text:
I would rather someone be wrapped in the Constitution burning the flag than wrapped in the flag burning the Constitution. In other words, as Patrick Henry famously said, "Give me liberty or give me death."
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Kurds Ready to Break Ranks
By Tom Lasseter
Knight Ridder Newspapers
KIRKUK, Iraq - Kurdish leaders have inserted more than 10,000 of their militia members into Iraqi army divisions in northern Iraq to lay the groundwork to swarm south, seize the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and possibly half of Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, and secure the borders of an independent Kurdistan.
Five days of interviews with Kurdish leaders and troops in the region suggest that U.S. plans to bring unity to Iraq before withdrawing American troops by training and equipping a national army aren't gaining traction. Instead, some troops that are formally under U.S. and Iraqi national command are preparing to protect territory and ethnic and religious interests in the event of Iraq's fragmentation, which many of them think is inevitable.
The soldiers said that while they wore Iraqi army uniforms they still considered themselves members of the Peshmerga - the Kurdish militia - and were awaiting orders from Kurdish leaders to break ranks. Many said they wouldn't hesitate to kill their Iraqi army comrades, especially Arabs, if a fight for an independent Kurdistan erupted.
"It doesn't matter if we have to fight the Arabs in our own battalion," said Gabriel Mohammed, a Kurdish soldier in the Iraqi army who was escorting a Knight Ridder reporter through Kirkuk. "Kirkuk will be ours."
The Kurds have readied their troops not only because they've long yearned to establish an independent state but also because their leaders expect Iraq to disintegrate, senior leaders in the Peshmerga - literally, "those who face death" - told Knight Ridder. The Kurds are mostly secular Sunni Muslims, and are ethnically distinct from Arabs.
Their strategy mirrors that of Shiite Muslim parties in southern Iraq, which have stocked Iraqi army and police units with members of their own militias and have maintained a separate militia presence throughout Iraq's central and southern provinces. The militias now are illegal under Iraqi law but operate openly in many areas. Peshmerga leaders said in interviews that they expected the Shiites to create a semi-autonomous and then independent state in the south as they would do in the north.
The Bush administration - and Iraq's neighbors - oppose the nation's fragmentation, fearing that it could lead to regional collapse. To keep Iraq together, U.S. plans to withdraw significant numbers of American troops in 2006 will depend on turning U.S.-trained Kurdish and Shiite militiamen into a national army.
The interviews with Kurdish troops, however, suggested that as the American military transfers more bases and areas of control to Iraqi units, it may be handing the nation to militias that are bent more on advancing ethnic and religious interests than on defeating the insurgency and preserving national unity.
American military officials have said they're trying to get a broader mix of sects in the Iraqi units.
However, Col. Talib Naji, a Kurd serving in the Iraqi army on the edge of Kirkuk, said he would resist any attempts to dilute the Kurdish presence in his brigade.
"The Ministry of Defense recently sent me 150 Arab soldiers from the south," Naji said. "After two weeks of service, we sent them away. We did not accept them. We will not let them carry through with their plans to bring more Arab soldiers here."
In addition to putting former Peshmerga in the Iraqi army, the Kurds have deployed small Peshmerga units in buildings and compounds throughout northern Iraq, according to militia leaders. While it's hard to calculate the number of these active Peshmerga fighters, interviews with militia members suggest that it's well in excess of 10,000.
Afandi said his group had sent at least 10,000 Peshmerga to the Iraqi army in northern Iraq, a figure substantiated in interviews with officers in two Iraqi army divisions in the region.
"All of them belong to the central government, but inside they are Kurds ... all Peshmerga are under the orders of our leadership," Afandi said.
Jafar Mustafir, a close adviser to Iraq's Kurdish interim president, Jalal Talabani, and the deputy head of Peshmerga for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a longtime rival of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, echoed that.
"We will do our best diplomatically, and if that fails we will use force" to secure borders for an independent Kurdistan, Mustafir said. "The government in Baghdad will be too weak to use force against the will of the Kurdish people."
---End of Transmission---
Monday, December 26, 2005
Iraq Out of Control
By MARIAM FAM
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Violence increased across Iraq after a lull following the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections, with at least two dozen people including a U.S. soldier killed Monday in shootings and bombings mostly targeting the Shiite-dominated security services.
Officials blamed the surge in violence on insurgent efforts to deepen the political turmoil surrounding the contested vote. Preliminary figures - including some returns released Monday from ballots cast early by extriate Iraqis and some voters inside Iraq - have given a big lead to the religious Shiite bloc that controls the current interim government.
The violence came as three opposition groups threatened a wave of protests and civil disobedience if fraud charges are not properly investigated. The warning came from the secular Iraqi National List, headed by former Shiite Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, and two Sunni Arab groups.
GOI: Things aren't going well when the Bush backed, Democratic, secular leadership of Ayad Allawi looses dramatically to a right-wing, radical Islamic party.
The recent lull in violence ended Sunday, with the deaths of 18 people.
On Monday, a suicide car bomber slammed into a police patrol in the capital, leaving three dead, officials said, and a suicide motorcycle bomber rammed into a Shiite funeral ceremony, killing at least two, said Maj. Falah Mohamadawi of the Interior Ministry. A mortar then killed two people in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood.
Four other car bombs killed at least two people and gunmen killed five officers at a police checkpoint 30 miles north of Baghdad, officials said.
A U.S. soldier serving with Task Force Baghdad was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his vehicle while on patrol in the capital, the military said. The name of the soldier was withheld pending notification of next of kin.
In other developments:
- Gunmen raided a house in southern Baghdad, killing three people, police Capt. Qassim Hussein said. Gunmen attacked the house again when police arrived to remove the bodies, wounding two officers, police said.
- A Shiite cleric in the southern city of Najaf and a man in the northern city of Mosul were gunned down. In Baghdad, a civilian driving his children to school and a professor were killed.
- A car bomb targeted the governor of Diyala province, killing a body guard, and gunmen killed a member of Diyala city council.
- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko paid an unannounced visit to his country's troops. His country is pulling out its remaining 867 soldiers this week.
- Susanne Osthoff, a German freed after being held hostage in Iraq for more than three weeks, said in an interview aired Monday that she was treated well by her kidnappers, who told her they do not hurt women or children.
---End of Transmission---
Friday, December 23, 2005
Yet More Evidence that Alito Would Overturn Roe v. Wade
WASHINGTON-Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court nominee, wrote in a memorandum in June 1985 that the ruling that legalized abortion in the United States should be overturned, a position certain to spur tough questioning at his confirmation hearings in January.
GOI: I think that this guy is way worse then Roberts.
---End of Transmission---
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Iraq Groups Threaten to Boycott New Legislature
By PATRICK QUINN Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Dozens of Sunni Arab and secular Shiite groups threatened to boycott Iraq's new legislature Thursday if complaints about tainted voting are not reviewed by an international body.
A representative for former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi described the Dec. 15 vote as "fraudulent" and the elected lawmakers "illegitimate."
A joint statement issued by 35 political groups that competed in last week's elections said the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, which oversaw the ballot, should be disbanded.
It also said the more than 1,250 complaints about fraud, ballot box stuffing and intimidation should be reviewed by international organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference or the Arab League.
There was no one available for comment at the U.N. office in Baghdad, but a world body spokesman in New York rejected a review.
"The U.N. is not going to conduct an independent review of the election results," U.N. associate spokesman Robert Sullivan said.
A senior member of the Shiite religious United Iraqi Alliance, the group that preliminary results show leading in the polls, said the protesters should accept the results.
"These statements will lead the country to new chaos," Ali al-Adib said. "Who can guarantee that when the elections are rerun they will not reject them again?"
Allawi representative Ibrahim al-Janabi took the accusations one step further and described last week's elections in all 18 provinces as "fraudulent."
Sunni Arabs may increase their seats from 17 to more than 40, while the Kurds are expected to hold between 40 and 50. Allawi, who controls 40 seats, is expected to drop to 20 seats or fewer.
GOI: Of course one has to be concerned about fraud allegations and they should be investigated. However, if it appears that the religious Shia majority has won (and if the Sunni do boycott) then the Sunni risk loosing all of their seats, again fueling the insurgency and more marginalization.
Ugh, here we go again!
Will Iraq ever be able to unite and unite without violence? Or will there always be an insurgency that could be stronger then that of the one in Israel? And what will happen with a majority, hard-core religious, Shia led government?? It seems that the only one winning here is Iran! Will the new Iraqi govt. simply become, "Western Iran?"
So many questions and as always so few answers.
---End of Transmission---
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Season's Greetings!!
GOI: There is a spirited conversation going on in my post titled, "War on Winter Solstice" and I have just posted a long comment there. I am posting it here because perhaps some of you have not been following the comments on that post and I wanted to include you. This post therefore "bumps" the conversation up to the top again:
Amadeus: What an amusing and brilliant story!! The Buddha idea was an excellent way to point out the hypocritical actions of certian Christians. The shoe was put on the other foot and they did not like having the Buddha forced upon them. I do not blame them as they are not Buddhist so I would expect the same respect to my beliefs as to not say, "Merry Christmas" (for example) to me if they do not know my faith. Or to shove the x-mas tree down my throat as well. Either we do many holidays or we do none. This is one nation of many, many faith's after all.
Christians may believe that other religions are in error but the Constitution does not...which guarantees our rights to choose the religion of our choice. Regardless of whether of not Christians believe other religions to be in error.
Since we have established that most Christians believe other faiths are in error then the framers could not have been Christian (or at least not the right kind of Christians according to the defintion brought up in the comments). Otherwise they would have established Christianity as the state religion of America (which apparently many modern-day Christians would like to do.
Let's refresh ourselves of the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."
O.k., now notice first of all that they state that all men are created EQUAL. This means that ALL men...even non-Christians are equal in the eyes of the, "Creator." This blows the doors off the arguement that "God" believes other religions (besides Christianity) are in error. If "HE" did then the framers must not be the right kind of Christians, eh? Or perhaps you believe that the framers didn't do the Dec. of Indy right???
Therefore couldn't one surmise that these certain Christians do not believe 100% in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution? That men are NOT created equal with the freedom to choose a religion other then Christianity? If "God" says that everyone is created with the right to freedom then how can freedom to be say, Buddhist ever be in error??
Now, notice the choice of the word, "Creator." "Creator can mean many things to many people. Even I as a Buddhist believe in a "Creator." I believe that the "Creator" is everything that exists and does not exist. The "Creator" (I believe) is each and everyone of us and inside all of us at the same time. Yet, so does this mean that I'm not included when the term, "Creator" is used? Of course not.
Even the choice of the word, "God" is loaded. "God" is many things to many people as well and Christians do not have a corner on that market. They may believe that other religions are in error but that does not mean their view is constitutional or even correct. It is simply an opinion. Their demand to have Christmas celebrated exclusively even in the work place is not in keeping with the principles laid out by our fore-fathers. It is a divise demand in the season of coming together. I do not know of a definition of freedom after all that says it only applies to Christians or that freedom means non-Christians are in error.
Moving on, "Life" means of course life and I think that we can all agree that we are alive. So we move on to "Liberty."
Liberty means freedom and freedom means choice. Forcing people to accept a Christmas tree (one by which is presided over by the Angel Gabriel, a very Christian messanger who announced the birth of Jesus) is not allowing people their freedom of choice. After all, let's not forget that the Christians in Amadeus's story were sorely offended by the Buddha. Therefore the reason behind "Happy Holidays," and "Seasons Greetings" in a work place environment as diverse as any American city.
Surely we can agree that Jesus Christ taught his followers (at the very least) to be respectful.This would mean to me that Christians should not force their religion upon others. Such as in the work place or in a store. Of course, freedom also means that stores and companies have every RIGHT to display what they desire.
