The Way We Live Now: Nearly Half of Single Cellphone Users Have Received a Sext, Two-Thirds of Couples Share Passwords (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9M2I9YY3zTJsrHuFFtNq4D2CoxRShyb6lhnUCrjJxgSu53n4ga4ezFObUeO5wOU2EaAj02eJsb0hHm6_NWlcCZzgGpYklTkdAv5PIAgCTi5CHc8BAj1mHz_oBRpJSBepSOCvFBl95f8/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9M2I9YY3zTJsrHuFFtNq4D2CoxRShyb6lhnUCrjJxgSu53n4ga4ezFObUeO5wOU2EaAj02eJsb0hHm6_NWlcCZzgGpYklTkdAv5PIAgCTi5CHc8BAj1mHz_oBRpJSBepSOCvFBl95f8/s1600/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="dek char-limit multiline" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TitlingGothicFBCondRegular, 'Arial Narrow', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px !important; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 0px 24px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">We sext. We share email passwords. We use digital tools to solve problems. This is how we love in the age of technology.</div><section class="article-body-content" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">On HBO's <i style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Girls</i>, Marnie Michaels describes the “totem of chat,” ranking all the different channels of romantic communication from best to worst. “The lowest, that would be Facebook, followed by Gchat, then texting, then email, then phone. Face-to-face would be ideal, but it’s not of this time.”</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">While a new study from the Pew Research Center doesn’t suggest face-to-face contact is vanishing from the realm of courtship and marriage, emailing, texting, and, yes, sexting are all playing significantly bigger roles in the formation of romantic relationships than even just a year ago.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Take this: 27 percent of all Internet users in a marriage or a committed relationship say the Internet has had some impact on their relationship. This is up significantly from 16 percent of couples back in 2005. And what for couples ages 18 to 29? Nearly half of a solid 45 percent say the Internet has impacted their relationship.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">74 percent of all adults who say their relationship has been impacted by the Internet say the effect has been positive, which suggests it’s doing a lot more good things than bad in the realm of romance.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">It could be that some of these couples met online.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Last year, Pew released a <a href="http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Online-Dating.aspx" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">study</a> showing 11 percent of all Americans have used an online dating site, and of this group, 23 percent met a spouse or partner in such a way.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">It can also help facilitate relationships in ways that were impossible a decade ago.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Ilan Caplan, 26, said he and his now-wife continued their relationship even after she graduated from college before him and went abroad because technology allowed them to.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">“When we started dating she thought of it as more than we'll do it for a couple of months and then break up, but when she was going to Israel we thought we could make this work because of Skype and other technology,” he said.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The way we share technology can even be a way of bonding or showing trust for each other.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">In the same way that giving someone a key to your home is a marker of trust and faith, so is giving someone the password to your email, or at least your Netflix account (there <i style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">are</i> boundaries). 67 percent of couples say they share passwords to an online account and 27 percent take the even bolder step of sharing their email passwords.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">This, by the way, is the technological equivalent of sharing a toothbrush.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">And for whatever reasons, sometimes it’s easier to resolve things digitally than face-to-face. To wit: 23 percent of people ages 18 to 29 in marriages or committed relationships say they have resolved a problem using digital tools that they were unable to tackle in person.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">But technology, overall, is a double-edged sword in modern-day relationships.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">For one, 8 percent of married couples that use the Internet say they have argued with their partner about how much time they spend online. 4 percent say they have been upset by seeing something a partner does online.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">And it can be even more complex when it comes to dating and getting to the point when you’re actually comfortably in a steady, committed relationship.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">On the one hand, it obviously affords us so many new ways of staying in touch and building a relationship, whether it's writing long, impassioned email when you're thousands of miles apart from your betrothed, sending a flirty, post-first date text, or really wanting to get the ball rolling in a specific direction with an s-e-x-t sext.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">In fact, things get extra complicated when you get to the sext. A Nexis search doesn’t even show a published work using the word until February of 2012, but we all know the pervasiveness of the sext is only increasing.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The Pew study revealed that in just a year, the number of cellphone users who send texts rose 15% percent from 6 to 9 percent, and the number who received sexts jumped from 15 to 20 percent of all cellphone users (so, <i style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">somebody</i> is sending a lot of those sexts to make up for the gap).</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Among cellphone users who are single, those numbers jump to 42 percent who say they have received a sext and 23 percent who have sent one. With those odds, you may very well likely receive a body shot or “dick pic” flashing across your phone before you ever get a bouquet of roses or box of chocolate.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">That can turn people on or off really fast.</div><blockquote class="blockquote" style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: white; display: table; float: left; font-family: TitlingGothicFBStandCond; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 350px; line-height: inherit; margin: 9px 31px 9px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; quotes: none; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline; width: 235px;"><div class="centerer" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: table-cell; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 350px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: middle; width: 235px;"><div class="safe-area" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-height: 340px; max-width: 200px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="content" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 26px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; letter-spacing: 1.6px; line-height: 29.899999618530273px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">"With those odds, you may very well likely receive a body shot or 'dick pic' flashing across your phone before you ever get a bouquet of roses or box of chocolate."</div></div></div></blockquote><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Even without sexts ramping up the sexual progression of a relationship, the instant and easy communication afforded by technology completely revs up the pressure to be in contact in general.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Not so long ago there used to be the <a href="http://www.today.com/id/51522670/ns/today-today_health/t/day-rule-dead-dating-trends-revealed/#.UvlSbPZgNeU" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">“three day rule,”</a> which was that a person (usually the guy in heterosexual relationships) would wait at least three days before calling the girl.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">As a Match.com study showed, 78 percent of men don’t follow this rule, probably because it seems highly anachronistic to modern courtship for a couple of critical reasons.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">First of all, a phone call? Let's return to the <i style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Girls</i> “totem of chat,” shall we?</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">In most cases of modern dating, you're going to go on several dates and define your relationship with distinct labels before one of you actually makes a call and vocally projects into the phone.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6;"><br />Sure, some people wait three days or longer. But, when communication is so easy and accessible, three days seems both unbearably long and purposefully delayed, as if trying a little too hard to play hard to get.</span>Second of all, three days can seem like an eternity when you spend all day G-chatting your friends in a stream of constant communication and when you're like carrying a device at all times that enables you to be contacted via multiple channels of communication with literally a click of a button.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The three-day rule is just one of many dating etiquette rules that have been killed by modern-day technology. </div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Whether that’s a good or bad thing is unclear, but it is certain that technology has significantly influenced the way we communicate love, romance, and sex, regardless of whether we’re in solidly stable marriages or sexting away like crazy.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Or both.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">-DB</div></section>

The Way We Live Now: Nearly Half of Single Cellphone Users Have Received a Sext, Two-Thirds of Couples Share Passwords (BLOG)

We sext. We share email passwords. We use digital tools to solve problems. This is how we love in the age of technology. On HBO's  Girls...

