News for today's 2018

THE BALKANS – ORGANIZED CRIME AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION PART 4

6:01 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><span style="mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"></span></b></span> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSCAivwrKtzGL0oXRoU4oThiXfN71Gq9iNhFK2ao_A4FG8jAzOJXae3Ns6UTz3BTrWiuuXYpHaiHY2fzV9gKMmL8dtUUdxhKkSIMsdGOBKBe2SJq9ZTtuwZiqI40gWGFCXVfcd3BGWGOg/s1600/AlbaniaIslam.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSCAivwrKtzGL0oXRoU4oThiXfN71Gq9iNhFK2ao_A4FG8jAzOJXae3Ns6UTz3BTrWiuuXYpHaiHY2fzV9gKMmL8dtUUdxhKkSIMsdGOBKBe2SJq9ZTtuwZiqI40gWGFCXVfcd3BGWGOg/s320/AlbaniaIslam.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><span style="mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"></span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE INVOLVEMENT IN THE BALKANS</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Adapted by Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring from Ioannis Michaletos</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Since the early 1990s, Bonn and Washington have joined hands in establishing their respective spheres of influence in the Balkans. Their intelligence agencies have also collaborated. According to intelligence sources, covert support to the KOSOVO rebel army was established as a joint endeavor between the CIA and GERMANY’S Bundes Nachrichten Dienst (BND) (which previously played a key role in installing a right wing nationalist government under Franjo Tudjman in CROATIA). The task to create and finance the KLA was initially given to GERMANY. Allegedly they used GERMAN uniforms, East GERMAN weapons and were financed, in part, with drug money. The CIA on the other hand was, subsequently instrumental in training and equipping the KLA in ALBANIA.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ALLEGEDLY, GERMANY AND THE USA FAVORED THE FORMATION OF A “GREATER ALBANIA”</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The covert activities of GERMANY’S BND were consistent with Bonn’s intent to expand its “Lebensraum” into the BALKANS. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>See also: “How GERMANY backed KLA”. Website: <a href="http://www.bretagnenet.com/reporter-breton/archives/germany.htm">http://www.bretagnenet.com/reporter-breton/archives/germany.htm</a></i></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKVny03PHxHjZbCtbTJrNynUpNBwcLOeCCgwGVpQ189pxm5TqFaDCVtcxBDWSkm5s3lC7pH7TNwnh3W3NdkBtmdX_haT50TVhTvIXZY56GVhCWRj5I66GkKElgb7ZkHNlxZryR0C6nDtb/s1600/free-poster-hhzi2muqc0-ALBANIAN-MAFIA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKVny03PHxHjZbCtbTJrNynUpNBwcLOeCCgwGVpQ189pxm5TqFaDCVtcxBDWSkm5s3lC7pH7TNwnh3W3NdkBtmdX_haT50TVhTvIXZY56GVhCWRj5I66GkKElgb7ZkHNlxZryR0C6nDtb/s200/free-poster-hhzi2muqc0-ALBANIAN-MAFIA.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Prior to the onset of the civil war in BOSNIA, GERMANY and its Foreign Minister Hans Dietrich Genscher had actively supported secession; it had “forced the pace of international diplomacy” and pressured its Western allies to recognize SLOVENIA and CROATIA. According to Geopolitical Drug Watch, both GERMANY and the US favored (although not officially) the formation of a “GREATER ALBANIA” encompassing ALBANIA, KOSOVO and parts of FYROM. According to Sean Gervasi, US economist, GERMANY was seeking a free hand among its allies “to pursue economic dominance in the whole of “MITTELEUROPA“.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See: “GREATER ALBANIA” <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2013/01/greater-albania-united-states-project.html"><span>http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2013/01/greater-albania-united-states-project.html</span></a></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THE EMERGENCE OF “BALKAN JIHAD” AND ITS PROGRESS IN THE REGION</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After the 9/11, a worldwide “War on terror” begun in order to disband and neutralize Islamic terrorist networks across the globe. The main focus of the largest anti-terrorist campaign in history is focused in the MIDDLE EAST area, as well as in AFGHANISTAN.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The BALKAN Peninsula is EUROPE’S “turf “where this campaign also took place, with numerous arrests and a continuous effort into riding fundamentalist cells out of the area. The question arising though, is how did the extremists gain a foothold in South Eastern EUROPE in the first place, and what was the reaction of the IC (International Community) over the previous years?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THE PRESENCE OF ISLAM IN THE BALKANS DATES BACK TO THE 13TH CENTURY</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In order to create the much needed mercenary armies, against the then archenemy, the FRANCS, BYZANTINE Emperors allowed Muslim TURKS into modern day BULGARIA. They were used mainly as cavalry forces due to their excellent techniques in that kind of war. Over the coming decades the antagonism between the FRANCS and the VATICAN from one side and the BYZANTIUM from the other, led to the final conquest of Constantinople by the OTTOMAN TURKS in 1453. Gradually virtually the whole of the BALKANS came under Muslim dominance and were included in the Dar al Islam territory stretching from the Hindu river and up to Gibraltar.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><table align="center" 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/AVvXsEhJkipnj6CgYhZX_3n303LQKqFq5LnF3mgjG7LM_6L35MxvUVxNJ8pSjEsgg2Q8NT-rskZ6jeJf1I1pRtlJaz8gefBtVlv6MumLVc4QZvWSrDfi1oihpnMLA1g_vQC21xrKeDoTqZhDnoc0/s1600/792px-Bogomilist_expansion.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkipnj6CgYhZX_3n303LQKqFq5LnF3mgjG7LM_6L35MxvUVxNJ8pSjEsgg2Q8NT-rskZ6jeJf1I1pRtlJaz8gefBtVlv6MumLVc4QZvWSrDfi1oihpnMLA1g_vQC21xrKeDoTqZhDnoc0/s320/792px-Bogomilist_expansion.svg.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bogomils expansion </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In BOSNIA in particular the sect of Bogomils –Eastern Orthodox sect-, converted to Islam for a variety of societal and spiritual reasons. Since the Bogomils were the affluent class of the central BALKANS they soon became the ruling class over millions of Christians of mostly Slavic descent. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><i>See: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogomilism"><span>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogomilism</span></a></i></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In ALBANIA the Islamic takeover had a dramatic effect and in a matter of 150 years 2/3rds of the population converted from the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholicism to Islam. The main reason for such a large proselytism in ALBANIA had been the traditional adherence towards stronger rulers that the mountainous ALBANIANS had since their early history. During the time of the Roman Empire, the ALBANIANS served as elite corps in the Armies of the Emperors Empires –i.e. Diocletian was of ALBANIAN descent- and tended to absorb the cultural and religious norms of their regional superintendents. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The same was the case in the more or less GREEK dominated Byzantium. As soon as the “Eastern Roman Empire” waned in favor of the Western one; there was a mass conversion to Catholicism in the early 13th century.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The historical collective path of the ALBANIAN people can be compared with that of the mountainous SWITZERLAND, that absorbed influences and norms from the much larger and influential neighbors (GERMANY, FRANCE, and ITALY ).</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA IN 1992 - TRYING TO ESTABLISH THE FIRST ISLAMIC STATE IN EUROPE?</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It is against this historical background that the Islamic fundamentalist drama in the BALKANS evolved in the 1990s. Evan F. Kohlmann, author of Al-Qaeda’s Jihad in EUROPE: The AFGHAN-BOSNIAN Network argues that “key to understanding Al Qaida’s EUROPEAN cells lies in the BOSNIAN war of the 1990s”. Using the BOSNIAN war as their cover, AFGHAN-TRAINED Islamic militants loyal to Osama bin Laden convened in the BALKANS in 1992 to establish a EUROPEAN domestic terrorist infrastructure in order to plot their violent strikes against the UNITED STATES.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1S9KxcLAP29l-wqKU7gZcROmVQzE-Za9cxPvZXHC5NQsXXo2Jc1mmwdsr5MyfWP7iRAr38mBObq0AajrAQ_pZ5XLxUdv-thuTaQrWYXNYt2qs3JY9vDf_3LNw_yf471n0yM-15LPmo-j/s1600/image.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1S9KxcLAP29l-wqKU7gZcROmVQzE-Za9cxPvZXHC5NQsXXo2Jc1mmwdsr5MyfWP7iRAr38mBObq0AajrAQ_pZ5XLxUdv-thuTaQrWYXNYt2qs3JY9vDf_3LNw_yf471n0yM-15LPmo-j/s320/image.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">So, the outbreak of the civil war in BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA in 1992 presented an unparalleled opportunity for the international Mujaheedin to storm EUROPE, establish safe havens in the area and thus initiate re-conquest of regions they previously ruled. The leader of BOSNIA, Alia Izebegovic was eager to obtain as much assistance as possible and didn’t hesitate in providing the necessary framework by which Islamic ties were forged. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In the same year, a variety of Islamic mercenaries flocked into the Balkans in order to support the “Holy cause”, meaning the establishment of the first Islamic state in Europe. <i>See: <span> </span><a href="http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islamic_terrorism.htm">http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islamic_terrorism.htm</a></i>The end of the war in 1995 saw quite a few of those mujahedin, acquiring BOSNIAN citizenship and establishing the first Islamic community in the village of Bocinja Donja. <i>See: <a href="http://www.balkanpeace.org/index.php?index=/content/wtb/wtb12.incl">http://www.balkanpeace.org/index.php?index=/content/wtb/wtb12.incl</a></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><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/AVvXsEhM_AdLnjc9f0vfp27eDFBAEOSH3RL9WyvpbdDrOF4VasOtV3Edi1kZPge16sCm_XeVxPoePIrB743Wkc2DQsITqrHdr0czZKEeFvL32bnBeHrQJLr6S2ROBecwBevVUTQ2FmdVdh9V52Px/s1600/sandzac.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_AdLnjc9f0vfp27eDFBAEOSH3RL9WyvpbdDrOF4VasOtV3Edi1kZPge16sCm_XeVxPoePIrB743Wkc2DQsITqrHdr0czZKEeFvL32bnBeHrQJLr6S2ROBecwBevVUTQ2FmdVdh9V52Px/s1600/sandzac.gif" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SANDŽAK Region </span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">During 2006 and 2007, hundreds of citizenships were revoked by Islamists residing in BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA. Nevertheless the whereabouts of most of them remain unknown, raising fears for potential terrorist acts in the future and on European soil. Furthermore, Novi Pazar a town in </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SANDŽAK</span></span>, an area in SOUTHERN SERBIA; which has become a core for Islamic fundamentalism, linked with Al-Qaeda cells. Novi Pazar is the focus of the Islamist attempt to build a ‘land bridge “from ALBANIA and KOSOVO to BOSNIA. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Background Information: </span></u></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SANDŽAK REGION, NOT ONLY THE GATEWAY FOR BALKANS ORGANIZED CRIME SYNDICATES, BUT ALSO FOR SPREADING WAHHBISM TO EUROPE? </span></b></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></i></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/wahhabism-in-bosnia-herzegovina-part-4.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/wahhabism-in-bosnia-herzegovina-part-4.html</a></span></i></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ORGANIZED CRIME AND “GREY” ECONOMY OF BIH AND </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SAND</span></b></i></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ž</span></b></i></span></span>AK </span></b></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></i></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/07/bosnia-european-unions-stepchild.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/07/bosnia-european-unions-stepchild.html</a></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">  </span></i></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/kosovo-and-radical-islam.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/kosovo-and-radical-islam.html</a></span></i></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: blue;">EXTREMISTS ESTABLISH FOOTHOLD IN THE BALKANS</span> </span></b></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></i></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/kosovo.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/kosovo.html</a></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjxQ4RglyyCTvk5nD4I2RxxPFeoZ1vuxnv587xHnoA76o38hAXHkIIuG9-wPJvTtBnL0TV4t89J5b45S-i2ZDQSX9GlDpm77cJRjMCCkG6naUodrT70obIMI2dimsd99NQv9OGxAhlVw2/s1600/sandzak-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjxQ4RglyyCTvk5nD4I2RxxPFeoZ1vuxnv587xHnoA76o38hAXHkIIuG9-wPJvTtBnL0TV4t89J5b45S-i2ZDQSX9GlDpm77cJRjMCCkG6naUodrT70obIMI2dimsd99NQv9OGxAhlVw2/s320/sandzak-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">overwrite Sandzak stamp </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Further to the East, in southern SERBIA’S Raška Oblast, are three other concentrations of Muslims: Sjenica and Pester area (lightly populated but mostly Muslim), Prijepolje (some 50 percent Muslim) and — very close to the BOSNIA border where REPUBLICA SRPSKA controls the slender Gorazde corridor — Priboj (also some 50 percent Muslim). The land between is SERBIAN farmland, but the Islamist goal is to link the cities as “evidence” that the entire region is, or should be, Muslim territory. The same strategy worked successfully in BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, where SERBIAN farmers were driven off their lands during the civil war.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">  </span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Just south of the SERBIAN area of Raška Oblast is the MONTENEGRIN part of Raška region, where, 60 to 80 percent of Bijeljo Polje inhabitants are Muslims. Pijevlja, close to the BOSNIAN border, is 40 percent Muslim. These MONTENEGRIN towns, like those of the WESTERN SERBIAN Raška region, are the key to the illicit arms and narco-trafficking across the Gorazde Corridor to BOSNIA.</span></span></div>

