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Counseling for young militants
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Alarmed to find that detainees are emerging from the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, prison camp and other U.S. detention centers more devoted than ever to radical Islam, Saudi Arabia is offering counseling, financial aid and even matchmaking to pull young militants away from terrorism.
To keep the former detainees from deep-pocketed militant recruiters, Saudi officials have treated them to perks that have included new cars, resort stays, job placement and help in finding brides. They've also exposed them to moderate clerics and reminded them of Islam's restrictive rules for waging holy war, or jihad.
Saudi officials said the goal is to stop the proliferation of radical ideology that they said is bred in prisons and on the Internet. The ideology has flourished at Guantanamo and is evident among the returning Saudi detainees -- even those who were moderates before they were imprisoned, Saudi officials said.
"When you associate with those guys, you become one of them, " said Mansour al Turki, the Saudi government's security spokesman.
The multimillion-dollar rehabilitation program is available to most Saudis who've been accused of terrorism-related crimes, and officials estimate that as many as 2,000 have participated in the program since its inception in 2004.
The program pays special attention to those released from the U.S. prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Nearly every Saudi returning from American captivity undergoes up to 10 weeks of intense psychological tests, starting with an evaluation on the private plane that whisks him home from the American prison, Turki said.
The United States announced last month that it has released 390 people from Guantánamo, more than the 386 it continues to hold there. But there's little comprehensive information on what's become of those who've been released. Pentagon officials have reported that as many as two dozen have returned to the fight, but they've refused to provide specifics.
The Interior Ministry here said 65 Saudis have been released from Guantanamo, though other counts place the number at 60.
Counselors in Saudi Arabia said that the prisoners returning here are broken, humiliated and angry -- the perfect prey for militant recruiters. Turki said that many men who rarely prayed before they were detained emerged from Guantánamo with bushy beards and fundamentalist beliefs.
Distracting former detainees with new jobs and marriages helps Saudi authorities keep them out of trouble and away from vengeance missions.
"People still kill each other for revenge, you know, and it's part of the custom, " Turki said. "It's no good for a man to be treated in that situation and just go back and sit at home. . . . If you do not actually get involved at least in the beginning of their life, then there might be actually somebody who could take advantage of this and recruit them again for terrorism."
Researchers monitor all the program's cases for common threads they've used to profile a "typical" Saudi militant: born to a middle- or upper-class family, educated past high school, in his 20s and single. His No. 1 role model is al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a fellow Saudi; he's highly knowledgeable about Islam; and he uses the Internet to communicate with like-minded Muslims across the globe.
The U.S.-led war in Iraq is the biggest factor in radicalizing Saudi youths, according to a Saudi government report.
"In Saudi Arabia, al Qaeda has been destroyed as an organization, " said Abdulrahman al Hadlaq, the chairman of the committee that oversees the rehabilitation program. "What is happening now is a battle, a war, of ideas."
That's why the program enlists counselors such as Sheik Mohamed al Nejeimi. He's one of 100 state-backed clerics who counter radical teachings with moderate passages from the Koran, Islam's holy book.
The detainees pepper Nejeimi with easy questions such as when jihad is valid or how to fight tyranny within the framework of Islam.
But he said there's one frequently asked question that always stumps him: "Why did you let us go to Afghanistan to fight the Russians then, but won't let us go there now to fight the Americans in similar conditions?"
The government's reply is that jihad should be in the interest of one's homeland. Fighting the secular Soviets in the 1980s was permissible; fighting Kabul's Muslim- led government today is not.
Eager to highlight a success story, Saudi security officials recently introduced journalists to a short, wiry man they said had been detained at Guantánamo. They identified him only by a nickname, Abu Suleiman, and they refused to allow reporters to ask the man his real name.
It was impossible to verify his account.
Abu Suleiman said that when he was 20 years old and impressionable, he was recruited into a militant cell in the Philippines. With dreams of fighting alongside Chechen rebels, he received training in Afghanistan, where he met bin Laden "a few times" and where he was captured in late 2001 by U.S.-led forces in the mountains of Tora Bora.
In his four years at Guantánamo, one of them in isolation, Abu Suleiman said, he underwent severe U.S. interrogations "from the first day to the last day." When he was finally released last year, he expected even harsher treatment from the Saudi prison system.
Instead, Saudi authorities enrolled him in the then-nascent rehabilitation program and offered him a monthly stipend of $800. He's among 750 of the 2,000 graduates to be fully released and back in society.
Abu Suleiman jokes that his last vestige of Guantánamo is the near-perfect English he learned from his American jailers.
Now 33, he's a newlywed financial analyst working in Riyadh. The program found him the job and sent a representative to congratulate him on his marriage.
"I was shocked by the good treatment, " Abu Suleiman said. "They make it easy for me to forget what happened in Guantánamo."


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Landry Jones and Oklahoma treated their regular-season finale like a championship game - and finished wearing caps and T-shirts declaring the 12th-ranked Sooners the Big 12 champions.
The Sooners have to share their eighth Big 12 title since they didn't get any help later from archrival Texas.
"Sharing it or not sharing it, winning the conference championship is great," Sooners defensive end R.J. Washington said.
With their 24-17 victory Saturday, after TCU's fourth-down pass to the goal line in the final minute fell incomplete, the Sooners (10-2, 8-1 Big 12) earned the right to proclaim themselves Big 12 champs.
They also might have locked up a BCS at-large bid
"In the end, it's just great to be in this position and to be a winner again," coach Bob Stoops said. "For these guys, Big 12 champs, or co-champs, they're recognized as champions."
Jones threw for 244 yards with two touchdowns and Damien Williams ran untouched 66 yards for a score as the Sooners won their eighth consecutive Big 12 game since a late-September loss to Kansas State.
But the seventh-ranked Wildcats (11-1, 8-1), with the head-to-head tiebreaker over OU for the Big 12's spot in the Fiesta Bowl, finished their regular season with a 42-24 win at home Saturday night over No. 23 Texas.
The Sooners, whose only other loss was to No. 1 Notre Dame, are in good shape for the final at-large BCS berth Sunday. Kent State's double-overtime loss to Northern Illinois in the MAC championship game likely ended any chance for that league to get in the Bowl Championship Series.
Though the final standings come out tomorrow and either Boise State and NIU could slip in.
TCU (7-5, 4-5), the two-time BCS buster in its first Big 12 season, lost all four of its conference games at home despite going 4-1 in league games on the road.
"We had a chance to win the game, simple as that," coach Gary Patterson said. "We gave up an easy touchdown when a couple of freshmen blew an assignment."
The Frogs were still within a touchdown when Oklahoma's Mike Hunnicutt missed a 42-yard field goal attempt with just under 3 minutes left.
After the Sooners won their last two games by scoring in the final minute - to win at West Virginia, and then with 4 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and beat Oklahoma State - their defense closed things out this time.
Frogs freshman quarterback Trevone Boykin, who finished 17-of-31 passing for 231 yards, threw a 46-yarder to Cam White to the Oklahoma 12. On third-and-10 from there, Boykin got in the end zone on a keeper, but the play was called back because of a holding call - an obvious penalty that cleared the way for the score.
After hitting Josh Boyce for 7 yards, the Frogs had fourth-and-13 from the 15 in the final minute when Boykin threw toward Boyce again. But he couldn't make the play between two defenders.
"We like to make them interesting around this place," Jones said. "Unfortunately we didn't finish it the way we wanted to offensively, but the defense did."
The Horned Frogs' four-game home losing streak is their longest since five in a row from November 1996 to November 1997. Before this year, they hadn't lost consecutive home games in the same season since 1998.
Oklahoma has won the Big 12 in every even-numbered year since Bob Stoops became coach in 1999. The Sooners, who also won a conference title in 2007, have been to eight BCS games in that span.
Just a minute into the second half, Williams took a handoff, shot through a gap on the left side of the line and sprinted undeterred to the end zone for a 21-7 lead.
Jones, coming in off the first consecutive 500-yard passing games by a Sooners quarterback, completed 22 of 40 passes. Williams had his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season, with 18 carries for 115 yards.
After a 75-yard Oklahoma punt, the Frogs had their second one-play scoring drive of the game. Brandon Carter caught a pass behind the Sooners secondary and raced 80 yards for a touchdown.
Boykin fumbled later in the third quarter when he was sacked by Washington, a play that was initially ruled an incomplete pass until overturned on replay. That led to Hunnicutt's 34-yard field goal.
Jaden Oberkrom kicked a 47-yard field goal for TCU with 7 minutes left, which came after the Frogs had lined up to go for it on fourth-and-4 from the 25 before a false start penalty.
Oberkrom was just wide right on a 32-yard attempt earlier in the fourth quarter, though the freshman kicker held his hands out in disbelief and replays showed the ball might have been inside the upright.
Oklahoma had a 14-7 lead at halftime after overcoming an interception by Jones that immediately led to a TCU touchdown, then a personal foul penalty that set up a third-and-23 play.
Sam Carter's interception and 42-yard return set TCU up at the 6. Boykin ran for a score on the next play for a 7-7 tie.
When Oklahoma got the ball back, Jones quickly completed five consecutive passes to the TCU 22. On the same play Kenny Stills dropped a pass near the goal-line, 303-pound lineman Tyrus Thompson was called for a personal foul after twice punching the helmet of Stansly Maponga while on top of the defensive end.
That made it third-and-23 from the 24, but Jalen Saunders caught a TD pass with Sam Carter defending him.
"I didn't do my job. I felt I should have made a play right there," Carter said. "You never know what could have happened."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Doug Duran/Staff
Spartans bounce back after rare loss
De La Salle High's Elliott Pitts, right, tries to drive past Monte Vista's Anders Turner during a Jan. 8 East Bay Athletic League game. The Spartans suffered a rare league loss, falling to the Mustangs at home 49-40 after getting outscored 18-6 in the final period. Pitts scored a team-high 13 points in the loss. The Spartans recoverd to post a 39-29 victory over San Ramon Valley in their next game Jan. 11.


