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HAMPTON FALLS — An alternative to the Lincoln Akerman School renovation plan is in the works, and could be a choice for voters to consider in the polling booth in March.
HAMPTON FALLS — An alternative to the Lincoln Akerman School renovation plan is in the works, and could be a choice for voters to consider in the polling booth in March.
Resident Tim Samway and several like-minded residents are actively pursuing two different warrant articles they say address all of the infrastructure needs, but without the new gymnasium.
Both Samway and Don Janik have publicly stated that they support the School Board proposal to renovate the school but don't think a new gym is necessary or right for the voters at this time.
"This is of concern to the taxpayer," Samway said. "We have to find the balance for kids and for the taxpayer."
Samway, who has collected more than 70 signatures for the citizen petition warrant articles, said he believes that if the School Board were to join forces with the opposition, a plan could be passed.
"Do the gym at a separate time," Samway said, adding that otherwise, the School Board proposal stands to face some "serious opposition."
The first of Samway's proposals ask the school district to raise and appropriate $450,000 for the first phase of a multi-year infrastructure upgrade to the Lincoln Akerman School. This approach, since it would not involve bond money, would avoid interest payments.
The second of Samway's proposals would ask voters to consider raising and appropriating "the sum of $2.82 million for the construction of two new classrooms and includes the renovation of the existing gymnasium and cafeteria/kitchen, roof replacement, window replacement and HVAC upgrade. It also includes windows and furnishings for the new classroom space, site work and utilities support, architectural and other service fees, and provides for "any other items incidental to or necessary for the construction/renovations."
"It covers everything that needs to be addressed," Samway said.
Samway said he would be speaking with the Department of Revenue Administration for assistance with the legal aspects of the petition articles, and expects to formally present the petition articles to SAU 21 this week.
School Board Chairperson Robin Moyer Ratigan, however, said the citizen petition articles being presented are misleading. Areas she said are in conflict with the School Board proposal include adequate classroom space (current plan has three); ability to open two undersized classrooms back into one appropriately sized classroom; ability to improve safety in gym with appropriate size; ability to improve building security with separate gym access; dedicated gym, cafeteria, music space needed to address over use and state standards, recommended by 9 different committees; chance to improve safety with additional parking; storage to protect investments; meeting space and teaching space provided with dedicated cafeteria; and opportunity to provide appropriate grade level grouping.
The School Board will present the final cost for its building renovation proposal on Jan. 9.


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I already scanned the forums, but I didn't see (or I might have overlooked) a solution to adding custom fields into an email receipt. Say for instance that a time and date is selected as the input, I would like to reflect that into the receipt for the customers confirmation. Currently I have in the email receipt formatted like so:
[MM_Member_Data name='customField_1'].
I found a bit of information here, also mentioning this format:. Would this be the correct way to display this custom field? This is information that doesn't need to be stored on the user's account since its appointment information by the membermouse products, but it's information that I would like to display for the customer.

subset: commoncrawl


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Arc 3 has done innovative work in the area of content, digital and analytics for clients. It has been our passion to work with trade associations, government agencies, political campaigns, businesses and non-profits to develop and implement effective strategies for content marketing, digital and social media campaigns that help them to achieve their organizational goals in a complex media and public affairs landscape. Content, digital and analytics efforts only work if they help an organization to reach those real world objectives that result in a return on their investment.
Click the capabilities areas below for a list of current and recent clients for whom we have helped to achieve their civic engagement, legislative and electoral goals through the use of dynamic content, savvy digital platforms or precision targeting and analytics.