THE BALKANS – ORGANIZED CRIME AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION PART 4

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE INVOLVEMENT IN THE BALKANS Adapted by Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring from Ioannis Michaletos Since the early ...

Goody Good Stuff

5:33 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Goody Good Stuff Candies</span></u><br /><u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWJo24g2vOT8iMtt934gcOEs0BqH1WrhnbbqWEDe0PWVqD2b8iqBJD25kLvxDK0Y53e7Oj9FuKE497hytczxZYC7nRpQ2xWfYkXuuiVusXeYCbX3SLlsDpcR6L3wnkqM1VUu7HcLBN6o/s1600/goody+good+stuff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWJo24g2vOT8iMtt934gcOEs0BqH1WrhnbbqWEDe0PWVqD2b8iqBJD25kLvxDK0Y53e7Oj9FuKE497hytczxZYC7nRpQ2xWfYkXuuiVusXeYCbX3SLlsDpcR6L3wnkqM1VUu7HcLBN6o/s200/goody+good+stuff.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why can't all candies be like this one?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodygoodstuff.com/">Goody Good Stuff</a> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A great candy company that makes all natural gummy and sour candies that are all natural and free of additives making them nutritious with just the right amount of sweetness. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Facts:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gluten Free</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fat Free</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">GMO Free</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soy Free</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nut Free</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dairy Free</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Egg free</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meat free</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alcohol free</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tree nut free and guilt free </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCzm2bBBeqGwdG1-rZdTy5vzqn_Cx9zwVBGyPYNMXwW6SwcJgJxI6OW8uOkKYcOk23Ta-DezhjDlbeu9JRpsjn_djKntdki536ePw0ueKFbaGeOe9KFvbgjSNEAFQ-Tk74dx0Qh7VjobQ/s1600/goody+good+stuff+packages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCzm2bBBeqGwdG1-rZdTy5vzqn_Cx9zwVBGyPYNMXwW6SwcJgJxI6OW8uOkKYcOk23Ta-DezhjDlbeu9JRpsjn_djKntdki536ePw0ueKFbaGeOe9KFvbgjSNEAFQ-Tk74dx0Qh7VjobQ/s200/goody+good+stuff+packages.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;">I was sent these wonderful and delicious candies to review.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;">The flavors I received were:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;">Tropical Fruit</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;">Strawberries and cream</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;">Koala Gummy Bears</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;">Sour Fruit Salad</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;">Summer peaches</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;">Sour Mix and Match</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;">Cheery Cherries</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;">Cola Breeze</span><br /><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;">My mom and I decided to test them out tonight, so I took two small bowls and put a little from each bag into the bowls.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXkC_LZS9Dt5tF7wJxkfSBP7RQnxF-T8ufuHS3IeL117xTqU_Eg-tET4TRpfe1lOiIRsn21EYzlxp8pdBeXg5R3NWHijoZiF4f6ZJx22EJmAJGICgOZmUC-BwkE1j2BPqElPEcA2aj1M/s1600/goody+mixture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXkC_LZS9Dt5tF7wJxkfSBP7RQnxF-T8ufuHS3IeL117xTqU_Eg-tET4TRpfe1lOiIRsn21EYzlxp8pdBeXg5R3NWHijoZiF4f6ZJx22EJmAJGICgOZmUC-BwkE1j2BPqElPEcA2aj1M/s200/goody+mixture.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><u style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;">Summer Peaches</u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I absolutely love peach candies especially peach rings!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To me they taste just like them but better!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They are soft not chewy at all and offer a ton of peach flavor which I love.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Sour Mix and Match</u></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Delicious fruity sour sweets </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Cola Breeze</u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Great flavor and shaped like a cola bottle!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How cute is that!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can enjoy the taste of cola without all of those artificial sweeteners and extra calories in just one bite!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Cheery Cherries</u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tiny little gummy cherry shaped bites that are sweet and delicious!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Strawberries and Cream</u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Enjoy the sweet and creamy flavor of Strawberries and cream.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Sour Fruit Salad</u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">enjoy a guilt free mixture of sweet and sour fruits!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Tropical Fruit</u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You might want to pack your bags on this one!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In just one bite of these delicious tropical gummy candies you'll feel like your on an island!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They are that good!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Koala Gummy Bears</u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As a kid I would always put gummy bears on my ice cream!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I just loved the sweetness of the cold ice cream along with the chewiness of the gummy bears.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are amazing!</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPfsBfcOCohxaXO5o9hr7vRp2szwBSAji_cLvFMe4bt4l8RPqIHw5PT7NggS_WadqAKUSo7gG79368wN0z7MbBr6gPVtG1wii7v6ZelacVdfAoidLMd9xOjEsReqDUCBOxLqxqq29Tt54/s1600/koala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPfsBfcOCohxaXO5o9hr7vRp2szwBSAji_cLvFMe4bt4l8RPqIHw5PT7NggS_WadqAKUSo7gG79368wN0z7MbBr6gPVtG1wii7v6ZelacVdfAoidLMd9xOjEsReqDUCBOxLqxqq29Tt54/s200/koala.jpg" width="200" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Interested in trying their products?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Check them out online here!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodygoodstuff.com/">http://www.goodygoodstuff.com/</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Goody-Good-Stuff/464957200104?fref=ts">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Goody-Good-Stuff/464957200104?fref=ts</a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/GoodyGoodStuff"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://twitter.com/GoodyGoodStuff</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can find them at these local retailers.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stop & Shop</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Giant Eagle</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dierbergs</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tops Friendly Market's</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Coming soon to 7 Eleven's!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>

Goody Good Stuff

Goody Good Stuff Candies Why can't all candies be like this one? Goody Good Stuff A great candy company that makes all natural gummy a...