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Summary Meeting Notes: April 3, 2013 Infrastructure Equity PEG meeting
Summary Meeting Notes
Infrastructure Equity Policy Expert Group
Meeting Date: April 3, 2013
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
PEG Attendees: Susan Aldrich, Roger Anthony, Roger Averbeck, Alex Deley, Susan Gibson-Hartnett, Karyn Hanson, Jeff Leighton, Kathryn Levine, Jackie Luna Acosta, Olivia Quiroz, Michelle Rudd, Joe VanderVeer, Sara Weiner-Collier.
Other Attendees: Andree Tremoulet (facilitator); Tom Armstrong, Michele Crim, Bill Cunningham, Joan Frederiksen, Bob Glascock & Michelle Kunec-North (BPS); Courtney Duke & Patricia Neighbor(PBOT); Anna Chinburg, Argel Jimenez & Ali Ray (translators); Patrick Driscoll (public).
PEG Lead: Bob Glascock
Facilitator: Andrée Tremoulet, Commonworks Consulting
View the original agenda, including materials, for this meeting.
Welcome and Introductions (10 minutes)
Presenter: Andrée Tremoulet, Facilitator
Summary:Andree Tremoulet welcomed everyone and PEG members and guests introduced themselves.Andree asked members to take a few minutes to talk with each other about their experiences at the community workshops.
Andreereviewed the purpose of the meeting: a) to learn about and discuss centers, corridors and growth scenarios, using an infrastructure equity lens; and b) to lay the groundwork for future more detailed discussions about considerations to prioritize infrastructure investments.
Future Agendas (10 minutes)
Presenter: Bob Glascock, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
Handout: IE PEG Schedule and Topics
Summary: Bob Glascock reviewed the IE PEG Schedule and Topics handout, highlighting the focus of future agendas and outlining the trajectory of the PEG for the coming months. The original plan was for the PEGs to function for one year, ending in June 2013. There is still more work to be done related to Part 2 of the Comp Plan Update. In order to do this work, the IE PEG would need to continue through September. Bob asked PEG members to let him orAndree know if they are unable or uninterested in continuing with the PEG for a few additional months.
Courtney Duke mentioned that members of the Networks PEG, the IE PEG and the Centers PEG might be interested in reconvening as an advisory group for Transportation Systems Plan. Courtney will come back to the IE PEG with additional information about that potential opportunity, including the application process (if any).
Centers, Corridors and Growth Scenarios (95 minutes)
Presenters: Tom Armstrong and Bill Cunningham, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
Urban Design workshop handouts (including Centers Defined, Centers Typology and Corridors & Connections)
Growth Scenarios workshop handouts (including Growth Scenarios & Performance Measures)
Compilation of Centers Policies
Summary: Bill Cunningham, the staff Lead for the Centers PEG, gave an overview of the centers and corridors concept. Highlights included:
- Centers are concentrations of community and commercial services and transportation nodes that provide multiple destinations for everyday needs. Ideally, the city's network of centers will anchor neighborhoods. They can help us achieve goals from the Portland Plan and the Climate Action Plan.
- Concentrating accessibility strategies in centers (sidewalks, housing, etc.) could maximize benefits for older adults and people with disabilities, while minimizing displacement for the residents and businesses in those areas.
- Corridors connect centers and the city as a whole. Civic corridors connect centers and serve both people and transportation goals. Infrastructure improvements should be concentrated in these corridors. Transit station areas are hubs for transportation and housing growth. Greenways are quieter bike/pedestrian networks that connect existing green areas.
- The Networks PEG is interested in stronger language in the Comprehensive Plan to prioritize infrastructure investments in areas with disparities and lower levels of service. There is interest in further discussions about this between the Networks PEG and the IE PEG.
Questions and comments
- What analysis has been done to identify where new centers or corridors might exist? A: There are a lot of places, based on current zoning, that have potential to become centers. (e.g. 162nd and Division). The community will help further this discussion in Part 2 of the Comprehensive Planning process.
- The map doesn't show community villages identified in existing neighborhood plans. Is that a gap? A: Part 2 of the Comprehensive Plan process will include mapping all of the centers based on input from the public. Current maps are meant to show the concept, and capture the big/large centers.
- Why does the centers map not show 174th and Powell (and other places inEast Portland)? It may be more auto-oriented, but it still has a lot of services that draw people. It feels like we are not recognizing that existing synergy – why? A: Those are exactly the things we want to identify through the community discussion in Part 2 mapping efforts.
- In order to expand centers, it will require a lot of infill development, which is typically fairly expensive. How do we plan to work around that? A: This is a key issue, especially related to locational policies for affordable housing. We have aspirations for what we want it to look like, but we don't currently have all of the tools to make it happen.
- Is there language to mitigate displacement? A: The housing chapter has gentrification and displacement policies. They are still being refined.
- When looking at the "vulnerability risk factors" – we should include concentrations of youth.
- During the planning and implementation phases of a center, how will communities that could be impacted be involved? A: Each center, in terms of the kinds of activities and services, needs to be responsive to and developed by the communities in those areas. There are some emerging strategies, especially related to neighborhood economic development activities – that are starting to be developed.
- It would be interesting to overlay the Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative areas on the centers map and look for gaps. There are places where it isn't safe for students to walk (and therefore must be bussed) – a map showing that, along with centers, could help identify gaps where there is a need for investment in safe routes. Also, it would be good to put schools on the centers map because community services are happening at school sites. A: Schools and their relationship to centers are key.
- What's the update on theEast Portlandtown center? There needs to be something between civic corridors and greenways, because in some places neither of those area an option. A: There is a draft policy concept about a neighborhood corridor, which isn't as high profile as the other corridors, but may be able to address the concerns raised about needing something in between.
Summary: Tom Armstrong, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, reviewed the Growth Scenarios. Highlights included:
- Portlandis expected to grow by 132,000 new households, and 150,000 new jobs.
- We have almost 230,000 housing units of capacity with current zoning. We aren't expecting to move existing large job centers (e.g. major institutions, industrial areas, etc.).
- There are four scenarios for accommodating the forecasted growth: the "default" (keep doing what we have historically been doing), and three that looked at concentrating growth in centers, corridors, and the central city.
- The scenarios were run through a model that identified how the different scenarios perform per various standards (access to family-wage employment by 60 minute transit trip, risk of displacement/gentrification, complete neighborhoods, access to frequent transit, access to family-friendly bike network, access to parks, access to natural areas, tree canopy, watershed health, etc.).
- Among the four scenarios, there isn't a big difference in how they perform based on the performance measures.
- The challenge is not just to provide the infrastructure and incentives to grow in the right places, but also to make investments in under-performing areas. The combination of these two strategies is the best ways to achieve the Portland Plan goals that address both growth and equity.
- Tom reviewed some additional maps that looked at these performance measures together with areas with vulnerable populations (high share of renters, communities of color, lower educational attainment, household income).
Questions and comments
- What are the vulnerability risk maps showing us? A: The concentrations of vulnerable populations are not located in areas that have complete neighborhoods today (one map) – we need to take into account where we grow, where we invest, and how we address disparities.
- Investing in areas of growth aren't the same across the city. Some areas already have built out infrastructure in fairly good condition, so the investments required there to support growth are likely less than the investments in areas that have existing service deficiencies.
- Have the growth scenarios been done with the vulnerable populations? Which of these scenarios address the opportunities where there is the greatest potential to address disparities? A: This is underway now, especially with respect to affordable housing (trying to provide more affordable housing opportunities in the areas that are already high performing). The data underlying the models can help inform these discussions.
- Can the performance measures be nuanced to show how the scenarios perform across different demographic groups (not just geographic based). A: Yes. It would be possible to use this tool to be able to do this.
- What do we mean by "investment"? A: Both direct investment as well as incentives (e.g. tax abatement). The big issue along Powell Blvd is related to maintaining affordable housing, as that area shows up as being at risk for displacement.
- How is access to frequent transit service determined? A: Using TriMet's designation. PEG members felt that this approach is flawed – actual headway designation should be used for that performance measure. BPS is interested in following up on this.
- What is the relationship between "risk of displacement" and "vulnerable populations"? A: In this context, risk of displacement relates to the real estate market and housing affordability. This relates to identifying the areas where we need to do a better job of mitigating displacement.
- There is a desire to see the risk areas and the growth scenarios performance measures combined to determine how the growth scenarios perform for particular demographic groups and vulnerable populations. The performance measures should not just look at "total" or "citywide" – but instead address impacts on specific populations and vulnerable places.
- The "drill down" of this citywide data will be done as part of the Part 2 mapping and community conversations.
- Performance measures should include sidewalks and unpaved roads. (Note: Sidewalks are incorporated into the "complete neighborhood" measure.)
- It would be useful to look at what is behind the areas that aren't a complete neighborhood (e.g. is it a lack of sidewalks or something else like commercial components). A: This is hard to do a citywide level, but we can pull that apart to look at a more localized area.
- What worked well in Cully is that the community was actively engaged, which helped build support, impact what was done and reduce displacement.
- The maps show the lack of frequent service transit in East Portland and N and NE Portland. It seems clear you can't have a complete neighborhood without frequent service transit. So – what does that mean in terms of the growth scenarios and the impact of different investment decisions and options? A: The current performance measures are based on what exists on the ground today – not what could exist in the future, under different investment.
- The IE PEG is interested in seeing an overlay of vulnerability and the centers.
- Which scenarios give us growth and investment in incomplete neighborhoods? A: Locating the growth itself doesn't necessarily bring the investments. The questions that need to be asked are likely more complex.
- Would be interested in seeing more transparency of the performance measures with the infrastructure bureau levels of service (e.g. how they measure their performance).
- Sometimes we need to maintain the strength of the consolidated culture that exists in many communities.
- The performance measures don't seem to connect to equity beyond the issues of gentrification and access to jobs. What about access to good education and affordable healthcare? Those might be considered performance measures – they seem at least as important as tree canopy.
- Is it possible to get the metrics used for the performance measures? A. Yes, there will be a report published in the next few weeks that will include this information, including some data for districts.
- How strong do you think the regulatory sticks and carrots are to mitigate some of the impacts of gentrification? A: There are some tools out there that we don't (or can't) use – in particular "inclusionary zoning" (where developers are required to set aside a % as affordable). It is going to be very difficult to solve – in part because of the amount of private investment and choices that are beyond what public interventions can impact.
- What is considered in the transit trip to jobs measure? A: Does it include areas outside of Portland? If people are faced with a 60 minute bus ride or a shorter car trip, they'll pick the car. The macro-picture shows that residents of East or North Portland don't have shorter transit trip options available. In some cases that might be a lack of transit (e.g. East Portland), in other instances it might be something else (e.g. transit is available, but there isn't a direct route to where the jobs are located).
Public Comment
No public comment was received at this meeting.
Wrap Up (5 minutes)
For more information, please contact Bob Glascock, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, at 503-823-7845 or firstname.lastname@example.com or Andrée Tremoulet, Facilitator, at 503-267-9255 or email@example.com.


