News for today's 2018

ISRAEL RUSSIA AND SYRIA

8:01 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQVW_pzdNjI-Jnz5dbNQBBWNtkh0ZCrt4eWcLbmSVKq6DPBfiXIpSXNKdPNn3NHgS2_Gp6PM5tmtoSj0N2Ud8waD2mz4aPpcCGnTfUEHQV5lMopZmOgUVj7454MjvpQbm6vztZzgZAj-n/s1600/072312_sr_henry_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQVW_pzdNjI-Jnz5dbNQBBWNtkh0ZCrt4eWcLbmSVKq6DPBfiXIpSXNKdPNn3NHgS2_Gp6PM5tmtoSj0N2Ud8waD2mz4aPpcCGnTfUEHQV5lMopZmOgUVj7454MjvpQbm6vztZzgZAj-n/s320/072312_sr_henry_640.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ISRAEL BACKS RUSSIA’S AVOWAL THAT SYRIAN CHEMICAL ARMS ARE SECURE “FOR NOW”</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See related article:  <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/12/russian-forces-take-syrian-chemical.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/12/russian-forces-take-syrian-chemical.html</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Via DEBKA<i>file</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i> </i> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“At the moment, [SYRIA’S] chemical weapons are under control,” said senior ISRAELI defense official Amos Gilad, echoing the statement by RUSSIAN Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that “the SYRIAN<b> </b>government has “consolidated its chemical weapons in one or two locations amid a rebel onslaught and they are under control for the time being.”</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu then said enigmatically: “We are facing a near possibility of far-reaching changes in the SYRIAN regime with ramifications for the sensitive weaponry [chemical, biological] present there.”<br />Like Lavrov’s comments, neither ISRAELI statement accounted for the sudden reversal of events in the last 48 hours in the turbulent history of its northern neighbor. As recently as Friday, Bashar Assad’s Scuds and warplanes were battling the rebels to keep his big chemical and biological warfare arsenals at the Al Safira complex near Aleppo out of the hands of al Qaeda adherents who were moving in fast on this target.</span></span><br /><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TWENTY FOUR HOURS LATER, THE RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ASSERTED THE WEAPONS WERE SECURE</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">debkafile’s military sources disclose that the battle of al Safira was abruptly interrupted by a foreign military force which stepped in and stopped the fighting in order to commandeer the chemical and biological stocks.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">debkafile identified this force as a <a href="http://www.debka.com/article/22627">RUSSIAN special unit.</a></span></span><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi9ywDpkEfnrNOEsmmrVp4ilyNQ_XcPdPE2LYdgF0bpXu4aigVQk7bOQmNlz0VChEPwIgROsh7IpcxzyhWh68BOZz8-bb2bGIXC-bxbUn5-DB5X2vo30s-rAGo4mly6ABfShu_3M4jgtn5/s1600/Fabricating-WMD-%25E2%2580%259CEvidence%25E2%2580%259D-Israeli-Covert-Operation-inside-Syria-to-%25E2%2580%259CTrack-Chemical-Arsenal%25E2%2580%259D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi9ywDpkEfnrNOEsmmrVp4ilyNQ_XcPdPE2LYdgF0bpXu4aigVQk7bOQmNlz0VChEPwIgROsh7IpcxzyhWh68BOZz8-bb2bGIXC-bxbUn5-DB5X2vo30s-rAGo4mly6ABfShu_3M4jgtn5/s320/Fabricating-WMD-%25E2%2580%259CEvidence%25E2%2580%259D-Israeli-Covert-Operation-inside-Syria-to-%25E2%2580%259CTrack-Chemical-Arsenal%25E2%2580%259D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The entire episode is covered in a heavy blanket of secrecy, imposed from Moscow, Washington, Jerusalem and Damascus. <b>They are using the public preoccupation with the holiday period in the West to keep it dark. </b>However, from the scraps of evidence available, it is transpires that the foreign special unit reaching al Safira gave both sides, the SYRIAN army and the rebels, an ultimatum to hold their fire until the arsenals were removed, or else this special unit would mete out crushing punishment.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">DID THE RUSSIANS CARRIED OUT THEIR OPERATION FOR THE CAPTURE OF ASSAD'S WMD ALONE, OR IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE US AND ISRAEL</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Since then, the SYRIAN army and rebels do not appear to have resumed fighting and it is not clear which side remains in control of the al Safira military complex.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">One of the many enigmas surrounding this episode is whether the RUSSIANS carried out their operation for the capture of Assad's WMD alone, or in conjunction with the US and ISRAEL. And whether this cooperation extended up to and including implementation, or was confined to the intelligence and preparatory stages.<br />Amos Gilad’s comment points to a measure of international cooperation. <br />Furthermore, it is not clear whether the SYRIAN ruler gave permission for the removal of his unconventional weapons out of the reach of the rebels. Neither is their destination known.  And most of all, what makes RUSSIAN and ISRAELI officials so sure that they are in safe hands?</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In his statement Saturday, Lavrov divulged that it had been “consolidated in one or two places” and that “RUSSIAN military advisers... kept close watch over [SYRIA’S] chemical arsenal.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">CIVIL WAR BETWEEN ASSAD AND OPPOSITION FORCES FIGHTING TO TOPPLE HIM HAD BECOME DEADLOCKED</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The ISRAELI defense official was in rare tune with Moscow on the fate of the SYRIAN ruler. He asserted that the civil war between Assad and opposition forces fighting to topple him had become deadlocked, but that the SYRIAN leader showed no signs of heeding international calls to step down.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9svRmBIUIwGv3VvvZMJDRBsGj-owO780whX2tRnrsi6kAGeIjS6tZRHl-jhu4nKhgHSqSoqBYZgBcBmq4jBqCcY1tKizYW6yBt0nA9HZ5WKB52jr3b3h2ItG03JE0rxq6uJalVmcPG7v/s1600/syria_chem_weapons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9svRmBIUIwGv3VvvZMJDRBsGj-owO780whX2tRnrsi6kAGeIjS6tZRHl-jhu4nKhgHSqSoqBYZgBcBmq4jBqCcY1tKizYW6yBt0nA9HZ5WKB52jr3b3h2ItG03JE0rxq6uJalVmcPG7v/s320/syria_chem_weapons.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">"Suppose he (Assad) does leave, there could be chaos ... in the MIDDLE EAST you never know who will come instead. We need to stay level-headed; the entire world is dealing with this (another reference to multinational action in SYRIA). At the moment, chemical weapons are under control, despite the fact that President Bashar al-Assad has lost control of parts of the country," Gilad said.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring on numerous occasions mentioned that for ISRAEL, keeping Assad in power was the better option than having the Muslim Brotherhood running the country. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Background Information</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">: See </span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/12/syria-cause-and-effect.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/12/syria-cause-and-effect.html</a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/06/syria-israel-iran-and-usa.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/06/syria-israel-iran-and-usa.html</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