Lara Bars

2:14 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtZ0_xSY5z17jZ6W4hOL35OfjHT6rtcggNBN0aG_Nz8DeiHrNLtEnro2D28qdrxLvtj8mBuT2XqDRBoKTrQNdkuJjF6vR2KDfrqM3TtNjzLbrNYiJBosPTzX5J8020gjQQUGuRFRHFgoM/s1600/larabars+package.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtZ0_xSY5z17jZ6W4hOL35OfjHT6rtcggNBN0aG_Nz8DeiHrNLtEnro2D28qdrxLvtj8mBuT2XqDRBoKTrQNdkuJjF6vR2KDfrqM3TtNjzLbrNYiJBosPTzX5J8020gjQQUGuRFRHFgoM/s200/larabars+package.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.larabar.com/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lara Bar</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">believes in making healthy snacks for us that are made from whole foods products such as fruits and nuts to give our bodies what it deserves to maintain a healthy lifestyle.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They offer an array of varieties ranging from Apple pie to Tropical fruit tart.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't worry chocoholics they have us covered!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pf1W_4e174fBm8bLYvRPc0MufJ-lp4qviXNGBBaFtdb1O3Wk2YZImNzxiGS5GAQ77jsiw0VseBuGiBeLPvhHHSqDTnsrCo2Ja-sV1objC9qyem6_mu09BbtCwhK5TEjbim5oO2KL5jY/s1600/Larabars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pf1W_4e174fBm8bLYvRPc0MufJ-lp4qviXNGBBaFtdb1O3Wk2YZImNzxiGS5GAQ77jsiw0VseBuGiBeLPvhHHSqDTnsrCo2Ja-sV1objC9qyem6_mu09BbtCwhK5TEjbim5oO2KL5jY/s200/Larabars.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was sent these flavor of Lara Bars to review.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The ones I chose were coconut cream pie and blueberry muffin.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was also sent </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(favorites of Stacy's) </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Which was the Carrot Cake and Peanut Butter and Jelly to try as well. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Coconut Cream Pie:</span></u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7d1OAckIeKERsuv5zYmAb4kCt8yCtg3HCpXzh2ZwuuQM_T-PqfjfFwjXxuiPqL1Utanp5_l10PyGsZDCA0CP6elTUWBJpo_u71gomzBoA-ddxwx_1Q6Fz3PBK7LHb950QQSGTy3lAfV8/s1600/coconut+cream+pie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7d1OAckIeKERsuv5zYmAb4kCt8yCtg3HCpXzh2ZwuuQM_T-PqfjfFwjXxuiPqL1Utanp5_l10PyGsZDCA0CP6elTUWBJpo_u71gomzBoA-ddxwx_1Q6Fz3PBK7LHb950QQSGTy3lAfV8/s200/coconut+cream+pie.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love all things coconut whether it's a drink or food.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When craving something sweet I unwrapped the coconut cream pie bar and wow was I amazed!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The coconut flavor was hit right on and is soft not hard like other bars I've tried.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tastes just like a pie!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Peanut Butter and Jelly:</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7b2qymmMv_PIpFU-p__YCIjhIcNSHjFwLLJmIzh2JUJm-m_rJZQoFp-MiSDgDZgd6xMNXcBsFxp2OsbifKcziJI_flSW3r_Dwlv4jqh-XwUwwKhHQ9c1qWDZ1rqVx1XOSy0zELi9ipPk/s1600/peanut+butter+and+jelly+lara+bar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7b2qymmMv_PIpFU-p__YCIjhIcNSHjFwLLJmIzh2JUJm-m_rJZQoFp-MiSDgDZgd6xMNXcBsFxp2OsbifKcziJI_flSW3r_Dwlv4jqh-XwUwwKhHQ9c1qWDZ1rqVx1XOSy0zELi9ipPk/s200/peanut+butter+and+jelly+lara+bar.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How can this taste so good made with just peanuts and cherries?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It tastes just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich which was an old time favorite as a kid!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't believe how good it tastes.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Carrot Cake:</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioncxD1NwVLbxn1Ubea75eMGtMVcdUel84F1J2iw2VxbCl6PN3phlzrM9WvR4TL6UkYVbKcse0R-Xq9lsgx9d1n_RlKaV9A23xd6h15H68LeM4Nk8wd9t-1yx3YFXm3Mhu0Skuj18WBbo/s1600/carrot+cake+lara+bar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioncxD1NwVLbxn1Ubea75eMGtMVcdUel84F1J2iw2VxbCl6PN3phlzrM9WvR4TL6UkYVbKcse0R-Xq9lsgx9d1n_RlKaV9A23xd6h15H68LeM4Nk8wd9t-1yx3YFXm3Mhu0Skuj18WBbo/s200/carrot+cake+lara+bar.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Made with raisins, dates, carrots, almonds,walnuts,unsweetened coconut, pineapple, cinnamon and extra virgin coconut oil.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love the sweetness of this bar it's so delicious.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love fruits especially pineapple, but when it's paired with coconut it's so much better!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tastes just like a real carrot cake but without the fatty cream cheese on the top. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have to admit, I don't miss the cream cheese on it!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't need it at all.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Has healthy ingredients mixed in and that's all I need is something sweet and not to mention healthy. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Blueberry Muffin:</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PTN-EjfRu6xfOQCnbnpiczU6WY230CwX3nno2z6sGooeYu2UhP4_wSK61QXM8Dj5rShXRV_mvUl26Ug356qxcoqCsjkS4hyt4DzeE-YlQ5tyd1dTOr8e9vX4dU16BViUMPT0Ve8B8G4/s1600/blueberry+muffin+lara+bar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PTN-EjfRu6xfOQCnbnpiczU6WY230CwX3nno2z6sGooeYu2UhP4_wSK61QXM8Dj5rShXRV_mvUl26Ug356qxcoqCsjkS4hyt4DzeE-YlQ5tyd1dTOr8e9vX4dU16BViUMPT0Ve8B8G4/s200/blueberry+muffin+lara+bar.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">made with cashews, dates, blueberry juice concentrate, unsweetened blueberries, vanilla extract and lemon juice concentrate.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have to say it was a bit different than your average blueberry muffin but tasted good.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Want to find them online?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.larabar.com/">http://www.larabar.com/</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Larabar">https://www.facebook.com/Larabar</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/LARABAR">https://twitter.com/LARABAR</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Or you can check your local stores such as Wal-mart, Target, Whole Foods or wherever they are sold! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>

Lara Bars

Lara Bar believes in making healthy snacks for us that are made from whole foods products such as fruits and nuts to give our bodies what ...

Steak Saturday!

1:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

Steak Saturday!

Fillet steak, fried onions, wedges & garlic bread for dinner tonight.

Homemade peanut butter sweets

11:10 AM Tukiyooo 0

<p>I made these delicious sweets today.  So easy, just 4 ingredients. Peanut butter, icing sugar (powdered sugar), butter and then melted chocolate to cover the sweets.</p><p>All you have to do is mix the peanut butter with the icing sugar and then add melted butter. Roll the mix in to balls and then cover in chocolate. </p><p>Voila - little bites of heaven!</p><p>I should add that peanut butter and chocolate is not a common flavour combination here in Ireland. I have to travel to USA to get my fix!!!</p><p>* sorry for the out of sequence photos - the blogging app on my tablet causes this </p><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7EwX5cPHKTIYAKgrwyXbq2yyI-MhgJmfvRmSaEVQ4NJbdzT1tQ8W0v4bHij_7WSe_hvBLnAuHppk9trHoEn1aMcf0bYSG6AYzPWWn4rqervGdI4tuQXuDZ-vliFKaKi8veTwJ7j3krihN/s1600/20130126_185125.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7EwX5cPHKTIYAKgrwyXbq2yyI-MhgJmfvRmSaEVQ4NJbdzT1tQ8W0v4bHij_7WSe_hvBLnAuHppk9trHoEn1aMcf0bYSG6AYzPWWn4rqervGdI4tuQXuDZ-vliFKaKi8veTwJ7j3krihN/s400/20130126_185125.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEoUUQp8AVEA4FpQmdDZPjundroYBFtjeJ68cpQh44_eDoUgpEsk_HgzzVmS1Zb147LQCZQyd8heQB_fgsq7r75-rckKIFopJ5MymUrDtS9JC_LvvFx1wSlfI4akSIsLqaZ4tPrRHxtQnS/s1600/20130126_180723.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEoUUQp8AVEA4FpQmdDZPjundroYBFtjeJ68cpQh44_eDoUgpEsk_HgzzVmS1Zb147LQCZQyd8heQB_fgsq7r75-rckKIFopJ5MymUrDtS9JC_LvvFx1wSlfI4akSIsLqaZ4tPrRHxtQnS/s400/20130126_180723.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQ50O2yhl3tHyvqa-xP5Y6T25ue6R8Y8d3p8fBhAc550psJO9oEA4I3oWcISH-6HBH-BI89t16JFebXxmDO73Iu3ZH-JcCDagmE5vTfDw16KousFNZMt-Epa0lt4Z0Ki48FftyzVnvXiA/s1600/20130126_194318.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQ50O2yhl3tHyvqa-xP5Y6T25ue6R8Y8d3p8fBhAc550psJO9oEA4I3oWcISH-6HBH-BI89t16JFebXxmDO73Iu3ZH-JcCDagmE5vTfDw16KousFNZMt-Epa0lt4Z0Ki48FftyzVnvXiA/s400/20130126_194318.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQPxxQK_D3LQ4elDZLNmPMlBKVjkDnUi66Gw9aBMIinT12zn2BTJOD53ArtUFBNzxYGjAtMWh_IY6qSEKePA6pxx6UvKMmFcMcCQrtd4D22v6CnfUjHnsGtkRrF1EP01eRsf7xnTc6LUf/s1600/20130126_193342.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQPxxQK_D3LQ4elDZLNmPMlBKVjkDnUi66Gw9aBMIinT12zn2BTJOD53ArtUFBNzxYGjAtMWh_IY6qSEKePA6pxx6UvKMmFcMcCQrtd4D22v6CnfUjHnsGtkRrF1EP01eRsf7xnTc6LUf/s400/20130126_193342.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIUGmbtRt11Itt73xTHC0M3MUzkmsG6uNP0NsphknkghBkCj-UOgEZxXou5XES_qcLS8V0vf_QGLRqIfpiPksXu8M2QZ7T0zCYOMFysqhcxInGrGIdyNoGD4_QqDugGZn4jms29n2ci_L/s1600/20130126_171256.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIUGmbtRt11Itt73xTHC0M3MUzkmsG6uNP0NsphknkghBkCj-UOgEZxXou5XES_qcLS8V0vf_QGLRqIfpiPksXu8M2QZ7T0zCYOMFysqhcxInGrGIdyNoGD4_QqDugGZn4jms29n2ci_L/s400/20130126_171256.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDbm9nxzCIwwJ0Nb-qBid0P3ispHavVOkcPNurWsA1zUMG2g5YFqmB4lDVNlZCRWTXhCAkAv8aR1hv261GfdEHmrOPqEVaY0WyDLUkndvtQS_EA8nl515TxhZXaHxlgjZZTaBNtsoeHYf/s1600/20130126_180717.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDbm9nxzCIwwJ0Nb-qBid0P3ispHavVOkcPNurWsA1zUMG2g5YFqmB4lDVNlZCRWTXhCAkAv8aR1hv261GfdEHmrOPqEVaY0WyDLUkndvtQS_EA8nl515TxhZXaHxlgjZZTaBNtsoeHYf/s400/20130126_180717.jpg" /> </a> </div>