However, the RESPECTFUL, Christ-like thing to do is to not force Christmas down everyone's throat. Christ also taught not to pray openly in the streets so that you do not become prideful. Beating your chest about your faith and over the exclusivity of it's symbols and holidays is prideful.
Oooo and how easily these prideful Christians forget that Jesus (the man himself) said to render unto Caesar (the government at the time) what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. This is clearly a statement seperating church and state (the government).
Moving on, I have established that I am a Buddhist and I celebrate Bodhi day. Bodhi Day is a holy day for Buddhists (December 8th...well in the "holiday season.") when Buddhists celebrate the enlightenment of the Buddha. However, because I believe in the Constitution and freedom I do not expect or demand that everyone around me celebrate Bodhi Day and wish me, "Happy Bodhi Day" if they are not Buddhists.
Is it so hard then for Christians to be inclusive and to take a break from the conversion process in this season of "Good will towards men (all men by the way...and women??) Just keep the Christmas tree to yourself...is that soooo hard and offensive??? I guess we non-Christians should be saying, "Happy HELLidays" since that is apparently where we are going. If there IS a hell, however, then I suspect there will be more Christians there then they might believe. ;)
May peace on Earth reign!!
Monday, December 19, 2005
Islamic Leaders Win Big in Iraqi Elections
BAGHDAD -- A coalition of Shiite Muslim political parties with ties to Iran won a commanding number of seats in Iraq's Dec. 15 elections, according to preliminary results released today and unofficial numbers gleaned from around the country.
GOI: Isn't Iran on the "axis of evil??" I thought so. Interesting form of "Democracy" that they have going on over there. One dominated by religious political parties. So much for the separation of church and state which is a hallmark of most Democracy's. I guess we should call it a "Theocratic Democracy" then which seems to me to be a "Democracy" in name only. I wonder how many Christian right-wingers would agree that an America dominated and run by Islamic clerics would be a "free Democracy?"
I don't know how much more of this "Democracy" Iraqis' can deal with!
---End of Transmission---
Sunday, December 18, 2005
War on Winter Solstice
GOI: Thanks to Nacho over at Woodmoor Village for the link to this story. I thought this post was very amusing, insightful and spot on since we non-Christians have had the very non-inclusive and non-respectful phrase, "Merry Christmas" shoved down our throats during the holiday season:
There is a war on Winter Solstice. For thousands of years humanity had celebrated the beginning of days getting longer in a peaceful and celebratory manner:... No longer. There is a war on.
Historians generally agree that the Cult of Christ started the War on Solstice. They began by coopting the symbols of this most ancient of celebrations: holly, evergreen trees and the Yule log. Those cultists even moved the date of their god's birth from summer to winter! Moreover, they outright plagarized the story of how the greek god Dionysus was born in a cave in the presence of three shepherds.
GOI: It all seems so simple to me. Say, "Happy Holidays" to those whom you do not know to be Christian. It is the polite (and from what I understand of growing up Christian) and Christian thing to do. I do not believe that I am going out on a limb by saying that Jesus Christ taught his followers to be respectful of others. Now, if you know someone to be Christian then by all means wish them a, "Merry Christmas!"
Just remember, the Christians stole Christmas from the Pagans and now many of them are trying to say that, "Happy Holidays" is stealing their holiday. How ironic.
---End of Transmission---
Violence Returns to Iraq After Elections
By SAMEER YACOUB
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A string of attacks killed 19 people, including two relatives of a senior Kurdish official, and Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit Sunday in which he suggested that Iraq's recent elections were a major step toward withdrawing U.S. troops.
GOI: The elections were a major step forward and I am hopeful for the future of iraq. However, the glow of the elections seemed to fade as violence returned to Iraq.
The violence, including two suicide bombings, came after authorities eased stringent security measures put in place for the Dec. 15 parliamentary election and traffic returned to normal on the first full working day since the vote.
A ban on vehicles was lifted and the country's borders reopened Saturday, although the frontier with Syria remained closed. Authorities said it would reopen in a few days and did not give a reason for the delay.
GOI: This shows that despite whatever political victories may come the violence rules the day. I hate to pop the bubble of the good news coming out of the Iraqi election but that is the dirty, ugly truth on the ground and in the streets.
---End of Transmission---
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Leading Sunni Wants Compromise
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — A leading Sunni politician said Friday his party would be open to an alliance with secular Shiites and Kurds to form a coalition government to run the country once the results are in from this week's parliamentary elections.
U.S. officials view al-Dulaimi, who heads an alliance called the Iraqi Accordance Front, as a possible intermediary who could persuade some Sunni-led insurgent groups in restive Anbar province to join the political process after boycotting previous votes.
In an interview with The Associated Press, al-Dulaimi predicted that Shiite religious parties would be unable to form a government — even though they are widely expected to take the largest number of seats.
That would open the door to a coalition of Sunnis, secular Shiites and Kurds, al-Dulaimi said.
Under the newly ratified constitution, the party with the biggest number of seats gets first crack at trying to form a government than can win parliament's endorsement. That is likely to be the coalition of Shiite religious parties that dominate the outgoing government.
Still, a government with strong Sunni Arab representation could help defuse the Sunni-dominated insurgency and allow the United States and its coalition partners to begin removing troops next year.
GOI: This is a great sign that the Sunni are beginning to see the importance of the political process.
---End of Transmission---
Friday, December 16, 2005
Report: Bush Had More Prewar Intelligence Then Congress
By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 16, 2005; Page A23
A congressional report made public yesterday concluded that President Bush and his inner circle had access to more intelligence and reviewed more sensitive material than what was shared with Congress when it gave Bush the authority to wage war against Iraq.
Democrats said the 14-page report contradicts Bush's contention that lawmakers saw all the evidence before U.S. troops invaded in March 2003, stating that the president and a small number of advisers "have access to a far greater volume of intelligence and to more sensitive intelligence information."
The report, done by the Congressional Research Service at the request of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), comes amid allegations by Democrats that administration officials exaggerated Iraq's weapons capabilities and terrorism ties and then resisted inquiries into the intelligence failures.
Feinstein, who is on the Senate intelligence committee, disagreed. "The report demonstrates that Congress routinely is denied access to intelligence sources, intelligence collection and analysis," she said.
GOI: This isn't a smoking gun but it is indeed a bullet in the chamber.
---End of Transmission---
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Turnout Strong in Iraqi Elections
By Ellen Knickmeyer and Jonathan Finer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, December 15, 2005; 3:30 PM
BAGHDAD, Dec. 15 -- Iraqi voters turned out in force countrywide Thursday to elect a parliament to remake their troubled nation, with Sunni-led Iraqi insurgent movements suspending attacks for a day so that Sunni Arabs could vote en masse for the first time.
The voting appeared to split along sectarian lines as expected, with many Sunni voters in the Sunni-dominated far west saying they were voting for Sunni candidates. Long lines were reported among Sunnis, most of whom boycotted elections earlier this year or were frightened away by threats.
The outcome of Thursday's vote, which won't be known for several days, is crucial. Voters will seat the country's first full-term, four-year government since U.S. troops overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Biden stressed Thursday's vote was not the end game for the 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, saying the U.S. military would likely need to play a lead role in Iraqi security until Iraqi leaders manage to come up with a representative constitution if they can. Otherwise, "The question is whether we traded dictatorship for chaos," Biden said.
GOI: Excellent point Sen. Biden.
On election day, polling sites were protected by Iraqi police, while Marines withdrew to provide to a perimeter no closer than 100 yards away. "The main thing I want is the Americans to get out. Maybe they can stay on their bases for a little while and out of the city, but before long they should leave Iraq," said Hakim Rashid, 30, who, along with his younger brother Ahmad voted for the Tawafaq slate, a Sunni religious coalition led by the Iraqi Islamic Party.
"Ballot boxes are a victory of democracy over dictatorship," Prime Minister Ibrahim al Jaafari told reporters as he cast his vote behind the blast walls of Baghdad's fortress-like Green Zone. "The real triumph is that people are casting ballots -- whoever they choose -- and that they've chosen voting over bombs."
GOI: Go-go gadget Iraqi's!!!
Yeyyyyy...I'm very excited to hear that there was a strong turn-out by the Sunni's this time.
---End of Transmission---
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Ahmadinejad not helping Iranian image
GOI: Radical Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not help the image of his government with statements such as these:
Iran's hard-line president lashed out with a new outburst at Israel on Wednesday, calling the Nazi Holocaust a "myth" used as a pretext for carving out a Jewish state in the heart of the Muslim world.
The White House said his remarks showed why Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. Germany, one of three European Union countries leading the nuclear talks, called his statements "shocking and unacceptable."
So far, Ahmadinejad has appeared to only escalate his rhetoric in the face of widespread international criticism, suggesting he may be seeking to fire up supporters at home.
Some allies warn that he is isolating the country when it needs support for its nuclear program. But supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final word on all matters, has stood by the president, even calling this week for Palestinian militants to step up their fight to drive Israelis out of Jerusalem.
---End of Transmission---
A Breath of Fresh Air
GOI: I must say that I have been impressed with the President of late as much as I disagree with his general politics and opposed his invasion of Iraq. He finally seems to be talking straight and honestly with the American people about Iraq. Being realistic and admitting errors but asking us for continued patience. I can work with that. I'm not a hard-core ideaologue who will disagree with a Republican President every step of the way just because he/she is Republican.
That being said, however, I am still a liberal so don't fear fellow libs. ;)
This comes at an exciting time in Iraq where we are on the verge of historical parlimentary elections. Progress (all be it slow) is occuring in Iraq and I am honestly starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
President Bush, delivering the last in a series of speeches about Iraq on the eve of that country's elections, said today he was encouraged by the prospect of broader political participation in Iraq, but he warned that successful voting will not make the insurgents "give up," and he urged continued "patience" by both Iraqis and Americans.
He asserted that U.S. forces in Iraq have made "real progress" in the 2 1/2 years since the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and he vowed not to pull them out "until victory is achieved."
GOI: I am still not sure what he means by "victory" but I think I believe now that we have to stay as long as it takes. Even if that means a long-term presence such as in Germany, S. Korea and Japan. We can't afford to loose this war. We have to keep trying until we get it right and unfortunately that means more American casualties. He went on to say:
To set an "artificial deadline" for withdrawing U.S. troops would tell the comrades and the families of those who have already fallen that their sacrifice has been in vain, Bush said.
GOI: I'm starting to come around to this arguement. As I have said before I didn't agree with this invasion but we have created a terrorist state and we do owe the Iraqi's to make things right. This isn't an easy decision for me to make because I have a lot of disagreement with this President in general and in this war. However, I honestly believe it is indeed in our long term interests now that we are there.
I am still worried about the fledgling democracy in Iraq, however. Especially when I hear that these Iraqi candidates basically only "press the flesh" with people in their own ethnic group.
As well as the allowance of mosques doubling as political headquarters for religious candidates.
I am also still worried about the readiness of the Iraq army but they do seem to be doing much better then before.
So we shall see if the Iraqi's can iron out these problems over time.
I gotta give the man (Bush) some credit...at least he is finally leveling with us more about the realities of the war in Iraq.
---End of Transmission---
That being said, however, I am still a liberal so don't fear fellow libs. ;)
This comes at an exciting time in Iraq where we are on the verge of historical parlimentary elections. Progress (all be it slow) is occuring in Iraq and I am honestly starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
President Bush, delivering the last in a series of speeches about Iraq on the eve of that country's elections, said today he was encouraged by the prospect of broader political participation in Iraq, but he warned that successful voting will not make the insurgents "give up," and he urged continued "patience" by both Iraqis and Americans.
He asserted that U.S. forces in Iraq have made "real progress" in the 2 1/2 years since the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and he vowed not to pull them out "until victory is achieved."
