local library budgets. According to the ALA, 21,460 people attended 2019's annual conference this June, approximately 4,000 more than last year.
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Maarrat Misrin
|Ma'arrat Misrin
معرة مصرين
Ma'arrat Masrin
Ma'arrat Misrin
Location in Syria
|Coordinates: 36°00′N 36°40′E / 36.000°N 36.667°ECoordinates: 36°00′N 36°40′E / 36.000°N 36.667°E
|Maarrat Misrin
|• Head of City Council
|Abed al-Aziz Rahal
|338 m (1,109 ft)
|Population (2004)[2]
|• Total
Ma'arrat Misrin (Arabic: معرة مصرين, also spelled Ma'arrat Masrin or Ma'aret Masreen) is a small city in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. Ma'arrat Misrin lies an elevation of 338 metres (1,109 ft). It is located 50 kilometers southwest of Aleppo and 40 kilometers north of Ma'arrat al-Numan and 12 kilometers from Sarmin.[3] Nearby localities include Kafr Yahmul to the north, Zardana and Maarrat al-Ikhwan to the northeast, Taftanaz to the east, Ta'um, Binnish, al-Fu'ah and Kafriya to the southeast, Idlib to the south, and Hafsarjah to the southwest.
According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Ma'arrat Misrin had a population of 17,519 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of a nahiya which consists of 16 localities with a total population of 57,859 in 2004.[2] The Associated Press estimated the population of Ma'arrat Misrin was around 40,000 in 2012. The city's inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims, although roughly 15% follow Shia Islam.[4]
According to medieval Muslim geographers al-Muqaddasi and Abu'l-Fida, the town was also called Ma'arrat Nasrin, in reference to Jund Qinnasrin; the province it formed part of. Syriac manuscripts dating back to the 8th century refer to the town as Ma'arrat Mesren. The town was known to the Crusaders as Megaret Basrin or Meguaret Mesrin.[3][5]
Early Islamic era
Ma'arat Misrin was captured by the Muslim army of Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah in 637 CE after defeating a Byzantine force in the Battle of Hazir between the town and Aleppo. Like Aleppo, it surrendered under peaceful terms. Ma'arat Misrin is referred to as "Ma'arat Mesren" in 8th-century Syriac manuscripts. Amr ibn Hawbar served as its governor during the reign of Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil.[6]
Byzantine general Nikephoros II Phokas conquered Ma'arat Misrin in 968 and expelled its 1,200 inhabitants to Anatolia. The following year he made a truce with the Fatimids whereby the latter would gain control over the town. The Bani Kilab under the leadership of Salih ibn Mirdas launched an expedition to conquer Aleppo in 1024. During the offensive Mirdas's commander Abu Mansur Sulayman ibn Tawk captured Ma'arrat Misrin and imprisoned its governor. Later, before 1063, the Byzantines recaptured the town after the local Muslim general Atiya defected from his nephew Mahmud ibn Nasr's army, which was attacking Baalbek. Atiya and the Byzantine army of Antioch subsequently raided Ma'arrat Misrin, burned its outskirts and killed several of its inhabitants. The Seljuks captured it towards the end of the 11th century, and the Seljuk prince of Antioch, Yaghi-Basan, died in Ma'arat Misrin in 1097.[6]
In 1099, Ma'arat Misrin was conquered by the Crusaders who killed the town's defenders and destroyed the minbar ("pulpit") of its mosque.[6] However, after the capture of Baldwin I of Edessa, the inhabitants of Ma'arat Misrin and nearby al-Fu'ah and Sarmin revolted against their Crusader rulers in 1104, inflicting heavy casualties against their troops. Within a few years, Ma'arrat Misrin entered the hands of the Ismailis who launched an assault from there against Crusader-held Shaizar in April 1114. However, the Ismailis were routed by the Bani Munqid, a local Arab tribe.[6]
Ma'arat Misrin once again came under Crusader control after the town capitulated upon the approach of Baldwin II in 1119. The Burid and Artuqid rulers Toghtekin and Ilghazi besieged it the next year, prompting Baldwin II to lead a relief effort. Afterward, a peace treaty between the two factions was made, whereby Ma'arrat Misrin, w/l Kafartab and al-Bara would remain with the Crusaders. It served as the Crusaders' camp during Aq Sunqur al-Hajib's raids in the area in early 1126 until they were forced to withdraw due to a supplies shortage. In 1129 Imad ad-Din Zengi stormed Ma'arrat Misrin's suburbs, while the Zengid governor of Aleppo, Sawar, plundered the town in 1132 before retreating to Aleppo.[6]
