It doesn't make any sense

That's what he said.  Nothing, nothing at all that I've been trying to talk about makes any sense.  Nothing.  How long has this been?  9 months, maybe more?  None of my blabbering makes sense.  That's why there's never any response to me.  I just don't ever make sense.  He knows about the blog but hasn't asked for the link.  Now I know it's because it won't make sense.<br /><br />I totally understand DD not making any sense... I get that and despite my wishes I truly wasn't expecting that to go anywhere soon or ever.  It's the nothing else that has me perplexed.  You know, things like talking or making time to spend together, none of it made sense so no real need to go there.  Fantasies that don't make sense, so shouldn't be explored.  Even when they were lightly humored, my eager reactions didn't make sense so sweep it back under the rug.  My feelings don't make sense, so shouldn't be validated.  His exact words were, "I don't do crazy."  Half of me hopes his words were just poorly chosen, though I know he meant what he said.  Completely crushed and all I could say was, "I know."  I still don't even know where to begin moving from here. <br /><br />Oh well, good try.  Sometimes it's better for fantasies to stay in fantasy land, sometimes it's better to continue seeking coping skills in pill bottles and therapy, sometimes it better to appreciate close friendships more deeply and let marriage simmer on the back burner where it belongs.  If I had to do it again, I would do it differently.  But I love my family, don't get me wrong. <br /><br />There's only been a few things I've been wanting, but they're each really big things.  Making time to talk about things other than kids/work, even just a few times a month - maybe date nights once in a while.  Stop being so nice in bed and dominate me at least sometimes.  Spank me - both erotic and emotional release - and not just one swat to leave a handprint.  The big big one, lead me either through DD or just by generally being a leader for our family.   <br /><br />Maybe in time I'll get brave and try again.  Maybe next time, I'll just focus on one tiny thing rather than trying to improve things in general.  I didn't pummel him with everything at once so it shouldn't have been overwhelming though!  Maybe I'll find a way to break down one of the things into a way that perhaps might make sense.  In the meantime, I'll continue to submit where I can even though there's rarely something to submit to.  I feel good when I'm able/allowed to so I can do that for myself.<br /><br />I'm not special, we're not special, everybody else we know is basically like this.  We don't have to just because some people have close strong marriages or really kinky times together or more traditional roles in the household.  Face it, none of that is typical.  It's very appealing to me, but nobody else does has these things and they're fine too.  My brain is wired weird, can't help it.  Reading about happy people and strong marriages has jaded me and left me longing for things that really aren't normal or typical.  I married normal and typical.  And that's what we are.<br /><br />Disappointment is certainly the understatement of the century. But I've got my big girl panties on and life goes on.  I have a family, we love each other very much, and my struggles pale in comparison to what other people struggle with every day and right this very second.   <br /><br />In other completely silly news, my 6 year old announced that she wants to be called Chickadee from now on.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42WtiDm2FgJACsPi3aFOepgj_8bRHjJ1KE1KbkrpydWMPmYMqxPM86ga6c2ldLjfS6jkbnNC9XGYgi30YsKJLEbxZB6NnzMh7KAJ-gtKwqiGC4hKTVA7XihKw9sEVHx58h-L21nrQNFM/s1600/chickadee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42WtiDm2FgJACsPi3aFOepgj_8bRHjJ1KE1KbkrpydWMPmYMqxPM86ga6c2ldLjfS6jkbnNC9XGYgi30YsKJLEbxZB6NnzMh7KAJ-gtKwqiGC4hKTVA7XihKw9sEVHx58h-L21nrQNFM/s1600/chickadee.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />Why?  Because they're just adorably cute little birds that hop around and they're just so cute and can't we have one please please please?

It doesn't make any sense

That's what he said.  Nothing, nothing at all that I've been trying to talk about makes any sense.  Nothing.  How long has this been...

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Motivation for Workout

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Motivation for Workout, is the process of stimulating people to actions to accomplish the goals and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. <span style="color: #6aa84f;">It is the biggest factor in fitness success.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">I am addicted to motivation for workout. I have them on my laptop and on my phone. <span style="color: #6aa84f;">it is maintains goal-oriented behaviors</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I get energy from words. I glimpse at them, read them, repeat them and they channel my thoughts in a positive way. Motivation for Workout, It’s a great way to keep you motivated with your fitness program.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="color: red;">Don't have time.. Too tired.. It's too cold..</span> Whatever your excuse, These some of Motivation, <span style="color: #6aa84f;">are the panacea to skipping your workout</span>. These some of Motivation for Workout; will help you succeed.. Will get you moving :</span><br /><br /><h1>Motivation for Workout : </h1></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="Motivation for Workout" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaHLs75oAMDYC5SNTGBTROs5CnQKsgNzFF3L_dsXuBdqr4S4ANWjogDz_Uro4Ll1Gz8pj0YthQI9JYamNxOXmRQQmoMOxSDKKSXk91F8yaQC_jWa_W-kcRPmxYsWInzCSEhsjQPrwozas/s1600/Motivation+for+Workout_1.jpg" title="Motivation for Workout" width="426" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="Motivation to Workout" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5FUP5c2sS7HgEz9cPtiF9fssIIg_knv8UfPS2YXOxBcfij78GAjSuv9kVsavdyxH0Qd1JO95GtWyMts3hs0q0JYjq9a0M4BGE2YBonV95-DEiKgUcYmY1O68b0b3X1tiooNt8aqLmst4/s1600/Motivation+for+Workout_2.jpg" title="Motivation to Workout " width="640" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="workout motivation tips" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7B_eJbZV3TD0v5T3oNQOUM36OsZsLs4uhUq5W1bbCrZWSNoPCrzvsbnKUt3ErMNDzDqdNc-6sArTvy8UyRlqcPVobMwtUS8joqjZFKvKMas0TMf6JHR-4E4__9wArBlC9ETSc9ri4BF4/s1600/Motivation+for+Workout_3.jpg" title="workout motivation tips" width="640" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="workout motivation quotes" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPPF9xOaTsJCqWVYifnQQeB9Ja6JbClKhRXWAvyHZQad9sy4t4vakRiT6Pyviof9w2_t8qRk9gLsAu62k1yDpTTcd3LPjEhcMo6XhvU-HC0z3Dqy_IkIPW9fg5AxR5ybPrWAhd0QT2GlA/s1600/Motivation+for+Workout_4.jpg" title="workout motivation quotes" width="640" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="workout motivation pictures" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4etIwVnNyYrbnqsz23aUpt8OyctHbJeNhVr1yjFl5wnGgCRzDSHg8qYjGv6cAAltGHGl-4yOp2gh7kk2Qvq2x76r5wzpJHSUqFwIYaanp6HtYjc6iDdKcbEzXCi-JJkaYZTh5wwIe4Cs/s1600/Motivation+for+Workout_5.jpg" title="workout motivation pictures" width="458" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="workout motivation music" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcsuv2d2LOgEikQhGcJPzSPtGcdOSrU0sPo5AQzII6q_IsxOEyRgTZ_AAD3IVK1D3DeUXl2owRPNbCDY2CNBjPBEZFxOsWpFvlzvUUIwNvkdq0Tatv3wTympFTEzF08OCf4fH6xHbLEg/s1600/Motivation+for+Workout_6.jpg" title="workout motivation music" width="432" /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="workout motivation video" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19g9fZc8CfNyWwVA1sx8C-jXwDK2-hST2oUN-xhJ7bDnR6FmaeFgtKKI44tynyoBLXt6Z7EvEvn1FzsxFT8g2as_bMRSOmgNtI2VjeoPRjcfDV_cRaNYOssL-Q-VlzoHkFup9Z4mvnHI/s1600/Motivation+for+Workout_7.jpg" title="workout motivation video" width="408" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="workout motivation posters" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW416TCVX9Jjt8mUXnRmj1ggl8tE5OJkkwgzVMFfkCWXOa-V_2MrHcTNc6YjJtCXby2WiFQPFF_XDpq9k2JHBVpnk0hL_Nv8OPUJd9hzTdeF31oiNFTb9POqGxyqs-u_yYlDnTzcuRF3I/s1600/Motivation+for+Workout_8.jpg" title="workout motivation posters" width="640" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="workout motivation songs" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-vhnCmXFZepaDzihZamtifRAMgPVu3pbxzx54Utme69-oOkbAxaRbfkllK0ju59DLhGO9EX2SeG3Fa5IgWObVNWi3G9iAYkrltE25mz3bS_sNaZdoP0RKMW3ppccduWZoL1uE5eIavg/s1600/Motivation+for+Workout_9.jpg" title="workout motivation songs" width="640" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="goal-oriented behaviors" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguquSLH00tLqvOjpFqb_325kcDjgAPD1FYDO8qeJ0D8BM8p6wTt4H4W8Cq0oXX8EslySpI73bBscQwhiJls-wSU5y8_ONXyu0qd-OBOTCczvLvG9FhNqoYsD1IWK45EiqRAJ2440bAaGQ/s1600/Motivation+for+Workout_10.jpg" title="goal-oriented behaviors" width="640" /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="Motivation fitness" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5ARByIiVpE3zslgP1kIJsvFfu-HAeq991fU2tbQGSikJKN9yzE0lugB8wb70yDGtJ3FmcjRIXDjZJ1-kcsXp6UsS4iYWZAB-gff8Yh1n3hPdXKCxkrmgRyGbOKlbglevHb3RJjFIAWY/s1600/Motivation+for+Workout_11.jpg" title="Motivation fitness" width="640" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="Motivation weightloss" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSD1VbWsl_iB4TB7tP5Ff6A1wLNa97gItNMsajeIYA78etcZpPebdq6LTS5-ZrIYXDBkjkJNtK8DnIGwoZXCRevzuiCQMTBinrUjMvSaN1ErZEXcvbqTpo51LcluQKpbbMrK8F9UyqmD8/s1600/Motivation+for+Workout_12.jpg" title="Motivation weightloss" width="640" /></div><br /><br /><br /></div></div>

Motivation Motivation for Workout workout Motivation for Workout

Motivation for Workout, is the process of stimulating people to actions to accomplish the goals and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. It is...