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Even when you know the good things about
being active, you may find it hard to change your lifestyle until
you deal with the reasons you give yourself for not being active. Barriers to
exercise include the valid reasons you aren't active and the excuses you make
to avoid something you dislike or fear.
Why don't you exercise?
For a few days or a week, write down your reasons for not exercising. Then for
each of your reasons, write a response that prompts you to reconsider your
choice. Look at this list of reasons and responses whenever you are about to
make a choice about exercising.
"I have no time."
"I'm too busy at work."
"I'm always feeling rushed."
"I have more important things to do."
Look at other people who are active and are about as busy
as you. Talk with them about how they fit in physical activity. Think of ways
to manage your time better. Ask your family for help with fitting in some time
for exercise.
Try shorter periods of activity spread throughout
the day, such as a few 10-minute walks.
"I'll look silly."
"I'm too old."
"I'm too out of shape."
"I'm too fat."
Join a group or take a class with others who look or feel
like you do. You'll see that fitness is for all ages and shapes. Avoid places
that make you feel more embarrassed. Start with walking, or try an exercise DVD
at home.
Work with a fitness expert for a few sessions to help you get
"I'll have a heart attack."
"My knees are bad."
"I'll pull a muscle or sprain my ankle."
"I'll get overheated and faint."
See your doctor for a checkup, and ask him or her about
what you can safely do. Read or talk with experienced
people about preventing injuries. Have someone with experience watch you
exercise to see if you are doing something that may put you at risk for
"What if I get so hungry I eat more and gain weight?"
"What if I start to look like a bodybuilder?"
"What if...?"
Fear of the unknown is often not based on facts. Talk to
more active friends about your concerns. Ask yourself whether these reasons are
masking other reasons.
"I'll be too cold
(or too hot)."
Too hot, too cold, too wet, too windy. The
weather may never seem right for exercise. Many people exercise
no matter what the weather is like. Try a variety of
indoor and outdoor activities. When it's cold, hot, or humid,
take precautions.
"I don't have the
Being physically active doesn't need
to cost money. Just parking farther away so you have a longer walk into the
store, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, will increase your
activity. You can also exercise with low-cost items such
as a jump rope or elastic bands. Or use items you already
have, such as using milk jugs filled with water as weights for arm exercises.
Do resistance exercises like push-ups or squats.
Perhaps the greatest fear that holds people back is the
fear of failure. The most helpful approach to this fear
is to carefully define "success" and "failure" using realistic goals. If your
goal is simply to become more active than you are now, it
will be hard to fail. If your goal is to look like the people in health club
ads or to lose a certain amount of weight, then the fear
of failure is likely to hold you back.
Next Section:
Previous Section:
Last Revised:
September 11, 2012
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Heather Chambliss, PhD - Exercise Science
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.


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It was super easy. I downloaded Dana's pattern (I opened it in Word so that I could adjust the size) printed it, cut it out and traced it onto the back of my fuzzy, pink chenille fabric. I ironed some Heat 'N Bond to the back of the fabric, cut out the bunny and then pressed it onto a onsie. Using a paper hole punch, I made three dots for the eyes and nose. I placed the dots onto the bunny and did a quick forward and back stitch over each. I then made a tiny little bow and attached it to the bunny's ear. Finally, I did a zig zag stitch around the entire bunny using a pale pink thread.
Since the bunny was wearing a pink polka dot bow, I made a matching one for Hannah.
Both of these little peeps are almost good enough to eat!


