Hate the Mom, But Love the Son

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBDUDpVC9k-qT58Zo_k1XOzNnm5TOYbTwPm76NsuNxuaLzPoXhp1j7PnUHI8cfnHTzml4uJZ_HFfAhCj6pswtCzmViPLrkkVaFvO_KsQ3M_rGu2HX8PGyNmGpgC-rvunUwBtkO5vKWDOn/s1600/Ryno+Frisch%2527s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBDUDpVC9k-qT58Zo_k1XOzNnm5TOYbTwPm76NsuNxuaLzPoXhp1j7PnUHI8cfnHTzml4uJZ_HFfAhCj6pswtCzmViPLrkkVaFvO_KsQ3M_rGu2HX8PGyNmGpgC-rvunUwBtkO5vKWDOn/s400/Ryno+Frisch%2527s.jpg" width="400" /></a>Cheeeers Bitches!!<br /><br />Guess what’s happenin’ today…<br /><br />My son began college. <br /><br />No…no shit, I’m not kidding.<br /><br />I am taking the little cretin out to breakfast today, and guess what?<br /><br />When was all is said, done, and eaten, he will still want to attend lectures given by hippie bastards who hate capitalism, yet who wrote all of the books that he has to buy for their class.<br /><br />Anyhoo…and well, you know what?<br /><br />In spite of getting up at 6 AM with a hangover in order to take one college Freshman out to breakfast, I am enjoying back to back days off for the first time in eight months, so you know what that means?<br /><br />It means that today at 6 AM, I am awaking with a hangover, taking a shower, and then meeting my son at 7 AM for the breakfast bar at Frisch’s.<br /><br />My son is going to be pressed for time, going to be nervous, and going to be cloaked within the shadow of his mother who lives vicariously and academically through him, however…<br /><br />He came to see me Saturday, and he is excited.<br /><br />I like that.<br /><br />I want him to be excited.  I want him to be so damn excited that he takes on the world and makes it better.  I want that boy to be able to say…<br /><br /><i>“The World is my Bitch.”</i><br /><br />And hopefully, that is what his time in college will do.<br /><br />Hopefully it will enable him to crawl out from beneath that <strike>hypocritical, monastic and maternal wing of suffocation</strike> cloud of trepidation under which he has been suffering, and make a go of it.<br /><br />Eh, I don’t want to get maudlin and mommy blogger on any one.  I just want him to be who I know who he is and what he can be, and he won’t wait as long as I did to do so.<br /><br />I want Ryno to go down every avenue of interest, walk along every boulevard of believability, and ford each and every stream of life, and then…<br /><br />No matter if it is today or six years down the road, say to me, his mom, and more importantly, to himself…<br /><br />THIS is what I am supposed to be doing.<br /><br />Hell…If he can say that six years from now, he will live to be a happy man, and his dad can die a happy man.<br /><br />Listen to everyone, and listen to no one, buddy.  I love you.<br /><br /><i>Cheers!!</i><br /><br />Matt-Man<br /><br /><a href="mailto:mattmaniws@ymail.com"><span style="color: blue;">mattmaniws@ymail.com</span></a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/MattMan_IWS" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">@mattman_iws</span></a><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/mattmaniws" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">My Facebook Page</span></a><br /><br />Annnnnnnnnd if you missed yesterday's hilariously funny ending to season three of IWS RAdio you can catch it all, right here.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="370" src="http://player.cinchcast.com/?show_id=5316453&platformId=1&assetType=single" width="400"></iframe></div><div style="font-size: 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;"><br /></div>Jay, Matt, Mike, "Gloria", Schmoop, Dana, and Jamie were all there, along with a cast of thousands...Listen to it, and be healed; listen to it not, and you will surely <br />die.</div>

Hate the Mom, But Love the Son

Cheeeers Bitches!! Guess what’s happenin’ today… My son began college. No…no shit, I’m not kidding. I am taking the little cretin out to bre...

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Mail Delivery

I miss writing.  I've got so many things swirling in my head that I want to write about and started to a few times.  Then the moment is gone... oh well.  Then I have moments of time here and there to catch up on blogs but little time to comment.  I'm not trying to ignore you!  Another week or two and back to normal - well as normal as it gets 'round here!  But this too was funny not to share.  Even grumpykins hubby laughed in the end.  <br /><br />I was scolded yesterday.  <br /><br />Not like there's any rules other than watching my mouth and going to bed, and even then not like he's gonna do anything about it.<br /><br />But this was something that really got to him.<br /><br /><b>"You need to be careful where you order from."</b><br /><br />"Okay...."<br /><b><br /></b><b>"You should screen the reviews and make sure things are packaged appropriately."</b><br /><br />"Okay.... Is there a problem with something I ordered?"  Mind you I order things all the time, mostly Amazon.  Between stuff for me and family and the businesses... and everything's cheaper online.  No clue what he's talking about with this one though.  Yet.<br /><br /> <b>"You know the kids got it?"</b><br /><br />"SO????  What is the problem?"<br /><b><br /></b><b>"Don't you already have enough toys?"</b><br /><br />"What are you talking about!!??"  ----- Nobody ever has enough toys.  I don't care how old you are.  <br /><br /><b>"Well they didn't exactly pack it discreetly."</b><br /><br />Giggling on the inside, I rescued the plasticky envelope from the kids.  To his horror, I tore it open in front of the whole family.  Yup, right there in the kitchen on display for the kids.  <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5YDUvemoaf-mi3BHda6aRBNUGbBTR6lWwEnvV0PgF-mPVW0nJpAi_xC4pOp4rWQWLt40m5HkMr8fD_OGWnbfcQO9qrDn58PoHqzn1KzyLjBN_ZXas_r_M4McI_mwByJuZapYRRRp3ec/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5YDUvemoaf-mi3BHda6aRBNUGbBTR6lWwEnvV0PgF-mPVW0nJpAi_xC4pOp4rWQWLt40m5HkMr8fD_OGWnbfcQO9qrDn58PoHqzn1KzyLjBN_ZXas_r_M4McI_mwByJuZapYRRRp3ec/s200/photo.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>Like my new car charger for my phone?  He's right, it really is a shame they weren't more discreet with the packaging.<br /><br />And for the record, the feel of this through the envelope didn't even remotely suggest that it was something naughty inside.  And if it was something naughty, seems the size would be a little disappointing...

Mail Delivery

I miss writing.  I've got so many things swirling in my head that I want to write about and started to a few times.  Then the moment is ...

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Exploring Saline’s Secret Costs - NYTimes.com

