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Carolina Panther card/memorbilla/auto's collectors...
Best Answer tukafan21, 04 November 2013 - 05:27 PM
So I just got my end in the mail today of the trade I made last week where I had to give up 4 Stewart 1/1's, had to give up my 2013 Certified Auto 1/1, 2012 Certified Patch 1/1, 2013 RS 1/1, and that 2011 P&P Reebok logo 1/1
In return I FINALLY got my 2012 Prizm Auto /3 to finish off my complete rainbow as well as getting his 2013 Finest Blue plate in the deal so I now have the full rainbow (super included) and 3 of the 4 plates.
That doesn't seem like enough to get in return for 4 Stewart 1/1's?
Hmmmmmmmm, strange
Oh yea, he threw this into the deal as well
Ultimate Collection Shield Dual Patch On Card Auto 1/1
Go to the full post
Posted 03 February 2013 - 02:21 AM
#1/1 (got it for like $12 a few years ago)
here is a link to my bucket if anyone is interested in seeing more
http://s165.beta.pho... pc/steve smith
And i will be back to buying more panthers stuff in the future so stay tuned.
Posted 03 February 2013 - 04:54 AM
Posted 06 February 2013 - 05:07 AM
I pulled the Gold Standard and Crown Royale autos myself, as well as the Grid Gear Triple and Legends Jersey. I actually pulled a third Cam auto myself (was the first I pulled) but sold it because it was a dual with stinkin Mark Ingram on it too, booooo
The 8x10 a co-worker got signed for me at the Super Bowl last year, I put a crappy card in the frame, I need to get a nice custom matting job done with it at some point
Posted 06 February 2013 - 07:54 AM
Posted 06 February 2013 - 01:52 PM
Posted 08 February 2013 - 05:55 PM
Posted 08 February 2013 - 10:40 PM
You guys have done awesome collections
Thanks a lot man, that's a pretty sick Deangelo you just posted too, looks awesome
Here's my full collection if you want to check it out
http://s1158.photobu...s PC/?start=all
And here's just my Stewart collection, pretty proud of it
http://s1158.photobu...t PC/?start=all
Posted 08 February 2013 - 10:41 PM
Got a couple new Cam's...
Wow, those are great, love that Supreme, awesome looking card
Posted 08 February 2013 - 10:42 PM
The auto is 5/5, got a crazy deal on it considering what the /3 went for, the other is the Prizm version, need to get the base, green, red, /3 and then pray that the 1/1's show up on the forums before ebay so I can scoop them up before the freaking idiot who spent $51 on the /3 auto has a chance to get them as I don't think I can ever outbid him
Posted 09 February 2013 - 12:24 AM
Posted 09 February 2013 - 12:46 AM
damn a 1/1 a bunch of Cams and a sick Stew set....I suck
No, I suck for spending way more than I should on this stuff, hahaha
Posted 10 February 2013 - 11:30 AM
Posted 11 February 2013 - 12:02 AM
Posted 11 February 2013 - 12:09 PM
Posted 11 February 2013 - 10:54 PM
Joe scares me he had a bad rookie season and he could go the way of Ryne Robinson ton of potential just never happened.Nice pick ups! What do you guys think about Joe Adams long term?
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- January 1, 2013
- 2:44 p.m.
- Suggest removal
- Reply to this post
ms_reason writes:
in response to Tomcat_Driver:
Please provide one or two examples of "sick" liberal views.
The KILLING of unborn babies. Protecting illegal aliens over Citizens. Wanting to BAN guns from Citizens. Protecting criminals in the injustice system. Protecting death row inmates because the injection "hurts".
*And before you give me the "a fetus isn't a baby" garbage, I have a video of an 11 week old fetus who is in my living room right now watching television!
SICK liberal beliefs right there.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Italy > > Ovaro > Casera Losa
Average grade: 13.9 %
Length: 8.8 km
Height start: 520 m
Height top: 1746 m
Elevation gain: 1226 m
Maximum: 20 %
Casera Losa rankings
Difficulty ranking world: 40 (all)
Ranking Italy: 6 (all)
Difficulty score: 214.86 what?
Your rating (rate it) No ratings submitted yet. Rate here!
The Casera Losa is situated in
Starting from Ovaro,
the Casera Losa ascent is 8.8 km long. Over this distance, you climb 1226 heightmeters.
The average percentage thus is 13.9 %.
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In historic St Andrews itself, hidden away in a small cul-de-sac off North Street, at the west end of the town, are two period town-houses. They are quiet and safe for children, yet close to shops and less than 5 minutes walk from the Old Course and the West Sands. They form part of a terrace of 6 town-houses.
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Sitting Room - Comfortably furnished with flame effect gas fire, TV with Digibox, DVD Player and CD player.
Small single Bedroom - off sitting room.
Double Bedroom - 5ft wide double bed with zip and link option to form 2 singles.
Bathroom - with electric shower over bath.
Second Floor
Twin Bedded Room - with space for a cot or an extra single bed.
Family bedroom - with double and single beds. Hairdryer.
Note: Prices are a guide only and may change on a daily basis.
For Accommodation and information, please call:
0845 859 1006
Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday and Sunday - closed
*Calls may be recorded


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We stayed in the resort from November 11-13. At first I thought the rates are quite high even with the promotional ones, but during our stay I felt that we got more than what we paid for. The deluxe room was very nice and spacious. I was very impressed with the hospitality of the staff, they're one of a kind,... More
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Here's a worrying counterpoint to the progress in US-Iran talks: the United States is seeking a major buildup of its armed presence in the Persian Gulf, including stepped-up arms sales to the countries of the Saudi Arabia–led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC is essentially an anti-Iran alliance of the Arab kleptocracies of the gulf, including the flashpoint nation of Bahrain, where a Shiite majority population has been challenging the ruling Sunni monarchy—and where the US fleet in the Persian Gulf is based.
The American strategy might not work too well, however, if Iran continues to reach out to the Sunni Arab states of the gulf seeking détente. Recently, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif toured several of those countries—but not Saudi Arabia, still sullenly hostile to Iran—seeking to improve relation with Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. (Iran already has good ties to Oman, another GCC member, and in fact Oman happily hosted secret talks between Iran and the United States in the period before the interim accord was reached in November between Iran and the P5+1.) In an important sign that Iran is genuinely seeking to better relations with the Arab states of the gulf, according to Defense News Iran has moved a squadron of air force and Revolutionary Guard warplanes off the disputed island of Abu Musa in the middle of the Persian Gulf. The island, occupied by Iran since the Shah seized it in 1971, has long been a point of contention between Iran and the UAE, and during his swing through the gulf recently Zarif told the UAE that Iran was willing to talk about resolving the standoff.
Also touring the Gulf, this weekend, however, is US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who seemed intent on bolstering the American military role in Iran's backyard. Reported The Washington Post:
Speaking to American sailors standing at attention on the deck of the USS Ponce, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel vowed on Friday that the United States would keep a robust military presence in the Persian Gulf and build stronger ties with the region's Arab states, even as it pursues negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.
Hagel visited Bahrain, where Saudi Arabia's armed forces violently suppressed a pro-democracy movement in 2011, and as the Post noted without irony: "Hagel appeared more interested in mollifying the monarchs than the protesters."
In a speech that provided a detailed summary of the American military footprint in the all-important region, Hagel told the assembly of GCC defense poohbahs in what's called the Manama Dialogue—Manama is the capital of the island nation of Bahrain—that the United States upping the ante:
"We have a ground, air and naval presence of more than 35,000 military personnel in and immediately around the gulf. Going forward, the Defense Department will place even more emphasis on building the capacity of our partners in order to complement our strong military presence in the region."
There's plenty of money to be made for America's military-industrial complex in the Persian Gulf, where Saudi Arabia and the other kleptocracies have ordered tens of billions of dollars worth of US military hardware.
According to The New York Times, despite the fact that the United States and Iran's naval forces have had several eyeball-to-eyeball engagements in the Gulf lately, the U.S. military role in the region is ramping up:
As part of that longer-term effort, the number of coastal patrol ships based in Bahrain to conduct maritime security missions is set to double, to 10 ships, by next spring, from five vessels two years ago. Six Coast Guard vessels perform similar duties. Ship crews are now assigned one- and two-year tours, instead of rotating every six months.
