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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Almost Missed Caturday!!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Veg63B8ofnQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Fuckin' cats crack my ass up man.<br /><br />Just 'cause you guy's are all right, I'm adding this informational video.<br /><br />Trust me, I want one of these fucking things.<br />Genius.<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uIbkLjjlMV8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Almost Missed Caturday!!

Fuckin' cats crack my ass up man. Just 'cause you guy's are all right, I'm adding this informational video. Trust me, I wan...

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Batman Ben Affleck: IWS Person of the Week!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">IWS is proud to announce that our Person of the Week for this week is Oscar winning director, writer, actor, philanthropist and activist <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000255/">Ben Affleck</a>! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt08DCYeXe7i5zs4Ns9ODmGq2qObJonFHoJhDO-NyvMJ9dipRVKKRo3Hx9ANeGD9J_xppO7QxRUpPFPJehHZKoDRrBkue45gpt_lBoYGnlYReBcYRs79dLdrIZeT2nvhzoVbvRkL4UUfu5/s1600/Ben+Affleck+Batman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt08DCYeXe7i5zs4Ns9ODmGq2qObJonFHoJhDO-NyvMJ9dipRVKKRo3Hx9ANeGD9J_xppO7QxRUpPFPJehHZKoDRrBkue45gpt_lBoYGnlYReBcYRs79dLdrIZeT2nvhzoVbvRkL4UUfu5/s320/Ben+Affleck+Batman.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">The internet almost broke this week with the news that Ben would be playing Batman in the upcoming Battman and Superman movie or whatever. It was a rather stunningly negative reaction to such an accomplished actor getting a big role. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqArnytXx9vFCuLcFB9s4b5OsCAwdG-kdcALTYhHJN_x_PsI-7_Yt90-wKC6Fgm_ukuii_vM7XbWBqUw1Dj8sg3f0KxkY03jwukyXJg0-dZykh2Cedd2uhE-WI7oHonfXSJi7A7e0F85Fs/s1600/Ben+Affleck+Hot+Muscles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqArnytXx9vFCuLcFB9s4b5OsCAwdG-kdcALTYhHJN_x_PsI-7_Yt90-wKC6Fgm_ukuii_vM7XbWBqUw1Dj8sg3f0KxkY03jwukyXJg0-dZykh2Cedd2uhE-WI7oHonfXSJi7A7e0F85Fs/s320/Ben+Affleck+Hot+Muscles.jpg" width="244" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Affleck burst onto the scene way back in 1998 when he and Matt Damon won Oscars for writing Good Will Hunting. After that Ben went a little wild and crazy and dated Jennifer Lopez and partied and did all the thing you and I would have done too. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMGoihreHRWaYtFOoMLuNULWaaC82-s2vv3jnR7Pk-3rYUL5NH94mDy0vOX4LBkxh1iV06iGcFAIafqSlxV6jUcHYlez937VGdDJpVof_3bmrDetkHDwTzzoqMp1L5YiNoXeoEh3mMV-9/s1600/ben-affleck-hair-sexy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMGoihreHRWaYtFOoMLuNULWaaC82-s2vv3jnR7Pk-3rYUL5NH94mDy0vOX4LBkxh1iV06iGcFAIafqSlxV6jUcHYlez937VGdDJpVof_3bmrDetkHDwTzzoqMp1L5YiNoXeoEh3mMV-9/s320/ben-affleck-hair-sexy.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">But, one day Ben woke up all hung over and looked at himself in the mirror and said “What the hell am I doing?” From that time on he has proven that Good Will Hunting was no fluke. He married Jennifer Garner who settled him down and has put out some truly great movies. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeU0dBc6bP7IOeP1-QnVWACbDS9STVm9DUIIb0fzqNsn19rjgyY-ympai2SVUe4FD0vth-FGUgx89yZroDGQZvHfIgHpggz7nD1TkRwoWtR-qN5Ns_O7AVo69Mdhl2UP3My-TfjjVyzLjh/s1600/Jennifer_Garner_Ben_Affleck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeU0dBc6bP7IOeP1-QnVWACbDS9STVm9DUIIb0fzqNsn19rjgyY-ympai2SVUe4FD0vth-FGUgx89yZroDGQZvHfIgHpggz7nD1TkRwoWtR-qN5Ns_O7AVo69Mdhl2UP3My-TfjjVyzLjh/s320/Jennifer_Garner_Ben_Affleck.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Affleck is a great writer and director and just a pretty good actor. But seriously folks, if the most upsetting thing that has happened to you lately is being angry over who is going to play a fictional character in a comic book movie then congratulations on your stress-free and idyllic life.   <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">And congrats to Batman Ben Affleck on being named IWS’ Person of the Week!! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqlkPt7gqwVLi2T6_CyXpneHGrBa3plFkAycrZYJQfQjNljcbj7afy0AWljWBcdwhdSAlucPRDsX3ZAeyxMhAWL0BFNNyooAU4-tj_kw8TPjaQAlFCv-WPN93bJN9wcuX2RjPlyTb_zqG/s1600/ben_affleck_argo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqlkPt7gqwVLi2T6_CyXpneHGrBa3plFkAycrZYJQfQjNljcbj7afy0AWljWBcdwhdSAlucPRDsX3ZAeyxMhAWL0BFNNyooAU4-tj_kw8TPjaQAlFCv-WPN93bJN9wcuX2RjPlyTb_zqG/s320/ben_affleck_argo.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Also, don’t forget to listen to IWS Radio’s <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid/2013/08/25/season-3-finale">Season 3 Finale</a> at 12 Noon ET Sunday!!!  <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div>