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Vision Cig spare no efforts to provide customers with qualified products, but it might not perform as expected after a certain period or DOA (dead on arrival). Although we do extensive tests before packing, we can't totally avoid this problem. So we provide you with a great return policy.
Where and how to send the defective products to you?
*Send the product back in your cheapest way to our following address.
*No need to send back defective products via registered mail but assume the sending postage.
To: Mr.Wu Chuanmin
Address:Rm 1311,Block B, #1267 xinhe Rd.Shajing Town. Baoan District
Post code:518000


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Benefits of Selling to a Real Estate Investor
If you have plans of selling your property, then the first thing you think probably is to call a realtor to put it on the market. On the other hand, taking this path can be a bit time consuming and also, expensive. Fortunately, it isn't just the only available option you have when you want to sell your house as there are companies that buy houses you can talk to.
You might have to do some improvements when selling your house traditionally such as investing money in doing repairs, sprucing up the curb appeal and so on. Why would you have to undergo this thing if you can sell it as is and save money in the process by selling it to a real estate investor. As you read the next paragraphs, you're going to learn the different benefits of taking such option.
Number 1. Speed - like what we have learned earlier, talking to a realtor to list your house may consume a lot of your time. Your house might be promoted using open houses and advertising with an average listing agreement lasting for at least 6 months. The moment you found a prospective buyer, you can't proceed to the transaction just yet because they still have to be qualified for financing. Visit fast home buyers
If you want to have a fast transaction and be paid in cash at the same time, then it will be ideal to talk to a real estate investor. This is actually a huge advantage especially if you're in a spot where you need to get cash and need to sell house quickly.
Number 2. No need to put money into your house - if you sell to a traditional buyer, there are chances that the future homeowner is expecting the new house to be in tip top condition. You might find yourself having to make additional investments in replacing the flooring, installing new roof, painting inside and out, improving the landscape and taking care of other expensive and time consuming improvements that you would not be worrying about if you sell to we buy houses companies. Click companies that buy houses homes
It is these investors who will be performing the needed repairs on the house and take it off of your shoulders. What you need to do here is to just agree on their offer and then, sell the house to them.
Number 3. No commission fees - it's understandable that real estate agents are working on a commission basis. Meaning, if your house was sold for 200000 dollars and if your agent takes 6 percent from it, then it indicates that they take 12000 dollars of the sale. This is where we buy house companies beat the former as they are not taking fees or commissions from the deal. Learn more from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sell_This_House


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cgsa [at] golfsupers [dot] com
These guidelines provide additional tips and techniques and "how to" suggestions for addressing key environmental issues related to golf as well as providing advice on how superintendents can best advocate with government officials and others for the good of the profession and the golf industry. The policy statements or position papers outline the position of the CGSA on various environmental issues of importance to our members.
© 2004 CGSA/ACSG Privacy Policy | Content Disclaimer | Design by Swerve Design Inc. | Drupal Development by Intrigue


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Hello – welcome to my new blog!
Recent Attempts
This is not my first attempt to start my own blog. In order to tell the truth: Two blogs already fizzled…
However, everything will be different with this one (I hope 😀 )!
Well, two things are already different.
- The hoster: While I used Windows Live Spaces the past times I'll now try my luck using WordPress. (Maybe there will be a posting discussing the differences between those two).
- The language: I try only to blog in English from now on. I will say something to the reasons for this decision in a later posting.
Topics I am going to cover
Primary I am planning to post about my experiences in my "every-day-hobby-programmer-life".
This will include things like:
- General News
- Windows
- Applications like Word, Firefox…
However, I try to focus on programming, especially using .NET and C#:
- The C# language itself
- CLR (Common Language Runtime) and FCL (Framework Class Library)
- Architecture and Design
- …
Enjoy reading my blog!
I simply can't write this wish big enough 😉


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Mitchell Institute
The following are a few of the completed projects that I designed while interning at the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute in Portland, Maine. My work included the design of postcards, posters, t-shirts, as well as Facebook timeline covers.
Posters of Mitchell Scholars
*Photos taken and airbrushed by Garrand.com


