SYRIA’S DESTINY SEALED

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkagLJ78zl4B8b8AW3h74JHbwxTPROX8_VwhiU0aK04quAjgxWTkiI5D-MYesJ_2Ol7mIHNdi4wMjLqcaQ2K6aInBJPA2BMvOtYrwpzj8PdA3QuQIj7UcoOiB5VVNOGVntbsm_3tS8-obA/s1600/1540426717_f280f71fd4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkagLJ78zl4B8b8AW3h74JHbwxTPROX8_VwhiU0aK04quAjgxWTkiI5D-MYesJ_2Ol7mIHNdi4wMjLqcaQ2K6aInBJPA2BMvOtYrwpzj8PdA3QuQIj7UcoOiB5VVNOGVntbsm_3tS8-obA/s400/1540426717_f280f71fd4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br /><br /><b>ISRAEL’S STRATEGY CHANGE ON SYRIA</b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">All indicators point towards a regime change in SYRIA because of shifts in Geo - strategic interests. At the beginning of the SYRIAN “upraise” I wrote that a regime change in SYRIA is not going to occur, for reasons I stated in various articles posted on this blog. (Links to related articles are shown at the bottom of this article)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now I have to revise my view on subject matter, the reasons of which are explained in the 2 articles, one of which had been posted on the 2 January 2012.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>CHANGE OF PLANS</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Current arms buildup in the LEVANTINE and STRAIT OF HORMUZ confirm the thesis that it’s all about natural resources and shifting geopolitical strategies. In recent past it would have been unthinkable that ISRAEL would promote a regime change in SYRIA, for the autocratic ASSAD regime, though technically still at war with ISRAEL proved to be a stable and calculable risk factor on ISRAEL’S eastern frontier, the GOLAN HEIGHTS and for the country itself. A regime change in SYRIA was considered a serious security threat for ISRAEL. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>ISRAEL TO TAKE IN ASSAD ALAWITE SECT REFUGEES ON THE GOLAN HEIGHTS ONCE THE ASSAD REGIME IS TUMBLED </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That doctrine has suddenly changed, now we hear ISRAELI top military brass talking openly that ASSAD will not be able to stay much longer at the helm of the country and that ISRAEL is prepared to take in ASSAD’S ALAWITE SECT refugees on the GOLAN HEIGHTS, once the regime is tumbled.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>LUCRATIVE SECURITY GUARANTEES AND SIGNIFICANT SHARE OF OIL EXTRACTION DEAL</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUTucpFDhFtUlmeM1WmDaGk5s68y9mMjrut7XxeAoHsN2LA3Ykhy3ZHUMx_MhssB4gpj6Fm1iNXmecbouxexlXvTL1MTuUYHeGmfDgzsuNwhmMzrLsAHJ-4qXATQmwTr3l4ORgoSsWC_J/s1600/Tapline.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUTucpFDhFtUlmeM1WmDaGk5s68y9mMjrut7XxeAoHsN2LA3Ykhy3ZHUMx_MhssB4gpj6Fm1iNXmecbouxexlXvTL1MTuUYHeGmfDgzsuNwhmMzrLsAHJ-4qXATQmwTr3l4ORgoSsWC_J/s320/Tapline.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In accepting a regime change in SYRIA, orchestrated by the USA and SAUDI ARABIA, ISRAEL must have received some lucrative security guarantees as well as a significant share of the natural resource extraction deal this entire warmongering and arms buildup in the LEVANTINE and STRAIT OF HORMUZ is about in the first place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Converting SYRIA and LEBANON from its pro IRAN stance to a pro SAUDI ARABIAN and subsequently USA would pave the way to reactivate the defunct TRANS-ARABIAN PIPELINE (TAPLINE), along with other alternative routes going from the ARABIAN PENINSULA to the coast of the MEDITERRANEAN SEA via the LEVANTINE, thus reducing the strategic significance of THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ, as claimed in the article originally published on 2 Jan 2012 on this blog. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>ALL IN QUEST FOR BLACK GOLD</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVKicaSrc4gC5DvPsHhIcgCplSGyj-C2bnT1IXW63UadVJNx05B7gaL0ND9farnzzleHoHTpsgYCHSbMQ0oUyFyu3JZmKLwi1HbApHyDK4nROWfrGQE3DiPaCyp1dpnVYCmXzjuEzIC1g/s1600/Arabpipeline.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/AVvXsEgdVKicaSrc4gC5DvPsHhIcgCplSGyj-C2bnT1IXW63UadVJNx05B7gaL0ND9farnzzleHoHTpsgYCHSbMQ0oUyFyu3JZmKLwi1HbApHyDK4nROWfrGQE3DiPaCyp1dpnVYCmXzjuEzIC1g/s320/Arabpipeline.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The strategic significance the STRAIT OF HORMUZ has for global oil supply, and the fact that the IRANIANS can militarily close it for a significant period of time has urged the USA its allies together with the GCC countries – SAUDI ARABIA, QATAR, BAHRAIN, KUWAIT, OMAN, and the U.A.E. – to re-route their oil through pipelines bypassing the STRAIT OF HORMUZ and channeling GCC oil directly to the INDIAN OCEAN, RED SEA, OR MEDITERRANEAN SEA. In a desperate move, the USA is also pushing IRAQ to seek alternative routes in talks with TURKEY, JORDAN, and SAUDI ARABIA, drawing the attention of ISRAEL and TURKEY who are also showing interest in this strategic project. ANKARA has had discussions with QATAR about setting up an oil terminal that would reach TURKEY via IRAQ. The TURKISH government has attempted to get IRAQ to link its southern oil fields, like IRAQ’S northern oil fields, to the transit routes running through TURKEY. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>THE REAL REASON BEHIND TURKEYS AND ISRAEL RIFT IN RELATIONS IS ABOUT CONTROL OVER NATURAL RESOURCE IN THE REGION AND SUBSEQUENT GEO STRATEGIC DOMINANCE </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is all tied to TURKEY’S visions of being an energy corridor and important transit hub in the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA. This is also the real reason behind TURKEY’S rift with ISRAEL, for both are aware that those who control the ports along the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA and participate in gas and oil exploration will have the economic as well as strategical upper hand in the region.</div><br />See:<span style="color: red;"> </span><br /><span style="color: red;"></span><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/09/warmongerning-between-israel-and-turkey.html" style="color: red;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/09/warmongerning-between-israel-and-turkey.html</a><br /><div style="color: red;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/09/turkeys-middle-east-chess-game.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/09/turkeys-middle-east-chess-game.html</a></div><div style="color: red;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/09/seismic-shift-in-middle-east.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/09/seismic-shift-in-middle-east.html</a></div><div style="color: red;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/09/mission-impossible-quest-for-natural.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/09/mission-impossible-quest-for-natural.html</a></div><div style="color: red;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/09/natural-resource-exploration-welcome.html" style="color: red;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/09/natural-resource-exploration-welcome.html</a> )</div><div style="color: red;"><br /></div><div style="color: red;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85CeYKee2S4FQsYfJAaZNVPKi_5IwnXF1h0K3RGgGwRUjXz7mRKJ5fRGUvD90eD-Zj7TRPVQLxu8JgpQieuMbx57RJHi4yOA9iAoFRwDwQzRWM6sGFdUmi8eg1MLwxVcigKaPG1GKoTo_/s1600/The-March-to-War-Iran-and-the-Strategic-Encirclement-of-Syria-and-Lebanon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85CeYKee2S4FQsYfJAaZNVPKi_5IwnXF1h0K3RGgGwRUjXz7mRKJ5fRGUvD90eD-Zj7TRPVQLxu8JgpQieuMbx57RJHi4yOA9iAoFRwDwQzRWM6sGFdUmi8eg1MLwxVcigKaPG1GKoTo_/s320/The-March-to-War-Iran-and-the-Strategic-Encirclement-of-Syria-and-Lebanon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>NEW ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST REGIME IN SYRIA IN ORDER TO REACTIVATE SAUDI ARABIA’S AND USA ARAMCO TRANS ARABIAN OIL PIPELINE? </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Article originally published on 2 January 2012</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many geo strategic analysts and political experts are at odds over the reason why even the UNITED STATES, a key ally of ISRAEL, is pushing for a regime change in SYRIA, even if such move will probably turn SYRIA into a fundamentalist Islamic State at the doorsteps of ISRAEL. It could be argued that the USA and SAUDI ARABIA prefer a SUNNI fundamentalist Islamic government in SYRIA in order to eliminate IRANIAN influence in SYRIA and at the same time reactivate, for Geo – strategic reasons, SAUDI ARABIA’S  ARAMCO company constructed TRANS ARABIAN OIL PIPELINE “TAPLINE” </div><div style="text-align: justify;">(See http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/12/syria-cause-and-effect.html ). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>REACTIVATION OF PIPELINE WOULD ELIMINATE THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqCVchrDb6VYACZnRusDICFj2ThcZzjtvcADfnRVTBJKDqK9kT_I385RRMT6XjC1Y-kg9gcW6S2s0IBpu1jo4XCYmbM3rAOFyRmDRtLY1XAJjqIkdCUXFsGaTN-O6cX2s98Ge0LvJZifw/s1600/straightof+hormuz.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/AVvXsEgdqCVchrDb6VYACZnRusDICFj2ThcZzjtvcADfnRVTBJKDqK9kT_I385RRMT6XjC1Y-kg9gcW6S2s0IBpu1jo4XCYmbM3rAOFyRmDRtLY1XAJjqIkdCUXFsGaTN-O6cX2s98Ge0LvJZifw/s320/straightof+hormuz.jpg" width="291" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reactivation of the pipeline would eliminate the geo strategic importance of the STRAIT OF HORMUZ and thus IRAN’S leverage over the passage, through which 35% of the world’s crude oil is shipped. Needless to say, a blockade would have enormous global consequences. Sunni SAUDI ARABIA and Shiite IRAN have been at odds with each other over theological as well as economic issues for centuries (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Hormuz )</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>PIPELINE ROUTE LEADS THROUGH PRO IRANIAN SYRIA, THE GOLAN HEIGHTS AND LEBANON, THUS A SAUDI FRIENDLY REGIME IS REQUIRED IN SYRIA IN ORDER TO ACTIVATE THE PIPELINE </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In order to reactivate the TAPLINE however, SAUDI ARABIA and its allies need to eliminate IRAN’S influence in SYRIA and stronghold in LEBANON, which is also home to pro IRANIAN HEZBOLLAH, because the route of the pipeline leads over SYRIAN terrain, ISRAEL occupied GOLAN HEIGHTS, ending in the Mediterranean oil terminal ZAHRANI, south of the city of SAIDA in LEBANON.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since SYRIA fosters close eco – political ties with Shiite IRAN, SYRIA will hardly permit the reactivation of the “SAUDI” Tapline on its soil. Not to mention the GOLAN HEIGHTS, which had been seized by ISRAEL during the 6 day war and which are now monitored by United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, UNDOF. Israel and Syria technically are still at war, thus permitting reactivation of the TAPLINE on the SYRIAN side of the seized GOLAN HEIGHTS is out of the question, for it would need the consent of both, ISRAEL and SYRIA. (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War )</div><div style="text-align: justify;">By tumbling the SYRIAN regime however, SAUDI ARABIA would be able to expand its influence in SYRIA and LEBANON, and thereby gain control over the pipeline and direct access to the MEDITERRANEAN SEA oil terminal south of SAIDA, from where crude oil could be shipped to EUROPE and the USA, at 40% less transport costs than by oil tankers passing through the SUEZ Canal in EGYPT. One could now keep on speculating why the “Arab Spring” in EGYPT did not turned out the way it was expected to be expected by the protesters!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>GEO STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE OF IRAN’S NATURAL RESOURCES AND GAS PIPELINE DEAL BETWEEN IRAN SYRIA AND IRAQ</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-aW47HC7L378pRVGZfxCdeOepXM68xTsG7NMcS66vwhw99Mhkmv_m5d0OHExw2Gk1gdAonGbjJzbcW_Ira5ZiLJXxV0gSGP5FY33TPrvw5a6ssMaivxPQcv9_sU6MbHibMgaR93vrNa3/s1600/Strait_of_Hormuz_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-aW47HC7L378pRVGZfxCdeOepXM68xTsG7NMcS66vwhw99Mhkmv_m5d0OHExw2Gk1gdAonGbjJzbcW_Ira5ZiLJXxV0gSGP5FY33TPrvw5a6ssMaivxPQcv9_sU6MbHibMgaR93vrNa3/s320/Strait_of_Hormuz_map.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some analysts argue that Iran is bluffing with its threat to block the strait, for it can’t afford not to export its own oil resources which also have to pass through the strait. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">What many forget though is that IRAN is not solely relying on oil export but also proves to be a major gas exporter, thus in August 2011, IRAN, SYRIA and IRAQ signed a gas pipeline deal which will transport Iranian gas via the new pipeline trough SYRIA to EUROPE. The deal benefits EUROPE and would also give SYRIA more strategic importance. Negotiations on constructing an IRAN - CHINA oil pipeline, although shelved for now, could easily be reactivated in case CHINA'S demand for crude is increasing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>REGIME CHANGE IN SYRIA WOULD DIMINISH RUSSIA’S IMPORTANCE AS GAS EXPORTER AS WELL AS NAVAL PRESENCE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By tumbling the ASSAD Regime, SAUDI ARABIAN and USA would also cause a serious economic as well as strategic blow to RUSSIA who’s only naval base in the Mediterranean Sea is located in the SYRIAN port city of TARTUZ. But asides from the military strategic point of view it would also mean that RUSSIA'S gas exportation to the EU and other parts of the world would suffer a blow, because dependence on RUSSIA'S gas supplies to various regions would diminish. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Looking at the SYRIAN issue from the natural resources point of view it becomes evident as to why the sudden change in strategy by key world players.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>REGIME CHANGE IN SYRIA, FULL SCORE FOR ISRAEL? </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUFPvEIkJw3aUOtBNOUY6jF1IvB3g2jGbeTizEiy76m9AFAH_0eMDGCnJ-2Bq7JSeB-q58EF1VQpuPmttrxVIgy1TJaeUOq0ba7kuskEuufSjI8apwboAaiLtjwHF1Y2y_N6MkUlBanXL/s1600/Levantine+Energy+Corridor.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUFPvEIkJw3aUOtBNOUY6jF1IvB3g2jGbeTizEiy76m9AFAH_0eMDGCnJ-2Bq7JSeB-q58EF1VQpuPmttrxVIgy1TJaeUOq0ba7kuskEuufSjI8apwboAaiLtjwHF1Y2y_N6MkUlBanXL/s320/Levantine+Energy+Corridor.GIF" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As for ISRAEL a regime change in SYRIA in the end might not be such a bad deal after all. SAUDI ARABIA and ISRAEL have been fostering unofficially economic ties for quite some time because of both countries close ties to the USA and vice verse. ISRAEL would in most likelihood once and for all be able to keep the GOLAN HEIGHTS, something the ASSAD regime would never have accept and always made it a precondition for peace talks with ISRAEL. For ISRAEL keeping the GOLAN HEIGHTS on the other hand had been always a priority, not so much for strategic advantages or prestige, but for its freshwater supply, a key issue which is hardly addressed in mainstream media.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The minute SYRIA’S IRAN ties are cut; HEZBOLLAH would lose its influence in LEBANON and thus ease tensions on ISRAEL’S northern frontier. SAUDI ARABIA on the other hand would probably make sure that the SAUDI ARABIAN friendly fundamentalist Islamic regime in SYRIA would keep its distance to ISRAEL in order to assure permanent oil flow from SAUDI ARABIA to the Mediterranean Sea, thus making SAUDI ARABIA and its alley the USA an even bigger player in the oil market. </div><br />Link to Related Articles:<br /><div style="color: red;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/06/assad-dilemma.html%20">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/06/assad-dilemma.html </a></div><div style="color: red;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/06/syrian-regime-likely-to-survive-upraise.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/06/syrian-regime-likely-to-survive-upraise.html</a></div><div style="color: red;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/06/nato-rules-out-military-intervention-in.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/06/nato-rules-out-military-intervention-in.html</a></div><div style="color: red;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/08/food-for-thought.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/08/food-for-thought.html</a></div><div style="color: red;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/11/syria-international-war-mongering-or.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/11/syria-international-war-mongering-or.html</a></div><div style="color: red;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/11/food-for-thought.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/11/food-for-thought.html</a></div><div style="color: red;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/12/as-i-see-it.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/12/as-i-see-it.html</a></div><div style="color: red;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/12/syria-cause-and-effect.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/12/syria-cause-and-effect.html</a></div>

