Doctors: If you had 15 minutes to educate a doctor about anything, what would it be, and why? - Quora

<base href="data:"><b><span class="rep" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Drew Young Shin, </span><span id="__w2_j8DWWuW_link" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><span class="rep" id="__w2_j8DWWuW_sig" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="" id="__w2_AqXVwis_full_text" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span id="__w2_AqXVwis_full_text_content" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics - Cardiology -- Stanford University</span></span></span></span></b><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#333333" face="'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><b><br></b></span></font>When I was a medical resident, my father was stricken ill with a deadly infection called Ascending Cholangitis.  It's a primary infection of the bile duct that drains your gall bladder.  Untreated, it is certain death.  With treatment, the mortality rate is 50%.  A coin toss that determines whether I will lose or keep my father.    <br><br>I flew back from Boston to California to be at his bedside.  I remembered poring over his medical records, looking for anything that the treating physicians may have missed.  I was paranoid and desperate to influence that unfathomable statistic.  Are you treating his anemia?  What is the antibiotic level in his blood?  Shouldn't you repeat the liver ultrasound?  I appreciated the efforts of his treating physicians who were very much in an intellectual struggle balancing surgical and medical treatment options.  Experts were consulted.  It was a war campaign against the bacteria that persisted within the bloodstream.  And in the middle was my ailing father watching and listening to everything - helpless, quietly afraid and trusting without much choice.  <br><br>After about a week of antibiotics, his symptoms had stabilized.  He underwent surgery to remove his gallbladder and it seemed like the worst was over.  I was able to breath again.  <br><br>Towards the latter end of his ordeal, I remember talking to him - somewhat trying to appreciate the life and death struggle that we had endured and won.  I reflected on the intellectual challenges and risks - I remember thinking I would be a better physician because of this experience.<br><br>But my father had a different perspective.<br><br>Each night, a medical resident - similar to my level of training - visited my father.  She had no agenda other than to ask if my father had any questions.  He told me that she sat with him just to chat.  My father is a man of little words, but he found himself opening up to her.  Each night he was in the hospital, she would stop by his room and listen to his thoughts.  Initially he would ask questions about his medical care but later the conversation evolved into his feelings of uncertainty and insecurity.  His thoughts became stories, reflecting on his circumstance and his life leading up to his hospitalization.   He opened up to her in ways that surprised even himself.  <br><br>At that moment, I remember with vivid alacrity the look that my father gave me.  He looked me in the eyes and took my hand.  He said "Son, that's the kind of doctor I want you to be."<br><br>In reflection, amidst the challenging clinical decision-making and true life-and-death struggle, my father appreciated being listened to the most.  <br> <br>The medical resident that listened to my father was no expert.  In my initial glance, I did not think she was contributing meaningfully to the care that ultimately saved my father.  She was a trainee much like myself.  But I was wrong.  She taught me one of the most valued lesson that has shaped how I practice medicine today.  <br><br>It's the same lesson that I teach my residents:  Listen to your patients.  Listening builds trust.  Listening shows compassion.  Listening addresses needs that are unmet.  Listening will make your medical delivery more effective.  Listening heals. <br><br>Every time I say it, I think of that medical resident that truly cared for my father.<br><br>*****</div><div><br><b>Juli Clover</b></div><div><br>In early 2010, my grandmother was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. Her condition deteriorated at a pace that left us all stunned, and in July of 2010 she began the process for a lung transplant.<br><br>By October 2010, she had a collapsed lung, which landed her in the hospital. She was on oxygen 24/7, and after that incident, she was in and out of the hospital for the next month. <br><br>While it was a total nightmare in terms of getting her testing done, getting her medications, pursuing the transplant, and dealing with insurance, she had a great pulmonary doctor, or so we thought.<br><br>He saw her regularly while she was in the hospital and spearheaded the testing for the transplant. Early testing revealed pulmonary hypertension, a symptom that can disqualify patients from transplants, especially at facilities like UCSD (where she was being treated), which shy away from risky cases. <br><br>At no point did this pulmonologist indicate that she might not qualify for a transplant at UCSD, even though I knew from research that it was going to be unlikely. As an optimistic guy, he made it sound like they would approve her, and we trusted him because she liked him so much and he seemed to be relaying accurate information. <br><br>It was mid-November of 2010 by this point, and my grandma's health was declining on a day by day basis. We waited for the UCSD approval, with our doctor telling us that she would be moved to the hospital as soon as it went through. <br><br>In early January of 2011 we were informed that she had been turned down for a transplant, and she wouldn't be going to UCSD - she would, instead, be transferred to an acute long term care facility, where her own mother-in-law had been sent to die.  <br><br>When this happened, she was critically ill. She could no longer move from her bed without her oxygen levels dropping to the low 50s, and most importantly, she was now far too sick to be transported elsewhere.<br><br>Her doctor, while friendly and optimistic, never told us the truth about the transplant or about how sick she was. He promised her she would be all right. He promised her she would be approved. Had he been upfront, we would have been able to contact transplant centers in the U.S. that do indeed take on high risk patients at a time when she was still able to travel. <br><br>All the same, he told her that he would contact UCLA, and I began looking in to air ambulances. I got in contact with other transplant centers, because now, in the first weeks of January, we had so little time left. <br><br>Though we told her that we weren't giving up and that we were working on other solutions as quickly as we could, she was so sick and so disappointed that she was rejected by UCSD that she was losing all hope. <br><br>Instead of being at UCSD, she was suddenly thrust into a long term care facility and it happened so fast that we couldn't fight it. She hated it there.<br><br>On Sunday, January 16 2011, she had been in the new place for a few days. Her doctor, who was affiliated with the facility, promised her that he would come and see her that morning to watch some of the football game that was on. She was looking forward to this. <br><br>When mid morning rolled around, and it became clear that her doctor was not going to show up after all, she gave up. Completely. <br><br>She decided to die on that day. Up until then she had not been on pain medication because it suppressed her breathing too much, and she was so ill that she had to use two sources of oxygen. She requested morphine and removed her oxygen mask.<br><br>She died within two hours. <br><br>We never saw her doctor again. We never heard from her doctor again. <br><br>So if I had 15 minutes to speak to him, I would tell him not to make promises that he cannot or will not keep.<br><br>The same goes for all doctors. Tell it like it is. We need compassion, but we also need the truth and the information to make the right choices. I appreciated his optimism and friendliness, but in the end, it gave us all false hope that led to far more mental and physical suffering for her.<br> <br>***</div><div><br></div><div>More ...</div><div><br><a href="https://www.quora.com/Doctors/If-you-had-15-minutes-to-educate-a-doctor-about-anything-what-would-it-be-and-">https://www.quora.com/Doctors/If-you-had-15-minutes-to-educate-a-doctor-about-anything-what-would-it-be-and-</a>why<br><br></div>

Doctors: If you had 15 minutes to educate a doctor about anything, what would it be, and why? - Quora

Drew Young Shin,  Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics - Cardiology -- Stanford University When I was a medical resident, my father was ...