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Meanwhile, says another Defense News report, Hagel encouraged the GCC states to form a NATO-style alliance that can happily purchase integrated US-manufactured weapons systems:
Speaking at the Manama Dialogue international security conference here, Hagel encouraged GCC members to create a military alliance and said he'd like to better integrate the US missile defense systems with those of the GCC to enhance collective capabilities.
And Hagel added, in what can only be interpreted as a threat to Iran:
"The DoD will continue to maintain a strong military posture in the region. As we have withdrawn U.S. forces from Iraq, are drawing down our forces in Afghanistan, and rebalancing toward the Asia Pacific, we have honored our commitment to Gulf security by enhancing our military capabilities in the region. We've deployed our most advanced fighter aircraft throughout the region, including F-22s [fighters], to ensure that we can quickly respond to contingencies. Coupled with our unique munitions, no target is beyond our reach."
To be sure, the Obama administration is moving forward in search of a permanent accord with Iran, and President Obama himself said over the weekend that such a deal is within reach. But rattling sabers in the Persian Gulf won't make the accord any easier.
Read Bob Dreyfuss on the US-Iran deal.
There's plenty of carping, still, about the interim nuclear deal reached last month between Iran and the United States, along with the world powers of the so-called P5+1. However, the deal carries with it the possibility not only of solving the problem of Iran's nuclear program but of transforming the entire Middle East and creating a working détente between Tehran and Washington that could help stabilize civil wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. There are even hints that President Obama might visit Tehran before the end of his stint in the White House.)
Most of all, the US-Iran accord signals a potentially vital turn by the Obama administration away from war, military confrontation and economic sanctions as its primary foreign policy tool toward, yes, diplomacy. Not only is the Iran deal advancing, with Tehran announcing that implementation of the deal would begin as soon as late December or early January in practical terms, but the parallel diplomacy on Syria is moving ahead, too. There, the movement to collect, account for, ship and destroy all of Syria's chemical weapons is moving quickly, and there are plans for a January 22 peace conference in Geneva that could bring together the Assad government with important elements of the moderate opposition—plus the United States, Russia and possibly Iran.
Not too long ago, it seemed like the best that might be accomplished in US-Iran talks was an agreement that could avoid war, with President Obama vaguely repeating the mantra that all "options" were constantly on the proverbial table. Now, that table is covered with negotiations papers, and things look much less gloomy. Even George Will, the Washington Post's conservative columnist, wrote today that the crisis over Iran has devolved into a choice between war or "containment," with the current talks seeming to lock the United States into a permanent acceptance that Iran will forever have nuclear technology—and the possibility, however remote, of "breakout" toward a weapon—while creating a situation both sides can live with. Says Will, casting aspersions on hawks why cry "Appeasement!" all the time:
Some advocates of war seem gripped by Thirties Envy, a longing for the clarity of the 1930s, when appeasement failed to slake the dictators' thirst for territorial expansion. But the incantation "Appeasement!" is not an argument. And the word "appeasement" does not usefully describe a sober decision that war is an imprudent and even ultimately ineffective response to the failure of diplomatic and economic pressures to alter a regime's choices about policies within its borders.
And Will approvingly quotes Ken Pollack, the Brookings Institution analyst and former CIA officer: "Going to war with Iran to try to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear arsenal would be a worse course of action than containing Iran, even a nuclear Iran." (That's a quote from Pollack's recent book, Unthinkable: Iran, the Bomb, and American Strategy, from a center-right thinker who in 2002 eagerly promoted the war in Iraq but who's climbed down, more calmly lately, from war cries.)
But the talks with Iran go far beyond merely preventing war involving Iran, Israel and the United States. There's enormous potential for a regional transformation, and Iran is hardly sitting still. This week, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif of Iran, Tehran's chief representative in the nuclear talks, is traveling through the Sunni Arab littoral states of the Persian Gulf, to Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, trying to calm tensions in the regional Sunni-Shiite struggle that is inflaming conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Bahrain. So far, he's not welcome in Saudi Arabia, the central player in the anti-Iranian, Sunni bloc opposition to a deal, but if things go right Saudi Arabia, too, will slowly reconcile with Iran.
Writing in the Huffington Post, Shireen Hunter, a Middle East expert at Georgetown University, suggests that the US-Iran talks might lead to broader regional stability. She says:
Continuing on this path could have positive outcomes not only for the U.S. and Iran but also for the entire region of the Middle East and South-West Asia. Under proper conditions, it might even lead to a change of paradigm in international and regional relations and eventually to the establishment of a new security structure in these regions.
Hunter adds:
This stalemate in the region and internationally offers the best opportunity to try reordering the region according to a new paradigm of avoiding maximalist goals and recognizing the principal security concerns of all countries in the region, of course including Israel. This would include Iran's ending its excessive hostility toward Israel and trying to help the Palestinians' aspirations through dialogue as well as recognizing the limits of its influence in the Sunni Arab World.
Meanwhile, this reordering would mean that Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf Arab states must accept the legitimacy of a role for Iran in the Persian Gulf and the rest of the Middle East and South-West Asia, and for both Iran and Saudi Arabia to recognize that each has natural constituencies in these regions which both should respect. Such a Saudi-Iranian understanding would go a long way toward easing sectarian tensions and fostering broader regional understandings which would contribute to regional stability.
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Nor is such a Saudi-Iranian reconciliation a far-fetched idea. This happened in the past during the Rafsanjani and Khatami presidencies and it can happen again. Already, Ayatullah Hashemi Rafsanjani, who is widely respected and trusted by the Saudi leadership, especially by King Abdullah, has indicated that he is willing to undertake a process of reconciliation with the Kingdom and, for this purpose, to travel to Riyadh. But even were this reconciliation to take place, it would not mean the establishment of a Saudi-Iranian condominium in the Middle East; such a scheme would be bound to fail. But it would eliminate a major cause of tension in the Middle East and South-West Asia and make it much easier to resolve conflicts from Lebanon to Afghanistan and enhance stability.
Eventually, if such developments take place, they could prepare the ground for development of a region-wide security system.
It's true that, of all the conflicts in the region, the one pitting Iran against the United States is the most fundamental, and its resolution could unlock doors from North Africa to Central Asia. No wonder the hawks and neoconservatives are worried.
Read our coverage of the Islamic feminist movement.
Marco Rubio's foreign policy isn't quite ready for prime time. A pair of recent speeches by the Florida Republican, who's widely considered to be preparing a presidential bid for 2016, reveals a less-than-stirring approach to global affairs, indicating that Rubio hasn't quite decided how far he'll go this way and that in the Republican civil war, as least as far as it applies overseas.
Just as the GOP is divided on domestic policy between Tea Party radicals and more centrist, pro–Big Business and Chamber of Commerce types, on foreign policy it's split between interventionist, neoconservative hawks and non-interventionist, libertarian Ron Paul types, with plenty of establishment centrists in the mix, too. Rubio, speaking first at the American Enterprise Institute in November and then, yesterday, at the august venue of London's Chatham House, is tilting, at least a little, toward the interventionists and hawks. During his November 20 speech to AEI, for instance, Rubio painted a picture of conflicts overseas that seem complex and which resist American involvement, adding, in regard to the isolationist, non-interventionist wing of the GOP:
And they have created an opening for voices that have long desired to disengage and isolate America from the world. Their rhetoric is more careful than the isolationists of the past. But their actions speak clearly. On issue after issue, these voices have used the increasing uncertainty abroad and the economic insecurity at home to argue that it's best for America to stay on the sidelines.
Still, Rubio hedged his bets, implying that he's neither hawk nor dove himself:
Meanwhile, at home, foreign policy is too often covered in simplistic terms. Many only recognize two points of view: "doves", who seek to isolate us from the world, participating in global events only when there is a direct physical threat to the safety of our homeland; and "hawks", who believe we should use our mighty military strength to intervene in response to practically every crisis.
In the rest of the speech, Rubio threw in some token criticisms of the Obama administration, suggesting that the White House is presiding over a global decline in American power and influence around the world. Instead, Rubio held up the United States as—what else?—the exceptional nation without whose global leadership the forces of "darkness" will prevail. He concluded:
And so I ask you: if America stops leading, who will fill the vacuum we leave behind? Is there a candidate nation for this role that can offer the security and benevolence that America can? Is there any other nation we can trust to spread the values of liberty and peace and democracy? There is not.