Homemade peanut butter sweets

I made these delicious sweets today. So easy, just 4 ingredients. Peanut butter, icing sugar (powdered sugar), butter and then melted choco...

Victoria Azarenka’s Timeout Jeered Round the World - NYTimes.com

9:32 AM Tukiyooo 0

MELBOURNE, Australia — When the world's top-ranked female tennis player was examined on the court and then granted a medical timeout Thursday during her semifinal match at the Australian Open, the howling commenced immediately. Skeptical fans at Rod Laver Arena and those watching on television worldwide were convinced that the player, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, was suffering from nothing more than an attack of nerves and perhaps faked an injury to collect herself after losing several crucial points.<br /><br><br /><br>After her 10-minute reprieve — six minutes of it off the court — Azarenka closed out a 6-1, 6-4 victory. A sport that in recent years has dealt with loudly grunting players and accusations of match fixing is now facing another vexation: determining what constitutes a real injury.<br /><br><br /><br>Azarenka's opponent, Sloane Stephens of the United States, called injury timeouts — legitimate or not — "the in thing," noting that Azarenka was one of many recent opponents to use a medical timeout. "It's trendy," Stephens said.<br /><br><br /><br>Others were more critical. "I thought it was a little unfair play," said David Nainkin, Stephens's coach. "I thought she bent the rules. I don't think she broke the rules, but she bent them, and I think those rules need to be looked at because I think there's a gray area there."<br /><br><br /><br>The TV analyst Patrick McEnroe called the timeout an "absolute travesty" in a post on his Twitter page. (McEnroe also heads the United States Tennis Association's player development program, which has supported Stephens.) "I mean, everybody's appalled by it," said Pam Shriver, an analyst and a former player.<br /><br><br /><br>The controversy arose when Azarenka, serving for the match against the 29th-seeded Stephens at 5-3 in the second set, failed to convert on five match points and was eventually broken. When she took her seat during the changeover, she wrapped a towel stuffed with ice around her neck and was examined by the primary health care provider for the women's tour, Victoria Simpson, and by a tournament doctor, Tim Wood. She then left the court for further treatment, leaving Stephens, in her first Grand Slam semifinal, waiting nearly 10 minutes for the next game.<br /><br><br /><br>Stephens, who had upset the tournament favorite, Serena Williams, in the quarterfinals, proceeded to lose her serve and the match. She did not blame Azarenka's timeout for her loss.<br /><br><br /><br>Azarenka did not mention an injury during her on-court interview after the match, but she did refer to a feeling of crisis at the 5-4 changeover. "I almost did the choke of the year," she said. "I just felt a little bit overwhelmed. I realized I'm one step away from the final, and nerves got into me, for sure." Azarenka added: "I love to play here and I just couldn't lose. That's why I was so upset."<br /><br><br /><br>Later, in a news conference, she said that she left the court for treatment of a rib injury and that she had not mentioned the injury in her on-court interview because she had misunderstood the question.<br /><br><br /><br>Shriver, who noted that Azarenka had also not mentioned the injury in an ESPN interview while coming off the court, was skeptical. "I think her response at the time was very honest and truthful, that she was stretching the rules," Shriver said. "That was my reaction coming off the interview, and so that's why I think all of us, many of us, jumped on it. Because we've seen the rule abused for years. I abused the rule when I played."<br /><br><br /><br>If Azarenka was not legitimately injured, was calling a medical timeout cheating? Playing at the edge of the rules? Good old win-at-any-cost strategy?<br /><br><br /><br>To Michael F. Bergeron, executive director of the National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute, it is part of a disturbing trend extending to youth sports: emphasizing winning over sportsmanship and developing character.<br /><br><br /><br>"I'm not saying everyone does that, and I'd like to think there are still players who would never do it," Bergeron said. "It shows a lack of character, a lack of respect for her opponent and the game. You'd like to think sports would be developing those traits. But in the bigger picture, this emphasis on winning and losing over everything else is doing athletes a disservice. It's not making them better people. It's not making them better athletes."<br /><br><br /><br>Bergeron, a clinical and scientific consultant to the Women's Tennis Association, acknowledged that tennis was harder on athletes' bodies than ever before. But he suspected that Azarenka had used the timeout as a strategy to stop Stephens's momentum.<br /><br><br /><br>Other sports have had similar issues. In football, there have been debates over timeouts taken just before field goals. During a college game between Cincinnati and Duke this season, Cincinnati took a too-many-men-on-the-field penalty to negate a 53-yard field goal, leaving Duke Coach David Cutcliffe irate. And after an N.F.L. game last season in which the Giants appeared to fake injuries to slow the Rams' offense, Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll said the phenomenon was nothing new or alarming.<br /><br><br /><br>In tennis, though, the injury timeout is tricky because medical personnel have to treat all calls for treatment seriously, no matter when they happen. The Grand Slam rule book does include some restrictions: all medical timeouts must take place during a changeover or a set break except in the case of an "acute medical condition."<br /><br><br /><br>The Grand Slam supervisor Donna Kelso confirmed that Azarenka had been given two consecutive medical timeouts of three minutes each to be treated for two separate injuries: one to a rib and one to her left knee. Azarenka explained that she was having trouble breathing on court because of a rib problem that was causing her back to seize up.<br /><br><br /><br>"I had to unlock my rib, which was causing my back problem," she said. "The trainer said, 'We have to go off court to treat that.' I just didn't really want to take off my dress on the court."<br /><br><br /><br>Nainkin, Stephens's coach, said he had "never heard of two medical timeouts back to back."<br /><br><br /><br>"In all my years, that's a first," he said. "Two different injuries? I think it's unprofessional. Saying that, she did win the match and played a great game at 5-4, but tennis is a game of momentum and Sloane had the momentum, and obviously the little break definitely changed things."<br /><br><br /><br>Azarenka agreed that the timing of her timeout was unfortunate. "The timing, yeah, it was my bad," she said. "The game before that, when I lost my service game, it kept getting worse. I thought I would have to play through it and keep calm. But it just got worse. You know, I had to do it."<br /><br><br /><br>Several coaches and analysts expressed hope that the incident Thursday would lead to a re-examination of the medical timeout rule at Grand Slam events and on the WTA Tour. "I think if you can continue to play in any way, it's bad luck but you've got to wait until the person is finished serving," Shriver said.<br /><br><br /><br>But ultimately, the decision lies with the medical personnel on court. According to the Grand Slam rule book, if they determine that a player needs a medical timeout, their word is final.<br /><br><br /><br><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/sports/tennis/timeout-by-victoria-azarenka-in-match-with-sloane-stephens-at-australian-open-raises-questions.html?src=mv&ref=general&pagewanted=all&pagewanted=print">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/sports/tennis/timeout-by-victoria-azarenka-in-match-with-sloane-stephens-at-australian-open-raises-questions.html?src=mv&ref=general&pagewanted=all&pagewanted=print</a>

Victoria Azarenka’s Timeout Jeered Round the World - NYTimes.com

MELBOURNE, Australia — When the world's top-ranked female tennis player was examined on the court and then granted a medical timeout Thu...