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Making painting canvas

<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ciaran has started work on a large art piece for in our living room. He made wooden frames that he will stretch canvas over.  The large frame in the photo is 1.2 metres by 1.5 metres.  The canvas material is coming by post from England.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqFSQEJI8UonYbfR1hBYQ7DKn5rGXEqdnD7ekUEx4o8KfE4rArEYPGnJoNkgUjUC5roDnmH4ZzDkEpq1SZ6il6iEfeKVSYE5RvzcE5sXd51GKvWbNA9AIpkaqRssvF90wW7vW-TDI5yixw/s640/blogger-image--935497865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqFSQEJI8UonYbfR1hBYQ7DKn5rGXEqdnD7ekUEx4o8KfE4rArEYPGnJoNkgUjUC5roDnmH4ZzDkEpq1SZ6il6iEfeKVSYE5RvzcE5sXd51GKvWbNA9AIpkaqRssvF90wW7vW-TDI5yixw/s640/blogger-image--935497865.jpg" /></a></div>

Making painting canvas

Ciaran has started work on a large art piece for in our living room. He made wooden frames that he will stretch canvas over.  The large fram...

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Executive Director - Westerly Public Library (RI)

<strong>Executive Director - </strong><strong><strong><span style="color: #48286d;">Westerly Public Library</span></strong></strong> (RI). Full Time - 35hours/week. Salary range $65,000 to $90,000. MLS required. Minimum 10 years supervisory experience in a library setting or comparable environment; Experience leading a multi-service organization; Understands the impact of technology on libraries; Supervise approximately 30 Library and Park employees and coordinate all operational situations. Expanded job description available at <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.westerlylibrary.org/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/2124" href="http://www.westerlylibrary.org/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/2124" target="_blank">http://www.westerlylibrary.org/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/2124</a>. Send your resume and 2 references by 4:00 PM on <span style="color: red;">October 18, 2013 </span>to Kirsten Anderson, Transition Committee, <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:kanderson@westerlylibrary.org" href="mailto:kanderson@westerlylibrary.org">kanderson@westerlylibrary.org</a>.

Executive Director - Westerly Public Library (RI)

Executive Director - Westerly Public Library (RI). Full Time - 35hours/week. Salary range $65,000 to $90,000. MLS required. Minimum 10 yea...

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Evening & Weekend Access and Delivery Services Supervisor / Supervisor 2 - Yale University, New Haven

<strong>Evening & Weekend Access and Delivery Services Supervisor / Supervisor 2 - </strong><strong><span style="color: #48286d;">Yale University</span></strong><span style="color: #48286d;"> </span>Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library, New Haven. Schedule: Full-Time (37.5 hours per week); Sunday–Thursday, 2:00 pm – 10:30 pm; Occasional recess days and holidays required. Position Focus: Reporting to the Head of Access and Delivery Services for the Medical Library, this position provides direct oversight for the library’s evening and weekend access and delivery services. The Manager assists in planning and implementing new services, and supporting and improving existing services. Supervises and works closely with the entire Access and Delivery Services (ADS) Team and student assistants to provide users valuable services that support their information and research needs. Motivates and coaches staff to ensure excellent customer service, cultivates teamwork, and promotes a culture in which change is welcomed and supported. Responsible for a range of managerial duties relating to access and delivery services in the Medical Library. Principal Responsibilities: 1. Manages the daily work of the ADS team to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of access services operations, including reserves, document delivery, interlibrary loan and stacks maintenance operations, and all services provided at the circulation and information desks. 2. Supervises 3 FTE Clerical and Technical staff and 4 students. Hires, trains, coaches, and evaluates staff and student assistants. Motivates staff and is responsible for ensuring high quality public services and productivity. 3. Develops, recommends and participates in planning and implementation of new policies and innovative services, and interprets policies for staff. Writes documentation and revises the staff policies and procedures manual. 4. Responsible for process and workflow improvement, including investigating technologies to successfully accomplish the work of the department. Responsible for inventory control and trouble-shooting technical and software issues. As appropriate assists with relations and negotiations with other departments and external vendors. 5. Schedules staff hours. Ensures service desk coverage during holidays, recess periods, and occasions of inclement weather. 6. Ensures that the physical library is an inviting and welcoming space for visitors. Works with University Security to guarantee the safety of patrons, staff and collections, and ensures that proper security measures are followed. Works closely with Facilities when necessary to maintain a safe and functional environment in the evenings and weekend hours. 7. Oversees stacks maintenance and projects. 8. Advances the initiatives of university departments, including but not limited to maintaining databases for the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation and creating bibliographies with persistent URLs in support of the Internal Medicine Curriculum. 9. May also participate and coordinate the activities of other related services and operations in conjunction with other units such as the Library Shelving Facility and West Campus operations. 10. Required to work occasional holidays and recess days. 11. Maybe required to assist in disaster recovery efforts. 12. May be assigned to work at the West Campus Yale University located in West Haven, CT. Required Education and Experience: Bachelor’s Degree in related field and two years of experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Required Skills and Abilities: 1. Demonstrated ability to successfully lead and work in a team environment. 2. Supervisory skills and project management experience. Ability to prioritize, multi-task, and meet deadlines. 3. Experience and strong commitment to public service. Excellent customer service skills. Excellent oral and written communication skills. 4. Excellent computer hardware and software skills, including demonstrated proficiency in using multiple Microsoft Office applications. 5. Flexibility, agility and enthusiasm for working in a changing, technology-oriented environment. Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively in a diverse work environment. Applications consisting of a cover letter, resume, and the names and contact information of three (3) professional references should be submitted by creating an account and applying online at <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.yale.edu/jobs" href="http://www.yale.edu/jobs" target="_blank">www.yale.edu/jobs</a> for immediate consideration – the STARS req ID for this position is 22693BR Please be sure to reference #22693BR in your cover letter. Yale University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Yale values diversity in its faculty, staff, and students and strongly encourages applications from women and members of underrepresented minority groups.

Evening & Weekend Access and Delivery Services Supervisor / Supervisor 2 - Yale University, New Haven

Evening & Weekend Access and Delivery Services Supervisor / Supervisor 2 - Yale University Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Lib...

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Unions help improve salaries for all, group finds

<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We’ve </span><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/09/US-households-are-now-earning-less-than-in-1989.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">written many times</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in this space about how union jobs provide a better standard of living for workers. And a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau stats released last week backs that up. Workers in states with higher union memberships </span><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/09/23/2665131/the-middle-class-does-better-in-states-with-lots-of-union-members/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">are earning more</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> than those in the least unionized states.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0h_dGLMurMP4xjAAQj0karoMUOl4wh1xSKmQjij1iKjIlQg5kGdVQdvjSJRxotdzsOuZ0gl8uzlPMW7NiMsJReB0n9JsivDzCYPRVFautp0X9h_sMBwY7hZtbHzXxAfJCZea7c_zxMdpC/s1600/middle-class_I7bsn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0h_dGLMurMP4xjAAQj0karoMUOl4wh1xSKmQjij1iKjIlQg5kGdVQdvjSJRxotdzsOuZ0gl8uzlPMW7NiMsJReB0n9JsivDzCYPRVFautp0X9h_sMBwY7hZtbHzXxAfJCZea7c_zxMdpC/s200/middle-class_I7bsn.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Center for American Progress’ Action Fund (CAPAF) looked at the income of the middle 60 percent of households in 2012. Middle-class families in U.S. states with the lowest unionization rates -- North Carolina, Arkansas, South Carolina, Mississippi and Georgia -- all earned below average income, while those in four of the five most unionized states -- Alaska, Hawaii, Washington and Rhode Island -- earned above average incomes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> But CAPAF also </span><a href="http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/labor/news/2013/09/20/74751/middle-classes-are-stronger-in-states-with-greater-union-membership/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">delved deeper to uncover wider income disparities</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Further illustrating this divide is the gap between the average percent of total state income going to the middle class in the top 10 and bottom 10 most-unionized states. In the top 10 most-unionized states, households in the middle class received 47.4 percent of total state income on average; in the bottom 10 states, households in the middle class received only 46.8 percent. While a difference of 0.6 percentage points may not initially appear large, in 2012, 0.6 percent of Pennsylvania’s aggregate income, for example, would have equaled over $2 billion, or almost $700 per middle-class household.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Even for those not part of a union, the labor movement’s added clout in those states with the highest union membership meant there was increased advocacy on behalf of workers’ interests both in the workplace as well as on the political agenda. CAPAF said unions “have an effect on the everyday lives of middle-class families.”</span>

middle class unions wages Unions help improve salaries for all, group finds

We’ve written many times in this space about how union jobs provide a better standard of living for workers. And a new analysis of U.S. C...