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In contrast, Rubio's widely publicized Chatham House speech was far less political, far more modest in scope, and mostly filled with pabulum about the eternal important of Anglo-American relations. He threw in references to GOP icons such as Churchill and Thatcher, naturally. But he was oddly concerned about explaining to the British establishment audience why exactly the United States seemed so reluctant to get involved now in world and regional conflicts. He said:
We send billions of dollars in aid to people around the world, and in turn we watch as they celebrate our tragedies and burn our flag. And we mourn the murder of four of our diplomats in Benghazi, the very city in which we intervened to prevent mass murder.
Yet, in the rest of the speech, Rubio rarely took a stand on anything of importance, at least if it smelled of controversy. The one exception: he reiterated his opposition to and suspicion of the US-Iran deal that's being negotiated:
I am personally skeptical of the interim agreement that the P5+1 have concluded with Iran. I am convinced that Iran's ultimate goal for these negotiations has been to achieve relief from the pressure of international sanctions, while retaining the option of developing a nuclear weapon. This model has been used by others in the past, such as North Korea, to successfully exploit talks to create the time and space to go nuclear.
Rubio did venture into a few foreign-policy minefields, calling on the West to take stronger measures to bring Ukraine into the Western camp and out of Russia's orbit, and he called for NATO to intensify its collective engagement with the rest of the world, citing NATO-led wars in Afghanistan, Libya, and Kosovo. On NATO, Rubio said:
We need to explore ways that NATO can prepare for its future missions. For instance, despite the sacrifices borne by many allies in Afghanistan, our militaries gained valuable experience in coalition warfare. We should determine how these capabilities can continue to be relevant in the future.
And on Ukraine:
In particular, the United States needs to continue to work closely with the EU to bring Ukraine into the Western fold. We should all be concerned about the Ukrainian government's recent decision to bow to Russian pressure and not sign an association agreement or free trade pact with the EU. Our thoughts are with the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who have taken to the streets to express concern about the future of their country.
And, of course, Rubio threw in some lines about the need for more defense spending.
But overall Rubio has yet to draw a sharp contrast between his vision for foreign policy and that of either the Obama administration or the rest of the Republican field.
Read Eric Alterman on why American foreign policy can be so difficult to understand.
It's really no contest: for Ukrainians, choosing between an economic association with the European Union, on one hand, or aligning themselves economically with Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus is a no-brainer. Not that linking up with the EU is a bed of roses, since what's likely to follow as things progress is pressure to impose austerity on an already weakened economy (see: Greece). But the hundreds of thousands in the streets of Kiev—according to one report, more than a million people—have created a crisis that isn't likely to end soon. Let's hope that the Obama administration stays out of it, that it doesn't accelerate its push to jam Ukraine into NATO and that Secretary of State John Kerry keeps his eye on the ball, namely, working with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia on the interrelated issues of the Iran nuclear program and Syria's civil war.
On both Iran and Syria, the United States and Russia seem to be working well together, and it would be a shame if the unrest in Ukraine becomes a major irritant in Washington-Moscow relations.
In an eruption that echoes the 2004 Orange Revolution, hundreds of thousands of people have filled the main square in Kiev and blockaded the government's buildings there, demanding the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovich and the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. What sparked the outbreak, which is turning into general strikes across western Ukraine (which is generally pro-European, and anti-Russian), is the sudden decision of the government to reject an "associate agreement" with the EU, a decision apparently taken under pressure from Russia. The pact was under negotiation for 5 years, but it was abandoned after Yanukovich with the President Vladimir Putin of Russia.
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Attached umbilically to stronger ties with the West come unfortunate demands from the International Monetary Fund for more austerity, and Yanukovich has highlighted such issues in rejecting the EU agreement, while also demanding hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies from the EU to finance the switch. Still, most Ukrainians aren't happy to sit still under Russia's influence, despite Moscow's power in eastern Ukraine. There's politics galore in this struggle, especially inside Ukraine's thoroughly corrupt establishment. But even big players in Ukraine's oligarchy are moving away from Russia toward the EU.
The current crisis began on November 21, when, under threats of a trade embargo from Russia, Yanukovich suspended movement toward the EU agreement. Within days, there were tens of thousands in the streets of Kiev, Ukraine's capital, and sporadic clashes with the police. At a meeting of EU heads of state in Vilnius, Lithuania, last week, Yanukovich was the odd man out, and there is widespread skepticism that he can rescue the accord with the EU now. So, either he drifts solidly into Russia's camp, or he is ousted by the revolt that's brewing. Or both.
So far, Kerry and President Obama have stayed out of the tug-of-war over Ukraine, and European leaders are privately complaining about the lack of attention that Ukraine and the EU are getting from the State Department. Let's hope it stays that way.
Read about Russia's leading opposition newspaper here.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water—or, in the case of the East China Sea, fly over the water—a new conflict is brewing in Asia that pits the United States against China. Vice President Joe Biden is packing his bags for a visit to the region, including China and Japan, but if he thought he'd be able to talk up the Transpacific Partnership, he'd better think again.
If this is part of the "pivot" to Asia, President Obama ought to pivot right back to the Middle East, where he is having some diplomatic successes. So far, in regard to the East China Sea dispute, U.S. policy is all about shows of force.
The problem started a few days ago, on November 23, when China's Ministry of Defense announced the definition of what it calls an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over stretches of the sea between China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. It is not an exclusion zone or a no-fly zone, but the Chinese say that it requires aircraft passing through the area to identify themselves:
The ministry also issued the Aircraft Identification Rules for the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone, which states aircraft flying in the zone must abide by these rules and provide identification, including flight plans, radio contact, transponders and logos.
Underscoring that it means business, according to Xinhua the Defense Ministry added:
Aircraft flying in the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone should follow the instructions of the administrative organ of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone or the unit authorized by the organ. China's armed forces will adopt defensive emergency measures to respond to aircraft that do not cooperate in the identification or refuse to follow the instructions.
So, of course, the United States promptly said: "No way." The Pentagon sent pair of B-52 bombers cruising through the new ADIZ, without identifying themselves. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said the flights were routine. But they were not routine at all, and China reacted as expected, though rather quietly. "We will make corresponding responses according to different situations and how big the threat is," a Chinese defense official told the New York Times.
The Chinese action, which comes in the midst of a dispute between China and Japan over some islands in the East China Sea—over which Beijing and Tokyo have been rattling sabers lately—is small potatoes, but both the United States and Japan seem to be treating like it were a mini-crisis. Meanwhile, the right wing in the United States, the neoconservatives and hawks, are beating the war drums. One of the interchangeable scholars at the American Enterprise Institute, which drummed up the war in Iraq in 2003, Michael Auslin, wrote in Politico:
The Obama administration needs to make daily shows of force, flying fighters, more bombers, cargo and reconnaissance planes ostentatiously through the skies that China now claims. It should invite all nations in Asia to join with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy in regular aerial transits, simply for the right of it. U.S. planes should be on alert to come to the aid of any planes, military or civilian, that are threatened by China. And President Barack Obama, or Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, should publicly urge all Asian nations to reject China's demands and announce that any of them will be protected by U.S. fighter jets.
If the White House shrinks from taking these steps, the Chinese will have won a victory that will change the perception of the balance of power in Asia.
Good grief! Daily shows of force? And by the way, Michael Austin, the balance of power in Asia is already shifting, and not in the favor of the United States. There will be ebbs and flows, as China begins to assert itself politically and militarily, catching up to its economic self-assertion that has already had an enormous effect throughout the region. But the last thing the United States ought to do is try to contain China militarily. Indeed, China is not likely to try to enforce the ADIZ militarily. Instead, Beijing is just laying down markers, in the East China Sea, the South China Sea and elsewhere, letting other countries know that it's not your uncle's China anymore—especially if your uncle is Uncle Sam.
A helpful bulletin from the Foreign Policy Initiative, the neocon outfit founded by Bill Kristol and his comrades, tries to paint these events—along with the China-Japan dispute over the islands that Japan calls the Senkaku islands and China calls the Diaoyu islands—as some great test of America's manhood, that is, as a " critical test of U.S. credibility in the face of Beijing's expansionist agenda throughout the East China Sea and the South China Sea." But it's way less than that, and hopefully Biden will keep his cool during talks in Tokyo and Beijing.