GOI: I am still not sure what he means by "victory" but I think I believe now that we have to stay as long as it takes. Even if that means a long-term presence such as in Germany, S. Korea and Japan. We can't afford to loose this war. We have to keep trying until we get it right and unfortunately that means more American casualties. He went on to say:
To set an "artificial deadline" for withdrawing U.S. troops would tell the comrades and the families of those who have already fallen that their sacrifice has been in vain, Bush said.
GOI: I'm starting to come around to this arguement. As I have said before I didn't agree with this invasion but we have created a terrorist state and we do owe the Iraqi's to make things right. This isn't an easy decision for me to make because I have a lot of disagreement with this President in general and in this war. However, I honestly believe it is indeed in our long term interests now that we are there.
I am still worried about the fledgling democracy in Iraq, however. Especially when I hear that these Iraqi candidates basically only "press the flesh" with people in their own ethnic group.
As well as the allowance of mosques doubling as political headquarters for religious candidates.
I am also still worried about the readiness of the Iraq army but they do seem to be doing much better then before.
So we shall see if the Iraqi's can iron out these problems over time.
I gotta give the man (Bush) some credit...at least he is finally leveling with us more about the realities of the war in Iraq.
---End of Transmission---
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Iraq Prison Abuse Worse then Thought
By Ellen Knickmeyer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, December 13, 2005; 11:24 AM
BAGHDAD, Dec. 12 -- Iraqi and U.S. officials found more than 120 victims of abuse in inspections of two Interior Ministry detention centers, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said Tuesday. He said the number of torture victims was far greater than authorities earlier disclosed.
Khalilzad also rejected suggestions from the Interior Ministry that the abuse found at the second prison in an inspection last week was relatively mild. The abuse was "far worse than slapping around," Khalilzad said.
GOI: The good news is that the Iraqi government is saying and doing all the right things:
At a news conference on Monday, [Prime Minister] Jafari called the evidence of torture an "unhealthy phenomenon."
"There is a committee following the case. My military adviser is touring all of Iraq's jails to know if there are such cases," Jafari said. "I will not allow such dealing with any prisoner."
The latest cases of abuse appeared more severe than those of beaten, emaciated prisoners found in the basement of another Baghdad Interior Ministry facility last month.
The prison inspected on Thursday was the first in what U.S. and Iraqi officials promised would be a national investigation of Iraq's detention centers. The inspections were announced after the first case was uncovered last month. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said the unannounced inspections would continue.
---End of Transmission---
Monday, December 12, 2005
Abuse Found in 2nd Jail Run by Iraqi's
By Ellen Knickmeyer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, December 12, 2005; Page A01
BAGHDAD, Dec. 11 -- An Iraqi government search of a detention center in Baghdad operated by Interior Ministry special commandos found 13 prisoners who had suffered abuse serious enough to require medical treatment, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Sunday night.
An Iraqi official with firsthand knowledge of the search said that at least 12 of the 13 prisoners had been subjected to "severe torture," including sessions of electric shock and episodes that left them with broken bones.
"Two of them showed me their nails, and they were gone," the official said on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
A government spokesman, Laith Kubba, said Sunday night that any findings at the prison would be "subject to an investigation," but he declined to comment on the allegations.
The site, which was searched Thursday, is the second Interior Ministry detention center where cases of prisoner abuse have been confirmed by U.S. and Iraqi officials.
GOI: This has to stop for Iraq to become a full Democracy. It seems like everytime Iraqi's take one step forward in progress they then take 2 steps back. It will most likely take many years before Iraq can have a, "real, functioning, representational Democracy" without scenes like this one. These are the tactics of Saddam Hussein and have to end or civil uprisings will most likely occur.
These two prison abuse incidents would be seen as a huge blow to Democracy if they occurred in America. However, somehow in Iraq we are supposed to feel that these abuses aren't a big deal.
This is wrong thinking.
---End of Transmission---
More Numbers from Iraq
WASHINGTON - Most Iraqis disapprove of the presence of U.S. forces in their country, yet they are optimistic about Iraq's future and their own personal lives, according to a new poll.
More than two-thirds of those surveyed oppose the presence of troops from the United States and its coalition partners and less than half, 44 percent, say their country is better off now than it was before the war, according to an ABC News poll conducted with Time magazine and other media partners.
But Iraqis are surprisingly upbeat on many fronts, the poll suggests.
Three-quarters say they are confident about the parliamentary elections scheduled for this week. More than two-thirds expect things in their country to get better in the coming months.
Attitudes about Iraq's future were sharply different in the Sunni provinces and other parts of Iraq, however. Only a third in the Sunni regions were optimistic about their country's future. Shiites, who with the Kurds dominate the current parliament, had a much more positive view than the Sunnis of their own personal safety and whether their own lives are going well.
A majority of both the Sunni and Shiite population say they favor a unified country, however.
In other poll findings:
_Two-thirds express confidence in the Iraqi army and in police.
_Half now say the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was wrong, up from 39 percent in February 2004.
_More than six in 10 say they feel safe in their neighborhoods, up from 40 percent in June 2004.
_Six in 10 say local security is good, up from half in February 2004.
But the national concern mentioned most often is security, named by 57 percent.
A fourth of those surveyed, 26 percent, say U.S. forces should leave now, and another 19 percent say troops should leave after those chosen in this week's election take office. The other half say U.S. troops should stay until security is restored, 31 percent, until Iraqi forces can operate independently, 16 percent, or longer, 5 percent.
GOI: Iraqi's seem just as divided as Americans are on when the U.S. troops should leave.
The poll was conducted by Oxford Research International face-to-face with 1,711 Iraqis age 15 and over from Oct. 8 to Nov. 22. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
GOI: Some good, some bad but I think the general attitude of Iraqi's is improving overall and that is great news in helping to bring our troops home. The December 15th election is a crucial election and perhaps the most important yet. The Sunni involvement is extremely important but will enough Sunni's come to the polls to make the election legitimate?
We shall soon see.
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Sunday, December 11, 2005
Good News from Iran?
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's Foreign Ministry on Sunday offered the United States a share in building a new nuclear power plant in an apparent effort to curb U.S. opposition to its atomic program.
"America can take part in international bidding for the construction of Iran's nuclear power plant if they observe the basic standards and quality," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said at a news conference.
GOI: Is this good news or just an empty olive branch?
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"America can take part in international bidding for the construction of Iran's nuclear power plant if they observe the basic standards and quality," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said at a news conference.
GOI: Is this good news or just an empty olive branch?
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Friday, December 09, 2005
Robert Clark Found Innocent After Serving 24 Years in Prison
Rocky Clark was 3 years old when his father was sent to prison. His earliest memories are images of inmates in drab uniforms filing into visiting areas as Clark strained to spot a man he hardly knew.
As child, he often thought — "Maybe if Dad would just say he did it he could come home."
But Clark's father, Robert, would never say he did it because he didn't, and on Thursday afternoon, he came home to his son and other family members, embracing them in a Cobb County courtroom after serving 24 years for someone else's crime.
"There is so much I want to do," Clark said, hugging his son. "I just want to spend time with my folks right now."
GOI: Yet another reminder for me as to how our justice system is flawed. It is also another reminder for me as to why we shouldn't have a death penalty.
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GOP tax cuts outweigh spending cuts by $44 billion
In their December 9 coverage of the House of Representatives' passage of legislation extending tax breaks on investment income, The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), USA Today, and the Associated Press failed to note that the Republican-sponsored tax-cut package far exceeded recent spending cuts. By contrast, the Los Angeles Times reported, "The House-passed spending-cut bill would save $50 billion over five years, $44 billion short of the lost tax revenue." Not only did the first three outlets overlook this comparison, they entirely ignored the disparity between the tax cuts and the spending cuts, including only passing mention of Democratic complaints regarding the effect on the deficit.
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80 Percent of Iraqi's Strongly Opposed to Presence of Coalition Troops
Conservative Democrat John Murtha cites a private British poll of Iraqi's in August that showed, "82 per cent are "strongly opposed" to the presence of coalition troops."
These numbers are similar to another poll that was commissioned by the U.S.-led coalition in May of last year which indicated, "[f]our out of five Iraqis report holding a negative view of the U.S. occupation authority and of coalition forces" and that "82 percent said they disapprove of the U.S. and allied militaries in Iraq." In the poll, 80 percent of the Iraqis questioned reported a lack of confidence in the Coalition Provisional Authority, and 82 percent said they disapprove of the U.S. and allied militaries in Iraq.
In January 2005, Zogby International released the results of its Iraqi public opinion poll, which was conducted in conjunction with Abu Dhabi Television. It also found that, of the 805 Iraqis interviewed, "[m]ajorities of both Sunni Arabs (82%) and Shiites (69%) ... favor U.S. forces withdrawing either immediately or after an elected government is in place"; 53 percent supported attacks on coalition troops; and only the Iraqi Kurds favored the "continued U.S. presence."
GOI: And let's not forget this major news story from November 22 2005:
By SALAH NASRAWI
Associated Press Writer
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Leaders of Iraq's sharply divided Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis called Monday for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces in the country and said Iraq's opposition had a ``legitimate right'' of resistance.
GOI: While polls aren't always accurate these numbers gathered over 3 different polls in 2 years seem to show that an over-whelming amount of Iraqi's want the U.S. troops to leave.
These numbers are just more reasons why I agree with Rep. Murtha's call to pulling out except for a reactionary force located in Kuwait or Qatar.
We've won in Iraq. We found no WMD's, over-threw Saddam, trained Iraqi forces (we can continue to train soldiers from Kuwait where American troops will no longer have a huge target on their backs) created a new government and on December 15th the Iraqi's will have voted in their new parliament.
There is not much more that our military can do now so it is time to institute a gradual withdrawal of American troops and let the Iraqi's fly. We will be there to step back in if Iran tries to invade but we can now longer be a positive presence in the middle of an Iraqi civil war.
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Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Happy Holidays
Well, it is the holiday season again and the debate over Christmas and other holidays of the season has begun. I personally do not have much of a problem with Christmas even though I am a Buddhist. I don't mind the Christmas tree and I do not think it should be called a "Holiday Tree" because the tree is symbolic of the Christian holiday of Christmas alone.
I don't even have a problem with the nativity being put on public property as long as the star of David, the Kwanzaa flag and other religious holiday symbols are represented as well. I also do not have a problem with Christmas programs at schools as long as children are taught about the diversity of other holidays of the season. There is plenty of room for all the holidays of the season.
There are several holidays that often get over looked at this time of year such as: Kwanzaa, Chanukah and the Buddhist New Year In my opinion, that is why it is best to say, "Happy Holidays" when talking to strangers.
However, if you know that you are amongst Christians then it is more then acceptable to just simply say, "Merry Christmas" or if you're amongst Jews then, "Happy Chanuka" is the appropriate term or "Happy Kwanzaa" amongst celebrators of that holiday.
I see it as using different words for "you" in the French language. One uses the more formal and respectful "vous" when talking to strangers and the informal, personal, "Tu" with close friends and family.
So since I don't know all of your different religious leanings I say, "Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year!!"
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Monday, December 05, 2005
Iran Plans 2nd Nuke Plant While Iraq Still Weilds No WMDs
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran plans to construct a second nuclear power plant despite international concern over its nuclear program, state television reported on Monday.
The Iranian parliament is seeking the construction of 20 nuclear power plants. Russia, which built the Bushehr reactor, has offered to build more nuclear plants in Iran.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has warned Iran that its nuclear program could be referred to the U.N. Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions on the country.