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Young Adult Librarian - New Canaan Library

<strong>Young Adult Librarian -</strong> <strong><strong><span style="color: #48286d;">New Canaan Library</span></strong></strong>. The young adult librarian is passionate about connecting and building relationships with adolescents in order to spark curiosity, fuel discussion and enrich lives through the collections, services and programs of the library. This is a permanent, full time position with one weekend day and one evening per week serving the youth (13-18) of our community. The position reports to the executive director and is a member of the leadership team. New Canaan Library serves a community of 20,000 about 1 hour from NYC in Fairfield County Connecticut. Role Purpose: This position is responsible for the planning, delivery and evaluation of programs and services that meet the expressed and anticipated needs of our young adult community. Responsibilities: Actively participate in long range strategic planning for all of library as well as youth area; Advocate for youth in the library; Develop and grow an active teen advisory group; Create and contribute to services, programs and collections that attract an increasing number of targeted clientele (13-18 year olds); Collaborate with colleagues in the Children’s and Adult services teams; Feed in to collection manager to develop the YA collections; Seek out and form partnerships with other relevant organizations in the local community; Maintain the teen area of library website; Develop a productive relationship with the local school librarians; Set goals, measure impact, for long term programming and services; Provide information and readers advisory to target group; Coordinate any volunteers in the YA area; Lead and participate in project teems; Develop and maintain clear documentation for all programs and services; Meet negotiated timelines and deadlines; Create collateral to promote programs and services using relevant tools. Skills and attributes: Empathetic with a genuine interest in youth, and an understanding of adolescent development; Develops rapport easily with teens; Focused on excellent user experiences for adolescents in the library environment ( physical and virtual); Fluent user of social media; Excellent communications skills; Confident and capable user of internet/communications technologies; Deep and broad knowledge of YA literature; Agile, able to adapt easily to a changing environment and work on multiple projects simultaneously; Confident, outgoing and self motivated; Personal commitment to ongoing professional development and expertise in youth librarianship including currency on youth services in libraries; Confident and effective public speaker; Both participates in and leads in-house professional development with colleagues. Competencies: 1. Focus on positive user experience. 2. Innovation in development of services and programs. 3. Continuous improvement: monitoring and evaluation of relevant collections, services and programs. Use of evidence based decision making. 4. Professional demeanor. Qualifications and Experience: 1. Master’s Degree in Library Science from ALA accredited university- required. 2. Previous experience working with youth. Starting Salary $48,000. To apply, send your cover letter and resume to <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:loldham@newcanaanlibrary.org" href="mailto:loldham@newcanaanlibrary.org">loldham@newcanaanlibrary.org</a> by <span style="color: red;">October 14, 2013</span>.

Young Adult Librarian - New Canaan Library

Young Adult Librarian - New Canaan Library . The young adult librarian is passionate about connecting and building relationships with ado...

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It's Because They Are Ignorant Fucks

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Uiht8twQ920hg7JuTE0aNh7xbpe9DQHPnAqPYOos6qiAAEmhBOZWqqzVUGOZhsivOLfAU2GZ1mzggECmWaSZOcNFS5dJnkX3dFKeWcTdQ5KVIyaQLXHD8DaOXItEjnywAtD7-x2nviEZ/s1600/GreatQuo.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Uiht8twQ920hg7JuTE0aNh7xbpe9DQHPnAqPYOos6qiAAEmhBOZWqqzVUGOZhsivOLfAU2GZ1mzggECmWaSZOcNFS5dJnkX3dFKeWcTdQ5KVIyaQLXHD8DaOXItEjnywAtD7-x2nviEZ/s640/GreatQuo.jpg" /></a>

It's Because They Are Ignorant Fucks

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US PLAYS MONOPOLY, RUSSIA PLAYS CHESS