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Royal St. Luke's Golf Club (est. 1603)
pulsa inveni repulsa
From: The Secretary
Royal St Luke's Clubhouse
Carrington Magna
Suffolk SU3 1GC
Many and varied are the issues with which one has to deal as Secretary of a great golf Club. The vast majority of golfers have no idea of the sheer range of questions, complaints, suggestions and general idiocies which are brought up by Members and left for the Secretary to sort out. Many have nothing to do with golf and everything to do with the general lack of discipline, initiative & common sense which pervades this country in peacetime. Below are a selection of problems left, literally, at my office door by members too lazy, ignorant to fathom the answers or too frightened to come in….
My Dear Major ;
Following a major prostate operation last year, I have to wear a surgical appliance, namely an " Alert! " incontinence pad which incorporates a loud buzzer. When, alas, the pad becomes wet, the buzzer goes off for 60 seconds and can only be silenced by tearing off the pad and squeezing it. I have however trained Briggs, my caddy, to squeeze it into silence in situ but this involves pain and a certain amount of bellowing on my part.
Now, during a matchplay tie with Mr F.G. Hargreaves yesterday, my nervous tension triggered a repeated loss of continence. As a result the buzzer sounded on four separate occasions, each time (unfortunately) when Hargreaves was at the top of his backswing. I could see that this was causing him increasing irritation and when the thing went off again as he was addressing a left-to-right 4 footer on the 18th green, he exploded, accusing me of deliberate tactical buzzing i.e. cheating – and claimed the hole and the match. He refused to be reasonable afterwards in the Clubhouse, even pretending to be shocked when I approached him in Founder's Room with the incontinence pad and demonstrated, using a noggin of Kummel, how the buzzing was triggered. My question is ; can a surgical appliance such as my this be considered an Outside Agency or is it an Unlawful Appurtenance ? I'm sure the R&A must have a ruling somewhere on this, given the degree of incontinence at the highest level at St Andrews.
Yours etc.,
R.A. Kingsbury.
Dear Kingsbury,
A difficult one. We can find no reference to Incontinence Pads, noisy or otherwise, in the published Decisions of the Rules of Golf Committees of the R&A /USGA. Therefore our Competitions Committee has ruled as follows ; your matchplay tie with F.G Gardiner shall be replayed ; in order to restore equity between you it is ordered that Gardiner, too, will wear an " Alert ! " incontinence pad which he will be permitted to trigger, without warning, an equal number of times to yourself. This will be achieved using a concealed waterbottle affixed to the inside of his trousers. In future, the Committee requests that you change to the Vibrapee appliance or, even better, to the Larkrise which emits a musical twittering identical to the song of the skylarks, which are such a joy on the links in summer. This is a sound at which no opponent could take offence, even if its source, arising from your nether regions, does appear to be somewhat singular…
Dear Major;
I see that the Club is to hold a "Burns Supper" in the Clubhouse on the 25th January chaired by Brigadier Hamish MacKenzie-Stuart . This would seem to be yet another example of cultural aggression by our Scottish members and I would like to know just what this long dead poet has to with golf. Where did he play ? Did he contribute anything to the game and why should we be subjected to an evening of screeching bagpipes, steaming haggises and endless recitations of incomprehensible "poetry" in praise of highland bogs, sheep and rodents. I suspect that this is retaliation for the recent discovery of the now famous window in Gloucester cathedral depicting golf in 1380 and the awful realisation by the shattered Jocks – that golf is actually an English game.
Yours etc.,
Henry Robinson
Dear Robinson ;
I have contacted the Brigadier to establish the relevance of Robert Burns to golf. Incidentally, I agree with you that we are essentially an English club although our founder, King James VI and I, was an emigrant from Edinburgh – and was en route to London in 1603 when he laid out our inaugural 12 holes.
Burns, the national poet of Scotland, was born in Ayrshire in 1759 and played most of his golf at Prestwick and Troon. He was later elected "poet laureate" of the R&A and won their Autumn Medal at St Andrews in 1792. Golfing references pepper his poems and songs. For example Tae a Featherie is a hymn of praise to the golfball he has been using for over a year, while the original of his great international song of parting is actually Auld Lang Syme, referring to his tall foursomes partner Andrew Syme. I actually rather enjoy his rollicking narrative poem Tam O. Shanter which describes a drunken golfer, Thomas Shanter, riding home in a thunderstorm from the AGM at Prestwick Golf Club and literally stumbling into a witches' Sabbath midnight dance in a ruined church at Alloway. Attendance at the Burns Supper is not compulsory and the prospect of the massed pipe band of the Scots Brigade beating retreat on the clubhouse lawn is one which, as a soldier, I shall savour. Do come if you can and I fact I'll put you down to propose a toast " Golf – an English game ! " and we'll see if you get home alive – or even get to the end of the first sentence….
As ever,
RJM Warren-Dawlish. Secretary


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e-legno is now a business reality among the most innovative of bathroom furniture and accessories industry.
The collection is made in a much-choice, diversified and includes: bathtubs, shower tray, washbasins and furniture for the bath area.
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The craftsmanlike manufacture of our products allows us to make baths and washbasins according to the customer's personal choice, customizing shapes and dimensions.


