Greetings From Edward Snowden in Russia

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">Hola and <span lang="RU">привет</span> comrades! Edward Snowden coming to you live from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport!  I’m checking in with everyone via I’m With Stupid’s blog because I know many of you guys out there are worried about me, and more than a few are hoping I die of vodka poisoning. I just want to let everyone know that I’m doing just fine hanging out here at the airport. I love airports. There’s so much to see and do here. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8O6xPaRAzm17lrQKFX3D54DGVUdBPKv6O6YKn56q-m7_Z4DxIeFaTMq9r6_4gT8vVBB5hHi4un9gSilgTHbgiLIUvMYky97V6pMFYPuvbnIV6c4azpzTLfnMWgSZG4gHlFL1UeLg-fo0/s1600/yoo-in-na-hot-sexy-legs-abs-nude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8O6xPaRAzm17lrQKFX3D54DGVUdBPKv6O6YKn56q-m7_Z4DxIeFaTMq9r6_4gT8vVBB5hHi4un9gSilgTHbgiLIUvMYky97V6pMFYPuvbnIV6c4azpzTLfnMWgSZG4gHlFL1UeLg-fo0/s320/yoo-in-na-hot-sexy-legs-abs-nude.jpg" width="203" /></a>I'm already looking forward to having a hot, sticky Cinnabon first think in the morning. I’m addicted to those  things. This evening I had a delicious meal at the Applebee’s of pirozhki filled with some kind of meat-like substance and, I think, cabbage accompanied by a blini filled with strawberry jam. Just like home!! And of course, there was plenty of vodka. In fact, I might be drinking some vodka as I write this guest post here on IWS.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I’ve also spent a lot of time in the gift shop reading gossip magazines. I know you’re wondering if I was surprised by the Paula Deen scandal and I have to say “Hello? I’ve read her emails, remember?” In fact, just who is this mystery person who alerted the National Enquirer to this story? Hmmmmm <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m also reading a couple of good romance novels. I don’t know how old they are, but they both have Fabio on the cover. I started to read some Robert Ludlum, but that shit hit a little too close to home, if you know what I mean.  I’ve also spent a lot of time listening to IWS Radio. Man, that NSA Employment ad just killed me! I was laughing so hard everyone was looking at me funny. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UQbt27mJCek" width="420"></iframe><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">A lot of people have asked why I went to Hong Kong. That’s easy! I have a thing for Asian chicks. I’m not really that complicated of a guy. Asian chicks are just so damn cute and sweet and loving. I was really looking forward to being granted asylum and settling down with a petite Asian hottie and living the good life somewhere in Asia not called “North Korea” but, it wasn’t to be. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Why Ecuador now? Again, it’s very simple. If I can’t have an Asian chick, and thanks to the Hong Kong <o:p></o:p></div>government I guess I can’t, then my next choice is a Latina. Plus, I’ve always wanted to visit the Galapagos Islands and play with the Giant Tortoises there. You know those things can live 150 years or more? Crazy! <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgixLoGcRTxEfvcIStgS6URw4-E4Jl2AnrlsOK_inV2PaRsVQ_Hv-8hXCcbT4zbR_i3qPbTLL1bzO2bsD7K3WEfW7KCsGVZf8vPRb_d2V8cMF5GrEZ067_t5X_49DNOevUpvVTT7PcNaPg/s1600/sandra-vinces-legs-hot-nude-miss-ecuador.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgixLoGcRTxEfvcIStgS6URw4-E4Jl2AnrlsOK_inV2PaRsVQ_Hv-8hXCcbT4zbR_i3qPbTLL1bzO2bsD7K3WEfW7KCsGVZf8vPRb_d2V8cMF5GrEZ067_t5X_49DNOevUpvVTT7PcNaPg/s320/sandra-vinces-legs-hot-nude-miss-ecuador.jpg" width="206" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgixLoGcRTxEfvcIStgS6URw4-E4Jl2AnrlsOK_inV2PaRsVQ_Hv-8hXCcbT4zbR_i3qPbTLL1bzO2bsD7K3WEfW7KCsGVZf8vPRb_d2V8cMF5GrEZ067_t5X_49DNOevUpvVTT7PcNaPg/s1600/sandra-vinces-legs-hot-nude-miss-ecuador.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>Am I a hero or a traitor? Well, if you’re a hot Asian or Latina, I’m definitely a hero. More of an international man of mystery really. I’m a notorious sexy American spy who stole … I mean, obtained a lot of sensitive intelligence documents and leveraged them into a pretty nice life of leisure. If you’re anybody else, I guess I’m just a man who was shocked … SHOCKED I TELL YOU … at the atrocities OUR government was committing in terms of invading the privacy of American citizens! That was truly my only motivation. The truth shall set you free, amirite?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Okay, so maybe I turned some of those intelligence secrets over to the Chinese government. It’s not my fault though. I thought they were going to provide me with $10,000,000 USD (and an Asian hottie) in exchange for the information. You can understand how tempting that was, right? Anyway, all I got for it was a coach ticket on Aeroflot to fucking Moscow. I was <i>soooo</i> bummed. The bastards double-crossed me! You just can’t trust anybody these days. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Did I also share intelligence info with the Russians? I’m still alive aren’t I? Seriously, there wasn’t even a discussion about it. I’ve seen plenty of movies and I know what they Rooskies are capable of. Besides, Putin likes to poison people … Allegedly. Doesn’t sound like a good way to go to me. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">So, now everyone is updated on my well-being. Thanks to Matt and Jay for letting me post here. Sorry I hacked into Blogger and posted without telling you guys first. It’s an old habit.  Anyway, if anyone needs to contact me give my homeboy Jayman a holla. He’ll get in touch with me. I better go before the Taco Bell closes. This vodka really gets to me fast. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>“Rossia - sviashennaia nasha derzhava, <br />Rossia - lubimaia nasha strana! <br />Moguchaia volia, velikaia slava - <br />Tvoio dostoianie na vse vremena! ….” </i><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.twitter.com/jayman_iws">@Jayman_IWS</a> <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">P.S. Jay, you should probably delete a couple of those pics off your phone before you accidentally forward them to the wrong people. Just sayin’. <o:p></o:p><br /><br /></div></div>

Greetings From Edward Snowden in Russia

Hola and привет comrades! Edward Snowden coming to you live from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport!  I’m checking in with everyon...