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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8h2yv1OMuzAZGZ1KdeSeNLuG1qrJDcEF0UFwssztVREtucMk5AmhSjhmgF25C7DJMikm2HANBjNx2SykOdMDcUU5FMMR-MN2o71mnd1TTgAgbRJOodAn9RJRQ82dYQcBQtWHOOGMI6nBz/s1600/obama-monopoly1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8h2yv1OMuzAZGZ1KdeSeNLuG1qrJDcEF0UFwssztVREtucMk5AmhSjhmgF25C7DJMikm2HANBjNx2SykOdMDcUU5FMMR-MN2o71mnd1TTgAgbRJOodAn9RJRQ82dYQcBQtWHOOGMI6nBz/s320/obama-monopoly1.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US AND RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST </span></span> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #233f55; font-size: 18.0pt; letter-spacing: .5pt;">A</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">MERICANS see individual pieces of geopolitical real estate in isolation, like hotels on the Monopoly board, while the RUSSIANS look at the interaction of all their spheres of interest around the globe.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">SYRIA is of no real strategic interest to RUSSIA, nor to anyone else for that matter. It is a broken wreck of a country, with an irreparably damaged economy, without the energy, water, or food to maintain long-term economic viability. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The multiethnic melange left in place by BRITISH and FRENCH cartographers after the First World War has broken down irreparably into a war of mutual extermination, whose only result can be depopulation or partition on the YUGOSLAV model.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2m_wmNn_BNULzkNIY84xowfAaITVgbFHtkr_VQvFRoIyEM7U6aHIys-8uegkcd3r_peOVcGC5bAvCv9oZ63D3uYV_esAxK17MC2C88btLV4lM6vn1D_uzapy-eGpbVmiMI7OWErgL0LX/s1600/gal_5652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2m_wmNn_BNULzkNIY84xowfAaITVgbFHtkr_VQvFRoIyEM7U6aHIys-8uegkcd3r_peOVcGC5bAvCv9oZ63D3uYV_esAxK17MC2C88btLV4lM6vn1D_uzapy-eGpbVmiMI7OWErgL0LX/s320/gal_5652.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;"> <div style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Background Information</b>:</div><div style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>FRANCES "COLONIAL AMBITIONS" IN SYRIA</b></span></div><div style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/08/france-eager-to-engage-in-syra-why.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/08/france-eager-to-engage-in-syra-why.html</a></div><div style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>THE SYKES-PICOT AGREEMENT</b></span></div><div style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/09/historic-facts-about-syria.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/09/historic-facts-about-syria.html</a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">SYRIA only has importance in so far as its crisis threatens to spill over into surrounding territories which have more strategic importance. As a Petri dish for jihadist movements, it threatens to become the training ground for a new generation of terrorists, serving the same role that AFGHANISTAN did during the 1990s and 2000s.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SYRIA AN INCUBATOR FOR NATIONAL MOVEMENTS </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a testing ground for the use of weapons of mass destruction, it provides a diplomatic laboratory to gauge the response of world powers to atrocious actions with comparatively little risk to the participants. It is an incubator of national movements, in which, for example, the newfound freedom of action for the country’s 2 million KURDS constitutes a means of destabilizing TURKEY and other countries with substantial Kurdish minorities. Most important, as the cockpit of confessional war between SUNNIS and SHI’ITE, SYRIA may become the springboard for a larger conflict engulfing IRAQ and possibly other states in the region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;"> <div style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Background Information</b>: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>THE KURDISH INDEPENDENCE GAMBLE</b></span></div><div style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/08/double-dealing-in-iraq-and-syria.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/08/double-dealing-in-iraq-and-syria.html</a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">RUSSIA’S GOAL: RESTORATION OF GREAT POWER STATUS</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is difficult to understand what Putin wants in SYRIA. And in most likelihood the RUSSIA’S president himself does not know what he wants in SYRIA, either. A strong chess player engaging an inferior opponent will create complications without an immediate strategic objective, in order to provoke blunders from the other side and take opportunistic advantage. There are many things that Putin wants. But he wants one big thing above all, namely, the restoration of RUSSIA’S great power status. RUSSIA’S leading diplomatic role in SYRIA opens several options to further this goal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WORLDS ENERGY BROKER </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As the world’s largest energy producer, RUSSIA wants to enhance its leverage over WESTERN EUROPE for which it is the principle energy supplier. It wants to influence the marketing of natural gas produced by ISRAEL and other countries in the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. It wants to make other energy producers in the region dependent on its good graces for the security of their energy exports. It wants to enhance its role as a supplier of military equipment, challenging the AMERICAN F-35 and F-22 with the new Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter among other things. It wants a free hand in dealing with terrorism among its Muslim minority in the CAUCASUS. And it wants to maintain influence in its so-called near abroad in CENTRAL ASIA.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;"> <div style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Background Information:</b> <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">RUSSIA’S GAZPROM</b></span> </div><div style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/07/turkey-and-russia.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/07/turkey-and-russia.html</a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">AMERICAN commentators reacted with surprise and in some cases dismay to RUSSIA’S emergence as the arbiter of the SYRIA crisis. In fact, RUSSIA’S emerging role in the region was already evident when the chief of SAUDI intelligence, Prince Bandar, flew to Moscow during the first week of August to meet with Putin. The RUSSIANS and SAUDIS announced that they would collaborate to stabilize the new military government in EGYPT, in direct opposition to the Obama administration. In effect RUSSIA offered to sell EGYPT any weapons that the UNITED STATES declined to sell, while SAUDI ARABIA offered to pay for them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;"> <div style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Background Information</b>: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">RUSSIA AND SAUDI ARABIA</b></span></div><div style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/08/russia-and-saudi-arabia.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/08/russia-and-saudi-arabia.html</a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">RUSSIA’S GENIUS CHESSBOARD MOVE OVER EGYPT</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrNWrH8Qg7cHmxQzrWvEtnj4vCWI0X1zjCuTfMsZI8n_yZVQ-520-eqdiYhRwoydefFLfKnPl9XMiR8NoRdoVwCx-djEri58J4Ny_95Rh-gEC5KN3WEsCLcAw0U3xhHyAYhzXFTOcwSGCw/s1600/putin-chess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrNWrH8Qg7cHmxQzrWvEtnj4vCWI0X1zjCuTfMsZI8n_yZVQ-520-eqdiYhRwoydefFLfKnPl9XMiR8NoRdoVwCx-djEri58J4Ny_95Rh-gEC5KN3WEsCLcAw0U3xhHyAYhzXFTOcwSGCw/s320/putin-chess.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That was a diplomatic revolution without clear precedent. It is not only that the RUSSIANS have returned to Egypt 40 years after they were expelled in the context of the real world war; they have done so in tactical alliance with SAUDI ARABIA, historically RUSSIA’S nemesis in the region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">SAUDI ARABIA has an urgent interest in stabilizing EGYPT, and in suppressing the Muslim Brotherhood, which the SAUDI monarchy nightly views as a risk to its legitimacy. SAUDI support for the EGYPTIAN military against the Brotherhood is not surprising; what is most surprising is that the SAUDI’S felt to involve RUSSIA.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although there are a number of obvious reasons for the SAUDI’S and RUSSIANS to collaborate, for example controlling the jihadists in the SYRIAN opposition, we do not yet understand the full implications of their rapprochement. The SAUDIS leaked news that they had offered to buy $15 billion worth of RUSSIAN weapons in return for RUSSIAN help with Assad. Rumors of this kind should not be read at face value. They might be misdirection — but misdirection towards what? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Putin’s chessboard encompasses the globe. It includes such things as the security of energy exports from the PERSIAN GULF; the transmission of oil and gas through CENTRAL ASIA; the market for RUSSIAN arms exports; energy negotiations now underway between RUSSIA and CHINA; the vulnerability of EUROPE’S energy supplies; and the internal stability of countries on or near RUSSIA’S borders, including TURKEY, IRAQ and IRAN.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">RUSSIA’S GREATER CAPACITY TO INFLUENCE EVENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For AMERICAN analysts, most of this chessboard might as well be on the dark side of the moon. We see only what the RUSSIANS permit us to see. For example, Moscow first promised to provide SYRIA with the S-300 air defense system and then withdrew its offer. SAUDI ARABIA in early August let it be known that it was prepared to buy $15 billion of RUSSIAN weapons in return for considerations in SYRIA. A negotiation of some kind is underway, but we have no idea what kind of carrots and sticks might be involved.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What we may surmise is that RUSSIA now has much greater capacity to influence events in the MIDDLE EAST, including the security of energy resources which it had at any time since the Yom Kippur War of 1973. For the time being, it is in RUSSIA’S interest to keep its interlocutory guessing, and to enhance its future strategic options. RUSSIA in effect has placed the burden of uncertainty on the rest of the world, especially upon major economies dependent on PERSIAN GULF energy exports.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">US TO FOCUS INCREASINGLY ON DOMESTIC AGENDAS</span> </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">President Obama evidently considers this arrangement beneficial to his own agenda. The president has no interest whatever in enhancing AMERICA’S strategic position in the world; his intent may be to diminish it, as <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323595004579062811443943666.html" target="_blank">Norman Podhoretz</a> charged in the <em>Wall Street Journal.</em>Obama is focused on his domestic agenda.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">From that standpoint, handing over responsibility for the SYRIAN mess is a riskless exercise. AMERICAN popular revulsion over foreign military intervention is so intense that the voters will welcome any measure that reduces AMERICAN responsibility for foreign problems. Although the elite of the Democratic Party are liberal internationalists, Obama’s voting support has scant interest in SYRIA.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Public commentary on foreign policy is an exercise in frustration under the circumstances. Because AMERICA is a democracy, and substantial commitment of resources requires at least some degree of consensus, diplomacy was exceptionally transparent so long as AMERICA dominated the field. Think tanks, academia and the media served as a sounding board for any significant initiatives, so that important decisions were taken at least in part in the view of the public. That is no longer the case on Vladimir Putin’s chessboard. RUSSIA will pursue a set of strategic trade-offs, but we in the West will not know what they are until well after the fact, if ever.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Further dimensions of complexity will arise from the eventual response of other prospective players, in particular CHINA, but also including JAPAN. The self-shrinkage of AMERICA’S strategic position eliminates the constraint for RUSSIA to choose a particular option. On the contrary, RUSSIA can accumulate positional advantages to employ for particular strategic objectives at its leisure. And Putin will sit silent on his side of the chessboard and let the clock run against his opponent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">STRATEGIC INSANITY </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Putin may think that he is pre-empting a similar strategy on the part of the West. </div><div class="indent" style="text-align: justify;">From RUSSIAN leadership’s point of view, the IRAQ War now looks like the beginning of the accelerated destruction of regional and global stability, undermining the last principles of sustainable world order. Everything that’s happened since — including flirting with Islamists during the Arab Spring, US policies in LIBYA and its current policies in SYRIA — serve as evidence of strategic insanity that has taken over the last remaining superpower.</div><div class="indent" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">PAYBACK TIME FOR BEING LEFT OUT OF THE LIBYAN EQUATION </span></i></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As mentioned numerous times on this Blog, RUSSIA and CHINA felt that they were left out of the equation regarding the LIBYAN operation instigated by the USA, FRANCE and BRITAIN. CHINA and RUSSIA invested heavily in LIBYA prior to the toppling of the LIBYAN regime, only to find out that they were kept completely out of the picture regarding the true intentions the Western coalition force had in mind with LIBYA once the regime was removed, namely to share the cake of oil extraction between themselves.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Subsequently RUSSIA and CHINA learned their lesson and thus vowed not make the same mistake regarding SYRIA, permitting LIBYAN style intervention by WESTERN and GULF STATES coalition forces. No matter that SYRIA lacks oil reserves or other natural resources worth fighting over, their veto was more of a symbolic gesture telling WESTERN and GULF STATES coalition forces: that’s how far you can go this time around, but no further. See also </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_military_intervention_in_Libya">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_military_intervention_in_Libya</a></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i>RUSSIA’S persistence on the SYRIAN issue is the product of this perception. The issue is not sympathy for SYRIA’S dictator, or commercial interests, or naval bases in Tartus. Moscow is certain that if continued crushing of secular authoritarian regimes is allowed because AMERICA and the West support “democracy”, it will lead to such destabilization that will overwhelm all, including RUSSIA. It’s therefore necessary for RUSSIA to resist, especially as the West and the UNITED STATES themselves experience increasing doubts.</div><div class="indent" style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div style="text-align: justify;">RUSSIANS typically assume that AMERICANS think the way they do; gauging every move by the way it affects the overall position on the board. The notion that incompetence rather than conspiracy explains the vast majority of AMERICAN actions is foreign to RUSSIAN thinking. Whatever the RUSSIAN leader thinks, though, he will keep to himself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Obama administration has handed the strategic initiative to countries whose policy-making proceeds behind a wall of opacity. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Adapted by Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring from <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">David P. Goldman</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">who</span></strong><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> is Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research and Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum. Via </span></em>crethiplethi.com. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Originally <a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/World/WOR-01-160913.html" target="_blank">published</a>in The Asian Times</span></span></div>