Batman Ben Affleck: IWS Person of the Week!

IWS is proud to announce that our Person of the Week for this week is Oscar winning director, writer, actor, philanthropist and activist Ben...

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Yep, It's Angel All Right

The evil laugh is a dead give away.<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/G6aJtdRC1WY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Yep, It's Angel All Right

The evil laugh is a dead give away.

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Slimmest Smartphone of World: Vivo X3

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Chinese mobile company BBK is ready to introduce the world’s slimmest smartphone .The thinnest smartphone will hit market on 1</span><sup style="text-align: left;">st</sup><span style="text-align: left;">September. Company firstly launch it in China itself. According to manufacturer device is as slim as your kitchen’s knife. The thickness of Vivo X3 is measured 5.57mm. The thickness of device is exactly 2mm thinner than the iPhone 5 and it has beat the record of Huawei Ascent P6 which was the slimmest one before Vivo X3. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: left;"><table 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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1O-3-xaP0xk/UhjMGwKrh_I/AAAAAAAAANs/uOUUI5KG4t4/s1600/vivo-x3-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1O-3-xaP0xk/UhjMGwKrh_I/AAAAAAAAANs/uOUUI5KG4t4/s1600/vivo-x3-2.jpg" title="vivo X3 slimmest phone of world" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #009933; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 15px; text-align: left;">Geeky gadgets</span><span style="text-align: justify;">                         </span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Technical specifications:</h3><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">Vivo X3 have a 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280-by-720 pixels. The device is powered by quad core 1.5GHz A7 processor with 1GB of RAM. Smartphone does not support the memory card but it has 16 GB internal storage. The device is running on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system. For capture your movements 8 megapixel rear camera and for video calling a 5 megapixel front camera is available. </div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">                          <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_xOxAnLJHQo/UhjMgSSHCzI/AAAAAAAAAN0/GaQFaTY7BSs/s1600/thin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_xOxAnLJHQo/UhjMgSSHCzI/AAAAAAAAAN0/GaQFaTY7BSs/s1600/thin1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">The battery of 200 mAh is used in device for better power back up. The battery is non removable. The price of Vivo X3 is $410 and in China you will pay 2,498 Yuan for same device.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">    </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>

android jelly bean Technical specifications Slimmest Smartphone of World: Vivo X3

Chinese mobile company BBK is ready to introduce the world’s slimmest smartphone .The thinnest smartphone will hit market on 1 st September....