ISRAEL RUSSIA AND SYRIA

ISRAEL BACKS RUSSIA’S AVOWAL THAT SYRIAN CHEMICAL ARMS ARE SECURE “FOR NOW” See related article: http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/20...

N.Y.U. and Others Offer Shorter Courses Through Medical School - NYTimes.com

6:47 AM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Training to become a doctor takes so long that just the time invested has become, to many, emblematic of the gravity and prestige of the profession.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">But now one of the nation's premier <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/medical_schools/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="Recent and archival health news about medical schools." class="meta-classifier" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">medical schools</a>, <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/new_york_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More articles about New York University." class="meta-org" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">New York University</a>, and a few others around the United States are challenging that equation by offering a small percentage of students the chance to finish early, in three years instead of the traditional four.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Administrators at N.Y.U. say they can make the change without compromising quality, by eliminating redundancies in their science curriculum, getting students into clinical training more quickly and adding some extra class time in the summer.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Not only, they say, will those doctors be able to hang out their shingles to practice earlier, but they will save a quarter of the cost of medical school — $49,560 a year in tuition and fees at N.Y.U., and even more when room, board, books, supplies and other expenses are added in.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">"We're confident that our three-year students are going to get the same depth and core knowledge, that we're not going to turn it into a trade school," said Dr. Steven Abramson, vice dean for education, faculty and academic affairs at N.Y.U. School of Medicine.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">At this point, the effort involves a small number of students at three medical schools: about 16 incoming students at N.Y.U., or about 10 percent of next year's entering class; 9 at Texas Tech Health Science Center School of Medicine; and even fewer, for now, at Mercer University School of Medicine's campus in Savannah, Ga. A similar trial at Louisiana State University has been delayed because of budget constraints.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">But Dr. Steven Berk, the dean at Texas Tech, said that 10 or 15 other schools across the country had expressed interest in what his university was doing, and the deans of all three schools say that if the approach works, they will extend the option to larger numbers of students.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">"You're going to see this kind of three-year pathway become very prominent across the country," Dr. Abramson predicted.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The deans say that getting students out the door more quickly will accomplish several goals. By speeding up production of physicians, they say, it could eventually dampen a looming doctor shortage, although the number of doctors would not increase unless the schools enrolled more students in the future.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The three-year program would also curtail student debt, which now averages $150,000 by graduation, and by doing so, persuade more students to go into shortage areas like <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/pediatrics/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="Recent and archival health news about pediatrics." class="meta-classifier" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">pediatrics</a> and internal medicine, rather than more lucrative specialties like dermatology.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The idea was supported by Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a former health adviser to President Obama, and a colleague, Victor R. Fuchs. In an <a href="http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1105095" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">editorial</a> in the Journal of the American Medical Association in March, they said there was "substantial waste" in the nation's medical education. "Years of training have been added without evidence that they enhance clinical skills or the quality of care," they wrote. They suggested that the 14 years of college, medical school, residency and fellowship that it now takes to train a subspecialty physician could be reduced by 30 percent, to 10 years.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">That opinion, however, is not universally held. Other experts say that a three-year medical program would deprive students of the time they need to delve deeply into their subjects, to consolidate their learning and to reach the level of maturity they need to begin practicing, while adding even more pressure to a stressful academic environment.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">"The downside is that you are really tired," said Dr. Dan Hunt, co-secretary of the <a href="http://www.lcme.org/" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">Liaison Committee on Medical Education,</a> the accrediting agency for medical schools in the United States and Canada. But because accreditation standards do not dictate the fine points of curriculum, the committee has approved N.Y.U.'s proposal, which exceeds by five weeks its requirement that schools provide at least 130 weeks of medical education.