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It is a complicated issue, and there is a lot of back story to it. Whether one wants to go back as far as Japan's brutal, mass-murdering invasion of China in the 1930s, or not quite that far, there is more than meets the eye. As a reporter noted at today's State Department briefing:
QUESTION: As we know that—from 1970s, we know that Japan has extended its Air Defense Identification Zone several times, and there is a report that Japan extends ADIZ into Taiwan space. Does the U.S. Government worry about this issue? Are you going to communicate it with Japan regarding this?
MS. PSAKI: I don't have anything more for you on that, unfortunately.
She will get right back to you on that.
Read more of Bob Dreyfuss's writing on U.S. and China's foreign policy debacle here.
President Obama yesterday rightly slammed opposition to the US-Iran deal that was reached over the weekend. The critics, unfortunately given far too much time by the media, are in a frenzy to stop the deal. They're using extreme and overblown rhetoric and throwing everything that they can into the mix. It's Munich! Iranian suitcase bombs will be blowing up in New York! We can't negotiate with terrorists! What about human rights?! And so on.
But the accord is a done deal, and its effects are already being felt. The Iranian currency, the rial, is strengthening, and oil prices are falling. The Europeans are already talking about meeting in January to ease sanctions on Iran further. And for the rest of the world it's sinking in: for the first time in thirty-four years, there's a chance that the United States and Iran might do more than strike a limited deal to wind down Iran's nuclear program. It's possible that the two countries could reach a détente, and work together on problems from Syria and Afghanistan to terrorism, world energy problems, and—believe it not!—even Palestine.
Of course, it's early—but there's no going back now. The US-Iran accord has the potential to be a transformational event. Let's count the ways.
First, it can vastly change the world oil market, and that's a big part of the reason why Saudi Arabia is so worried. Iran's oil output, at about 1 million barrels a day now, could almost instantly rise to 2.5 million b/d, and from there it could go up significantly, to as much as 4 million b/d or more. Already, world oil companies are quietly jockeying to take advantage of an opening in Iran, which needs hundreds of billions of dollars in investments to rebuild its production facilities, pipelines, export facilities and refineries. That'll be good news for China, India, Japan and other consumers in East Asia, and along with rising output in recovering Iraq and Libya, it'll add a lot to world production. Prices will fall, and among OPEC countries it's Saudi Arabia that will have to absorb the shock. Saudi Arabia will be faced with the choice of getting far less for its exports, per barrel, or cutting back on its own production to keep prices stable. So, if you thought that Saudi opposition to the Iran deal was only about the Sunni-Shiite struggle for power in the Middle East, well, there's more to it.
The accord is transformational in other ways, too. It changes the ground rules of the whole region. If Iran winds down its nuclear program, it will reap vast rewards in terms of expanded trade, investment and business with the rest of the world. That will help moderates in Iran—including the business class, led nominally by Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the billionaire mullah and former president—to gain momentum over the remaining ideological radicals who seek confrontation and who are still animated by the extreme-Shiite ideology that was put forward by the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Every dollar, mark and yen that flows into Iran will bolster Iranian moderation and help Iran back away from its less-than-reasoned confrontational stance. So in conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Bahrain, Afghanistan and elsewhere, where Iran has a role to play, Tehran could become a force for a peaceful, negotiated solution in partnership with the United States and the rest of the world. It's already partially evident in Syria, where Iran could play an important role in the upcoming peace conference in January.
The elimination of Iran as a regional bogeyman could kick the props out from under the huge American military buildup in the Persian Gulf, Central Asia, the Indian Ocean and the eastern Mediterranean. Why ships tens of billions of dollars in weapons to Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf kleptocrats and maintain bases in Bahrain, Qatar and elsewhere when there's no regional military threat? It will be harder for the US military-industrial complex to justify those sales, and for the Pentagon to justify its bases, when Iran is a cooperating actor.
Despite the bluster in Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nervous breakdown over the accord, eventually the normalization of Iran's role in the region will make it a lot harder for future Israeli voters to justify their own armed-camp approach to the region. It will be much easier for Israel to think about a just settlement of the Palestinian issue if and when Iran is no longer a threat.
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As for Russia, well, the US-Iran deal will be a concern, too. For decades, Moscow has taken advantage of the breakdown in US-Iran relations by building economic and military ties to Iran and using the churning regional crisis to its advantage. Now Russia will have to recalculate. And not just on political and military issues: if Iran re-enters the world community, it will compete with Russian gas sales worldwide, directly challenging Russia for the in the European and Asian gas markets. One way Russia can use the accord for its advantage, though, has already emerged: Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that now that Iran won't be a nuclear threat, the United States and NATO can forget about putting an anti-missile system in Eastern Europe, since the last remaining, thin rationale for that was to deal with supposed missile threat from Iran.
This only begins to cover the possible transformation stemming from the accord. It has huge implications for domestic politics, too, since American neoconservatives have puffed up Iran into a global bogeyman to justify all sorts of shenanigans, and they are about to lose that "big time," as Dick Cheney might say. Watch for neocons to make their own "pivot" to Asia, warning about the rise of China and the need for the United States to confront the Chinese worldwide.
Katrina vanden Heuvel says the Republicans are waging war on the poor.
The United States and Iran, in conjunction with the P5+1 world powers, have struck a historic accord that paves the way for a final settlement of the long-running dispute over Iran's nuclear program. On the fourth day of the most recent round of talks, in bargaining that lasted until 3 am, the P5+1 and Iran concluded an interim agreement, as widely expected, to freeze Iran's nuclear program at roughly its current state. In exchange, the United States and the P5+1 have agreed on a modest but significant relaxation of economic sanctions on Iran. The next step, which the parties expect to take up to six months, is to complete a deal in which an end to sanctions is exchanged for a continued freeze and partial rollback of Iran's program, in a way—guaranteed by more intrusive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)—that provides clear assurances that Iran is not on the path toward nuclear weapons.
The substance of the accord reached in Geneva is a breakthrough, but the politics of the agreement is equally important. President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry signed the deal in explicit, full-frontal defiance of American hawks, neoconservatives and hardliners, the Israel lobby, and anti-Iran partisans in Congress. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and his team, backed by President Hassan Rouhani—elected in June with a mandate to do exactly this—have similarly defied their own country's hardliners and skeptics, led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and by what Zarif calls Iran's own Tea Party. And the United States struck the deal despite outright hostility, bordering on hysteria, from its two chief allies in the Middle East, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
According to the terms of the agreement, Iran has agreed to halt all uranium enrichment above the range of 3.5 to 5 percent purity, which is low-enriched, fuel-grade uranium. Its stockpile of medium-enriched, 20 percent purity uranium will be neutralized by conversion into a product that cannot be used for weapons. It will not produce any new centrifuges except those needed to replace ones that break down, and it will not start spinning those now in place, including advanced centrifuges, that aren't currently in use. It will not add to its current stockpile of low-enriched uranium, either, although it can continue to refine uranium to 5 percent purity as long as some of it is converted to fuel rods and other, nonmilitary product. Its heavy water reactor at Arak, which could produce material to process into plutonium, will be frozen. And Iran has agreed to far more intrusive IAEA inspections, including daily inspections at Natanz and at the underground facility at Fordow.
Both President Rouhani and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, have endorsed the accord, in part because for the first time the United States and the P5+1 have tacitly recognized Iran's right to enrich uranium under the terms of the Nonproliferation Treaty, which Iran has signed, by agreeing to permit Iran's continuing enrichment to 5 percent. Rouhani said that the deal seals Iran's "nuclear rights," and, according to Al Arabiya, Khamenei said: "The nuclear negotiating team should be thanked and appreciated for this achievement. God's grace and the support of the Iranian nation were the reasons behind this success."
Obama, speaking from the White House early Sunday, said:
While today's announcement is just a first step, it achieves a great deal. For the first time in nearly a decade, we have halted the progress of the Iranian nuclear program, and key parts of the program will be rolled back. Iran has committed to halting certain levels of enrichment, and neutralizing part of its stockpile. Iran cannot use its next-generation centrifuges—which are used for enriching uranium. Iran cannot install or start up new centrifuges, and its production of centrifuges will be limited. Iran will halt work at its plutonium reactor. And new inspections will provide extensive access to Iran's nuclear facilities, and allow the international community to verify whether Iran is keeping its commitments.