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Today's archidose #687

Here are some photos of the <a href="http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0000430">Zarzuela Hippodrome</a> (1935) in Madrid, Spain, by architects Carlos Arniches and Martín Dominguez, and engineer Eduardo Torroja, photographed by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ximo_michavila/">Ximo Michavila</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ximo_michavila/9108634135/" title="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #1 by Ximo Michavila, on Flickr"><img alt="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #1" height="388" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5537/9108634135_9e5101427c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ximo_michavila/9128215277/" title="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #7 by Ximo Michavila, on Flickr"><img alt="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #7" height="448" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5325/9128215277_865144561d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ximo_michavila/9116795747/" title="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #5 by Ximo Michavila, on Flickr"><img alt="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #5" height="459" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3815/9116795747_2823b51aa5_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ximo_michavila/9108633787/" title="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #2 by Ximo Michavila, on Flickr"><img alt="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #2" height="433" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3744/9108633787_6c1726d319_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ximo_michavila/9128214817/" title="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #9 by Ximo Michavila, on Flickr"><img alt="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #9" height="800" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5494/9128214817_e287dc27d4_c.jpg" width="563" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ximo_michavila/9119022824/" title="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #4 by Ximo Michavila, on Flickr"><img alt="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #4" height="640" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2805/9119022824_dc8425981a_z.jpg" width="524" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ximo_michavila/9116795477/" title="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #6 by Ximo Michavila, on Flickr"><img alt="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #6" height="469" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2876/9116795477_3a1692096d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ximo_michavila/9130428000/" title="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #8 by Ximo Michavila, on Flickr"><img alt="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #8" height="430" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5505/9130428000_1a665f7b71_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ximo_michavila/9108633523/" title="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #3 by Ximo Michavila, on Flickr"><img alt="Eduardo Torroja. Zarzuela racetrack stands #3" height="640" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2851/9108633523_46348633d7_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:<br /><blockquote>:: Join and add photos to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/archi-dose/">archidose pool</a>, and/or<br />:: Tag your photos <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/archidose/">archidose</a></span></blockquote>

Today's archidose #687

Here are some photos of the Zarzuela Hippodrome (1935) in Madrid, Spain, by architects Carlos Arniches and Martín Dominguez, and engineer E...

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YUMMY Chicken Tacos - Plus Virtual Dietitian!

<br />So, my cousin Kris Cole had sent me an easy crockpot recipe for low fat chicken tacos.  I did not have the ingredients to start that before I left for work, so I thought, "I wonder if I can make the quick version on the stove?"  To the store I go!  I'm not good at this at all, looking at calories, fat, etc. and playing it all together in my head.  I know I need a few basic ingredients:  Chicken, CHEESE, tortillas, and the fillers like tomatoes, etc. <br /><br />I find a package of 4oz each frozen chicken tenderloins made from chicken breast.  They are only 100 calories for each 4 oz breast.  I then got a package of taco seasoning.  I was shocked to see that it have very little calories!  EXCITED - about 25 per serving.  I got some taco blend cheese that was made with 2% milk.  1/4 cup was 80 calories.  I only needed half of that for my 1 taco.  I knew I needed a filler.  What should I get?  Ahh, corn!  I found these cool frozen corn in these trays - totally easy for portion control.  I then get a jar of restaurant style salsa (only 10 calories per serving) and some tomatoes.  Oh, wait!  Don't for get the tortillas (100 calories per tortilla).<br /><br />I came home and put 4 pieces of Chicken in the pan.  I used a little "salsa" vs. oil to keep them moist.  Once cooked, I added one container of corn (80 calories) and the packet of taco seasoning with water.  This was perfect for 4 servings!! <br /><br />I warmed up a tortilla, added diced tomatoes and the cheese.  This is ONE serving Taco.  The entire taco is less than 250 calories AND it was very much filling.  It takes even great without the tortilla.  So this was my dinner tonight!!  VERY YUMMY and I have enough for lunches for the next 2 days and dinner tomorrow night!!!!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLdrAaNArjcuedWX5idhb1awEa2gmTfhk1QAIH64MCbdqpD4XgbYGB3imYaVBNQLX7uJBHtoyzyHofYNaLbG5PeIQA8jrkIFqv8qwggmhLdhox6UCwgmncWDjbP2IGDC1SaLFV-p45jA/s1600/taco2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLdrAaNArjcuedWX5idhb1awEa2gmTfhk1QAIH64MCbdqpD4XgbYGB3imYaVBNQLX7uJBHtoyzyHofYNaLbG5PeIQA8jrkIFqv8qwggmhLdhox6UCwgmncWDjbP2IGDC1SaLFV-p45jA/s320/taco2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />This morning I ate some grapes for breakfast - It was intended for my mid morning snack but I forgot the stupid granola bar.  I had the last serving of my leafless salad for lunch and a 100 calorie snack mix this afternoon and a green apple.  Tonight, my taco and I will have a snack later. <br /><br />Now on to something cool.<br /><br /><b>VIRTUAL DIETITIAN???</b>  Well, I mean, we do everything else online, so why not have a dietitian online!  I  posted my blog in the Belviq support group page and a lady replied to my posting with a link.  It's called Kickstart60.  Basically, you get 60 days of nutritional support online for about $1 a day.  You get 60 days support to help you initialize the DASH Diet.  This includes:  60 days of email/text messaging, 60 days of DASH Diet Meal Plans for weight loss, 8 weeks of grocery lists, access to Kickstart60Chat Facebook Group facilitated by a professional dietitian.  THIS IS exactly what I was looking for!!!  AFFORDABLE!!  I am getting a free 3 day trial, but I for sure will be signing up (I may have to hit the pops up since the 1st of the month is RENT haha).<br /><br />Anyway, Thanks Mindy!!   Go online to <a href="http://kickstarter60.com/store/">http://kickstarter60.com/store/</a> to subscribe!! <br /><br />Hey, at least this blog had useful information right??  Not so boring today!  I will go in either Thursday or Friday to weigh.  I want to do my first weigh in at my doctors office where my wonderful friend Karen Mann works (Her husband is Dr. Michael Mann - my orthopedic surgeon - the BEST AROUND).  My primary dr. and my ortho dr. share the same office.  Anyway, since Karen  was the one responsible for me getting on Belviq, I want her to be there to see the results!  I can either kick her butt (if I don't lose anything) or hug her  neck (if I do). <br /><br />Stay tuned...........<br /><br />

YUMMY Chicken Tacos - Plus Virtual Dietitian!