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><nyt_text style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div id="articleBody"><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">It is one of the most common components of emergency medicine: an intravenous bag of sterile saltwater.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Luckily for anyone who has ever needed an IV bag to replenish lost fluids or to receive medication, it is also one of the least expensive. The average manufacturer's price, according to government data, has fluctuated in recent years from 44 cents to $1.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Yet there is nothing either cheap or simple about its ultimate cost, as I learned when I tried to trace the commercial path of IV bags from the factory to the veins of more than 100 patients struck by a May 2012 outbreak of <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/campylobacter-enteritis/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="In-depth reference and news articles about Campylobacter enteritis." class="meta-classifier" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">food poisoning</a> in upstate New York.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Some of the patients' bills would later include markups of 100 to 200 times the manufacturer's price, not counting separate charges for "IV administration." And on other bills, a bundled charge for "IV therapy" was almost 1,000 times the official cost of the solution.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">It is no secret that medical care in the United States is overpriced. But as the tale of the humble IV bag shows all too clearly, it is secrecy that helps keep prices high: hidden in the underbrush of transactions among multiple buyers and sellers, and in the hieroglyphics of hospital bills.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">At every step from manufacturer to patient, there are confidential deals among the major players, including drug companies, purchasing organizations and distributors, and insurers. These deals so obscure prices and profits that even participants cannot say what the simplest component of care actually costs, let alone what it <em>should</em> cost.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">And that leaves taxpayers and patients alike with an inflated bottom line and little or no way to challenge it.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; "><strong>A PRICE IN FLUX</strong></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">In the food-poisoning case, some of the stricken were affluent, and others barely made ends meet. Some had private insurance; some were covered by government programs like <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/medicare/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="Recent and archival health news about Medicare." class="meta-classifier" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">Medicare</a> and<a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/medicaid/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="Recent and archival health news about Medicaid." class="meta-classifier" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">Medicaid</a>; and some were uninsured.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">In the end, those factors strongly (and sometimes perversely) affected overall charges for treatment, including how much patients were expected to pay out of pocket. But at the beginning, there was the cost of an IV bag of normal saline, one of more than a billion units used in the United States each year.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"People are shocked when they hear that a bag of saline solution costs far less than their cup of coffee in the morning," said Deborah Spak, a spokeswoman for <a href="http://www.baxter.com/" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">Baxter International</a>, one of three global pharmaceutical companies that make nearly all the IV solutions used in the United States.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">It was a rare unguarded comment. Ms. Spak — like a spokesman for Hospira, another giant in the field — later insisted that all information about saline solution prices was private.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">In fact, manufacturers are required to report such prices annually to the federal government, which bases Medicare payments on the average national price plus 6 percent. The limit for one liter of normal saline (a little more than a quart) went to $1.07 this year from 46 cents in 2010, an increase manufacturers linked to the cost of raw materials, fuel and transportation. That would seem to make it the rare medical item that is cheaper in the United States than in France, where the price at a typical hospital in Paris last year was 3.62 euros, or $4.73. One-liter IV bags normally contain nine grams of salt, less than two teaspoons. Much of it comes from a major Morton Salt operation in Rittman, Ohio, which uses a subterranean salt deposit formed millions of years ago. The water is local to places like Round Lake, Ill., or Rocky Mount, N.C., where Baxter and Hospira, respectively, run their biggest automated production plants under sterility standards set by the Food and Drug Administration.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">But even before the finished product is sold by the case or the truckload, the real cost of a bag of normal saline, like the true cost of medical supplies from gauze to heart implants, disappears into an opaque realm of byzantine contracts, confidential rebates and fees that would be considered illegal kickbacks in many other industries.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">IV bags can function like cheap milk and eggs in a high-priced grocery store, or like the one-cent cellphone locked into an expensive service contract. They serve as loss leaders in exclusive contracts with "preferred manufacturers" that bundle together expensive drugs and basics, or throw in "free" medical equipment with costly consequences.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Few hospitals negotiate these deals themselves. Instead, they rely on two formidable sets of middlemen: a few giant group-purchasing organizations that negotiate high-volume contracts, and a few giant distributors that buy and store medical supplies and deliver them to client hospitals.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Proponents of this system say it saves hospitals billions in economies of scale. Critics say the middlemen not only take their cut, but they have a strong interest in keeping most prices high and competition minimal.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The top three group-purchasing organizations now handle contracts for more than half of all institutional medical supplies sold in the United States, including the IVs used in the food-poisoning case, which were bought and taken by truck to regional warehouses by big distributors.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">These contracts proved to be another black box. Debbie Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Cardinal Health, one of the three largest distributors, said she could not discuss costs or prices under "disclosure rules relative to our investor relations."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Distributors match different confidential prices for the same product with each hospital's contract, she said, and sell information about the buyers back to manufacturers.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">A huge Cardinal distribution center is in Montgomery, N.Y. — only 30 miles, as it happens, from the landscaped grounds of the Buddhist monastery in Carmel, N.Y., where many of the food-poisoning victims fell ill on Mother's Day 2012.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Among them were families on 10 tour buses that had left Chinatown in Manhattan that morning to watch dragon dances at the monastery. After eating lunch from food stalls there, some traveled on to the designer outlet stores at Woodbury Commons, about 30 miles away, before falling sick.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The symptoms were vicious. "Within two hours of eating that rice that I had bought, I was lying on the ground barely conscious," said Dr. Elizabeth Frost, 73, an anesthesiologist from Purchase in Westchester County who was visiting the monastery gardens with two friends. "I can't believe no one died."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">About 100 people were taken to hospitals in the region by ambulance; 5 were admitted and the rest released the same day. The New York State Department of Health later found the cause was a common bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, from improperly cooked or stored food sold in the stalls.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; "><strong>MYSTERIOUS CHARGES</strong></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The sick entered a health care ecosystem under strain, swept by consolidation and past efforts at cost containment.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">For more than a decade, hospitals in the Hudson Valley, like those across the country, have scrambled for mergers and alliances to offset economic pressures from all sides. The five hospitals where most of the victims were treated are all part of merged entities jockeying for bargaining power and market share — or worrying that other players will leave them struggling to survive.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The Affordable Care Act encourages these developments as it drives toward a reimbursement system that strives to keep people out of hospitals through more coordinated, cost-efficient care paid on the basis of results, not services. But the billing mysteries in the food poisoning case show how easily cost-cutting can turn into cost-shifting.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">A Chinese-American toddler from Brooklyn and her 56-year-old grandmother, treated and released within hours from the emergency room at <a href="http://www.stlukescornwallhospital.org/" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital</a>, ran up charges of more than $4,000 and were billed for $1,400 — the hospital's rate for the uninsured, even though the family is covered by a health maintenance organization under Medicaid, the federal-state program for poor people.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The charges included "IV therapy," billed at $787 for the adult and $393 for the child, which suggests that the difference in the amount of saline infused, typically less than a liter, could alone account for several hundred dollars.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Tricia O'Malley, a spokeswoman for the hospital, would not disclose the price it pays per IV bag or break down the therapy charge, which she called the hospital's "private pay rate," or the sticker price charged to people without insurance. She said she could not explain why patients covered by Medicaid were billed at all.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Eventually the head of the family, an electrician's helper who speaks little English, complained to HealthFirst, the Medicaid H.M.O. It paid $119 to settle the grandmother's $2,168 bill, without specifying how much of the payment was for the IV. It paid $66.50 to the doctor, who had billed $606.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">At White Plains Hospital, a patient with private insurance from Aetna was charged $91 for one unit of Hospira IV that cost the hospital 86 cents, according to a hospital spokeswoman, Eliza O'Neill.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Ms. O'Neill defended the markup as "consistent with industry standards." She said it reflected "not only the cost of the solution but a variety of related services and processes," like procurement, biomedical handling and storage, apparently not included in a charge of $127 for administering the IV and $893 for emergency-room services.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The patient, a financial services professional in her 50s, ended up paying $100 for her visit. "Honestly, I don't understand the system at all," said the woman, who shared the information on the condition that she not be named.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Dr. Frost, the anesthesiologist, spent three days in the same hospital and owed only $8, thanks to insurance coverage by United HealthCare. Still, she was baffled by the charges: $6,844, including $546 for six liters of saline that cost the hospital $5.16.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"It's just absolutely absurd." she said. "That's saltwater."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Last fall, I appealed to the New York State Department of Health for help in mapping the charges for rehydrating patients in the food poisoning episode. Deploying software normally used to detect Medicaid fraud, a team compiled a chart of what Medicaid and Medicare were billed in six of the cases.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">But the department has yet to release the chart. It is under indefinite review, Bill Schwarz, a department spokesman, said, "to ensure confidential information is not compromised."</p><nyt_correction_bottom><div class="articleCorrection" style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 2.8em; "></div></nyt_correction_bottom><nyt_update_bottom></nyt_update_bottom></div></nyt_text><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important; float: none; "></span><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><center style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "></center></div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/health/exploring-salines-secret-costs.html?hp&_r=0&pagewanted=print">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/health/exploring-salines-secret-costs.html?hp&_r=0&pagewanted=print</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Exploring Saline’s Secret Costs - NYTimes.com

It is one of the most common components of emergency medicine: an intravenous bag of sterile saltwater. Luckily for anyone who has ever need...

Read more »