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Teamsters, tens of thousands, march on Washington today

<br /><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="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFx7MXEmJXENjQJNdTAcEKW3b134lrz7ZwiolbbQ6SXBTlvQChLkAWA2CBRTrbGED_V3CGdH1Zvh9scWcEux5ZdRr9H5A332HNpQl7vuRmuuoYQYu2qOReTogOcmfyxwzto07ITxvZu-lT/s1600/Teamsters+March.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFx7MXEmJXENjQJNdTAcEKW3b134lrz7ZwiolbbQ6SXBTlvQChLkAWA2CBRTrbGED_V3CGdH1Zvh9scWcEux5ZdRr9H5A332HNpQl7vuRmuuoYQYu2qOReTogOcmfyxwzto07ITxvZu-lT/s400/Teamsters+March.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teamster leaders practicing for today's March on Washington.</td></tr></tbody></table>Teamsters thronged the National Mall today during the March on Washington, demanding good jobs along with tens of thousands of people also striving for a better America. Our Teamster brothers and sisters came from all corners of the country: From Florida and California, from Cleveland and St. Louis and New York City. Wearing black Teamsters shirts, they are walking proudly behind the blue Teamsters Human Rights Commission banner.<br /><br />Edward Carter, business agent for <a href="http://www.teamsters665.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamster Local 665</a> in California, summed up what the March on Washington was all about:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">It's a march for jobs -- for everybody. </blockquote>Fifty years ago, Teamsters also flocked to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In fact, the march wouldn't have happened had it not been for organized labor. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Philip_Randolph" rel="nofollow">A. Philip Randolph</a>, president of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotherhood_of_Sleeping_Car_Porters">Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters</a>, organized the march, and most of the men and women responsible for its success <a href="http://www.dissentmagazine.org/blog/unfinished-work-walter-reuther-and-the-march-on-washington" rel="nofollow">came from the House of Labor</a>.<br /><br />As <a href="http://www.dissentmagazine.org/blog/unfinished-work-walter-reuther-and-the-march-on-washington" rel="nofollow">Dissent Magazine</a> recently noted,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">In 1963 progressive unionists of all races routinely intertwined the goals of civil rights and economic justice. That’s why the official slogan of the day was “For Jobs and Freedom.” Tens of thousands of union members, mostly from the North, crowded together along the Reflecting Pool with civil rights activists who were taking a break from the dangerous work of liberating the South.</blockquote><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRp4mZ36iuPkIPsLOrtQX4Lqws7oST8tkARxYUWxr8FUHJRPir4Cish9gykPkxnhGZHIdKe2M6iziml2W6W-61G3OSChZZ0laRB2drSqmhDI947A8n1C47fPS7ot4Z9Gv4FEkypLbjbfMH/s1600/march+on+washington+1963.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRp4mZ36iuPkIPsLOrtQX4Lqws7oST8tkARxYUWxr8FUHJRPir4Cish9gykPkxnhGZHIdKe2M6iziml2W6W-61G3OSChZZ0laRB2drSqmhDI947A8n1C47fPS7ot4Z9Gv4FEkypLbjbfMH/s1600/march+on+washington+1963.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teamsters headed for the March on<br />Washington 50 years ago. </td></tr></tbody></table>Said Teamsters International Vice President Al Mixon, a leader of today's Teamsters' contingent of marchers:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">I look at how far we've come and <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/march-on-washington-jobs.html" rel="nofollow">how far we have to go</a>. It was about jobs then, it's about jobs now.</blockquote>Roy Gillespie, a marcher, Human Rights Commission representative and member of <a href="http://www.teamsters600.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters Local 600</a>, agreed that we need to keep marching:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">I am truly appreciative and thankful for the work done in 1963. I hope we continue fighting for the working men and women of this country to obtain the American Dream.</blockquote><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/24/march-on-washington-martin-luther-king-50-years" rel="nofollow">The Guardian</a> downplays the demand for good jobs, as is typical of the mainstream media, but at least it's covering today's march:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">There is already a huge turnout at the National Mall, with crowds lining the banks of the reflective pool. It is an evocative sight; redolent of the grainy footage of the March on Washington, except in bright colour rather than black and white... </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Estimating the size of the crowds is never easy - the debate over the numbers who attended in the 1963 march still rages today. But I would say there are easily thousands, and possibly tens of thousands of people here. And they've come from across America. I've spoken to people who have traveled from as far away as Mississippi, Chicago, Florida and Seattle.  </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">I think the scale of turnout is significant. The gathering feels less like a formal commemoration, and more like a protest. Time and again, people told me they believed America was still a racist country, only less overtly so. People are carrying placards about voter rights, equal education and, of course, the death of Trayvon Martin, and the acquittal of his killer, George Zimmerman. Both of the 17-year-old's parents -- Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton -- are here.</blockquote><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvWcCenTXz-Z0Ed_mr2ze7xHUoQzPDUNh_10zzCdT2RJcslCkfISKAz8xOdSl6c6nTc1SOohLkhO2nNBdZ5So6wZHo_hvPNDklR4ALqVVY-LVaO79dF1lCaeXRDFH67VHwrKeRPJLyvWp/s1600/marchon+washington+mixon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvWcCenTXz-Z0Ed_mr2ze7xHUoQzPDUNh_10zzCdT2RJcslCkfISKAz8xOdSl6c6nTc1SOohLkhO2nNBdZ5So6wZHo_hvPNDklR4ALqVVY-LVaO79dF1lCaeXRDFH67VHwrKeRPJLyvWp/s320/marchon+washington+mixon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mixon and Crump</td></tr></tbody></table>Mixon and Gillespie met with Ben Crump, Trayvon Martin's family lawyer, last night at a pre-march meeting in Washington.<br /><br />Today's March on Washington is not only a statement about the need for good jobs, but an opportunity for people who fight for economic justice to get together and strengthen their bonds.<br /><br />As Renee Taylor, a member of <a href="http://www.local237.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters Local 237</a> in New York, said:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">I get a chance to be with my brothers and sisters to promote equality...There's a lot of people who don't have a job. We fight for them. </blockquote>March on, brothers and sisters. <br /><br /><br /><br />