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A Louisville Clinic Races to Adapt to the Health Care Overhaul - NYTimes.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One morning last month, a health clinic next to a scruffy strip mall here had an unlikely visitor: a man in a suit and tie, seeking to bring a dose of M.B.A. order to the operation.<br /><br><br /><br>A dozen clinic employees, who spend intense, chaotic days treating an unending stream of Louisville's poor and uninsured, stared stonily at handouts he had brought as he made his pitch.<br /><br><br /><br>The visitor was Danny DuBosque, a "coach" hired to help the nonprofit clinic adapt to the demands of the federal health care overhaul. He had come to discuss a new appointment system, one that will let patients see a doctor or nurse within a few days of calling, instead of weeks or months.<br /><br><br /><br>"It's a huge satisfier," he declared — management-speak that fell flat with Dr. Michelle Elisburg, a pediatrician who was scheduled to see 26 patients that day.<br /><br><br /><br>"It puts me on edge," said Dr. Elisburg, who has spent her career treating the poor. "Under this model, it's first come first served, whoever calls fastest. But that's not necessarily the patient who really needs to be seen."<br /><br><br /><br>Mr. DuBosque, 35, raised his arms, a plea for patience. "We're going to take the next few years going through and untangling all these issues," he said before hurrying to another meeting.<br /><br><br /><br>"It's frightening," Dr. Elisburg, 42, murmured as Mr. DuBosque left.<br /><br><br /><br>The debate that morning was just one expression of the tensions rippling through medical offices around the country in the countdown to January, when the Affordable Care Act will require most Americans to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty. For doctors and their staffs, this is a period of fevered preparation for the far-reaching changes that are soon to come as the law moves out of the realm of political jousting and into the real world.<br /><br><br /><br>To follow how the historic law is playing out, The New York Times will look periodically at its impact in Louisville, a city of 600,000 that embodies both the triumphs and the shortcomings of the medical system in the United States.<br /><br><br /><br>The nation's first hand transplant was performed here, as was the world's first implant of a self-contained artificial heart. One of the nation's largest insurers, Humana, is based here, and the city's downtown area alone has four hospitals and a medical school. Health care increasingly fuels the local economy, accounting for many of the largest employers and a growing number of start-ups.<br /><br><br /><br>Yet for all the resources and expertise, the health outcomes in Kentucky remain "horrendous," as Gov. Steven L. Beshear, a Democrat, put it recently. The state has some of the nation's highest rates of smoking, obesity and deaths due to cancer and diabetes. At this point, the only sure thing about putting the law's many pieces in place here is that it will not be easy.<br /><br><br /><br>The potential benefits are huge. Some 90,000 people could get medical coverage in this city alone. It could create thousands of jobs in Kentucky and, if its aspirations are realized, provide better care at lower cost. Yet the law still provokes suspicion and confusion, among both health care providers and the uninsured population it is meant to help.<br /><br><br /><br>Community clinics like the one Mr. DuBosque was visiting, one of seven in a network here called Family Health Centers, are at the front lines of the change. They expect that their patient load could double, even as they struggle to recruit doctors and other staff members. They serve people who, because of poverty or entrenched habits, often have a hard time staying healthy and tend to put off preventive care. Now these clinics are anticipating competition from private providers who may see newly insured patients — no matter how poor — as opportunities for profit. So they are working on improving the patient experience and their own efficiency.<br /><br><br /><br>The legislation allots $11 billion over five years to improve and expand community clinics across the nation. Family Health Centers is getting $5.4 million to renovate a clinic for the homeless and move a downtown clinic to a much bigger building, adding dental and X-ray departments and a pharmacy. The organization hopes to eventually serve 10,000 additional patients at that site alone, if it can hire enough doctors and nurses to treat them. Meanwhile, it is using federal stimulus money to convert 60,000 paper charts to electronic medical records, and trying to improve patient access with the new scheduling system and other changes.<br /><br><br /><br>"We have to change from being the provider of last resort to the first choice for the community we serve," said Bill Wagner, the longtime executive director of Family Health Centers. "Everything we do needs to say, 'You're valuable to us.' "<br /><br><br /><br>Soft of voice and low-key, Mr. Wagner, 60, nonetheless acknowledges that the stakes for Family Health Centers are unnervingly high. He gets to work at 6:30 a.m. these days, relies on a steady stream of caffeine and clears his head with weekend motorcycle rides.<br /><br><br /><br>"We couldn't have more balls in the air right now," he said.<br /><br><br /><br>Patients and Problems<br /><br><br /><br>The West End of Louisville is a patchwork of poor neighborhoods, where asthma, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions are stubbornly common. In Portland, a neighborhood of one-way streets and faded shotgun homes, the biggest Family Health Centers clinic provides basic care to some 16,000 patients per year, regardless of ability to pay.<br /><br><br /><br>Here, Alaina Brohm, a brisk nurse practitioner, treats a diverse and challenging population: the unemployed, the chronically depressed, the obese, patients with advanced diabetes and feeble hearts. Ms. Brohm, 30, could be making more money at the retail clinics popping up in drugstores and supermarkets, diagnosing strep throats and bladder infections. Maybe someday she will. But for now, she wants a bigger challenge.<br /><br><br /><br>"I knew I would see it all here — a lot of chronic conditions, the worst of the worst," she said. "I know a little bit about everything."<br /><br><br /><br>Few in Louisville may feel the effects of the new health care law as tangibly as the uninsured patients who churn through Ms. Brohm's cramped exam rooms — and how they will respond to the law is one of the crucial questions that will determine whether it succeeds. For now, many seem either wary of it or uninformed.<br /><br><br /><br>Marchelle Edwards, 55, had been absent from the clinic for more than a year when she arrived there one Monday in May. She had a painful infection in her foot, linked to uncontrolled diabetes. She had stopped taking medicine to control her blood sugar after her prescription ran out months earlier. She also had a bladder infection and a thyroid condition that was making her hoarse. Her daughter Tammy, who had driven her to the clinic, reported that she was subsisting on Pepsi and junk food and feeling tired all the time.<br /><br><br /><br>Ms. Edwards seemed to be a walking example of the potential benefits of the same-day appointment system that Mr. DuBosque had been pitching. "I just couldn't get an appointment in here," she said, alluding to the long wait time and why she had not bothered trying.<br /><br><br /><br>"Even if you made an appointment and it was two months out," Ms. Brohm softly chided, "it would be a lot sooner than waiting a year."<br /><br><br /><br>The last time Ms. Brohm had seen Ms. Edwards, in April 2012, she had referred her to a podiatrist affiliated with University Hospital, which provides most of the city's specialized indigent care. But Ms. Edwards, a former food service worker, said she had stopped seeing the podiatrist because he charged $35 per visit.<br /><br><br /><br>"I stay at home and I hurt," she said.<br /><br><br /><br>Ms. Brohm started her back on two medicines: one to regulate her blood sugar, and another to help with pain in her feet, a result of nerve damage from the diabetes. One would be free through a pharmacy discount program for the poor; the other would be $6 a month, an expense Ms. Edwards said was prohibitive.<br /><br><br /><br>"There's only so much I can do with your toes, O.K., without surgery," Ms. Brohm told her. "You're going to need another referral to a podiatrist, another appointment with a financial counselor. Let me grab you a list."<br /><br><br /><br>She left the room to get one, but Ms. Edwards stalked out, scowling, before she could return. Her daughter shook her head.<br /><br><br /><br>"Not having insurance," Tammy Edwards said, "not being able to get the treatments and stuff that she really needs, it's depressing for her."<br /><br><br /><br>Ms. Edwards will almost certainly qualify for Medicaid under an expansion next year, which means she would pay nothing or a few dollars for most drugs and medical care, with a maximum of $450 a year.<br /><br><br /><br>Yet Ms. Brohm wonders whether Ms. Edwards will pursue the care she needs even if she gets Medicaid. "She's scared of health care," Ms. Brohm said after the appointment. "She's one of the ones that's more in denial. I guess it's her defense mechanism: 'If I don't find out, then I won't know.' "<br /><br><br /><br>Ms. Edwards's case raises a crucial question about the health care law: Will insurance necessarily make unhealthy people healthier?<br /><br><br /><br>David Elson, 59, who has congestive heart failure and chronic kidney disease, skipped an appointment at the clinic in April because he could not afford the fee. He earns enough to pay the highest fee on the clinic's sliding scale: $65 per visit, he said, and more if he needs blood work. He came one recent evening for an urgent visit, laboring to breathe.<br /><br><br /><br>Mr. Elson, who has his own business installing alarm systems, used to pay $125 a month for health insurance, he said. But then he developed diabetes, and his premium soared to more than $500 a month. He dropped the policy years ago.<br /><br><br /><br>His nurse practitioner, Susan Elrod, quickly determined that he had fluid in his lungs. Ashen and slumped, he had gained 50 pounds in two months — all water weight, she said — because his weakened heart had not been pumping efficiently enough. He now weighed 309 pounds, and his legs had swelled so much that large lesions had opened on them, fluid seeping out.<br /><br><br /><br>"We're going to have to send you to the emergency room," Ms. Elrod told him. "Do you feel strong enough to drive, or would you like me to call an ambulance?"<br /><br><br /><br>Mr. Elson grimaced, realizing he now faced a far greater expense than what he had saved by skipping his last appointment. He was already struggling to pay for his insulin — $240 a month, he said — and other drugs, which filled a plastic bag he had brought with him.<br /><br><br /><br>"I can't afford to go," he said, looking blank, after Ms. Elrod had left the room.<br /><br><br /><br>He went nonetheless, but not until the next morning, when a neighbor could drive him.<br /><br><br /><br>Mr. Elson said he earned about $24,000 a year, too much to qualify for Medicaid even under the expansion. It will cover people with incomes up to $15,856 for a household of one.<br /><br><br /><br>But Mr. Elson could still get federal subsidies starting next year to help him buy private coverage through the insurance marketplace, or exchange, that Kentucky is creating under the law. People with incomes up to 400 percent of the poverty level — about $46,000 for an individual — will be eligible for such subsidies if they buy coverage through an exchange. But Mr. Elson said he was certain the cost would still be too high.<br /><br><br /><br>"I don't see it helping anybody," he said, "just making everybody get insurance."<br /><br><br /><br>In fact, Mr. Elson might pay about $130 a month for coverage if he signed up for a medium-cost plan, according to an estimate by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan research group. He would qualify for a subsidy that would cover 80 percent of his premium costs. The law will also prohibit insurance companies from turning him away or charging him more because he is sick.<br /><br><br /><br>Even Ms. Brohm, the nurse practitioner, is suspicious of the law and confused about the changes it will bring. For one thing, she worries that poor people who become eligible for Medicaid under the expansion will be required to pay a part of their medical costs.<br /><br><br /><br>"If it does help out with the expensive stuff, that will be very exciting," she said. "But my concern is if they have to pay anything, will things still be done? Sometimes even a small percentage is too much for people."<br /><br><br /><br>The law's divisiveness, meanwhile, makes her uncomfortable. She knows of a restaurant chain that may be sold, she said, because the owner cannot afford to provide insurance for his employees, as the law will soon require.<br /><br><br /><br>"If it becomes something a lot of people argue about," she said, "that frightens me."<br /><br><br /><br>Changes on the Way<br /><br><br /><br>At a meeting of the Family Health Centers medical staff in May, Ms. Brohm and her colleagues listened as Dr. Peter Thurman, the medical director, delivered a pep talk of sorts. He was pressing them to complete a day's worth of online courses about the electronic records system that the clinics were poised to adopt. More training would come later in the year.<br /><br><br /><br>"It's self-preservation, in my opinion," Dr. Thurman said.<br /><br><br /><br>The topic shifted to the new appointment system, which only one of the clinics, known as Fairdale, had adopted so far. The early news was good: the average no-show rate had dropped from 21 percent in March to 10.5 percent in May.<br /><br><br /><br>"This thing is working," Dr. Thurman proclaimed, and went on to credit Mr. DuBosque. "Danny's been a godsend for us, I'll just be honest with you."<br /><br><br /><br>Later that day, Mr. DuBosque drove to the Fairdale clinic on the south side of Louisville, to get some firsthand feedback. The staff had more good news: fewer patients were turning to private urgent-care centers, a growing source of competition for Family Health Centers.<br /><br><br /><br>"They're acting shocked: 'What, we can get in today?' " said Saundra Kay Webb, a receptionist.<br /><br><br /><br>Technically, Mr. DuBosque's job is to help Family Health Centers get certified as a "patient-centered medical home." Under that model, teams of providers take a highly organized approach to patient care, with a focus on customer service. Better access is a central goal, which is why Family Health Centers is cutting its wait time for appointments.<br /><br><br /><br>Electronic medical records are also essential to the medical home model, partly to reduce what Mr. DuBosque called "the sheer work of keeping tabs on things with paper charts."<br /><br><br /><br>Among other things, he is learning that change sometimes comes more slowly in community clinics than in the fiercely competitive hospital sector, where he used to work. For example, Mr. DuBosque thinks it would be smart to start and end the workday later at Family Health Centers, because patients are reluctant to show up for early-morning appointments. But the idea is not catching fire.<br /><br><br /><br>"There's a whole host of things we're going to have to fight through with that," he said. "We have a lot of staff with some established routines and schedules. But I think it's a no-brainer."<br /><br><br /><br>Doctors working full time at Family Health Centers earn about $127,000 a year, far less than many of their counterparts in private practice. In the last year alone, the clinics lost five doctors, including one who moved, one who retired and one who took a higher-paying job at a hospital. Nurse practitioners are filling the void. They now make up 60 percent of the medical staff at the seven clinics, and their role will continue to grow.<br /><br><br /><br>But they, too, are in high demand, and their salary at Family Health Centers, about $67,000 a year for a full-time position, comes up short compared with the private sector.<br /><br><br /><br>If Family Health Centers sees enough new revenue, raising salaries will be a top priority. But as with so much of the Affordable Care Act, there are still far more questions than answers.<br /><br><br /><br>"Will it allow a community health center to be competitive on M.D.'s against the hospitals?" Dr. Thurman asked. "I just don't know."<br /><br><br /><br>Financial Considerations<br /><br><br /><br>One afternoon last month, Mr. Wagner, the director of Family Health Centers, canceled his appointments and hurried to the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, about an hour away. Governor Beshear was announcing that he would expand Medicaid in the state, a measure called for under the health care law but one that many states are opting out of. By the governor's estimate, it would allow up to 308,000 additional Kentuckians into the program, almost half of the state's uninsured population.<br /><br><br /><br>Mr. Wagner was eager to bear witness to an announcement that he deemed historic, the culmination of a goal he has spent his career trying to achieve. The Medicaid expansion could also solve Mr. Wagner's budget problem. Family Health Centers is facing a deficit of about $3 million in its overall annual budget of $30 million, largely because so many of its 42,000 patients, 54 percent, are uninsured.<br /><br><br /><br>"Right now we're living off our reserve fund, and that can only last so long," Mr. Wagner said.<br /><br><br /><br>Then it was back to his office in Louisville to keep planning. That day he learned that community clinics around the country would receive $150 million to help sign up people for insurance. Family Health Centers anticipates getting about $300,000, which it will use to get the word out starting this summer. Under the law, people can start signing up in October for coverage that starts in January.<br /><br><br /><br>"We will undoubtedly be hiring staff who will sit in the lobbies with patients — with laptops, with tablets — to provide assistance in enrolling online," Mr. Wagner said.<br /><br><br /><br>October will be a critical month at Family Health Centers. The insurance sign-up period will begin just as construction on the new downtown clinic gets under way. At the same time, the huge Portland clinic will go live with the electronic medical records, and it will have just adopted the new appointment system.<br /><br><br /><br>Ms. Brohm, the nurse practitioner, will be married by then, returning from her honeymoon to what may feel like a strange new world. Ms. Elrod, her colleague, will have cut her hours at Family Health Centers and started working in the relative calm of a private doctor's office. Short of a miracle, neither Ms. Edwards nor Mr. Elson, their chronically ill patients, will have health insurance yet. But if the outreach campaign succeeds, they will have learned of their options and may be poised to sign up.<br /><br><br /><br>The day after Mr. Elson was admitted to the hospital, Ms. Elrod called to check on him. His breathing had improved, and the hospital had prescribed a different diuretic to help him excrete water. He had lost 10 pounds so far and would lose 20 more by the end of his five-day stay. She told him to follow up at the clinic after his release.<br /><br><br /><br>"Get on my schedule for Tuesday night, O.K.?" she said, then paused for his response. "O.K., if you have the money. I understand, Mr. Elson. O.K. Bye."<br /><br><br /><br><br /><br><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/us/a-louisville-clinic-races-to-adapt-to-the-health-care-overhaul.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/us/a-louisville-clinic-races-to-adapt-to-the-health-care-overhaul.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print</a>