So, my cousin Kris Cole had sent me an easy crockpot recipe for low fat chicken tacos.  I did not have the ingredients to start that before ...

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How To Release Weight Among The Individuals

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Lana Bray</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>Release weight the healthy way has posed as a challenge among many people in the world. People are now seeing the easy way out of that misery since they consider it as a menace and to shed that excess weight could be a great effort. Determination and remaining positive during the process is the success that one gets at the end of it.<br /> <br /> One is not aware if they are gaining that big and unhealthy body. This is due to the fact that most people are ignorant of the food they consume and do not pay attention to the negative implications as a result of them. This is common to many households especially those with low income or have plenty of money hence go for junk food.<br /> <br /> Campaigns are being done all over the world which is aimed at building the confidence to those with heavy weights. They are aimed at ensuring that the affected persons can come out and undertake the challenge in front of them. They are given tips on how to slowly shed of that unhealthy body and get a perfect and good body that is healthy and fit.<br /> <br /> The food consumed is the key determinant of those conditions. Most of the sweet foods contains high amount of calories that adds to the body hence increasing in size. They also cause diseases which have no cure for instance diabetes and cancer. Little consumption of those foods and substituting it with the rest of the nutrients leads to the healthy development.<br /> <br /> They are addictive and could not be easy to stop the habit of consumption. However, with determination and persistence one can achieve it and not tae much time to recover the body. When they get used to the new diet, they enjoy and do not want to go back to the old feeding habits. This is the solution to the problem of addiction and poor eating among the families.<br /> <br /> Doing a lot of exercise and eating well are the main elements of that process. The gym has all the facilities that exercise require depending on the type of practice or the nature of human body. The professionals are experts and have been in the field for many years with experience therefore they know which type fits each individual. They also have the capacity to motivate and handle every individual by dealing with them one on one.<br /> <br /> Doing exercises is also gaining popularity especially in the recent times because of the adoption in the society. There are gymnasiums and other places that offer the service to the customers at an affordable rate. Working out in a good gym where the instructors are professional can help one achieve the size and shape they wish to have or go back to their normal bodies.<br /> <br /> <A href="http://www.impacthealthyedge.com">Release weight</A> is the solution to offering the service to the society. A healthy community is productive and also happy because they are fit to do all types of jobs and have confidence even what standing or waling in front of people. This is the desire and joy of each individual.<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'>You can visit the website <a href="http://www.impacthealthyedge.com">www.impacthealthyedge.com</a> for more helpful information about Learn More About Release Weight </div><br /> </div><br />

How To Release Weight Among The Individuals

By Lana Bray Release weight the healthy way has posed as a challenge among many people in the world. People are now seeing the easy way ...

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The Necessary Things To Remember When Getting A West Hollywood Personal Trainer

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Jackie Johnson</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>Fitness instructors are here to help and train people to attain their health and fitness goals. If you reside in West Hollywood, California, then you are probably aware that there are lots of personal trainers that you can employ on this area of Los Angeles.<br /> <br /> The reason is perhaps because of the fact that there are numerous celebrities and famous personalities living here and as you know, these people would be willing to spend their hard earned cash just to hire the best fitness trainer. So if you are looking for a West Hollywood personal trainer to hire, then here are some essential things that you should know.<br /> <br /> Where To Find An Excellent Trainer?<br /> <br /> There are absolutely lots of ways to look for a trainer to hire. The best thing is to visit a local gym or fitness center in West Hollywood and inquire for a trainer that can train you on your preferred schedule. You can also choose to work out at the gym if you want. The great thing about working out at the local gym is that you will be given access to fitness equipments and facilities that could help you to achieve your fitness goals fast and easy. But if you want to train privately or if you want a West Hollywood personal trainer to come to your house for your training, then look for a trainer that can do private sessions.<br /> <br /> You could also check the local paper and ads, like the yellow pages, and of course the Internet. There are definitely plenty of excellent personal trainers that you can find there and some even have their very own website where you could read the trainer's schedule of availability. As a safety measure, be sure that you do a background check of the trainer that you're planning to hire.<br /> <br /> What Should You Look For?<br /> <br /> As soon as you have found a potential West Hollywood personal trainer, one of the most important things that you should ask is his credentials. He should be able to present to you some certification and it would be better if he has a degree that is related to health and fitness.<br /> <br /> What To Ask A Potential Fitness Instructor<br /> <br /> Be sure to interview the West Hollywood personal trainer before you decide to employ him. It's crucial that you feel comfortable with one another before you begin exercising. Don't be afraid to ask questions concerning personal training and many other things related to fitness and health. Among the questions that you must ask are:<br /> <br /> * What are your experiences?<br /> <br /> * What are the techniques that you employ when training your clients?<br /> <br /> * What are your experiences?<br /> <br /> * How can you help me achieve my fitness goals?<br /> <br /> * Can you think of any specific fitness goals that you can recommend for me?<br /> <br /> Besides these questions, there are numerous other things that you need to ask the West Hollywood personal trainer before you hire him. Just simply treat him as a friend during the interview and ask yourself if you are comfortable training with him.<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'>Getting in good shape with the help of <a href="https://plus.google.com/100349319569853932791/about">Personal Trainer West Hollywood</a> not only boosts your physique but also your health too. The benefits that you can get from <a href="http://www.theperfectworkout.com/personal-trainer-west-hollywood/">West Hollywood Personal Trainer</a> are endless.</div><br /> </div><br />

The Necessary Things To Remember When Getting A West Hollywood Personal Trainer

By Jackie Johnson Fitness instructors are here to help and train people to attain their health and fitness goals. If you reside in West ...