Alternative CredAbility Consumer Distress Index

<a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CCDIOAQ156N">St. Louis Fed: CredAbility Consumer Distress Index</a><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>The Index score is tied to one of 5 general rating categories, which reflect the strength and stability of the consumer’s position.<br /><br />Less than 60 Emergency / Crisis<br />60 – 69 Distressed / Unstable<br />70 – 79 Weakening / At-Risk<br />80 – 89 Good / Stable<br />90 and Above Excellent / Secure<br /><br />What Does the Index Measure?<br /><br />We measure the 5 categories of personal finance that reflect or lead to a secure, stable financial life—Employment, Housing, Credit, Household Budget and Net Worth. All are equally important, so have given each category equal weighting.</i></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprMcSt_TDxqCV5VykJrccrfyJKTh1pKhLqKAtOFf_EK1Ezo32S_e75HX711jggRo0-bAMkkgal47EJAdR3ohY15XjFfvmIU73KyPUJj0Jodln19hkmH5aaBntftVdR7YACYo2k8XKsjc/s1600/CredAbility+Consumer+Distress+Index.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprMcSt_TDxqCV5VykJrccrfyJKTh1pKhLqKAtOFf_EK1Ezo32S_e75HX711jggRo0-bAMkkgal47EJAdR3ohY15XjFfvmIU73KyPUJj0Jodln19hkmH5aaBntftVdR7YACYo2k8XKsjc/s320/CredAbility+Consumer+Distress+Index.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />That index is showing a relatively strong recovery from "distressed/unstable" to "weakening/at-risk". Yay.<br /><br />As seen in the following chart, I have chosen to use the median instead of the average. Why? <a href="http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/one+bad+apple.html">A few good apples can't purify the barrel!</a> Put another way, I think the median can generally do a better job of describing the core trend (and where we are within it).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkg_pF5itKLtfOaRJ1HJJJDH8XT2Rz9pmVTi8R81Z3IvBoocZs033Wye6F9DWMXHhRcaqkXqSSBYb__YJ2LLY5HiAQqftTS9gZLkULU2JlWe2QrU6SEl69-eB2ZpAMdmpGK-nEw5HM3tc/s1600/Alternative+CredAbility+Consumer+Distress+Index.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkg_pF5itKLtfOaRJ1HJJJDH8XT2Rz9pmVTi8R81Z3IvBoocZs033Wye6F9DWMXHhRcaqkXqSSBYb__YJ2LLY5HiAQqftTS9gZLkULU2JlWe2QrU6SEl69-eB2ZpAMdmpGK-nEw5HM3tc/s320/Alternative+CredAbility+Consumer+Distress+Index.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />As of the first quarter of 2013, the median index value was 65.5 (solidly "distressed/unstable"). The index most responsible for the recent decline in this chart was the <a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CCDIHBQ156N">household budget distress index</a>. It's doing some serious damage to this alternative consumer distress index (just like it was heading into the last two recessions).<br /><br />The long-term trend (seen in the red trend line) is definitely not our friend. In my opinion, we're in rearranging deck chairs mode. We can temporarily boost some of the indices apparently (but only at the expense of the others). And why might that be?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHA0i7ezcyFtKKcN8-yGcDr5gf_qBlaSlApAE6ZJdZdvmAE4qdkjODB66wSAn3hU_hDbY8Wtb0W7xk9fIc721JqRUEzFvl67uAf_3PgT71o2LsI5_ekiRtspRuxK7D0vdrW930pmGY6RM/s1600/Income+Gini+Ratio+of+Families.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHA0i7ezcyFtKKcN8-yGcDr5gf_qBlaSlApAE6ZJdZdvmAE4qdkjODB66wSAn3hU_hDbY8Wtb0W7xk9fIc721JqRUEzFvl67uAf_3PgT71o2LsI5_ekiRtspRuxK7D0vdrW930pmGY6RM/s320/Income+Gini+Ratio+of+Families.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />The looting will continue until morale improves.<br /><br /><b>July 30, 2013</b><br /><a href="http://pandodaily.com/2013/07/30/america-can-kiss-its-ass-and-consumer-economy-goodbye-the-view-from-dystopia/">PandoDaily: America can kiss its ass and consumer economy goodbye: The view from dystopia</a><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>Entrepreneurs and digital marketers spend their days dreaming about the next hot thing that will drive the American consuming class into lucrative paroxysms of purchasing. The looming problem with this dream is that the consuming class appears to be on the endangered list.<br /><br />A new non-partisan government study confirms that income inequality in America has been rising for four decades and projects it will continue getting worse for at least 22 more years. If this keeps up much longer, eventually the super rich will have all the money and the rest of us will be locked into poverty. Forever.</i></div><br />Nail... on... the... head.<br /><br />Just opinions! Once again, this is not investment advice.<br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=lMM">St. Louis Fed: CredAbility Consumer Distress Indices</a><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/GINIALLRF">St. Louis Fed: Gini Ratio of Families</a>

Alternative CredAbility Consumer Distress Index

St. Louis Fed: CredAbility Consumer Distress Index The Index score is tied to one of 5 general rating categories, which reflect the strength...

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Could Be Spotty Posting

My Dad has been in the hospital for over a week, I don't want to go into the details but now he is having repeated heart <br />"episodes" .....<br />Between working six days a week and this I can see I might not have much in the way of spare time in the near future.<br /><br />

Could Be Spotty Posting

My Dad has been in the hospital for over a week, I don't want to go into the details but now he is having repeated heart "episodes&...

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Sunday afternoon in Augusta County

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIt7GJCbY78r5XwGnqdqyH2RvGWrqamGFLEXiXswIRWFoSfa5MXJ81_lUDk4yFM_Df6xVTSUmg2va8Vs9UghdIwuYpoR_tvPYHa4szC-Rmcv66xqsZPabzUsm5Lt17gv0-DMT7OXjAfPEz/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIt7GJCbY78r5XwGnqdqyH2RvGWrqamGFLEXiXswIRWFoSfa5MXJ81_lUDk4yFM_Df6xVTSUmg2va8Vs9UghdIwuYpoR_tvPYHa4szC-Rmcv66xqsZPabzUsm5Lt17gv0-DMT7OXjAfPEz/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Looking west toward the Appalachian Mountains on a sunny, low-humidity late summer day with temps in the upper 70s.</div><br />Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell<br />August 25, 2013

Appalachian Mountains Augusta County summer in Shenandoah Valley tourism Virginia Is For Lovers Sunday afternoon in Augusta County

Looking west toward the Appalachian Mountains on a sunny, low-humidity late summer day with temps in the upper 70s. Photo by Lynn R. Mitchel...

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So You Want to Learn About: The Basics