Interestingly, a statement from the White House early today explicitly rules out the imposition of additional sanctions, which is a direct message to leaders of the US Senate, including majority leader Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who'd hinted that they'd move ahead with yet another round of sanctions in December. The accord, says the White House, commits the parties of the P5+1, including the United States, to "not impose new nuclear-related sanctions for six months, if Iran abides by its commitments under this deal, to the extent permissible within their political systems."
But the White House, trying to sell the accord to domestic skeptics, including the hawks, risks sounding a little triumphant by touting the sanctions relief provided to Iran as "limited, temporary, targeted, and reversible." That's all true—but, of course, Iran's commitments are equally "reversible." In fact, the sanctions relief is important in its own right, but it also provides the first movement in the opposition direction in regard to economic sanctions on Iran since the mid-1990s. Under the terms of the accord, Iran will gain access to billions of dollars in frozen accounts over the next six months; it will gain specific relief for its suffering auto and aviation sectors; and the accord will "allow purchases of Iranian oil to remain at their currently significantly reduced levels." That last phrase means that although the onerous oil and banking sanctions will remain in place, there will be no more pressure to reduce Iran's oil exports further.
Israel's reaction is, predictably, apoplectic. Naftali Bennett, Israel's economic minister, said, "If five years from now a nuclear suitcase explodes in New York or Madrid, it will be because of the deal that was signed this morning." But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have trouble playing that card for long, since Israel is drastically isolated from the rest of the world and risks an open break with Washington. Already, some Israel leaders, such as President Shimon Peres and the newly installed leader of the Israeli Labor Party, have issued mild to moderate statements that undermine Netanyahu's bluster. And, ironically, though, the harsh reaction from Israel will help Rouhani and Zarif sell the deal in Iran, since they can point to Israel's criticism of the deal as a sign that it was, indeed, a victory for Iran's "nuclear rights."
In a background briefing, a senior US official laid out the sanctions relief that Iran will get via the accord. It's an impressive list:
The components are as follows: We will pause efforts to further reduce Iran's crude oil sales. This means Iran's oil exports will remain steady at their current level of around 1 million barrels per day, which is down 60 percent since our oil sanctions took effect in late 2011. And with one exception, the revenue that Iran earns from these sales over the next six months will continue to be restricted by our sanctions, meaning that those funds will not be available to Iran for repatriation or cross-border transfer.
The one exception is that we will allow Iran to transfer $4.2 billion in revenue from these sales in installments over the six-month period.
We will suspend U.S. sanctions on Iran's petrochemical exports. This could allow Iran to generate some revenue, which we estimate to be a maximum of a billion dollars in new revenue over the six-month period. We will suspend U.S. sanctions on Iran's trade in gold and precious metals. There is no economic value to Iran from this provision because Iran will have to spend its limited unrestricted foreign currency for any gold purchases. Iran cannot use restricted oil earnings to buy gold.
We will suspend U.S. sanctions on exports to Iran's auto industry. This could provide Iran some marginal benefit on the order of about $500 million if Iran is able to resume its prior levels of production and revitalizes its auto exports. However, Iran's auto industry suffers from many problems beyond sanctions, many of which would have to be solved for Iran to benefit from this provision. Moreover, Iran would need to use some of its limited foreign currency to pay for car kits it would import from abroad.
We will allow $400 million in governmental tuition assistance to be transferred from restricted Iranian funds overseas directly to recognized educational institutions in third countries to defray the tuition costs of Iranian students. We will license safety-related repairs and inspections inside Iran for certain Iranian airlines, and we will establish a financial channel to facilitate humanitarian trade in food, agricultural commodities, medicines, and medical devices for Iran's domestic needs. Humanitarian transactions have been explicitly exempted from sanctions by Congress, so this channel will not provide Iran access to any new source of funds.
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Finally, to the extent permissible within our political system, we have committed to refrain from imposing new nuclear-related sanctions. That does not prevent us from implementing and enforcing our existing nuclear-related sanctions, which, of course, we will do, or from imposing new sanctions targeting Iran's sponsorship of terrorism or its abysmal human rights record.
Greg Mitchell dissects the media's response to the historic Iran deal.
Meet the new occupation: same as the old occupation! Or pretty much: not as many troops, not as many dead and wounded every week, but still. In the new US-Afghanistan accord—which may or may not be ratified early next week by President Hamid Karzai's Loya Jirga, and which may or may not be signed until some in mid-2014—the United States will be able to maintain as many as nine military bases in Afghanistan. In addition, American troops and US contractors can go in and out of Afghanistan without visas. And neither the troops nor the contractors will be subject to Afghan law.
In a hilarious statement of his priorities, Karzai said: "We want the Americans to respect our sovereignty and laws and be an honest partner. And bring a lot of money." The delegates to the Loya Jirga laughed, said The New York Times.
The Afghan foreign ministry released draft text of the accord, which (among other things) codifies that the United States must continue to finance Afghanistan's ragtag security forces indefinitely, or at least through 2024, saying "the United States shall have an obligation to seek funds on a yearly basis to support the training, equipping, advising and sustaining of" the Afghan forces.
According to The Washington Post: "The United States can maintain up to nine bases, and American troops and support contractors will be able to enter Afghanistan without having to obtain a visa." Karzai said that as many as 15,000 foreign troops could remain in Afghanistan through 2024. Of those, it's expected that less than 10,000 would be American troops, including Special Forces units that, under the terms of the accord, will be able to conduct night raids against targets suspected of terrorism. And the bases can be used, presumably, for launching drone attacks against targets in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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The government of Afghanistan gave in on a critical US demand, that American troop and contractors not be subject to Afghan law. That was a deal-breaker in the talks with Iraq, when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rejected a similar US demand. Says the Afghan text of the US-Afghan Bilateral Security Agreement, in rather convoluted language:
Afghanistan, while retaining its sovereignty, recognizes the particular importance of disciplinary control, including judicial and non-judicial measures, by the United States forces authorities over members of the force and of the civilian component. Afghanistan therefore agrees that the United States shall have the exclusive right to exercise jurisdiction over such persons in respect of any criminal or civil offenses committed in the territory of Afghanistan. Afghanistan authorizes the United States to hold trial in such cases, or take other disciplinary action, as appropriate, in the territory of Afghanistan.
The text adds: "Passports and visas shall not be required. Such personnel shall be exempt from Afghan law and regulations on registration and control of foreign citizens."
Senator Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, is pushing a proposal on Capitol Hill to require that the continued occupation of Afghanistan, even if ratified by a US-Afghan accord, be endorsed by Congress. That's an interesting idea, but despite strong public disapproval in polls for continuing the war in Afghanistan in any form, it's far-fetched to think that Congress would disapprove the pact.
Read Bob Dreyfuss's take on how diplomacy with Iran is straining US-Israel relations.
There's a crisis brewing in US-Israel relations, and it's about time.
For four years, President Obama has put up with the shenanigans of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. Among Netanyahu's offenses: openly defying Obama in 2009, when the president called for Israel to halt its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, and overt supporting Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. But, in issuing a stream of political invective aimed at capsizing the emerging deal with Iran, Netanyahu is making a catastrophic miscalculation that could isolate Israel and weaken its support among the American public.
Fact is, Netanyahu can't stop the coming deal with Iran. And despite his bluster, he can't bomb Iran, either. Furthermore, Israel—which vastly depends on American good will, American aid and American arms—doesn't have many friends outside the United States. Despite Netanyahu's warm embrace of visiting French President FrançHollande this week, and despite Netanyahu's upcoming visit to Moscow to talk turkey with Vladimir Putin, really and truly Israel has nowhere else to go except Washington.
All the vaunted power of the Israel lobby, which Netanyahu has tried to mobilize against Obama this month, won't save Israel if the United States abandons it. Not that the United States is abandoning Israel anytime soon, of course, but even a sharp look of disapproval from Washington can cause serious problems in Israel, and in Israeli politics. So Netanyahu had better be careful.
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The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), the pro-Israel think tank allied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), issued a dire warning about the developing rupture in US-Israeli relations this week. Wrote Rob Satloff, WINEP's executive director, in Politico, in regard to the potential US-Iran entente:
Not since Menachem Begin trashed Ronald Reagan's 1982 peace plan has Israel so publicly criticized a major U.S. diplomatic initiative. In a rousing speech in Jerusalem on Nov. 10, Netanyahu even called on leaders of American Jewry to use their influence to stop what he called a "bad" Iran deal.