In 1175, Ayyubid Sultan Saladin undertook a successful campaign against the Ismailis who controlled Maarrat Misrin and its surroundings. Saladin appointed his maternal uncle, Shihab al-Din al-Hariri, as governor of the area.[3] During the summer of 1222, the Ayyubid emir of Aleppo, al-Salih, gained control over Ma'arrat Misrin, only to exchange it for Aintab in 1227.[7] In 1240, the town was invaded and sacked by the Khwarezmiyya.[3]
Ottoman era
In the 17th century during the Ottoman rule, Ma'arat Misrin was the center of a Qadaa in the Aleppo Vilayet.[8] The town was a large village situated among sesame fields and olive groves in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century, American archaeologist Robert Garrett noted that the town's soil was "unusually fertile" and that there was an abundance of fig trees.[9]
Modern era
In the early period of French Mandate rule, Ma'arrat Misrin was the center of a nahiya ("sibdistrict") in the larger district of Aleppo.[6] The town had a population of around 3,000 inhabitants in 1930. In 1945, Maarrat Misrin, which was under the jurisdiction of the district of Idlib, had 5,000 inhabitants.[3]
Ma'arrat Misrin serves a large market town for the surrounding rural agricultural villages. The grocers market in the city covers several blocks.[4]
Syrian Civil War
Ma'arrat Masrin has seen violence during the ongoing Syrian Civil War which began in 2011. Small demonstrations against government corruption and the security services began in April 2011.[4] On 12 December 2011 opposition activists claimed the Syrian Army "indiscriminately" killed eleven people in the town and nearby Kafr Yahmul. The incident began when soldiers allegedly shot dead two civilians in Ma'arrat Misrin prompting residents to block the main road leading to the villages. The army then fired randomly, resulting in eleven deaths.[10] The next day, defectors from the army attacked a convoy of security forces in the Idlib region, killing seven, according to activists.[11] Hours later two more residents were shot by Syrian security forces during a funeral procession for those killed the previous day.[10]
Tit-for-tat kidnappings have occurred throughout the uprising between residents of Ma'arrat Misrin and the nearby Shia Muslim towns of al-Fu'ah and Kafriya. In March 2012 the Syrian Army shelled the city, resulting in the deaths of five residents. The head of the city's eight-member rebel council negotiated an end to the fighting whereby opposition rebels would remove their checkpoints and the army would cease military operations against the town. Fighting between the two largely stopped,[4] however, according to a Syrian military source cited by Syrian Documents, on 7 September 2012, the Syrian Army ambushed a rebel unit in Ma'arrat Misrin. A total of 42 were killed.[12] In December 2012, a kidnapped NBC News team was held hostage in a chicken farm near Ma'arrat Misrin controlled by FSA-aligned rebel group North Idlib Falcons Brigade.[13]
- ↑ Latest Events Bulletin. Syrian Documents. 2012-06-03.
- 1 2 General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Idlib Governorate. Archived at . (Arabic)
- 1 2 3 4 5 Gibb, 1960, p. 921-922.
- 1 2 3 4 Hubbard, Ben. Rebel-Held Syrian Town Struggles To Keep The Peace. Associated Press. 2012-06-25.
- ↑ le Strange, 1890, p. 497
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Houtsma, 1987, p. 58.
- ↑ Houtsma, 1987, pp. 58-59.
- ↑ Wilkins, 2010, p. 56.
- ↑ Houtsma, 1987, p. 59.
- 1 2 Syria unrest: Deadly clashes hit restive north-west. BBC News. 2011-12-13.
- ↑ Activists: Syrian army defectors kill 7 government forces. CNN. 2011-12-13.
- ↑ Latest Events Bulletin. Syrian Documents. 2012-09-07.
- ↑ Ravi Somaiya; C. J. Chivers; Karam Shoumali (15 April 2015). "NBC News Alters Account of Correspondent's Kidnapping in Syria". Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- Houtsma, M. Thomas (1987). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936. BRILL. ISBN 9004082654.
- Gibb, H. A. R (1960). The Encyclopaedia of Islam. 1. Brill Archive.
- le Strange, Guy (1890), Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund


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Spectacle by S.J. Pierce
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
***This is currently a web series!!! I'm releasing a chapter at a time on my website at www.sjpiercebooks.blogspot.com
. You can read there or go to Scribd, download their app, and read there.***
Hunger Games meets Avatar meets Gladiator in this spellbinding new Young Adult Science-Fiction web series by bestselling author Susan James Pierce.