<i>The "So You Want to Learn About" series highlights books focused on a particular theme: think "socially responsible architecture" and "phenomenology," rather than broad themes like "housing" or "theory." Therefore the series aims to be a resource for finding decent reading materials on certain topics, born of a desire to further define noticeable areas of interest in the <a href="http://www.archidose.org/books/books.html">books I review</a>. And while I haven't reviewed every title, I am familiar with each one; these are not blind recommendations.</i><br /><br /><i>It's late August, meaning that students are heading to architecture schools, either returning or going for the first time. The books collected below are geared to the latter, though it's a long enough list that all architecture students in their early years should find something of value. With sufficient interest, architecture can take hold of a person for a lifetime. Therefore it's beneficial to start off on the right foot with some quality books establishing architecture's basics.</i><br /><br /><b>Classics:</b><br /><img alt="about03-1.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/about03-1.jpg" title="So You Want to Learn About covers" /><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471752169.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Architecture: Form, Space, and Order</span></a></b> <br /><b>By Francis D.K. Ching</b><br /><b>Wiley, 3rd edition 2007 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471752169/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0471752169&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a>)</b><b><i></i> </b><br />The form and layout (from landscape to portrait, and from handwritten to a Ching-like font) may have changed since the first edition since 1979, but the focus on "the basic elements, systems, and orders that constitute a physical work of architecture" remains. Like Ching's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470087811/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470087811&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20"><i>Building Construction Illustrated</i></a>, this one is indispensable for beginning students in architecture.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/experiencing-architecture"><span style="font-style: italic;">Experiencing Architecture</span></a> </b><br /><b>By Steen Eiler Rasmussen</b><br /><b>MIT Press, 2nd edition 1964 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262680025/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0262680025&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a>)</b><br />Ideally a good architecture book for students is intelligent <i>and</i> accessible. In the preface Danish architect Steen Eiler Rasmussen states, "I have endeavored to write the present volume in such a way that even an interested teenager might understand it." With depth of history and clear prose, he ultimately promotes deriving pleasure form architecture, something all architects should try to achieve.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-pattern-language-9780195019193"><span style="font-style: italic;">A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction</span></a> </b><br /><b>By Christopher Alexander, et. al.</b><br /><b>Oxford University Press, 1977 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195019199/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195019199&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a>)</b><br />When I was in undergrad architecture school in the early 1990s—the heyday of Deconstructivist architecture—Christopher Alexander's bible-like Pattern Language was out of fashion. Many architects still find the book overly prescriptive, but the methodical insight into people's use and appreciation of architecture at all scales is still influential, giving students an understanding of the impacts of design and space on people's emotions and actions.<br /><br /><b>Precedents:</b><br /><img alt="about03-2.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/about03-2.jpg" title="So You Want to Learn About covers" /><br /><br /><b><a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/978-0-393-73311-2/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Key Buildings of the 20th Century: Plans, Sections and Elevations</span></a> </b><br /><b>By Richard Weston</b><br /><b>W. W. Norton, 2010 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393733114/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393733114&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a>)</b><br />Considering that architects reappropriate rather than invent, it's important to learn as much as possible from historical and modern precedents. Norton's <a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/book-template.aspx?ser=Key%20Architecture%20Series&lastpage=4&currentpage=1">Key Architecture Series</a> presents modern and contemporary buildings as photos but more importantly as the two-dimensional drawings architects still depend on for learning and for expressing their designs: plans, sections, and elevations. Each book also comes with a CD-ROM for looking at the drawings in PDF and CAD. <br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470946741.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Precedents in Architecture: Analytic Diagrams, Formative Ideas, and Partis</span></a> </b><br /><b>By Roger H. Clark</b><br /><b>Wiley, 4th edition 2012 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470946741/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470946741&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a> / <a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/2012/08/book-review-precedents-in-architecture.html">Review</a>)</b><br />Early architecture studios teach analysis, not just rote redrawing of precedents. This book is like an analytical cheat sheet as it compares historical and modern buildings via circulation, hierarchy, symmetry, geometry, and so forth. It would be great if the diagrams were larger, but the breadth of buildings in one place makes up for that deficiency.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-style: italic;">Buildings Without Architects: A Global Guide to Everyday Architecture</span> </b><br /><b>By John May</b><br /><b>Rizzoli, 2010 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DI8GC8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005DI8GC8&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a> / <a href="http://www.archidose.org/books/may.html">Review</a>)</b><br />Ideally architects are influenced by buildings that fall outside of the traditional confines of architectural culture—prehistorical buildings, vernacular architecture, aboriginal dwellings, what can be called buildings without architects. (Bernard Rudofsky's earlier, visually rich <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0826310044?ie=UTF8&tag=aweeklydoseof-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0826310044"><i>Architecture Without Architects</i></a> is of course also valuable in this vein.) May's guide is set up like a dictionary or encyclopedia, with clear drawings highlighting the myriad of examples around the world we can learn from.<br /><br /><b>History/Theory:</b><br /><img alt="about03-3.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/about03-3.jpg" title="So You Want to Learn About covers" /><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.phaidon.com/store/architecture/understanding-architecture-9780714848099/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Understanding Architecture</span></a> </b><br /><b>By Juhani Pallasmaa and Robert McCarter</b><br /><b>Phaidon, 2012 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0714848093/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0714848093&link_code=as3&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a> / <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2013/02/11/understanding-architecture/">Review</a>)</b><br />Even though many schools of architecture have reduced history classes, learning about what became before us is crucial, as is learning about architectural history beyond authorship, dates, and other rote memorization. Pallasmaa and McCarter focus on a thematic approach to architecture rather than a chronological one, prioritizing experience over everything else; this is accentuated by the way the photos are keyed to plans, so readers can get a sense of how one moves through the buildings.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.laurenceking.com/us/thinking-about-architecture-an-introduction-to-architectural-theory/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Thinking about Architecture: An Introduction to Architectural Theory</span></a> </b><br /><b>By Colin Davies</b><br /><b>Laurence King, 2011 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/185669755X?ie=UTF8&tag=aweeklydoseof-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=185669755X">Amazon</a> / <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2011/09/06/the-embodied-image-and-thinking-about-architecture/">Review</a>)</b><br />Architectural theory (or what has come be known by that phrase) can be incredibly dense, often to the discouragement of students and professionals interested in architectural ideas. By focusing on the ideas rather than the people expressing them, Davies made a highly accessible introduction to different ways of thinking about architecture's relationship to people and the earth we occupy.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/what-architecture-essay-landscapes-buildings-and-machines"><span style="font-style: italic;">What Is Architecture? An Essay on Landscapes, Buildings, and Machines</span></a></b><br /><b>By Paul Shepheard</b><br /><b>Museum of Modern Art, 1994 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262691663/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0262691663&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a>)</b><br />What follows from the apparently simple question of "What is architecture?" is typically more questions. It is the type of philosophical question that prompts discussion more than a definitive answer. Shepheard wrote the book when the prevailing answer to the question was, "everything," but he opts for an alternative through a fresh and intriguing narrative.<br /><br /><b>The Elements of Architecture:</b><br /><img alt="about03-4.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/about03-4.jpg" title="So You Want to Learn About covers" /><br /><br /><b><a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chambers-memory-palace"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chambers for a Memory Palace</span></a> </b><br /><b>By Donlyn Lyndon and Charles W. Moore</b><br /><b>MIT Press, 1996 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262621053/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0262621053&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a>)</b><br />One way of understanding architecture is through elements—physical constructions that exhibit similar formal and spatial tendencies. This book explores architecture through the correspondences of Lyndon and Moore, as they discuss how architectural elements make places memorable, and how we use our imagination to structure our own environments for remembering.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://us.macmillan.com/howarchitectureworks/WitoldRybczynski"><span style="font-style: italic;">How Architecture Works: A Humanist's Toolkit</span></a> </b><br /><b>By Witold Rybczynski</b><br /><b>Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374211744/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0374211744&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a>)</b><br />In this forthcoming book, Rybczynski (pronounced Rib-chin-skee) presents a layperson's guide to architecture, moving from the general (ideas and the setting) to the specific (details and taste). The author embraces all types of architecture, though his favored positions can be hinted throughout and are made clear in the last two chapters. Regardless, he gives readers a toolkit for understanding and appreciating the buildings around us.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-style: italic;">Opening Spaces: Design as Landscape Architecture</span> </b><br /><b>By Hans Loidl and Stefan Bernard</b><br /><b>Birkhauser, 2003 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3764370130/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=3764370130&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a> / <a href="http://www.archidose.org/books/opening.html">Review</a>)</b><br />Defining space through elements is hardly the sole purview of buildings, and this graphically rich guide to landscape architecture is particularly helpful in explaining how space is abstractly defined both inside and out. It's a hard to find, out-of-print book worth searching for, but one that the publisher should really consider publishing again, 10 years after its release.<br /><br /><b>Series:</b><br /><img alt="about03-5.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/about03-5.jpg" title="So You Want to Learn About covers" /><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.laurenceking.com/us/architectural-drawing/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Architectural Drawing</span></a> </b><br /><b>By David Dernie</b><br /><b>Laurence King, 2010 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1856696790/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1856696790&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a>)</b><br />Many publishers gear books specifically to students, presenting them in series that tap into various practical areas. Laurence King's Portfolio Skills series touches on modelmaking, CAD, landscape architecture, and drawing. The titles benefit from clarity, helpful step-by-step illustrations, and a variety of examples illustrating how to do this or that. <br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.papress.com/html/book.details.page.tpl?isbn=9781568988702"><span style="font-style: italic;">Model Making</span></a> </b><br /><b>By Megan Werner</b><br /><b>Princeton Architectural Press, 2011 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1568988702/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1568988702&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a> / <a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/2011/08/book-review-three-books-on-models.html">Review</a>)</b><br />PAPress's <a href="http://www.papress.com/html/book.list.page.tpl?action=seriessearch&__searchfield=Architecture%20Briefs">Architecture Briefs series</a> runs the gamut from philosopy and writing to sustainable design and material strategies. Megan Werner's title on making models is particularly good example, highlighting how different materials can be shaped to achieve different ends. Computer renderings be damned! Architectural models are still an integral part of architectural education and expression.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-style: italic;">The Fundamentals of Architecture</span> </b><br /><b>By Lorraine Farrelly</b><br /><b>AVA Publishing, 2007 (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/2940373485/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=2940373485&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a> / <a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/2010/09/book-review-two-ava-academia-titles-by.html">Review</a>)</b><br />AVA's Fundamentals series focuses on the process of architecture, how a project moves from concept to design development and beyond to completion. The books look at architecture but also landscape architecture and <a href="http://www.archidose.org/books/basics.html">urban design</a>. Since spring 2013 AVA's books are published under Fairchild Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Press.

So You Want to Learn About: The Basics

The "So You Want to Learn About" series highlights books focused on a particular theme: think "socially responsible archite...

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Smartphone along Slide-Out Keyboard: Motorola Droid 5

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Motorola has introduced a <a href="http://www.pc-gadgetworld.com/2013/07/googles-nexus-7-tablet-powered-by-asus.html" target="_blank">number</a> of smart devices including three new Droid smartphone but it’s not over yet, another droid is ready to launch. Some images have leaked by Chinese social network Weibo and it will be known as Droid 5.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bz6HpudjVo4/Uhop2fGOdGI/AAAAAAAAAOE/FdmWSFzR_Sc/s1600/6666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bz6HpudjVo4/Uhop2fGOdGI/AAAAAAAAAOE/FdmWSFzR_Sc/s1600/6666.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">geeky gadgets</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The most unusual and new feature of this smartphone is slide-out QWERTY keyboard.  According to rumors the size of screen will 4.3 to 4.5 inches and the body of device will be dust and water resistant. If your eyes are strong enough, you can see Verizon logo located on the display and it will be Verizon exclusive like to all the former Droids.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wek3T5g1IwQ/UhorEbMXfEI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/f2h12-lmEOA/s1600/droid56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wek3T5g1IwQ/UhorEbMXfEI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/f2h12-lmEOA/s1600/droid56.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">geeky gadgets</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">According to leaked images, it shows camera UI of the device but not sure about the technology that is used for camera. Possibly used technology will similar to other Droids like Droid Maxx, Droid Mini, and Droid Ultra.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The launching date is not confirm yet, but some features  like NFC, wireless charging are came out, no other specification are available right now.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a courageous movement from Motorola, where other major companies are moving towards bigger screen and fewer buttons or you can say no button, Droid 5 will came with a QWERTY keyboard. Will Droid 5 make a revolution in market of smartphone or it will straggle for its position. It is interesting to see the future of Droid 5.   </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/100638775997274345522" rel="author">Anil Swami</a></div></div>

motorola NFC QWERTY keyboard wireless charging Smartphone along Slide-Out Keyboard: Motorola Droid 5

Motorola has introduced a number of smart devices including three new Droid smartphone but it’s not over yet, another droid is ready to lau...