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The medical school is going ahead with its three-year program despite the damage from <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/h/hurricanes_and_tropical_storms/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="More articles about Hurricane Sandy." class="meta-classifier" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">Hurricane Sandy</a>, which forced NYU Langone Medical Center to evacuate more than 300 patients at the height of the storm and temporarily shut down three of its four main teaching hospitals.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Dr. Abramson of N.Y.U. said that postgraduate training, which typically includes three years in a hospital residency, and often fellowships after that, made it unnecessary to try to cram everything into the medical school years. Students in the three-year program will have to take eight weeks of class before entering medical school, and stay in the top half of their class academically. Those who do not meet the standards will revert to the four-year program.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Similar experiments during the late 1960s and early 1970s, encouraged by federal financial incentives to combat a physician shortage, met with faculty opposition, according to a 1978 study by the Association of American Medical Colleges. But on tests, the study said, the three-year students performed as well as or better than four-year students.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The shorter programs were criticized for compromising basic science, reducing flexibility in the curriculum and pushing students to make career choices too early. Residency directors also felt uncomfortable accepting three-year graduates. About a quarter of the medical schools in the United States experimented with some type of three-year program in the 1970s, the study said, but they were quickly abandoned.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Two Canadian medical schools, at <a href="http://www.mcmaster.ca/" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">McMaster University in Hamilton</a>, Ontario, and the University of Calgary in Alberta, have had their students in three-year programs for more than 40 years, officials at the two schools said.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The three-year programs at Texas Tech and Mercer are focused on producing doctors who want to go into family medicine, which administrators insist is not because family medicine is easier, but because they are responding to the need for more primary and preventive care.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">That focus on only one category of doctors has disturbed some proponents of three-year schools. Dr. Bruce Wright, associate dean of undergraduate medical education at Calgary, said it could create a perception that three-year programs were "medical school lite," turning out second-class physicians. The trend, he suggested, could ultimately lead to lower standards for family medicine graduates, who are already in a lower-paid, lower-prestige field.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">N.Y.U. has decided to open its three-year program to students regardless of what branch of medicine they plan to go into, but Dr. Abramson said it would look for students interested in primary care fields like internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics. Students will have to declare their choice when they apply, because they will be guaranteed residencies in an N.Y.U.-affiliated hospital, as a way of lessening anxiety that other residency programs might be wary of their three-year degrees.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The adjustment would be easier for N.Y.U., he said, because it has already changed its curriculum to begin clinical studies in the first two years, rather than in the traditional third and fourth years, and it already accommodates some students who are earning both medical degrees and master's degrees in public health within four years.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Dr. Emanuel said he would like to see an even bolder approach, like offering the three-year program to 20 percent of the class. "But it's progress," he said. "It's a major school and a place of high visibility."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Eileen Dee, a third-year student in the three-year program at Texas Tech, said the compressed curriculum made her feel "not necessarily more hurried, just more responsible."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">But, she said, doing clinical work while taking classes had reinforced her textbook knowledge and, she believed, improved her score on the science portion of the medical licensing exam.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Natalie Smith, a fourth-year medical student at N.Y.U., who is planning to go into anesthesiology, said that she and her friends had often fantasized about completing medical school in less time, if only to save on tuition. The fourth year of medical school is typically spent on career exploration, by taking elective courses and interviewing for residencies. Yet, she noted, "We're paying that same tuition with less amount of learning."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Looking back, she said, finishing medical school in three years seems "completely doable."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; ">"It's a profession where you're learning through your entire life," she said. "Doctors say many things they learned in medical school aren't even used anymore."</p></div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/24/education/nyu-and-others-offer-shorter-courses-through-medical-school.html?">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/24/education/nyu-and-others-offer-shorter-courses-through-medical-school.html?</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