Successful and Schizophrenic - NYTimes.com

9:28 AM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:">Successful and Schizophrenic<div><br>By ELYN R. SAKS<br>LOS ANGELES<br><br>THIRTY years ago, I was given a diagnosis of schizophrenia. My prognosis was "grave": I would never live independently, hold a job, find a loving partner, get married. My home would be a board-and-care facility, my days spent watching TV in a day room with other people debilitated by mental illness. I would work at menial jobs when my symptoms were quiet. Following my last psychiatric hospitalization at the age of 28, I was encouraged by a doctor to work as a cashier making change. If I could handle that, I was told, we would reassess my ability to hold a more demanding position, perhaps even something full-time.<br><br>Then I made a decision. I would write the narrative of my life. Today I am a chaired professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. I have an adjunct appointment in the department of psychiatry at the medical school of the University of California, San Diego, and am on the faculty of the New Center for Psychoanalysis. The MacArthur Foundation gave me a genius grant.<br><br>Although I fought my diagnosis for many years, I came to accept that I have schizophrenia and will be in treatment the rest of my life. Indeed, excellent psychoanalytic treatment and medication have been critical to my success. What I refused to accept was my prognosis.<br><br>Conventional psychiatric thinking and its diagnostic categories say that people like me don't exist. Either I don't have schizophrenia (please tell that to the delusions crowding my mind), or I couldn't have accomplished what I have (please tell that to U.S.C.'s committee on faculty affairs). But I do, and I have. And I have undertaken research with colleagues at U.S.C. and U.C.L.A. to show that I am not alone. There are others with schizophrenia and such active symptoms as delusions and hallucinations who have significant academic and professional achievements.<br><br>Over the last few years, my colleagues, including Stephen Marder, Alison Hamilton and Amy Cohen, and I have gathered 20 research subjects with high-functioning schizophrenia in Los Angeles. They suffered from symptoms like mild delusions or hallucinatory behavior. Their average age was 40. Half were male, half female, and more than half were minorities. All had high school diplomas, and a majority either had or were working toward college or graduate degrees. They were graduate students, managers, technicians and professionals, including a doctor, lawyer, psychologist and chief executive of a nonprofit group.<br><br>At the same time, most were unmarried and childless, which is consistent with their diagnoses. (My colleagues and I intend to do another study on people with schizophrenia who are high-functioning in terms of their relationships. Marrying in my mid-40s — the best thing that ever happened to me — was against all odds, following almost 18 years of not dating.) More than three-quarters had been hospitalized between two and five times because of their illness, while three had never been admitted.<br><br>How had these people with schizophrenia managed to succeed in their studies and at such high-level jobs? We learned that, in addition to medication and therapy, all the participants had developed techniques to keep their schizophrenia at bay. For some, these techniques were cognitive. An educator with a master's degree said he had learned to face his hallucinations and ask, "What's the evidence for that? Or is it just a perception problem?" Another participant said, "I hear derogatory voices all the time. ... You just gotta blow them off."<br><br>Part of vigilance about symptoms was "identifying triggers" to "prevent a fuller blown experience of symptoms," said a participant who works as a coordinator at a nonprofit group. For instance, if being with people in close quarters for too long can set off symptoms, build in some alone time when you travel with friends.<br><br>Other techniques that our participants cited included controlling sensory inputs. For some, this meant keeping their living space simple (bare walls, no TV, only quiet music), while for others, it meant distracting music. "I'll listen to loud music if I don't want to hear things," said a participant who is a certified nurse's assistant. Still others mentioned exercise, a healthy diet, avoiding alcohol and getting enough sleep. A belief in God and prayer also played a role for some.<br><br>One of the most frequently mentioned techniques that helped our research participants manage their symptoms was work. "Work has been an important part of who I am," said an educator in our group. "When you become useful to an organization and feel respected in that organization, there's a certain value in belonging there." This person works on the weekends too because of "the distraction factor." In other words, by engaging in work, the crazy stuff often recedes to the sidelines.<br><br>Personally, I reach out to my doctors, friends and family whenever I start slipping, and I get great support from them. I eat comfort food (for me, cereal) and listen to quiet music. I minimize all stimulation. Usually these techniques, combined with more medication and therapy, will make the symptoms pass. But the work piece — using my mind — is my best defense. It keeps me focused, it keeps the demons at bay. My mind, I have come to say, is both my worst enemy and my best friend.<br><br>THAT is why it is so distressing when doctors tell their patients not to expect or pursue fulfilling careers. Far too often, the conventional psychiatric approach to mental illness is to see clusters of symptoms that characterize people. Accordingly, many psychiatrists hold the view that treating symptoms with medication is treating mental illness. But this fails to take into account individuals' strengths and capabilities, leading mental health professionals to underestimate what their patients can hope to achieve in the world.<br><br>It's not just schizophrenia: earlier this month, The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry posted a study showing that a small group of people who were given diagnoses of autism, a developmental disorder, later stopped exhibiting symptoms. They seemed to have recovered — though after years of behavioral therapy and treatment. A recent New York Times Magazine article described a new company that hires high-functioning adults with autism, taking advantage of their unusual memory skills and attention to detail.<br><br>I don't want to sound like a Pollyanna about schizophrenia; mental illness imposes real limitations, and it's important not to romanticize it. We can't all be Nobel laureates like John Nash of the movie "A Beautiful Mind." But the seeds of creative thinking may sometimes be found in mental illness, and people underestimate the power of the human brain to adapt and to create.<br><br>An approach that looks for individual strengths, in addition to considering symptoms, could help dispel the pessimism surrounding mental illness. Finding "the wellness within the illness," as one person with schizophrenia said, should be a therapeutic goal. Doctors should urge their patients to develop relationships and engage in meaningful work. They should encourage patients to find their own repertory of techniques to manage their symptoms and aim for a quality of life as they define it. And they should provide patients with the resources — therapy, medication and support — to make these things happen.<br><br>"Every person has a unique gift or unique self to bring to the world," said one of our study's participants. She expressed the reality that those of us who have schizophrenia and other mental illnesses want what everyone wants: in the words of Sigmund Freud, to work and to love.<br><br><i>A law professor at the University of Southern California and the author of the memoir "The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness."</i><br><br><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/opinion/sunday/schizophrenic-not-stupid.html?src=me&ref=general&pagewanted=print">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/opinion/sunday/schizophrenic-not-stupid.html?src=me&ref=general&pagewanted=print</a><br><br></div>

Successful and Schizophrenic - NYTimes.com

Successful and Schizophrenic By ELYN R. SAKS LOS ANGELES THIRTY years ago, I was given a diagnosis of schizophrenia. My prognosis was "...