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24 Sept 2015 UPDATE: Q&A: WTF the Volkswagen diesel scandal?
The force is with you and together you made Volkswagen (VW) do a handbrake turn on improving the efficiency of its cars. Something they said they could not do until you cried BS to make VW turn away from the Dark Side!
VW said they couldn't reduce their car CO2 emissions (brace yourself for the boring but important bit):
"…The 95 g/km Long-Term-Target for 2020 is the result of a political decision taken last year. It is not based on sound impact assessment nor on a realistic appreciation of the costs and technical progress necessary to meet the goal within the timescale…" -- Volkswagen 2010
But 526,000 Greenpeace supporters across the planet have forced VW to change its policy and its cars.
For the past two years VW refused to back a key European law which would make cars more efficient and help reduce our dependence on oil. VW were a major obstacle against strong targets. As the biggest and most powerful car company in Europe they used their might to lobby politicians and block progress.
But after more than half a million people stood against them, a parody of their Star Wars advert went viral across the internet, thousands of activists dressed as storm troopers protested at their dealerships and on the streets, and direct actions at car shows across Europe, VW have caved in to pressure from across the globe and announced they will meet and support climate targets.
This victory couldn't have happened without you. Back in June 2011 when we started this campaign, VW preferred to remove our videos from Youtube rather than talk about the efficiency of its cars or how it was lobbying against strong EU climate laws.
VW has now publicly agreed to live up to its promises to be the world's greenest car company, setting an example for the rest of the industry.
This is what we can achieve when we act together!
This win is crucial. Pollution from cars is a major cause of climate change, disrupting weather patterns and endangering the Arctic. The effects will be truly global, with countries like China – where the market for new cars is still on the rise – looking to Europe for innovations. This is truly the beginning of the end of the combustion engine as we know it.
Inefficient cars have driven the world's thirst for oil, which is increasingly coming from unconventional sources. Slashing car emissions won't just cut pollution - it will reduce the demand for oil worldwide. That means there will be less incentive to drill in fragile environments like the Arctic.
(Unregistered) Sun Wu
All these victories...simply amazing. May I ask what is going to change?
Is it VW being responsible for this irapidly ncreasing Number o...
All these victories...simply amazing. May I ask what is going to change?
Is it VW being responsible for this irapidly ncreasing Number of SUVs?
In 1999 VW developed the Lupo 3L.
14 years ago VW proofed Technology to be ready for a new generation of cars.
Unfortunately the production of the Lupo, first car wolrdwide using less than 3liters/100kms was stopped in 2005.
There was no demand on fuel- and climate-saving mobility.
May I ask where Greenpeace was in 2005 when the responsible VW-3liter-Technology was waiting to be promoted?
Even today VW-diesel-technology is one of the finest and most efficient on the market.
As we all have experienced in the past Greenpeace got used to target industrie instead of telling cosumers to change habits.
To stop flying to Cost Rica for holiday and invest money in energy-efficient technology instead...I know, it would be more painful.
How ever your digital mobilisation specialist put it when not deleting comments...I can not really follow your way of argumentation...:
It is too easy to blame industrie as long as majority has not full-filled its part in contributing towards a sustainable future.
This would mean to acknowledge technology available, and buy it.
I am so tired of these Green-bubbles being sold to be victories...people in Western World are going crazy for HUGE cars (SUVs) while Greenpeace...? Blames VW, or course, what do I ask...I feel ashame.
Sun Wu, godfather of RW III
PS: may I ask what type of car our Fisherman Joel Stewart is driving in Costa Rica when he is not flying? :) Lets guess, cowboys do have this tendency towards loving the LUPO 3L TDI
6 March, 2013 at 21:37
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(Unregistered) Ad van der Meer
I think it's cheap to claim victory here and take credit for it as if the Greenpeace protest was the only reason VW (IMHO not even most important ...
I think it's cheap to claim victory here and take credit for it as if the Greenpeace protest was the only reason VW (IMHO not even most important one) has acted.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that Greenpeace takes on subjects that matter, but you did lose some credibility with me and probably others as well.
7 March, 2013 at 11:29
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text: Actor Simon Pegg has released the first Star Trek Into Darkness movie poster into the world via Twitter. The poster is notable for two things: 1) having Benedict Cumberbatch's villain on it, but no members of the Enterprise crew, and 2) being the same general concept as the Dark Knight Rises movie poster, in which buildings have been wrecked in such a way as to form recognizable and copyrighted symbols, e.g. the Bat logo or the Starfleet insignia. As the folks at /Film point out, these are hardly the only two movies to use this very, very popular design concept; still, what the poster lacks in originality it more than makes up for in Cumberbatch-ery, which I think we can all recognize as the more important quality.


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Protect your factory differential cover with these heavy duty skid plates. Designed to fit the contours of your stock differential cover and made of durable 3/16-inch black powdercoated steel, these skid plates will help you slide over obstacles and no get hung up. Incudes replacement mounting hardware and instructions.
Overall, a nice piece of protection. Fits as designed with no problems. Just re-use your original diff cover bolts as the allen head hardware supplied is cheesy. If the open hole in the allen head is packed full of dirt...good luck, and if they stick, they are not coming out after you strip the allen head holes from reaming on them.
Rugged Ridge was established in 2005 by the company Omix-ADA to focus on innovative aftermarket Jeep accessories. Many of Rugged Ridge's recent designs are so innovative they have been patented. This includes their floor liners, snorkel and XHD Modular Bumpers. Since 2005 Rugged Ridge has developed and manufactured over 3,000 kinds of Jeep related products. All Rugged Ridge Jeep accessories are trail rated. The Omix-ADA founder came from a family that owned a small Jeep dealership. It was the founder's dream from a young age to own a company that made accessories for Jeeps. The founder manifested the dream in 1992. Shop Rugged Ridge Now


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After a false start with the late-'80s vocal group Maniquin, Kenny Lattimore became a minor R&B star in his own right in 1996 when his eponymous debut album generated two hit singles. Lattimore was born and raised in Washington, D.C., where he grew up in a musical family. Before he reached his teens, he was winning talent shows at his junior high school. Throughout high school he performed music, from classical to R&B. Despite his love for music, he decided to pursue architecture and city planning when he enrolled at Howard University.
Even though he wasn't majoring in music, he hadn't given it up as a hobby, and he joined the vocal group Maniquin. In 1987, the group signed with Epic, and two years later, they released their debut album. The record failed to become a hit, and the group sweated it out on the grueling chitlin circuit down South. After a year of touring, Lattimore left Maniquin in 1990. He had decided that he would continue to pursue music and began writing songs and collaborating with a number of artists. His songs were recorded by Glenn Jones and Jon Lucien, and he began working with Dem Twinzz, singing on the group's demos. The tapes attracted the interest of major labels, but Lattimore wanted to be a solo artist, not part of a group, so he moved to New York City in 1993.
After struggling for a few months in Manhattan, Lattimore recorded a demo of songs he co-wrote; it was produced by J. Dibbs. The demo led him to a record contract with Columbia. His debut album featured production by Kenneth and Keith Crouch, Kipper Jones, Oji Pierce, Herb Middleton, Barry Eastmond, Jimmy Abney, and Dave Hall. Lattimore also did some preliminary production work on the album and wrote or co-wrote six of the 12 songs. Kenny Lattimore was released in 1996 and it was a steady seller over the next year, going gold and spawning the Top 40 R&B hit "Never Too Busy." From the Soul of Man followed in 1998, offering even more original songs as well as a few covers, including a surprisingly sensual version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Times had changed by the time Weekend arrived in 2001, and the slick R&B and soft approach of the record hit a sour note with fans. The album made little impression, so Lattimore decided to try something different the next time around. Teaming with wife Chanté Moore, he recorded an album of duets entitled Things That Lovers Do. Offering new versions of songs from Keith Sweat, Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie, and many others, the record only featured two original songs. After a greatest-hits compilation in 2004, he returned in 2006 with Uncovered/Covered, another album recorded with his wife.
Contact Red Entertainment for Booking Kenny Lattimore for your next event.