N.Y.U. and Others Offer Shorter Courses Through Medical School - NYTimes.com

Training to become a doctor takes so long that just the time invested has become, to many, emblematic of the gravity and prestige of the pro...

I’m so excited to welcome you :)

6:02 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="bio "><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPG1irrlbqtI5GvImSD33F0vRZiwD5w7DkSM46X7QDo3HbwJWqxKIaA5m9MRNmlvDVfXKyREOpswuHR448xtiLVMjZE7dBVMo5MYaw6RsSm97ULYd7vhkbbzuqnMOaIUOPGn2Xo1LTAP4/s1600/waysforweightloss.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPG1irrlbqtI5GvImSD33F0vRZiwD5w7DkSM46X7QDo3HbwJWqxKIaA5m9MRNmlvDVfXKyREOpswuHR448xtiLVMjZE7dBVMo5MYaw6RsSm97ULYd7vhkbbzuqnMOaIUOPGn2Xo1LTAP4/s1600/waysforweightloss.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPG1irrlbqtI5GvImSD33F0vRZiwD5w7DkSM46X7QDo3HbwJWqxKIaA5m9MRNmlvDVfXKyREOpswuHR448xtiLVMjZE7dBVMo5MYaw6RsSm97ULYd7vhkbbzuqnMOaIUOPGn2Xo1LTAP4/s320/waysforweightloss.jpeg" width="320" /></a> </div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">welcome you to my blog.. <span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="">Here you will find</span> </span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps"><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class=""><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="">tips</span></span>, </span></span>t</span><span class="hps">houghts</span> <span class="hps">and</span> <span class="hps">experiences</span> of my patients <span class="hps">about</span> <span class="hps">Weight Loss ...</span></span></span></div></div></div>

I’m so excited to welcome you :)

welcome you to my blog.. Here you will find tips , t houghts and experiences of my patients about Weight Loss ...