SYRIA’S DESTINY SEALED

ISRAEL’S STRATEGY CHANGE ON SYRIA All indicators point towards a regime change in SYRIA because of shifts in Geo - strategic interests. At t...

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IS EMOTIONAL EATING YOUR NEW RELIGION?

<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have you ever attached to something so intensely that you modified your character for it? Did it change the way you talk, dress, act, behave, the people you allow yourself to engage with, and change the direction of your life? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe that something was your parents, your religion, your friends in Jr. High or high school, a boy/girl friend, your spouse, or even drugs, work, education, a hobby, etc. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When you made the decision (or was forced) to change who you were to match that “something” did you have to memorize or conform to a certain dress code, like specific things, was there a certain music you listened to in order to be liked by others with the same label, or to avoid being different?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Did you give yourself a name such as a “hippie”, “religious name”, “EMO”, “athlete” or any title that lets people know the general list of character traits they should expect from that label? I have− in many areas. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was raised religious from the day of my birth. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I memorized character traits, language, and uncountable times even called myself by the name of the religion. In other ways, I conformed to my siblings, what they liked− I liked. How they dressed− I dressed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My sisters played volleyball− I played volleyball. Then in junior high I remember changing the way I held my posture to match the other girls that I thought were “cool”. If I was with a group of people I would change the music I liked to match what they liked, so they’d approve of me. Changing who I was to please other people and to gain acceptance, began the moment I learned about positive and negative reinforcement. And the boundaries I were to follow were blunt and the enforcement was pretty extreme. It makes sense that my self-worth became “others”-worth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>My entire childhood was to please others, which required I define who I was to match other people, so they’d like and accept me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I got to college this completely backfired. That’s when my toddler like self-esteem was put to the test. Pre-marital sex in the religion my identity was molded around, was deemed “the next closest sin to murder”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Within weeks I was propositioned to have sex. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so afraid of causing a problem, making the other person mad, hurting the other persons feelings, and fearful that if I rejected to proposition that they wouldn’t like me or wouldn’t continue to be my friend, that I passively accepted. It felt like rape.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I worried that the sex was awful for the other person, and if I did have sex maybe they’d want to be my boyfriend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>It was over in minutes, and the same boy never put the same effort into talking to me again. You could imagine the rejection I felt, but worse, the complete trauma over the fact that I was going to Hell. If my family found out I’d be judged, scorned, and shamed. The event was extremely traumatic and even worse− I felt profound guilt and anxiety over what a bad person I was. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>This was the beginning of a downward spiral that ended up in a severe mental illness.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In short, instead of relying on others to define me, I decided I would find a way to feel good about myself and I chose my body. My body became my new religion, family, and friends. I could define what was good and bad and no one else could give or take from my new security. I obsessed over the way I looked, would measure my stomach at least 5 times a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I’d exercise an hour on top of the three hours of collegiate volleyball training. I counted calories precisely so at the end of the day, the exercise and caloric intake would end up at zero.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Within three months I lost physical strength to play volleyball, checked out of college, and lost a full-ride scholarship. All for my new “body” religion.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here I am today, writing about emotional eating rehab, and what do I know? I’m not a therapist or a psychologist. But I do know this: if you’ve been defined by other people, objects, actions, or a belief system, you might want to rethink when that identity was created, why and who defined it for you, and if it came from a place of fear, vulnerability, rejection, or need for acceptance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you could go back in time, could you imagine the person you are that isn’t defined? If you weren’t in a body, what does your soul feel like? If you were reborn into a new body with a new life, would your soul feel the same? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would you, by choice, recreate the same life you have knowing what you know? Most people would love a do-over, but feel chained to what they’ve already been defined by, and can’t see a way out. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But that isn’t true. The moment I chose not to commit suicide, I realized that the only other way out was to live the same life that existed, as if I was getting a do-over. I had the same family, parents, husband (I got married at 20 during my psychological illness− my poor parents!), and instead of killing myself, I’d be authentic, let go of all definitions they created for me, and allow the incredible atomic bomb of vulnerability,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>as they might reject me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I recognized that allowing that horrific vulnerability was no different than suicide, so I might as well let the world know the real me, and accept any rejection, before I ended this life altogether.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Who would I be, and if I gained fat− would that make me worse of a person? Would being fat lessen the value of my soul? If not, than my extremist body-religion was misdirected and wrong. I was going to have to find out. That’s when I left the severe safety my body-religion, the religion my parents enforced me to be, the idea that sex made me a bad person, and all that traumatized and falsely defined the value of my soul. I gave nothing the power to define me, because the value of my soul had to existe with nothing. No person, clothing, action, music, hobby, education, and nothing of this visible world could completely define what I felt of myself. That moment of realization, awakened me to a level of consciousness that instantly changed my perception of life forever.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My point− find happiness and love for who you are with nothing. Seek who you are that isn’t definable by the way you look, how you act, what your job is, nor from what you see, hear, or feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Recognize that losing weight won’t improve your life (accept that the body you have won’t be so uncomfortable, and may last longer). And if you think once you achieve that thin body that it improves your value, you’re now define by that, and will have intense fear and vulnerability of gaining the fat back. WHAT A NIGHTMARE! This is why I exercised for hours on end, and why I now have severe arthritis at age 34.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being thin doesn’t make you a better person, nor should being fat make you less valuable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The liberty to eat excessively may be your means of gaining freedom from a constraint you really don’t like. The need to restrict food may be a way that you are seeking a new outward definition rather than accepting authenticity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Think about who you are, move past the superficial definitions, and find what is indefinable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where unconditional love and self-worth starts and where emotional eating or “eating-religion” loses value. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>

IS EMOTIONAL EATING YOUR NEW RELIGION?

Have you ever attached to something so intensely that you modified your character for it? Did it change the way you talk, dress, act, behave...

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Get ready for World Maths Day!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This is a guest post written by Lisa G who is an ITC teacher in Cape Town. Lisa was a Microsoft Innovative finalist in South Africa in 2011 and she keeps an interesting ITC blog <a href="http://icteducator.blogspot.com/" title="http://icteducator.blogspot.com/">http://icteducator.blogspot.com/</a>. I saw this post on her blog this week and asked her if I could use it as a guest post. Last year I wanted to participate in World Maths Day but didn’t get registered in time. So, don’t be like me…prepare well in advance. You’ll need to start now!</i></span></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;">World Maths Day is coming up on 7 March 2012.  Have you considered participating?</span><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">As a school we have taken part and it was a great experience for everyone. Its really simple. All you need to do is get permission from parents, register the children, and then follow the instructions that are very clearly laid out on their <a href="http://www.worldmathsday.com/">website</a></span><span style="font-size: small;">. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It looks from the Pre-registration that one now signs up for World Spelling/Maths/Science Day.  Even better!</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrFTWxT3VwMvRISIZeCKfMwLdLP4xT5MRFuZagBPdFgaKZfDItywVcZo8Kkbdw6QtL1gG-rKSQc2TsD9n4xwEJZZekJC9j4BqLYKmL5cBk4BMTklgYI4owMKB0CqfvUvnSPwxUr2TPLKI/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvadO11IyQR9DFHrmJUofVSjMxrHB1smsjC6DIHE5rGpUhaKW1pWr8Mz6wF7QgE3YE4tpDYu7NbsvP-qhdhIuOVuMgt6ivj_BJsrSEBhtaSsfy80-FDTwse-qzZb_SBMooQCASRaq_Ca4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="448" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I registered the children who wanted to take part, and then each day from the time that "<i>practice</i>" begins, they can come in and get used to how the whole event works. I do this so that it is not a surprise when they get to the timed event - they are confident and ready for action!  What I also enjoy about this, is that they can log on at home and continue to practice or compete after school in their own time.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The best was listening to their excited shrieks of "<i>I'm playing against Japan</i>!" or "<i>I am playing against India!</i>" or "<i>I am playing against someone in Australia</i>!"  Suddenly the world was bigger than our ICT Lab and we embraced every moment of it!  We got a report back on how each child did and how we achieved as a school. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am really looking forward to registering our learners for these events again this year. Why don't you? </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wishing all a wonderfully educational 2012!</span> </div></div>

Maths Technology integration Get ready for World Maths Day!

This is a guest post written by Lisa G who is an ITC teacher in Cape Town. Lisa was a Microsoft Innovative finalist in South Africa in 2011 ...

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Argentine government may gain from World Bank default