On Saturday, Iran approved a bill that would block international inspections of its nuclear sites if it were referred to the Security Council. The step strengthens the government's hand in resisting international pressure to permanently abandon uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for either nuclear reactors or atomic bombs.
While Iran has frozen its enrichment program, it restarted uranium conversion -- a step toward enrichment -- in August.
The United States and European Union want Iran to permanently halt uranium enrichment. But Tehran says the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty allows it to pursue a nuclear program for peaceful purposes. It has said it will never give up the right to enrich uranium to produce nuclear fuel.
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Training of Iraqi Forces Suffers 'Setback'
By SALLY BUZBEE Associated Press Writer
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- The training of Iraqi security forces has suffered a big "setback" in the last six months, with the army and other forces being increasingly used to settle scores and make other political gains, Iraqi Vice President Ghazi al-Yawer said Monday.
Al-Yawer disputed contentions by U.S. officials, including President Bush, that the training of security forces was gathering speed, resulting in more professional troops.
Bush has said the United States will not pull out of Iraq until Iraq's own forces can maintain security. In a speech last week, he said Iraqi forces are becoming increasingly capable of securing the country.
Al-Yawer, a Sunni moderate, said he agreed the United States cannot pull out now because "there will be a huge vacuum," leaving Iraq in danger of falling into civil war. In particular, armed Shiite militias in the south might try to incite war if U.S.-led coalition forces leave, he said in an interview with The Associated Press and a U.S. newspaper at a conference here.
"I wish it were that simple," he said of calls to set a timetable for withdrawal or a drawdown.
But al-Yawer said recent allegations that Interior Ministry security forces - dominated by Shiites - have tortured Sunni detainees were evidence that many forces are increasingly politicized and sectarian. Some of the recently trained Iraqi forces focus on settling scores and other political goals rather than maintaining security, he said.
In addition, some Iraqi military commanders have been dismissed for political reasons, rather than judged on merit, he said.
He said the army - also dominated by Shiites - is conducting raids against villages and towns in Sunni and mixed areas of Iraq, rather than targeting specific insurgents - a tactic he said reminded many Sunnis of Saddam Hussein-era raids.
"Saddam used to raid villages," using security forces, he said. "This is not the way to do it."
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Sunday, December 04, 2005
Kudos to (R) Sen. John McCain
By JIM ABRAMS Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON Dec 4, 2005 — Sen. John McCain, a prisoner of war who was tortured in Vietnam, said Sunday he will refuse to yield on his demands that the White House agree with his proposed ban on the use of torture to extract information from suspected terrorists.
"I won't," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press" when asked whether he would compromise with the Bush administration. He is insisting on his language that no person in U.S. custody should be subject to "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment."
McCain noted that intelligence gained through torture can be unreliable and he said the practice hurts the U.S. reputation abroad.
Sen. Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on CNN's "Late Edition" that McCain was on the right track. "I'm hopeful that that position prevails," said Lugar, R-Ind.
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FBI Is Taking Another Look at Forged Prewar Intelligence
By Peter Wallsten, Tom Hamburger and Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON — The FBI has reopened an inquiry into one of the most intriguing aspects of the pre-Iraq war intelligence fiasco: how the Bush administration came to rely on forged documents linking Iraq to nuclear weapons materials as part of its justification for the invasion.
The documents inspired intense U.S. interest in the buildup to the war — and they led the CIA to send a former ambassador to the African nation of Niger to investigate whether Iraq had sought the materials there. The ambassador, Joseph C. Wilson IV, found little evidence to support such a claim, and the documents were later deemed to have been forged.
But President Bush referred to the claim in his 2003 State of the Union address in making the case for the invasion. Bush's speech, Wilson's trip and the role Wilson's wife played in sending him have created a political storm that still envelops the White House.
The documents in question included letters on Niger government letterhead and purported contracts showing sales of uranium to Iraq. They were provided in 2002 to an Italian magazine, which turned them over to the U.S. Embassy in Rome.
The FBI's decision to reopen the investigation reverses the agency's announcement last month that it had finished a two-year inquiry and concluded that the forgeries were part of a moneymaking scheme — and not an effort to manipulate U.S. foreign policy.
Those findings concerned some members of the Senate Intelligence Committee after published reports that the FBI had not interviewed a former Italian spy named Rocco Martino, who was identified as the original source of the documents. The committee had requested the initial investigation.
Federal officials familiar with the case say investigators might examine whether the forgeries were instigated by U.S. citizens who advocated an invasion of Iraq or by members of the Iraqi National Congress — the group led by Ahmad Chalabi that worked closely with Bush administration officials in the buildup to the war.
Recent accounts in the Italian press said that Martino, a businessman and former freelance spy who was fired from the Italian military intelligence agency, obtained the documents from a female friend who worked at Niger's embassy in Rome. Martino has said he was working with a more senior Italian intelligence agent, Col. Antonio Nucero, and peddled the documents to French intelligence and eventually, in 2002, to Italian journalist Elisabetta Burba.
Burba, a reporter for the magazine Panorama, later told The Times that she was angry that the fraudulent documents "had been used to justify a war." The magazine is owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a close U.S. ally and supporter of the Iraq invasion.
Last month, Martino was further implicated when Nicolo Pollari, the head of Italian military intelligence, denied that his agency was involved in fabricating the documents. Instead, Pollari told the parliamentary intelligence committee that the dossier came from Martino.
The agency soon realized the documents were fake, Pollari said, according to legislators who were at the meeting. Although Martino's role has long been known, it remains unclear whom he was working with and whether the entire scheme was his idea alone.
After the Pollari testimony, Martino was quoted in an Italian newspaper as saying that he was working for the intelligence agency and not on his own. He acknowledged his role of "postman," as he put it, but said that his instructions were coming from Nucero.
"I did not make this thing up," he was quoted as saying in the newspaper Il Giornale. "I didn't even know where Niger was."
GOI: I'm waiting for the Bush sycophants to now come out and say that the FBI is part of the alleged "liberal witch hunts."
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Feed It
I just signed up for Feed Blitz service. If you'd like to get an email when I post something new then just sign up with your email in the box to the right that says "feed me!"
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Saturday, December 03, 2005
Bush Lied About Iraqi Involvement in the Battle of Tal Afar
Earlier in the week during Bush claimed that the Iraqi forces took the lead in the latest Battle of Talafar:
The progress of the Iraqi forces is especially clear when the recent anti-terrorist operations in Tal Afar are compared with last year's assault in Fallujah. In Fallujah, the assault was led by nine coalition battalions made up primarily of United States Marines and Army — with six Iraqi battalions supporting them…This year in Tal Afar, it was a very different story. The assault was primarily led by Iraqi security forces — 11 Iraqi battalions, backed by five coalition battalions providing support.
However, embedded reporter Michael Ware who was there at the battle had a different story to tell on Anderson Coopers 360 show on CNN:
I was in that battle from the very beginning to the very end. I was with Iraqi units right there on the front line as they were battling with al Qaeda. They were not leading. They were being led by the U.S. green beret special forces with them.
GOI: So who are you going to believe? An embedded reporter who was actually at the battle or a dubious President who's people have been caught paying Iraqi journalists to type up propaganda in fake newspapers?? Bush will say anything at this point and if the Iraqi forces are doing so well according to him then why are we still there???
Sure there is good news coming out of Iraq but I'm not going to dress up a pig and put lip stick on it and call it a beauty queen. The news is OVERWHELMINGLY bad and you can't polish a terd.
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Friday, December 02, 2005
U.S. Concerned Over Russian Missile Sales to Iran
This from Forbes:
WASHINGTON (AFX) - The United States is concerned about reports that Russia has agreed to sell Iran 29 mobile surface-to-air missile systems, a senior State Department official said Friday.
US officials said they were studying the report by Russia's state news agency ITAR-TASS that Moscow would provide Tor M-1 short-range missiles to Tehran in a deal worth more than 700 mln usd.
But the State Department official, who asked not to be named, said: 'Any arms sales to Iran, that's a source of concern. And there are certain US laws which govern our potential reaction to that.'
The official did not elaborate but Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs currently visiting Russia, made it clear in Moscow that Washington was not happy with the deal.
Burns told Echo Moscow radio that he had raised questions about the reported sale with the Russian foreign ministry, which had promised to respond.
GOI: Wait a minute, wait a minute. I thought Georgie boy and Putin were best buds and now Russia is looking to sell high-tech weapons to one of the stated "axis of evil" country's???
I thought Reagan took care of the cold war and yet here we are again playing the missile game with Russia. Also, let's not forget that Condi Rice is supposed to be an expert on Russia and Soviet history so where the hell has she been?!! She better get her a$$ over there right now and start talkin' to the ruskies.
First Russia helps Iran build a nuclear facility and now they are looking to send $700 million worth of missiles to them!!
If we are serious about stopping terrorism "over there" then we better prevent this sale from going through. There are many reports that Iran is funding a lot of the terrorism in Iraq and especially funding Shiite militias.
The last thing we need are these missiles in the hands of the Iranians. If this deal isn't broken up by the Bush administration then I would see that as a major failure in the "war on terror."
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10 U.S. Soldiers Killed by IED in Fallujah, Iraq
Breaking News:
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A roadside bomb in Fallujah killed 10 U.S. Marines and wounded 11 others, the U.S. military said Friday in the deadliest single attack against American forces in Iraq in nearly four months. Thursday's bomb struck a patrol from Regimental Combat Team 8 of the 2nd Marine Division, the Marine Corps said.
GOI: We are only in December by two days and already we have 10 deaths. We can expect to see more of these heavy attacks in the lead up to the Dec. 15th elections.
I gotta tell you that I keep going back and forth on the issue of keeping or pulling our troops in Iraq. I'm just not comfortable with either position right now. On one hand I feel that we have to stay to keep the terrorists in check and to keep it from spreading to other countries as best we can.
However, on the other hand I feel that our occupation will be forever because their will always be terrorists willing to attack and blow themselves up to kill Americans and/or Iraqi's, Jews, Jordanians, etc.
I also feel that we need to leave at some point so that the Iraqi's will step up and take on defending their country instead of using the Americans as shields. In addition, I give some deep thought to this idea that we have created MORE terrorists by invading Iraq then we have defeated and that vicious cycle will only continue so long as we are there.
Bush Co. has gotten us into a hornets nest and now things are very complicated and we are stuck in a bad position where no one really "wins."
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Thursday, December 01, 2005
Good News, Bad News From Iraq
By CHRIS TOMLINSON Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The U.S. military said Thursday that suicide bombings fell in November to their lowest level in seven months after joint U.S.-Iraqi operations west of the capital.
Nevertheless, Lynch warned that al-Qaida in Iraq will likely step up attacks in the next two weeks to try to disrupt parliamentary elections Dec. 15.
GOI: It's a small victory but it's a victory, however, I think it is unfortunately an anomaly.
It other news:
Elsewhere, the U.S. command said four American service members had been killed, three of them due to hostile action and the fourth in a traffic accident west of the capital. All deaths occurred Wednesday. The latest deaths raised the U.S. fatality toll for November to at least 85.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee called in officials from the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to testify Tuesday after a TV station reported a potential conflict of interest between licensing boards and licensees.
Earlier this year, WOOD-TV reported that the chairman of the state Board of Medicine declined further investigation into complaints against Dr. Robert Alexander. He ran a Muskegon abortion clinic, and the board chairman previously worked as Alexander's supervisor.
State Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, R-Lawton, said lawmakers will be drafting legislation to ensure that more than one board member makes such decisions.