Lindsey Vonn: Tiger Woods and I Are "Just Friends"

2:39 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Lindsey Vonn on February 18, 2012 in Sochi, Russia." height="400" src="http://www.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/59620-lindsey-vonn-tiger-woods-and-i-are-just-friends/1359150581_lindsay-vonn-467.jpg" width="265" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="posted" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="posted" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="caption" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lindsey Vonn on February 18, 2012 in Sochi, Russia.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="caption" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Credit: Vianney Thibaut/Agence Zoom/Getty Images</span><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /><br /><span class="posted" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">January 25, 2013 AT 5:30PM</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="byline " style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">By UsWeekly Staff </span></span></span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">From: </span><a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">http://www.usmagazine.com</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mum's the word for <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lindsey Vonn</strong> and <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/tiger-woods" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tiger Woods</strong></a>. As rumors swirl that the Olympic skier, 28, is in a serious relationship with the divorced golf pro, 37, both athletes are <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/tiger-woods-lindsey-vonn-dating-2013251" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">staying tight-lipped on the subject</a> and refusing to discuss any personal matters whatsoever. But back in December, when European media first speculated that the two were an item, Vonn was a little more open about the nature of her relationship with Woods.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We are just friends," she told the <a href="http://blogs.denverpost.com/sports/2012/12/01/vonn-quashes-tiger-woods-rumor/23859/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Denver Post</em></a> after winning her second World Cup downhill at Lake Louise, Alberta. "My brother was the ski instructor for his kids this November in Vail. Guessing that's where it came from."</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hollywood Life claims, however, that Vonn herself is teaching the golfer's two children (Sam, 5, and Charlie, 2) to master the slopes. They say the sports superstars have been dating since November and have spent time together in Antigua and Salzburg, Austria. So are they or aren't they?</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Lindsey is currently in the midst of the World Cup season in Europe," Vonn's rep told <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Us Weekly</strong></a> in a statement. "Her focus is solely on competing and on defending her titles and thus she will not participate in any speculation surrounding her personal life at this time."</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In fact, the gold medalist only recently finalized her divorce from fellow skier <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thomas Vonn</strong>, whom she married in September 2007. Shortly after their November 2011 separation, however, she was <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/lindsey-vonn-im-not-dating-tim-tebow-20111412" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">linked to another headline-making athlete</a>: New York Jets quarterback <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tim Tebow</strong> (then a Denver Bronco). The two were spotted hanging out together at the ESPYs and at various ski races. She also joined his family at one of his football games against the Chicago Bears.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Lindsey is just friends with the Tebow family. Anyone who is trying to suggest any more to their relationship is wrong," her rep told the <em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">New York Post</em>'s <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/vonn_won_sack_tebow_zJAT8nQvO7uyx0H3VkeySJ" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Page Six</a> at the time. Vonn herself added on Twitter: "Hearing a lot of crazy rumors but rest assured I am not dating Tim Tebow (or anyone else)."</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tebow, 25, most recently romanced actress <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/camilla-belle" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Camilla Belle</strong></a>, 26. The two dated for less than two months before going their separate ways late last year. Us Weekly <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/tim-tebow-camilla-belle-break-up-19693112" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">broke the news of their sudden split</a> in December.</div><span style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /><br /></span></div>

Lindsey Vonn Tiger Woods Lindsey Vonn: Tiger Woods and I Are "Just Friends"

Lindsey Vonn on February 18, 2012 in Sochi, Russia. Credit: Vianney Thibaut/Agence Zoom/Getty Images January 25, 2013 AT 5:30PM By UsWee...

Citizens Bank Hit By Possible Cyber Attack

2:35 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="(Photo Credit: KDKA)" src="http://cbspittsburgh.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/citizens_bank.jpg?w=300" /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">From: <a href="http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/" style="text-align: center;">http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com</a></div></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2c2d2e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Add Citizens Bank to the list of financial institutions whose online banking websites are tough to access, Citizens officials confirmed on Friday.</span><br /><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #2c2d2e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Our website has experienced temporary disruptions due to an unusually high volume of Internet traffic, similar to disruptions that have impacted other U.S. banks, ” Sylvia Bronner, Citizens Bank spokesperson, said in a statement to KDKA money editor Jon Delano.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #2c2d2e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This problem of getting online at Citizens Bank is very similar to one that plagued PNC Bank several weeks ago.<br /><br /><div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There, a Middle Eastern group claimed they wanted to stop access online to banks because of their objections to alleged anti-Muslim videotapes on YouTube.</div><div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Citizens would not confirm that the al-Qassam Cyber Fighters had targeted them, too. But Carnegie Mellon University professor Michael Smith, an expert on cyber marketing, says the tactics are the same.</div><div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />It’s called DDOS or distributed denial of service.“They’re trying to pretend to be real consumers accessing the website, and if you send enough of those requests, the website doesn’t know which are the real consumers and which are the fake consumers, and the real consumers can’t get access,” said Smith.</div><div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“The distributed means there are multiple computers all sending requests to the same service. And the denial of service reflects the fact that the goal is to keep legitimate customers from being able to access the computer,” added Smith.</div><div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Smith says it’s easy for cyber terrorists to do, but can also be minimized by banks; and while customer information is not compromised, studies show, “If I can’t get access to a bank immediately, I’m going to go someplace else, or I could go someplace else, which is bad for business.”</div></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #2c2d2e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div></div></div>

Citizens Bank Cyber Attack Citizens Bank Hit By Possible Cyber Attack

From: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Add Citizens Bank to the list of financial institutions whose online banking websi...