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CFO Survey: U.S. Economy Improving Slowly, But Not Surely
(PhysOrg.com) -- U.S. chief financial officers say they have limited hiring plans over the next 12 months, and nearly 60 percent won?t return their staffing to pre-recession levels until 2012 or later.
Chief financial officers in the U.S. say they have limited plans to hire over the next 12 months, although nearly 60 percent won't return their staffing to pre-recession levels until 2012 or later. Benefits and wages also remain at reduced levels at many firms, and credit is still tight for small firms, which is hindering hiring plans and constraining growth.
The recovery is not completely stalled, however, as CFOs predict strong business spending and earnings growth.
These are some of the findings of the most recent Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey. The survey, which concluded June 4, asked 1,102 CFOs from a broad range of global public and private companies about their expectations for the economy. (See end of release for survey methodology.) The research has been conducted for 57 consecutive quarters. Presented results are for U.S. firms unless otherwise noted.
-- U.S. CFOs expect to increase domestic employment by just under 1 percent during the next 12 months. It may be several years before employment returns to pre-recession levels, which will weigh on consumer spending. Fewer than half of companies that cut employment packages expect to restore pay, training, and benefits to their pre-recession levels during the next year.
-- Borrowing conditions remain tight, with roughly an equal split between firms reporting that credit conditions have tightened and those saying credit has eased. One-third of micro-firms (100 or fewer employees) say credit conditions have worsened in the past six months.
-- Earnings are expected to rise 12 percent and capital spending 9 percent in the next 12 months. Research and development and tech spending will increase 4 to 6 percent.
-- CFO optimism has improved slightly, but remains below long-run averages. U.S. and European optimism significantly lag behind Asian optimism. (See graph at bottom of release.)
-- CFOs' economy-wide concerns include weak consumer demand, federal government policies, price pressure and global financial instability. Top concerns about their own businesses include maintaining profit margins, low employee morale and health care costs.
-- Eighty percent of European CFOs say the financial stability of Europe is severely threatened by the financial problems of Greece, Spain and Italy. At the same time, 68 percent agree strong European countries should provide financial support to economically troubled countries. Thirty percent believe Greece should be excluded from the "eurozone," but only 9 percent think Spain and Italy also should be excluded.
U.S. companies expect full-time domestic employment to inch up by 0.7 percent over the next year, while temporary employment will fall 0.2 percent. The labor picture is much worse in Europe (with a planned workforce reduction of 1.6 percent) and much stronger in Asia (with expected growth of more than 5 percent).
"U.S. companies plan very little domestic hiring over the next year," said John Graham, professor of finance at Duke's Fuqua School of Business and director of the survey. "However, the rate of improvement is slow and should put only a small dent in the unemployment rate by year-end."
Nearly 60 percent of U.S. CFOs say it will be 2012 or later before employment at their firms returns to pre-recession levels. Among companies that instituted employment-related cuts in the past few years, fewer than half say during the next year they will restore bonuses, overtime, employee training and development, retirement benefits or health benefits to pre-recession levels. About half will restore wages and weekly work hours.
On a positive note, U.S. capital spending is expected to increase 9 percent over the next year, tech spending is expected to rise 6 percent, and advertising/marketing and research/development 4 percent.
Earnings are expected to increase 9 to 12 percent in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
The top two concerns for U.S. CFOs are weak consumer demand and the federal government's agenda. U.S. CFOs, who expect to raise the prices of their products by 1.5 percent, are also worried about price pressure from intense competition. Maintaining employee morale is among the top company-specific concerns.
"CFOs have a lot to be concerned about right now, both inside their companies and in the broader global economy," said Kate O'Sullivan, senior editor at CFO Magazine. "Financial officers tell us they are wary about credit market conditions, liquidity at their own firms, and financial instability in Europe."
Health care costs also have reappeared among the top four concerns for U.S. companies, with corporate health care payments expected to rise 8 percent in the next year.
Overall credit market conditions have not improved much in 2010. "Despite the narrowing of credit spreads, a large chunk of the U.S. economy is having greater difficulty borrowing today than during the worst days of the credit crisis. A remarkable one-third of small businesses report borrowing conditions are worse today than 2009," said Campbell R. Harvey, a professor of finance at The Fuqua School of Business and founding director of the survey.
"It is no surprise to me that unemployment is -- and will be -- persistently high. Small- and medium-sized firms are the drivers of employment growth in the economy, and they are being squeezed," Harvey said. "Our results show an extraordinary 44 percent of small businesses restricted their capital spending below desired levels because of borrowing difficulties. These capital projects create jobs both today and over the longer term. The continued credit problem makes it inevitable that we will see very high levels of unemployment not just in 2010, but well beyond."
Harvey added that "hiring census workers does not solve the employment problem. Our analysis suggests we need to refocus efforts on the root of the problem. Businesses are not spending on capital projects because of borrowing difficulties. Fixing the credit problem goes a long way toward creating the conditions for robust employment growth."
Seventy percent of CFOs believe the emergency lending measures taken to date by European leaders will improve the European economy.
The employment picture in Europe remains bleak. In the next 12 months, European CFOs expect to cut domestic full-time workforce (-1.6 percent) and part-time employment (-4.5 percent). They also plan to reduce marketing and advertising spending (-0.8 percent).
While confidence in Europe's economy has dipped after several quarters of gains, capital spending and earnings will increase about 10 percent.
Borrowing in Europe has become more difficult: 29 percent of finance executives say borrowing conditions have deteriorated, compared to 19 percent who say conditions have improved in the past six months.
Top Asian concerns focus on intense price pressure, weak consumer demand, global financial market instability and currency risk.
Attracting and retaining qualified employees is a major concern for Asian companies, especially in China. Other top company-specific concerns include achieving profit margins and maintaining employee morale and productivity.
Asian CFOs expect capital spending to increase by nearly 12 percent, and say earnings will climb by just over 10 percent. Domestic employment will rise by more than 5 percent in Asian countries.
Among firms that cut employment-related benefits and costs during the recession, the majority have already restored or increased wages, bonuses, hours worked, and retirement and health benefits. Overtime hours are still somewhat restricted.
Explore further