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< Back to collections by Gilles Peress
Gilles Peress - GERMANY.Neo Nazis.
Outside Hoyerswerda.Front to back : Ralf ANGER, Mike PASSON and Steven SCHAR. Neo-Nazis and members of the band Bollwerk, in an abandoned coal pit.
Solingen. Untere Werner Strasse. Masked turkish demonstrator in front of the Genc family house.
Hoyerswerda. Ralf ANGER of the band Bollwerk has Freddy Krueger tattooed on his right arm.
Arrest of Turkish demonstrator in Solingen on the 31st May 1993. Demonstrations followed the arson deaths of 5 Turkish women at the hands of neo Nazis two days
Solingen. Untere Werner Strasse. German onlooker behind the flowers, contemplating the burned GENC house.
Solingen. Police and turkish demonstrators. Demonstrations followed the arson deaths of 5 turkish women at the hands of neo-nazis 3 days earlier.
Solingen, wall markings
Outside Hoyerswerda.From left : Steven SCHAR, Mike PASSON and Ralf ANGER of the band Bollwerk, inside the WWII bunker.
GERMANY. Hoyerswerda (outskirts). 1993. Steven SCHAR of the band Bollwerk, in an abandoned coal pit.
The feet of Mike PASSON of the band Bollwerk clad in Doc Martens, in front of the grave of Peter ALICKE, a young neo-nazi who hanged himself in the Hoyerswerda
Hoyerswerda. Cell #1, beneath the police station where Peter ALICKE hanged himself from the vent above the toilet. In the foreground are a wooden bed, stool and
Koeln (Cologne). Turkish men outside the mosque before the memorial service.
The coffin of a victim of the arson attack makes its way from the hearse to the bier at the memorial service at the Koeln (Cologne) mosque.
The Koeln (Cologne) police break out the clubs after the bodies of the GENC family are taken to the airport from the memorial service at the mosque.
Hoyerswerda. Steven SCHAR of the band Bollwerk, in the car's rearview mirror with a housing project in the background.
Hoyerswerda. Unidentified skinhead being held by the police. He tried to take part in a fistfight that police were in the process of breaking up.
Hoyerswerda north side. Silvio ALICKE, Peter ALICKE's big brother, outside the youth club at Wohnkomplex ten.
The flag-draped coffin of a victim makes its way to the bier before the memorial service at the Koeln (Cologne) mosque.
Solingen. Vanguard of the turkish demonstration.
Hoyerswerda. Housing projects in the center of the new town.
Turkish demonstrators in Solingen on Monday the 1st June 1993.Demonstrations followed the arson deaths of 5 Turkish women at the hands of neo Nazis 3 days earli
Solingen. The image of Hatice GENC attached to a banner at her house.


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In Graves' ophthalmopathy the tissues and muscles behind the eyes become swollen. The eyeballs may stick out farther than normal. This can occur
before, after, or at the same time as other signs of
See a picture of
Graves' ophthalmopathy.
Most people who develop Graves' ophthalmopathy have one or more of
the following symptoms:
A small number of people have symptoms because the tissues around
their eyes are inflamed (acute inflammatory thyroid eye disease). These
symptoms include:
Most mild problems caused by Graves' ophthalmopathy go away on their
own in 1 to 4 months. Graves' ophthalmopathy may also get better if you
take antithyroid medicine.
You will likely have an eye exam to make sure you do not have another
eye problem, such as a tumor.
To help reduce dryness and discomfort, your doctor will treat your
symptoms of Graves' ophthalmopathy. He or she will use artificial tears, medicated eyedrops,
and protective glasses or sunglasses. If the condition is diagnosed early, you
can use
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as
aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen, to relieve pain and inflammation.
If you have severe inflammation of the muscles and tissues around
your eyes, you may need
corticosteroid medicines, immunosuppressants, or
radiation therapy. Surgery is only done if you have
serious vision problems or nerve damage, or if you want to change the way your
eyes look.
Ophthalmopathy may get worse if your thyroid levels are out of
balance. It may also get worse temporarily if you are given radioactive iodine
Smoking increases your chances of developing Graves' ophthalmopathy. And it can make the condition worse.
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Last Revised:
November 4, 2011
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & David C.W. Lau, MD, PhD, FRCPC - Endocrinology
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To learn more visit Healthwise.org
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There's still only one way to bring a new person into this universe. Many science fiction/fantasy stories have featured the drama of childbirth... and some have done it better than others. Here are the best and worst SF/fantasy childbirth scenes.
Note: We're leaving out most of the "human gets pregnant and gives birth all in the same day" stories, which are like their own weird little genre. (Troi on Star Trek: TNG, Cordy on Angel, Gwen on Torchwood, that woman on Fringe, etc.) With that out of the way, here goes...
V: The Final Battle:
Robin gives birth to her half-alien offspring... in a jail cell. This infamous scene features a very shocking end, including gross-but-totally-fake-looking alien babies. Including the one that has a shocking snake tongue just when you least expect it, and then the green veiny one that crawls out of Robin under its own steam. Truly a high water mark of hideousness:
V (the remake):
The same scene in the new V is a lot less stomach-churning, but is actually worse in some ways. Val dies in childbirth, off screen, after being hustled off early on in the episode — after this bit, we don't see her again until she's dead, and it feels like she's just being written out in the speediest, most convenient fashion:
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith:
Here's another scene in which a female character is killed off in childbirth. Padme's been basically a walking plot device throughout the prequels, and now she gets to see her babies super briefly before she snuffs it. Special points for the turquoise cone of birthing privacy. The way in which Padme's childbirth and death are juxtaposed with Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader make it clear this is really all about Anakin. (And it's weird, because the original trilogy includes vague hints that Leia remembers her mom from when she was little.) For more on why this scene is messed up, here's a discussion from a homebirth site:
Peculiarly, the droid says they need to perform an operation to save the babies and then in quick succession whips out two babies from between Padme's legs! Huh? ... Umbilical cords, placentas? Ah, bollocks to that. The blood was being saved for Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader.
Also kind of underwhelming is the birth of Han and Leia's twins in the Expanded Universe books.
An alien impregnates a schoolteacher with a baby that will grow up to be the "Eve" of this alien species. The birth scene does feature a high-tech tricorder-looking thingy, but otherwise, it's just a collection of birth-scene cliches, punctuated by weird flashbacks:
Village Of The Damned:
The 1995 John Carpenter remake, based originally on John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos, gets singled out for more mockery from that homebirth site. Eight women get mysteriously knocked up, and then give birth all on the same day, in a converted barn, with their beds arranged in a weird semicircle, albeit with privacy curtains. It's a "birth orgy," as the Homebirth site puts it:
The scene is a fairly typical movie birth, woman on her back, lots of screaming and instructions to push. In fact, I think this birth scene may hold the PUSH! world record. Anyone care to count? Oh, and Mark Hamill is in it and we know he was an absurd birth, so no wonder this one is not much better.
The X-Files:
Allusions to the birth of Christ, when done well, can be powerful. And then there's this. Casting the Lone Gunmen in the role of Magi is not the way to achieve emotional resonance with the Book of Luke. And given how much mileage this show got out of reproductive hysteria, you'd have thought the pivotal birth scene would be more compelling. Here's a fanvid that includes a few birth scene snippets:
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier:
If you were listing all the things that are wrong with William Shatner's directorial debut, chances are this birth scene would not even be on the list. But that says more about the movie than this scene. They're in some kind of a shadowy cave with a ceremonial headdress and a sinister baby silhouette. It's got a sort of ancient Egypt vibe. And Spock's dad is wearing his best golden childbirthing Nehru jacket. Just kind of... odd.
Twilight: Breaking Dawn:
This is the grand-daddy (so to speak) of ooky birth scenes, the one against which all others will be judged. Bella becomes pregnant with Edward's half-vampire baby, which breaks her ribs when it kicks, and she's forced to guzzle tons of blood to nurture the widdle thing. Then Edward has to chew through Bella's womb to get the baby out, and then Bella gets turned into a vampire as she's dying as a result of the messy childbirth. And then when the baby is still a newborn, Bella's other love interest, Jacob "imprints" on baby Renesmee, basically claiming her as his mate for life, whether she likes it or not. That's romantic! Here's a fanvid:
And then.... there's the comedy version of Twilight, with Dan Aykroyd biting through Jane Curtin's umbilical cord. Plus tons and tons of fluid and craziness. We weren't sure whether to put this in "best," "worst" or just "weirdest." Scroll to about 4:06 in this video:
Here's another one that we don't know whether to put in "Best" or "Worst." Depends how you look at it, I guess. Thanks, SpammerOvTheGods!
Space Island One:
This criminally under-praised British/German/Canadian TV show set on a space station capped off its first season with an episode in which Henrietta "Harry" Eschenbach is trapped in the hydroponics lab and gives birth to her son. It's a tense, dramatic scene, but also the producers seem to have gone to a lot of trouble to make it look realistic — Harry is upright rather than supine, and my friends who've done homebirthing have praised this episode for its believability. This also sets up a great storyline about the "first baby born in space" and all of the commercial exploitation possibilities this baby opens up.
Dune by Frank Herbert:
The birth of Alia Atreides is awesomely aware, because her mother drinks the Water Of Life while pregnant. As a result, she's born a fully fledged Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother — in spite of some people who want to get rid of her before she's born. She's already as intelligent as an adult, which makes her trip ex utero strange and unique and totally mystical.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The powerful birth scene in this novel makes Atwood's point very clearly. The way this society treats birth is meant to dissolve any connection between the biological mother and her child, keeping her as a brood mare rather than a Wife. There are parallel deliveries: The handmaid gives birth, surrounded by other handmaids, then the infant is handed off to the Wife, surrounded by other Wives. The work of reproduction and child-rearing are split right down the middle, denying the mothers any influence over society's future.
Star Trek (2009):
That homebirth site also didn't like the birth of James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams' new Trek movie, but we felt it was a beautiful scene that worked dramatically. If you didn't get a bit torn up watching George Kirk sacrifice his life to stop Nero while his wife gave birth in the escaping shuttlecraft, then you're probably a Vulcan. Or maybe a Horta. It's just such a brilliant piece of drama.
Star Trek: The Next Generation:
There's also Midwife Worf. It's a long-time television cliche to make the most incongruous character help someone give birth, and TNG fully goes for it here:
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars:
Thanks to everyone who pointed this out! As Emma C. Moore puts it:
She's laying down covering fire with a machine gun during most of the labor, and gives birth in a fountain. Plus, the bit where she and Crichton marvel at the little boy is, like, the one nanosecond of unrestrained joy they've had in their entire relationship thus far.
The birth of Aaron, towards the end of the first season, was one of the more touching moments of the show, with Claire dealing with her fear that Aaron would know that she was going to give him away, somehow.
Dragonriders of Pern:
The opening chapters of Dragonflight really drop-kick you in to Pern. There's grass growing on the ridges (an open invitation to the Thread), there are spiders creeping around the Great Hall, the concubines haven't bathed in so long even their perfume is rancid. It's easy to see why Lessa is so very angry, and it's clear why F'lar is so serious all the time—these two have a lot of work putting this world back together. But what really crystalizes the world-building and Lessa's character is when Lady Gemma gives birth to Jaxom. A sample:
But the woman's agony was so intense she could scarcely breathe. Her eyes seemed to start from her head. Lessa, hardened to all emotion save revenge, was shocked to the deeper feminine instinct of easing a woman's pain in her extremity.
The scene is violent and awful and evocative, making it clear however these people got to Pern, we're deep in the Middle Ages now.
Alien Nation:
We're a sucker for scenes where a human helps an alien give birth, but this one is especially hilarious, as the alien George instructs his human partner in the complex mechanics of childbirth among his people. As the Chicago Sun-Times put it back in 1990, the episode "nuke(s) the laws of nature as we know them by having the father give birth to the child." I love that George is telling Matthew to push and to breathe, instead of the other way around.
Enemy Mine:
Oh, did we mention we're suckers for scenes where a human helps an alien give birth? This is the all-time classic. It's the culmination of the relationship between Davidge and Jeriba, and it's utterly emotional and intense as Davidge pledges to take care of Jeriba's baby and come before the council to recite his lineage. And then Jeriba ups and dies, leaving Davidge to save the baby.
Men In Black:
And then there's the comedy version of the "humans help an alien give birth" scene... in which Agents J and K pause to help a pregnant alien out. Will Smith is pretty amusing, Tommy Lee Jones plays the straight man with his usual drollery, and the octopus-like alien baby is hella cute.
2001: A Space Odyssey:
And then there's the all-time classic, when Dave goes into the space/time warp and emerges as a fetus in space, the next stage in human evolution. Also Sprach Hell yeah.
Thanks to everyone who suggested this one. The birth of Connor is just amazing, with Darla literally staking herself to save her baby. Darla vanishes and her baby is suddenly there, out in the world, for Angel to protect to the best of his ability. Which, you know... Angel.
Children of Men
This whole movie is amazing, but the birth scene in particular had to be good or it would have sunk the entire production. It's the moment where we see how far Theo has come as a character—he starts the movie a borderline alcoholic, and here we see him use the last of his booze to wash his hands for the delivery. The protagonists, Theo and Kee, are in a filthy, tragic refugee camp and civilization is disintegrating around them. But the birth goes off without a hitch and then they're just laughing with relief and it's such a triumphal moment. The scene manages to evoke the human elements from the story of Christ's birth, without descending into preachiness.
Miracleman #9, "Scenes from the Nativity"
Extremely graphic and extremely detailed, this birth scene is legendary. This deserves to be on list just for sheer refusal to flinch. Other great comics births include Tefe in Swamp Thing and John Constantine in Hellblazer, but they're nowhere near as epic. As Comics Should Be Good notes:
Alan Moore had been deeply moved by the birth of his own child and wanted to somehow put the joy of that moment across in this story. It was the only issue of the series to put a parental advisory note on the cover– a note editor Cat Yronwode said was only meant "ironically," but as it turned out, it gave them some coverage and probably saved their bacon.
More graphic imagery from the issue at the link.
And that's the roundup. Did we miss anything? Or incorrectly categorize anything in the "best" and "worst" categories? Let us know in the comments!