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Severe Winter Weather Causing Stress and Mental Disorders

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>No sign of relief from Arctic air </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><img alt="US: Current Temperatures" border="0" height="270" name="mapImg" src="http://i.imwx.com/images/maps/current/acttemp_600x405.jpg" width="400" /> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Mental Health Industry reports a tremendous amount of <i>Seasonal Affective Disorder</i> cases...</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2014/02/12/psychiatrist-there-has-been-a-tremendous-amount-of-seasonal-affective-disorder-this-winter/" style="color: red;">http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2014/02/12/psychiatrist-there-has-been-a-tremendous-amount-of-seasonal-affective-disorder-this-winter/</a></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>...developing...</b></div>

Severe Winter Weather Causing Stress and Mental Disorders

No sign of relief from Arctic air Mental Health Industry reports a tremendous amount of Seasonal Affective Disorder cases... http://atlant...

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Many Radical Syrian Rebel Commanders Are Escaped Prisoners From Iraq

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuiycwp1Y6lZwk1dtkfvUbUFTxcmbCiFh_4uFR6rAvtYrHEerNw7hZJwummfA4WnJhK6Rh3RUUnHzc3xKyxI4tuY-wzHEJEq0w6MkB5L6Ps2JJ-6CzoF1OQEWYVZPEVXrPC4fJu1GG_O-/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuiycwp1Y6lZwk1dtkfvUbUFTxcmbCiFh_4uFR6rAvtYrHEerNw7hZJwummfA4WnJhK6Rh3RUUnHzc3xKyxI4tuY-wzHEJEq0w6MkB5L6Ps2JJ-6CzoF1OQEWYVZPEVXrPC4fJu1GG_O-/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The six individuals who have been at the helm of the terror group are from Iraq, the Iraqi interior ministry told Al Arabiya News Channel. (<a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2014/02/13/Exclusive-Top-ISIS-leaders-revealed.html">Al Arabiya</a>) </span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Escaped Inmates From Iraq Fuel Syrian Insurgency -- New York Times</b></span></div><br />BAGHDAD — A series of daring but little noticed breakouts from Iraqi prisons has freed hundreds of hardened militants who are now among the leaders and foot soldiers of the radical Sunni groups operating in neighboring Syria and, increasingly, in Iraq itself.<br /><br />The role of the former inmates in fueling a new wave of Sunni jihad across the region is an unfortunate reminder of the breakdown of authority in Iraq since the United States departed in 2011, of the security vacuum that has spread around the region and of the continuing threat of Sunni-led terrorist groups that the United States said it was fighting during its occupation of Iraq.<br /><br />The prison breaks also reflect the surging demand for experienced fighters, which led to a concerted effort by militant groups, particularly the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, to seek them in the one place where they were held en masse — Iraq’s prison cells.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/world/middleeast/escaped-inmates-from-iraq-fuel-syria-insurgency.html?hp">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><b>Update #1:</b> <a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2014/02/13/Exclusive-Top-ISIS-leaders-revealed.html">Exclusive: Top ISIS leaders revealed</a> -- Al Arabiya<br /><b>Update #2:</b> <a href="http://www.newser.com/story/182262/where-did-syria-extremists-come-from-iraqs-prisons.html">Where Did Syria Extremists Come From? Iraq's Prisons</a> -- Newser<br /><br /><b>My Comment</b>: Something for Afghanistan to ponder upon with <b><a href="http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.ca/2014/02/afghanistan-frees-65-dangerous-taliban.html">today's Taliban release</a></b>.

Many Radical Syrian Rebel Commanders Are Escaped Prisoners From Iraq

The six individuals who have been at the helm of the terror group are from Iraq, the Iraqi interior ministry told Al Arabiya News Channel. (...

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Abbie Cornish is Recording a Rap Album... Seriously! (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhRUoSWN1ll8qkg8p-lnph1mGUEL3DOxMLP3JmpKaWzuSAk-qZess8DDtPaKyR0tG7tIQ_waL2oqHnBMMb6n39V5oev8kKhJ8apdCpmGHoNmg-rx4JJiSSJhq19ruPAs-gFBEkci4LQ0/s1600/abb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhRUoSWN1ll8qkg8p-lnph1mGUEL3DOxMLP3JmpKaWzuSAk-qZess8DDtPaKyR0tG7tIQ_waL2oqHnBMMb6n39V5oev8kKhJ8apdCpmGHoNmg-rx4JJiSSJhq19ruPAs-gFBEkci4LQ0/s1600/abb.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;"><strong>Abbie Cornish</strong> is red hot while heading into the studio for an appearance on <em><strong>Jimmy Kimmel Live</strong></em> on Wednesday evening (February 12) in Hollywood.</div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;">The 31-year-old actress was on the show promoting her new movie <em>Robocop</em>, in theaters now.</div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;"><strong>Abbie</strong> recently revealed in an interview that she is recording a rap album… and she was not kidding at all!</div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;">“I’m half-way through it,” <strong>Abbie</strong> told E! News. “I go back into the studio at the end of February. It should be finished soon. It should be released toward the end of the year… I compose and write. I’m working with a lot of producers and musicians.”</div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;">“My favorite rapper is <strong>Eminem</strong>,” she added. “But my music collection goes from classical to jazz to blues. My favorite era is the sixties and seventies. I have a very eclectic taste in music.”</div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;">FYI: <strong>Abbie</strong> is wearing a <em>Philip Armstrong</em> dress, <em>Sheikh</em> shoes, and <em>Graziela Gems </em>earrings.</div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.799999237060547px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.799999237060547px;"></span><br /><div class="plugs" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.799999237060547px; margin: auto; padding-left: 10px; width: 540px;"></div><br /><div class="center" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="center" style="text-align: center;">source: http://www.justjared.com/2014/02/13/abbie-cornish-is-recording-a-rap-album-seriously/</div>

Abbie Cornish is Recording a Rap Album... Seriously! (BLOG)

Abbie Cornish  is red hot while heading into the studio for an appearance on  Jimmy Kimmel Live  on Wednesday evening (February 12) in Holly...