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Japan's Kodansha Reports Its Largest Annual Loss Ever
posted on by Egan Loo
The Japanese publishing giant Kodansha has announced the financial results for its 2008 fiscal year (December 2007 to November 2008) on Monday. Advertising revenues declined under the effects of the recession, and a drop in magazine and comic sales led to 135.058 billion yen (about US$1.4269 billion) in overall annual sales, a drop of 6.4% from the previous year. This resulted in a loss of 7.686 billion yen (about US$81.2 million) for 2008 — the largest annual loss in the company's history.
Revenues from the magazine division, including comic magazines, were at 93.7% of the previous year's levels. The book division's revenues was 92.1% of the previous year's revenues, while advertising revenues stood at 89.8%.
Among other titles, Kodansha publishes xxxHOLiC, Tsubasa, RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Nodame Cantabile, Negima! Magister Negi Magi, Fairy Tail, Card Captor Sakura, Love Hina, and Kitchen Princess. Its magazine division prints Weekly Shonen Magazine, Monthly Shonen Magazine, Young Magazine, Morning, Morning 2, Afternoon, Magazine Special, Evening, Monthly Shonen Sirius, Monthly Shonen Rival, Nakayoshi, Bessatsu Friend, Be•Love, Kiss, Dessert, and The Dessert manga magazines. It also publishes official file magazines for specific franchises, such as Clamp no Kiseki, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny, Ultraman, Mobile Suit Z Gundam Historica, Kamen Rider, and Tokusatsu Hero Magazine.
The Nikkei news source reported that Kodansha established a Kodansha USA holding company last July, with the intent of setting up a new subsidiary in New York for manga publishing in North America. There have been no further news about the reported North American initiative since then.
Source: Goo News
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history