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NC's biggest Moral Monday crowd yet fights ALEC policies

Police arrested 120 people protesting the <a href="http://www.alecexposed.org/">ALEC</a>-backed anti-worker agenda at the eighth Moral Monday protest in Raleigh, N.C., last night. Organizers and law enforcement agreed it was the largest such rally to date, attracting upwards of 5,000 attendees.<br /><br />So far nearly 600 people have been arrested for voicing their disgust with the policies put forward by Gov. Pat McCrory and the Republican-majority Legislature. These elected officials are pushing bills that would slash education and health care while cutting corporate taxes, all of which would hurt the working- and middle-class. Supporters of those views received significant support during last year's elections by state budget director Art Pope, a disciple of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).<br /><br />James Andrew, president of the North Carolina AFL-CIO, was among those arrested yesterday. The Moral Monday protesters criticized unemployment benefit cuts that will end extended benefits for some 70,000 state residents at the end of the month. North Carolina is the only state in the country opting to restrict benefits instead of using federal dollars to continue covering these job seekers.<br /><br />Raleigh resident Lee Creighton said he's been having trouble finding work since earning a master's degree. <a href="http://www.wral.com/naacp-120-arrested-in-latest-round-of-moral-monday-protests/12588918/">He argued</a> he isn't the deadbeat that some lawmakers are trying to portray:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">If this is such a vacation, why do I cry to sleep every night?</blockquote>Despite the dire consequences that could result from the Legislature's actions, demonstrators who took to social media said the mood of attendees was largely upbeat. That includes those who ended up on one of the five buses that carried them off to jail.<br /><br />Carrsboro resident Kyle Bailey tweeted that a crowd gathered outside where those who had been arrested were booked to lend them support:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">At detention center, arrestees starting to stream out to applause.</blockquote>Others said it is time to further grow the movement. From Twitter user Thurman:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Looks like it's time for the other 49 to take a lesson from North Carolina. Let's take Moral Monday nationwide!</blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZgCA1iDX-9FRZmcHEgbyCStXgjytkXLJYAmPc-fr7NNz6Ml05DnT8sYfL_X0Yc9QCitFKskEB63g447SQvKnQtIjiSCjX3om8Bgvpse9yosgX8wm2jCD6ALaluLr8f5VrbiJhiJ00-6Qc/s1600/6-25moralmondayphoto4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZgCA1iDX-9FRZmcHEgbyCStXgjytkXLJYAmPc-fr7NNz6Ml05DnT8sYfL_X0Yc9QCitFKskEB63g447SQvKnQtIjiSCjX3om8Bgvpse9yosgX8wm2jCD6ALaluLr8f5VrbiJhiJ00-6Qc/s320/6-25moralmondayphoto4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We can't either.</td></tr></tbody></table>

NC's biggest Moral Monday crowd yet fights ALEC policies

Police arrested 120 people protesting the ALEC -backed anti-worker agenda at the eighth Moral Monday protest in Raleigh, N.C., last night. O...

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5:2 Diet

<p>I picked up this book in the library today.  Basically the concept of the <a href="http://www.52recipes.co.uk/">5:2 Diet</a> is to eat well for 5 days then fast for 2 days by eating a low cal diet.  I may give it a go - seems doable!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7ad-ADRiEmzFunXi6dGvnhUQ90bhvhc3FKuz0GQXotVjPMAjn92BMVYKXZOEMOuAjfu3U-GzqFkvBHChNneA5n_cKpC0ab72IQDdklUpVwQSDupmOo38SyOUClDqJ_hQtlPH8LKGSi2X/s640/blogger-image-837434815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7ad-ADRiEmzFunXi6dGvnhUQ90bhvhc3FKuz0GQXotVjPMAjn92BMVYKXZOEMOuAjfu3U-GzqFkvBHChNneA5n_cKpC0ab72IQDdklUpVwQSDupmOo38SyOUClDqJ_hQtlPH8LKGSi2X/s640/blogger-image-837434815.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">On the 5 days of eating well there is no snacking on sweets, chocolate, crisps and no beer allowed.  I think a glass of wine is allowable though!</div><br><p></p>

5:2 Diet

I picked up this book in the library today.  Basically the concept of the 5:2 Diet  is to eat well for 5 days then fast for 2 days by eating...

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Clues in the Cycle of Suicide - NYTimes.com