A Louisville Clinic Races to Adapt to the Health Care Overhaul - NYTimes.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One morning last month, a health clinic next to a scruffy strip mall here had an unlikely visitor: a man in a suit and tie...

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Caner Lawsuit Update: Turns Out Caner is Suing Small Church Pastor, Funds Needed to Provide for Defense

Readers - just a quick update on the Ergun Caner lawsuit against Jason Smathers and Jon Autry as we head to church:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.witnessesuntome.com/2013/06/legal-defense-fund/" target="_blank">Jason posted on his blog yesterday</a> that he has found legal representation in Kel McClanahan, the Executive Director of a legal group called "<a href="http://www.nationalsecuritylaw.org/" target="_blank">National Security Counselors</a>". You can read about Mr. McClanahan's experience <a href="http://nationalsecuritylaw.org/board_of_directors.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and it surely is impressive. It is a wonderful thing that Jason is standing up to Ergun Caner's lawsuit, not backing down, and is going to fight it all the way. Jason most certainly has a big legal bazooka in Mr. McClanahan to match Caner's.<br /><br />However, we must not just cheer from the sidelines for Jason and wish him well. We need to get involved with finances. Funds must be raised for this defense. I urge all readers of the FBC Jax Watchdog who are able, to donate money to Jason's defense, as there is no way Jason can do this alone - as you'll read about below. You can find the information on Jason's website on how to make a donation. I'm making a donation today via PayPal as soon as I get home.<br /><br />Also, you will want to read <a href="http://www.witnessesuntome.com/2013/06/who-is-witnesses-unto-me/" target="_blank">Jason's personal testimony that he posted on his blog on Friday</a>. He explains who he is, and how he came to faith in Christ in 2004-2005, and how his marriage was saved through his personal turmoil. He now is a pastor of a <a href="http://www.gscbc.net/" target="_blank">small church in Arizona</a>. Trust me, you want to read his testimony, it is nothing short of amazing. And <u><b>genuine</b></u>.<br /><br />And who really is the "bully" here? Now that we know about Jason - we now know that it is Caner who is the bully here, not Jason. Jason, small church pastor in Arizona - Caner, popular speaker, famous author, promoted and defended by the big names in Christian circles like Tim Lee and Norman Geisler...and Caner, the man who promoted himself to stardom right after 9/11 at my church by concocting a phony-baloney story of being a trained terrorist who came to America. <a href="http://fbcjaxwatchdog.blogspot.com/2010/04/ergun-caner-now-hes-described-as.html" target="_blank">Remember my blog article</a> where I exposed as late as 2010 Caner STILL being promoted as a formerly trained terrorist on Phil Waldrep's website?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDRQIHleOtZ4ofTDpKA9fRcZ5IeUi6p3aKI9L47iQoqJxNlWDtzXm2f9LTuJ8fubJMNrHG5JvQKOzJH3AypndxStnD5r5shyPOofB5Z-19SPmLE6jxDbyeYo8Y17zyM4EbmfUrSk7iH7a/s1600/CanerTerrorist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDRQIHleOtZ4ofTDpKA9fRcZ5IeUi6p3aKI9L47iQoqJxNlWDtzXm2f9LTuJ8fubJMNrHG5JvQKOzJH3AypndxStnD5r5shyPOofB5Z-19SPmLE6jxDbyeYo8Y17zyM4EbmfUrSk7iH7a/s400/CanerTerrorist.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Do you see that? In April 2010 Caner's taped testimony was being peddled for $35 as a "hardened terrorist". That is a threat to Christianity, when false testimonies are told, believed, and then sold for thirty-five bucks. And what Jason did and what many other bloggers were doing the past three years was doing what Christian news agencies like ABP and BP should have done: got the REAL story on Caner so that others could be warned.<br /><br />The good news is that pastors are so far 0-3 in their attempts to bully bloggers they don't like, so Caner is trying to finally get a win. It is quite ironic that Ergun Caner fashions himself as "fighting bullies" - he regularly demeans those who have tried to expose his lies and warn others about Caner by calling them "bullies" and "trolls", and his tag line on his Twitter account was recently changed to "Bullies/Trolls: I fight back". When he posted that on his Twitter tag line, I knew what that meant - that he was going to begin the lawsuits. I believe Jason and Jon are just the first of Ergun's planned legal assault.<br /><br />So let's show Ergun that we will back up Jason. Give to his defense fund as soon as you can.

Caner Lawsuit Update: Turns Out Caner is Suing Small Church Pastor, Funds Needed to Provide for Defense

Readers - just a quick update on the Ergun Caner lawsuit against Jason Smathers and Jon Autry as we head to church: Jason posted on his blog...