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2WZDOxAGhyphenhyphenLf7V9p3CZX6W-xD1c6V06jIViz_Oa02SzWw8lq_JAX2UyXt8kNN7Yua84e43TlNTu4QTPPQJvgRIycPisTC7g3fO9YzB3GgLCqTKVEw5njnLebg9JNh1ZV0sswwh40Da1L/s1600/partners_ifi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2WZDOxAGhyphenhyphenLf7V9p3CZX6W-xD1c6V06jIViz_Oa02SzWw8lq_JAX2UyXt8kNN7Yua84e43TlNTu4QTPPQJvgRIycPisTC7g3fO9YzB3GgLCqTKVEw5njnLebg9JNh1ZV0sswwh40Da1L/s320/partners_ifi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">International Financial Institutions and their blow to global economy</span></b> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">It is now little over 10 years since Argentina defaulted on its debt to the WORLD BANK. Since the default Argentina experienced an astonishing economic recovery and now can look upon the EU, where some of the member states face similar situations as did Argentina 10 years ago. I have expressed my views on this subject numerous times on this block and will not reiterate those views. The reason I once again raise the subject is because I found an interesting article written in 2002 on Odious Debts website which does confirm my thesis on subject matter. I have added my comments below some of the paragraphs. The controversial actions and policies of the IMF and other International Financial Institutions has not changed the slightest, they are applying these devastating tactics today as much as they did 10 years ago!! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">In November 2002 Interpress Service published an article written by Emad Mekay which reads as follows:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Interpress Service</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">   November 22/2002 </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Argentine government may gain from World Bank default</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">   </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">by Emad Mekay</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMgMBycwIpQLKX0cBhr3oowVUlr_YQilv3zF0mzvs07N9eG9sxwaLmDMZjh-JsyQfuVMt30Ej2B8gSVrBQJz3wc9h1STs2g9UP-PCjo4NWx48inf8yaobQigEJAjFv91sApO4b0uAlq64/s1600/world_bank2112111111-640x480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMgMBycwIpQLKX0cBhr3oowVUlr_YQilv3zF0mzvs07N9eG9sxwaLmDMZjh-JsyQfuVMt30Ej2B8gSVrBQJz3wc9h1STs2g9UP-PCjo4NWx48inf8yaobQigEJAjFv91sApO4b0uAlq64/s320/world_bank2112111111-640x480.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Argentina's decision to default on its debt to the World Bank could hurt the country's poor but might also <u>prove beneficial in the long run</u>, some analysts here say. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Thursday's decision could also harm the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), both interested in maintaining their positions and reputations as superior patrons of the world economy. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The IMF and its doctrine stirred Argentina’s economy into default in the first place, as it did to numerous other countries which were exposed to IMF policies.</span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Argentina defaulted Thursday on its $ 805-million debt to the Bank, paying only a token amount of $ 79.2 million, prompting questions on the future of the cash-strapped Argentine economy and its relationship with the Bank and the Fund. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">By breaking its ties with the IMF and the World Bank, Argentina managed to resurrect itself from the deathblow obtained from the two organizations. </span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">On Friday, Argentina blamed the default on savage policy recommendations by the IMF, which require the government to tighten its budget and anti-inflation measures before it can strike a deal for emergency funds. But Argentina may be already benefiting from the default decision, since it will have more cash on hand for social and health programs, much needed as the economy recovers painfully slowly. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Cash for social and health programs to recover the economy is something the IMF and the Word Bank oppose vehemently because it lessens their influence and profit. The first austerity measures the IMF and World Bank ( who are technically speaking one entity) imposed on Greece and Italy were cuts in healthcare, education and social programs, thus leading the two nations into the same dilemma as Argentina faced 10 years ago.</span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">"In the long term, and for other countries, the impact could be very positive," said Soren Ambrose, of the Washington-based 50 Years Is Enough network. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">"This unique challenge to the power of the World Bank and IMF to dictate both macroeconomic policy and debt repayment terms could change the perception of their infallibility (or infinite power), he added. </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Ambrose says that would give governments and civil society forces more room to plan, and to begin to whittle away at the overwhelming power wielded by the IMF, the Bank and other international financial institutions (IFIs), which has caused so much unnecessary poverty, deaths and suffering over the past few decades. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">By defaulting to the Bank, Buenos Aires may also be sending a message that it may no longer feel forced to accept the IFIs' programs, and that there are other alternatives, he added</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Argentina has proved that there are other alternatives then IFIs programs and thus managed to recover its shattered economy without IFI “advises”, the results of which we are currently facing in Europe and the USA.</span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">In a report distributed electronically, the Brussels-based anti-debt group Eurodad argues that the World Bank might be equally harmed by the high-profile default, which could call into question the Bank's own creditworthiness and reputation. Bond-rating agencies could downgrade the ratings of the Bank's bonds, depriving the institution of its AAA rating, which allows the Bank to sell bonds to institutional investors as "blue chip" investments. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Well that that did not happen because as it turned out the USA and the EU are waging a financial war and thus US rating agencies will hardly attack its own financial entities, which in a way the Word Bank is. See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank</a></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #ffc000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: #ffc000;"> </span> </span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">If the contagion pushes other countries in the region into making similar defaults or refusals to deal on the IFIs' terms, the trend could spread, says Eurodad. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Already one of the biggest U.S. pension funds, TIAA-CREF (for retired teachers) has sold all its World Bank bonds, for what it called economic reasons.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">But World Bank officials Friday vehemently denied that they would be hurt by the default. "Our capital is strong," said Chris Neal of the Bank's external relations arm. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">After Thursday's default, Standard and Poor's Ratings Services said that it was affirming its credit ratings and outlook on the World Bank at 'AAA/Stable', along with those of other multilateral lending institutions with large credit exposures to the Argentina. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Eurodad also believes that if a country the size of Argentina defaulted, then others could follow. The South American nation is the fourth largest debtor of the Bank after China, Indonesia and Mexico and it is number one in terms of per-capita income. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">It also differs substantially from other states to have already defaulted on World Bank debt - including Somalia, Iraq and Zimbabwe - in that it is part of the Western world and has considerable links with Northern institutions. The default could eat away at their credibility also, according to Eurodad. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Argentina owes $ 8.5 billion to another Washington-based IFI, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">If Argentina were to default on that loan, the IDB risks losing its triple-A rating, which could increase the cost of borrowing from the institution for other Latin American countries. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It is now 10 years later, and Argentina still has not paid the IDB without facing serious consequences. Argentina always expressed its willingness to pay its debt with the IDB and Paris Club if the conditions are fair and reasonable, but not under vulcher finance terms.</span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Regardless of the potential damage to the IFIs from the defaults, Argentina still faces many hurdles to get its economy back in shape and rescue its population from internecine poverty. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">We write 2012 and Argentinean economy is growing at rapid pace and poverty has been reduced significantly, despite being expelled from the international financial system, or as cynics might argue, because of being expelled Argentina managed showcase economic growth.</span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">The main obstacle, many say, is reaching a deal with the IMF, whose job is to bail out countries in fiscal trouble. The Fund has not reached out to Argentina since the country defaulted on its $ 140-billion debt last December, owed in part to private lenders. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">The Fund is worried that plans put forward by President Eduardo Duhalde do not have enough political support at home. The Bank has backed IMF demands for a viable economic plan that has such support. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">"Argentina needs to get an economic plan that has all of the political actors behind it and support first from Argentine's political class and then from the international community," said Neal of the Bank. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Among the sticking points in the talks is the IMF's request that Argentina increase the price of privatized public services. The IMF asked for a 30 percent increase while Argentinean officials offered 10 percent. The Fund also wants a tax increase but the government refused. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Applying austerity on common citizen by requesting price hikes on privatized public services leads to stagnating growth. Since the European Union applied its austerity measures in 2011, as dictated by the IMF, its economy stagnated even more. “The IMF's  recipe for default.”</span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">The Fund also wants the country to immediately liberalize its exchange market, while leaders want a gradual move. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.odiousdebts.org/">http://www.odiousdebts.org</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div>

Argentine government may gain from World Bank default

International Financial Institutions and their blow to global economy It is now little over 10 years since Argentina defaulted on its debt ...

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HG Bananarama Wafer Pudding + WWM

I have two awesome things to share with you today.  What should I save for last??? Hmm.<br /><br />Well, I have another small giveaway offer for you, though not in the traditional blogger giveaway fashion.<br /><br />The folks at Weight Watchers Magazine erroneously sent me two of their January/February 2012 issues.  If you're not already a subscriber to this awesome magazine, I'd highly reccomend considering it as a future investment.  They offer great recipes, inspirational success stories, and a host of other health related info that I actually find refreshing to read, as opposed to a science-laden and "according to ABC study from XYZ university" stuffy publication.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.popsessive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/JHud-WW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.popsessive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/JHud-WW.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><br />So, who wants my extra copy?  The first person to comment on this blog stating their can't-live-without-it desires shall be graced with the J-Hud mag on their doorstep.  Simply leave a comment stating you want it, and email me your full name and mailing address (thebigweight AT hotmail DOT com).<br /><div style="color: purple;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: purple;">**********************</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Up next is this AWESOME Hungry Girl translation of a banana pudding trifle.  This is definitely one of my all time favorite desserts!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you love these...:</div><div style="text-align: left;">  </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://momandwife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/NannaPudding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://momandwife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/NannaPudding.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://momandwife.com/">Courtesy</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">...then you will <i>definitely </i>find your BPT craving more than satisfied with her PointsPlus friendly version. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You can find this recipe in Hungry Girl's first cookbook, or on her <a href="http://www.hungry-girl.com/show/moms-favorites-bananarama-wafer-pudding-recipe">website</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ebooks-imgs.connect.com/product/400/000/000/000/000/085/095/400000000000000085095_s4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ebooks-imgs.connect.com/product/400/000/000/000/000/085/095/400000000000000085095_s4.png" width="264" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Hungry Girl: <a href="http://www.hungry-girl.com/show/moms-favorites-bananarama-wafer-pudding-recipe">Bananarama Wafer Pudding</a></u> - <i>4 PointsPlus</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ingredients</i></div><ul><li>    2 cups fat-free milk</li><li>    1 small (4-serving) package Jell-O Sugar Free Fat Free Instant Vanilla pudding mix</li><li>    24 Reduced Fat Nilla wafers</li><li>    2 medium bananas, sliced</li><li>    Optional topping: Cool Whip Free (thawed) or Fat Free Reddi-wip</li></ul><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Directions</i><br /><br />Combine milk with pudding mix in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer or a whisk for 2 minutes, or until thoroughly blended. Set aside.<br /><br />In a medium size bowl or 9" X 9" baking pan, arrange a layer of wafers, flat sides down, and then top with a layer of banana slices. Continue alternating layers until all of the wafers and banana slices are in the bowl/pan.<br /><br />Top with the pudding mixture and let it seep down in between the wafer and banana layers. Cover and refrigerate for 2 - 3 hours. If you like, add whipped topping before serving!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />MAKES 6 SERVINGS</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">**There is still time to <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-giveaway.html">enter to win</a> a Zipfizz sample pack and water bottle!</div>

Hungry Girl Weight Watchers Magazine HG Bananarama Wafer Pudding + WWM

I have two awesome things to share with you today.  What should I save for last??? Hmm. Well, I have another small giveaway offer for you, t...