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">On average, about 700 Americans kill themselves each week — but in the fine-weather weeks of May and June, the toll rises closer to 800, sometimes higher. Every year, suicide peaks with the tulips and lilacs — increasing roughly 15 percent over the annual average to create one of psychiatry's most consistent epidemiological patterns. It may seem perverse that the period of spring and early summer, as the psychologist <a title="Staff page" href="http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/specialty_areas/moods/expert_team/jamison.html" target="_blank">Kay Redfield Jamison</a> puts it in her splendid book "<a title="Times review" href="http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/j/jamison-night.html" target="_blank">Night Falls Fast</a>," should contain "a capacity for self-murder that winter less often has." Yet it does.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">This grim spring growth confounds conventional belief that suicides peak in winter. It also confounds researchers — and fascinates them. As they discover more angles into the biology of mood and behavior, they are finding new clues about why suicides rise with the sun's arc. They hope solving this puzzle will help us better understand why people commit suicide at all — and perhaps reduce the numbers year-round.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">This effort takes an extra urgency from what Dr. Adam Kaplin, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University, calls a "suicide epidemic" — a sharp increase in both absolute and per-capita rates since the recession that began in 2007, particularly among the middle-aged. <a title="C.D.C. data" href="http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/Suicide_DataSheet-a.pdf" target="_blank">More than 38,000 people committed suicide</a> in the United States in 2010 — a 16.5 percent jump from the 32,600 suicides five years before, and a new high. The stakes involved in figuring out the dynamics of self-murder seem only to rise with time.</p><div class="w592" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRRvFnT49g5qbe_1LjtUq5yJHjO__XNSb78D9RoETkbHwD1C6FhYssEnncErMYLL2GJnz2m12DlnwEs2Us5widoGwNLTvDImW5SZ4NjiiEeqnDvnoPiPN9XeuGgWzkRYidab5tiWZUU4/s1600/25mind-tmagArticle-700958.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5893522775163162946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRRvFnT49g5qbe_1LjtUq5yJHjO__XNSb78D9RoETkbHwD1C6FhYssEnncErMYLL2GJnz2m12DlnwEs2Us5widoGwNLTvDImW5SZ4NjiiEeqnDvnoPiPN9XeuGgWzkRYidab5tiWZUU4/s320/25mind-tmagArticle-700958.jpeg" /></a><span class="credit"></span><span class="caption"></span></div><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The spring surge in suicides is actually the largest of a few oscillations throughout the year. After dropping to an annual low in February (October in the southern hemisphere), rates climb sharply through spring; fall slowly in summer; show a slight rise, according to some studies, in fall; and then begin a steep winter drop. The spring peak generally runs 10 to 25 percent above the yearly average and 20 to 50 percent above the February low.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The spring increase was first noticed in 19th-century Europe. Many studies, some examining data hundreds of years back, have documented it since. But explaining it has proved difficult, primarily because of suicide's extreme complexity.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"There's no one reason that people do it," said <a title="Staff page" href="http://www.emory.edu/grady/emory-at-grady/doctors/kaslow.html" target="_blank">Nadine Kaslow</a>, a research psychologist at Emory University. Rather, she says, people usually commit suicide because personal, social-system and environmental factors combine to push them to a new place of energized despair.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">In this view, spring somehow adds weight to an already unbearable load. But how?</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">One traditional candidate, favored by both Dr. Jamison and Dr. Kaslow, is the "broken promise effect" — the sometimes crushing disappointment that spring fails to bring the relief the sufferer has hoped for.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">In addition, psychiatrists have long observed that for patients with <a title="In-depth reference and news articles about Bipolar Disorder." href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/bipolar-disorder/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" target="_blank">bipolar disorder</a> and <a title="In-depth reference and news articles about Depression (Mental)." href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/symptoms/depression/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" target="_blank">depression</a>, spring can create a manic <a title="In-depth reference and news articles about Agitation." href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/symptoms/agitation/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" target="_blank">agitation</a> that amplifies the risk of suicide — agitation that has long shown itself in a rising rate of hospitalizations for <a title="In-depth reference and news articles about Suicide and suicidal behavior." href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/suicide-and-suicidal-behavior/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" target="_blank">suicide attempts</a> and for manic or schizophrenic episodes in spring and summer.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Researchers have long suspected that this may be tied to the springtime drop in the sleep-friendly hormone melatonin, a reduction that energizes us for spring's longer days but may sometimes help generate dangerous agitation. Yet that link, like many, remains elusive.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">In the past decade or so, some researchers have increasingly focused on another candidate: an apparently intimate relationship between suicide and inflammation.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Dr. Kaplin studies depression in patients with <a title="In-depth reference and news articles about Multiple sclerosis." href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/multiple-sclerosis/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" target="_blank">multiple sclerosis</a>, an autoimmune inflammatory disease. In M.S., he says, depression and inflammation feed each other: Even after accounting for the psychological effects of any serious illness, M.S. heightens depression risk, and depression amplifies the inflammation central to the disease's central pathologies.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Driving this relationship, Dr. Kaplin suspects, are immune-system chemical messengers called cytokines. Some cytokines increase inflammation, while others curb it.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Inflammatory cytokines play crucial roles in fighting infection, but they can also cause problems. When people with <a title="In-depth reference and news articles about Hepatitis C." href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/hepatitis-c/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" target="_blank">hepatitis C</a> are given the cytokine interferon to help fight the infection, for instance, up to 40 percent become depressed and one in 50 attempt suicide. Other studies suggest that inflammatory cytokine activity reduces levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin and halts the growth of new brain cells — two hallmarks of depression.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">If inflammation heightens the risk of depression, how might that lead to a spring surge in suicide?</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Dr. Kaplin and others point to several possibilities — "all speculative," he says, not findings to act on but clues to follow. In every case, the suggested risk comes not from a direct effect but from an additional sensitivity to inflammation that could be a final straw or irritant.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">One possibility is that many people enter spring sensitized to inflammation by late-winter battles with seasonal infections like <a title="In-depth reference and news articles about Common cold." href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/common-cold/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" target="_blank">colds</a> and <a title="In-depth reference and news articles about The flu." href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/the-flu/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" target="_blank">flu</a>.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">A second possibility involves tree pollen. <a title="Staff page" href="http://medschool.umaryland.edu/facultyresearchprofile/viewprofile.aspx?id=7394" target="_blank">Dr. Teodor T. Postolache</a>, a psychiatrist at the University of Maryland, believes that large amounts of it may cause cytokine-driven inflammatory responses. A study he did links high spring tree pollen counts with high seasonal suicide rates; another examined the brains of 34 suicide victims and found gene-expression patterns consistent with cytokine-driven inflammation.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Yet another possibility involves vitamin D. The low levels caused by lack of sunlight in the winter are thought to lead to inflammation; <a title="Study" href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0051543" target="_blank">one recent study tentatively suggested a link to suicide</a>. Dr. Kaplin thus wonders if people already at risk for suicide may increase their risk if they enter spring with inflammatory systems sensitized by <a title="In-depth reference and news articles about Vitamin D." href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/nutrition/vitamin-d/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" target="_blank">vitamin D</a> deficiencies.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"The answer to this puzzle is probably some form of 'all of the above,' " he said.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Even if these inflammatory factors prove out, they will be just some among many — mood disorders, divorce, job loss, grief, trauma — that fertilize spring's darkest bloom. But the more factors researchers can identify, the better we can understand not just the spring surge but the larger mysteries of suicide.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Still, if researchers are ever to identify the seasonal culprits, they may need to hurry. One of the most intriguing findings in the seasonality of suicide is that this ancient pattern appears to be fading — possibly because we all spend more time indoors.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">A <a title="Study" href="http://jech.bmj.com/content/59/11/967.full?sid=57449f01-8585-4566-8d5f-27308393a275" target="_blank">study of Switzerland's well-kept monthly suicide records</a> between 1880 and 2000, for instance, showed the spring/summer curve growing flatter with each successive 30-year period. Like too many lives lost as we struggle to comprehend suicide, this spring surge may slip away before we can fully glean its unique offerings.</p><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">David Dobbs is working on a book about the genetic and cultural roots of temperament and behavior. </em></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><br></em></div><a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/24/clues-in-the-cycle-of-suicide/?src=me&ref=general">http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/24/clues-in-the-cycle-of-suicide/?src=me&ref=general</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Clues in the Cycle of Suicide - NYTimes.com

On average, about 700 Americans kill themselves each week — but in the fine-weather weeks of May and June, the toll rises closer to 800, som...