subset: commoncrawl


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A nutritionalist told me about these supplements on Tuesday.
http://www.immunecare.co.uk/Immunecare-Colostrum.html
"If Echinacea is a soldier fighting to keep the body's immune system healthy, then Colostrum is a complete army. In fact, it has 37 immune factors and a dozen growth factors that help repair skin, bones, muscle and connective tissue to help keep our bodies young. Colostrum is arguably nature's most effective immune system booster, the 'first milk' produced by dairy cows in the days immediately after calving, it has a high concentration of proteins with antibodies. Colostrum is completely transferable to humans hence we can enjoy the significant health benefits from this natural and potent protector.
It can help:
Protect against colds, flu, ear, nose and chest infections
Help heal wounds and minimise skin disorders
Rid the body of viruses including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ME, Fibromyalgia and Glandular Fever
Enhance fitness levels among athletes and speed up recovery
Minimise the effects of autoimmune disorders including MS, Lupus, Scleroderma and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Heal and protect against gastrointestinal disorders including IBS, Colitis, Leaky Gut, diarrhoea and Crohn's Disease"
http://www.immunecare.co.uk/Immunecare-Lactoferrin.html
"Lactoferrin can help guard against and prevent the onset of many infectious diseases and a wide variety of health disorders by supporting the body's immune system in a unique and powerful way. Over 1150 studies in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals show that oral supplementation with Lactoferrin can prevent the onset of infections and diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, fungal organisms and tumours. Lactoferrin has US FDA approval as a safe and non-toxic supplement (GRAS).
Lactoferrin has the following functions:
Lactoferrin kills many disease causing bacteria, whilst at the same time protecting and encouraging the body's own good, vital gut flora. Lactoferrin is ideal for people who are either unable, or do not wish, to take traditional pharmaceutical antibiotics with all their attendant damaging side effects. Lactoferrin is a well researched, effective and safe natural alternative.
Lactoferrin kills a range of yeasts and fungi, and is very effective at killing the causative agent of Candida. It is also well known for its ability to kill gut parasites and lowers gut inflammation found in conditions such as Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's and Diverticulitis.
Extensive research has shown that Lactoferrin can prevent viruses, even powerful ones such as HIV, CMV, Herpes Simplex and Hepatitis C from binding to the body's healthy cells and therefore prevent viral infection. HIV patients are known to demonstrate a systemic lack of Lactoferrin.
Athletes find lactoferrin particularly useful in combating Glandular fever and other post-viral and over-training problems. It has also been shown to be effective in treating the Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTI's) that can afflict athletes under heavy training loads. Lactoferrin is IOC friendly and FDA approved.
More than 16 studies have shown that Lactoferrin and related peptides have been shown to suppress tumour growth and prevent tumour formation. It has been used in conjunction with chemotherapy to reduce the number of infections due to weakening of the immune system. One study notes that Lactoferrin might become the drug of choice for the adjuvant therapy against pancreatic cancer'.
The strong binding of iron by Lactoferrin prevents free iron from forming free radicals. Free radicals have been strongly implicated as a cause for many diseases and infections.
Lactoferrin has been shown to help international athletes recover quickly form mystery blood viruses and Glandular fever."
I am seriously considering taking one of them.