US PLAYS MONOPOLY, RUSSIA PLAYS CHESS

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US AND RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST  A MERICANS see individual pieces of geopolitical real estate in isol...

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Retirement dreams are disappearing

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6JyWpEfKoJihiQfrMoGWROGqlNOgv-F59K73yo6n9DIoCv6KX-srC2_NA6hnqeeUzbMvr-eVpYZsIWVRMkvwI6tylAhB5Xkha06b_qpoifJWmKzll9isUfsVBrPqvWTwOFrWMpkiAXITY/s1600/collectivebargaining.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6JyWpEfKoJihiQfrMoGWROGqlNOgv-F59K73yo6n9DIoCv6KX-srC2_NA6hnqeeUzbMvr-eVpYZsIWVRMkvwI6tylAhB5Xkha06b_qpoifJWmKzll9isUfsVBrPqvWTwOFrWMpkiAXITY/s200/collectivebargaining.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The U.S. has a history of being a hard-working nation, one where people who did their job and followed the rules were rewarded with financial security in their golden years. But as </span><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/09/US-households-are-now-earning-less-than-in-1989.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">middle-class jobs have slipped away</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> due to the last recession only to be replaced with low-wage opportunities, workers are losing hope about being able to retire. Instead, </span><a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-retirement-delayed-20130928,0,7773709,print.story" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">they plan to work longer</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">   </span><o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A </span><a href="https://hcexchange.conference-board.org/blog/post.cfm?post=1455" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">report</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">released by The Conference Board earlier this year noted that the number of current workers between ages 45 and 60 now planning to delay retirement grew to 62 percent in 2012, up 20 percent from two years earlier. A reduction in salary as well as job loss were the top reasons for putting off retirement, according to the document.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span><a href="http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/are-americans-still-delaying-retirement.html/?a=viewall" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another report</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by Gallup showed the average retirement age has increased by four years since 1995, and is expected to grow even more:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Younger Americans are growing more pessimistic about their golden years. The average non-retired American does not expect to retire until the age of 66, compared to 60 in 1995. Furthermore, 37 percent of those polled by Gallup say they expect to retire sometime after the age of 65, up sharply from 22 percent a decade ago and 14 percent in 1995. Meanwhile, only 26 percent say they will likely retire before age 65, down significantly from 49 percent in 1995.</span></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fewer and fewer Americans are contributing to their retirement, and those who do don’t seem to have enough saved anyway. Why is that? Because </span><a href="http://www.nationalmemo.com/failed-policy-the-401k-shrinks-in-a-growing-economy-2/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the increased reliance of 401(k) retirement funds has been a disaster</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, The National Memo notes:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Census surveys show that only a third of workers in their twenties have any form of retirement plan at work, compared to 62 percent of workers in their fifties.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But having a retirement plan and actually getting benefits are far from the same. Among all adult workers, only 43 percent say they have a vested right to either their own money they saved or money their employer set aside for them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Betty Schueler, who worked as a bartender and restaurant server for 40 years at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, said she no longer harbors any illusions about retirement after recently losing her job:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Retirement is a word that's no longer in our vocabulary. I will never see that in my lifetime.</span></blockquote></div>

401(k) retirement Retirement dreams are disappearing

The U.S. has a history of being a hard-working nation, one where people who did their job and followed the rules were rewarded with financ...

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paisley is the pattern for fall