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Kim Novak in VERTIGO: A Hypnotic Presence

<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>by guest contributor Brandie Ashe</i></div><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyC0UNig7pyI6GigRvGJDUb8i_4qgf-z0lMdedU9XQpcaZFTH61Fj3ibX2BizLR0tqGIvDJldOEYbbIsIhviOEV_I7SWQu5Q19NZurGTFG4VRiaFk_XlDpZyCIXETAo-ydTm3FwXU7vQ/s1600/Kim+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyC0UNig7pyI6GigRvGJDUb8i_4qgf-z0lMdedU9XQpcaZFTH61Fj3ibX2BizLR0tqGIvDJldOEYbbIsIhviOEV_I7SWQu5Q19NZurGTFG4VRiaFk_XlDpZyCIXETAo-ydTm3FwXU7vQ/s400/Kim+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Scratch the surface of the prototypical “Hitchcock blonde”—a cool, reserved exterior masking a fiery and determinedly passionate woman—and the subtle differences in their characterizations become more evident.  In her three films for the director, Grace Kelly’s characters are paragons of dignity, displaying a patrician façade that eventually gives way to a sizzling sexuality. Tippi Hedren’s two characters for Hitchcock have an overt veneer of sophistication that nonetheless belies an innate playfulness at the heart of each woman.  And in her three films for Hitch, Ingrid Bergman is the foreign exotic who smolders with a hint of endearing uncertainty.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><a name='more'></a><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">But when it comes to the star of Hitchcock’s 1958 ode to obsession, <i>Vertigo</i>, the director carefully crafts yet another embodiment of flawed femininity: the duplicitous double—caught in a web of her own making—whose love for an equally flawed man will ultimately be her undoing. And to embody this complex creature, he turns (for the first and only time in his career) to a twenty-five year old relative newcomer, Kim Novak.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECUwtP-GYzO-zXNBs4eOBeLAaNjtITIJNKk276ctH9-_UvLEE7ogCX5zFwrrOc8APBkuV40U5LodcPpGY-oEop2OCuIrt5jLw7FgTl7MeQBr3STDaUkDYlsrIiuLIuwNciSfd8qPV8mY/s1600/Kim+0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECUwtP-GYzO-zXNBs4eOBeLAaNjtITIJNKk276ctH9-_UvLEE7ogCX5zFwrrOc8APBkuV40U5LodcPpGY-oEop2OCuIrt5jLw7FgTl7MeQBr3STDaUkDYlsrIiuLIuwNciSfd8qPV8mY/s320/Kim+0.jpg" width="273" /></a></div>By the time she starred in <i>Vertigo</i>, Novak had appeared in only a handful of films over the previous five years. Her breakthrough came in 1955’s <i>Picnic, </i>in which she played a small-town Kansas beauty who falls for William Holden. That same year, Novak played Frank Sinatra’s love interest in the controversial Otto Preminger film about heroin addiction, <i>The Man with the Golden Arm</i>. She played early Broadway and screen star Jeanne Eagels in the same-titled biopic in 1957, and reteamed with Sinatra in the film version of the successful musical <i>Pal Joey</i>. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In just a matter of three years, her small body of work, along with her stunning all-American blonde looks, garnered Novak a great deal of attention. But some film critics at the time were dismissive of Novak’s acting ability. A.H. Weiler’s <i>New York Times </i>review of <i>Pal Joey </i>called her performance merely “decorative,” and the same paper’s review of her performance in <i>Jeanne Eagels </i>wondered what “possessed Columbia to cast this comparative fledgling … as one of Broadway’s immortals” (though the reviewer did, in all fairness, go on to ultimately blame the film’s many problems on the lackluster script and direction).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Still, despite critics’ opinions of her talent, it is undeniable that in some of her roles, there is an almost hypnotic quality to Novak’s presence on the screen. Watch, for example, her sensual dance with William Holden in <i>Picnic</i>. As the strains of “Moonglow” play in the background, Novak begins to dance, her movements slow and deliberate, her eyes focused solely on her partner as they circle one another. She draws him—and us—in with a mere smoldering glance, a twitch of her hips, a slight swaying movement. The sexual tension is palpable, and it’s hard to take your eyes off Novak in the moment.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Of all of the directors with whom the actress worked during her career, only Hitchcock was fully able to exploit this stirring hypnotic quality and use it to full advantage on the screen. In the process, the prolific director ultimately drew out of Novak what is arguably the greatest performance of her career.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmuGW9vTJ_aQDxWOmVA-3k06FuAP5xn4Ew4fMBbc7lAtMpLD4oh5Kk_9MX2JrTx1hNcOxGg9p2ZW3ghLMHHBe3j9b3GZs1A0PFJRh_enCwBAQ1wYuTkrG_VT7GFn_mzzAFtoPtTalddHs/s1600/Vera+Miles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmuGW9vTJ_aQDxWOmVA-3k06FuAP5xn4Ew4fMBbc7lAtMpLD4oh5Kk_9MX2JrTx1hNcOxGg9p2ZW3ghLMHHBe3j9b3GZs1A0PFJRh_enCwBAQ1wYuTkrG_VT7GFn_mzzAFtoPtTalddHs/s200/Vera+Miles.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vera Miles</td></tr></tbody></table>Novak was not the original choice to play Madeleine/Judy. Hitchcock had initially cast Vera Miles, with whom he had a heavy-handed personal contract. Hitchcock had adopted a Svengali-like attitude with Miles, trying to craft her into “his” type of actress by dictating her appearance and building her into a kind of Grace Kelly clone (as Hitch had recently lost his favorite star to Monaco’s Prince Rainier). But Miles was forced to drop out of the project due to pregnancy, and as a result, Hitchcock lost interest in the actress (though he would still go on to cast her as Janet Leigh’s sister in 1960’s <i>Psycho</i>). Years later, he would tell Francois Truffaut, “She became pregnant just before the part that was going to turn her into a star.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">It’s interesting to consider how closely Scottie’s attempts to “make over” Judy into “lost” love Madeleine mirror Hitchcock’s own attempts to craft Miles into the “perfect” cinematic star. More than any other film in his oeuvre, <i>Vertigo </i>represents Hitchcock’s cinematic quest to “build” the perfect woman, one made over in precisely the image he desires. To put it bluntly, Novak’s Madeleine/Judy most clearly embodies the old idiom (fully embraced by Hitchcock) that men want a lady in the drawing room and a whore in the bedroom. To that end, the character is a subtly sexy blonde whose deceptively icy, composed, and chic appearance hides a shrewd mind and a leashed, but potentially voracious sexuality. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSugckWtKs_Um1pn7XjgEt-KHalupjbIuVx2yTUt814B3NJnzLgWhivnq_lFnWT_yaBjyREkB00RzeRrQlLVk520srcKKNnOnSv7ORjUD2fS7wNQ5QI25Vq1v2-3KA5cHoMd9Up1hdiBE/s1600/judy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSugckWtKs_Um1pn7XjgEt-KHalupjbIuVx2yTUt814B3NJnzLgWhivnq_lFnWT_yaBjyREkB00RzeRrQlLVk520srcKKNnOnSv7ORjUD2fS7wNQ5QI25Vq1v2-3KA5cHoMd9Up1hdiBE/s320/judy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>And yet, despite her flaws and her deceptive behavior, Madeleine/Judy is one of the more sympathetic Hitchcock blondes in that her struggle to reconcile her love for Scottie with her guilt over deceiving him about her role in the real Madeleine’s death forces the audience to feel some sense of compassion for her. We witness her dilemma; we understand intrinsically that her acquiescence to Scottie’s mad desire to recreate the “real” Madeleine comes from a place of desperate love. She agrees to let him clothe her in Madeleine’s sophisticated style, to have her makeup done and her nails shaped as Madeleine’s, and even gives in when Scottie insists she color her now-brown hair blonde. Her plaintive response to his pleas to dye her hair is heartbreaking in its eagerness to earn his love: “If I let you change it, will that do it? If I do what you tell me, will you love me?”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">There are those who claim that Novak is too stiff in her performance in <i>Vertigo</i>, that there is something unnaturally wooden about her interpretation of Madeleine/Judy. But I tend to agree with film critic Roger Ebert, whose reflection on <i>Vertigo </i>praises Novak’s presentation of the character: “Ask yourself how you would move and speak if you were in unbearable pain, and then look again at Judy.” Every element of Novak’s performance, particularly in the wake of the real Madeleine’s death, is carefully constructed to convey the character’s inner turmoil. She has broken the rules—she has fallen in love with her mark. And her punishment is that he cannot love her as herself, as Judy: he needs “Madeleine.” She knows nothing she does short of donning the mantle of “Madeleine” once more will earn her what <i>she</i> needs from him. It’s the last thing she wants to do … and yet, because she loves Scottie, she cannot—will not—deny him his desire.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />The entire film comes down to that single five-minute sequence in which Judy “becomes” Madeleine again. Scottie waits impatiently for Judy to return from her makeover, and is displeased that her newly blonde hair has not been pulled back from her face in Madeleine’s signature updo. He sends her into the bathroom to complete the transformation and waits anxiously for her to emerge. When she does, she is bathed in a hypnotic, strange green light (ostensibly reflected from the neon sign hanging outside the hotel room window), a dreamlike effect that makes it appear as though Madeleine is moving back from the murky past into the solid present. This sense is highlighted through Hitchcock’s brilliant composition of the scene, as Scottie kisses Madeleine and is swept back into a memory of their time together in San Juan Batista while the camera rotates around the embracing couple in a smooth 360 turn.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2xYRUJUJNSw" width="560"></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBi7_hApra8uMCqPmSPSjpC4K3Ah3QNTpACo2jQzOMW-3iMEjrruoyQwGW3_fQEmxuEGneAj6mEzmrNSG9cI7sYuObX8pNKx2ceAI5oOt9RegODmV82A1tRvkrPfJX_vpMdenyC1f-_g/s1600/Kim+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The uncertain, yearning expressions on her face, the stilted movements of her body as she walks in that gray suit once more—everything Novak does is masterfully composed in order to show us just how miserable Judy’s situation really is in that moment. “Judy” is now the one who is dead and Madeleine—the double, the false identity—is her new reality, and must remain so if she wishes to keep Scottie’s love and attention. And the utter hopelessness that comes from that realization is written all over Novak’s face in this scene, effectively foreshadowing Madeleine’s second (and permanent) demise.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">It is fitting that <i>Vertigo </i>has, in retrospect, turned out to be the defining role of Kim Novak’s career, because the film features what is undoubtedly the best performance she ever gave on-screen. Her role as Madeleine/Judy remains one of the most intriguing Hitchcock blondes, a mesmerizingly intense woman brought to blazing, impressive life by a truly talented young performer in the capable hands of a truly talented director in his prime. I can’t help but imagine what more Hitchcock and Novak could have done, had they been paired in another film together at some point. What other depths could he have uncovered in her, and what other cinematic brilliance could they have created, had they just been given the opportunity?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ym3jJlLwr1W2mVotHUlFMa6pD6buisRAYQytn1yqsfYYh5JooMKyKX74HrlUrHGWvuIZNXo6PevcsBVONUbH6Tnyd8b5GC5Mh6rV_fmpe-P676HcCnfY42duobVrD9dJMjpjFL-6YS0/s1600/Kim+6+b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ym3jJlLwr1W2mVotHUlFMa6pD6buisRAYQytn1yqsfYYh5JooMKyKX74HrlUrHGWvuIZNXo6PevcsBVONUbH6Tnyd8b5GC5Mh6rV_fmpe-P676HcCnfY42duobVrD9dJMjpjFL-6YS0/s1600/Kim+6+b.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;">~ </div><br /><i><b>Brandie Ashe</b> is a freelance writer and editor from Alabama. An inveterate classic movie fan since discovering the films of Shirley Temple and the Marx Brothers as a child, she indulges her obsession at her blog, <a href="https://trueclassics.wordpress.com/" style="color: #990000;">True Classics</a>. In 2011 True Classics was honored with two CiMBA Awards from the Classic Movie Blog Assn., one for </i>Best Classic Movie Blog Event<i> and another for </i>Best Profile of a Filmmaker<i>. In addition, her blog was nominated for a 2011 Lammy  Award  from the </i><i>Large Assn. of Movie Blogs </i><i>in the </i>Best Classic Movie Blog<i> category. </i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDL7FW4SJAv96wofn9fZki_a-k9M0afgN2c6ct1FWX-P-EhwXtBRouQgIZYVf0sEg-uXMQ2BiEIGnLhLLPf5CwTkvdDZCIQhdV9k_u0s5EYkv2fxeELwo8wMI4JO-at6S27pgV65NBnfg/s1600/True+Classics+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDL7FW4SJAv96wofn9fZki_a-k9M0afgN2c6ct1FWX-P-EhwXtBRouQgIZYVf0sEg-uXMQ2BiEIGnLhLLPf5CwTkvdDZCIQhdV9k_u0s5EYkv2fxeELwo8wMI4JO-at6S27pgV65NBnfg/s400/True+Classics+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div></div></div>