Never has a U.S. secretary of state taken to a podium in an Arab capital, proclaimed his pro-Israel bona fides and then specifically cautioned the prime minister of Israel to butt out of ongoing U.S. diplomatic efforts and save his critique for after a deal is inked. That is what John Kerry did in a remarkable Nov. 11 news conference in Abu Dhabi, standing next to the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates.
Netanyahu, in his hysterical speech at the United Nations in September, and his apoplectic responses to the diplomacy with Iran ever since, has brought this on himself. As The New York Times reports today:
Every time Mr. Obama and his secretary of state, John Kerry, ask for a little time and space to test the new Iranian leadership's claims that it is ready for a new approach, and for compromise, Mr. Netanyahu responds that the proposed agreement is "a very bad deal," "extremely dangerous," "a mistake of historic proportions" or, as he said in an interview with CNN on Sunday, "an exceedingly bad deal." And he has often raised the specter of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities even if a deal is signed, something the Obama administration believes would split apart the global coalition it has built to squeeze Iran.
With such absurdly exaggerated rhetoric, Netanyahu has created a crisis for himself. What happens when Iran and the P5+1 sign the deal, which could happen as early as this week? Where does Netanyahu go then? His bluster about striking Iran unilaterally is just that: bluster. Were Israel to attack Iran, either the United States would condemn it and allow Israel to suffer the world's opprobrium all alone, or the United States would find itself (and Israel) utterly isolated as the rest of the world strikes its own deal with Iran, causing the economic sanctions to collapse.
Make no mistake: there's more at stake here than just the talks with Iran. Israel's entire relationship with the United States is on the line.
Dave Zirin looks back at the untimely death of basketball star Len Bias.
One of the byproducts of recent events in the Middle East is the return of Russia to a prominent role across the region. Not that Russia ever left, but it has been a principal goal of successive US administrations to push first the Soviet Union and then Russia back. In the 1950s and 1960s that took the form of a series of political and military alliances, including NATO (which included Turkey) and the Baghdad Pact and CENTO (including variously Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan). More recently, the United States has tried to expand NATO eastward along Russia's southwest flank, including Ukraine and Georgia. And the invasion of Iraq and the bombing of Libya deprived Russia of important partners, in fields as varied as energy and arms sales.
Not so much anymore. Russia has come roaring back. However, although hawks and neoconservatives will make noises about President Obama's inability to block Russia's Middle East resurgence, it could be a good thing if it leads to greater US-Russian cooperation in conflicts such as the civil war in Syria, the Iran nuclear standoff, Afghanistan, and the war against Al Qaeda.
The latest news on the Russia–Middle East front is the visit last week of Russia's foreign minister and defense minister to Egypt. According to AFP:
Russia is offering to sell Egypt modern helicopters and air defense systems in a landmark deal reportedly worth $2 billion that would mark a revival of large-scale military cooperation, a Russian official said Friday.
In the same visit, there were reports that Russia and Egypt spoke about setting up a Russian naval base in the Mediterranean. The Russians say that Saudi Arabia is willing to finance the sale, which would be a stunning shift by Egypt, which has long depended on the United States and the West for its military. But the successive coups against former President Hosni Mubarak and then against President Mohammad Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood by Egypt's generals has irked Washington and made Egypt resistant to both American carrots and sticks. The new turn toward Russia recalls the dramatic shift by President Gamal Abdel Nasser in the mid-1950s, who turned to Eastern Europe and the USSR for arms when London and Washington sought to isolate him and topple his government.
That follows a brilliant diplomatic maneuver in August, when Russia got Syria's commitment to destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons and then invited the United States to co-sponsor the effort, thwarting Obama's ill-conceived plan to bomb Syria in retaliation for President Bashar al-Assad's use of poison gas in the war against Syrian rebels. As a result, Russia—which is Assad's chief ally, along with Iran—is back at the center of the Syrian issue, pushing for a diplomatic solution. And all of a sudden, the military forces of the Syrian government look formidable, making major gains on the ground since May, when they recaptured a strategic town on the Syria-Lebanon border and began pushing back rebels around Aleppo and the Damascus suburbs. Assad and Russia's President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone, and a Syrian delegation traveled to Moscow to discuss diplomacy involving the civil war and a planned peace conference in Syria. Russia has also invited the chief representative of the Syrian rebels to Moscow, too.
And Russia is at the center of the talks between Iran and the P5+1 world powers, including the United States, which are on track later this week to create an interim accord of so-called "confidence-building measures" (CBMs) toward a final agreement in six months or so.
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All this has led to headlines such as "Is Russia Taking Over the U.S. Role in the Middle East?" and, at the BBC, "Russia in the Middle East: Return of the Bear."
Russia's increased role can be seen in its efforts to build closer ties to Israel and its efforts to sell weapons to Iraq and the Persian Gulf states, too. Last year, says the BBC, "Baghdad has signed major deals for Russian air defence systems and combat helicopters, beating off European competitors." And, while plans to sell arms to Saudi Arabia haven't materialized yet, on Sunday King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Putin spoke by phone. The BBC adds that the United Arab Emirates, another Arab oil kleptocracy, is improving its Russia ties:
Over the last two decades there has been an enormous influx of Russian visitors and residents to the UAE and one very senior member of the ruling family has such a close working relationship with President Putin they go shooting together in the Russian woods.
None of this ought to be alarming, but it does mean that Obama ought to redouble efforts to work with Russia on regional problems.
Bob Dreyfuss looks into the disruptive role the French are playing in negotiations with Iran.


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Fun Tricks with Media Mover 2.x
Media Mover 2.x has been slowly creeping along for the last bunch of months and is starting to approach an alpha state. One of the cool things about Media Mover 2 is that the architecture has been rewritten from the ground up. Now there are three main concepts - files that Media Move knows about, configurations which are a collection of steps, and steps which are settings for some kind of action or process that is done to a file. However, they all have lives of their own which means you can do some neat things with them.