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Here Are Some Great Tips For Losing Weight

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By James T. Chaweng</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'><br /> <br /> Most people want to lose weight, but find themselves tired of all of the same old mundane weight loss "tricks" out there. If losing weight bores you because the weight loss routines you have tried are boring, then you are reading the right article. This article discusses some unconventional, fun, and exciting weight loss routines that are sure to get you motivated and on your way to a slimmer you!<br /> <br /> A good way to help you lose weight is to monitor and keep track of how many calories you consume each day. If you notice that there are places where you can cut out eating fattening foods then do it. You can also try and substitute fattier foods for something that has less calories and is less fattening. <br /> <br /> If you're struggling to lose weight or get in shape, try taking the stairs instead of using the elevator. This may take a little bit longer, but in turn you'll get a much better workout. This can help you get the exercise you need without doing a long period of exercise. <br /> <br /> If you want to lose weight, come up with a goal and tell everyone. Tell your friends, your family, your coworker, post it on online social networking and microblogging services, etc. The more people you tell, the more motivated you'll be. People naturally hate looking like fools, and if you don't lose the weight like you say you're going to, you'll look like a fool. This will help keep you motivated even when things get tough. <br /> <br /> If you've reached a plateau in your weight loss, try something new. Shake up your routine a little bit. Take on a new workout routine, or experiment with different sports and activities. Don't take the lack of weight loss to heart; sometimes everyone gets stuck at a certain level. The important thing is to keep going. <br /> <br /> An easy way to restrict your calorie intake is to simply eat more slowly. Stop, chew, and savor your food. Do not finish a meal within five minutes of sitting down with it. If you eat too fast, your brain won't be able to send the "full" signal to your stomach in time. You will end up overeating and most likely gaining weight if you eat too fast. <br /> <br /> Join an on-line forum to help you lose weight. There are hundreds of people out there who need encouragement and support for weight loss goals. Search the Internet for groups, find one you are comfortable with and get the on-line support you need to help you through hard times you may face while accomplishing your weight lose goals. <br /> <br /> Invest in a comfortable pair of workout shoes. If you wear shoes that do not fit properly, you can hurt yourself and sustain a serious injury. You don't need to spend a lot of money to get adequate workout shoes, but you do need to try them on and walk around to ascertain that they fit well. <br /> <br /> Consider these things going forward and you will find your transition into healthy, informed, and thin individual will be seamless. Take it slow and do not give up if you are weak sometimes. The journey is not easy for anyone, but with these tips in mind you increase your chances for success.<br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'>To get more information regarding <a href="http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/natural-power-loseweightinamonthcom-reveals-the-truth-behind-proactol-308332.htm">proactol reviews</a> as well as other <a href="http://www.emailwire.com/release/132012-Natural-Power-Loseweightinamonthcom-reveals-the-truth-behind-Proactol.html">where to buy proactol</a>, then you can visit James T. Chaweng's site.</div><br /> </div><br />

Here Are Some Great Tips For Losing Weight

By James T. Chaweng Most people want to lose weight, but find themselves tired of all of the same old mundane weight loss "tric...

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Smart Espresso

<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bo Concept were having a large sale over the weekend so we went for a little browse.  Discounts were good on some of the end of line items, with 50-70%  off showroom display items.  I was glad to see that the side table that we bought 4 weeks ago was not discounted!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF_I22QUMVX59-l7wOf0h88hIXmPajeBzluY4CzUrMPXMIyr0lt34sS3HHs-JOVwpAMVBmyqLe9miYEYADg9cBd6HVS2wRxR6Y3XWZstvAqKXqkApANGnSxtECm0g8JxOQ4Tj-15tR8BpC/s640/blogger-image--277645394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF_I22QUMVX59-l7wOf0h88hIXmPajeBzluY4CzUrMPXMIyr0lt34sS3HHs-JOVwpAMVBmyqLe9miYEYADg9cBd6HVS2wRxR6Y3XWZstvAqKXqkApANGnSxtECm0g8JxOQ4Tj-15tR8BpC/s640/blogger-image--277645394.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bo Concept have aligned themselves with <a href="http://www.emercedesbenz.com/autos/smart/fortwo/smart-partners-with-danish-furniture-company-boconcept/">Smart </a>and designed a range of homewares and furniture.  I had been admiring the Smart Expresso Cup set on my last visit and was happy to see that they were on sale with 15 euro off.  We don't drink much espresso so I considered whether they were a good thing to buy but then I decided that I could serve chocolate mousse in them for dessert so I did go ahead and buy them.  </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;">Check out how cute they are!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDzLI9f9ozEsQczqIvIcJ3_y2OCN_ZLya5VTf5T6gYdz2MMgtVkasM70OlCLfDTFjifqbjYfMe0MD-QRdCODdPE58fglN8bqDCJYSOjdjooCcaLYX9J_iX8faAe3W6Zh2jpGnZ03LByGN/s640/blogger-image-260227087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDzLI9f9ozEsQczqIvIcJ3_y2OCN_ZLya5VTf5T6gYdz2MMgtVkasM70OlCLfDTFjifqbjYfMe0MD-QRdCODdPE58fglN8bqDCJYSOjdjooCcaLYX9J_iX8faAe3W6Zh2jpGnZ03LByGN/s640/blogger-image-260227087.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1HrC8QJgA82UeWlEjs-ks1Xfyc3DW7zMMUq8PyFtQSZamqjne64U72VzIun2QekzIHU_nBail-TRl5NnhEuUknFYl9Dv2rhS_AKqhxmj2bs7X6fo1Qfau_G4u_MRg-l3SjyAFUQIC7H-/s640/blogger-image-1236720784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1HrC8QJgA82UeWlEjs-ks1Xfyc3DW7zMMUq8PyFtQSZamqjne64U72VzIun2QekzIHU_nBail-TRl5NnhEuUknFYl9Dv2rhS_AKqhxmj2bs7X6fo1Qfau_G4u_MRg-l3SjyAFUQIC7H-/s640/blogger-image-1236720784.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWyL0Boi6JYU9qn2nNnqRdmXmt9as3RItIoT2nN51aFxCoM9soAhtADhNdJFDk14fz7blgR6aOlqCKOT5UsQC_JxObc5ol7oPQ5QRAuwBuk9zz72IX9Xg0AKn0pSDIva-RXHO1arglQFX/s640/blogger-image--1700883022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWyL0Boi6JYU9qn2nNnqRdmXmt9as3RItIoT2nN51aFxCoM9soAhtADhNdJFDk14fz7blgR6aOlqCKOT5UsQC_JxObc5ol7oPQ5QRAuwBuk9zz72IX9Xg0AKn0pSDIva-RXHO1arglQFX/s640/blogger-image--1700883022.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJw147tdzTXqupncDUcPTgvg3PBiM8cTDBCksfX_pF49rrxCJ0Tmriht5x0EfZDP50wUYLqlw084DJoabZRBTZnLKa2hLFYu-tn8kKDicj4Ke0lsVsZtjw9V5Lgt-hqDTAQFLS0d-keG2/s640/blogger-image-730441741.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJw147tdzTXqupncDUcPTgvg3PBiM8cTDBCksfX_pF49rrxCJ0Tmriht5x0EfZDP50wUYLqlw084DJoabZRBTZnLKa2hLFYu-tn8kKDicj4Ke0lsVsZtjw9V5Lgt-hqDTAQFLS0d-keG2/s640/blogger-image-730441741.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUO_SHpGMPRosl-ZvjL30t7nD9z8PrISMgehRmQnlCI4lgKWwpWTUjY9prD8-N4HgS24hHBfPxWQx0e5R9jPX3mdbe_rLkIxVBAkiW0D3txyu-gohMHoURsKm2y3eBzBqPqjuoCmsx2gr_/s640/blogger-image-1006802913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUO_SHpGMPRosl-ZvjL30t7nD9z8PrISMgehRmQnlCI4lgKWwpWTUjY9prD8-N4HgS24hHBfPxWQx0e5R9jPX3mdbe_rLkIxVBAkiW0D3txyu-gohMHoURsKm2y3eBzBqPqjuoCmsx2gr_/s640/blogger-image-1006802913.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUE2KXpu-owdn6azgQRFssmUEsCnRNncR9OrcQgVFQmdqyw57pbN_7vJdDmpIF4JifKGE4odlFahCT7pxhnNFmgNFa1WVdKOInh6Ihv-RvNcC0IsKfadrVnnSTK3rucaRlmx1mDn0SRUA/s640/blogger-image-818818133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUE2KXpu-owdn6azgQRFssmUEsCnRNncR9OrcQgVFQmdqyw57pbN_7vJdDmpIF4JifKGE4odlFahCT7pxhnNFmgNFa1WVdKOInh6Ihv-RvNcC0IsKfadrVnnSTK3rucaRlmx1mDn0SRUA/s640/blogger-image-818818133.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;">And here is a pic of our Smart Car parked beside a big monster truck in Dublin City </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6pxhv81Ee3Uetoz3z5-Ps9nr1vsBOWBWSOPRgBaSxDoiWNHM3CC1UAXvNnJcJ2aj3OFwvVeqrn3EU-cA4iv7T75kIixvFttBQoioneHqHT98tZq22ezsiTYdBxM9YuQ0tf2SghyphenhyphenmP9lm/s640/blogger-image--1163923034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6pxhv81Ee3Uetoz3z5-Ps9nr1vsBOWBWSOPRgBaSxDoiWNHM3CC1UAXvNnJcJ2aj3OFwvVeqrn3EU-cA4iv7T75kIixvFttBQoioneHqHT98tZq22ezsiTYdBxM9YuQ0tf2SghyphenhyphenmP9lm/s640/blogger-image--1163923034.jpg" /></a></div>

Smart Espresso

Bo Concept were having a large sale over the weekend so we went for a little browse.  Discounts were good on some of the end of line items, ...