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Norbert Kpadonou
A former ASE student speaks readily of his alma mater and professional development, and recalls his education at ASE with enthusiasm.
Norbert Kpadonou joined the IERPE Master's program in Public Economics and Applied Statistics in 2009, following a maîtrise in economics at the University of Abomey-Calavi. Even before his Master's defense in January 2012, he had begun working at the Institute for Research for Development (IRD) in partnership with the Center for Population Education and Research Population (CEFORP/UAC). There, he held the post of statistician-economist, and was a program research assistant beginning in February 2011. In 2014, Norbert joined the Center for Demographic Research at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, where he is currently preparing a doctoral thesis in demography. His research focuses on the mediation of economic and professional roles in West African cities including Cotonou, Lomé and Ouagadougou. This topic is a continuation of the master's thesis he defended at ASE on fertility and employment accessibility for women in Cotonou.
In sum, Norbert Kpadonou is interested in questions of gender issues in the workplace, work-life balance, education and health.
What did he retain of his stay as a student at ASE?
I was particularly impressed by the work atmosphere and the good friendship between students during and even after my training. I also stress the quality of the professors and the richness of the program that goes beyond knowledge. ASE forges a winner's mentality in students.


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Crafty Candles offers candle classes for all ages! We also offer birthday parties as well as private parties. Classes listed here are available for the general public. You must pre-register! We need to know how many will be here and registration closes at 5:30 pm the day before the class.
During the summer months we hold classes on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays and during the rest of the year on Saturdays that have a holiday or event theme (ex. Valentine's day, Mother's Day)
Want to host a birthday party or private party? You can contact us at 519.776.8585 or sales (@) craftycandles.ca (all one word and remove parenthesis)
No products were found matching your selection.


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Most people do not want to admit that a fear of falling makes them apprehensive to take part in activities that were once easy. They certainly don't want to admit when they feel weak, unstable or dizzy. If you or someone you know is showing signs of difficulty walking, standing, or bending over, seek immediate attention before a fall occurs. A physical therapist at Camelback Sports Therapy can help identify the source of your balance troubles and possible weakness and design a program specifically for you.
If you answered Yes to any of the above questions you may be at risk for falling. Call us at 602-808-8989 to speak with a physical therapist about how we can help you gain back your confidence and independence.
"My pain has decreased significantly and I am definitely stronger, more open and balanced. Very much appreciate the kindness and concern of all staff members, and their encouragement." – Michelle