EUROPE - SPAIN

3:01 AM Tukiyooo 0

<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvd4KDwURd3epTH7iR89Y4T4XUo4evRg1AeDzucXgYAV7HgjkTyw8etLg7B7rXAeMjGjqtfqfZXfttBuE6iXcPHhOTshAy9B378eP22cNZmSlLtybi3tvwToj-XRDpLwyoXJySAYY454l/s1600/Holy-Roman-Euro-Empire1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvd4KDwURd3epTH7iR89Y4T4XUo4evRg1AeDzucXgYAV7HgjkTyw8etLg7B7rXAeMjGjqtfqfZXfttBuE6iXcPHhOTshAy9B378eP22cNZmSlLtybi3tvwToj-XRDpLwyoXJySAYY454l/s320/Holy-Roman-Euro-Empire1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><b>"Holy Roman Euro Empire" ??</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">CRISIS, AN INSTRUMENT IN BUILDING THE EUROEMPIRE</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Crisis: Spain’s Possibilities: </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: red;">• The Greek scenario under which Spain would trade its islands for cash as the first step and further act accordingly.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">• The Argentinian scenario under which Spain would say Goodbye to the Eurozone, slip into default, and introduce a national currency.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">• The Brussels scenario under which Spain’s debts would be sold to the European Central Bank.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">EROSION OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The carefully engineered and fueled debt crisis, coupled to Brussels’ regionalization policies, not only causes nation-statehoods in Europe to crumble but, from a wider perspective, undermines national sovereignty and statehood as general principles. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Lehman Brothers – the pivotal point which marked the escalation of the world’s mounting problems into the full-blown crisis – went almost unnoticed on September 15. The outdated forecasts that used to sound grim – like the one that it would take a couple of years before the light at the end of the tunnel comes within sight – now read as outbreaks of ridiculous optimism. These days, the recovery is projected to commence at least a decade from now, while alarmists predict far greater troubles including a military conflict of global proportions.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The public opinion has learned to think of the crisis as of some sort of a natural background. Guesswork concerning the causes of the meltdown may remain unconverted, but the recipe – rounds and rounds of spending cuts – seems to be universal, with no alternatives allowed even hypothetically. Luckily, the advice offered by Prince Charles – to take shorter showers to help the environment – does not have the power of law, but the austerity programs compiled by European bureaucracy and confirmed by national legislatures are not as easy to ignore, regardless of how the populations feel. More belt-tightening was prescribed to Europe where a series of protests erupted in response. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDuwMKXmAv_xZDUkaTErJV70ihO5__TW8-5TuX9CAGlcKLraz4-bgm6iGsBzxAvWWGPXWXlV2HyWsqJ362A227iXBQcWLqaRekCH72QGxth7MVsrMFuJPz9BZEtFVo-4o85XrCJ-ZPobZD/s1600/mf_spain23__01__630x420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDuwMKXmAv_xZDUkaTErJV70ihO5__TW8-5TuX9CAGlcKLraz4-bgm6iGsBzxAvWWGPXWXlV2HyWsqJ362A227iXBQcWLqaRekCH72QGxth7MVsrMFuJPz9BZEtFVo-4o85XrCJ-ZPobZD/s320/mf_spain23__01__630x420.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The rally held by the so-called May 15 protest movement around the building of the Spanish parliament was the highlight in the course of the events – the legislature was surrounded by crowds of people, all of them being unarmed and some - families with children, but Spain’s premier Mariano Rajoy still described it as an attempted coup. Actually, thus Plaza de Neptuno in Madrid saw a replay of what happened a year earlier in Athens, at Syntagma Square. The developments in Greece and Spain exemplify a wider model which implies the erosion of the sovereignty of European countries. Importantly, the top authority in the process is not meant to be taken over by the EU institutions - it is rather true that a future Euroempire will have a grip on the reshaped Europe.