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Is Your Juice Cleanse Doing More Harm Than Good? (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsnzonfooMlzodysZgF9pGuS3cSvF16tqHKkuRMOa6HxvHnkW7f3HOSso63zCI2ukpmFmM0LOgcYHMF6NQvKBpfPJ8i-wSCAYuzGmf6xGr0MJ9zuHWJ2nZeEjuFabZGkpCUTCYm-bHfI/s1600/xx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsnzonfooMlzodysZgF9pGuS3cSvF16tqHKkuRMOa6HxvHnkW7f3HOSso63zCI2ukpmFmM0LOgcYHMF6NQvKBpfPJ8i-wSCAYuzGmf6xGr0MJ9zuHWJ2nZeEjuFabZGkpCUTCYm-bHfI/s1600/xx.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">By Kristen Domonell for <a href="http://dailyburn.com/life/?partner=dailybeast&mtype=5&sub_id=021114_juicecleanse&utm_source=dailybeast&utm_medium=synd&utm_campaign=021114_juicecleanse&utm_content=byline" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">Life by DailyBurn</a> </em></div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Depending on who you ask, some say juice cleanses will leave you feeling healthier and clear headed, while others contend they’ll just make you feel hungry and irritable. So are we shelling out for fresh-pressed goodness or a dangerous, pulp-free fad?</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The trend is so popular that <a href="http://www.bevindustry.com/" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank"><i style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Beverage Industry</i></a> magazine <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/46745709" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">predicts</a> sales of juice smoothies and yogurt drinks will grow four percent a year through 2015, reaching annual revenue of $1.1 billion. “Detoxes and cleanses have become so mainstream, many of my clients feel like they’re doing something wrong if they haven’t tried at least one,” says <a href="http://cynthiasass.com/" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">Cynthia Sass</a>, R.D., author of <a href="http://www.cynthiasass.com/sass-yourself-slim/sass-yourself-slim-book.html" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank"><i style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">S.A.S.S.! Yourself Slim</i></a><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> </b>and sports nutrition consultant to the <a href="http://rangers.nhl.com/" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">New York Rangers</a> and <a href="http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=tb" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">Tampa Bay Rays</a>.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Despite this popularity, there’s very little research to support (or condemn) the health claims made by juice cleanse companies. One small <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12624474" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">German study</a> found an eight percent decrease in cholesterol among five men after an eight-day juice fast. But the results were short lived—their cholesterol levels went back to normal a week later.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">So do juice cleanses live up to the hype? And are they safe?</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The Skinny</b></div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The juices that are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/dining/the-rush-toward-cold-pressed-juices.html?pagewanted=all" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">receiving the most hype</a> are cold-pressed, a process that entails pulverizing fruits and vegetables and then pressing them with enough force to remove all the nutrients and juice, leaving behind a pulp, explains Kelly Boyer, founder and executive chef at <a href="http://paleta.com/" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">PALETA</a>, a company offering farm-to-table meal delivery and cold-pressed juices. It’s different from raw juicing, where blenders and juicers create centrifugal force, which could raise the heat of produce slightly and potentially cause nutrients to begin to deplete, she says.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The process completely removes the <a href="http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/get-the-facts-on-fiber" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;">healthy fiber</a> from the produce, on purpose. “Fiber is great for us, but the reason for these cold-pressed detoxes is to remove the fiber so your body can rest,” says Boyer. “Eighty percent of our energy is spent on digestion, but by taking that away it allows those vital nutrients in the drinks to hyper-absorb into your body.”</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Research shows that whole fruits are more beneficial than juices for preventing<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23990623" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">diabetes</a>, helping you to <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664987/" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">feel full</a>, and <a href="http://depts.washington.edu/uwcphn/reports/JuiceBrief_Final.pdf" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">satisfying daily fiber requirements</a>, and even cleanse proponents would never recommend permanently replacing whole fruits and vegetables with juices.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">In Favor of Fruit Juice</b></div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Without as much fiber, your body can get a fast blast of nutrients, while giving the digestive system a chance to relax, says Boyer. “[A cleanse] is a great metabolism reset. The only way it messes with your metabolism is if you’re on it for an extended period of time.”</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Boyer’s detoxes are positioned as three days, but she says even a one-day cleanse is a good way to reward the body and reset your metabolism. Boyer also points out that it’s important to follow the guidelines and properly time consumption, or your metabolism will bounce all over the place.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Cleanses can also serve as a fresh start and a transition into a long-term, health way of eating, says Sass.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">“Detoxes and cleanses prevent you from being able to act on your usual emotional, social, environmental and habitual eating triggers, which can be the first step to breaking unhealthy patterns,” she says.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The Downside of Juicing</b></div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">While they can be a good way to press the “restart button,” it isn’t scientifically proven that your body actually needs to be cleansed. “Your body is pretty high tech, and if you think about it, it cleanses itself pretty frequently,” says <a href="http://www.schillingnutrition.com/" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">Leslie Schilling</a>, R.D., Memphis-based nutrition counselor.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">A day or two is likely safe, she says, but if you’re on a cleanse for an extended period of time, you could end up <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/163957-what-is-a-hypocaloric-diet/" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">hypocaloric</a>, and your body is going to start tapping into fat stores, forcing the liver to releasing glucose and eventually breaking down muscle tissue.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">“It really depends on the person and how much extra storage they have lying around,” says Schilling. “But within three or four days you’re going to see somebody potentially tap into other stores once their body realizes it’s not getting the energy it needs from sources like fat and protein.”</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">So while a cleanse could result in some fat burned, it’s a bad idea to try a cleanse with the intention of losing weight, says Boyer, since any weight loss comes at the expense of muscle loss.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Juicy Workouts</b></div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">If you do opt for a cleanse, it’s important to take some precautions. For example, with limited calories and an empty-feeling stomach, exercising on a cleanse will feel different than when you’re fully fueled, to say the least. On top of limited calories, without the pulp, juices don’t provide the raw materials required for healing and recovering, says Sass.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">“As a result, doing both exercise and a cleanse can leave you feeling tired, dizzy and nauseous,” she says. “It can also result in breaking down muscle mass, which can up your injury risk and lower your metabolic rate, the exact opposite result than what you’re aiming for.”</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">If you are going to exercise, workouts need to be less intense and properly timed, says Boyer. Instead of running your normal 10 miles, run five during cleanse days, or try something a little less intense, like a yoga or Pilates class, she recommends. And if you truly feel the need to do something more intense, the workout should be timed so it falls close to your last juice, and you should refuel with another immediately afterward.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">When to Stay Away</b></div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Juices made by reputable companies are raw, unpasteurized and organic, which creates a slight risk for carrying bacteria, says Boyer. That means women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and anyone with an autoimmune disease should probably avoid these cleanses. People who are on medications that need to be taken with a meal should also consult with their doctor before trying a juice cleanse.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Of course, health condition or not, cleanses aren’t for everyone.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6;"><br />Super strict cold-pressed regimens may be incredibly popular, but Sass says most of her clients feel more energized and satiated—and get better long-term results—when they include lean protein, healthy fats, and raw veggies and fruits they can chew, rather than juices that are gone in a few gulps.</span>“While some people rave about how amazing they feel physically and emotionally during a cleanse, I’ve seen others struggle with moodiness, irritability, depression, fatigue, constipation, constant thoughts of food and rebound binge eating,” says Sass. “Listen to your body and mind. If either one or both don’t react well to limiting your diet, don’t put yourself through it.”</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The Final Squeeze</b></div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.1875em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Since there’s not one standard definition of a cleanse, there isn’t a body of research backing or attacking juice cleanses. As long as your goal isn’t weight loss, some experts suggest a one to three day cleanse can be a safe and effective way to give your digestive system a rest. But don’t feel like you <i style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">need </i>to jump on the juice bandwagon to be healthy—a well-balanced diet will also do the trick.</div>

Is Your Juice Cleanse Doing More Harm Than Good? (BLOG)

By Kristen Domonell for  Life by DailyBurn   Depending on who you ask, some say juice cleanses will leave you feeling healthier and clear he...