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Dave & Tom visit Moritz-Reusch Jewelry for their annual Christmas Giveaway for Toys for Tots. This year's pirze was a $1,000 necklace. updated 12.10.12
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"La Stria del Re" is a family-run B&B located in the small and lovely village of "Rino di Sonico" (at about 700 meters above sea level), in the heart of the Regional Adamello Park. For our guests, "La Stria del Re" offers three rooms,... Plus d'informations
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Holiday Apartment Marili is in a small village into Adamello Park, and is a new renovated flat in historical centre with independent entrance. It is composed of new kitchen with crockery microware, oven vacuum cleaner, living room with... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 80
Residence Delle Alpi is a Nice one room apartment located in the center of Schilpario: a small mountain village in the province of Bergamo. The apartment has a well-furnished kitchen, one sofa bed, one bunk bed, private facilities... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 50
In the heart of the Alps, Holiday Apartment "La Casa Di Armando" is located in S. Lucia, 1 km from the center of Bormio. Nearby you will find: skiing, SPA, golf course and ice rink. The apartment consists of: kitchen, living room,... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 93
Palace Hotel is located near the centre of Bormio and ski slopes, easily reachable by private shuttle. The Hotel offers its guests 85 rooms of different type, all well furnished with: mini bar, satellite TV, safe, telephone, internet.... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 270
Hotel Milano is a nice sunny village between Adamello and Ortles mountains, enjoying the view of Presanella, a beautiful mountain of the area with snow also in summer time. It offers rooms provided with telephone, balcony, bathroom... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 60
Hotel Centro Pineta is just a short distance from the town centre of Pinzolo and is surrounded by the breath-taking scenery of the Adamello Brenta Dolomites National Park. It is a modern and family-run hotel, offering its guests an... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 165
Hotel Pinzolo is one of the most comfortable and glamorous hotels of Pinzolo, constantly renewed. It has 90 sleeping beds in well-furnished bedrooms provided with bathrooms, direct phone-line, TV sat-sky and safe, and most of them have... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 160
Ortles Hotel 3 Star Superior is set in a typical little mountain resort, in the heart of the splendid scenery of the Stelvio National Park in Val di Sole, just in front of the Ortles and Cevedale peaks. Our 30 rooms are fully served... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 200
The Holiday Apartment "Antica Fonte" is situated in the centre, in front of the thermal park entrance. The apartments (two-room or three-room) are all equipped with heating, tv, bathroom with shower, kitchenette, telephone and small... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 55
Alpen Hotel Chalet is situated between Bormio and Livigno, where you will be welcomed by the perfume of the natural elements of four types of theme rooms (wood, iron, stone and hay) and two suites (Taula and Betulla). Each room has a... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 139
The Panorama Hotel Fontanella is a family-run hotel set in the Adamello-Brenta Natural Park, at 1500 metres above sea level. Rooms overlook the Brenta Dolomites and Adamello Glacier. Rooms at Panorama Hotel are comfortable and... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 153
The Holiday Apartment "Baita Stebline" is a typical livigno's chalet with 3 apartments, it is about 10 minutes from the centre by car. Ideally for people who love mountains and the nature. It offers large and comfortable apartment up... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 170
The Holiday Apartment Amba 39 is a flat in a good position since the just a 5 minutes' walk from the cableway that leads to Marilleva 1400 where there are ski slopes, ski tows and schools. The flat is comfortable with a kitchen area,... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 190
Valtellina Bed & Breakfast is located in a panoramic position, on the ground floor of a Valtellina mountain chalet, only 5 km from Sondrio. The recently built structure is immersed in the green of the vineyards, for a pleasant and... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 67
Holiday Apartment Bait Paradisi, set in an ideal location close to Carosello 3000, is ideal for groups, families or couples. The house accommodates 6 persons and consist of 2 double bedroom, a bathroom with shower, a living area with... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 193
Holiday Apartment "Casa Vittoria " is located 2 km from Lovere , north of Lake Iseo , is the ideal place to visit the countries that overlook the lake , Monte Isola and Valle Camonica, as well as the cities of the north Italy. "Casa... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 417
Holiday Apartment Olimpia House is ideally located in Olimpia, right in the center of the country within the restricted traffic zone, near the ski slopes and the ski schools. Our house can accommodate up to 7 persons in 2 apartments.... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 90
Bed & Breakfast Cà Mea Dina is a recently restructured building situated in the old centre of Bezzecca, a pleasant village in the middle of the Ledro Valley. The B&B offers accommodation in 6 bedrooms for 2/3 persons, large and sunny... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 93
Residence Folgarida is located in the breathtaking landscape of Folgarida in a quiet position. The residence represents an authentic alpine atmosphere to enjoy the nature of the Stelvio Natural Park . Residence Folgarida offers... Plus d'informations
Prix moyen 117


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Each month, the Colorado Department of Agriculture features a different commodity to highlight the variety and quality of products grown, raised or processed in the state. This month, Colorado sunflower seeds are featured in the Chewy Granola Bars recipe.
Colorado produces 55 million pounds of sunflower seeds each year. The state ranks seventh in the nation for sunflower production. Sunflower seeds are power-packed with healthy fats, protein, fiber, minerals, vitamin E, and phytochemicals. Look for Colorado sunflower seeds at your local grocery store or specialty food store.
Chewy Granola Bars
Chef Jason K. Morse, C.E.C., Executive Chef, Douglas County School District and 5280 Culinary, LLC
3-1/2 Cups Instant Oats
1-1/2 Cups Sugar
2/3 Cup Oat Flour
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1-1/2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
3 Cups Dried Fruits (blueberries, currants and/or cranberries)
3 Cups Seeds (mix of pepita and sunflower)
3/4 Cup Sun Butter
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
1/4 Lb. Unsalted Butter, melted
1/2 Cup Honey
2 Tablespoons Water
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or spray well with pan spray. Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and seeds. In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining wet ingredients. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing firmly to ensure they are "packed" to the shape of the pan. Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until they're brown around the edges. Cool the bars in the pan completely on a cooling rack. Remove from the pan and place onto a cutting board. Once cooled, use a large knife to cut the bars into the desired sized pieces.
Visit www.coloradoagriculture.com for a complete list of recipes.
At least a thousand students, friends, colleagues, cohorts, acquaintances, and family attended a Celebration of Life ceremony for Gerald Boland, who was caught in the raging floodwaters in the early morning hours of September 12, and died.
He and wife Cheron heard the Lyons Fire Protection District's volunteer firemen's bull horn as they went up the North St. Vrain Road warning residents to
Read more: Celebration of Life For Gerald BolandGOOD NEWS! Several neighborhoods of town will be going home this weekend. Yea, for us, and Yea for the Town Staff and all their co-horts for working so hard to get us back home.
Actually, most of us probably enjoyed our stay-away-from-home to find out how others live, what are their activities, their habits, what they eat, exercise, go to, etc. It is different when you live there, than visit for just a few hours. I found Niwot an intriguing town, but hard to meet
Read more: About Town -October 24, 2013HOME! HOME! SWEET, SWEET HOME! It's what residents of 700 Lyons homes are singing this week. After being away for six weeks, it takes some getting used to. Although, the gas man never came to my home, it is getting close (this Thursday). Again, thanks to all friends, family, hotels, apartments for
Read more: About Town -October 31, 2013By Lyons Bluesologist, David McIntyre
Hopefully by the time you read this a lot of folks will be trickling back to their homes in Lyons. If the schedule for turning on all the utilities is correct many of us who live north of Main Street, as well as the businesses on Main and High Street will be able to open their doors and occupy their homes with full services. My neighborhood received power last week and subsequent areas of town will get up and running over
Read more: Welcome Home!It is so wonderful to have Lyonites moving home. There are lights in homes and warmth in spirit abounding everywhere. The businesses are opening their doors and the people are starting to walk inside those businesses. As we all know, Mother Nature has done a real number on our quirky little town. Usually
Read more: Welcome Home, Lyons!Repetitive Dream
By Alexa DiSalvo
Stop meeting me in the dark alcoves
Sticky honeycomb nightmare treasure troves
Why do I wander night after night


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Let us know. We DO Listen.
Xunantunich (Maya for �Maiden of the Rock�) sits just inside the Western border of Belize to nearby Guatemala. Before reaching the entrance of this ancient city, your party will board a 19th century hand-cranked ferry which takes you across the Mopan River. The Maya temples are actually located on one of the highest plateaus in the area and it is possible to climb to the top of �El Castillo�, the largest of the temples at this site. From this vantage point, one gains a panoramic view of the Cayo District and nearby Guatemala. Next, we continue to Barton Creek Cave in Amish territory. Equipped with canoes self-paddled and high-powered lights we gently paddle into Xibalba (she-bal-ba). As you glide through the cave system you will be dazzled by the glistening crystalline rock formations and awed by the Mayan artifacts secretly tucked away in overhead alcoves.
Activity Duration: 9 Hours
Activity Availability: Monday & Thursday at 8:00 � 8:30 AM
Tour Inclusions:
The Select Hotel feature provides a list of all applicable hotels for the tour or transfer you selected. For tours, complimentary pick up is only available from one of these hotels. If you do not have a hotel at this time please select 'unknown'. Once you book your hotel, you must contact us so we can confirm your pick up/drop off location.


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"How I Live" is produced by Danimal Tha Choppa and features Troy Boy of SCC and Sulaiman of Treated Crew. The project will be dropping sometime next month and has features from Auggie the 9th (Treated Crew), Dave Coresh, Loud Mouth of Supreme Regime as well as Swords the Ronin from SCC.
© 2012 GOWHERE — All Rights Reserved


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Pienza - Gaylord National Harbor
Online Reservations
We went to brunch at Pienza to celebrate my birthday. I had eaten breakfast there before, but had never been to Sunday brunch. My family and I thought that it was the most incredible brunch we had ever been to. We were impressed by variety of food as well as the quality of taste. When offering that many options it is sometimes difficult to make everything taste good and not bland - and Pienza did not have that problem. We were also impressed by the condition of the food service area..someone was constantly wiping up spills and cleaning the areas. The service was also great! Our used plates (and there were many) were immediately removed and drinks were always full. All of the staff was helpful and friendly.
This place was breathe taking. The food options were reasonable for lunch and the service was great. I will definitely visit again very soon. I really appreciated that they validated my parking. Perfect ending to a wonderful lunch.