I'm craving a paisley fix. For some reason when the weather starts to get cold I want cute scarfs, a pair of boots, hot chocolate from Starbucks and some paisley eye candy. I've always loved it since my mom let my sister and I pick the coolest ever purple paisley wallpaper for our room back in the super awesome 80s. Good times.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugZ05FAGle9t24IgRabwYjJ7FzRKThroE2i1R4iBxzyMAVaoGgumRKez_Suggcw4KVgtHZKf1hsTV-25Bs46sbN2It6pPUnlLhw_68FMKybkT5DeWZpY5bSJqVmoAagnbmRToAsfmdDS9/s1600/a46b28c639be71bb070170147886eac5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugZ05FAGle9t24IgRabwYjJ7FzRKThroE2i1R4iBxzyMAVaoGgumRKez_Suggcw4KVgtHZKf1hsTV-25Bs46sbN2It6pPUnlLhw_68FMKybkT5DeWZpY5bSJqVmoAagnbmRToAsfmdDS9/s640/a46b28c639be71bb070170147886eac5.jpg" width="468" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6896205652271970/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8UHi6KI6UJF4oLG3PfV3h-AGlqWwZtX_SN2tjPsB1AMPCjre7tkYy0YA66IJCw0fhYPgiqfrYBDOa_haDVUxNDrxvIP6euCPqUrJBD1-VZk9zXFIPK8zHVMN8j5lEi8W0FxWt4oDU6VK/s1600/ce5de6f3531e5459a8aa696e7883a5ae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8UHi6KI6UJF4oLG3PfV3h-AGlqWwZtX_SN2tjPsB1AMPCjre7tkYy0YA66IJCw0fhYPgiqfrYBDOa_haDVUxNDrxvIP6euCPqUrJBD1-VZk9zXFIPK8zHVMN8j5lEi8W0FxWt4oDU6VK/s640/ce5de6f3531e5459a8aa696e7883a5ae.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://branca.com/Pages/Interiors" target="_blank">Alessandra Branca</a> </td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kApIS_0i9wzr0odghVrtDFIxdKJP8jTInUrkPEVoZ4FC4-r_d4Wh786gaSTHqhpVxEj3n4eYk_WPowgdUQWk5soaWlb2cgglooPaxM4EMbdpHatoIAo5UFN5YCy6SHj34u09K_xufSBp/s1600/ac17c4cf015d8fad70cc6721c64cf3d3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kApIS_0i9wzr0odghVrtDFIxdKJP8jTInUrkPEVoZ4FC4-r_d4Wh786gaSTHqhpVxEj3n4eYk_WPowgdUQWk5soaWlb2cgglooPaxM4EMbdpHatoIAo5UFN5YCy6SHj34u09K_xufSBp/s640/ac17c4cf015d8fad70cc6721c64cf3d3.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6896205650355315/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisR9ONwoHwqCBlbPuHWp1HNwaoiyJME26fodtgaKSBE6Fk3v8iIfO7iyu985uaAM6yMDazFoJeb6VmW4FnZXUQvt8TQQZNf5Mmb7XO6HWE_HKjCsBlxBzFc0uUN9oXw1KPHro6G0kte4rE/s1600/f357a986ff49e97ba83c0b84de37bf21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisR9ONwoHwqCBlbPuHWp1HNwaoiyJME26fodtgaKSBE6Fk3v8iIfO7iyu985uaAM6yMDazFoJeb6VmW4FnZXUQvt8TQQZNf5Mmb7XO6HWE_HKjCsBlxBzFc0uUN9oXw1KPHro6G0kte4rE/s640/f357a986ff49e97ba83c0b84de37bf21.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sarahrichardsondesign.com/" target="_blank">Sarah Richardson</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpfBzAfG8nGrTYjE807bgWDH7e20rHoOlHGLM2pZAiNrSqzuPvUB28WyavLRbP0wLKafhImZ06fyyCM13pjfyKSQycvDE3PDyJ1diHWEBw5b7Hl9EQtDJ3Gxsucf3J6YXnh_xnUeyIvIS/s1600/design-manifest-bedroom-white-glass-chandelier-paisley-headboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpfBzAfG8nGrTYjE807bgWDH7e20rHoOlHGLM2pZAiNrSqzuPvUB28WyavLRbP0wLKafhImZ06fyyCM13pjfyKSQycvDE3PDyJ1diHWEBw5b7Hl9EQtDJ3Gxsucf3J6YXnh_xnUeyIvIS/s640/design-manifest-bedroom-white-glass-chandelier-paisley-headboard.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.designmanifest.com/inspiration/lighting-week-my-bedroom-chandelier/" target="_blank">Design Manifest</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />There are so many ways to incorporate paisley into your home. Art, fabric, furniture, bedding, you name it.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj5oQDecgQqejmtmf3a5vxdw5lBF8OUWxzzydjt-p-L3mq3J5uJbtGznRRwU2-wsleYdbXXlFw8Dy8jg1WHTgtl7WgPMgzG2uQSFxEF0-VUM8SXSlE0XtWsnW2THKPqLDXNVX7xzVkLSNM/s1600/5034395_8408688_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj5oQDecgQqejmtmf3a5vxdw5lBF8OUWxzzydjt-p-L3mq3J5uJbtGznRRwU2-wsleYdbXXlFw8Dy8jg1WHTgtl7WgPMgzG2uQSFxEF0-VUM8SXSlE0XtWsnW2THKPqLDXNVX7xzVkLSNM/s640/5034395_8408688_b.jpg" width="532" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://society6.com/product/Paisley-GAB_Print" target="_blank">Society6</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8wWAXwNk-OWe2MKPBM9BCCfGNn0Vn3fcLCDRTqgv9KzjtIs8zGQQIt-Sq3n53dDve6lHv0rtUXrNog3nyCXabXXZtAPuYGLwF7uWrCDeB8b2CVgxxtgtzCocJLee2RBEGxXd2IeBRg5n/s1600/38c605216b82b1773a0a31800ccc8f73.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8wWAXwNk-OWe2MKPBM9BCCfGNn0Vn3fcLCDRTqgv9KzjtIs8zGQQIt-Sq3n53dDve6lHv0rtUXrNog3nyCXabXXZtAPuYGLwF7uWrCDeB8b2CVgxxtgtzCocJLee2RBEGxXd2IeBRg5n/s640/38c605216b82b1773a0a31800ccc8f73.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.housefabric.com/Sallie-Federal-P5950C2137.aspx" target="_blank">Kravet via HouseFabric</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EQpMkBa4NC3QzeIn1mF1XqYvAjRh6O5NTymhEgy5ESIeBfXUnH2UXcuXaMA3apJ9GcGZz3TEkJHsjis6O6prCFgholacBVMKx8AwmzCOW1WGr-tFBMrJdhPbU2bIVoIbWFS5GbB63nOD/s1600/694d42618b6dba670dd0381f6d53a41e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EQpMkBa4NC3QzeIn1mF1XqYvAjRh6O5NTymhEgy5ESIeBfXUnH2UXcuXaMA3apJ9GcGZz3TEkJHsjis6O6prCFgholacBVMKx8AwmzCOW1WGr-tFBMrJdhPbU2bIVoIbWFS5GbB63nOD/s400/694d42618b6dba670dd0381f6d53a41e.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lisafinetextiles.com/Lisa_Fine_Textiles/Lahore_Calico.html" target="_blank">Lisa Fine</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6vB9VLxP8GO-1bUqb2jws3PY90RnjD0yBtU9uCRHef1ANmtG1MnvmFg-jaKcEU6cPYXwo3H5m0660TcnBD0J8zizsBaFCdKU89n0nOmCX1zqbcSIrgN7PIxxW_UOs5js_vr-FxHnRVJ7/s1600/3984f8bdc28e8a205e3644089ce5d2c5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6vB9VLxP8GO-1bUqb2jws3PY90RnjD0yBtU9uCRHef1ANmtG1MnvmFg-jaKcEU6cPYXwo3H5m0660TcnBD0J8zizsBaFCdKU89n0nOmCX1zqbcSIrgN7PIxxW_UOs5js_vr-FxHnRVJ7/s640/3984f8bdc28e8a205e3644089ce5d2c5.jpg" width="436" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fschumacher.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?sku=175512" target="_blank">Schumacher</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKbn2STFQFn2bUcbJ8mhZjmDVh3FnWlnZ_PoAqxBgHW9uqJNrxN_gsjCCXy-iGsnTfCnfEcLGKGc-uIVkdjeuye3YOROgtroX-yLmjwRogWhQXev6pQ6x_qv4v1lE1emq-cHc4OsCmpVul/s1600/4a85b967cc9de43afd718349cafd966c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKbn2STFQFn2bUcbJ8mhZjmDVh3FnWlnZ_PoAqxBgHW9uqJNrxN_gsjCCXy-iGsnTfCnfEcLGKGc-uIVkdjeuye3YOROgtroX-yLmjwRogWhQXev6pQ6x_qv4v1lE1emq-cHc4OsCmpVul/s640/4a85b967cc9de43afd718349cafd966c.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lesindiennes.com/fabric_library/source/02marie.htm" target="_blank">Les Indiennes</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnvulPgrpYpyjE9PH44C9GGMAktxGjnkxK_xe3iq9xxa2JsDfNBqFbXhoMqpGCpj8lAfXkOsrtw6L871UeG-40Kv7mJVdCX8qqTP1eAIYeNETdPirfTNDCp2OgOpcTxRQmP6m4bfUaYhs/s1600/5ed4a9bdaf042e3d607baee96faaea41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnvulPgrpYpyjE9PH44C9GGMAktxGjnkxK_xe3iq9xxa2JsDfNBqFbXhoMqpGCpj8lAfXkOsrtw6L871UeG-40Kv7mJVdCX8qqTP1eAIYeNETdPirfTNDCp2OgOpcTxRQmP6m4bfUaYhs/s400/5ed4a9bdaf042e3d607baee96faaea41.jpg" width="323" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0L5Aq9t2B1yHrR0_pk56uBXAM8S3jL0j1pTe7JfKG2cJKqDIANF4uGbqsQIQcERmQOcNEwgshVdcmk5UsrUjboXvHU0fPvAhfKJviO_dudf4CyVqUB9tsKO-8lhMp-KZtWqz14sIanJn/s1600/b6ec194432a1aba762a59ea04adbb66e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0L5Aq9t2B1yHrR0_pk56uBXAM8S3jL0j1pTe7JfKG2cJKqDIANF4uGbqsQIQcERmQOcNEwgshVdcmk5UsrUjboXvHU0fPvAhfKJviO_dudf4CyVqUB9tsKO-8lhMp-KZtWqz14sIanJn/s640/b6ec194432a1aba762a59ea04adbb66e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I could go on and on. So what say you? Are you into paisley as much as I am? How do you like it best? On the walls, furniture or maybe on you?