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Russia's choices
February 26, 2014
Crimea asks to join Russia as West readies sanctions
Tears well in Ayla Bakkalli's eyes as she speaks about her family. "My mother used to exchange letters with her relatives during the Soviet years. She went to Uzbekistan with my sister in the 1990s. My uncle would never speak inside, only in the park. What was he going to say? He was a humble man, not a wealthy man. He was two years in the gulag. He suffered. What could he say? That it's awful the way he's living? And yet he and my mother would meet in the park just to share stories. My mother wanted to speak with him. It's very hard. Very hard."
Bakkalli is the U.S. representative for the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, the 33-member governing body for the Muslim-majority population of indigenous people living in the autonomous Ukrainian peninsula. Last week, the peninsula was made slightly less autonomous by its annexation via a sham "referendum" under the gun of occupying forces from the Russian Federation. So when Bakkalli and I meet in a restaurant in central Manhattan, it is mostly to discuss what will likely prove the biggest challenge to Vladimir Putin's designs on the Black Sea region: Crimean Tatars who have been through hell once before under Russian domination have no intention of a repeat performance.
To illustrate her point, Bakkalli tells me a story of a 91-year-old man that is frequently cited in the Crimean Tatar press. "He lived through World War II, Stalinism, the fall of Communism, the resurrection of democracy. Having noted this annexation, he now says, 'I am digging in the basement of my home a grave. If something happens to me, I will be buried in Crimea.'" This sentiment, she warns, is widespread among her people and is not easily dislodged, no matter how many Russian servicemen Putin imports or how many proxy militias of ethnic Russians he underwrites.
In fact, Bakkalli says, the Tatars saw this Anschluss coming years before anyone else did. "If you look at some of the statements we've been making since 2005 at the United Nations Indigenous People's Forum, we knew what Putin was up to. The Russian Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol, the extension of its lease to 2044 was very telling. That itself was tantamount to an invasion," she said. "Putin only waited for the opportunity to fully implement it, and that opportunity was a pro-democratic revolution in Ukraine."
Bakkalli belongs to a deeply traumatized but resilient diaspora, one that now intuits another ethnic atrocity at the hands of a Russian dictator. Her relatives were all deported by Josef Stalin in 1944 as part of a wholesale population transfer of Crimean Tatars that culminated in genocide: an estimated 46 percent of the transferees died en route to Central Asian republics or to the Volga or Siberian regions. This is why Bakkalli's mother and uncle wound up talking in a park in Uzbekistan. Her paternal uncle died in a labor camp driving a tractor on a frozen river.
Ten years later, in 1954, Khrushchev "awarded" Crimea back to Ukraine. It was only in the late 1980s, during glasnost, that the Tatars were allowed back in, although the damage done by exile and dispossession has never been fully addressed by successive governments in Kiev. It also bodes ill that the pretext for their expulsion by Stalin – alleged collaboration with Nazism – now finds an eerie echo in Putin's self-justification for gobbling up Crimea, that ethnic Russians today are under threat from neo-Nazis (even though they are not). If the Tatars oppose Crimea's Russians, what must that make them in the eyes of the Kremlin?
The community numbers only 300,000, or about 12 percent of the peninsula's total population, which makes the Tatars a small but significant minority. It is also one not easily cowed or intimidated. It was Tatar television that stayed on the air the longest to report on the Russian seizure of sovereign Ukrainian territory earlier this month. The vast majority of Tatars not only reject annexation and boycotted last week's "referendum," but also consider themselves aligned with fundamental tenets of Ukrainian nationalism. As Bakkalli puts it, "the steppe regions of Ukraine are Crimea; Crimea is Ukraine." Accordingly, the Tatars backed the Orange Revolution in 2004 and they supported the Euromaidan protests which ousted corrupt Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in late February.
So where Stalin destroyed a nation, Putin is trying to bribe or co-opt one. He has tried in vain to curry favor among Crimea's Tatars by promising them language rights, 20 percent representation in the regional legislature and executive, and recognition of their Mejlis and Kurultay, or National Congress. He's also experimented with a Kadyrov-like satrap in the form of Rustam Temirgaliyev, the current vice premier of the Crimean Rada, or parliament. However, Temirgaliyev is a Kazan Tatar, not an indigenous Crimean.
"We are not from Tatarstan, not from Kazakhstan," Bakkalli says. "We go way back, to the Scythians, to the Goths, to the Greeks. There are Crimean Tatars who speak Greek." The genuine leader of this community is a Soviet-era dissident and much-revered former chairman of the Mejlis, Mustapha Cemilev. And Cemilev has flatly rejected Putin's overtures to switch loyalties and repudiated the "official" turnout percentage given for last week's vote on annexation. Cemilev, now an elected MP in the Ukrainian Rada from the ruling Fatherland Party, says that, contra the "official" estimate of 60 percent, a mere 34.2 percent of Crimeans even turned up for the plebiscite. (Other analysts have suggested that a similar percentage actually voted for annexation, against Moscow's insistence that 97 percent did so.) Cemilev has survived 20 years in prisons and labor camps and a 10-month hunger strike; he no doubt intends to outlast this hostile takeover of his homeland by another Russian strongman.