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The Four Most Important Aspects Of Losing Weight And Keeping It Off

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Russ Howe</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>When it comes to the world of fitness, most people cannot tell you how to lose weight and prevent it from piling straight back on the moment you come off your healthy eating routine. In today's post you will discover why it's not rocket science.<br /> <br /> The good news is you're not alone in your problem. In fact, well over half of the gym population in the UK and USA have no idea how to drop unwanted body fat, such is the level of confusion surrounding this controversial topic.<br /> <br /> Yet despite the masses of people looking for an answer to this problem and the countless so-called miracle fixes to it, it remains one of health and fitness' biggest troublesome areas. There are a few things you can do right now, today, in order to fire up your body for a new healthy way of life, dropping unwanted body fat levels and keeping them down forever.<br /> <br /> The four rules to fat loss are as follows:<br /> <br /> 1. Increase your protein intake right now.<br /> <br /> 2. Stop cutting out carbohydrates and fats.<br /> <br /> 3. Get in your barn and find those old dumbbells. Lifting weights is highly recommended.<br /> <br /> 4. Ditch long cardio sessions and incorporate HIIT.<br /> <br /> From the three major nutrients we eat, protein has far less impact on our body's fat storage cells, making it the ideal food to eat if you are trying to shed fat. Despite this fact, it is often falsely labelled as something which is designed to build huge muscles and create a physique that most people, especially ladies, do not particularly want. Make no mistake about it, if you are trying to get leaner and more toned then you need to be eating regular protein either in food or supplement form. Around 1.5 grams for every kilogram of your goal body weight is adequate intake for the vast majority of people who workout.<br /> <br /> This will do you no good, of course, if you then fall for the commonly made mistake of avoiding fat and carbohydrate based foods. This misconception was first made popular in the early 2000's by celebrity diets who believed that cutting these two vital nutrients would lead to quicker weight loss. It did, but at a very high price. Individuals often felt very ill and then piled on any pounds they had lost the moment they went back to eating a regular diet. An eating plan high in protein, moderate in carbohydrate and quite high in healthy fats is a perfect match here.<br /> <br /> Next, it is time to dust off those old dumbbells in the garage and start lifting them on a regular basis.<br /> <br /> This may be a surprising addition to the list for many people, who falsely believe that weights are just for building big muscles. But weight training is among the most effective fitness methods to shift unwanted body fat. Not only will it help you to get leaner and fitter, the after-effect of your gym sessions will see your body's metabolism boosted for up to 14 hours - during which time you will burn a serious amount of body fat! <br /> <br /> If you have never previously trained with weights at all then you should be able to enjoy fabulous results by hitting a three day program each week. Try to focus on full body workouts, beginning with the safety of the resistance machines in your local gym before moving on to free bar work when you feel confident enough to do so.<br /> <br /> If your cardiovascular sessions are overly long and drawn out, there is another way to get more out of them without boring yourself to death on the treadmill. I am talking, of course, about high intensity interval training. This proven method has been around for over 20 years and is proven to be much more effective and time-friendly than regular aerobic cardiovascular exercise, although it has only really reached the mainstream in the last 10 years.<br /> <br /> By working with a combination of interval training and a resistance training program tailored to your individual needs and areas of concern, you will be able to see much more productivity from your time in the gym. This comes despite the fact that you will probably now be in the gym for less overall time than those around you who seem to be getting less results. Couple that with a high protein, high healthy fat, moderate carbohydrate eating plan and your new healthy lifestyle is right on the mark.<br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'>More information: Receive proven facts on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oGRMaqPfdk">how to lose weight</a> with sought-after physique coach Russ Howe PTI. <a href="http://www.russhowepti.com">South Shields physique coach</a> posts new tips to his exercise and dieting blog weekly for his fans.</div><br /> </div><br />

The Four Most Important Aspects Of Losing Weight And Keeping It Off

By Russ Howe When it comes to the world of fitness, most people cannot tell you how to lose weight and prevent it from piling straight b...

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Shedding Those Pounds As Easily As You Can

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Vanessa Summer</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>We all know just about everyone wants to lose weight quickly with as little pain as possible. There ought to be over a hundred various quick weight loss products available, now. You always need to be safe when using these sorts of products, and the sole way anything will work is if your metabolism agrees with it. Once you come across something that seems to have a good effect with your specific system, then that should yield good results for you. Your success will be even better if you eat appropriately and can get some physical exercise in, as well. In the end, that is the key to enduring changes so you stay clear of riding the roller coaster over your weight.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> It seems to be distinct here in the US to eat three extremely large meals each day. The sort of heavy meal that makes you feel like hitting the couch for a pleasant snooze. Well, now most of us know, thanks to various research, that the best approach is to spread the meals out throughout the day. Be aware to the size of the servings, and it would be a good plan if the food was nutritious. One other very important habit is to finish your meal before you get that "full feeling." Research has shown that there exists about quarter of an hour somewhere between when your stomach begins telling the brain when it has had sufficient to eat.<br /> <br /> Bottled water sales have been flourishing for well over ten years, and people have been consuming it for health reasons. Actually, drinking water is a very well known secret to helping you shed weight. Soft drinks are so amazingly bad for your body; not to mention being terribly unhealthy. There is a great deal that can be reported about water. It is possible to keep your body clear of damaging toxins simply by drinking plenty of water each day. You'll be able to keep possibly unhealthy snacking to a minimum amount due to the water intake removing hunger feelings.<br /> <br /> You do know how much you are going to help yourself with a safe health and fitness routine. But that's not our primary point, as of this time. One thing that will help you a lot is partaking in different forms of exercise. What may happen is people will come to be bored when they only do one specific work-out. You do not desire to allow that to happen mainly because you could then completely stop doing any kind of exercising. The easy answer is to make a straightforward program that contains a number of work out methods you like to perform. And there is absolutely nothing inappropriate with making one of those times a power walking day. Walking offers you a little bit of a rest from challenging workouts.<br /> <br /> These are just a couple of excellent methods to get your body metabolism up, establishing healthy habits and lifestyles and getting the weight off your body ASAP. More than anything, as long as you are making positive progress each day and week, then it's going to take care of itself. The key to it all is persistence and sticking with the system each single day.<br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'>Recommended website: <a href="http://www.naturalcholesterolsupplements.com/what-are-the-best-vitamins-for-men.htm">http://www.naturalcholesterolsupplements.com/what-are-the-best-vitamins-for-men.htm</a>.</div><br /> </div><br />

Shedding Those Pounds As Easily As You Can

By Vanessa Summer We all know just about everyone wants to lose weight quickly with as little pain as possible. There ought to be over a...

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Today's Teamster News 08.25.13