paisley is the pattern for fall

I'm craving a paisley fix. For some reason when the weather starts to get cold I want cute scarfs, a pair of boots, hot chocolate from S...

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Pigs Will Fly First

$3 gas?<br /><br />Right.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/business/gasoline-prices-drop-closer-3-could-keep-falling-4B11232610"> <b> Gasoline prices drop closer to $3 and could keep falling</b></a><br /><br /><br /><blockquote>Remember $3 gas? Well the price is headed down and might get back to that level again after more than three years.<br /><br />The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States fell 6.4 cents in the last two weeks, as crude oil declined and refiners passed on the difference to motorists.<br /><br />Some industry experts believe the price could keep falling, even below $3 per gallon for the first time in three years.<br /><br />According to the latest Lundberg survey, the average price was about 31 cents lower than a year ago, based on the Sept. 20 survey of some 2,500 retail stations in the 48 contiguous states.<br /><br />Trilby Lundberg, survey editor, said the rise came alongside a decline in the price of crude oil. Crude has fallen as Libya has produced more and there have been signs of diplomatic progress regarding Syria and Iran.<br /><br />"California did buck the trend because of some recent hiccups in the California refining capacity affecting the West," Lundberg said. "Prices rose at the pump about 16 cents in California, but the spike has already died as those glitches have already been resolved."<br /><br />Charleston, South Carolina, had the cheapest gasoline in the survey at $3.14 per gallon, while drivers in San Francisco, paid the most at $4.01 per gallon.</blockquote><br />I paid $3.74 for gas just yesterday here in the Vancouver WA area.<br />Here on the Left Coast we get butt jammed for gas all the time.<br /><br />Even though there are several refineries around here.<br /><br />Somehow they either manage do be down for maintenance or burn the fuck down every damn year.<br /><br />Did you know that even with record profits for the petroleum industry, we are talking <i>BILLIONS </i>of dollars every three months, that there has not been a new refinery built in this country since the 1970's?<br /><br />That was forty years ago.<br /><br />So yeah, I'll believe three dollar a gallon gas if and when I ever see it again.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhteTWmS_BdOYtEUE_t1P_I0a3bkXPquqDf-MY1cE29id8xF5R6KSBiifiwsLlM5Vn0YB17EPrBZJWuwXd6j9U2Y6oaBH0DzpXCvQGo8MkNc4eJS3LEJACsfxVEk0WLZJu0mvQ3wfAh1d3V/s1600/Flying_pig_hell_freezing.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhteTWmS_BdOYtEUE_t1P_I0a3bkXPquqDf-MY1cE29id8xF5R6KSBiifiwsLlM5Vn0YB17EPrBZJWuwXd6j9U2Y6oaBH0DzpXCvQGo8MkNc4eJS3LEJACsfxVEk0WLZJu0mvQ3wfAh1d3V/s640/Flying_pig_hell_freezing.jpg" /></a>

Pigs Will Fly First

$3 gas? Right. Gasoline prices drop closer to $3 and could keep falling Remember $3 gas? Well the price is headed down and might get back...

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Customer Support Engineer ( Thinfilms | Optics) (# 109440) (Beaverton, OR)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="WordSection1"><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Job Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Customer Support Engineer</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Location:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Beaverton, OR<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Duration:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Fulltime<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Job Description:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The Customer Support Engineer 3 (CSE) is primarily responsible for customer service activities that are associated with updating, troubleshooting, diagnosing and repairing highly complex capital equipment at customer sites and trade shows. The Customer Service Engineer represents the company to the customer and assumes accountability for customer satisfaction with service. The CSE assures the operational quality of the system equipment and coordinates actions with customers to minimize down time and may provide assistance to Installation Engineers in resolving problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Evaluates, analyzes, diagnoses and troubleshoots technical equipment problems via telephone or at customer site.  Ensures equipment enhances customer production. Repairs and modifies equipment at customer facility. Evaluates equipment to determine type and extend of problem. Repairs involve board problems which can be performed using standard procedures as well as system level problems which have multiple causes and no standard procedures exist. Repair of system level problems are based on CSE's technical knowledge, education and training. Board problems vs. system level problems are split 50/50. In analyzing and diagnosing equipment problems, CSE's may access and determine problem exists in customer process such as chemical leaks or contamination and as a result may recommend shutdown of customer fab due to unsafe conditions. Prepares field service reports on customer support activity and provides documentation to other supporting functions supporting functions on re-occurring problems. Prepares quotes for customers based on labor, travel expenses incurred and parts needed. CSE's use discretion and assist regional admin in preparing quotes based on reason for equipment failure, time to prepare etc. Cross trains and assists other field service engineers as appropriate. Provides guidance and technical assistance to Installation Engineer on installations at customer sites or on installing/dismantling demonstration machines. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The nature of work requires that CSE's work independently; only occasionally requiring guidance from management. CSE's are required to contact management on a daily basis (at least twice each day in a down tool sit.) to report activities. CSE's spend part of their time in the office resolving equipment problems via phone and at least 50% of time at customer site. Contribute to the Capturing, Re-use, Collaboration, and Improvement of knowledge using available systems.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Desired Qualifications:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• Ability to understand and troubleshoot problems in software and electronics, optics, mechanical, electro-mechanical and electro-optical systems.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• Analytical skills<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• Knowledge of computer theory, various operating systems and applicable operating system software knowledge, Networking in a Windows, Unix or Novell environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• Basic automation functionality on assigned equipment set. Develops technical proficiency in<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• Preventive Maintenance (PM) aspects of assigned equipment set.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• PM work can be done with instruction of a manager or senior engineer.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• Must successfully complete ongoing technical training to acquire a thorough knowledge of company equipment, the application of diagnostic techniques and practical application of service aids.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• Microsoft Office proficiency is required.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• Attainment of Certification Level 2 or PM Training. Basic proficiency in systems level repair of a product within a family is required.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• Semiconductor industry process knowledge, required to take the KT class for Introduction to semiconductor processes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• Good interpersonal/communication skills in understanding customer needs. Ability to work under pressure and stringent timelines since the system is down for service and  may effect customer manufacturing area.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• Ability to troubleshoot problems in software and electronic systems.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">• BSEE/BSET or equivalent work experience in supporting complex capital equipment for the semiconductor industry. Typically 2-4 years within the semiconductor industry. Clean room environment experience a plus<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Minimum Qualifications:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Bachelor's Level Degree with at least 3 years of experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">OR<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Master's Level Degree with at least 2 years of experience.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Kindly send in your resumes to <a href="mailto:raju.balaji@kla-tencor.com">raju.balaji@kla-tencor.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></div></div>