Wonderful experience at Easter Brunch. Grandchildren thoroughly enjoyed it. Food was great, service was outstanding and the Gaylord Easter Bunny was hopping.
Pienza is great for that special occasion Sunday brunch.... You are in an "outdoor" setting but fully protected from the elements. A little pricey, but you're paying for a lot more than the food. While the spread is great, given National Harbor's out-of-the-way location, the hired help is sometimes lacking, and the high-level service and spit-and-polish you would expect from a place of this caliber is lacking throughout.
Great attentive service. You could stay all day, eat, converse and people watch. A little on the pricy side for a brunch, but an inordinate amount of food.
We brought our in-laws to the Easter Brunch....the food was excellent and the outside seating was the best. We especially enjoyed the omelet station. Service was great. We will return for brunch again. Thanks.
Took my family here for Easter Brunch. Great ombiance and a wonderful view! Have been here before and enjoyed as well. You provided such a variety of food for both breakfast and lunch. The service was very good and friendly.
My husband and I loved the outdoor feel of the restaurant. The wait staff was very friendly and we enjoyed the live music. Brunch bar was extensive and the food was very good. We are definitely going back!
This is such a lovely location for Brunch, Lunch, Dinner etc. Service was outstanding, our Hostess and server were so nice, so attentive, so friendly. We had personalize musicians serinade our table several times, were my entire ladies group stopped talking and listened and flowed with the music. All 12 in my group asked if this location could become a regular spot for our group to return for brunch. One of my group required a specialized omlet, it was made to order and brought to her at the table when everything was self-serve. We found that to be exceptional service above and beyond the standard service you get at most brunches in the DMV. My only issue was the waffle station, if the waffle chef could make waffles to order.
I was at Pienza for a breakfast meeting. It was a little noisy but the buffet allowed us to get our food quickly so the work could begin. The waiter was excellent - attentive and positive. I had cold cereal - so rated the food as good since I had nothing prepared by the restaurant staff and the cereal was what it always is. I liked being able to book the reservation on-line - very efficient and effective - good for travelers like me. I I
We attended the Mother's Day Brunch. It was very busy and hectic, but the food made it worth the wait!
Seven family members met for an 8:30am Mother's Day breakfast. The food was great and the service was wonderful. Some of us were traveling; otherwise we would have wanted to make reservations for the brunch. Maybe the next time. However, the breakfast was great and complete. We thought that the price was appropriate for what we had.
Excellent customer service specifically by waitress Queenie,and chef Ricardo would highly recommend that they receive promotions..
A fabulous brunch at the Pienza. Crab legs, shrimp, carving stations, fresh home-made deserts and much more. Everything was wonderful including the service and ambiance. Overlooking the National Harbor at the Gaylord Hotel-what a view. I will definetely return and recommend highly.
Pienza in the Gaylord Hotel, National Harbor, presented a new opportunity for brunch this recent Mother's Day. The decor within the vast Gaylord lobby is nicely done, and much like dining in a well-maintained garden. The brunch selections were quite extensive (everything one would expect and even including Alaskan crab legs & lasagna), well-prepared and nicely presented. The wait-staff were very attentive and not the slightest intrusive. The menu exceeded our expectations -- and the notable appetites of my college graduate and HS lacrosse player! I'm please to find out that all six of us will be there for Father's Day.
I liked Pienza, the atmosphere was nice, but felt more like the mall food court. My family and I went there for our Mother's Day brunch this year, a huge buffet- style event. The only downturn was actually getting to the restaurant location from the parking garage (signs would be more than helpful). The journey was more like a mad dash to your terminal at the airport. Luckily, I have wised up since that trip and will gladly take the nearest elevator. The food was nice, great mini Belgium waffles and plenty of fruit and pastries. There was also a nice dessert selection and lunch foods like grilled chicken with rice pilaf. For the price, mimosas should be included. I would suggest a fresh omelet station, the eggs were awful.
We arrived at 1:30 pm on a Saturday and finished the lunch, but the deserts must have been delicious because it was a little scarce. The hostess kindly brought out cupcakes...yeah!!
Quality of food ranged from Ok for some items to excellent for others. There were just enough choices at the buffet for me to be satisfied. Could offer a few more choices for the price, which I consider quite expensive. Service was very good and a walk outside offers a very nice view of the Potomac.
This is a nice atmosphere in the Gaylor atrium for a business breakfast. If you are staying in the hotel, it is a nice breakfast. there are several food stations: omelets, pastry, continental breakfast, fruits.
Excellant quality and service. Everyone was pleasand the the food was excellant. It was a very nice surprise.
We enjoyed our experience at Pienza. It was expensive! $150 for 2 adults and one child.
a little high at 49 pp for brunch on fathers day, however I was a great brunch with high quality food. even the scrambled eggs tasted much better than other buffet style breakfats eggs. Lots of options, seafood, sirloin steak, shrimp and crab legs, oysters. will definatelly go back . The mimosas were good also. there was also a 4 strings band playing really nice broadway and movie classics which added to an already wonderful atmosphere.
I have been there many times since it opened. I especially take friends who are in town and they LOVE IT. My parents love it also. The orchestra is awesome!!
I've been here on two occasions, and I've been supremely pleased both times. The choices are endless and the quality is superb. The views from the dining area are spectacular! The service is great - if you don't find something on this brunch buffet that you like, then you just don't like food!!
Wonderful Sunday brunch! Has something for everyone! Too much to list, just try it for yourself!!
Wonderful experience the food was absolutely amazing!!
It was our wedding anniversary and our waitress went out of her way to bring us a dessert tray with candles. The 3 musical performers came and played at our table for us. Wow, thank you for recognizing our special day. The food choices were wonderful.
Lots of food choices. Italian music was fun. Sit in the atrium rain or shine. Friendly service.
The service was excellent. The host was wonderful. She gave us a tour of the buffet because it was our first time at the restaurant. The food was wonderful. Try the mashed potatoes at the brunch, they are strange looking but awesome. The trio that walked around serenading the guests was a nice touch.
A great Thanksgiving feast with many choices but WHERE WERE THE PIES? NO PUMPKIN, NO PECAN, NO MINCEMEAT, NOT EVEN APPLE PIE. A chocolate fountain and a selection of mini cupcakes DOES NOT COMPLETE A THANKSGIVING DINNER!! Many cupcakes were left on tables and after the children were finished playing with the chocolate, the marshmallows were also left uneaten. The dessert selection seemed aimed to please the children not the paying adults. How ridiculous to have a turkey with trimmings meal topped off with a chocolate marshmallow! My dinner companions and I could not believe this magnificent $56 meal without a traditional ending.
The food was delicious and with outstanding choices and selections. The seafood bar was fresh and rich and all the entree selections were great. I love the atmosphere and the walking trio of musicians added a wonderful addition to my evening.
My family and I have dined here before on Thanksgiving Day, and on other occasions. This Thanksgiving (2013) was particularly great! It seems the restaurant (its buffet) has become even better. There was a large variety and plenty of food. All of the food and desserts were tasty, and the service was great. We left feeling very satisfied.
We really enjoyed our buffet breakfast at the Pienza. The best part was coming out of the elevator and seeing a huge crowd waiting outside. I made my way to the front (with stares coming my way) and asked where the line was for reservations and was immediately escorted into the restaurant. (Thanks Open Table!) The buffet selection was really great and we all had several plates.
Pienza is a great restaurant for Special Occasions. I was celebrating my birthday and my family and I had a great time. They were kind and the service was impeccable. I have already told all my friends.
dinner was also buffet, but we had a christmas character breakfast and the food was wonderful


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2015 BMW M3 and M4 Bound for U.S. Showrooms Next Summer
The 2015 BMW M3 sedan and 2015 BMW M4 coupe will debut at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show in January and arrive in U.S. showrooms next summer.
Next-Generation Honda Ridgeline in the Pipeline
A redesigned Honda Ridgeline will launch within two years, Honda said on Tuesday, as it takes aim at the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks.
2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63, SL550 and SL65 Recalled for Airbag Problem
Mercedes-Benz is recalling approximately 130 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63, SL550 and SL65 cars because of an airbag problem.
Lexus F Highlights Performance: 2014 Detroit Auto Show
The Lexus F, a new performance model from Toyota's upscale brand, will debut at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show.
See which cars and trucks our editors recommend