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Pakistan seeks reduction in Tests, increase in ODIs for Australia series in UAE
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has urged Cricket Australia to decrease the number of test matches for the October series from three to two and increase the ODIs and Twenty20 matches.
The third Test will be replaced by a series of limited-overs games, with UAE expected to be confirmed as the tournament venue.
Cricket Australia said that Pakistan wanted to concentrate on ODIs and Twenty20 formats for the October series.
The PCB made the move in spite of the ICC Future Tours Programme dictating that the tour consist of three matches, because the new schedule will help the board secure a larger broadcast fee, The Express Tribune reports.
The last encounter between the two nations was also played over just two Tests.
(Posted on 15-01-2014)
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Relax in the suburbs or take an easy trip into Chicago while staying at this modern hotel. Aloft Bolingbrook is offering rates through November for $105 and up -- saving 30% on surrounding dates.
Located 35 miles west of the city in a popular suburb, the hotel stands out from its suburban counterparts by boasting a bright interior and funky lounge.
Unwind at the indoor pool or in the guest rooms, which are equipped with Bliss spa products and free Wi-Fi.
Please go to your email and confirm your subscription.


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CI Art Program to host "Michael Todd - Sculptural Works"
The CSU Channel Islands (CI) Art Program is pleased to announce its next exhibition, "Michael Todd – Sculptural Works," which runs Nov. 8 through Dec. 14 in the Art Gallery at Napa Hall on the CI campus. The exhibition kicks off with a free public reception on Thursday, Nov. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Todd is internationally known for his metal, wood and clay sculptures that invoke Japanese Zen traditions, Chinese calligraphy, tribal African art, and abstract expressionism. His work can be found in many public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
A native of Nebraska, Todd earned a B.F.A. from the University of Notre Dame in 1959 and an M.A. from UCLA in 1961. He received Woodrow Wilson and Fulbright Fellowships and has held teaching positions at Bennington College, UCLA, University of California, San Diego, California Institute of the Arts, Otis College of Art and Design, and the University of California, Irvine.
Todd's early sculptures were wooden geometric constructions that were included in the Whitney Museum's Annuals of 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1970 and LACMA's landmark exhibition, "American Sculpture of the Sixties."
After moving from New York to San Diego in 1968, Todd shifted from wood to metal and began to develop his own mature artistic vocabulary. Inspired by Zen concepts and calligraphy and the freedom of expression in California of the late 60s, he used discarded shapes found in steel scrap yards to explore the cosmos and composition in space. The enso, a Zen circle motif, figures prominently in Todd's work.
Todd maintained his studio in New York City until 1976, when he moved with his wife and daughter to Los Angeles. In the 1980s, Todd shifted his focus to bronze, creating the components of his sculptures by pouring molten metal into a bed of sand. The 1990s found him immersed in drawing and painting. In 2003, he began his great love affair with clay, bringing sculpture and painting together.
The Art Gallery at Napa Hall is located on Ventura Street on the CI campus. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For additional information, visit http://art.csuci.edu/gallery, or contact the Art Department at 805-437-8570 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Limited parking is available on campus with the purchase of a $6 daily permit; follow signs to the parking permit dispensers. Free parking is available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road with bus service to and from the campus. Riders should board the CI Vista Bus to the campus; the cash-only fare is $1.25 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at www.goventura.org.
For more information on the artist, visit http://michaeltoddsculpture.com.
This story is contributed by a member of the community and is neither endorsed nor affiliated with Ventura County Star.
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Boston, Massachusetts, resident Mark DiGiovanni is refusing to remove the American flag hanging from his condominium window even though he will be fined $25 a day for breaking the management's "white curtains only" rule.
The Boston Herald reports:
[DiGiovanni] told the Herald he used a provision in his condo deed to ask for an exception to the building's white-curtains-only rule in May, but the board of trustees denied his request the same day. Now, the managers for the building at the intersection of Congress and A streets have given him until [Tuesday, August 28] to take it down, or be fined.
He refuses to remove his flag from the window, as he placed it there to honor his five uncles who served in World War II.
"There's so much conflict and questions about the future of our country, I think it's a good reminder for people to think about what it means," said Mark DiGiovanni, 52. "Maybe they think it's déclassé or tacky. I don't know."
Condo association trustee Sean McGrail asserts that the management company is merely responding to a complaint by one of the condominium residents. He dubbed DiGiovanni's efforts to maintain his flag as "fake patriotism."
Michael Avery, another trustee and a college professor, declined comment on the subject, but made his opinion on the subject of American flags quite clear in 2011 when he said in an e-mail to his colleagues at Suffolk University Law School that it was "shameful" to support "men and women who have gone overseas to kill other human beings."
Click here to read the entire article.


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Join us for the Annual D23 GOES 2 WORK Job Fair at the Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas!
Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas is the local organization mandated to implement a system of services that complement economic development - as a resource for employers to access the quality employees they need, and training individuals to be successfully employed. Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas has been in existence for 30 years.
Congratulations Amazon for winning Regional Employer of the Year! Congratulations to all award recipients, and to the Customers and Contractors who make our system thrive! We appreciate your partnership. Click here to read more.
The Resources section of our website provides vital information to employers, jobseekers and other organizations to support the mission of Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas.
Texas Rising Star Information
Regional Worforce Leadership Council
2014-2015 Targeted Occupations List
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Last night in the ARCO Forum people from all parts of the effort to end slavery participated in a panel discussion intended to inspire the audience to take action, according to panelist Jesse Sage '98, the associate director of Boston-based American Anti-Slavery Group.
"We're trying to recreate what was in Boston: the center of abolitionism," Sage said.
The discussion focused on slavery in the Sudan in Africa. Despite the unified intentions of the panelists, panel and audience members sometimes disagreed over whether there are religious and ethnic origins of slavery in Sudan. They also discussed the utility and ethics of purchasing slaves from masters in order to free them, whether the Sudanese government is complicit in the enslavement of its citizens and what the responsibility of President Clinton is in speaking out on Sudanese slavery.
The panel included Sage, Dr. Shelly Leanne, a lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government, Francis Bok, an escaped Sudanese slave, Gerald L. Williams '03, who worked this summer on a delegation that bought the freedom of Sudanese slaves, and Wendy Patten, a member of the National Security Council.
Bok gave an opening statement which, like his testimony before Congress this September, described his capture and subsequent 10 years in slavery in the Sudan.
"For 10 years, they beat me every morning. They made me sleep with the
animals, and they gave me very bad food. They said I was an animal. For 10 years, nobody loved me" Bok said.
Bok was abducted from the primarily Christian south and enslaved in the primarily Muslim north. Bok said he was forced to convert to Islam, but still does not identify himself as Muslim.
Read more in NewsSchor To Leave Harvard For B.C.


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3rd Day Of Curfew In Srinagar
Tourist vehilcles being cheked by police while leaving Srinagar on... NachrichtenfotoAbschied,Ausgangssperre,Horizontal,Indien,Jammu und Kaschmir,Justizwesen,Polizei,Srinagar,Tag,TouristPhotographer Hindustan TimesCollection: Hindustan Times 2013 Hindustan TimesSRINAGAR, INDIA - FEBRUARY 11: Tourist vehilcles being cheked by police while leaving Srinagar on the 3rd day of curfew on February 11, 2013 in Srinagar, India. Kashmir Valley remained under curfew for the third day today even as mobile and Internet services remained suspended following hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru. (Photo by Waseem Andrabi/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)


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1. January 1449
8. April 1492
Piero "il Gottoso" de' Medici (1416-1469)
Lucrezia (1425/27-1482), daughter of Francesco di Simone Tornabuoni and Nanna di Niccolò di Luigi Guicciardini
Clarice Orsini (1453-1488), daughter of Jacopo Orsini of Monterotondo and of Maddalena of Bracciano; marriage per procurationem in December 1468, the real wedding was celebrated on 4. June 1469 in Florence; a very happy marriage: Lorenzo [de' Medici ] told Pope Innocent VIII shortly after Clarice's death [on 30 July 1488] that she was his 'most dear and beloved wife', and that it was so grievous to him, 'having been deprived of such a sweet manner and company', that he could find no peace. (in: B. Felice: Donne Medicee avanti il Principato, III: Clarice Orsini, moglie del Magnifico Lorenzo", pp. 53-73, in: Rassegna Nazionale 149, 1906, pp. 71-72)
1. his daughter Lucrezia, born on 4. August 1470, deceased on 10. or 15. November 1553
2. and 3. child: twins (two boys), premature birth in March 1471, the children lived just long enough to be baptized
4. his son Piero II., born on 15. February 1472, deceased on 28. December 1503
5. his daughter Maddalena, born on 25. July 1473, deceased on 2. December 1528
6. his daughter Contessina Beatrice, born on 23. September 1474, deceased in September 1474 or in 1475
7. his son Giovanni, the future Pope Leo X., born on 11. December 1475, deceased on 1. December 1521, Cardinal since March 1489
8. his daughter Luigia, born on 25. January 1477, deceased in July 1488
9. his daughter Contessina, born on 16. January 1478, deceased on 29. June 1515
10. his son Giuliano, Duke of Nemours, born on 12. March 1479, deceased on 17. March 1516; since 1515 married to Philiberta (1498-1524), a daughter of Duke Philip II. of Savoy; Giuliano had one illegitimate child by his mistress Pacifica Brandano, his son Ippolito (1511-1535)
Reading Suggestion:
- Natalie R. Tomas: The Medici Women Gender and Power in Renaissance Florence. Ashgate Publishing Company 2003