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National Geographic : 1932 May
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY GEOGRAPHIC ADMINISTRATION BUILDINGS SIXTEENTH AND M STREETS NORTHWEST, WASHINGTON, D. C. GILBERT GROSVENOR, President JOHN OLIVER LA GORCE, Vice-President O. P. AUSTIN, Secretary GEO. W . HUTCHISON, Associate Secretary JOHN JOY EDSON, Treasurer HERBERT A. POOLE, Assistant Treasurer FREDERICK V. COVILLE, Chairman Committee on Research EXECUTIVE STAFF OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE GILBERT GROSVENOR, EDITOR JOHN OLIVER LA GORCE, Associate Editor J. R. HILDEBRAND Assistant Editor FRANKLIN L. FISHER Chief Illustrations Division ALBERT H. BUMSTEAD Chief Cartographer RALPH A. GRAVES Assistant Editor WILLIAM JOSEPH SHOWALTER Chief Research Division MAYNARD OWEN WILLIAMS Chief Foreign Editorial Staff BOARD OF TRUSTEES JOHN JOY EDSON CHARLES EVANS HUGHES Chairman of the Board, Wash- Chief Justice of the United States ington Loan & Trust Company DAVID FAIRCHILD Special Agricultural Explorer, U. S. Department of Agriculture C. HART MERRIAM Member National Academy of Sciences O. P . AUSTIN Statistician GEORGE R. PUTNAM Commissioner U. S. Bureau of Lighthouses THEODORE W. NOYES Editor of The Evening Star GEORGE K. BURGESS Director U. S. Bureau of Standards RAYMOND S. PATTON Director U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey JOHN J. PERSHING General of the Armies of the United States C. M. CHESTER Rear Admiral U. S Navy, Formerly Supt. U . S. Naval Observatory J. HOWARD GORE Prof. Emeritus Mathematics, The George Washington University FREDERICK V. COVILLE Botanist, U. S. Department of Agriculture GEORGE SHIRAS, 3D Formerly Member U. S. Con gress, Faunal Naturalist and Wild-Game Photographer JOHN OLIVER LA GORCE Associate Editor National Geo graphic Magazine FREDERICK SIMPICH Assistant Editor MELVILLE BELL GROSVENOR Asst. Chief Illustrations Division CHARLES MARTIN Chief Photographic Laboratory CALVIN COOLIDGE Formerly President of the United States CHARLES G. DAWES American Ambassador to Great Britain JOHN BARTON PAYNE Chairman American Red Cross A. W. GREELY Arctic Explorer, Major General U. S. Army GILBERT GROSVENOR Editor of National Geographic Magazine GEORGE OTIS SMITH Chairman Federal Power Commis sion O. H . TITTMANN Formerly Superintendent U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey ROBERT V. FLEMING President Riggs National Bank ORGANIZED FOR "THE INCREASE AND DIFFUSION OF GEOGRAPHIC KNOWLEDGE" TO carry out the purposes for which it was founded forty-four years ago the National Geographic Society publishes this Magazine monthly. All receipts are invested in the Magazine itself or ex pended directly to promote geographic knowledge. ARTICLES and photographs are desired. For material which the Magazine can use, generous remuneration is made. Contributions should be accompanied by addressed return envelope and postage. IMMEDIATELY after the terrific eruption of the world's largest crater, Mt. Katmai, in Alaska, a National Geographic Society expedition was sent to make observations of this remarkable phenom enon. Four expeditions have followed and the ex traordinary scientific data resulting given to the world. In this vicinity an eighth wonder of the world was discovered and explored-" The Valley of Ten Thou sand Smokes," a vast area of steaming, spouting fissures. As a result of The Society's discoveries this area has been created a National Monument by proclamation of the President of the United States. AT an expense of over $50,000 The Society sent a notable series of expeditions into Peru to investigate the traces of the Inca race. Their discoveries form a large share of our knowledge of a civilization waning when Pizarro first set foot in Peru. THE Society also had the honor of sub scribing a substantial sum to the expedition of Admiral Peary, who discovered the North Pole, and contributed $55,000 to Admiral Byrd's Antarctic Ex pedition. NOT long ago The Society granted $25,000, and in addition $75,000 was given by individual members to the Government when the congressional appropriation for the purpose was insufficient, and the finest of the giant sequoia trees of California were thereby saved for the American people. THE Society's notable expeditions to New Mexico have pushed back the historic hori zons of the Southwestern United States to a period nearly eight centuries before Columbus crossed the At lantic. By dating the ruins of the vast communal dwellings in that region The Society's researches have solved secrets that have puzzled historians for three hundred years. The Society is sponsoring an ornithological survey of Venezuela. TO further the study of solar radiation in re lation to long range weather forecastings, The Society has appropriated $65,000 to enable the Smith sonian Institution to establish a station for six years on Mt. Brukkaros, in South West Africa. Copyright, 1932, by National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C. International copyright secured. All rights reserved. Printed in U. S. A . Entered at the Post Office at Washington, D. C., as Second-Class Mail Matter. Accept ance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Sec. 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized July 1, 1918. Cover design and names registered in United States Patent Office. Marca Registrada.
1932 Jun
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"Alice in Wonderland" might have chugged past the holy $1 billion mark last week while Blu-Ray and DVDs are fuderwhacking off the shelves, but don't expect Tim Burton to cash in at the 'Alice' bank again.
Producer Jennifer Todd says the director is already looking ahead to other projects rather than thinking about an 'Alice' sequel. "I don't think he has the appetite for a sequel now now," she tells PopcornBiz. "And it is really up to Tim."
"I think he has a lot on his plate."
This includes reports of 3D version of "The Addams Family." Further, there are story issues for a sequel. This "Alice" broke into Lewis Carroll's own sequel "Through the Looking Glass." So that story source is already been tapped.
"We took a lot of material from 'Through the Looking Glass' already to carve this story together," says Todd. "So we would be fictionalizing a lot more with a movie sequel."
"And it's about Tim's comfort level with that."
Certainly good reason to not start marking the calender for another trip down the rabbit hole. So enjoy those DVDs.
"I wouldn't bet on it right now, but you never know with artists," says Todd. "They could change their mind."
"And if Tim wants a sequel, there will be a sequel."