<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/08/24/2523101/john-lewis-march-washington-going-stand-let-supreme-court-vote/" rel="nofollow">John Lewis At March On Washington: ‘I’m Not Going To Stand By And Let The Supreme Court Take The Right To Vote Away’</a>  ThinkProgress   ...Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) — who was the youngest speaker during the March on Washington in 1963 — delivered a passionate address about the importance of protecting voting rights at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial fifty years later, as thousands gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the historic event on Saturday...<br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/thousands-march-to-mall-to-mark-dream-anniversary/2013/08/24/2a20d512-0cbe-11e3-b87c-476db8ac34cd_story.html" rel="nofollow">Thousands march to Mall to mark ‘Dream’ anniversary</a>  Washington Post   ...Saturday was a day to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic Aug. 28, 1963, March on Washington, and a vision one man delivered so forcefully that five decades later, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech ranks with Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech to Congress as among the most memorable in U.S. history...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/us/citizens-without-a-country-wage-battle-with-liens.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" rel="nofollow">In Paper War, Flood of Liens Is the Weapon</a>  New York Times   ...liens, legal claims on property to secure the payment of a debt, were just the earliest salvos in a war of paper, waged by a couple who had lost their home to foreclosure in 2009 — a tactic that, with the spread of an anti-government ideology known as the “sovereign citizen” movement, is being employed more frequently as a way to retaliate against perceived injustices...<br /><a href="http://www.juancole.com/2013/08/include-stalking-girlfriends.html" rel="nofollow">NSA abuses include Stalking ex-Girlfriends</a>  Informed Consent   ...now we have LOVEINT or NSA analysts occasionally reading the emails of ex-lovers. It doesn’t happen a lot, the NSA told the WSJ, but often enough that there is a word for it...<br /><a href="http://www.hightowerlowdown.org/node/3402#" rel="nofollow">The Trans-Pacific Partnership is not about free trade. It's a corporate coup d'etat--against us! </a> Hightower Lowdown   ...The nullification of our people's right to direct expenditures of our own tax dollars is but one of the horror stories being quietly packed into a political-and-economic bombshell benignly labeled TPP --the Trans-Pacific Partnership...<br /><a href="http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2013/08/health-advocates-denounce-obama-for-caving-to-big-tobacco-in-tpp.html" rel="nofollow">Bloomberg, Health Experts Denounce Obama's Gift to Big Tobacco in the TPP</a>  Public Citizen   ...The Obama administration has drawn sharp criticism from leading health organizations, U.S. state representatives, and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg by caving to pressure from Big Tobacco to abandon safeguards for tobacco control policies in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the pending "free trade" deal with 11 Pacific Rim countries...<br /><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/08/24/2522701/jersey-senate-candidate-single-mothers-need-food-stamps/" rel="nofollow">New Jersey Senate Candidate To Single Mothers: Stop Relying On Food Stamps And Go To Work!</a>  ThinkProgress   ...Lonegan, who is the former New Jersey head for the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity, encouraged single mothers to roll up their sleeves and go to work, adding that free market policies and less government will free “individuals to achieve their best potential..."<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/15/how-to-roll-back-police-militarization_n_3749272.html" rel="nofollow">Drawing Down: How To Roll Back Police Militarization In America</a> (opinion)  Huffington Post   ...Today in America, SWAT teams are deployed about 100 to 150 times per day, or about 50,000 times per year -- a dramatic increase from the 3,000 or so annual deployments in the early 1980s, or the few hundred in the 1970s. The vast majority of today's deployments are to serve search warrants for drug crimes...<br /><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/who-are-the-long-term-unemployed/278964/" rel="nofollow">Who Are the Long-Term Unemployed?</a>  The Atlantic   ...The long-term unemployed tend to be people who 1) are a little bit older, and 2) got laid off from their last job...<br /><a href="http://billmoyers.com/wp-content/themes/billmoyers/transcript-print.php?post=39010" rel="nofollow">Mark Leibovich on Glitz and Greed in Washington</a>  Bill Moyers   ...The tragic story is that what has grown up in this city that was supposedly built on public service is this permanent feudal class of insiders, of people who are not term limited. Of people who never leave and never die, figuratively never die. And who are there and who are doing very, very well for themselves, very, very well for Washington, and not very, very well for the United States...<br /><a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/education/federal-grand-jury-indicts-pa-cyber-charter-school-founder-nick-trombetta-and-his-accountant-700493/" rel="nofollow">Feds: PA Cyber Charter School founder Trombetta schemed to steal $1 million</a>  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   ...For more than a year, federal investigators pursued suspicions about Nicholas Trombetta, a high-flying educator with small-town origins who created the biggest, richest cyber school in the state...

Corruption foreclosure hunger Koch March on Washington police militarization spying TPP unemployment Today's Teamster News 08.25.13

John Lewis At March On Washington: ‘I’m Not Going To Stand By And Let The Supreme Court Take The Right To Vote Away’  ThinkProgress   ...Re...

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GERMANY v. FRANCE:

<div class="column-both"> <h2 class="article-title" style="text-align: center;">  <span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="headline">BERLIN FLEXES DIPLOMATIC MUSCLE ON  SYRIA</span></span></span></h2><div class="author">A Commentary by Jonathan Laurence via der Spielge </div><div id="js-article-top-wide-asset"> <div class="image-buttons-panel spXXLPano"> <span class="image-buttons"> <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/photo-gallery-the-syria-question-fotostrecke-100637.html" title="Photo Gallery: The Syria Question"><br /></a></span> </div></div><div class="article-intro"><strong>Germany has urged caution in response to French calls for the use of force in Syria. Its stance is more than a mere aversion to military intervention, however. The country is quietly asserting itself and fleshing out its foreign policy.</strong></div><div class="article-intro"><br /></div></div><div class="article-section clearfix"> Raising the ante in the confrontation with the Assad regime and its international supporters, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius this week called for the use of force in Syria. Across the Rhine Valley in Berlin, however, his German equivalent Guido Westerwelle urged caution: "Before speaking of consequences we must first have clarification." French daily newspaper <i>Le Monde</i> ran the outsized headline "Toxic Gas Massacre in Damascus". Most German newspapers that day led with the Bradley Manning verdict.<br /><br /> <div class="spMInline">The 50-year-old Elysée Treaty, the European Union, and the euro join France and Germany at the hip, and their national security interests are fused at every other point above and below by virtue of a shared 451 kilometer (289 mile) border. But they exhibit diverging strategic postures vis-à-vis North Africa and the Middle East. Germany has gone from foot-dragging -- abstaining from the Libya intervention in 2011 and equivocating in Mali in 2012 -- to putting its foot down against French involvement in Syria. </div><div class="spMInline"> </div>Since <a class="text-link-int" href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/dumping-old-friends-france-makes-awkward-u-turn-on-tunisia-policy-a-740551.html" title="a rare misstep">a rare misstep</a> responding to the uprising against Tunisian President Ben Ali, France has sought redemption by betting early and often on opposition movements. In successive interventions, the Sarkozy and Hollande administrations have courted the Arab public square and its revolutionary avant-garde. Germany, meanwhile, is much more comfortable with Color Revolutions or the noble resistance of protesters in Teheran or Taksim Square than with armed revolt. While France rides the bronco of Arab Awakening, Germany looks on aghast.<br /><br /> <b>Franco-German Rift </b><br /><b> </b><br /> Germany started deviating from French leadership in March 2011, when its diplomats ruled out participation in Libya regardless of UN Security Council resolutions. The following year, Germans long refused the French assessment that the occupation of northern Mali by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) presented a threat against Western interests. France has continued to raise international pressure on the Assad regime over German objections -- leading the lifting of the arms embargo, disclosing suspected cases of the regime's use of chemical weapons and inviting Syrian coalition leaders to Paris.<br /><br /> While French leaders were declaring that "all hopes for a political solution or a political transition in Syria are destroyed" and considered unilaterally arming the opposition in March, German ministers were doing their best to get the parties to the negotiating table. "As long as the logic of violence and military victory is in place, there can be no lasting peace and stability for Syria," Westerwelle said in May.<br /><br /> The post-reunification <a class="text-link-int" href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/germany-becoming-more-cautious-on-military-missions-a-890931.html" title="German Question">"German Question"</a> has time and again challenged Germany's partners to reconcile the federal republic's economic power with its reticence to contribute to collective security. The oddity of an unaligned behemoth at the heart of NATO has begun to harden into reality, even as allies refuse to allow Germany to slip into Swedish-style neutrality.<br /><br /> <b>Gaining Confidence</b><br /><b> </b><br /> But something different is at work here. Contrary to appearances, Germany is <i>not</i> simply receding ever deeper into itself. In fact, the Berlin Republic is quietly asserting itself and fleshing out its foreign policy. The unwillingness to act as France's cheerleader in the greater Mediterranean comes with the creeping recovery of self-confidence, and a desire to reposition itself vis-à-vis this historically French sphere of influence. <br /> France insists its recent military interventions abroad are grounded in humanitarianism and counter-terrorism, to safeguard "the fate of the local population and French nationals." Germans perceive instead a French sense of entitlement in a region rich with extraction and infrastructure contracts, and refuse to play a supporting role.<br /><br /> When explaining why it did not join France in Mali earlier this year, Germany pleaded superfluity: France was intervening "because of its tradition, history, and relationship with this part of Africa" and because "France is the only nation capable." The polite demurral belies Germany's intention to undermine the Franco-centric status quo.<br /><br /> German obstructionism also reveals the consensus across the German political spectrum that an Islamist regime in Syria is to be avoided. Left-wing politicians say Germany already has blood on its hands since groups receiving aid have attacked Kurdish areas in Syria. The deputy leader of Merkel's Christian Democrats has said orthodox Christian populations risk ethnic cleansing or worse if the French-allied Islamists come to power. French commitment to the region's Christians is also sincere -- French kings guaranteed protection of Maronite Christians for centuries -- but now more Maronites live outside the region than in it.<br /><br /> <b>Contradictory Positions</b><br /><b> </b><br /> This occasionally leaves France and Germany with contradictory positions in the clash between broad-based Sunni and Shi'a alliances -- with critical implications for religious minorities in the region. There are echoes of December 1991, when the tables were turned: a newly confident and unified Germany proactively granted diplomatic recognition to Croatia, which the French viewed as dangerously premature and as a brazen grab to reassert German influence in that part of the Balkans.<br /><br /> Twenty years later, German foreign policy has made the next step and challenges France's traditional spheres of influence to the south. France and Britain ultimately dropped their objections to German plans to recognize Croatia in 1991. But it is unlikely that Germany will accomodate French designs on Syria in 2013.<br /> With fewer German ghosts in the Mediterranean basin, Germany can sell its successful national brand with less historical baggage and distinguish itself from France. This had begun shortly before the Arab Awakening, at a time when Berlin resented exclusionary moves like Sarkozy's Union for the Mediterranean and took pride in the "small differences" of its own policies.<br /><br /> Unlike in France, for example, Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi was not allowed to pitch his tent in Berlin, and no German government ever praised Tunisian President Ben Ali's democratization efforts. Germany's long-term security, a regional strategy report from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs argued in 2009, depended on the credibility of such German policies among local populations.<br /><br /> <div class="spMInline"> </div>Germany still sold plenty of arms to the same regimes: The same report noted the "especially negative consequences of France's special position on the German economy" and openly complained that "when it's time to sign contracts, it's the French firms that always come in ahead." The Merkel government has not shrunk from all relevant military roles. It sent personnel to help in Iraq and Mali, and AWACs to Libya (and to Afghanistan to free up allies' own planes for use in Libya). German Patriot batteries installed under NATO in Turkey have already detected hundreds of missiles fired in Syria this year.<br /><br /> But Germany's goals differ markedly and signal a counter-revolutionary stance against French activist zeal. None of the Merkel-led coalitions to come out of September's elections are likely to judge things differently. In addition to the 50 years of the Elysée Treaty, this October also marks the 200th anniversary of the war liberating Prussia from Napoleonic occupation.<br /> </div>