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US Secretary Of State John Kerry Arrives In South Korea To Discuss Pressure On North Korea While Enlisting China's Help

<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Wgecvd-XdR0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kerry Visits South Korea To Discuss Pressure On North Korea, Will Enlist China’s Help Next -- Washington Post</b></span></div><br />SEOUL — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with South Korean leaders on Thursday to reinvigorate efforts to deter North Korea from pursuing nuclear arms. But how exactly the United States can accomplish that after decades of frustrated efforts remains a vexing problem with no immediate answers.<br /><br />U.S. officials said Kerry planned to first coordinate with the South Koreans, then push Chinese leaders to increase their pressure on North Korea during a Beijing stop Friday.<br /><br />A senior State Department official traveling with Kerry described the trip as “an effort to translate ‘denuclearization’ from a noun to a verb.” The official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, said Kerry wants to “enlist greater and greater levels of Chinese cooperation in actually helping to achieve the goal of denuclearization, not just talking about it.”<br /><br />The Asia tour comes at a difficult juncture for U.S. policy in the region.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/kerry-in-seoul-to-confer-on-north-korea-ahead-of-china-visit/2014/02/13/d1491ba8-94a2-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html?tid=hpModule_949fa2be-8691-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>More News On US Secretary Of State John Kerry Arriving In South Korea To Discuss Pressure On North Korea</b></span></div><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26150447">US top diplomat John Kerry visits Seoul amid Korea tensions</a> -- BBC<br /><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/02/13/kerry-vows-us-support-for-skorea-warns-north-korea-against-aggression/">Kerry vows US support for SKorea, warns North Korea against aggression</a> -- FOX News/AP<br /><a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/02/13/asia-pacific/kerry-in-seoul-for-talks-on-north-koreas-nuclear-arms-ambitions/#.Uv0DnoW0ykM">Kerry in Seoul for talks on North Korea’s nuclear arms ambitions </a>-- Japan Times/AFP<br /><a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2014/02/13/John-Kerry-S-Korean-officials-discuss-N-Korean-nuclear-program/UPI-54631392271500/">John Kerry, S. Korean officials discuss N. Korean nuclear program</a> -- UPI<br /><a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/kerry-tells-n-korea-to/996854.html">Kerry tells N Korea to get "real"</a> -- Channel News Asia<br /><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/140213/kerry-says-n-korea-will-not-be-accepted-nuclear-state">Kerry says N. Korea will not be accepted as nuclear state</a> -- Global Post/Kyodo News<br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0213/John-Kerry-tells-North-Korea-US-won-t-back-down-on-military-exercises">John Kerry tells North Korea: US won't back down on military exercises</a> -- AP<br /><a href="http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-454178/">Kerry to Seek China’s Help on North Korea</a> -- Wall Street Journal<br /><a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-to-focus-on-north-korea-china-on-asia-tour/1850450.html">Kerry to Focus on North Korea, China on Asia Tour</a> -- Voice of America<br /><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/yonhap-news-agency/140213/us-not-hold-talks-sake-talks-n-korea-kerry-1">U.S. not to hold talks for sake of talks with N. Korea: Kerry </a>-- Global Post/Yonhap News<br /><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-13/kerry-bids-to-defuse-maritime-north-korea-tensions-in-asia-trip.html">Kerry Bids to Defuse Maritime-North Korea Tensions in Asia Trip</a> -- Bloomberg<br /><a href="http://thediplomat.com/2014/02/dont-be-fooled-north-korea-is-getting-ready-to-provoke/">Don’t Be Fooled: North Korea Is Getting Ready to Provoke</a> -- Zachary Keck, The Diplomat

US Secretary Of State John Kerry Arrives In South Korea To Discuss Pressure On North Korea While Enlisting China's Help

Kerry Visits South Korea To Discuss Pressure On North Korea, Will Enlist China’s Help Next -- Washington Post SEOUL — U.S. Secretary of Stat...

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John Singleton to Helm Long-Delayed Tupac Shakur Biopic (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vFdFrU4I_ABlOThOuwUcRFmZOSueAb31DswAi72-BWiy6Nr4Iek5aW5ttio8yCVxQetLSaQe_aHzcq3T64wr4IdWK2JKr9Via8t-U1dlcMJbZuz0AfneDNd9lc_qyDzSteLx4UknCI4/s1600/sss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vFdFrU4I_ABlOThOuwUcRFmZOSueAb31DswAi72-BWiy6Nr4Iek5aW5ttio8yCVxQetLSaQe_aHzcq3T64wr4IdWK2JKr9Via8t-U1dlcMJbZuz0AfneDNd9lc_qyDzSteLx4UknCI4/s1600/sss.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">After endless false starts and legal battles, the long-awaited Tupac Shakur biopic is finally being resurrected. According to <a href="http://variety.com/2014/film/news/john-singleton-tupac-shakur-1201034496/" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Variety</em></a>, the as-yet-untitled project will be written, directed and produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker John Singleton (<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Boyz n the Hood</em>, <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Four Brothers</em>, <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 Fast 2 Furious</em>).</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Singleton is expected to start working on the screenplay immediately, with the goal to start production in the summer. The choice of director makes sense: Singleton was both a friend and collaborator of Shakur's, having directed the rapper/actor opposite Janet Jackson in the 1993 romantic drama <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Poetic Justice</em>. <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></em></div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">"Tupac was the guy who I planned to do a lifetime of films with," Singleton says. "His passing deeply affected my life as well as countless people in this world. His life story is as important to my generation."</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">The film – which will reportedly focus on the rapper's rise to fame and 1996 murder – has endured its fair share of complications: The project, once known as <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Tupac</em>, was originally <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/tupac-shakur-biopic-set-to-start-filming-this-spring-20110217" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">set to move forward</a> in February 2011, but was delayed by a lengthy legal battle between Morgan Creek and Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur, who fought for extensive creative control. After signing off on the project, she was sued by Morgan Creek for continuing to negotiate after the deal was completed. Afeni then followed with a countersuit, claiming there was no deal. Both sides eventually reached a settlement before the case went to trial in 2011. </div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">It remains unclear who will portray Tupac in the film, though the announcement of Singleton's involvement is a major step forward.</div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bbJxak64Kr4kEzacwqm_6l&u=rollingstone" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@rollingstone on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bbJxak64Kr4kEzacwqm_6l&u=RollingStone" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">RollingStone on Facebook</a></span>

John Singleton to Helm Long-Delayed Tupac Shakur Biopic (BLOG)

After endless false starts and legal battles, the long-awaited Tupac Shakur biopic is finally being resurrected. According to  Variety , the...