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Back in Dublin

Our plane has just landed in Dublin.  It's 7am and grey grey.  <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcF80XyIosB9RTrKuj_svjldovXDjJ2jOaBLPV7JjxmjWBaNjQs_OE3rF8Mrt_CWo6Ia-7tx6loQABfgLM-rHCDyutpWoLf7WAAerS_BxU8AG36t0ze0xphVaoClyrTWPedRjC9NLF7acu/s640/blogger-image--1248781447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcF80XyIosB9RTrKuj_svjldovXDjJ2jOaBLPV7JjxmjWBaNjQs_OE3rF8Mrt_CWo6Ia-7tx6loQABfgLM-rHCDyutpWoLf7WAAerS_BxU8AG36t0ze0xphVaoClyrTWPedRjC9NLF7acu/s640/blogger-image--1248781447.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This is the weather we left in Key West, Florida</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbuQ7qnzKtp0hUI2FhHCElF9RprjHv77WdwMexY5iX7fDNelg3isXCQ4DYIyr149HrYydkUXbpsQEwJsNyLO01blWx2zhd6p51TAyG8S5wjcoEOF816aTTiBix_lZc8vbCPpXRYKxgz6t/s640/blogger-image--1847226906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbuQ7qnzKtp0hUI2FhHCElF9RprjHv77WdwMexY5iX7fDNelg3isXCQ4DYIyr149HrYydkUXbpsQEwJsNyLO01blWx2zhd6p51TAyG8S5wjcoEOF816aTTiBix_lZc8vbCPpXRYKxgz6t/s640/blogger-image--1847226906.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Some difference!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dEwyq_gvimPtu1bue5BTwHTRQ_o0LTXtl5M2FWcSXIcbLVblyXMXNkVALEehgS_QWGtyYAlYHj4nHMPVXLFlYIOyg_mcZ32eeO3jnJQ-IDzLPwnIuzR0xXNjWL60edNoIeXnGGZqJ14S/s640/blogger-image--690385548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dEwyq_gvimPtu1bue5BTwHTRQ_o0LTXtl5M2FWcSXIcbLVblyXMXNkVALEehgS_QWGtyYAlYHj4nHMPVXLFlYIOyg_mcZ32eeO3jnJQ-IDzLPwnIuzR0xXNjWL60edNoIeXnGGZqJ14S/s640/blogger-image--690385548.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div>

Back in Dublin

Our plane has just landed in Dublin.  It's 7am and grey grey.   This is the weather we left in Key West, Florida Some difference!

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Airport Beach Bar

Key West Airport - possibly the only airport in the world that has a beach area!!!<div><br></div><div>What a nice way to spend my last hour in  Key West Florida!<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLymZqTXkndLYENlWtXLN643NwVZsxDTYCUtjk9wCT7JQFlQ4UHv-tGM0bggaLzkgjwn7iELx_Qd2KogX15Om5TaELlOFV3YY79cxqSnDnME7VolsE6hkyRV-7deSirhgPuyjYCCnOqq_/s640/blogger-image-1475347913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLymZqTXkndLYENlWtXLN643NwVZsxDTYCUtjk9wCT7JQFlQ4UHv-tGM0bggaLzkgjwn7iELx_Qd2KogX15Om5TaELlOFV3YY79cxqSnDnME7VolsE6hkyRV-7deSirhgPuyjYCCnOqq_/s640/blogger-image-1475347913.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYDdOemZUVfEuQg3uBBU_A_n4ugo49lYfVffeHaIvi12A_1YxAxv71cbPNb116y_c8aeFmCC_CAfjxufwTp264-fm37c6cmnTUQa5pF1Nwylsl5KUZNq8f6SJJw4jZ5ocsVcvW47D5N5y/s640/blogger-image--752589925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYDdOemZUVfEuQg3uBBU_A_n4ugo49lYfVffeHaIvi12A_1YxAxv71cbPNb116y_c8aeFmCC_CAfjxufwTp264-fm37c6cmnTUQa5pF1Nwylsl5KUZNq8f6SJJw4jZ5ocsVcvW47D5N5y/s640/blogger-image--752589925.jpg"></a></div><br></div>

Airport Beach Bar

Key West Airport - possibly the only airport in the world that has a beach area!!! What a nice way to spend my last hour in  Key West Florida!

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IWS Babe of the Week...We Go Goo-Goo for The Go-Go's

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Jay, Matt, and the IWS Radio gang will be on the air<b><span style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid/2013/06/23/ratchet-summer-show" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">LIVE today</span></a></span></b> from Noon-2 PM ET on Blog Talk Radio celebrating summertime fun, and few people exemplify and personify summertime fun more than the Go-Go's...<br /><br />First up, the sultry singer who knows how to fondle a microphone, <b>Belinda Carlisle</b>...<br /><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFuC7iiabIEKQf7UUxV_q27nLqNGruY7O3PIzwfUqrQ_hon6Zd2u06kRvibeGoWaE_0GvbazytRbfN38yKGVQKicRtsoZED59JPPxGJN8QHdsJUfx_BCU039N4uvMniLI17NnYE2WtfX8/s1600/Go-Go%2527s+belinda+carlisle+sexy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFuC7iiabIEKQf7UUxV_q27nLqNGruY7O3PIzwfUqrQ_hon6Zd2u06kRvibeGoWaE_0GvbazytRbfN38yKGVQKicRtsoZED59JPPxGJN8QHdsJUfx_BCU039N4uvMniLI17NnYE2WtfX8/s400/Go-Go%2527s+belinda+carlisle+sexy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Supplying the hot licks on lead guitar is <b>Charlotte Caffey</b>.  Talk about a sexual fret...</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BoD17UDuCPkp_9AwKPidcvw-TgGZLwq5W2g1VGEKDB9iW4p017Xb1igXJlhOPGbffTxfYhjOhVxifXIf7T_UfpNg1tLfiORJDYsHr3JLxkC93Z0lM52TMOJVbEDtwIpY8l4fiL-xCt4/s1600/Go-Go%2527s+Charlotte+Caffey+Sexy+Guitar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BoD17UDuCPkp_9AwKPidcvw-TgGZLwq5W2g1VGEKDB9iW4p017Xb1igXJlhOPGbffTxfYhjOhVxifXIf7T_UfpNg1tLfiORJDYsHr3JLxkC93Z0lM52TMOJVbEDtwIpY8l4fiL-xCt4/s400/Go-Go%2527s+Charlotte+Caffey+Sexy+Guitar.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Who's got the beat?  Drummer <b>Gina Schock</b> gots the beat.  She can beat me anytime she'd like...</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaahDTbRmBQJ776kPJOOyOmKy68nLO-R3j4YWxtQfd2hlfqtBhyYGUbNJy0ug7I6Xw1QQydv8beegZGDC-RcNjW0GR950-mBTBI6IIKorE0VII7IagP0IDSI02saq_KzRtBca5yyqmdXw/s1600/Go-Go%2527s+Gina-Shock+Hot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaahDTbRmBQJ776kPJOOyOmKy68nLO-R3j4YWxtQfd2hlfqtBhyYGUbNJy0ug7I6Xw1QQydv8beegZGDC-RcNjW0GR950-mBTBI6IIKorE0VII7IagP0IDSI02saq_KzRtBca5yyqmdXw/s400/Go-Go%2527s+Gina-Shock+Hot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Every band needs a soulful rhythm guitarist and diminutive dominatrix <b>Jane Wiedlin</b>, can stroke the strings...</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyXQsWYyFOuprBrkzccp34QPhN_5OJc2dmYywfUTp1o8e0CxZ_gtmHYY9ClHiw2pVzIMl4tShPFyiOumjp-gx1d5C1ORkvqqFsvwL-KTqVdPq0FYPN1CPZGS9RyZESRc9bu5KVawZ3to/s1600/Go-Go%2527s+Jane+Wiedlin+Sexy+Dominatrix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyXQsWYyFOuprBrkzccp34QPhN_5OJc2dmYywfUTp1o8e0CxZ_gtmHYY9ClHiw2pVzIMl4tShPFyiOumjp-gx1d5C1ORkvqqFsvwL-KTqVdPq0FYPN1CPZGS9RyZESRc9bu5KVawZ3to/s400/Go-Go%2527s+Jane+Wiedlin+Sexy+Dominatrix.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bassist <b>Kathy Valentine</b> could be my Valentine every day of the year.  She is just...plain...sexy...</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTVHUeUBiyl2WOd3ihmA_TKD6SdK0aWlH0MWDMUkM2mZ_o6TObqmg7EP9r-qLA6TqxY7dZW2P3xx6AJs9VX1TPYnhUV3JnCooksE_2TwEivThi89ATaMaCToTt1tff-mo-vjqcis9lPZo/s1600/Go-Go%2527s+Kathy+Valentine+Sexy+Meow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTVHUeUBiyl2WOd3ihmA_TKD6SdK0aWlH0MWDMUkM2mZ_o6TObqmg7EP9r-qLA6TqxY7dZW2P3xx6AJs9VX1TPYnhUV3JnCooksE_2TwEivThi89ATaMaCToTt1tff-mo-vjqcis9lPZo/s400/Go-Go%2527s+Kathy+Valentine+Sexy+Meow.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Put these hot babes together and what do you get?  A wet and smokin' hot vacation...</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8G0lMlOj-Ylk8MBxOebGz1WHXEGxSEnaEAO6Cyy-UHz_3Cb5kw8DnwIO0OW_LEn0SyeVP3a3eOHowlXXHr6wOZpopKjUBjDqFbepLWu0zulsoptsVnwk4HAp4To_sali3l975sCxCtQ/s1600/Go-Go%2527s+Vacation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8G0lMlOj-Ylk8MBxOebGz1WHXEGxSEnaEAO6Cyy-UHz_3Cb5kw8DnwIO0OW_LEn0SyeVP3a3eOHowlXXHr6wOZpopKjUBjDqFbepLWu0zulsoptsVnwk4HAp4To_sali3l975sCxCtQ/s320/Go-Go%2527s+Vacation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />And that is what Jay, Matt, and IWS Radio will be doing today...Celebrating vacations and all things summer. So listen to IWS Radio LIVE today from Noon-2 PM ET on Blog Talk Radio.  It's going to be funny, exciting, and HOT just like summer and just like your hosts.<br /><br />You can catch all the hilarity by clicking <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid/2013/06/23/ratchet-summer-show" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">HERE</span></b></a> and as always, you can call in at 661.244.9852. </div></div>

IWS Babe of the Week...We Go Goo-Goo for The Go-Go's

Jay, Matt, and the IWS Radio gang will be on the air LIVE today from Noon-2 PM ET on Blog Talk Radio celebrating summertime fun, and few p...

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Day two, a repeat?