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Supercircuits MDVR14UG Micro-DVR
Nov 27, 2007 9:55 AM
Designed for covert applications, Supercircuits MDVR14UG micro-DVR is a self-contained video recorder and playback system that can be concealed in small objects, such as soda cans, thermostats (see photo) and clocks, in addition to wearable covert gear. It measures less than 2 in. x 2 in. and features the companys PC-208 covert color video camera, measuring 0.31-in. square. The micro-DVR features full resolution recording at 30 frames-per-second, motion detection, direct playback and a removable Secure Digital memory card used for playback on a computer. The camera and DVR are powered by either a hard-wired power supply for round-the-clock operation or an optional rechargeable lithium battery, which provides hours of self-contained covert surveillance. According to Supercircuits, covert devices have many capabilities for other user groups, including retailers, who can use covert cameras and DVRs to help nab shoplifters, and corporate security professionals, who may use them to keep an eye on their employees. Visit www.supercircuits.com.
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© 2015 Penton Media Inc.
Today's New Product
Privaris Biometric Verification Software
In support of the Privaris family of personal identity verification tokens for secure physical and IT access, an updated version of its plusID Manager Version 2.0 software extends the capabilities and convenience to administer and enroll biometric tokens. The software offers multi-client support, import and export functionality, more extensive reporting features and a key server for a more convenient method of securing tokens to the issuing organization.
This month in Access Control
- Targeting The Customer
- Electronic Pedigrees
- One Hero Among Many
- Who? What? When? Where? Why?
- More from September's issue
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change your
life today
welcome to xtreme fitness
Our purpose at Xtreme Fitness is to provide and make available a cutting edge facility with professional training resources. At Xtreme Fitness we are dedicated to our members having a fulfilling experience, to ensure our members needs are met and take pride in building a top performance health & fitness center outfitted with superior equipment and amenities. We understand that having a safe and effective exercise program is important and that is why we take pride in our qualified fitness professionals. All our trainers are nationally certified fitness specialists. Your health and wellness is our concern. We offer a variety of training options that will challenge and motivate you, attaining your individual fitness goals. Every facet of fitness and wellness is found at Xtreme Fitness. We take pride in the XF culture, promoting strength and wellness. Please continue browsing our site for more information regarding what Xtreme Fitness has to offer you.


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- Musician's Friend Best Selection, Price & Service. Guaranteed.
Call our Gear Heads
at: 800-449-9128
Call our Gear Heads
at: 800-449-9128
Authentic guitar TAB for Papa Roach's finest album.
The Alfred Pap Roach Metamorphosis Guitar Tab Book honors what is viewed by some as the group's defining album. Papa Roach showcases some of their greatest guitar work with Metamophosis.
Metamorphosis was the fifth major-label album (and sixth album overall) by the Californian hard rock band Papa Roach. It was released by DGC/Interscope in March 2009.
Papa Roach - Metamorphosis Guitar Tab Book
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On preventing road accidentsWritten by The Peoples Chronicle
Going by the newspaper reports, there seem to be an ever increasing number of road mishaps and accidents taking place in the state. It is not out of the ordinary to learn about someone, somewhere, getting knocked down by a vehicle or vehicles getting involved in accidents causing fatalities. As the frequency of these accidents and road mishaps increase we can only ignore it at our peril. The time has come for the concerned agencies and policy makers to go into the causes, frame policies and implement them on ground sincerely so as to save precious lives being lost for no rhyme or reason. Every little thing, every little mistake can trigger off an accident, so it is important to minimize these small little mistakes which might lead to loss of a human life. First among the various other factors which together have contributed to making roads and by lanes of Manipur unsafe is the increasing vehicular population. As per the records of the Transport Department, the total number of registered vehicles registered till December 2012 which include both heavy and light vehicles is 2, 24,056.The State Assembly did pass the Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Bill, 2011, which other than enriching the state's coffers also aimed to discourage people from buying vehicles through various disincentives like introduction of green tax etc. But as of yet it does not seem to have the desired effect, for, in the past couple of years the number of vehicles in the state is increasing roughly at the rate of 40,000 vehicles per year. Compounding the problem of this alarming increase in vehicular population is the utter inadequacy of roads in the state, both in terms of quantity and quality. There are just not enough roads for the burgeoning fleet of vehicles in the city area and quality of the roads even bang in the centre of the city is pitiable. The road condition in the interior and remote areas is much worse with many roads just not motorable at all. The less said about the only functional lifelines of Manipur, the better, its condition has not seen any improvement for years now, if anything it has only worsened. Driving in such condition, as it should be obvious to anybody, is not going to be without any pitfall. Another factor which is contributing to these road mishaps and accidents is the quality of drivers. Most of those behind the wheels, especially the younger lot have not gone through any training or driving test before getting their driving license through the back door by greasing some palms. It is only to be expected that these drivers will not be aware of the nuances of driving, of driving etiquette and rules, thereby putting their lives and those of others in danger. Most of the hit and run cases can be traced to such drivers and the spoiled brats with big SUVs who think the roads belong to them, you have to make way for them or pay with your lives. On this list, we can also add vehicles of police and security forces who flaunt all traffic norms in the course of their 'duty'. To make roads in this state safer, less prone to mishaps and accidents, certain things need to be done simultaneously, which would include putting a cap in the number of vehicles on the road at a particular time, increasing roads available, improving the quality of roads, issuing driving license only after strictly following the due process, spreading awareness about traffic rules and etiquettes and strictly implementing traffic rules without fear and favour. Time to pay attention to these various aspects of avoiding accidents before we loose more limbs and lives.


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Last year, Nintendo promised to add Turbografx-16 and Sega Game Gear software to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, bringing more than just Game Boy and Game Boy Color games to the eShop. Now it looks like that might actually happen, as two Game Gear titles have been rated by the ESRB.
Tiny Cartridge spotted two titles — Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble and Shinobi (aka The G.G. Shinobi) — with fresh new re-ratings for the Nintendo 3DS. That's a step forward in getting those old 8-bit handheld games on the eShop, we hope.
Nintendo and Sega listed Columns, Dragon Crystal, Shinobi, Sonic Drift, and Sonic The Hedgehog: Triple Trouble as the first batch of titles coming to 3DS, back when they were expected to arrive in the summer of 2011.


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One of the methods proposed by marine biologists in fighting the widespread, global loss of coral reefs is to construct artificial structures, of which these organisms could take hold. This has already been done with subway cars, and even war ships, which have been purposefully sunken at designated locations. But now experts have inadvertently created similar marine wildlife "hot spots" without even trying to do so, around the foundations of off-shore wind turbines. The bases of wave-energy devices also provide the necessary conditions for the establishment of coral reefs, ScienceDaily reports.
Moreover, it was demonstrated that alterations brought to these foundations could boost the incidence of a specific species at that particular location. Other than coral reefs, organisms such as blue mussels and barnacles also find these artificial structures to be an appropriate home, and squat them as soon as they become available. These announcements were made rather recently in a public dissertation, by Stockholm University Department of Zoology expert Dan Wilhelmsson. "Hard surfaces are often hard currency in the ocean, and these foundations can function as artificial reefs. Rock boulders are often placed around the structures to prevent erosion (scouring) around these, and this strengthens the reef function," he revealed in his speech.
The European Union is a global leader in extending its wind farms along its shorelines, followed closely by countries such as Japan, the United States, India and China. Some of these nations are also investing time and money in wave-energy technology, which is a lot more complex than a wind turbine. However, all these lines of work require the various structures they entail to be anchored on the sea floor. At this point, many people are worried as to how marine creatures will react to the proposed mammoth wind farms that are to be constructed along shorelines. Experts are analyzing possible impacts to test for changes in noise, luminosity, hydrology, EM fields and other such factors.
"With wind and wave energy farms, it should be possible to create large areas with biologically productive reef structures, which would moreover be protected from bottom trawling. By carefully designing the foundations it would be possible to favor and protect important species or, conversely, to reduce the reef effects in order [to] minimize the impact on an area," the expert said in his statement. He added that a careful balance needed to be maintained between promoting the aggregations of certain species in one spot, and ensuring that these species did not destroy and consumed everything else around.