A Month of Vertigo Alfred Hitchcock Brandie Ashe Kim Novak Vertigo Kim Novak in VERTIGO: A Hypnotic Presence

by guest contributor Brandie Ashe Scratch the surface of the prototypical “Hitchcock blonde”—a cool, reserved exterior masking a fiery and d...

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10 things to do after the interview

<br /><div class="ArticleHeadline" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-top: -30px;"><div class="hdr_org_bld" style="color: #ff6600; font: normal normal bold 18px/normal arial, helvetica;"><h1 id="articleHeadline" style="color: #ff7700; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span id="cbArticle_lblHeadline">10 things to do after the interview</span></h1></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/17/ar5f0kh6sb2l55jzlz17.gif?time=10/7/2011%2012:16:05%20pm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/17/ar5f0kh6sb2l55jzlz17.gif?time=10/7/2011%2012:16:05%20pm" /></a></div><div style="color: #333333; font: italic normal normal 16px/normal arial, helvetica;"><span id="cbArticle_lblHeadline2">How to keep the momentum going</span></div><b><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">Beth Braccio Hering, Special to CareerBuilder</span></b><br /><br /><div class="cbmsnArticleImage">The interview may be over, but your chance to make an impression is not. Here are 10 strategies to continue boosting your candidacy.</div></div><div class="ArticleContent" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>1. Show that you're still interested.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Leave no doubt in the interviewer's mind about where you stand. Ask for the job at meeting's end with a phrase such as, "I would really like to contribute to this company and am hoping you select me." Also, don't leave the room without a clear idea of what will happen next in the hiring process. Will select applicants be invited back to meet other people? By what date do they hope to fill the position? Such questions demonstrate enthusiasm for the job, and knowing the hirer's timeframe will help keep you from panicking if a week has passed without a phone call.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>2. Set the stage for further contact.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Nobody wants to be a pest, but could your silence as days pass be misinterpreted as indifference? Avoid the guesswork by finding out before heading home what the employer prefers in terms of checking in. Lizandra Vega, author of "The Image of Success: Make a Great Impression and Land the Job You Want," suggests asking the recruiter about her preferred method of follow-up communication and whether it would be okay to touch base again.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>3. Be punctual.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If you tell the interviewer you'll send a list of references tomorrow morning, make sure you do it. Keeping your word and answering requests in a timely manner speaks volumes about the type of employee you might be.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>4. Know when to sit tight.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If an interviewer requests that you follow up by phone in a week, respect her wishes. Calling the next day can be construed as pushy and desperate.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>5. Send a prompt thank-you note.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">A positive, nonintrusive way to stay on an employer's mind is to send a thank-you note. Vega recommends emailing one within 24 hours of the interview, then following up with a handwritten note that arrives one to three business days later.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>6. Send each interviewer a personalized, powerful follow-up letter.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">This piece of communication is another chance for you to shine, so don't waste space with generalities. Ford R. Myers, a career coach and author of "Get the Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring," recommends including specific references to each person you met and tying your accomplishments directly to the company's stated challenges. You also can use the letter to introduce achievements that didn't get discussed and to elaborate on interview answers that you felt lacked punch.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>7. Address one of the company's needs.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Another effective way to follow up is to act more like a consultant than an applicant. "During the interview, you learn a lot about a company's weaknesses and/or areas where the company wants to expand," states Linda Matias, president of CareerStrides.com and author of "201 Knockout Answers to Tough Interview Questions." "Consider creating a proposal on how you would address one of those areas. Doing so will demonstrate that you have the knowledge and also the enthusiasm to make a significant contribution."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>8. Keep thinking and learning about the company.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Be prepared for additional interviews or follow-up phone calls by continuing to research the organization and the field. Gain new information about a topic brought up in conversation. Think of additional questions you'd like answered. These actions show the hirer that you didn't stop caring about the company after the interview was over.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>9. Leverage outside resources.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Networking should never stop. "If you have contacts and connections with anyone who might influence the hiring decision, or who actually knows the interviewer, ask her to put a good word in for you," Myers says.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>10. Accept rejection with grace.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Finally, keep emotions in check and don't burn bridges if someone else gets hired. One never knows what the future might hold. The accepted candidate may not work out, or a different position may open up. "If you are rejected, the first thing you should do (ironically) is send a thank-you note," Myers says. "This will help distinguish you from other rejected candidates and put you in a positive light."</div><i>Beth Braccio Hering researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder. Follow @Careerbuilder on Twitter.</i> </div>

10 things to do after the interview

10 things to do after the interview How to keep the momentum going Beth Braccio Hering, Special to CareerBuilder The interview may be over, ...

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tommy smythe get out of my dreams

...and into my car. More cheese at this table please! (I just heard that song this AM so I have to make others suffer with me. You're welcome.)<br /><br />OK, what was a saying?<br /><br />Ahh yes, Tommy.<br /><br />Thru the craziness of getting back into the post-holiday school/work routine and 3 people down with sickness(es) I'm just now getting to my January issue of the beloved House and Home. (this is where you put your hand over your heart)<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSF_QkUD4itLVsGNcMfHrPJztGk9vVXbrRQmfy_C4hllwM2_gmGEomc_jzJYZT1Gp_kjY43ps_Q2tJef9pStH8bUSju9NtH0o40TApF5O6_WH1oT5KcsV0Qlj1z2Bo6fnkJkRvGuSpeZf/s1600/HouseandHomeJan12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSF_QkUD4itLVsGNcMfHrPJztGk9vVXbrRQmfy_C4hllwM2_gmGEomc_jzJYZT1Gp_kjY43ps_Q2tJef9pStH8bUSju9NtH0o40TApF5O6_WH1oT5KcsV0Qlj1z2Bo6fnkJkRvGuSpeZf/s320/HouseandHomeJan12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House and Home <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blog_this.pyra?t=&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zinio.com%2Fpages%2FHouse%26Home%2FJan-12%2F416202674%2Fpg-66&n=Page+66+of+House" target="_blank">January 2012 issue</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Tommy Smythe is a genius.  A genius that creates big piles of awesome every day. The kitchen. The red chesterfield. The paint in the powder room.<br /><br />Get a copy of House and Home and a bottle of wine. Now that's entertainment.

tommy smythe get out of my dreams

...and into my car. More cheese at this table please! (I just heard that song this AM so I have to make others suffer with me. You're we...