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Library Director - LaGrange Library, Poughkeepsie, NY

<strong>Library Director - </strong><strong><strong><span style="color: #48286d;">LaGrange Library</span></strong></strong>, Poughkeepsie, NY, seeks a dynamic, innovative, customer service oriented Library Director to lead the Library into the future. LaGrange Library serves the nearly 16,000 residents of the Town of LaGrange and is the 4th highest circulating library in the 5 county Mid-Hudson Library System. Candidates should have demonstrated experience in budget development and management; hiring, evaluating and supervising staff and volunteers; strategic planning and implementation; publicity and outreach; grant seeking, writing and administration; familiarity with technology, both current and emerging. Excellent organizational, interpersonal, problem solving, and project management skills are also essential. Minimum Qualifications: ALA accredited MLS degree, with five 5 years of supervisory experience. Have or be eligible for the New York State Public Librarian Professional Certificate. Salary Range: $65,000-$75,000. Send letter of application, resume and 3 references to Karl Loatman, Chair, Personnel Committee at <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:kloatman@aol.com" href="mailto:kloatman@aol.com">kloatman@aol.com</a>. Applications accepted through <span style="color: red;">July 8, 2013</span>.

Library Director - LaGrange Library, Poughkeepsie, NY

Library Director - LaGrange Library , Poughkeepsie, NY, seeks a dynamic, innovative, customer service oriented Library Director to lead th...

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Woot! Missouri guv vetoes ALEC anti-union bill

Another victory for Teamsters and loss for ALEC! Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon just announced his veto of an <a href="http://alecexposed.org/">ALEC</a>-inspired paycheck deception bill.<br /><br />The bill, which passed earlier this year, <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/04/alecs-latest-attack-in-mo-deceives-and.html">would forbid employers from honoring public employees' requests to deduct their union dues from their paychecks</a>. Chalk it up as another <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16.890625px;">billionaire-backed attack on workers that failed.<br /><br />Missouri Teamsters deserve high praise for working to make sure the bill didn't pass with a veto-proof majority. They sent thousands of emails to their representatives in Jefferson City urging them not to vote for this blatant attempt to weaken unions.<br /><br />Paycheck deception bills have been popping up in state legislatures all over the country. They're part of ALEC's continuing effort to muscle the working class out of politics and government.<br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16.890625px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_VFuf7dEVI98r8RcYwADOg-Oq1jlr6Dek8R1eVouq2XsjlTZpGpUb9ogSRkt-3JCU-Op14Y93f4GSzYLeieop0s3__n2h2q_7mKAtXejgTF9xEEpA1A1d07BvncBkOjas2_jgzw7qgRN/s1600/paycheck+deception+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_VFuf7dEVI98r8RcYwADOg-Oq1jlr6Dek8R1eVouq2XsjlTZpGpUb9ogSRkt-3JCU-Op14Y93f4GSzYLeieop0s3__n2h2q_7mKAtXejgTF9xEEpA1A1d07BvncBkOjas2_jgzw7qgRN/s200/paycheck+deception+(1).jpg" width="150" /></span></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16.890625px;"></span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16.890625px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16.890625px;">Nixon acknowledged as much in his veto message:</span></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16.890625px;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 16.890625px;">The bill targets a single group of employees and imposes on them an unnecessary and cumbersome process.</span></span> </span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 16.890625px;"></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 16.890625px;">There are a number of items that employees may elect to have withheld from their paychecks, including money for college savings accounts, deferred compensation, and 401(k) plans...Singling out union dues for these extra processes serves no beneficial purpose. Rather, the bill places unnecessary burdens on public employees for the purpose of weakening labor organizations.</span></span></span></blockquote>The <a href="http://www.wearemissouri.org/splash/">We Are Missouri</a></span> coalition praised the veto: <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16.890625px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We are grateful that Governor Nixon stands as a firewall against the extremist agenda that would unfairly take rights away from workers and seeks to lower wages in our state. He joins the courageous legislators in both parties who sided with working people despite pressure from out-of-state special interest groups.</span></span></blockquote><div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 16.890625px;">David Asmus, a utility lineman in Scott County, said such laws come straight from corporate special interests and shady front groups like </span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 16.890625px;">the American Legislative Exchange Council and Americans for Prosperity. </span></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 16.890625px;">Legislators should be looking for solutions to the problems facing Missouri instead of doing the bidding of their corporate backers and out-of-state front groups.</span></span></span></blockquote>If you have any doubt, check this out:<br /><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal">On March 13, the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity organization called paycheck deception legislation the <a href="https://twitter.com/AFPMissouri/status/311872511136632832">first step in #mortw [Missouri right to work]</a>.<o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoNormal">The American Legislative Exchange Council corporate bill mill has pushed paycheck deception bills in state capitols around the country for years, as <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/04/12077/anti-worker-paycheck-protection-bills-moving-missouri">this report from The Center for Media and Democracy</a> shows. </li></ul><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>

MO paycheck deception Woot! Missouri guv vetoes ALEC anti-union bill

Another victory for Teamsters and loss for ALEC! Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon just announced his veto of an ALEC -inspired paycheck deception bil...

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Boost me up baby!

When Bones travels in my Smart car he hops on to the dashboard.  Obviously this is extremely dangerous.  When we were over in the States we got this great booster seat for him.  It's so safe.  He gets strapped in and can see out while we drive along - he loves it!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqlqUefE7vqM2q_J474QqCmNz6TpNqUWea301l2deiRYG1ilvJW75exOfWJutuxnUtXwjLUkmZ6uDhpHAdaDT8XUJ-t99YEAHCToPTj3Y9Ioc-BCc3a4CmEzHiwknNDRGuJjw7RunlK3o5/s640/blogger-image--1801120045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqlqUefE7vqM2q_J474QqCmNz6TpNqUWea301l2deiRYG1ilvJW75exOfWJutuxnUtXwjLUkmZ6uDhpHAdaDT8XUJ-t99YEAHCToPTj3Y9Ioc-BCc3a4CmEzHiwknNDRGuJjw7RunlK3o5/s640/blogger-image--1801120045.jpg"></a></div>

Boost me up baby!

When Bones travels in my Smart car he hops on to the dashboard.  Obviously this is extremely dangerous.  When we were over in the States we ...