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Google's Postini Fail pinned on bad filter, hardware glitch
Oh, and 'malformed types of messages'
The extreme email delays the plagued users of Google's Postini message management service earlier this week were caused by a shoddy email-filter update and a power-related hardware failure involving the company's database storage servers.
Today, the Mountain View Chocolate Factory released an "incident report" to Postini users, saying the "severe mail flow issues" began at 11:30pm Pacific time on Monday and extended through at least 12:30am Pacific on Wednesday. That puts the email snafu past the 24 hour mark.
The report does not say how many users were affected. Google tells us the problem was limited to customers on Postini's "System 7," one of several systems running the hosted email security and spam-filtering service, but at least one customer says the problem extended to System 5 as well.
"My company is on System 5 and our email was pretty much non-existent until we switched to a backup system. Once we pulled Postini out of the loop, all of that deferred mail hit our system (along with quite a lot of spam)," said Russ Meyer of the US-based Midland Paper.
At one point, Google rerouted traffic to another data center, which could explain the delays seen by Meyer.
Unlike so many on System 7, however, Meyer and Midland never had problems visiting the service's web-based admin console, which Google switched off for some customers in an effort to boost mail flow.
On Monday evening, after Google's monitoring systems detected the problem, engineers rerouted mail traffic from what the company calls a secondary data center. But this didn't help. So they returned some of the traffic back to the primary facility "to maximize processing resources." Then, at least for some users, they shut-off the admin console and some other web interfaces in an effort to reduce the strain on those resources.
Eventually, Google engineers decided the problem was down to three things:
- A new filter update appears to have inadvertently impacted the mail processing systems.
- Unusual malformed types of messages triggered protracted scanning behavior, and its interaction with filter update affected mail delivery.
- A power-related hardware failure with database storage servers reduced input/output rates. The latency in database access reduced our overall processing capacity.
Which sounds like two things to us. Surely, it's the service's duty to deal with "malformed types of messages" - whatever those are.
"The combination of these conditions resulted in high failure rates for mail processing and the deferral of new connections from sending mail servers," Google's report says.
On Tuesday evening, a day after the delays first hit, engineers replaced the faulty hardware - with help from the vendor - and at 11pm Pacific, Google says, database disk throughout returned to normal. Then, an hour later, Google removed the offending filter update, and according to company, mail processing was back on track.
Google continued to process traffic across both data centers for another hour. The company does say, however, that users may still experience delays. "Although mail processing was at normal speed and capacity, some users may have seen delayed messages continue to arrive in their inboxes. These potential delays occur when the initial or subsequent delivery attempt is deferred and the sending server waits up to 24 hours before resending the same message." This explains complaints we received on Wednesday afternoon.
The report says no messages were bounced or deleted.
Originally, Google indicated the problem was limited to US users, but yesterday, the company acknowledged that at least some European users were affected as well. ®
Sponsored: How to get more from MicroStrategy by optimising your data stack


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Taking Care of your Glove
Taking care of your glove is important at all levels and there are some important facts to know when it comes to taking care of your glove and making it last. Leather is similar to your own skin, so treat it like you would your own. There are all kinds of crazy ways you�ll hear about how to break in your glove. Don�t put it in the oven, and don�t run over it with your car. The first step is to soften your leather, any number of oils, creams, and foams will do the job. Most pros prefer Neetsfoot oil, but no matter what you use don�t over do it. The next step is to form the pocket. The key to this is stick a ball in there, wrap it up, and let it sit for a couple of days. Patience and dedication is important when it comes to a new glove, get out there play some catch, take some grounders and slowly work your glove in and make it your own for years to come. And don�t be the kid to leave it in your dugout after the game!


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Researchers in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) embody the spirit of discovery and channel their enthusiasm into projects examining the underlying molecular and biochemical mechanisms of diseases in livestock, companion, wild, and exotic species. Our multidisciplinary group of clinical and basic investigators is engaged in cutting edge research that directly impacts both veterinary and human medicine. The CVM collectively receives more than $13 million dollars in state, federal, and private funding each year.
The college has 5 academic departments and two service departments including the veterinary medical teaching hospital (small and large animal clinics) and the Texas Institute for Preclinical Studies (TIPS) which provide a stimulating environment fostering translational research that will shape the future. We have approximately 250 faculty members in our college that are actively engaged in research, teaching and service.
The CVM has faculty members from many diverse research areas, including our seven signature programs are conducting interdisciplinary research projects on basic, translational and clinical biomedical research. The findings of these projects have been reported in prestigious journals, including Nature, Science, Cell, and Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences. This research is supported by federal, state, and private agencies, such as NIH, USDA, and Morris Animal Foundation.
A major aspect of our mission is to train future scientists and clinicians in the cutting edge biomedical techniques and ensure they are on the forefront of their areas of expertise. We have over 130 graduate students and numerous undergraduate students that are actively engaged in research.