Fear can make you a target…
Two hundred years after the Great Disaster, the day earthquakes ravaged Earth's landscapes, humanity has finally regrouped and is working toward a better future. But in New America – one of three small, remaining landmasses – the threat of overpopulation makes a better future seem bleaker by the year.
Mira (Mirabella) Foster and her parents are citizens of New America, and with the threat of starvation and disease looming on the horizon, a new discovery threatens to push everyone to the brink of chaos: blue markings develop on people's skin. Markings that are distinctive of a humanoid alien race named Changers that secretly sought refuge on Earth years ago. Markings that allow them to camouflage their skin, but also make them feared, and eventually, targets of violence.
Mira's dad is one of them.
Anger can make you a spectacle…
Banished to a treacherous, uninhabited island, a newly orphaned Mira and her kind struggle to survive and settle into a new way of life. Her main priority becomes seeing to Jackson's care, her friend with Muscular Dystrophy, and tending to her garden as a way of distracting herself from the pain of losing everything she loved. But just as she's adapting to this new life, their Elders approach her with a plan to insert themselves back into New America to uncover a conspiracy. A conspiracy, they believe, that includes the presidency and landed them on the island, costing many Changers their lives, including her parents'.
In a world where staying on the island means a possible untimely death, as does risking her life to uncover a horrible secret that might one day set them all free, which one will she choose? And if she chooses to help, can she tame her anger over their mistreatment long enough to make sure their plan goes off without a hitch? Because, after all, the last thing her kind needs is to make spectacles of themselves, and as she knows all too well, both anger and fear have a perilous knack for destruction.
All proceeds from pre-orders are going to a local kid named Brayden who has Muscular Dystrophy.
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Brayden is a smart and witty twelve-year-old boy, who loves video games and sports of all kinds, especially football, but the only thing holding him back is that he has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. He was diagnosed on April 1st, 2010 with the disease, which will one day (possibly sooner than later) put him in wheelchair fulltime. His mind is sharp as a tack, but his little body is giving out daily; the more tired he gets, the more frequent the falls. Luckily he hasn't broken any bones (yet). He will one day need a tracheotomy to be able to breathe and speak, and his lungs and heart are muscles that will give out just as easy as his arms and legs. Most boys with this disease will not live into their 20's, and the disease claims lives daily. To help Brayden in his journey with DMD, S.J. has pledged to donate all of her pre-order proceeds to Brayden's family.
Spectacle Excerpt, Chapter Two
Following the scent of cheese toast and eggs, I stop short when I see my mom standing in the kitchen doorway, her hands fidgeting with the frayed hem of her apron, a tight smile on her face. I don't like the way she looks at me – worried and afraid and about to cry all at the same time. "Mirabella, dear," she says, almost whimpers. "Daddy and I need to talk to you."
Heat crawls over my skin, flushing my cheeks and leaving gooseflesh on my arms. Dread squeezes my lungs. "Okay," I manage, but it takes me a minute to remember how to walk. Mom doesn't move out of my way.
I notice the radio isn't on again. Dad usually listens to it for his morning news.
She kneels to look me at me on my level, and I know now something really bad must have happened… or is happening. Yet again, the rings around the moon were right.
"Everything's okay," she lies, reading my worried expression, "But I want to warn you about your father before you see him."
My eyebrows draw together. Warn me?
I hear dad shifting in his chair, and he grunts nervously. My chest clenches tighter. All I want is to see him. To know what's going on. I can't fathom what she would have to warn me about.
"His skin is… different than before."
"Yes, baby," she soothes. "And whatever you do, please don't scream. You know how thin these walls are."
I muster a nod.
"Okay," she says, clasping my hand and straightening, "It's time."
She leads me into the kitchen, my heart racing, eyes snapping right to my father. He's sitting with his face behind his hands, his elbows resting against the tabletop. The skin on his arms and hands look the same to me – smooth and the color of coffee with milk. Still normal. I breathe a sigh of relief.
"Is she looking?" he asks through his hands.
I answer for her. "Yes, daddy."
He lets out a long slow breath – a brooding sigh.
"Show her, Grant," mom pleads.
Moments pass. He sighs again and slowly moves his hands away. Behind them, blue marks, starting at the corners of his eyes, branch out in a rough, jagged pattern - like webs of blood vessels, but more defined - over his cheekbones and stopping along his jawline. Smaller patches curl around his temples. It almost looks like a butterfly, almost beautiful, like these odd markings are meant to be there. Like someone had painted them for fun. I would assume this is all a joke had my mom not been acting so weird.
I look up to her questioningly. Why would this have made me scream?