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Matt Lauer, Al Roker Sit Naked in Hot Tub for Sochi Spa Segment: Wild Picture (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWQRuwy6tzo8gwn2BFTvme3h95eXgpkmF08tcWClMlf7fYKBWVDJjF_FA8TY8lTbud8tAAoDzZuKj0eM3pVr-7S1BV1bEtA9qhX207FX1d1cukLeY4PD2YUbBeLXEQL-g8_Y5is4Ty78/s1600/rr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWQRuwy6tzo8gwn2BFTvme3h95eXgpkmF08tcWClMlf7fYKBWVDJjF_FA8TY8lTbud8tAAoDzZuKj0eM3pVr-7S1BV1bEtA9qhX207FX1d1cukLeY4PD2YUbBeLXEQL-g8_Y5is4Ty78/s1600/rr.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Things are getting strange in Sochi! <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Matt Lauer</strong> and <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Al Roker</strong> stripped down naked and huddled together in a hot tub for a Today show segment called "Relax Like a Russian." </div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The dynamic duo visited a traditional Russian bathhouse where they were "pampered" like Olympic athletes on the Wednesday, Feb. 12 episode of NBC's morning program. "I think it's time to chill out like an Olympian," Roker told Lauer before the buddies headed into the sauna, nestled in a scenic mountainous region of Sochi.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The pair then underwent a slew of unexpected treatments, starting with a deep back massage which ended with masseuses smacking the two men on the back with hot eucalyptus leaves, causing Lauer to yelp, "What did I do to you?" while Roker quipped, "That tingles!"</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I'm not sure how much more of the, uh, recreational spanking I can take," Lauer remarked before he and Roker headed into the steaming outdoor hot tub. Once both men climbed into the giant pool, the masseuses then poured hot water over their heads before enveloping their heads with eucalyptus leaves. "Whoa, didn't see that coming," Roker, still wearing his glasses, said of his unofficial baptism session.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"So now we know how to relax like Olympians," Lauer commented.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Roker responded, "Yeah, by making Matt and Al soup."</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This is not their first time the two pals have made waves on the <em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Today </em>show. Back in November, cameras followed Lauer and Roker into a NYC hospital as both <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/matt-lauer-al-roker-undergo-prostate-exams-live-on-today-show-2013711" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">underwent prostate exams on live TV</a>.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It has also been a buzzworthy week overall for NBC's Winter Olympics staff. For the second night in a row, Lauer will fill in for <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bob Costas</strong> during Tuesday's primetime coverage due to the sportscaster's <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/bob-costas-eye-infection-matt-lauer-primetime-olympics-coverage-2014112" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">unrelenting eye infection</a>.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><span style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /><br /><br />Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=dFNQGSbkCr4AEwacwqm_6r&u=usweekly" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">@usweekly on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=dFNQGSbkCr4AEwacwqm_6r&u=usweekly" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">usweekly on Facebook</a></span>

Matt Lauer, Al Roker Sit Naked in Hot Tub for Sochi Spa Segment: Wild Picture (BLOG)

Things are getting strange in Sochi!  Matt Lauer  and  Al Roker  stripped down naked and huddled together in a hot tub for a Today show segm...

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Rihanna Claims Ex-Accountant Left Her 'Effectively Bankrupt' (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1sSo4IYVlRIgTFnQb0JFC6mPir7xs89GaHQUC-FBtHrGrfv1qpxy0cUV8JJTkkyV1KsxVk6PB0-zsEGEWyJq47EVnZGvOcpaYjixDypDlrOXhusfBwN4wRYZY-wcFvI93Cxv5e8M_lc/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1sSo4IYVlRIgTFnQb0JFC6mPir7xs89GaHQUC-FBtHrGrfv1qpxy0cUV8JJTkkyV1KsxVk6PB0-zsEGEWyJq47EVnZGvOcpaYjixDypDlrOXhusfBwN4wRYZY-wcFvI93Cxv5e8M_lc/s1600/11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Rihanna may have turned into a bit of a wild child in the past few years, but that doesn't mean she's ignoring her finances.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">TMZ reports that the "Diamonds" singer has claimed that in 2009, her former accountant grossly mismanaged her money, <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2014/02/12/rihanna-lawsuit-accountant-bankrupt/" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b10000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">causing her to become "effectively bankrupt"</a> in just one year's time.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Rihanna has reportedly filed new legal documents stating that she had $11 million in cash at the beginning of 2009, but that due to poor handling of her finances, she was left with only $2 million, and significantly higher expenses, by the end of the year. The accountant allegedly failed to inform the singer that her 2009 Last Girl on Earth tour was losing money and then irresponsibly okayed her request to purchase a house that cost $7 to 7.5 million.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2012, Rihanna <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2012/08/13/rihanna-lawsuit-ex-accountants-fire-back/" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b10000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">filed a lawsuit</a> against her former accounting firm for its alleged mismanagement of her finances; this latest letter is said to have been filed in connection to that suit.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Before you start passing around the collection jar for the 25-year-old Barbadian singer, know she's made quite the comeback since 2009. Forbes estimates that <a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/rihanna/" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b10000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">she made $43 million in 2013 alone</a>, and net-worth calculating site TheRichest estimates that <a href="http://www.therichest.com/celebnetworth/celeb/singer/rihanna-net-worth/" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b10000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">she is worth $85 million</a>.</div>

Rihanna Claims Ex-Accountant Left Her 'Effectively Bankrupt' (BLOG)

Rihanna may have turned into a bit of a wild child in the past few years, but that doesn't mean she's ignoring her finances. TMZ rep...

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Russian President Putin Supports Egyptian Military Chief Sisi's Bid For The Egyptian Presidency