Customer Support Engineer ( Thinfilms | Optics) (# 109440) (Beaverton, OR)

Job Title: Customer Support Engineer Location: Beaverton, OR Duration: Fulltime Job Description: The Customer Support Engineer 3 (CSE) is...

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Making Architecture Public

This week's eMagazine at World-Architects features "<a href="http://www.world-architects.com/en/pages/insight/making-architecture-public">Making Architecture Public</a>," which includes short Q&As with over ten architectural institutions around the world, to get a sense of the present and future of creating exhibitions and making architecture public. More information is at bottom.<br /><br />The institutions are: Architekturforum Aedes (Germany), Architekturforum Zürich (Switzerland), Architekturgalerie München (Germany), Architekturzentrum Wien (Austria), Canadian Centre for Architecture (Canada), Chicago Architecture Foundation (USA), Danish Architecture Centre (Denmark), LIGA - Space for Architecture (Mexico), MAK Center for Art and Architecture (USA), NOTE (Portugal), and Pinkcomma (USA).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.world-architects.com/en/pages/insight/making-architecture-public"><img alt="*.jpg" src="http://www.world-architects.com/img/frontend/pages/2823/making-arch-public-ins-600x450.jpg" title="Making Architecture Public illustration" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote><i>Architecture exhibitions are valuable means of bringing buildings, the processes of designing and making them, and other aspects of architecture to the public. With a myriad of institutions, venues, and ways of exhibiting, it's hard to determine the best way to make something as complex as architecture understandable to a wider public. With the Association of Architecture Organizations <a href="http://www.aaonetwork.org/2013-conference" target="_blank">2013 conference</a> taking place in Boston (26-28 September) and the Yale School of Architecture symposium </i><a href="http://architecture.yale.edu/school/events/exhibiting-architecture" target="_blank">Exhibiting Architecture: A Paradox</a><i> following in New Haven (3-5 October), it seems like an apt time to look at how institutions exhibit architecture and what directions they are heading. This short survey asks some international institutions a handful of questions to get a sense of the present and future of creating exhibitions and making architecture public.</i></blockquote>

Making Architecture Public

This week's eMagazine at World-Architects features " Making Architecture Public ," which includes short Q&As with over ten...

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Low Cost Smartphone from Karbonn: A51

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Karbonn’s new low cost smartphone A51 is now available in market. The Android phone is suitable for middle class families because of to its low coast. The cost of device is only Rs. 3499, with this price tag device is include in the group of cheapest smartphone with Android OS.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">                                     <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dF2cPSCqQJE/UkBXMJ6yEHI/AAAAAAAAAYM/47BteBcdH9E/s1600/602x481xkarbonn-smart-a51_jpg_pagespeed_ic_N0-GLy5XCh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="karbonn A51" border="0" height="255" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dF2cPSCqQJE/UkBXMJ6yEHI/AAAAAAAAAYM/47BteBcdH9E/s1600/602x481xkarbonn-smart-a51_jpg_pagespeed_ic_N0-GLy5XCh.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The device is powered with 1GHz processor which is running on Android 4.0. Smartphone support two SIM with 2G networks. Device’s screen is VGA with 3.5 inch touchpad. If you are looking for space, it is not for you because space is 512 MB with 256 MB RAM. Micro SD card slot is available for expand space through the micro SD card.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><h3><span style="font-family: inherit;">Technical specifications:</span></h3></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Processor: 1GHz single core</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 2G</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Battery: 1100 mAh</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Display: 3.5-inchh with HVGA capacitive screen</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Storage: 256MB RAM, 512 MB internal storage with micro SD card slot</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Camera: 3.2 MP rear camera and VGA front facing</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Other specifications: Micro USB port, 3.5 mm audio jack.</span></li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/100638775997274345522" rel="author">Anil Swami</a></div></div>

android karbonn lowcost Low Cost Smartphone from Karbonn: A51

Karbonn’s new low cost smartphone A51 is now available in market. The Android phone is suitable for middle class families because of to its ...

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Exposed

<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did you catch my </span><a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2013/09/september-goals.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September Goals post</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">? I let a few things out of the bag in that post! For one I exposed my weight to the entire world {or the 5 people who read my blog, lol!} to see! And secondly, you may have noticed one of my goals was to use My Fitness Pal to track my eats, where in the past I had used Weight Watchers. I'll get to MFP/WW later. Today I'm going to talk about that wretched # on the scale. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of my goals was to weigh 181 by 9.30.13. Obviously if that is my goal you know that I currently weigh more than that. Yikes! That's a big number, but I plan to only make it smaller.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lets take a trip down memory lane. When I originally started this blog 5 years ago I was tipping the scales at 202. A month ago, on August 12th, I stepped on the scale knowing what I would see would not be pretty. 192.6. I was less than TEN pounds of being my highest weight {not counting when I was prego}. Time for a change!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That very day I changed how I was eating and did really well for 2 1/2 weeks. I lost 8.4lb in that time frame. Then my 29th birthday {my golden birthday!} rolled around and I splurged on some treats. The next day my wonderful husband threw me a surprise birthday party and I splurged even more. Then it was a long weekend with family in town and I got even more lax with my eats. And instead of getting right back on track after the long weekend it continued....until September 16th, something clicked that day!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I needed to make a change...for good!</span></u></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That brings me to where I began {again} this time last week!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last Monday was my first day tracking my eats and making better choices. I didn't weigh till Tuesday. The verdict of eating terrible for 2 weeks: I gained almost 4lbs of my weight loss back. So disappointing! The only thing I could do at that point was to push forward and get rid of those 4lbs...and a whole lot more!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Back to my September goal. My goal is to weigh 181 on 9.30.13, if you do the math, is a 6.8lb loss. I know, sounds like a lot, but I also know its totally doable! <strong><u>I've got this!</u></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A lot of people are ashamed of "that number" the scale says and I used to be, but honestly it doesn't bother me now. I know it doesn't define me. I've come face to face with it and I know what I need to do to change it! Wallowing in the pity of my chubby thighs & love handles covered with yoga pants & baggy sweatshirts will not help that number go down one bit! So I'm facing the facts, exposing it for the world to see, and can't wait to report to you how it will change over the coming weeks!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What's your view on that number on the scale? Are you embarrased by your weight or no biggie?</span></strong></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />

Exposed

Did you catch my September Goals post ? I let a few things out of the bag in that post! For one I exposed my weight to the entire world {or ...

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