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SPAIN’S AUTONOMOUS REBEL</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Catalan national flags were hanging down from balconies in Barcelona in numbers last spring, and by the fall the joke often heard in Spain was that, if another austerity package is adopted, the country would fall apart and downtown Madrid would be left alone to repay the sovereign debt. Since 1983, the unitary Spain comprises 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities, all of them having their own governments and parliaments. Quite a few of the communities boast glorious history and some – serious records of independent statehood. For example, two states existed on the territory of what currently counts as the autonomous community of Castilla and Leon, and both played major roles in the Reconquista at the time.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Moreover, Spain’s autonomous communities are equipped with viable self-government and have their own political parties which are fairly independent financially. The independence was threatened when Rajoy’s government slashed the provinces’ budgets, and a strong reaction surfaced immediately. The government of Catalonia presented Madrid with an ultimatum, demanding either to be allowed to pay no taxes or to be given a Euro 5b loan. Rajoy opted for the latter, but, in Catalonia, the parliament stayed discontent and government head Artur Mas scheduled snap regional elections for November 25.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The opponents of Madrid in Catalonia opened the campaign on June 30 by staging the March Towards Independence. The demonstration which convened in Barcelona with the slogan "Catalonia, new state in Europe" was particularly impressive as it attracted from 600,000 to a couple of millions of people. The former estimate was aired by Madrid, and the latter – by Barcelona, but, considering that the total population of Catalonia is 7.2 million, even the floor-level 600,000 figure looked extraordinary.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SPANISH AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES WILL SERVE TO PLANT NEW STARS ON THE EU FLAG</span></b></span></span> </div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Madrid holds Catalonia responsible for a debt of Euro 40b, while the community rejects the claim and is constantly mindful of the fact that it contributes 20% of the Spanish GDP and, by switching to the standalone status, can establish itself among Europe’s top regional exporters. Polls steadily give separatism a 90% support in Catalonia, the explanation being that the majority of the people suspect paying more in taxes than they get back from the central government. Independence would make it possible to stop feeding tax money to Madrid and, importantly, would shield the community from austerity plans such as the increase of the added value tax from 18% to 21% or the deep cuts of the budget dedicated to the local administration. It is clear that, if the proponents of secession win on November 25, their first step would be to set a date for the independence referendum. Catalonia and Madrid would then be drawn into tense negotiations, with Brussels arbitrating between the two.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-VqscBpIHumRWReIa8yNYsJCHMgoqruza1JUfXjsz_bUjn5FS2Q5d6dvLFtc0IhKhunulDzuaGUNU17I0F86z_VTiRtKKXkgbkgg2mzv5byayjRwzqc8zmmMhqy-R4D4hO_8ueK4dyhB/s1600/article-2157877-13904E73000005DC-705_468x286.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-VqscBpIHumRWReIa8yNYsJCHMgoqruza1JUfXjsz_bUjn5FS2Q5d6dvLFtc0IhKhunulDzuaGUNU17I0F86z_VTiRtKKXkgbkgg2mzv5byayjRwzqc8zmmMhqy-R4D4hO_8ueK4dyhB/s400/article-2157877-13904E73000005DC-705_468x286.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Catalonia is the prime candidate for secession from Spain, but there are others who may pick up the lead. In the wake of last summer’s sweeping miner strikes and clashes with the police, the parliaments in Galicia and the Basque Country similarly announced snap elections coming on October 21, ahead of those in Catalonia. Madrid recognizes the Catalan nation as a separate entirety, but the historical and linguistic reasons to expect the same treatment are by all means comparable in Galicia and the Basque Country.