<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/cjvDjH4j2R8" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Russia's Putin Says Supports Sisi's Bid For Egypt Presidency -- Reuters</b></span></div><br />(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday threw his weight behind a presidential bid by Egyptian Army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, voicing hope that ties would strengthen after the election.<br /><br />Russia is looking to take advantage of strains between Cairo and Washington, which has withheld some of its annual aid to Egypt after Sisi ousted Egypt's first democratically elected president Islamist leader Mohamed Mursi last year.<br /><br />Sisi, 59, has been urged to run by members of the public who reject the Islamist government he toppled, and by members of the armed forces who want a president who can face down growing political violence. Earlier this month, a Kuwaiti newspaper quoted him as saying he would run in an election expected to be held in April.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/13/us-russia-egypt-putin-idUSBREA1C0P220140213">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>More News On Russian President Putin Supporting Egyptian Military Chief Sisi's Bid For The Egyptian Presidency</b></span></div><br /><a href="http://en.ria.ru/world/20140213/187498184/Egyptian-Leader-El-Sisi-Meets-Putin-On-First-Foreign-Trip.html">Egyptian Leader El-Sisi Meets Putin On First Foreign Trip</a> -- RIA Novosti<br /><a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/02/13/putin_sends_signal_to_us_by_endorsing_egyptian_candidate_who_isnt_running_yet.html">Putin sends signal to U.S. by endorsing Egyptian candidate who isn’t running yet</a> -- AP<br /><a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303704304579380713358994146?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303704304579380713358994146.html">Putin Supports Egyptian Military Chief's Presidential Bid </a>-- Wall Street Journal<br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-26171142">Putin backs Sisi 'bid for Egypt presidency'</a> -- BBC<br /><a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/putin-egypt-sisi-presidency-morsi/25262881.html">Putin Backs Egypt Military Chief's Bid For Presidency </a>-- Radio Free Europe<br /><a href="http://www.euronews.com/2014/02/13/russia-s-putin-gives-supports-to-sisi-s-bid-for-egypt-presidency/">Russia’s Putin gives supports to Sisi’s bid for Egypt presidency</a> -- Euronews<br /><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/russia-s-putin-supports-sisi-s-bid-for-egypt-presidency-1.1690587">Russia’s Putin supports Sisi’s bid for Egypt presidency</a> -- Irish Times<br /><a href="http://www.novinite.com/articles/158195/Russia,+Egypt+Pledge+Closer+Military,+Economic+Ties">Russia, Egypt Pledge Closer Military, Economic Ties </a>-- Novinite<br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-russia-egypt-sisi-putin-20140213,0,6138582.story#axzz2t41LE47C">Amid U.S.-Egypt chill, Sisi seeks military assistance from Russia</a> -- L.A. Times<br /><a href="http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/94184/Egypt/Politics-/Russia-trip-new-start-to-military-cooperation-Egyp.aspx">Russia trip new start to military cooperation: Egypt's El-Sisi</a> -- Ahram Online<br /><a href="http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_13/Putin-hopes-for-tighter-Russia-Egypt-bond-after-president-elections-8446/">Putin hopes for tighter Moscow-Cairo ties after Egypt presidential elections</a> -- Voice of Russia<br /><a href="http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/842400.shtml#.Uv0AKIW0ykM">Egypt’s Sisi negotiates $2b arms deal in Russia</a> -- Global Times/AFP<br /><a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2014/02/13/Russia-Egypt-meet-to-discuss-4B-arms-deal/UPI-21371392300277/">Russia, Egypt meet to discuss $4B arms deal</a> -- UPI<br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-26177792">Sisi in Russia: Moscow's Egyptian gambit</a> -- Jonathan Marcus, BBC

Russian President Putin Supports Egyptian Military Chief Sisi's Bid For The Egyptian Presidency

Russia's Putin Says Supports Sisi's Bid For Egypt Presidency -- Reuters (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday thr...

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The Vampire Squid Strikes Again: The Mega Banks' Most Devious Scam Yet (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMcdci-bj7JWmVy4CP2XhwhYr9Fi4U8YwuWfAR_nrc5u9JXf9y0rVrisMaNHkTBhw20HEJ8IpBh-RraHOFYaNADCWzsss7yjR0qDjMlorx35Q0MkcdLTRD0jiZBvUAXA1VpDNzWlGaq8/s1600/vv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMcdci-bj7JWmVy4CP2XhwhYr9Fi4U8YwuWfAR_nrc5u9JXf9y0rVrisMaNHkTBhw20HEJ8IpBh-RraHOFYaNADCWzsss7yjR0qDjMlorx35Q0MkcdLTRD0jiZBvUAXA1VpDNzWlGaq8/s1600/vv.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><span style="float: left; font-size: 35pt; line-height: 0.7; margin: 0.13em 0.1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">C</span>all it the loophole that destroyed the world. It's 1999, the tail end of the Clinton years. While the rest of America obsesses over Monica Lewinsky, Columbine and Mark McGwire's biceps, Congress is feverishly crafting what could yet prove to be one of the most transformative laws in the history of our economy – a law that would make possible a broader concentration of financial and industrial power than we've seen in more than a century.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">But the crazy thing is, nobody at the time quite knew it. Most observers on the Hill thought the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 – also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act – was just the latest and boldest in a long line of deregulatory handouts to Wall Street that had begun in the Reagan years.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Wall Street had spent much of that era arguing that America's banks needed to become bigger and badder, in order to compete globally with the German and Japanese-style financial giants, which were supposedly about to swallow up all the world's banking business. So through legislative lackeys like red-faced Republican deregulatory enthusiast Phil Gramm, bank lobbyists were pushing a new law designed to wipe out 60-plus years of bedrock financial regulation. The key was repealing – or "modifying," as bill proponents put it – the famed Glass-Steagall Act separating bankers and brokers, which had been passed in 1933 to prevent conflicts of interest within the finance sector that had led to the Great Depression. Now, commercial banks would be allowed to merge with investment banks and insurance companies, creating financial megafirms potentially far more powerful than had ever existed in America.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">All of this was big enough news in itself. But it would take half a generation – till now, basically – to understand the most explosive part of the bill, which additionally legalized new forms of monopoly, allowing banks to merge with heavy industry. A tiny provision in the bill also permitted commercial banks to delve into any activity that is "complementary to a financial activity and does not pose a substantial risk to the safety or soundness of depository institutions or the financial system generally."</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Complementary to a financial activity</em>. What the hell did that mean?</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><a class="inStoryLink" href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-feds-vs-goldman-20100426" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">The Feds vs. Goldman</a></div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">"From the perspective of the banks," says Saule Omarova, a law professor at the University of North Carolina, "pretty much everything is considered complementary to a financial activity."</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Fifteen years later, in fact, it now looks like Wall Street and its lawyers took the term to be a synonym for ruthless campaigns of world domination. "Nobody knew the reach it would have into the real economy," says Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown. Now a leading voice on the Hill against the hidden provisions, Brown actually voted for Gramm-Leach-Bliley as a congressman, along with all but 72 other House members. "I bet even some of the people who were the bill's advocates had no idea."</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Today, banks like Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs own oil tankers, run airports and control huge quantities of coal, natural gas, heating oil, electric power and precious metals. They likewise can now be found exerting direct control over the supply of a whole galaxy of raw materials crucial to world industry and to society in general, including everything from food products to metals like zinc, copper, tin, nickel and, most infamously thanks to a recent high-profile scandal, aluminum. And they're doing it not just here but abroad as well: In Denmark, thousands took to the streets in protest in recent weeks, vampire-squid banners in hand, when news came out that Goldman Sachs was about to buy a 19 percent stake in Dong Energy, a national electric provider. The furor inspired mass resignations of ministers from the government's ruling coalition, as the Danish public wondered how an American investment bank could possibly hold so much influence over the state energy grid.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">There are more eclectic interests, too. After 9/11, we found it worrisome when foreigners started to get into the business of running ports, but there's been little controversy as banks have done the same, or even started dabbling in other activities with national-security implications – Goldman Sachs, for instance, is apparently now in the uranium business, a piece of news that attracted few headlines.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><a class="inStoryLink" href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/wall-streets-war-20100526" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Wall Street's War</a></div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">But banks aren't just buying stuff, they're buying whole industrial processes. They're buying oil that's still in the ground, the tankers that move it across the sea, the refineries that turn it into fuel, and the pipelines that bring it to your home. Then, just for kicks, they're also betting on the timing and efficiency of these same industrial processes in the financial markets – buying and selling oil stocks on the stock exchange, oil futures on the futures market, swaps on the swaps market, etc.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Allowing one company to control the supply of crucial physical commodities, and also trade in the financial products that might be related to those markets, is an open invitation to commit mass manipulation. It's something akin to letting casino owners who take book on NFL games during the week also coach all the teams on Sundays.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">The situation has opened a Pandora's box of horrifying new corruption possibilities, but it's been hard for the public to notice, since regulators have struggled to put even the slightest dent in Wall Street's older, more familiar scams. In just the past few years we've seen an explosion of scandals – from the multitrillion-dollar Libor saga (major international banks gaming world interest rates), to the more recent foreign-currency-exchange fiasco (many of the same banks suspected of rigging prices in the $5.3-trillion-a-day currency markets), to lesser scandals involving manipulation of interest-rate swaps, and gold and silver prices.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">But those are purely financial schemes. In these new, even scarier kinds of manipulations, banks that own whole chains of physical business interests have been caught rigging prices in those industries. For instance, in just the past two years, fines in excess of $400 million have been levied against both JPMorgan Chase and Barclays for allegedly manipulating the delivery of electricity in several states, including California. In the case of Barclays, which is contesting the fine, regulators claim prices were manipulated to help the bank win financial bets it had made on those same energy markets.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">And last summer, <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The New York Times</em> described how Goldman Sachs was caught systematically delaying the delivery of metals out of a network of warehouses it owned in order to jack up rents and artificially boost prices.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">You might not have been surprised that Goldman got caught scamming the world again, but it was certainly news to a lot of people that an investment bank with no industrial expertise, just five years removed from a federal bailout, stores and controls enough of America's aluminum supply to affect world prices.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">How was all of this possible? And who signed off on it?</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">By exploiting loopholes in a dense, decade-and-a-half-old piece of financial legislation, Wall Street has effected a revolutionary change that American citizens never discussed, debated or prepared for, and certainly never explicitly permitted in any meaningful way: the wholesale merger of high finance with heavy industry. This blitzkrieg reorganization of our economy has left millions of Americans facing a smorgasbord of frightfully unexpected new problems. Do we even have a regulatory structure in place to look out for these new forms of manipulation? (Answer: We don't.) And given that the banking sector that came so close to ruining the world economy five years ago has now vastly expanded its footprint, who's in charge of preventing the next crash?</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">In this Brave New World, nobody knows. Moreover, whatever we've done, it's too late to have a referendum on it. Garrett Wotkyns, an Arizona-based class-action attorney who has spent more than a year investigating the banks' involvement in the metals markets and is suing Goldman and others over the aluminum case on behalf of two major manufacturers, puts it this way: "It's like that line in <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Dark Knight Rises</em>," he says. "'The storm isn't coming. The storm is already here.'"</div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Read more: <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-vampire-squid-strikes-again-the-mega-banks-most-devious-scam-yet-20140212#ixzz2tDdLOFFh" style="color: #003399; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-vampire-squid-strikes-again-the-mega-banks-most-devious-scam-yet-20140212#ixzz2tDdLOFFh</a> <br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bbJxak64Kr4kEzacwqm_6l&u=rollingstone" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@rollingstone on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bbJxak64Kr4kEzacwqm_6l&u=RollingStone" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">RollingStone on Facebook</a></span>