Jobs March on Washington Teamsters, tens of thousands, march on Washington today

Teamster leaders practicing for today's March on Washington. Teamsters thronged the National Mall today during the March on Washington, ...

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Top 30 Workout Motivation Quotes

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Top 30 Workout Motivation Quotes: </span></h1><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="Top 30 Workout Motivation Quotes" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKwcU5KqR9QvOip_0uFIH0X-HO-AKeOKoTYstRFwAaixgTbt6fKfbsyePwt5UZQZECbpfVJOQPdGeEkR1h5CzcnWv2NyK1xZ68h-55CHOQRMAJ9MbDkjwHpyCNEZEaSNA2ymPNHbQoEE/s1600/Top+30+Workout+Motivation+Quotes.jpg" title="Top 30 Workout Motivation Quotes" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>A good quote can act as a magical spark in workout and remind me of exactly why doing this. I’m suggestion of my top 30 favorite workout motivation quotes, I hope they can give you that extra push you need: </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> </br><center><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-5028478688240504"; /* inPost_waysforweightloss_336-280 */ google_ad_slot = "6975892477"; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></center></br> <div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">1- Winning means you're willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else. -Vince Lombardi-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">2- Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. -Lou Holtz-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">3- If you don’t get lost, there’s a chance you may never be found. -Anonymous-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">4- You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. -Wayne Gretzky-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">5- We must train from the inside out. Using our strengths to attack and nullify any waknesses. It’s not about denying a weakness may exist but about denying its right to persist. -Vince McConnell-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">6- I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. -Michael Jordan-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">7- Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. -Mahatma Gandhi-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">8- Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. -Lance Armstrong-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">9- The act of taking the first step is what separates the winners from the losers. -Brian Tracy-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">10- Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard, then succeed on purpose. -G.K. Nielson-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">11- Fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round – remembering that the man who always fights one more round is never whipped. -James Corbett-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">12- Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes. -Hugh Prather-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">13- Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared. -Eddie Rickenbacher-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">14- I hated every minute of training, but I said, don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life a champion. -Muhammad Ali-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">15- Fall down seven times, get up eight. -Chinese proverb-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">16- Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you. -Ralph Waldo Emerson-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">17- It’s never too late to become what you might have been. -George Elliot-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">18- The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something. You can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent. -Arnold Schwarzenegger-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">19- It’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. -Magic Johnson-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">20- How am I to know what I can achieve if I quit? -Jason Bishop-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">21- There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning form failure. -Colin Powell-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">22- Your body hears everything your mind says. -Naomi Judd-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">23- You just can't beat the person who never gives up. -Babe Ruth-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">24- To give any less than your best is to sacrifice a gift. -Steve Prefontaine-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;">25- The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. -Dolly