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Some of Spain’s regions where the populations have no features of separate nations nevertheless grow disquietingly ambitious. Like Catalonia, Valencia - a region accounting for roughly the same share of the overall Spanish GDP - is squeezing the assistance in the amount of Euro 5.5b from Madrid. The same is done by Murcia and Andalucía which ask for Euro 700m and Euro 1b respectively. The government of the tiny Castilla-La Mancha which adds only 3.4% of the total to the Spanish GDP requested Euro 800m in September. The central government established a Euro 18b stabilization fund to prop up the autonomies, but the appetites of the five autonomies combined are enough to drain it to the bottom since late in September the bid staked by Andalucía jumped to Euro 5b. It must be noted that 12 other autonomies - Rajoy’s home Galicia and the chronically defiant Basque Country among them – may yet articulate their pressing needs.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">NO REAL CHOICE</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSBf1jvCXPDKvQkn4QmX8uZGlR1vdNQVaWMoqWT7OAu4DMvl0BwMjUr1B56C5QEOeoPrE1po1lIUVIHq6x2pR3XGL6xiEpgQifSfkd_CUMLDRuhbNuYUI5s2k2ypwhT4U1y91eDHapb_5/s1600/EFSF-ultimate-CDO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSBf1jvCXPDKvQkn4QmX8uZGlR1vdNQVaWMoqWT7OAu4DMvl0BwMjUr1B56C5QEOeoPrE1po1lIUVIHq6x2pR3XGL6xiEpgQifSfkd_CUMLDRuhbNuYUI5s2k2ypwhT4U1y91eDHapb_5/s400/EFSF-ultimate-CDO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The government headed by Rajoy faces a dilemma of choosing between the sovereignties which will mushroom if the loan applications are turned down and the appeasement policy which can only be sustained if Madrid borrows tons of money from the European Central Bank. The EU approval will be required under the latter scenario, but at the moment the EU is drafting the procedures to which the heavily indebted nations will be subject, and the EU programs are notorious for igniting mass protests in target countries. No doubt, Brussels will agree to bail out the Spanish banking system, but after that Spain, like Greece, will have to part with some of its cherished assets such as the Canary Islands or even the Balearic Islands. Credible estimates show that the Spanish sovereign debt will reach 90% of its GDP in 2013.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Taking out loans in the EU, Rajoy’s government becomes a <i>de facto</i> intermediary charged with the mission of distributing the money among the autonomies. Those, however, can eventually decide that go-betweens in the business are completely unnecessary. If they do, the push for independence currently exerted by the Spanish autonomous communities will serve to plant new stars on the EU flag.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The above is the trajectory Rajoy is trying to steer the unitary Spain away from. As an option, he suggested to the EU to issue collective European bonds to be marketed globally, but Brussels seems to be unreceptive to the plan. Clearly, stabilizing nation-statehoods is not what the emerging Euroempire needs. Stonewalled, Madrid floated government bonds worth Euro 186.1b on its own in a hope to sell them for US dollars, yuans, roubles, and whatever comes along and, thus, to overcome the addiction to EU loans. More Spanish bonds worth Euro 200b for a term of 2-3 years are expected to see the light of day in 2013. The obvious truth is that, given that the world crisis shows no signs of waning, the design appears stillborn.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Consequently, the future promises to Spain one of the following possibilities.</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">• The Greek scenario under which Spain would trade its islands for cash as the first step and further act accordingly.</span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i></b><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">• The Argentinian scenario under which Spain would say Goodbye to the Eurozone, slip into default, and introduce a national currency.</span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i></b><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">• The Brussels scenario under which Spain’s debts would be sold to the European Central Bank.</span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The one empowering Brussels, as it happened in the case of Greece, is more sinister than others – should it materialize, Spain would stop being a sovereign country and submit to the remote control to be exercised by the EU supranational bodies.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by Andrei Ganzha, Serge Klimovsky </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

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