"Who is at risk here?" Bakkalli asks. "Pro-democratic Ukrainians, pro-democratic Russians, and the indigenous peoples of Crimea and Ukraine. To say that [Crimea] has been only 300 years a part of Russia is an acknowledgement and approval of colonization. Because the annexation of Crimea caused the emigration of hundreds of thousands of Crimea Tatars into Turkey – what was then the Ottoman Empire."
Already, the pro-Russian camp has made ominous moves, prompting sympathetic European countries such as Lithuania to prepare for another Tatar refugee crisis. About 20 people have been kidnapped in Crimea since Russia invaded. Three are still missing, including Ivan Selentsov, a Tatar. Another Tatar activist, Reshat Ametov, was discovered murdered in a forest after last being seen in the hands of a pro-Russian militia. Dzhalil Ibrahimov told the Guardian that these militias "have started to burn fires near the village at night, so we know they are there and they are close." Then, on March 20, a tocsin for Tatar ethnic cleansing was rung by none other than Rustam Termigaliyev: "We have asked the Crimean Tatars to vacate part of their land, which is required for social needs," the Crimean vice premier said. "But we are ready to allocate and legalize many other plots of land to ensure a normal life for the Crimean Tatars."
A normal life, or "normalization" in the Soviet sense? Either way, Bakkalli is terrified. "Another genocide has started already," she said. "The groundwork has been laid. They're grabbing land, they're expelling people, and they painting Xs on the homes of the Tatars to mark them out as fifth columnists. Do you understand how chilling that is for us?"
There are reports that Tatar men are relocating their families abroad and returning to the peninsula solo. I ask Bakkalli whether this suggests that they intend to take up arms and fight back, perhaps forming their own self-defense militias. "That is correct," she replies. "They're worried about their parents, their grandparents, their wives, and their children. They feel much more mobility and freedom when they're by themselves. And they will not let Crimea go." The Kurultay is going to "recalibrate" in the coming weeks, Bakkalli says, and determine its response to Russia's seizure.
This prompts the awkward question of whether or not she can envisage a Chechnya scenario playing out on the peninsula, stoked by similar scorched-earth Russian military practices – one that culminates in radicalization, then jihadism. Bakkalli thinks such an option isn't in the cultural or political DNA of her people, who harbor a "great distrust of religious leaders" dating back to the era of Catherine the Great. The Tatars do not "gravitate toward jihad, and the [Mejlis] is very sensitive about that. They want to be part of Ukraine. They want a unified Ukraine." Nevertheless, she believes Russia will "admit extremists" to furnish an excuse for a crackdown and to legitimate its own propaganda about security threats. It's only a matter of time.
I tell her I've seen this scenario play out quite recently – in Syria. Bakkalli nods. "And what's the old saying? If you're drowning in the middle of the ocean, you hug a snake to get to shore." I've heard that one, too.
Michael Weiss is a columnist at Foreign Policy and a fellow at the Institute of Modern Russia. He tweets at @michaeldweiss
Remembering the past, fearing for the future. (AFP Photo/Sergei Supinsky)
"It bodes ill that the pretext for their expulsion by Stalin – alleged collaboration with Nazism – now finds an eerie echo in Putin's self-justification for gobbling up Crimea, that ethnic Russians today are under threat from neo-Nazis (even though they are not)."
From Trump's America to Putin's Russia to Lebanon, the marriage of business with politics is closer than ever
December 22, 2016
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Семен Семеныч
Spikess russians need to forget their imperial ambitions and move to their historical Russia.to the swamps of Mordor.
March 29, 2014
SPIKESS you were not right! indigenous people of Crimea - a Tartar nations. and the Russians in the Crimea is strange people conquerors!!
March 28, 2014
The Tatar Muslim ... need to move to a Islamic country. Russia is not for you.
March 27, 2014
Michael Weiss
"For one, he is off our backs." Don't be too sure, cupcake. Also, Shabbat Shalom!
March 26, 2014
Same here. And by the way, ... ... .
Innocent Bystander
Interesting to see a critique of the article focusing on the author, his religion and subject matter rather than the content and implications put out by the interviewee.
It makes sense for Mr. Weiss to move on to a new pet, and equally irrelevant, project, namely the Crimean Tatars. For one, he is off our backs. Two, his amateurish so-called "investigative" coverage of nuns, bishops and orphans as somehow the ultimate culprits in the Syrian quagmire and his admiration for Al-Qaeda vintage "rebels" was odd and out of place for this Jewish Zionist. Not soon enough, I'd say. But I now pity the Tatars, for who knows what pedestrian explanation for the Crimean situation will this avant-garde illuminated "journalist" now uncover as he pushes forward to earning some journalistic award and justifying it all in the end as a successful "career".
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