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Lacey Chabert Marries Boyfriend With Kaley Cuoco and Ali Fedotowsky In Attendance
Lacey Chabert is married! The Mean Girls alum recently tied the knot with her longtime boyfriend, and announced the news via Twitter.
PHOTOS: Celebrity weddings 2013
"I'm starting off 2014 as a Mrs!" the 31-year-old wrote on Friday, Jan. 4. "Over the holidays, my best friend & love of my life...we became husband & wife! #soblessed #love." Chabert has yet to reveal her groom, but a source tells Us Weekly his name is Dave Nehdar, and the two wed in Los Angeles.
Chabert said "I do" to her beau in front of famous pals Kaley Cuoco, her sister Briana Cuoco, 8 Simple Rules actress Amy Davidson and Bachelorette alum Ali Fedotowsky.
Shared in Instagram photos, the blushing new bride wore a stunning white lace gown for her special day. She also kept her brunette locks up in waves.
PHOTOS: Quickest celebrity engagements ever
Credit: Courtesy Lacey Chabert
In a sad turn of events, however, Chabert's wedding was followed by the passing of her grandfather. "What a week. Happiest & saddest of times. Ups & downs of life & mysterious way in which they always seem to collide will forever puzzle me," she tweeted on Dec. 28.
"Thank you all so much for the sweet, comforting messages about my grandfather's passing. Your kindness touches my heart so very much xo," she added a day later.


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406 Fifth Ave. S
(Multiple Locations)
Seattle, WA
There's little signage, but once you locate Thai Curry Simple you'll never forget where it is, because it's hard to find a good lunch for just $5 in this town. But here you can choose between tasty, slightly pan-fried pad thai (with tofu or chicken) and green curry, zippy with lemongrass, each for $5. Or try a fiery special of pad kee mao, featuring wide noodles that dance quickly on a hot griddle until their edges are browned in places, with fried tofu and a fried egg ($6).
Seattle Magazine's Full Review:


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BARTON – Erma Hathaway is bright, talkative and sharp as a tack. Hathaway, a resident at Maple Lane Nursing Home, celebrated her 102nd birthday Thursday, Aug. 30.
Hathaway was born in Delaware County in New York State. As a little girl she worked hard. Hathaway, who grew up on a farm, learned to milk cows at an early age. Her family had 60 Jersey cows.
"I ran the milking machine," said Hathaway. "That was my job principally."
Hathaway mostly milked in the evening, but did the morning chores when her family needed her.
DERBY – A petition is now circulating around the Town of Derby calling for a special meeting to elect an interim town clerk and treasurer.
Long-time Derby Town Clerk and Treasurer Nicole Daigle notified the select board in July that she had found a new job but planned to stay on in her position for a while to help with a transition.
She also said she found someone to train for her duties so that, come election time, there would be a "viable, trained candidate."
DERBY – After three and a half years, Brenda LePage, owner of Brenda's Restaurant, is moving her business from the Derby Road in Derby to Main Street in Newport City.
LePage opened Brenda's after a 15 year hiatus in the restaurant business. For 10 years, she owned LePage's, a popular breakfast and lunch spot, in Newport. This time, LePage is moving to the site of the former Junior's Restaurant, which is down the street from her old stomping grounds. LePage didn't want to move to her former Newport location, even though it's vacant, because it was too expensive to maintain.
April 9, 1934 - August 30, 2012
Mrs. Anita Marie Pizza passed away on Thursday, August 30, 2012 in Marianna at the age of 78.
She was survived by seven sisters, three sons, four grandsons and Jack, her husband of 55 years. Jack is USAF retired from Tyndall AFB, FL.
LYNDON–After a scoreless first half, Tyrah Urie picked up right where she left off last season, netting both goals in the Lady Rangers 2-1 win over the Vikings on Wednesday.
"We played well at times," said coach Brad Urie, who was happy to get the win, but not one hundred percent pleased with his team's performance on the field.
The first half was a back and forth forty minutes of soccer with neither team getting the upper hand.
Early in the second, Urie netted her first goal of the season, a header off of a pass from Hannah Leroux.
NORTHFIELD–Coach Jose´ Batista's prediction that Devinnie Davis and Crystal Moss were going to be impact players for the Falcons' girls soccer team came true as the duo each had two points to help lead North Country over Northfield 3-0.
"We looked very good. The girls came out hard, played well and we are very pleased with their effort," said Batista after the game.
In the first half North Country went up 1-0 on Davis' first varsity goal. Moss drew the assist on the tally.
Anna Bingham made it 2-0, with Davis getting the helper.


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Latest Gartner articles
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- Matthew and I rented a cute black VW Bug when we were up the in the Bay Area.
- Our Ginger girl celebrated her 4th birthday! Where has the time gone?! {photos from Ginger's first week with us!}
- We made some plans for our backyard. We definitely need more grass for G, and hopefully a little herb garden for us!
- I did a shoot wearing a stunning Carven dress, Derek Lam heels, and a Celine bag. I was in a fashion girl heaven!
- Lightened my hair a little bit for spring!
- Checked out FishBar in Manhattan Beach with some friends that were visiting in town.
- Matthew got all handy with our place. I mentioned this on Instagram but this Trophy Husband shirt is his favorite to wear when he's doing house work haha! {the shirt is from Old Navy but sadly they're sold out}
- My parents surprised us with a Nespresso machine for our Housewarming gift. So sweet!! Get ready for more latte photos!
- Suited up in this little number {coming to the blog soon!} and reminisced over our favorite HIMYM scenes.
march highlights
April 2, 2014
march highlights
7 comments:
- JoulesApril 2, 2014 at 2:08 PM
I'm a HIMYM fan too (though I wasn't a fan of the ending...)ReplyDelete
I love that suit. Can't wait to see it on the blog!
Style by Joules
- 5th & MagnoliaApril 2, 2014 at 2:38 PM
Looks like it was a fabulous month - Happy Spring!ReplyDelete
I think I'm hitting all the stages of grief over the HIMYM finale... anger, denial, sadness... I don't know if I'll ever come to accept how it ended though!ReplyDelete
- NataliApril 2, 2014 at 9:32 PM
Your hair looks beautiful with these new highlights!ReplyDelete
- Christina StormApril 3, 2014 at 5:14 AM
Great photos!ReplyDelete
The Style Storm
<3, Christina
- Nic RidleyApril 3, 2014 at 6:02 AM
Matthew's Trophy Husband shirt cracks me up. If only it wasn't sold out, I'd have to get one for my hubby!ReplyDelete
- EL MinoocheApril 3, 2014 at 2:06 PM
Hi there, We love your style posts! I'm the social media manager from El Minooche, a fun handbag and accessory company ready to make it's debut in the US in May '14. We're looking for a great brand ambassador for our upcoming launch. (We're totally re-doing our website so no judgements please haha!) Let me know if you're interested! email@example.com
♥ ♥ Thanks for stopping by my blog! I do my very best to respond to each and every comment but if you have a question please feel free to email me at email@example.com. It might be responded to a little quicker!


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Straight No Chaser champions unfiltered music at Phil May 9
Straight No Chaser
Where: Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples
When: 8 p.m. May 9
Tickets: Starting at $39
To purchase: 239-597-1900 or www.thephil.org
If it has a melody, a cappella guy group Straight No Chaser can rummage through its treasure chest of harmonics to create a three-, four-, maybe more-part version.
The Four Freshmen? Sure. The Temptations? Of course. Madonna? One of arranger Walter Chase's favorite pieces is her "Like a Prayer," filtered through textures of ballad and hymn. Metal rockers Quiet Riot? Yes, them. And Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, too.
The 10-man group is so serious about harmonic challenges, it asks fans to Tweet tunes they think the group could do. When the Naples audience hears them at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts Wednesday, May 9, there's a good chance some harmonic fillip will have been added from an Internet encounter.
It's sort of a parental duty.
"We were a group that was started because of a Christmas video that was filed on YouTube," explains Chase, who is one of its original members. That 2007 sendup of "Twelve Days of Christmas" has had 16 million hits and counting.
"With all 10 of us being very active on Twitter, daily I'll be getting messages that are 'Hey, what about this one?' We do mashups of songs where we take two songs and throw them together, too."
The most famous so far: a blender version of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison," which is itself a mashup of R&B with hip hop. But audiences can expect music all over the map. SNC featured a crooner's delight of '50s tunes on its recent PBS special, and it sings '60s favorites such as the Four Seasons' "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." The group has just developed a movie-theme medley as well.
All of it is done without drums, guitars or music tracks. Chase is music director, and when they're not on the road — which is nearly nine months of the year — the group is noodling with musical sounds that give them the rhythm of drums and even a guitar hook or two in vocals. The biggest hurdle is music that is more arrangement than melody.
"When you get into heavy instruments, or heavy guitar that's where it becomes a challenge. Because there's just 10 of us there's no tracking," he explains. Sometimes they may have to rearrange a worthwhile melody to get around its orchestration. And there are some that just don't work, but "no" seems to be a seldom-used word in the group's vocabulary.
The SNC group is a Cinderella story, having come about after a reunion of the a cappella ensemble from Indiana University's Singing Hoosiers. (In fact, says Chase, the Singing Hoosiers first brought him to Naples.) The group assembled an inventive "Twelve Days of Christmas" video from Richard C. Gregory's 1967 comic arrangement for fun. It went viral, zooming up to 11 million views, when it caught the attention of Craig Kallman, CEO of Atlantic Records.
Since then, the group has recorded five discs and an EP six-pack of inventive harmonies. They have traveled all over the U.S. and as far as Japan to entertain.
Because their act is visual as well as audial, the guys come glee-club style in blazers, ties and slacks, but add some artfully timed moves.
"We're not dancing, but it's definitely a staged look," Chase says. Those are part of SNC's sense of shared responsibilities.
"I'm responsible for half of the arrangements. There are two to three of the guys who also are musical arrangers. There are two or three others we consider collaborators ... and one of the guys who doesn't do arranging did the lyrics for some of our pieces. We're very collaborative. All of us are very active in assembling the show."
If it sounds like more fun than anyone's legally allowed to have, the group is even headlining a Carnival cruise Oct. 11. But before then, they'll be sorting through their catalog for a song that addresses their audience here the way they did by quickly working up "Chattanooga Choo Choo" for Tennessee audiences and "Call Baton Rouge" for that city.
For balmy, seaside Naples, possibly: "Stranger in Paradise"?
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