So far, so good!  I am amazed how fast this as worked on curving my appetite.  My biggest struggle now is going to be changing WHAT I eat vs. how MUCH I eat.  The only side effect I am experiencing is just a little tired.  But so far, I don't have any other side effects.<br /><br />For lunch I ate a ymmy salad and it wasn't even a big salad.  I probably got about 1/3 of the way through and I was feeling really full.  Normally when I eat a salad or  small portion, within an hour or so I am starting to fill up with snacks.  It's been about 3 hours since I ate lunch (late lunch - hey, I like to sleep in ha!) and I can honestly say, I haven't though about food until I started writing this blog.  I will eat dinner shortly but pretty darn excited so far.<br /><br />Tomorrow I plan to get in the pool and try to swim a little - start increasing exercise.  Of course, that will have to be after I clean!  I'm also going to plan my menus for the week and go grocery shopping.  My problem is, I don't like fish - at all.  Nasty, gross, won't even try it.  I'm actually not a big meat eater - I could leave like a vegetarian.  I've considered going vegan, but I love eggs, love cheese, love milk - I think it would be the epic fail.  <br /><br />I need EASY affordable recipe ideas.  If anyone has anything they want to share, please feel free to post it for everyone.  <br /><br />I'm going to try to post recipes and my daily meal diary for all to read.  What I hope to do is keep myself accountable by exposing what I eat - the good, the bad, the ugly!!  So, if I post something that I ate that was maybe not so good for my goal of weight loss, if you know of an alternative to what I ate, then please share!!!!!  I am open to anything!!  <br /><br />YOUR FEEDBACK IS WELCOME!!<br /><br />Cheers!

Day two, a repeat?

So far, so good!  I am amazed how fast this as worked on curving my appetite.  My biggest struggle now is going to be changing WHAT I eat vs...

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Using Botox To Treat Migraines

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Cali Marinaw</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>The use of botulinum toxin injections has advanced tremendously over the last few years. Applications in cosmetic surgery and muscle spasticity disorder are now well recognized and are offered at a number of different centers all over the world. For a short time now, some patients have been receiving botox injections in order to treat their migraines.<br /> <br /> Here, we will be discussing how botox injections can now be utilized for this purpose. <br /> <br /> Background behind this idea<br /> <br /> Paralyzation occurs in the muscles due to botox injections, and because of this, the muscles stay in a relaxed position as they don't receive the nerve signals. A bacterium called Clostridium botulinum causes this result. The main usage is for muscles different parts of the eyes, face and body to be relaxed, which will increase muscle tone and make the general muscle function be improved.<br /> <br /> Migraines and botox <br /> <br /> Migraine is primarily mediated by the release of the neuro-chemical serotonin. Treatments of botox do not affect that, but there is evidence that shows patients who find relief from migraine pain from the treatments.<br /> <br /> People are looking forward to the new research that is being done that seems to show that migraines can be reduced using these treatments. The recommendations from the studies is to inject the botox into the scalp at around 31 -39 different points in patients. There are a number of theories that have been postulated:<br /> <br /> First, that it blocks the nerves from transmitting pain signals.<br /> <br /> After that, the muscles in the scalp are relaxed, which in turn, causes the brain to have a lower blood pressure.<br /> <br /> Patients are reporting less headaches, and less severe when they occur, although the research to document this is still ongoing at this time.<br /> <br /> When a patient reports migraine headaches that happen for over 15 days a month, and do not receive relief from other types of treatment are sometimes recommended to have botox injections. Analgesic overuse headaches happen when a patient over5uses painkiller medications, so this must be examined for patients as well. <br /> <br /> Each patient is different, so in cases where botox is administered 2 times and the patient has no benefit then other options should be considered, but if it makes headaches occur less than 15 days per month, this is another signal of success.<br /> <br /> Are risks a factor?<br /> <br /> It's possible to have an allergic reaction or some neck pain from botox treatment, but that only happens to a tiny percentage of patients.<br /> <br /> Summary<br /> <br /> Migraines are now being treated by injections of botox, but it's still a new application for this condition. It's looking good for the future of botox for treating chronic migraine symptoms, but more studies need to be done to have more conclusive evidence. <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'>Get the best <a href="http://iapam.com/botox-training">training for botox</a> with the IAPAM. Learn <a href="http://iapam.com/advanced-dermal-filler-training">train for dermal fillers</a> with us.</div><br /> </div><br />

Using Botox To Treat Migraines

By Cali Marinaw The use of botulinum toxin injections has advanced tremendously over the last few years. Applications in cosmetic surger...

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BRAZIL AND TURKEY:

<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> <span id="_ctl1_lblStorySlug"></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlItmN0FdRBMbn-1iMZ2LFyYydtZsUOk61DSfH5-EnSNHADeMttVxFa57UJpgCWR6GV2rFRLGDRGkLti2fn3ECf4eoSN57f2YiNn384sZtXqsMuqpvAlS8ESLaLz37ftErdlKnP3S8dO6z/s1600/turkey-brazil.jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlItmN0FdRBMbn-1iMZ2LFyYydtZsUOk61DSfH5-EnSNHADeMttVxFa57UJpgCWR6GV2rFRLGDRGkLti2fn3ECf4eoSN57f2YiNn384sZtXqsMuqpvAlS8ESLaLz37ftErdlKnP3S8dO6z/s1600/turkey-brazil.jpeg.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">  </span><span style="color: #000099;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span id="_ctl1_lblStoryTitle"> </span></span></b></span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #000099;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span id="_ctl1_lblStoryTitle">THE GLOBAL MIDDLE CLASS RISES</span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #000099;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span id="_ctl1_lblStoryTitle">NEXT STOP ARGENTINA </span></span></b></span></span></div></div></td><td><br /><br /></td></tr><tr> <td><br /><span id="_ctl1_lblStoryAuthor">By <b><span style="color: #000099;"><a href="http://www.theglobalist.com/AuthorBiography.aspx?AuthorId=106" target="_self">Uwe Bott</a></span></b></span> </td><td></td><td></td> <td><br /></td> </tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="intro" style="color: #666666;"> <span id="_ctl1_lblStoryIntro" style="width: 339px;"> </span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="intro"><span id="_ctl1_lblStoryIntro" style="width: 339px;">This month has been marked by widespread mass protests across cities in both Brazil and Turkey. Protesters in the two countries say they are fighting back against government heavy-handedness and misplaced priorities. Uwe Bott argues that the commonality is a rising middle class in both, who have seen growth and development slow sharply and suddenly.</span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <br /> <span id="_ctl1_lblStoryBody"><img align="left" src="http://www.theglobalist.com/images/Dropcaps/B.gif" />razil's modern economic history is marred by decades of boom and bust cycles checkered with periods of high and hyper-inflation, debt default as well as political and social erosion. <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 151px;"><tbody><tr><td><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="width: 130px;"><tbody><tr><td><img height="6" src="http://www.theglobalist.com/images/callouts/horizontal.gif" width="130" /></td></tr><tr><td><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Demonstrations in Turkey and Brazil are in fact the direct result of the countries' economic success.</b></span></td></tr><tr><td><img height="6" src="http://www.theglobalist.com/images/callouts/horizontal.gif" width="130" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Turkey's economic history was equally littered with failed economic experiments that brought about chronically high inflation, impoverishing many of its citizens. Like Brazil, Turkey was run by a narrow elite, which — with periodic disruptions — was democratically elected, but often served itself rather than the people. <br /> Brazil started implementing a more orthodox macroeconomic framework in the 1990s, containing inflation and providing a path for more sustainable and less volatile growth. <br /> And change came to Turkey in November 2002, when after many false starts, an Islamist-rooted party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the general elections.<br /><br /> As a result of macroeconomic policy adjustments, the economies of Brazil and Turkey performed rather strongly during this century. <br /> Admittedly they were helped by a rather favorable global economic environment for much of that time period, but the accomplishments are nevertheless very impressive. <br /> The two countries' accelerating growth rates and accompanying social policies lifted many people out of poverty.<br /><br /> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 151px;"><tbody><tr><td><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="width: 130px;"><tbody><tr><td><img height="6" src="http://www.theglobalist.com/images/callouts/horizontal.gif" width="130" /></td></tr><tr><td><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Growing middle classes are far less tolerant when it comes to governments performing inadequately.</b></span></td></tr><tr><td><img height="6" src="http://www.theglobalist.com/images/callouts/horizontal.gif" width="130" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>According to the OECD, Brazil's middle class has risen from 29% of the population in the 1980s to 52% in 2009. In Turkey's case, income per capita nearly tripled between 2002 and 2011. This too suggests a swelling middle class. <br /> As large-scale demonstrations have bedeviled these two countries over the last couple of weeks, many pundits have focused on the narrow issues that might have triggered these demonstrations. <br /> Few have recognized that these demonstrations are in fact the direct result of the two countries' economic success.<br /><br /> In 1958, John J. Johnson wrote a seminal book entitled: "Political Change in Latin America: The Emergence of the Middle Sectors." <br /> Its main premise was that Latin American countries were moving towards liberal democracy and that the main driver for this movement was the growth of the middle class, largely urbanized and more educated. <br /> Johnson got a little ahead of himself as he overestimated the growth of Latin America's middle class at the time and misjudged speed with which the political regimes in the region would mature. <br /> Nevertheless, Johnson's key assumption was right. In applying his idea to Brazil and Turkey and their swelling middle classes today, one must note that there is not one homogenous middle class.<br /><br /> Not all members of the growing middle classes in Brazil and Turkey are urban — and not all members are progressive. Recognizing this distinction also explains why the current upheaval in Brazil and Turkey seems to send contradictory messages. <br /> The reason is that the demonstrating middle classes are made up of different components, each with their own grievances.<br /><br /> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 151px;"><tbody><tr><td><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="width: 130px;"><tbody><tr><td><img height="6" src="http://www.theglobalist.com/images/callouts/horizontal.gif" width="130" /></td></tr><tr><td><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>On human development, Brazil and Turkey rank behind Azerbaijan, Albania, Ukraine and Venezuela.</b></span></td></tr><tr><td><img height="6" src="http://www.theglobalist.com/images/callouts/horizontal.gif" width="130" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>There are those more wedded to the status quo and those, such as better-educated workers, who demand a continuum of progress in economic, social and political dimensions. The latter group has grown especially large in Brazil and Turkey and that tilts the message of the middle class movement more towards the progressive rather than the conservative reactionary. <br /> Still, the message is not uniform. <br /> The question then arises, why are these demonstrations occurring now? There are several answers to this question. First and foremost, both countries' growth slowed down dramatically in 2012. <br /> The Brazilian economy grew at only 0.9% and in spite of fiscal and monetary stimulus in 2013, growth has accelerated only fractionally. In<br /><br />Turkey too, growth fell from 8.5% in 2011 to 2.8% in 2012. <br /> This slowdown is difficult to reconcile for the new middle classes, because their expectations of continuously improving their standards of living have risen. <br /> Also both countries have made progress reining in inflation, but their inflation rates are still high in comparison to their peers. This is a costly tax on the middle class. <br /> National savings rates are also low compared to other advancing countries. In both cases, they stand just above 15% of GDP, low compared to a rate of nearly 33% in Malaysia. <br /> In Brazil's case, low savings rates have triggered low investment rates, which bode ill for future economic growth. <br /> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 151px;"><tbody><tr><td><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="width: 130px;"><tbody><tr><td><img height="6" src="http://www.theglobalist.com/images/callouts/horizontal.gif" width="130" /></td></tr><tr><td><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>High inflation rates are a costly tax on the middle class.</b></span></td></tr><tr><td><img height="6" src="http://www.theglobalist.com/images/callouts/horizontal.gif" width="130" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>In Turkey's case, investment rates have been high, but needed to be financed from abroad. That has caused unsustainable current account deficits. Growing middle classes are also far less tolerant when it comes to governments performing inadequately. Delivery of services, such as education and health, is poor in both Brazil and Turkey. <br /> In its last scorecard on educational attainment referred to as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the OECD found that Turkey and Brazil ranked especially poor in math and science. <br /> In math, Turkey ranked 41st out of 62 countries, while Brazil was in 55th place. In science, Turkey was 40th and Brazil 50th. <br /> In the UNDP's 2013 Human Development Index, Brazil ranked 85th and Turkey 90th out of 186 countries. <br /> To put this in perspective, both countries were ranked behind such nations as Azerbaijan, Albania, Ukraine and Venezuela. <br />Where will the current protests take these two countries? <br /> Much will depend on how the democratically elected leaders of Turkey, Prime Minister Erdogan, and the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, will react to these challenges. <br /> The aspirations of the middle class are colliding with the current capacity of these countries to deliver. <br /> <br /><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 151px;"><tbody><tr><td><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="width: 130px;"><tbody><tr><td><img height="6" src="http://www.theglobalist.com/images/callouts/horizontal.gif" width="130" /></td></tr><tr><td><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>The middle classes in Turkey and Brazil have grown too large to acquiesce.</b></span></td></tr><tr><td><img height="6" src="http://www.theglobalist.com/images/callouts/horizontal.gif" width="130" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>At this juncture, Prime Minister Erdogan seems to be taking this collision very personally. He is trying to define the street as illegitimate. President Rousseff, on the other hand, is striking a conciliatory note, which might be related to the fact that she is a member of the leftist Workers Party. <br /> Both Erdogan's rejection and Rousseff's conciliation may in the end fail to meet their respective objectives. <br /> Simply put, the middle class genie is out of the bottle. The middle classes in Turkey and Brazil have grown too large to acquiesce. They will eventually succeed in putting conditions into place that give them a better chance to meet their aspirations. <br /> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Nobody can predict exactly how this will evolve and how long it will take. Current demonstrations in Turkey and Brazil may be destabilizing in the short term, but they are a measure of success and they promise to advance both nations in the long term. </span></span>