The Vampire Squid Strikes Again: The Mega Banks' Most Devious Scam Yet (BLOG)

C all it the loophole that destroyed the world. It's 1999, the tail end of the Clinton years. While the rest of America obsesses over Mo...

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2014's January Retail Sales Report Autopsy (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the retail sales at food services and drinking places divided by the sales at food and beverage stores.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwakP7m5Xo1WzdgTuS9mVWk0oDKPlrvfbJAH_BcPKONX-jVrSJr-mX06KVSW6amoNNdbe2VxXC-LvKcTWxG-ZEocilzaEBI7q-W5lqdf9ijFez87KNbsFdhoxEQJ17SpvwZEHUENueqZM/s1600/Food+Services+to+Food+Stores+Ratio.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwakP7m5Xo1WzdgTuS9mVWk0oDKPlrvfbJAH_BcPKONX-jVrSJr-mX06KVSW6amoNNdbe2VxXC-LvKcTWxG-ZEocilzaEBI7q-W5lqdf9ijFez87KNbsFdhoxEQJ17SpvwZEHUENueqZM/s320/Food+Services+to+Food+Stores+Ratio.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />Our service economy apparently requires us to grow the amount we spend at restaurants compared to the amount we spend at food and beverage stores. Put another way, our service economy requires ever increasing amounts of service lest we slip into recession.<br /><br />I know what you may be thinking. It was very cold. People stayed home. Okay, let's go with that and try a thought experiment. I shall be your consumption guinea pig. Buckle in. It's going to be an laboratory adventure!<br /><br />I'm sitting at home. The weather is too awful to leave the house. I'm a consumer, and man have I got some pent-up consumption demand. I'm sipping my hot chocolate. I'm looking over at my computer. I take a few more sips. I look at my computer again. I take another sip. I see a smart phone on the coffee table. I drink the last sip from a now empty mug. Empty! Bah! Say it isn't so! I can't stand it! I'm going to make a purchase and have it delivered to me! Snow be damned! It's the only way to end the agony!<br /><br />The following chart shows the annual growth in nonstore retail sales. We should definitely see the cold weather surge in all its glory! It must be there!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZyvsCejCultQOvJqvByLxzPfD_LSb7-MCuTCX3r0JzdyOpe_Ot20pY0NIvMtl9HaTUyyARN3TNjuE3yoHtRun6gjZWdQ80r4jJcJi9L65VgFfYcd3KEbteEqoN7vU4iv1tgLNHInfuIk/s1600/Nonstore+Retail+Sales+Growth.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZyvsCejCultQOvJqvByLxzPfD_LSb7-MCuTCX3r0JzdyOpe_Ot20pY0NIvMtl9HaTUyyARN3TNjuE3yoHtRun6gjZWdQ80r4jJcJi9L65VgFfYcd3KEbteEqoN7vU4iv1tgLNHInfuIk/s320/Nonstore+Retail+Sales+Growth.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />Hmmm. There's a Christmas surge within a declining trend channel and a hangover to go with it. That's not quite what we were looking for with our optimistic cold weather theory. Oh, well. Can't say we didn't try!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GI3pd-dNN-0" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=s4k">St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart #1</a><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=s4r">St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart #2</a>

2014's January Retail Sales Report Autopsy (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the retail sales at food services and drinking places divided by the sales at food and beverage stores. Click to e...