Her hand meets her chest, and I can tell she's relieved I didn't freak out, but not all the concern is gone from her eyes. At least she's smiling normally now.
"So you aren't afraid?" she asks.
"Why would I be?"
Her lips press tight. She throws a nervous glance at my father.
"Because these are permanent," he says. "And they'll get worse."
Spectacle Excerpt, Chapter Four
I must have passed out because I awake with a start, cradled in a strong man's arms. Not my dad. This man smells like pine trees and lemons, his touch cold and unfeeling as he carries me down a hallway. "Mom," I croak out, my voice far-off. My ears buzz like mosquitos are living inside them.
The man says nothing.
I look for her but don't see her. I try and squirm free, but he holds me tighter. "Mom!" I cry. "Where's my mom?"
"Shhh," he says, more scolding than soothing, "You'll see her soon." I obey because he scares me. And because he wears a uniform like the others.
I notice we're not in the same building as before. The stark white walls, florescent lights and bleach smell tells me we're in a hospital. A nurse scurries by with a man on a stretcher, and my anxiety swells. I want to wiggle again, but I don't. A whimper escapes. Where are my parents? I want my parents….
The man takes me into a room where a doctor awaits. She sits on a stool beside a bed just big enough for someone my size. Her eyes roam over me concernedly.
Why would I be hurt?
Gunfire, I remember, and my whimpering turns into a full blown sob.
"She bleeding anywhere?" the doctor asks over my wailing.
He shakes his head, and with more care than I thought he was capable of, he places me on the bed beside her.
She waits for my cries to ebb and looks as though she wants to cradle me, but she doesn't.
"Where's… my mom…" I say between broken breaths.
Like the man, she doesn't give me an answer, though I can tell she's dying to so it'll comfort me. "Lie back," she soothes. Her red hair shines and is cut at an angle against her neck. Freckles splay across her nose, and there's kindness in her eyes.
I lie back as instructed and work on getting myself together. While her cold hands poke and prod, I stare at the ceiling, tears dripping onto the paper covering the bed. It crinkles as I relax under her touch.
I think of Jacks and Luxxe and their moms. Are they here too? Maybe when the doctor is done she'll let me see them.
Maybe everyone's okay.
Spectacle Excerpt, Chapter Five
I lie in my bed and stare at the ceiling. Dad covered them with glow-in-the-dark stars for my tenth birthday. I think of leaving for the mountains and I'm filled with a mixture of agony and relief. In a way, I don't want to leave this place; memories of my father, as painful as they can be, are everywhere and it's all I have left of him now. But in another, I want to start fresh, even if we have to live in huts or caves or whatever they're planning on doing. The thought unnerves me a little, like any unknown thing, but it'll be good for mom to leave here and be around others. And I'll be able to see Jacks and Luxxe more; I desperately need their company.
A knock on the front door startles me. It was too loud to be Jacks or Luxxe. A man shouts through it, but I can't make out what he's saying from here. Our dog is going wild.
Mom stirs on the couch and I wait to see if she'll get it.
The man shouts again, and her feet patter my way. She finds me erect on the bed with my covers wrapped around me in a cocoon. Her eyes are huge white saucers, and she presses her finger against her lips to keep me quiet before she shuts my door and sprints away.
Alone in my room, I hide inside the space between my bed and the wall and snatch a book of Robert Frost poems on my nightstand, hugging it close for comfort. To distract myself, I try to recite The Road Not Taken but can't focus enough to do so. My heart gains speed as panic courses through me. Whoever is on the other side of the door has her worried. Are we in danger? I've never wanted my dad more than I do in this moment. This isn't right. He should be here to protect us. If I wasn't so scared, I'd pay more attention to the anger writhing inside me. I hope whoever took him from us is dead. I hope they're gone for what they did.
The man shouts louder this time and bangs three times on the door. I still hear our dog, but where's mom? I don't hear mom!
After an eternity, she shows up again with a bag slung over her shoulder and points to my cracked window. She wants to escape. But where would we go? I nod silently and stand, slipping the book into my waistband.
A loud bang rattles our apartment, and the living room door hurls into the kitchen. Splinters of wood lie in its wake. In one swift movement, mom snatches me by the arm and heaves the window open the rest of the way.
The thumping of loud boots fills our apartment, and to keep from screaming out, I bite my tongue so hard it bleeds. The men in uniforms, they're here for us.
Susan James Pierce has a degree in Marketing Management, works for a Fortune 500 company in Atlanta, Georgia, and devotes her precious, spare time to writing Fantasy, Paranormal and Sci-fi novels.