BRAZIL AND TURKEY:

   THE GLOBAL MIDDLE CLASS RISES NEXT STOP ARGENTINA ...

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After Chemo | The Scientist Magazine

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); "><span class="dropcap" style="display: inline-block; font-size: 3em; float: left; font-weight: bold; margin: 9px 4px 0px 0px; ">W</span>hen my mother was treated for inflammatory breast cancer 20 years ago, I watched as she forgot appointments, where she had put her keys, and whether or not she had taken her medications. Once she even put a chicken still in its wrapping into the oven and didn't realize the mistake until the plastic began to smoke. As a psychologist and a pharmacologist, I suspected what many patients complain of to their oncologists: that the chemotherapy was affecting her ability to remember and to reason.</p><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 1.65 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in 2013. For many cancers, the prognosis will be very good. For example, 90 percent of breast cancer patients will survive their cancers for at least 5 years. But while cancer chemotherapy is lifesaving, it also has a number of post-treatment adverse effects. Despite the fact that most chemotherapeutic agents do not enter the brain in significant amounts, recent research has shown they can directly and indirectly produce a number of acute and delayed changes to the central nervous system, such as headaches, vision or hearing loss, and cognitive dysfunction, colloquially called "chemo fog" or "chemo brain." These effects can last for years, then dissipate, or, when they occur in young children, can ripple into adulthood.</p><p style="margin-top: 14px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); position: static; z-index: auto; ">In part because of my own experience and in part because my colleague Robert Raffa at Temple University suggested I collaborate with him, I began to research the phenomenon of chemo fog. What I learned at the start was that little preclinical or animal research definitively linked chemotherapy to cognitive effects, and some researchers didn't believe that chemotherapy was really responsible for the observed decline. In recent years, however, more clinical and preclinical researchers have begun to tease out the contribution of chemo, and have created models that are a useful first step in developing interventions that could mitigate the cognitive decline.</p><h3 style="margin: 25px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; font-family: ProximaNova-Semibold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.2em; letter-spacing: 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); ">From the clinic</h3><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">It is challenging to pinpoint whether the drugs used to kill cancer cells are really causing cognitive deficits, because there are so many confounding factors that cloud the observations. Patients are often administered multiple cancer chemotherapeutic agents in different phases of treatment, as well as additional drugs to mitigate the accompanying nausea, fatigue, suppressed immune function, and anemia. Aside from this battery of drugs, surgery can also affect cognition.</p><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">In addition to factors that can affect the brain directly, chemotherapy has been known to induce menopause in premenopausal women and bring on depression and anxiety, both of which can affect cognition.<a href="http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34848/title/After-Chemo/#ref" style="color: rgb(45, 134, 203); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; "><sup style="font-size: 0.6em; ">1,2</sup></a> What makes it even more difficult to pinpoint the effects specifically caused by chemotherapy is that not all cancer patients will exhibit cognitive deficits—the prevalence ranges from 17 to 75 percent in breast cancer patients, for instance, depending on the drugs used and the cognitive tests employed by the study. And patients can experience the effects years or even a decade after treatment has ended. Thus, controversy remains over the existence, extent, and underlying mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced cognitive dysfunction.</p><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">A number of clinical trials and animal studies have tried to address some of the confounding factors and reveal the precise contribution of chemotherapy treatments. Part of the difficulty in identifying cognitive changes in humans can be attributed to how and when baseline measures of cognitive function are taken. Chemotherapy-induced cognitive deficits are best measured with a full battery of neuropsychological tests administered by a psychologist trained in performing such surveys. However, these tests can be expensive and time-consuming, so about half the clinical studies in this area have used simpler, but less-informative, screening measures. In longitudinal studies, the baseline control tests can be administered before diagnosis to rule out the emotional impact of the news on cognition, before surgery to remove tumors, and after surgery but before chemotherapy, which together provide results that aren't easily comparable. These methodological differences add to the variability in the field, and researchers have begun to call for consensus in the timing and quality of testing.</p><p style="margin-top: 14px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); position: static; z-index: auto; ">Despite these difficulties, neuroscientists have been making progress in identifying some of the underlying brain structures that chemo may be impacting—information that will be helpful in categorizing the deficits and knowing what to test for in cognitive experiments. Imaging studies have revealed volume decreases in areas of the brain that correlated with poor attention and impaired memory. Functionally, even years after chemo, patients showed lower levels of responsiveness in both the prefrontal cortex—which is involved in executive functions such as decision-making and social behavior—and the parahippocampal gyrus, which feeds into the hippocampus and is involved in memory formation and retrieval. Using magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging, which produces a structural picture of the functionality of the neural tracts, researchers have also found decreased structural integrity of white matter in a number of brain regions, including frontal cortex, as well as white-matter microstructure damage in breast cancer survivors.<a href="http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34848/title/After-Chemo/#ref" style="color: rgb(45, 134, 203); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; "><sup style="font-size: 0.6em; ">3</sup></a> </p><p style="margin-top: 14px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); position: static; z-index: auto; ">The majority of clinical studies examining chemotherapy-induced cognitive deficits have been performed in women with breast cancer because of how long they tend to survive after treatment and because the chemo regimens are somewhat more standardized than for other cancers. However, the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study has also been following patients treated as children with chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and measuring the prevalence of chemotherapy-related cognitive deficits later in life, known as late effects. These effects, which include impairments in attention, working memory, IQ score, and processing speed, manifest in adolescence and young adulthood in 40–70 percent of ALL survivors. Evidence from neuropsychological and physiological testing has indicated involvement of the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and white matter, but few imaging studies have been done in children to confirm the areas implicated by cognitive tests.</p><div>More ...</div><div><br></div></div><a href="http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34848/title/After-Chemo/">http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34848/title/After-Chemo/</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

After Chemo | The Scientist Magazine

W hen my mother was treated for inflammatory breast cancer 20 years ago, I watched as she forgot appointments, where she had put her keys, a...

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Cancer Clinical Trials of Tomorrow | The Scientist Magazine®