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A Mob-Defying Former Mayor Knows Why New Jersey Is So Corrupt (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XoM5-7-VmU41ZZkvCjVmXi2Z3Si4Kxf5JSHDDRgZsB-xCplMjnqqQjJVKmmBIN7NvTxzJYmvozNwg31-JiIgN5epeS1tO3-opso-9ms1MSsbv-Gx_0rO2kJafF07XoeRGdtRZC60YQ8/s1600/tt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XoM5-7-VmU41ZZkvCjVmXi2Z3Si4Kxf5JSHDDRgZsB-xCplMjnqqQjJVKmmBIN7NvTxzJYmvozNwg31-JiIgN5epeS1tO3-opso-9ms1MSsbv-Gx_0rO2kJafF07XoeRGdtRZC60YQ8/s1600/tt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="dek char-limit multiline" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TitlingGothicFBCondRegular, 'Arial Narrow', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px !important; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 0px 24px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The chief of Fort Lee turned down a $500,000 mob bribe in 1974. Forty years later, he explains what makes the Garden State so fertile for corruption.</div><section class="article-body-content" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">New Jersey is giving Illinois a run for its money as America’s most corrupt state. Four of the past eight governors from the Land of Lincoln have landed in the pokey, and Chris Christie could share their fate if the worst comes to pass out of recent scandals.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Even without Christie in the clink, senators, congressmen, county bosses, and mayors of almost every major city in New Jersey have been convicted of crimes. What gives? Why does New Jersey government seem like it’s run by the Sopranos? </div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">As the former mayor of Fort Lee, I have some personal insight into New Jersey corruption. In 1974, I turned down a $500,000 bribe from developers linked to the mob to rezone 17 acres adjacent to the George Washington Bridge right where the access lanes were closed this past September in “Bridgegate.” The land was zoned single-family residential, and the developers wanted to build 3,000,000 square feet of retail, hotel, and office space. Had they gotten their way, the $500,000 bribe would have been chump change compared to the tens of millions of dollars they would have made.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation.  Almost 9 million people live in New Jersey, yet you could fit a sizeable chunk of the state into Yosemite National Park in California. Years ago, a rocket was shot and lost in Nevada.  It took searchers almost two weeks to find the errant missile. Imagine a rocket being lost in New Jersey. Within seconds of hitting the ground, millions of residents would be calling in with its exact location.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The law of supply and demand applies to New Jersey real estate: there is very little of it and strong demand for it.  Land in New Jersey is worth a fortune. Corrupt politicians sell their souls for power or money, and the dense development of land is where the action is.  It’s as simple as that.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Even in poor cities the right development of land is worth a six-figure bribe. Just last week Tony Mack, mayor of Trenton, New Jersey’s capital, was convicted, among other things, of conspiring with his brother to accept $119,000 in exchange for the development of an <a href="http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2014/02/convicted_trenton_mayor_tony_macks_lawyer_blasts_jury_verdict_and_mack_loses_his_driver.html" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">automated parking garage</a>.  The jury didn’t need more than a day to return with a guilty verdict.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">A few years ago working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office then headed by one Chris Christie, the infamous federal informer Solomon Dwek helped put three mayors and two state legislators into the slammer primarily by pretending to be a real estate developer offering money in exchange for zoning help. Not too many so-called public servants declined his offer.</div><blockquote class="blockquote" style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: white; display: table; float: left; font-family: TitlingGothicFBStandCond; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 350px; line-height: inherit; margin: 9px 31px 9px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; quotes: none; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline; width: 235px;"><div class="centerer" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: table-cell; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 350px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: middle; width: 235px;"><div class="safe-area" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-height: 340px; max-width: 200px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="content" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 30px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; letter-spacing: 1.6px; line-height: 34.5px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Corrupt politicians sell their souls for power or money, and the dense development of land is where the action is.</div></div></div></blockquote><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Corruption is even more rampant in the northern end of the state where land is closer to New York City. Two of the towns involved so far in the recent Christie scandals—Fort Lee and Hoboken—are unusually densely developed and both provide spectacular views of the Big Apple.  Fort Lee has more than 35,000 residents living within its two and a half square miles, and Hoboken has more than 50,000 people inhabiting not much more than one square mile.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">If Mayor Zimmer of Hoboken is to be believed, and I have no reason to doubt her, the Christie administration was prepared to deny Hoboken Sandy relief aid if she didn’t favor a redevelopment project represented by David Samson, Chairman of the Port Authority and a close confidante of Governor Christie. Had Zimmer succumbed to the pressure, Samson’s law firm could ultimately have made millions of dollars in legal fees.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The United States Attorney for New Jersey is reportedly investigating this matter, and if criminal conduct is found, it will dwarf Bridgegate in importance. The misuse of Sandy funds is not only morally indefensible but potentially criminal.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Belleville, New Jersey is another municipality where the development of land, in this instance, for a senior citizen housing project, has a definite stench about it.  Here it seems like the politicians were trying to cement their power rather than to fill their coffers.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">For many years Belleville’s public officials had tried unsuccessfully to raise the money for this development.  When Christie was kind enough to cough up roughly <a href="http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2014/01/christie_awards_political_ally.html" sl-processed="1" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c899d; cursor: pointer; display: inline; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">$6,000,000 of Sandy aid for Belleville to build the project</a>, it was no coincidence when the Essex County Chairman, a Democrat, and the Democratic Mayor of Belleville both endorsed the Governor’s reelection bid. The only problem is that this project has virtually nothing to do with Hurricane Sandy. In fact, Belleville was ranked 254th of cities affected by the hurricane.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6;"><br />The normally straight talking Christie has been unusually silent recently. He seems like the proverbial three monkeys all wrapped up in one—“see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”  But evil seems to be everywhere, and if the governor doesn’t come clean quickly, he has a better chance of landing in the Big House than in the White House.</span>Local officials love nothing more than supporting housing facilities for senior citizens. They are not motivated simply by pure love in their hearts, but rather because they understand that seniors vote in large numbers and tend to vote for the politicians who were kind enough to find them housing.  Skilled politicians are expert in securing this vote often by putting voting booths in the lobby of the housing.  Again it appears that the governor was using Sandy aid as a political slush fund.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">-DailyBeast</div></section>

A Mob-Defying Former Mayor Knows Why New Jersey Is So Corrupt (BLOG)

The chief of Fort Lee turned down a $500,000 mob bribe in 1974. Forty years later, he explains what makes the Garden State so fertile for co...

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