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Bring technology into your Foundation Phase Reading lessons

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Here in South Africa the 2012 year has started and the Foundation Phase (Grades R-3) has started implementing the new CAPS curriculum. I thought this would be a great opportunity to draw your attention to 12 websites that have great reading material for your young learners.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">1. </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">Storyline Online</span><br /></b><a href="http://www.storylineonline.net/">http://www.storylineonline.net/</a></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">This site is presented by the Screen Actors Guild  Foundation. This is an online video programme with their members reading stories aloud. Each story has some activity suggestions plus a further Activity Guide download with some superb activities and ideas on it. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_Z0PJX5geYakFuKCz4JCzGUptGwTH74n-1xd4-wQ9MoWjylZfa9pxMfgh17zPUk8aoPRN57lvOTvx0J3QdxJKzENIdJ4TkafWWwGFlwAWVudTfW2mUzHtkQvuXNlSo3owZ0lZd-ecqQ/s1600-h/image3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1za-7oAEypxrrZJBkzmsCVE4wbCKilG0exQlDgOIESOone6b9h_hAuUKa-3IW3UP5XmOyqJ0gnfND99ZQPzWKMHezx3dbsJV84GRlNgUageb13aQ9rgPY2cPuIzxMOHuUvUa_uU3435E/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">2. </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Tale of Peter Rabbit</span><br /></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.rif.org/assets/interactive/peter_rabbit.html">http://www.rif.org/assets/interactive/peter_rabbit.html</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;">This is Beatrix Potter’s famous tale beautifully retold using the original drawings and showing the words so that the learners can read along.</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYVVXKRC682bMo2mw6gUEL1SbbOZTXOykAfJB_jEdy55TDoYxz9qtJEg9WEN3escK3na9CbDbSP7ttHkLA4I3H3ShiGn0Y4s0Zl6ty7oevSTaoOdBPl1ADJOIOeCpaIQ5gAZxN37j11g/s1600-h/image13.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lmyyPQinXuKxMhtZMMmW1M7fd-DLQsiicenU3-zxY51MPBMQhLf478IsN1YrURwAJjK3AWu-9BeAMeIJv5YZ5bAv4kvcLvoRU5LKPAvJq10yDPshsnpazcKoMmO-rg5KXOVU0q2PzG8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg4wXfotrPoJnBF_YiD2llwaIcWyaib1CjLqaxD8SZkzv5QWMeFTjkCai40Q8tu-YiF1R3iCrBHQAgDJpJkaKI7aqTVW51tS49cvUwfy-n75WCO2vTiCm01Zi8MrC3hyu9uGXJEA-NDhc/s1600-h/image181.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLR1cK8s_EBDln6NX7KR0o3u1wtbWlFdkly1D2lMtiHbsYJduQ63yzYGvlfYdnKDoO8EUFM6ywUh4I0-fzwng6-35Cgmvn0cxA1fE03nRce4bMVMWJVc2d7iLcut8K8COC3rjGLHGG7A/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">3. <b>Speakaboos</b></span><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.speakaboos.com/stories">http://www.speakaboos.com/stories</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniea2oekjgXyxEFHP_smNKfNKsvFpNm_UZhXuYHg6Wzz89hrehy7owfhY5FzXWDz53kNg0UdRto5w6wHPP-Vq4kdj4H3jVkNmFIQzQETdwlqZnzR_Bi4V4FCS2nimtgcgsXFFigYnffI/s1600-h/image311.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1hFdhP6qmZbBM7GhhRbr5sj6e1PR3icCMa1VcOrnGyv8vJEn5EAdVzfy0ttorArUbBicajKLk5y57G3DZgu4QbUB8ouqnwA6w9zz9Qgn-pxOOJ21CUvRJy4GxWOkQ0GbZZd9jW0Xaux0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">4. <b>Riffs Reading Planet</b></span><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.rif.org/kids/readingplanet/bookzone/read_aloud_stories.htm">http://www.rif.org/kids/readingplanet/bookzone/read_aloud_stories.htm</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz5K1GizOa1Azxa123AylIWF-djxbH7XnYGLXivRfjnVQ1czcT_JqHuPFPSo2LFRn54zCqHPozWLzrDolNzAjf_1qwSkFbQXFtr6XZ37m1SnH6t5SyhbzcSS07ZegVaFYhb0rBhG0PqE8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></span></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">5. </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">Topmarks</span><br /></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://topmarks.co.uk/EducationalGames.aspx?cat=37">http://topmarks.co.uk/EducationalGames.aspx?cat=37</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdd0eoG8tA0CSbA4RL0p9ETqdCosw0UkyYXA6wUxo39CTH0YDiZxzvy8kRAhy0O_qLdHZHfdTbe-t9xv9ssHhs5OR1dYmWxY5GNe0mgHjLf83ITV0No6T1VOW3xhZSVqHq-XxTduETApQ/s1600-h/image10.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqjMazASOyoG0GblNhmFBV6hYA7_aFYgBowO9wLlqRN3ogWZBkofNb_X6Ss8rqKj4rnxnJIfvqHUtE2fG4tyK5H_CR-Th0G-qmhak3UT82qtjmJ8Uh6gGwdk_YhxKoYsUOI5HCY68QMEY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">6. <b>Meegenius e-books for kids</b></span><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.meegenius.com/store/books/free/">http://www.meegenius.com/store/books/free/</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOm0LuF4EwVHbExRYvtowiq2IwKZNMlN8XaadUejavGkN6MiLW01GjwHr36c1i3FNs_eR5wk8RyEh6dGB66Mu5zWl6UcNrRmEvNU_e9JoMI73jL2A7CL1qKSqhcB0SPaFITGAW9L_Bwo/s1600-h/image141.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93pQtWZUPjwwaYB_ok2Pmmfcrn9SJV7G3fY0C5lNdcD9PQjj37A2ptkikpudWao_s8reDfls-_AeHWZ6I_v-7Xq5965ySvwSwQZOggFAcFk47WES0e8IaBMzDzjxBLaPf-Lc4d7MgR9Y/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">7.  </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">AOL Kids</span><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="http://kids.aol.com/KOL/2/koljrstories/archive/animal-stories">http://kids.aol.com/KOL/2/koljrstories/archive/animal-stories</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHUg73gBsxTblpyMADMDIbFNLUvYZtwFpTQlOv_Jouhf4sL3_wGmRU5U5Ui6UckUtrUi0EB7NF0J4aNanlRkdwTyazQK6-HBMeXLERs1-AltAvWkx6KbdVBcIYdLdNwSF2x4gj2qEfDU/s1600-h/image17.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiC7TLVM-6EuZUOcqWN4-ZtLtnLU89_hlzFuLBGviNnp7o1BUC7uOlPFG1-C1rD-UT1FZoQyd9q1m68OHXIIR2N1YrY7YgnZmtVc3dsBJ4MOysUzq01wjbNubSkvPzKj-egmAy3YHHM08/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">8. <b>PBS Kids</b></span><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="http://pbskids.org/lions/stories/">http://pbskids.org/lions/stories/</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ZXhL0V7rLUGyIAOV3Qwu2yOcv9rcLgILXuEbs2sr5v-mBNpol19qROFXULl74pvb6BtV7Ur6LYWedpLb-R_53a_xXgN2Y7tD_Uap-Ydlvq0_76W1VvZ-KDw57vNiqGqM5MRw8Kg3rdE/s1600-h/image20.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWDE1ZBGjmAmLvqY3W3p2hjstc-5PvR9gh_rkbg1K3ekdpxP9gZec_8wM8s2Y7Bkc_L6361JIPovstu4CAkfoy7wD8bXU4SCfg-vAAo7dHVuO_UpsS1pg8fjjHF3lhbZ5yJsMAyw-2eXo/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">9. </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">Read to me</span><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.readtomelv.com/current-books/">http://www.readtomelv.com/current-books/</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRBAqZEZJzsshuQ1LEtNPNHz2gHfYmncbFsAaknxMYWUqBZj61vAMc9xwovZjx7gM_BkQJ8DbBMsVOiBs7GOG0Msb6_D-36ubOG2u3dBjOMasCOfjchN_VrrShwG4JfcqyaTBYgGXDEgM/s1600-h/image24.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Iyio0KN6ytqp4h3Onz7k8g2IfxcwDaok9dFn2ewUTMvzB6zntfdKESXNOzU60ltCRuJh8DfQJBmpeT7JBY0-krYN5SA1Mtjmn68FMlk-dGcknshy0KujxA1Bb3SbEWH0ycueGgfZnu0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">1</span><span style="font-size: large;">0. <b>National Geographic Young Explorer</b></span><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngyoungexplorer/moreissues.html">http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngyoungexplorer/moreissues.html</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjXc-ig3xbZdy5wxqAhBm869wSW_lSVyQ2iu15fQIhJcpYi6DLXVlfYnlRrNGrx38UYjNry1mv8WW0VlPPQP33PhUa7yCEcsTSwFwtpbSFqZLxT9U4JDURFKoHMMde-tCD3U-7lpI_Ag/s1600-h/image27.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6w1WeAJvuTcgEZlFZSjSZihhvAX0m6Zv5alsdA0fqZwnZc1rMvDKaE3JHZav8mSzTZpyiMgZF2TtGoMPFRlv9Z6yc77udCPJMeENVAGzkE9FAvcWynB796W2-TH3ltM2Yvk56p7aHRJE/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">11. </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">Starfall</span><br /></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.starfall.com/">http://www.starfall.com/</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKraRp6stYP1W4VFVCZ_bMjPrFnpr0wbWIuj06Dfno6fAj8MzR90Da35au29Z_Ex675GNdn0DbbvyYrP-R_tsEjCqBwiFvCm_nMJ59Qs0Snov0-t486QbVlbN07v18gAgUDg5wla0Tmao/s1600-h/image30.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjtmf05WYsGG7T7TIV8Ix1QPn4I2VT_hWZgouM8EboEXkfIiW6ZMhtH8KgtsWed0EqKEAcgWqb1UGotu88ZBVVROdetZb9ofHzar-A8L7fHzP_beK_x_YaG52Momfp0GjnoL13EgcXX8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">12. <b>Short stories</b></span><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/childrenindex.html">http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/childrenindex.html</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3SobvCWPEJC6BJd7oR8uCrgAPWoHLqxyExQ1nj_QyqLPpi1_bvcdHDWew3BwZiuhQoqgv7LSnDu8gAZ59mZD0poeXo_TOs_ToCJbYZo-0Ct8HQzWsPSTicnhRYc-npaLIGVy20rVBC8I/s1600-h/image33.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYqig98pYxReWeSMjlN4YeideTKmIqiWJ_-zwwZehyphenhyphenA85LXiQfXqA8okj46zsCikIjD2y7NQ2t9VLr_3SHuxOhzfPoayfyY3omDjrt6fozmhVPMAiKruFaKvIiqN_-2VdhS32WVxk6qQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Classroom application</span><br /></b><span style="font-size: small;">Perhaps you don’t have the facilities to make use of these in your classroom – but have you ever considered creating a classroom blog? You could then list these websites on the blog so that parents can make use of them at home. </span></span></div>