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); "><span class="dropcap" style="display: inline-block; font-size: 3em; float: left; font-weight: bold; margin: 9px 4px 0px 0px; ">W</span>e stand on the cusp of significant change in the fundamental structure of cancer clinical trials, as the emphasis begins to shift from large-scale studies of relatively unselected patients to smaller studies testing more narrowly targeted therapies in molecularly characterized populations.</p><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">The previous (and still current) generation of trials established the cancer treatment standards used today. Trials that demonstrated the value of combination chemotherapy in the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer are an excellent example. Meticulous development of treatment regimens through Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials, followed by large-scale comparisons of the new regimens to established treatment protocols, have defined the modern practice of oncology for the last 4 decades. Future cancer clinical trials will be very different from those of the past, adopting a more personalized, sometimes called "precision," approach.</p><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">It is, of course, not entirely true that past clinical trials did not include efforts to target treatments to the right patients. Where possible, targeted therapies are already being implemented. Using the presence of endocrine receptors to guide endocrine therapy for breast cancer was one of the first forays into molecular selection of patients. Unfortunately, the ability to select subgroups of patients for study has been severely curtailed by a still-limited knowledge of human cancer biology.</p><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">This is rapidly changing, however, thanks to advances in genomics and comprehensive cancer biology research over the last decade. Large-scale efforts, such as <a href="http://cancergenome.nih.gov/" style="color: rgb(45, 134, 203); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; ">The Cancer Genome Atla</a>s, are comprehensively defining many of the crucial molecular characteristics of human malignancies by illuminating genetic alterations that are clinically and biologically important, and which, by virtue of their functional roles, are viable targets for cancer treatment. At the same time, the ability to design small-molecule inhibitors of specific cancer targets is rapidly accelerating. In 2011, two new agents exemplified the power of these trends: crizotinib was approved for the treatment of lung cancers that harbor a specific mutation in the ALK gene, and vemurafenib was approved for the treatment of melanomas with a specific <em>BRAF</em> mutation. In both cases, the drugs were approved along with companion diagnostic tests that identify patients with the target mutation, who are therefore likely to benefit from treatment.</p><h3 style="margin: 25px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; font-family: ProximaNova-Semibold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.2em; letter-spacing: 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); ">Smaller, more precise trials ahead</h3><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">Clinical trials are being transformed by these trends. It will not happen overnight, as the knowledge of cancer biology and the availability of targeted agents are uneven. Unselected populations of patients will still be studied, but it is inevitable that there will be a rise in the number of trials that incorporate molecular tumor testing prior to treatment, with treatment selection informed by the molecular features of each individual's cancer. Such personalized trials have the potential to yield better outcomes by increasing the probability of response and to employ less toxic therapies by increasingly targeting cancer-specific functions, rather than normal proliferative functions.</p><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">To the extent that targeted therapies will prove more effective when given to selected patients, clinical trials should get dramatically smaller. Trial size is largely driven by how effective the treatment is expected to be, so fewer participants are needed when the therapeutic benefit is larger. But the promise of smaller trials will not to be universal; for example, when two targeted agents are compared to one another in the same molecularly selected population, the differences in efficacy may be small and larger trials will be required.</p><blockquote style="float: right; color: rgb(203, 45, 45); font-size: 24px; line-height: 30px; max-width: 310px; min-width: 150px; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em 1em; padding: 0px; font-family: ProximaNova-Regular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 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); "><p style="margin: 14px 0px; ">As approaches to cancer treatment advance, there will need to be continual engagement with patients and with cancer survivors.</p></blockquote><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">Furthermore, smaller trials may not necessarily move faster or be easier to complete, as they will require the "right patients," who may be hard to find. Many of the mutations that represent promising targets are present in a minority of tumors. Today, molecular characterization of tumors is often done as part of the screening process for each trial. Many, and sometimes most, of the patients prove ineligible, making this approach frustrating and difficult to carry out. A better avenue of attack would be to make comprehensive molecular characterization of tumors a routine part of establishing a patient's eligibility for a range of therapies. With the plummeting cost of genomic analysis, one can envision a day in the near future when a complete cancer genome (and perhaps other molecular evaluations) becomes a standard component of an initial diagnostic evaluation. Patients will be armed with molecular information about their own tumors, and thus able to make more-informed decisions about standard and investigational therapies that match the mutations driving their cancer.</p><h3 style="margin: 25px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; font-family: ProximaNova-Semibold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.2em; letter-spacing: 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); ">New challenges</h3><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">The road to personalized and targeted treatment strategies will offer new challenges. For rare targets that are present in a minority of cases across many different types of cancers, one will have to consider clinical trials that include a number of different cancers. There are many design pitfalls to such trials, chiefly the additional clinical and molecular heterogeneity introduced by the inclusion of more than one cancer type. Despite these challenges, it will inevitably make sense in some settings to select patients who share a particular tumor biology, regardless of the tissue of origin.</p><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">Another major challenge is how to combine targeted therapies to improve clinical outcomes. To date, targeted therapies have not been able to cure advanced solid tumors. Clinical benefits, while sometimes quite impressive when compared to marginally effective treatments, still fall far short. It stands to reason that redundant survival and growth pathways enable tumors to overcome therapies that inhibit a single target. The simultaneous inhibition of relevant redundant pathways may yield dramatically better results, but will also dramatically increase the complexity of molecularly personalized clinical trials.</p><p style="margin: 14px 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); ">As approaches to cancer treatment advance, there will need to be continual engagement with patients and with cancer survivors. Fewer than 5 percent of adult cancer patients participate in a clinical trial. To carry out meaningful clinical trials in the future, that number must increase. This will be most important for treatments that target relatively rare mutations; a large number of potential volunteers will have to be screened to identify a sufficient number who harbor the relevant target. To succeed, we must partner with a much larger fraction of cancer patients.</p><p style="margin-top: 14px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; 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); position: static; z-index: auto; ">Designing and executing future cancer clinical trials will not be easy, but physician-scientists are armed with a fast-growing body of omics-informed knowledge with which to surmount these hurdles. <br><br><em><strong><a href="http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/schools/school-of-medicine/academic-programs/graduate-studies/faculty/grad-studies-faculty.cfm?facultyid=471" style="color: rgb(45, 134, 203); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; ">Tomasz M. Beer</a> is deputy director of the <a href="http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/cancer/about-us/" style="color: rgb(45, 134, 203); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; ">Knight Cancer Institute</a> and a professor of medicine at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. He is the coauthor of </strong></em><strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tomasz-M.-Beer-M.D./e/B0080TPOEA" style="color: rgb(45, 134, 203); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; ">Cancer Clinical Trials: A Commonsense Guide to Experimental Cancer Therapies and Clinical Trials</a>.</strong><em><strong> Written for people living with cancer, the book is accompanied by a blog (<a href="http://www.cancer-clinical-trials.com/" style="color: rgb(45, 134, 203); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; ">www.cancer-clinical-trials.com</a>) that seeks to disseminate knowledge about clinical trials.</strong></em></p></div><a href="http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34761/title/Cancer-Clinical-Trials-of-Tomorrow/">http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34761/title/Cancer-Clinical-Trials-of-Tomorrow/</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Cancer Clinical Trials of Tomorrow | The Scientist Magazine®

W e stand on the cusp of significant change in the fundamental structure of cancer clinical trials, as the emphasis begins to shift from lar...

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Today is My Due Date!

This last week of pregnancy is just really giving it to me.  Since last Monday's appointment, I have been struggling every day with my sore bum. <br /><br />I just couldn't take it anymore yesterday, so I scheduled a last minute appointment at my OBGYN.  I met with a midwife at around 11:30 AM and she confirmed the severity of those painful, protruding veins.  As some other doctors have been saying, they know the baby is going to be big (now they're estimating 10 lbs).  I told the midwife how concerned I was about pushing and how much worse that would make the hemorrhoids.  She shared in my concern, stating that if I am birthing a large baby I'm going to need to push hard.  If I have any anxieties surrounding pushing hard because of the hemorrhoids, I could potentially go through a natural delivery for nothing - causing me to have a c-section anyhow, and then I've <i>really</i> hurt myself.   The thing with hemorrhoids is that they never go away.  They can recede back up inside your colon, but sometimes they don't depending on how severe they are. <br /><br />But, it gets better.<br /><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="http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/cat-saturday-231.jpg?w=500&h=1083" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/cat-saturday-231.jpg?w=500&h=1083" width="292" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This will for SURE be Charles!</td></tr></tbody></table>On top of the fact that I went in because of my sort butt, my blood pressure was also slightly elevated (in the 130s).  That's not really a bad reading on average, but for me it is.  Pre-pregnancy by BP was on the low end (in the 90s) and during pregnancy it's hovered between the 100s, never going above 120.  The midwife was concerned I could be suffering from preeclampsia so she sent me to the hospital.  She also told me to be prepared to deliver the baby that day, especially if they found I was starting to have early signs of it. <br /><br />Needless to say, I was in total shock when I left the doctor's office.  I knew my blood pressure was steadily rising as I drove home to grab Joel.  I was so nervous - I could've had a baby later that day!  Of course, I didn't have my hospital bag packed (totally procrastinating on this), so I just grabbed a change of clothes, the camera and we were off.  Once they got me checked in, my blood pressure had risen into the 140s - no surprise there!  I was so nervous and scared - mainly because of the increased blood pressure, and less because of the impending delivery. <br /><br />They monitored me for a few hours and also drew blood.  It turned out I did <i>not</i> have preeclampsia (thank you JESUS!), but I did have a urinary tract infection and didn't even know it.  They attributed the higher BP to the pain I'm dealing with because of the hemorrhoids.  I was also experiencing contractions while I was there (didn't even know it!), and they said they suspected I was contracting because of the UTI - I guess those infections can cause that. <br /><br />Now, I was told when I left my doctor's office not to eat or drink anything else from now until they're done with me at the hospital.  So once my test results came back, I asked the nurse if I could finally have a drink of water because I was parched and so hot!  She said I could while I waited for the doctor to come and discharge me.  I knew I wanted to talk c-section for Monday's induction, so I anxiously awaited the doctor's arrival.  Well, the doctor had just gotten out of surgery so they sent a midwife.  I explained to her why I was there in the first place and she was completely fine with me having a c-section, but she had to go clear it with the doctor.  Dr. Andre came in and she talked to me about my entire situation and agreed it was the best approach.  I had never met Dr. Andre before, but I did like her and she said she would be performing my surgery on Monday morning at 7:30 AM!<br /><br />Yesterday was quite a day, needless to say.  However, I am so happy and relieved to know I won't be making my sore bum any worse and it can hopefully start to heal once the little lady makes an appearance.  Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers!<br /><br /><br />

Baby Busbee Pregnancy Today is My Due Date!

This last week of pregnancy is just really giving it to me.  Since last Monday's appointment, I have been struggling every day with my s...