Parton-</span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;">26- Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely. -Unknown-</span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">27- Suffer the pain of discipline or suffer the pain of regret! -Unknown-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">28- The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination. -Tommy Lasorda-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">29- If you figured it all out today, what would be the point of tomorrow? ENJOY the process of being a work in progress. -Unknown-</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;">30- I don't FIND the time to exercise, I MAKE the time to exercise. -Unknown-</span></div></div> </br><center><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-5028478688240504"; /* LargeInPost_waysforweightloss_300-600 */ google_ad_slot = "6695176472"; google_ad_width = 300; google_ad_height = 600; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></center></br> <div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div>

Motivation for Workout Workout Motivation Quotes Top 30 Workout Motivation Quotes

Top 30 Workout Motivation Quotes:  A good quote can act as a magical spark in workout and remind me of exactly why doing this. I’m suggestio...

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The Astonishingly Easy And Unbelievably Simple Means To Lose Weight

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Betsy B</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>Hi, my name is Betsy, and I want to share my phen375 review with you. I am a 34-year-old married teacher with three beautiful children at home: ages 2, 4, and 7. I work full-time at the school, and full-time at home as well. It takes a lot of time and energy to care for the house, the kids, and my husband. It seems as though there are never-ending chores which fill up my evenings and weekends... cooking, grocery shopping, laundry for five people, cleaning, and chasing after my little ones. The list is much longer than that, but I want to get to the point of my story so you can read my phen375 review.<br /> <br /> After I had my youngest kid a little over two years ago, I attempted to slim down. According to my doctor, I had to lose about 40 pounds to be at a healthy weight for my body type. I asked family and friends how they had actually lost weight, and I tried the diet plans which worked for them. But eating like a bird left me feeling quick-tempered, depressed and exhausted. I decided to sign up with a gym and start working out, however with all of my work and house responsibilities, my health club membership went unused. That was a lot of money out the window. I wish I had discovered the phen375 reviews alot sooner.<br /> <br /> Desperate, obese, and really annoyed, I started browsing the Internet for weight loss ideas. I thought perhaps there was some wonder diet I hadn't attempted yet which would help me get in shape. You see, for our upcoming 10th wedding anniversary, my husband had planned a charming trip to Hawaii ... and there was no chance I can show myself on a beach in a swimwear offering all those extra pounds. While I was online, I came across some phen375 reviews.<br /> <br /> After checking out every last phen375 review I might find, I decided I would give the product a try. It appeared insane that something might work so well and help me lose weight so easily. I felt a little weird about getting the product considering that I had actually never attempted anything like it in the past. But I chose to do something different than what I had been trying, and I bought phen375. <br /> <br /> I was still a little skeptical when I received my package in the mail, but from the very first week I began taking the product, I started to lose weight! The phen375 reviews I had read stated that I would receive a suggested diet plan designed especially for me along with the product. So I followed the diet plan exactly, and I didn't feel hungry like I had on other diets. Indeed, I thought, this product is amazing!<br /> <br /> Our romantic 10th anniversary vacation to Hawaii is about 3 weeks away, and I have already lost 35 pounds. I feel certain I can reach my goal of 40 pounds of weight-loss prior to our journey. I currently look amazing in my brand-new swimsuit, and I have a lot more energy than I use to when I was overweight. I had to share my own phen375 review with you, just in case you are in the exact same weight-loss rut I was in prior to discovering this wonder pill.<br /> <br /> If you are still not convinced, there are plenty of phen375 reviews online for you to read. Try this product, you will not be disappointed!<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'>Want to find out more about <a href='http://bestweightlosspillstouse.wordpress.com'>phen 375</a>, then visit Betsy B's site www.phen375-review.org to read her full <a href='http://phen375-review.org/'>phen375 review</a> in living colour.</div><br /> </div><br />