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Street Party

On Sunday 23rd of June street parties were held all over Ireland as part of Street Feast 2013 (see www.streetfeast.ie)<div><br></div><div>Oh my gosh my neighbours put on some really great spreads. Some BBQ'd, some had cakes, some served champagne and one lady made gorgeous afternoon tea sandwiches with the crusts cut off. How posh!</div><div><br></div><div>It was such a fun afternoon and the rain held off until 6.30pm when we got washed out of it and ran for cover!</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH62kBd7aF7esNNpdpFWkJbYzcB_ToqMI5gTeTgKxcP-jCUTveg43jMt6sKaUBFuD5P7_U8sz5TLZh39WsZvDmG5eNGmFNLXthFBuCtt8i7vKBoL9wxKeFya4Rho0Slek14_zlv7VpBv_v/s640/blogger-image--1505771351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH62kBd7aF7esNNpdpFWkJbYzcB_ToqMI5gTeTgKxcP-jCUTveg43jMt6sKaUBFuD5P7_U8sz5TLZh39WsZvDmG5eNGmFNLXthFBuCtt8i7vKBoL9wxKeFya4Rho0Slek14_zlv7VpBv_v/s640/blogger-image--1505771351.jpg"></a></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/AVvXsEh_XWBbwWzr9uPg3I1-rQAMLg6YlwktHEIOWxulasR-pNdbwZ23YSz5jHpU-y8yEvh1Ibj16lcXqHaKJObnAqeOlt72l0OoTSgm0nTwxUCFjvhZQbRSapa5W8FID4WpWAWmTtXXAI0800Kl/s640/blogger-image-1745494568.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XWBbwWzr9uPg3I1-rQAMLg6YlwktHEIOWxulasR-pNdbwZ23YSz5jHpU-y8yEvh1Ibj16lcXqHaKJObnAqeOlt72l0OoTSgm0nTwxUCFjvhZQbRSapa5W8FID4WpWAWmTtXXAI0800Kl/s640/blogger-image-1745494568.jpg"></a></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_zX0fJdjYtNkBlN2O7l1QXphmwg70-oHsGy5Hmb_bquEcBy4sDJwQrmTW5s_1i2BtFRvdaGLKRlF_yualZlW829XocIv7_HvUUlh8h0UjGEYj0fn6pmfShFFVf5yJMhJh8FGgFyrz-dAw/s640/blogger-image-2090467646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zX0fJdjYtNkBlN2O7l1QXphmwg70-oHsGy5Hmb_bquEcBy4sDJwQrmTW5s_1i2BtFRvdaGLKRlF_yualZlW829XocIv7_HvUUlh8h0UjGEYj0fn6pmfShFFVf5yJMhJh8FGgFyrz-dAw/s640/blogger-image-2090467646.jpg"></a></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/AVvXsEjz3EU6P1A2Ku0hrYOWP2-rA-7BnXISAzu4IX1a2SrC-9xYHrFQYwacOziHybx1jTZy_tkwS3oZjMnHkRAmTZ8r2x8nMc7AaNw1GxV51q5s8d_h4bJ2veg-b8pZbs3YSB7iGd5DFBBmcxKV/s640/blogger-image-305618504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3EU6P1A2Ku0hrYOWP2-rA-7BnXISAzu4IX1a2SrC-9xYHrFQYwacOziHybx1jTZy_tkwS3oZjMnHkRAmTZ8r2x8nMc7AaNw1GxV51q5s8d_h4bJ2veg-b8pZbs3YSB7iGd5DFBBmcxKV/s640/blogger-image-305618504.jpg"></a></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/AVvXsEgZuOZwRaRKMuxnVEGqDM7tsCViF5Th0Qo2B3UHIKqzqKUsemeKsU1lVnkZntGdcBmRPZHC5nW3QatjjFOBeyjin-4KHQ8Cg67t9IswYgmFe990dw70EQG-ohhB4YOqyzhQyT16QF_EnVUq/s640/blogger-image--1537067933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuOZwRaRKMuxnVEGqDM7tsCViF5Th0Qo2B3UHIKqzqKUsemeKsU1lVnkZntGdcBmRPZHC5nW3QatjjFOBeyjin-4KHQ8Cg67t9IswYgmFe990dw70EQG-ohhB4YOqyzhQyT16QF_EnVUq/s640/blogger-image--1537067933.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></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/AVvXsEj2Fcy5vJGNLzBkVtrIuMd-RzLivS4mV6lm64GR1t6FVSb6KxxGYwLd8lGnwNP35NM20CDlF95WF5xxz_CnAzTh48fBx3kM_Y460maTIa5UVUhQtCfotgExINPirq5Ly2I6EFMpcG7WsRrq/s640/blogger-image-1553669273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Fcy5vJGNLzBkVtrIuMd-RzLivS4mV6lm64GR1t6FVSb6KxxGYwLd8lGnwNP35NM20CDlF95WF5xxz_CnAzTh48fBx3kM_Y460maTIa5UVUhQtCfotgExINPirq5Ly2I6EFMpcG7WsRrq/s640/blogger-image-1553669273.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>

Street Party

On Sunday 23rd of June street parties were held all over Ireland as part of Street Feast 2013 (see www.streetfeast.ie) Oh my gosh my neighbo...

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SYRIA: ARMING SYRIAN REBELS COULD CREATE A LEGACY AS HARMFUL AS SYKES - PICOT