GERMANY v. FRANCE:

  BERLIN FLEXES DIPLOMATIC MUSCLE ON  SYRIA A Commentary by Jonathan Laurence via der Spielge G...

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LEBANON & SYRIA

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style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">JIHAD IN SYRIA: THE PENETRATION OF RADICAL ISLAM IN THE SYRIAN CONFLICT</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK12"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK11"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK10"></a><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;">Recent reports of dozens of KUWAITI jihadists traveling to fight in the SYRIAN</span></b></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;"> conflict further highlight the stronger foothold radical Islamic groups are gaining in </span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SYRIA. Since January 2012,</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> SYRIA has been transformed into a major battleground of the jihad world, with a number of foreign and SYRIAN jihadist groups surfacing to participate in the conflict. This development not only poses a serious threat to the present SYRIAN government or any government that may follow, but also <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">threatens the armed opposition in SYRIA, headed by the Free SYRIAN Army (FSA).</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At present, at least ten different notable foreign and SYRIAN groups with varying ideologies are waging militant jihad in SYRIA. In spite of these differences, a useful distinction becomes apparent when comparing each group’s mode of operation, which can be categorized as one of three types: </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> <span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">   </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first type is <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“support” groups</span> that predominantly assist the flow of arms and fighters into SYRIA. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> <span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">   </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The second are <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“guerilla” groups</span> that carry out small scale but regular attacks on security forces. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> <span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">   </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The third are “<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">terror” groups</span> that carry out high profile bombings outside the usual areas of conflict. Through this distinction, it quickly becomes evident that the “terror” groups have had the most significant contribution to the conflict in SYRIA. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These groups have carried out at least twelve high profile attacks since January 2012, including suicide car bombings in Damascus, Aleppo, and Idlib. In addition to helping escalate the violence in SYRIA, the attacks caused a psychological blow to the SYRIAN regime by highlighting some weaknesses of the SYRIAN security apparatus. Primarily these attacks were carried out by two SYRIAN Salafist groups, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Jabhat al-Nusra</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></i>and its Idlib based offshoot, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Kata’ib Ahrar al-Sham</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, </i>these “terror” groups have been inspired and assisted by <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">al-Qaeda in IRAQ</span> to become two of the most prominent SYRIAN groups currently operating in the conflict. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SALAFIST INSURGENCE FROM IRAQ, JORDAN, EGYPT, AND MOST RECENTLY KUWAIT</span></b></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Despite this, “terror” groups in SYRIA do not receive widespread support within SYRIA and have not attempted to forge links with the FSA. Nonetheless, outside SYRIA these groups have gained wide support, including receiving small numbers of foreign Salafist fighters from IRAQ, JORDAN, EGYPT, and most recently KUWAIT. </span></span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIDh7cBwgtZSgG5rk6JoQtI_rHafvZz0ZO27AeT73zRZDsZ-uGWFF2swaSn9GKZdAAdeAXfWi2a2PYIhX_gZVHSp8YrneAOMA9unSK0JnQsSUm-YSfYtdpxrM1ZbH8Z-3iABImrapIxI-/s1600/lebanon_jordan_syr.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIDh7cBwgtZSgG5rk6JoQtI_rHafvZz0ZO27AeT73zRZDsZ-uGWFF2swaSn9GKZdAAdeAXfWi2a2PYIhX_gZVHSp8YrneAOMA9unSK0JnQsSUm-YSfYtdpxrM1ZbH8Z-3iABImrapIxI-/s1600/lebanon_jordan_syr.gif" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This external support has also been extended to a number of “guerilla” groups operating in the SYRIAN conflict and is linked to the increased violence around Homs as well as a significant percent increase in improvised explosive device (IED) attacks against SYRIAN security forces since January 2012. Despite different ideologies, many of the SYRIAN and foreign groups in this category have forged loose ties with the FSA and are assisting them in their fight against the SYRIAN security apparatus, through the use of guerilla warfare tactics based on experience gained in other jihad arenas. Two examples of groups that work with the FSA are the SYRIAN group <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Dhu al-Nurayn</span> and the LEBANESE based group <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Fatah al-Islam</span>.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The “support” groups, which constitute the third category, remain a key link in supplying arms and fighters into SYRIA along preexisting smuggling routes, mainly from IRAQ and LEBANON. These groups, though remaining at the sidelines, are important in helping feed the conflict in SYRIA and have indicated they may join the conflict at a later date. One example is the group called “The Free Army of IRAQIS.”</span></span></span><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SUNNI GROUPS ON THE DOORSTEP TO SYRIA CHALLENGES HIZBOLLAH’S PREVIOUSLY UNRIVALED DOMINANCE</span></b></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With the pressure of the internal conflict already straining the current SYRIAN government’s authority over the country, these radical Islamic groups </span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">only add to this pressure.</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> With the small size of these groups, the unpredictability of their attacks, and their increasing capability in fomenting unrest, it makes it difficult for SYRIAN security forces to effectively combat these groups as well as the FSA. In the long term, this prolonged pressure helps continue to weaken the SYRIAN government. For the main SYRIAN opposition, the radical Islamic elements are currently a necessary but problematic partner in its fight against the SYRIAN government: By keeping these radical Islamic groups at arm's length, making alliances with some, and denouncing others (especially <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">al-Qaeda</span>), they are hoping to utilize these groups' fighting power without damaging their credibility in the eyes of the SYRIAN people and the international community. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yet in the long term, with these radical Islamic groups gaining more support and competence, this uneasy relationship may waver and the opposition, especially the FSA, may find it faces an additional challenge to its rise to power in SYRIA. The ability of any future SYRIAN government to control the impact of these radical Islamic groups is a key question, as a possible repeat of events in IRAQ after the AMERICAN-led invasion of 2003 demonstrated. In the IRAQI case, radical Islamic elements took advantage of the power vacuum left from the disintegration of the security apparatus and established a strong presence there that is still felt today. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Outside SYRIA, radical Islamic elements in SYRIA could, in the long term, affect two key regional actors: Hizbollah and ISRAEL. With the conflict already disrupting, Hizbollah’s vital long term support from SYRIA and IRAN, the emergence of openly hostile radical Sunni groups on its doorstep in SYRIA challenges Hizbollah’s previously unrivaled dominance. </span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For ISRAEL, the conflict in SYRIA has largely been beneficial, helping destabilize SYRIA’S government, and by extension, two of its key allies, IRAN and Hizbollah. However, with the emergence of several radical Islamic groups in SYRIA strongly hostile towards ISRAEL, ISRAEL’S northern border may begin to see attacks from these groups in the future. With the situation in SYRIA growing more sectarian and chaotic, the radical Islamic groups in SYRIA are sure to profit, but to what extent is an open question. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Jonathan Robinson via INSS. </span></div>

LEBANON & SYRIA

JIHAD IN SYRIA: THE PENETRATION OF RADICAL ISLAM IN THE SYRIAN CONFLICT   Recent reports of dozens of KUWAITI jihadists traveling to fight...

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