e-books Reading Bring technology into your Foundation Phase Reading lessons

Here in South Africa the 2012 year has started and the Foundation Phase (Grades R-3) has started implementing the new CAPS curriculum. I tho...

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<br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100.0%;"> <tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100.0%;"> <tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td style="color: #666666; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></td> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div></td> </tr><tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><br /></td> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUAdaG_eisGPyRp1A_WRN-Q32bQv96ZuSLxTssiVX7RrZ0Z4DU1pysg-O7fGQI5UBc13-aCRFxTbtwzmG2sx5OLqBw8z_Je1RMGp4_y4bUGx72NVlJfVQfyRLzJksV9JVpugojiJRCA9Pj/s1600/1153494_tango_1_silhouette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUAdaG_eisGPyRp1A_WRN-Q32bQv96ZuSLxTssiVX7RrZ0Z4DU1pysg-O7fGQI5UBc13-aCRFxTbtwzmG2sx5OLqBw8z_Je1RMGp4_y4bUGx72NVlJfVQfyRLzJksV9JVpugojiJRCA9Pj/s1600/1153494_tango_1_silhouette.jpg" /></a></div><br /></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /><div style="color: orange; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: x-large;">Cristina Kirchner on Argentina's Future</span></b></div><br /><div style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: x-small;">by The Globalist, Monday 09 Jan 2012</span></div><span style="color: yellow; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: orange;"> </span></span><br /><span style="color: yellow; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">In October 2011, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was reelected as President of Argentina by a wide margin. She was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer and underwent surgery, which gave rise to a deep outpouring of support for the popular leader. Our Read My Lips presents her vision for Argentina’s future.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100.0%;"> <tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 285.0pt;" valign="top" width="380"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">1. What made your reelection historic?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">"I have the honor to be the first woman to be reelected in the country. What more could I want?” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(October 2011) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">2. Do women bring a unique perspective to politics?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">"Women bring a different face to politics. We see the big geopolitical picture — but also the smaller, daily details of citizens' lives.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(February 2008) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">3. How so?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">“We're wrapped up as much in what our daughter's school principal says as we are in what the newspapers are saying." </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(February 2008) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">4. What’s the main goal of your second term in office?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">"Count on me to continue deepening a national project that has helped to improve the lives of 41 million Argentines.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(October 2011) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">5. Are you committed to changing Argentina?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">"We have to think of a different country, where whoever comes builds on top of what's already been done.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(October 2011) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">6. Can you be considered an activist president?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">“That's the Argentina I dream of, where we have continuity of national political projects for the country." </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(October 2011) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">7. What ideal guides your presidency?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">"This woman isn't moved by any interest. The only thing that moves her is profound love for the country. Of that I'm responsible.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(October 2011) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">8. What is your hope for Argentina’s future?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">“We will continue growing, with social inclusion, with justice, memory and truth.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(August 2011) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">9. Do you credit your late husband for your political success?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">"This man who transformed Argentina led us all and gave everything he had and more. Without him, without his valor and courage, it would have been impossible to get to this point." </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(October 2011) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">10. And finally, what’s a key to being a successful leader?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">"The worst that people can be is small. In history, you always must be bigger still — more generous, more thoughtful, more thankful." </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(October 2011) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt;">Each edition of "Read My Lips" presents quotes made by the featured individual at the time specified in the answers. However, it is a "virtual" interview only — insofar as we have added questions in order to provide a better context to the thoughts expressed.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

Cristina Kirchner on Argentina's Future by The Globalist, Monday 09 Jan 2012   In October 2011, Cristina F...

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Weekend Recap + Weekly Goals

I could have used another day in this weekend to just relax and do nothing.  I'm normally very good about getting plenty of sleep and sticking to a somewhat regular schedule, but this weekend I was allll over the place and struggling to fall asleep at night.  Today I'm dragging my feet big time!<br /><br />I spent a lot of time wedding planning this past weekend, which was both fun and stressful at times.  I'm heavily utilizing Pinterest to keep track of my inspiration.  I think the stressful part is the overwhelming number of ideas and sites and themes to pick from online.  I'm going for a rustic/country theme and my colors are deep purple and brown with accents of sunflowers.  As always, I welcome any advice/tips in this arena!  <br /><br />My WW week has been off to a great start, even with an eating out session on Saturday night.  I've been staying on plan and tracking, tracking, tracking and I hope it pays off come Friday.  I did a sneak weigh in over the weekend to discover I was down to my lowest weight yet, so I hope I can continue this downward trend the rest of the week.  I'm working toward my next goal of 238 pounds. <br /><br />As part of my weekly goals, I've been working to get myself back on track with my gym attendance.  My goal right now and for the rest of January will be to continue going 2 days/week for 35 minutes.  It's more than doable and I'm all about easily obtainable goals right now.  I achieved this goal last week and I'm well on my way to achieving it this week as well. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPHHXZcGayhBxS9vC7YcoFq6_ZHzGYSWuOo-BlOdbMWpof09vHPM20Oa2UQfXqzy0bmBTUxveiaJW5X_APpzAfF_nB2GxclJGudMWazU-Mg7SUXmA6CUvvFRcVYsiloZLUl2ZEVaEQ0A/s1600/weight-watchers-diet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPHHXZcGayhBxS9vC7YcoFq6_ZHzGYSWuOo-BlOdbMWpof09vHPM20Oa2UQfXqzy0bmBTUxveiaJW5X_APpzAfF_nB2GxclJGudMWazU-Mg7SUXmA6CUvvFRcVYsiloZLUl2ZEVaEQ0A/s1600/weight-watchers-diet.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="color: blue;">Goals for the week:</span></b><br />Stay within daily Points+ allowance (39) for 5 of the 7 days. If I have to delve in to the Weekly Points+ allowance, I want to use no more than 34 of them, leaving a balance of 15. <br /> <br /><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /><b style="color: blue;">Potential Challenges + Solutions:</b></div><ol><li><b>No Microwave:</b> Our microwave just died a week ago and we still don't have a new one yet.  Our landlord has to go through an insurance process in order to get us another one.  You never realize how much you use this appliance until it's gone!  It's proving to be a real challenge because EVERYTHING has to be heated up on the stove or in the oven, which takes longer.  The opportunity has already arisen numerous times to say, "Ehh, I don't feel like waiting for this item to heat up in the oven, I'm just going to go to McDonald's/Five Guys/whatever.. 1 time won't hurt!"  I haven't given in to that statement, I've just been having odd meals (like cheese and crackers) instead because they are quick and satisfy the hunger cravings right away.  </li></ol><b style="color: blue;">Planned Activity: </b><br />2 active days this week.  1 of those days has already been crossed off.<br /><br /><div style="color: purple;"><b>What are you up to this week?  Did you have a great On Plan weekend?</b></div><br />Don't forget to <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-giveaway.html">enter for a chance</a> to win a free sample pack of Zipfizz!<br />

Weekend Recap Weekly Weight Watchers Goals Weekend Recap + Weekly Goals

I could have used another day in this weekend to just relax and do nothing.  I'm normally very good about getting plenty of sleep and st...

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