Coachella 2013 to Feature Phoenix, Skrillex and Wu Tang Clan Reunion

2:29 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><h3 class="byline" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.2em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.583em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 8px;">By Jim Fusilli From: <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/">http://blogs.wsj.com</a></h3><div class="mceTemp" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <dl class="wp-caption alignleft caption-alignleft " style="float: left; margin: 0px 27px 12px 8px; padding: 0px; width: 359px;"><dt class="wp-caption-dt" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-5" height="239" src="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-WC972_skrill_E_20130125082050.jpg" style="border: none; margin: 8px 0px 0px;" width="359" /></dt><dd class="wp-caption-dd wp-cite-dd" style="color: #666666; font-size: 1em; line-height: normal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 2px 0px 0px; text-align: right;">Getty Images</dd><dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="color: #333333; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 0px;">Skrillex performs on June 20, 2012 in New York City.</dd></dl></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 8px; margin-right: 8px; padding: 0px;">Blur, the Stone Roses, Phoenix and Red Hot Chili Peppers will headline the annual three-day Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival to be held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, on consecutive weekends, April 12 through 14 and April 19 through 21.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 8px; margin-right: 8px; padding: 0px;">The announcement of the bill, made late last night, thus ends rumors of appearances by David Bowie, Daft Punk, the Rolling Stones, the Smiths and the Who.  As it has in recent years, Coachella continues to veer away from boomer-era acts:  Lou Reed is the rare artist on the bill whose career began in the ‘60s.  Also, there are few hip-hop acts scheduled to appear, though the reunions of the Wu Tang Clan and Jurassic 5 promise to be highlights of the desert festival.   Electronic dance music acts include Benny Benassi, Wolfgang Gartner, Richie Hawtin, Infected Mushroom, Fedde Le Grand, Moby, Paul Oakenfold, Pretty Lights, Roni Size, and Skrillex and Boys Noize’s Dog Blood.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 8px; margin-right: 8px; padding: 0px;">Coachella has long favored reuniting British bands, and this year the Stones Roses, who ended a 15-year hiatus in late ’11, and Blur, who haven’t released an album of new music in 10 years, will share the opening-night headliner slot.  The festival also will feature relatively rare appearances by Modest Mouse and Violent Femmes, and the reunion of Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello’s the Postal Service.  Nick Cave will appear twice – on Friday nights with Grinderman and on Sundays with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – as will Jamie xx, who’ll perform with the xx and spin a DJ set.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 8px; margin-right: 8px; padding: 0px;">General-admission tickets, priced beginning at $349, are on sale on Tuesday, January 29, at 10 a.m. PST.   To see the full lineup and for information on purchasing tickets, visit <a href="http://www.coachella.com/" style="color: #017fab; outline: none;">www.coachella.com</a>.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 8px; margin-right: 8px; padding: 0px;"><em>Related: John Jurgensen previews the lineup for this year’s Coachella festival.</em></div></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="288" scrolling="no" src="http://live.wsj.com/public/page/embed-2B87A3D4_4B89_4766_B22B_EDB67998EF85.html" width="512"></iframe></div>

Phoenix Wu Tang Clan Coachella 2013 to Feature Phoenix, Skrillex and Wu Tang Clan Reunion

By Jim Fusilli From: http://blogs.wsj.com Getty Images Skrillex performs on June 20, 2012 in New York City. Blur, the Stone Roses, Phoenix...

New Strain of Norovirus Is Circulating In The U.S

2:27 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #797777; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 11.366666793823242px;">By </span><a href="http://healthland.time.com/author/asifferlin/" rel="author" style="color: #1b5288; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 11.366666793823242px; text-decoration: none;" title="Posts by Alexandra Sifferlin">Alexandra Sifferlin</a> Form: <a href="http://healthland.time.com/">http://healthland.time.com</a><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="128541507" src="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/128541507.jpg?w=360&h=240&crop=1" /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Piggybacking off this year’s influenza epidemic, a new strain of the highly contagious norovirus has reached the U.S. from <a href="http://topics.time.com/australia/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Australia</a>.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span id="more-78793"></span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6203a4.htm" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="reports">reports</a> in the <em>Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report</em> that the new norovirus strain, called GII.4 Sydney, is currently the leading cause of norovirus outbreaks in the U.S. and accounted for 58% of cases of the infection in December.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Often confused with the stomach flu because of its contemporaneous circulation with influenza during winter months, norovirus causes 21 million cases of illness, often involving severe vomiting and diarrhea, 70,000 hospitalizations each year in the U.S., and 800 deaths. Where influenza is a respiratory illness, norovirus, which comes in five forms, favors the stomach and intestinal tract, causing inflammation of tissues that leads to <a href="http://topics.time.com/pain/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">pain</a>, nausea, and the diarrhea and vomiting. According to the CDC, about 51% of the cases in the U.S. were caused by person-to-person transmission, and 20% resulted from contaminated food. Most infections occur in places where large numbers of people are gathered, such as <a href="http://topics.time.com/schools/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">schools</a>, nursing homes and cruise ships, where the virus can pass easily from host to host.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><br /><iframe height="360" id="kaltura_player_1359195960" src="http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/1_f55uht44/uiconf_id/3775332/st_cache/37583?referer=http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/powerful-norovirus-spreads-america-18318770&autoPlay=false&addThis.playerSize=392x221&freeWheel.siteSectionId=nws_offsite&closedCaptionActive=true&addThis.playerSize=640x360&closedCaptionsOverPlayer.fontsize=18" style="border: 0px solid #ffffff;" width="640">Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames.</iframe> <br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">The new strain of norovirus was first identified in March 2012 in Australia and has since sickened people on several continents. Historically, the GII strains have caused more severe illness than other versions of the virus, but officials at the CDC says it is too early in the season to determine if GII.4 Sydney is infecting people at higher rates than in previous years. The norovirus season runs from November through March and cases typically peak in January.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">“Although most of the time you recover after 24 or 48 hours, [norovirus] is a reason for people to come to the emergency room, and is even responsible for a small number of death each year. It’s not a completely innocuous virus and can certainly ruin a vacation,” says Dr. John Treanor, chief of the Infectious Diseases Division at the University of Rochester Medical Center.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">There are no treatments for norovirus, other than riding out the infection, but Treanor and a group of scientists are currently testing a vaccine developed by <span style="color: purple;"><a href="http://www.ligocyte.com/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals</a><span style="color: black;">. The shot contains a part of the norovirus’ outer layer, which they hope will generate a strong immune response in those who get immunized.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">A vaccine would be critical for preventing the disease from escalating in populations; because it spreads so quickly, norovirus infections are difficult to contain. “You really only have to be exposed to a couple of viral particles to get sick,” says Treanor. “This makes it very contagious because when you have norovirus, you are dispersing literally millions of particles. When it only takes one or two to make the next person sick, it translates into very high contagiousness.”</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Fortunately, the same things you do to protect yourself from flu also work in holding off infection with norovirus. The CDC <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/preventing-infection.html" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="recommends">recommends</a> the following:</div><ul style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;"><li><span style="line-height: 13px;">Wash your hands carefully with soap and water, especially after using the bathroom or changing diapers and before handling food.</span></li><li>Carefully wash produce and seafood before cooking and consuming them.</li><li>If you’re sick, wait 2-3 days after you recover before preparing food for anyone.</li><li>Immediately clean any infected or contaminated surfaces and wash laundry thoroughly.</li></ul><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /><br /></span><br /><div style="font-size: x-small; margin-top: 0; text-align: left;"></div></div>

HEALTH Strain of Norovirus New Strain of Norovirus Is Circulating In The U.S

By Alexandra Sifferlin Form: http://healthland.time.com Piggybacking off this year’s influenza epidemic, a new strain of the highly conta...

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 01/26/2013

1:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll">      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://eracism.flatclassroomproject.org/Press+release+13-1">eracism - Press release 13-1</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">""The use of Facebook by students around the world to communicate with one another does more harm than good.""  This is our topic for the Eracism 2013 project. You may wonder - why did we limit it to Facebook - well, after much-- yes, --- debate-- on our end, every good debate topic should have compelling topics on both sides - we wanted to have compelling discussions around social media and keep with the original spirit of the 4 students who envisioned this project. They wanted to debate topics of importance to promote cultural understanding.  If you want to sign up, this is linked to the 2013 press release that will tell you how to enter a team from middle up to high school (there are 2 brackets). We debate asynchronously in a method we call "simulated synchronous" until the finals, when we have a synchronous live debate in blackboard collaborate. </p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/eracism">eracism</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/eracism_resources">eracism_resources</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/eracismproject">eracismproject</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/debate">debate</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/facebook">facebook</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/social">social</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/media">media</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/connection">connection</a></p>                                        </li>  </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 01/26/2013

eracism - Press release 13-1 ""The use of Facebook by students around the world to communi...