Please visit www.sjpiercebooks.blogspot.com and sign up for her mailing list or subscribe to her blog if you'd like to hear when new books come out! Coming soon:
Iris (Novella: The Captivated Series) Available now!!!
Fight for Me (Book Two: The Captivated Series)
Please visit www.sjpiercebooks.blogspot.com and sign up for her mailing list or subscribe to her blog if you'd like to hear when new books come out! Coming soon:
Iris (Novella: The Captivated Series) Available now!!!
Fight for Me (Book Two: The Captivated Series)


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|Input Voltage(V):
|Lamp Luminous Flux(lm/w):
|CRI (Ra>):
|Working Temperature(℃):
|-20 ~ 40
|Working Lifetime(Hour):
|Lamp Body Material:
|IP Rating:
|CE, EMC, LVD, RoHS
|Place of Origin:
|Dongguan, China
|Brand Name:
|Light Source:
|LED Chip:
|LED Source:
|Power factor:
|color temp:
Features and Advantages:
1. 2835 SMD LEDs with high luminous efficiency.
2. Ultra-thin construction for heat dissipation to ensure high LED light emitting efficiency and long lifespan.
3. High efficiency constant current drive system, with heat protection system.
4. Over 90% light transmission makes the light softly and brightly.
5. Optimum light uniformity and high color homogeneity.
6. Low maintenance cost. Lifespan: >50,000 hours.
7. NO noise, NO flicker, NO UV and IR.
Q: What's the payment term do you accept?
A: Normal we only accept T/T, 30% in advance and 70% balance against the deposit. Also, L/C, D/A and D/P are OK!
Q: Can a third-party inspection be arranged before delivery?
A: Yes.Janrel is quite confident with our products and has passed many international certifications .You can arrange an inspector in you side or we can assist you to do that.
Q: Why your product comes with a high cost performance?
A: Firstly, our factory operated under ISO9001:2008 standards and we test the products one by one to make sure each single unit workswell enough. Secondly, we had been in the light source industry since 1999, we can control the cost better than others.
Q: Do you accept customize design?
A: Yes, we are offering OEM and ODM service as well .If you have any good idea, we can help you realize it.
Q: Are the products safe enough?
A: Our products have been tested thoroughly and are certificated by numerous internationally recognized regulatory bodies and safety organizations, including European TUV, SGS, CE and RoHS.
Q: Do you sell to individual customers directly?
A: No, we are manufacturer and only for wholesale. We have distributors in many countries, the end users can buy from them.
Q: How can I get the sample from you?
A: If you are interested on our products, please contact us directly, we can send the free sample for checking the quality, but the custom should pay for the express fee.
Q: How can I make the order?
A: You can email us or chat to our sales online. We have published our sales team and the contact info on the contact page. You can let us know what would you like to order and we will make PI for your confirmation. After you make the payment, we will process your order.
Q: Are you a truly factory
A: Yes we are a factory has almost 16 years experience on producing. Welcome to visit us any time you want.
Quality Control:
Each three workers with one QC to guarantee.
Inspection Of Finish LED Light:
1. Load test(Electrical spec. test).
2. Aging test.
3. High-voltage test.
4. Grounding conduction test.
5. Install test.
1. We adopt the international three-dimensional design soft: SolidWorks, user-friendly interface,it can catch the design
idea of designer automatically and guide design, modify the staff organization chart.
2. We have 5 structure engineer and two electrical engineer.
3. Our company spent around spent around 30% profit to to research the new products every year.
Our Services:
1.Your inquiry will be promptly replied in 12 hours .
2.Well-trained and experienced staffs to answer your inquires in fluent English.
3.OEM&ODM available.
4.Protection of your sales area, ideas of design and all your private information.
5.Any defective products within warranty will get maintenance or replacement unconditionally .


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Welcome to the official Taste of Iceland blog!
This blog will focus specifically on all of the Icelandic happenings in Boston for our March 11-17th events (a full schedule can be seen here).
We're kicking off this blog the best way we can – with a contest!
So what's the prize? An incredible gift basket courtesy of Icelandair filled with CDs, DVDs, chocolate, luggage tags, Blue Lagoon skin-care products, mints, playing cards, and more!
How to play:
Every few days, we will post clues leading to a specific Iceland-related object hidden somewhere in the city of Boston. All you have to do is follow your leads to the correct place, snap a picture, and send it to icelandnaturally@beabigfish.
Sorry kids, you must be 18 or older play, and only residents of the greater Boston area are eligible to participate.
Happy Hunting! Here's your first clue:
This Iceland native has taken pop culture by storm