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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="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2acp7PkxKxmNsCNg46UjLGQfCBf-lGmezN0sDpEGizvBB2FMn-3ZLWECw4On7xkgf0FWYHVeovWz1F7zLFUN-I2kFkQPCxHlmyECuMiO8bXRLVbCkNqOsnQXTYOoGK0yv-UEf60NIfep/s1600/655px-MPK1-426_Sykes_Picot_Agreement_Map_signed_8_May_1916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2acp7PkxKxmNsCNg46UjLGQfCBf-lGmezN0sDpEGizvBB2FMn-3ZLWECw4On7xkgf0FWYHVeovWz1F7zLFUN-I2kFkQPCxHlmyECuMiO8bXRLVbCkNqOsnQXTYOoGK0yv-UEf60NIfep/s320/655px-MPK1-426_Sykes_Picot_Agreement_Map_signed_8_May_1916.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><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; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SYRIA’S CIVIL WAR IS NOW A GEOPOLITICAL BATTLE FOR REGIONAL DOMINATION</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Jaswant Singh, via StratRisk</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the West begins to gear up for the centenary of the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the Middle East is being convulsed as never before by the legacy of the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. Look no farther than SYRIA, where one part of that legacy – the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sykes-Picot Agreement </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(See:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> 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mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sykes%E2%80%93Picot_Agreement">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sykes%E2%80%93Picot_Agreement</a> )</span></span>,which divided the Middle East into BRITISH and FRENCH spheres of influence even while the Great War still raged – is coming to a brutally violent end. Likewise, the current turmoil in TURKEY is, at least in part, a consequence of “neo-Ottoman” overreach by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. In seeking to establish the type of regional influence that TURKS have not had since the time Mustapha Kemal Ataturk founded the Republic of TURKEY, Erdogan has fallen prey to some of the Ottoman regime’s hubris.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Levant has, of course, been the scene of countless conflicts throughout the centuries. Sir Archibald Wavell, one of BRITAIN’S greatest World War II generals and the penultimate Viceroy of INDIA, wrote in his biography of the World War I field marshal Edmund Allenby, who led the Allies in the Levant: “The greatest exploit in the history of horsed cavalry, and possibly their last success on a large scale, had ended within a short distance of the battlefield of Issus, where Alexander the Great first showed how battles could be won.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But peace still eludes the Levant. As MIDDLE EAST analyst Murtaza Hussain recently observed: “SYRIA and IRAQ, formerly unified ARAB states formed after the defeat of their former Ottoman rulers, exist today only in name.” What will emerge from the present situation could be a fragmented, easily manipulated region.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is why SYRIA’S civil war is now a geopolitical battle for regional domination, with multiple fractures along sectarian lines. As is now clear, no country is really free of the charge of interfering in SYRIA. While Shiite-majority IRAQ has attempted to portray itself as neutral, it has permitted IRANIAN flights to use its airspace to carry weapons to the regime of President Bashar Assad.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; 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";">IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 148 GROUPS, BIG AND SMALL, ARE FIGHTING IN THE COUNTRY</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPrCMQ6JHDeIODNkRw3KW-K_eW9_2LzO5na2vivwsFy8gBNSgrv0ZDMl71t1MW4T9BWj2ib8poEVhILI0EsnLP7-YlB1Y9GFFJF6NjGdxA0uSs_fM6qSfbdDr1ELgrt0hUiJ3wuCBqtXBf/s1600/_1681362_sykes_300_map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPrCMQ6JHDeIODNkRw3KW-K_eW9_2LzO5na2vivwsFy8gBNSgrv0ZDMl71t1MW4T9BWj2ib8poEVhILI0EsnLP7-YlB1Y9GFFJF6NjGdxA0uSs_fM6qSfbdDr1ELgrt0hUiJ3wuCBqtXBf/s1600/_1681362_sykes_300_map.gif" /></a></div><br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IRAN, too, has long used its alliance with SYRIA to pursue its interests in the Levant, which include support for Hezbollah in LEBANON. On the ground, Hezbollah, which is now openly fighting in SYRIA to keep Assad in power, asserts that “war is coming to Aleppo,” the ancient city that is the heart of the anti-Assad rebellion.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Indeed, according to Lakhdar Brahimi, who serves as joint special representative of the United Nations and the Arab League for SYRIA, there are an estimated 148 groups, big and small, fighting in the country.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Meanwhile, SAUDI ARABIA and QATAR – which Middle East commentator Saeed Naqvi has called the “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">most vulnerable Sunni kingdoms</b>” – have attempted “to divert popular discontent along sectarian, Shiite-Sunni lines.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This ancient fracture, papered over by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sir Mark Sykes and François Georges-Picot 97</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">years ago</b> in their secret agreement, has now swallowed SYRIA, with Assad portrayed as some sort of Alawite ogre. Many Western diplomats appear to be of the same superficial cast of mind as Sykes and Picot, believing that Assad’s fall from power would remove SYRIA from the IRAN-Hezbollah axis.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; 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";">DOUBLE EDGED SWORD POLICIES OF SAUDI ARABIA </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But will it? And who or what will replace Bashar Assad? Surely not the ragtag groups that are fighting Assad’s regime, even if the UNITED STATES may now supply some of them with arms, as President Barack Obama’s administration recently announced.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Recent history suggests just how malleable the elements in play in SYRIA really are. Consider SAUDI ARABIA’S actions there. As Bruce Riedel, an ex-CIA analyst and former National Security Council member, recently noted, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ironically, [Saudi intelligence chief Prince] Bandar was crucial to the transition in SYRIA from Hafez Assad to Bashar back in 2000, assuring key Alawite generals, then in the regime, that Bashar was up to the job and had Saudi support</b>.” Now the same Prince Bandar “is trying to get arms to the Sunni rebels to oust Bashar.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Such long-term unpredictability is why the former EUROPEAN UNION foreign-policy high representative Javier Solana and the former NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer assert that talks in Geneva are the only viable way out of the SYRIAN morass. An agreement last month between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and RUSSIAN Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov to launch a new political process for SYRIA, the so-called Geneva II conference, marked a possible opportunity; but hope is waning even before the talks begin.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Indeed, one reason for this is that, on the opening day of the RUSSIA-EUROPEAN UNION Summit in Yekaterinburg on June 4, RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin confirmed that his country would honor its contract with Syria to deliver S-300 surface-to-air missile systems. Putin stressed RUSSIA’S disappointment over the EU’s failure to maintain the arms embargo against SYRIA, thus permitting each EU member state to begin arming the SYRIAN rebels.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><b><span 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";">Now, with Obama’s decision to send arms as well, his “red line” in SYRIA – the use of chemical weapons – could well create a legacy as damaging to the region as that of the Sykes-Picot “line in the sand” proved to be</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">.</span> </span></b>To arm the rebel groups is, perhaps inevitably, also to arm their terrorist and mercenary allies. That is not a recipe for long-term stability.</span> </div>

SYRIA: ARMING SYRIAN REBELS COULD CREATE A LEGACY AS HARMFUL AS SYKES - PICOT

SYRIA’S CIVIL WAR IS NOW A GEOPOLITICAL BATTLE FOR REGIONAL DOMINATION By Jaswant Singh, via StratRisk As the West begins to gear up for th...

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