The Astonishingly Easy And Unbelievably Simple Means To Lose Weight

By Betsy B Hi, my name is Betsy, and I want to share my phen375 review with you. I am a 34-year-old married teacher with three beautiful...

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The Key To Being HCG Slim

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Andrea Davidson</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>Diet and exercise are one of the most important focuses for individuals concerned about their health. There are so many products on the market that claim to give quick results, but fail to live up to their promises. Now more than ever, individuals are choosing to be hcg slim in order to achieve the results that they desire.<br /> <br /> The HCG diet has hit the scene and is quite popular among weight loss plans. However, with any plan, it's important to understand all the ins and outs of how HCG works before using it. The true key to losing weight on this plan is to count how many calories are being consumed, as well as regular exercise.<br /> <br /> HCG may bring about the desired results for some, but has undergone much controversy. Some experts have stated that the use of the hormone really doesn't contribute to any positive results and is virtually ineffective.<br /> <br /> HCG itself is not a pill, but a hormone that is produced by women during pregnancy. It is referred to as human chorionic gonadotrophin, which can either be taken orally or injected. The hormone has a great influence on the hypothalamus which is located in the brain. It tells the brain that it needs to burn an excess amount of fat being stored in the body.<br /> <br /> This hormone helps to suppress the appetite and decrease cravings. This contributes to an easier route of fat consumption during physical activity. Many contribute the diet to bringing about results instead of the hormone. The body's metabolism is increased at this point due to the fact that hunger is being suppressed.<br /> <br /> Individuals must be informed about the fact that there may be serious effects that come about when choosing this diet plan. Long-term weight loss is not promised. The body immediately goes into a mode of starvation, which in the end may lead to some serious health issues. The consumer must evaluate within themselves if it's worth all that's at stake.<br /> <br /> The plan is unique in the fact that consumers are only allowed to eat 500 calories each day. The product can help individuals in regard to rapid weight loss, but again, it can't be done long-term because the adverse effects it may produce within the body. A newer version of this diet allows the individual to consume 800 calories per day. It consists of lean meats, vegetables and fruits.<br /> <br /> Many individuals swear that this is the best weight loss program on the market, and that the results are simply phenomenal. The body automatically starts to burn fat instead of just calories brought about by food. Due to the fact that so little calories are consumed, rapid weight loss is the result. Individuals have also stated that they've achieved more than just the pounds coming off, but they have also changed the way that they look at food, and the way that they look at themselves. Choosing to be <A href="http://MySlimSolution.com">hcg slim</A> may be the right choice for those serious about weight loss.<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'><a href="http://MySlimSolution.com">Read more about</a> The Choice To Be HCG Slim visiting our website.</div><br /> </div><br />

The Key To Being HCG Slim

By Andrea Davidson Diet and exercise are one of the most important focuses for individuals concerned about their health. There are so ma...

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