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GERMANY AND IRAN

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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><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";"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><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";"></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQk1J_BpoHI27nvw6F4lZbfE8KL5VOoSp7F_2sDSm68pMH7xkbkSjTt9wHsrPWLRUZE17LyGk0Wy2Bs4Yu1AnQLj7dpKrN_rQXbSqFVQd6jNWbJYpskLTTSUuek8dlHjhmuRITXq_N8tk/s1600/iran-germany-flags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQk1J_BpoHI27nvw6F4lZbfE8KL5VOoSp7F_2sDSm68pMH7xkbkSjTt9wHsrPWLRUZE17LyGk0Wy2Bs4Yu1AnQLj7dpKrN_rQXbSqFVQd6jNWbJYpskLTTSUuek8dlHjhmuRITXq_N8tk/s400/iran-germany-flags.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></div><br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THE NEXT ROUND </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Via German-Foreign-Policy.com</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the aftermath of IRAN'S presidential elections, GERMAN foreign policy specialists and government advisors are pushing for a new round in the power struggle with Teheran. Even before votes were cast, GERMAN specialists were calling for using the personnel change to launch a new round in the dispute over IRAN'S nuclear program. The conditions are now considered unusually favorable. The winner of the elections, Hassan Rohani is "in favor of compromises in the nuclear dispute and a normalization of relations with the USA." Whereas some experts on IRAN are pleading for using cooperation programs, "killing Teheran with kindness" - others are still in favor of pursuing confrontation approaches. For example, one of Chancellor Helmut Kohl's former advisors proposes that the more than 3,000 members of the People's Mujahedin of IRAN, trapped in IRAQ, be taken from that country. In the past, the West had considered them as a possible core for a subversive military insurgent movement in IRAN. The EU should also address the IRANIAN people directly - for example, using internet PR campaigns or through the recently founded "European Endowment for Democracy," which has the task of strengthening subversive forces against undesirable regimes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><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";">COMPROMISES IN THE NUCLEAR DISPUTE</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even before the IRANIAN presidential elections, GERMAN specialists in foreign policy were pleading for a readjustment of GERMANY'S and the EU's approach to Teheran. The pending new constellation of the IRANIAN establishment offers a good "opportunity" for doing this, explains, for example, Cornelius Adebahr, an associate fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). Since Hassan Rohani has won the elections, experts are now insisting even more on progressing in the negotiations. The moment is seen as advantageous, because Rohani is considered part of a political spectrum that is more open to the West, than that of his predecessor President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. Also preceding the elections, IRAN specialist Bahman Nirumand, speculated that he may even "introduce a fundamentally new foreign policy." Rohani "strongly criticized Ahmadinejad's foreign policy" declaring that "he does not master the art of diplomatic negotiation," but rather used "inflammatory rhetoric, which has brought the country to the brink of war." Rohani, on the other hand, "seeks compromises in the nuclear dispute and a normalization of relations with the USA."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><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";">WEAKENING IRAN WITH COOPERATION HAS BEEN REPEATEDLY DEMANDED BY GERMANY</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6H5Kmpq6Bk_mUXUAr7xKPGz8MjGvG3oU8IlVxJcmQ8Z1FBZ-M_-Zi4DIzM8n8HdMBHSnYnzJV37yfcJp2JfZiSAr7IJXK5OV04zrAaLY5BppbALCbZQu04YLG1QggXXyHbUtcXsYG03w/s1600/NA-BA946_GERIRA_NS_20091002190027.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6H5Kmpq6Bk_mUXUAr7xKPGz8MjGvG3oU8IlVxJcmQ8Z1FBZ-M_-Zi4DIzM8n8HdMBHSnYnzJV37yfcJp2JfZiSAr7IJXK5OV04zrAaLY5BppbALCbZQu04YLG1QggXXyHbUtcXsYG03w/s320/NA-BA946_GERIRA_NS_20091002190027.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A plea for an "embracing strategy" is one of the proposals for the approach to Teheran, now making the rounds in Berlin. As the IRANIAN-ISRAELI foreign policy expert, Meir Javedanfar wrote in "Internationale Politik", the sanctions against IRAN are showing effects: they "could become an existential threat to the regime." The West should therefore intensify the negotiations. One should not "get tired" of "making proposals to the other side." In the long run, Teheran would not be able to evade them. Javedanfar is circumscribing the attempt to wear down the adversary using means of cooperation rather than direct confrontation. For example, "imagine a boxing match. Rather than throwing punches at the contender, you bear-hug him. It is the tying him up that wins points and weakens the adversary." Weakening IRAN with cooperation has been repeatedly demanded by GERMAN foreign policy specialists. The specialized journal "Internationale Politik" calls this strategy "killing with kindness."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><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";">SUPPORT THE RESISTANCE</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even though the "embrace strategy" is gaining ground in Berlin since Rohani's electoral victory, proposals of aggressive confrontation have still remained on the table. Horst Teltschik, a former advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who served from 1999 to 2008 as the director of the Munich Security Conference, pleads for such an approach. Teltschik demands that "the opposition forces in IRAN" must be "given the public signal and therefore the assurance that their resistance is not only being honored, (...) but also supported." This expert makes his call even more concrete with a demand "to free the People's Mujahedin of IRAN (MEK) from the grip of the IRAQI leadership." (The more than 3,000 member People's Mujahedin is currently being held in Bagdad by the pro-IRANIAN IRAQI government.) For some time, Teltschik has been campaigning for providing MEK asylum in GERMANY - an unusual step for GERMANY, which usually turns refugees away. At times, over the past few years, the MEK had been considered a core element for a subversive military movement in IRAN. It should "be politically supported," according to Kohl's former advisor.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><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";">Background Information</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SEVENTY PERCENT OF IRAN'S 74 MILLION PEOPLE ARE UNDER 35</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/10/iran.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/10/iran.html</a></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IRAN: WEAPON FOR CHANGE - DEMOGRAPHY</span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgNJtpeWjUVoeAcDSoODLD0LxqHZR0RYLqDts2Wv5cOaTbUp8kJ3QvZTTP0SjBNIdV7ofRiUmKbaLi6yZ5c_1nPu7G1ojhDHvNqvEVE3YY0HSMgPCj_7fjzaraLRd_Kai-GRZO_R_jx51/s1600/6a00d83451608369e200e552e6415c8834-800pi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgNJtpeWjUVoeAcDSoODLD0LxqHZR0RYLqDts2Wv5cOaTbUp8kJ3QvZTTP0SjBNIdV7ofRiUmKbaLi6yZ5c_1nPu7G1ojhDHvNqvEVE3YY0HSMgPCj_7fjzaraLRd_Kai-GRZO_R_jx51/s1600/6a00d83451608369e200e552e6415c8834-800pi.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WHILE THE U.S. PURPORTS TO HAVE A STRATEGY FOR NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS, WHY IS THERE NO STRATEGY FOR WOOING THE YOUNG IN IRAN?</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Death to AMERICA" has been the rallying cry of IRAN'S Islamic Revolution since the late 70s, and images of IRANIAN radicals chanting the regime's favorite slogan have made a lasting impression in AMERICAN minds.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But there is a huge misunderstanding in the West about IRANIANS as religious fanatics. For many young IRANIANS, hatred of their own government is all consuming, and they stand fiercely against the corrupt religious regime. So why wouldn't we consider anyone who hates the current IRANIAN regime as possible allies?</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SEVENTY PERCENT OF IRAN'S 74 MILLION PEOPLE ARE UNDER 35</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and have no real memory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Fifty percent of the IRANIAN population is under 25 and very well educated. Many of these young people joined the democracy protests in 2009, but were severely beaten and are now afraid to speak out against their country. While the 2009 demonstrations didn't lead to an EGYPT-style revolution, they did permanently alter the landscape of IRANIAN politics.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To the dismay of the IRANIAN government, and despite their strong arming tactics, their youth often look upon the UNITED STATES, if not warmly, at least with some jealousy. Many young IRANIANS have access to the Internet and satellite television, which is banned but still widely used. And they long for what AMERICANS enjoy: freedom, liberty, equality and justice. They often describe themselves as the "burnt generation," and many young IRANIAN bloggers say they await the opportunity to once again take to the streets to express their disapproval of their spiritual leadership's aggressive policies.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IRAN IS ONE OF THE MOST TECH-SAVVY SOCIETIES</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Broadcasting Board of Governors conducted a phone survey in March and reported that over one third of IRANIANS watch satellite television. The IRANIAN police go house to house and take the dishes away, but most do not issue any fines. Pirated music, videos and video games are also widespread. Many IRANIAN youths push the legal limits sometimes to a breaking point. Millions go to websites such as Facebook that are blocked by the government but accessible to anyone with some technical knowledge. IRAN is one of the most tech-savvy societies in the developing world, with an estimated 28 million Internet users, led by youth.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According to the UNITED STATES Institute of Peace, "<b>IRANIAN youth are among the most politically active in the 57 nations of the Islamic world and represent one of the greatest long-term threats to the current form of theocratic rule. IRAN'S youth are increasingly pivotal to elections. After the 1979 revolution, the voting age was lowered to 15, but later raised to 16 then 18, as the theocrats recognized the youth's political power. </b>The young constitute nearly 40 percent of the electorate, a number expected to grow over the next decade. Whether they vote, and how, will be a major factor in the 2013 parliamentary elections, the regime's next official test."</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IRAN is one of the youngest societies in the world, skewing politics, the economy and social pressures, and the sheer number of well-educated youth is one of the biggest threats to the current regime. But even with a university degree, it takes two to three years to find a job, and many are chronically unemployed, left frustrated, angry and ready for change. According to the IMF, IRAN has one of the world's highest rates of brain drain.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In April, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Al Arabiya News</span> reported, "The increasing infighting between Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and President Ahmadinejad has given even more hope to the many young IRANIANS in the pro-democracy movement. The infighting between these leaders is more than an indication of their lack of popular support. It is a sign of their weakness and myopia, not to mention a golden opportunity for young reformers to swoop in. It may happen during the next presidential election in mid-2013 or it may happen sooner, but whatever the case, sometime soon political power will land in the laps of young IRANIANS. When it does, change will follow. In the meantime, the children of the Islamic Revolution are still stirring, and as the old chaps fight among themselves, young women and men are setting the stage for a new day in IRANIAN politics."</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rising education, erosion of government restrictions on information and an expanding middle class are the key to change in IRAN. Given some time to let the young mature and have children of their own, IRAN could become more like TURKEY in the future.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So while the U.S. purports to have a strategy for nuclear negotiations, why is there no strategy for wooing the young in IRAN?</span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A war with IRAN will only strengthen the hatred IRANIANS have for the West, including the on-the-fence burnt generation. The West should consider using the IRANIAN youth—not bombs—as their weapon for change.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><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";">DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE POPULATION</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the same time, DGAP associate fellow, Cornelius Adebahr, makes proposals that could lead to an aggressive confrontation as well as to a cooperation strategy of embrace. Adebahr favors establishing a special "TASK FORCE IRAN" within the EU to consolidate all activities concerning IRAN. Parallel to this task force, he also favors a reinforcement of the EU's internet PR propaganda, for example, through the creation of a Persian language "virtual embassy." This could provide a means of "explaining" to the internet-enthused IRANIAN population the "EU's policy" toward their country. But, above all, Adebahr proposes that the EU address "the masses of the people, directly" - with PERSIAN language internet publications. This will offer a means for denouncing Teheran's violations e.g. of rule of law, freedom of the press or labor rights. This foreign policy specialist has concrete ideas about possible instruments for stirring up the IRANIAN people against their government, such as foundations, like the GERMAN party-affiliated foundations or the "European Endowment for Democracy." The latter was recently created to furnish support to subversive forces in foreign countries. Adebahr has good access to Brussels: He is a member of "Team Europe," a "network of experts" of the EU Commission.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><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";">PRESSURE ON TEHERAN</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><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";"> </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While the diverse strategy variations for wearing down IRANIAN resistance to western hegemony over the Persian Gulf are being discussed, Berlin is intensifying its pressure on the government in Teheran. Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, said his government "expects IRAN to do its part to help bring about a swift diplomatic solution to its standoff with the West over its disputed nuclear program." The newly elected IRANIAN President must now "assume his responsibility in terms of sobriety and hope," writes the foreign ministry. Hassan Rohani will take office in August; however the dispute around his foreign policy course has already begun.</span> </div>

GERMANY AND IRAN

THE NEXT ROUND Via German-Foreign-Policy.com In the aftermath of IRAN'S presidential elections, GERMAN foreign policy specialists and...

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