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Knowing When You Can Use Beer in a Recipe
Anywhere wine, broth, or water is called for in a recipe, beer usually offers a unique alternative. Imaginative cooks can have a field day experimenting with beer as a substitute for at least part of the other common cooking liquids.
The easiest place to start fooling around (with cooking and beer, that is) is with steamed food, soups, stews, marinades, glazes, and bastes. Just pour it on or in. On the other extreme, you can try chocolate stout ice cream, definitely an exercise in open-mindedness: Try it as a float (with stout, not root beer). What's next — beer mustard? Oh, wait — it's been done!
If you're new to beer and want to experiment with it in your own recipes, try using the following:
Pale Lager for thinning a batter; you can also use Pale Lager for half the liquid in any bread recipe and a fifth to a quarter of the liquid in a soup recipe
A lighter ale or lager (and some water) for steaming mussels
Pale Lager mixed with water (and spices) for steaming shrimp
Light- to medium-bodied lagers for lighter marinades
Full-bodied lagers or ales for stronger marinades (such as Chinese-inspired ones)
Good news for vegetarians: Flavorful beer, such as Scottish Ale, is a terrific substitute for chicken or beef stock. Beer is made from grain, so it has a natural affinity for grain-based dishes.
Anytime you use beer in a recipe, cook it long enough for it to impart its flavor, which depends greatly on the beer you're using and what you're cooking.
One of the simplest ways to start cooking with beer is with a roast chicken: Simply pour one bottle of a flavorful beer, such as Märzen or Brown Ale, under the baking rack and let it mix with the pan drippings; add corn starch or flour and fresh beer when done, for a wonderful, lumpless gravy (the rest is up to you).
Don't automatically assume that beer is a complementary ingredient in every recipe. After all, of the four basic flavors (sweet, sour, salty, bitter), most beer contributes only sweet and bitter. Sometimes beer just won't work, usually because its natural bitterness or sweetness gets concentrated by cooking. (Wine isn't normally bitter, and sweet wines aren't commonly used for cooking.) Consider whether beer's concentrated sweetness or bitterness may detract from the dish you're cooking.


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Although I first asked, "Where did the universe come from?" and "Where did God come from?", when I was just a child, I never entertained the notion that the universe has always been here; despite, at one time, believing that God had always been here. When I realized that the two questions were interchangeable, it didn't seem so odd to think the universe had always been here.
I thought about that for awhile and realized that creation is an illusion. Nothing is ever created. Things just change form. It's called the First Law of Thermodynamics; the conservation of energy. We really are made from stardust. The universe itself existed as pure energy, in a singularity, before exploding (expanding) into the immense cosmos that awes us at night. The universe transformed from energy to matter; Einstein's E=MC2.
I've always thought of the universe as the cosmos. But in fact, the cosmos is just one form of the universe. The universe also existed (and might again exist) as a singularity. In one form or another, the universe must always have existed -- if the First Law holds true in a singularity (which is something we don't know for sure).
We know the universe exists, so it must have always existed. It's truly eternal. But we don't know, in the same physical way, that God exists. If the universe is truly eternal, God (The Creator) never needed to exist: we already had a universe (singularity or cosmos). If we don't know God exists and the First Law suggests he never needed to exist, then why insist that he does?
When we watch TV, we know that man invented it as well as the videos it displays. We know no other animal invented any of it because the "creator" must be more complex and intelligent than the "created". If God created the universe, he would have to be more complex than the universe. As awesome and mysterious as the universe is, God would have to be even more so. What purpose does it serve to unnecessarily add this supernatural layer of complexity? Isn't trying to understand the natural universe enough?
The following essay summarizes my position on this topic.
Creation and the Conservation of Energy
Creation stories are universal among religions, through the ages. The ineffable mystery of life compelled us to explain our existence. In our primitive ignorance of the world, religion was the best we could do to provide the explanations we craved.
Thanks to science, we're learning more about the universe and illuminating the dark corners of what was once our ignorance.
The word, "create", means: to bring into existence. Thus, if God created the universe, it had a beginning and can not be infinite in both directions of time: forward, yes; backward, no. But why can't the universe simply be? Why can't the universe be infinite in both directions of time: forward and backward? Why must it have a beginning? Why must it have been created by a supernatural God?
The first law of thermodynamics – the conservation of energy – makes it clear that nothing is ever created. Matter might change form but it never simply appears or disappears. For instance, we are nourished and grow by eating plants and other animals. Food is transformed into the energy that sustains us and the cells we are made of; including our DNA. Our parents didn't create us, they transformed us.
Physics' mathematical models break down in a singularity. It is not known whether or not the first law holds in a singularity. If it does, the first law of thermodynamics strips bare the core question of creation and existence. Either the universe always existed . . . or . . . the universe was created by something outside the laws of physics (i.e. something supernatural). Either the universe is truly eternal or the eternal God created it. It boils down to the natural (physical universe) or the supernatural (God).
We've had plenty of confirmation of Einstein's famous equation: E=MC2. Energy and mass are equivalent. Before the Big Bang, the entire mass of the universe was contained (as energy) in a super singularity. Whether or not ours is the first and only Big Bang, Big Bangs come from singularities. I believe that, in one form or another (singularity or cosmos), the universe simply is and always was. Not only is there no need for creation or for God: the conservation of energy means there could never have been a time when the universe, in whatever form, did not exist. Something doesn't come from nothing without supernatural intervention.
Because nobody has ever seen anything physically created, the pervasive concept of creation must be a human construct in response to the unfathomable immensity of the eternal. The universe has always existed? What do you mean? Everything comes from somewhere, doesn't it? Perhaps. But nothing comes from nowhere.
The first law reduces the source of our existence to either the natural or the supernatural. The notion of a personal God is ridiculous to me. But a cosmic God? I can imagine an eternal energy – infinitely hot, infinitely massive – that created the universe in a single, spectacular, explosive expansion: an eternal energy that still permeates the entire universe. If you want to call that eternal energy -- that potential of our universe -- God, I won't refute you.
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Some Tech Firms Ask: Who Needs Managers?
Among Smaller Companies, Disdain for Hierarchy Collides With Need for Oversight
This spring the Chicago software firm 37signals took a big step: It appointed a manager.
The promotion wasn't an entirely welcome one for Jason Zimdars, the veteran designer who was selected for the job. Rather than manage coworkers, he says, "I like to code and design and make things."
Disdain for management sometimes seems as common...


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There's a host of things wrong with the latest telling of the timeless legend that is "Clash of the Titans," including dreadful acting and brutal dialogue. But perhaps the worst offense in an effort that manages to make a thousands-of-years-old story dull is the utterly gratuitous use of 3D.
James Cameron, the man who started this whole 3D nonsense, tried to warn his peers against the siren's song of 2D-to-3D conversion.
"Now, you've got people quickly converting movies from 2D to 3D, which is not what we did," Cameron recently told Deadline Hollywood. "They're expecting the same result, when in fact they will probably work against the adoption of 3D because they'll be putting out an inferior product."
Let "Clash of the Titans" stand as Exhibit A in this debate. There are precious few scenes for which a third dimension makes the action more real. Perhaps no moment in the film benefited more from the technology than a coin skipping across water -- RIGHT FOR YOUR HEAD! So, yeah, gratuitous. For the rest of the film, it's little more than a headache-inducing distraction. Why on Earth would you want a person's out-of-focus face floating out over the audience?
The storytelling is no better. You know the old dictum, "Show, don't tell"? Watching "Titans," it becomes clear that it needs an amendment: "Do not, under any circumstances, do both simultaneously." Must we start with five minutes of narration about the Greek gods and how they created the Earth and on and on? One gets bored just remembering it. By the time Hades first warns the people of Argos that they have just 10 days to offer a sacrifice, all I could think was, "Make it three?"
Sam Worthington is well on his way to becoming the Keanu Reeves of his generation: a really pretty guy who looks good in a bodysuit/wetsuit/loincloth, but can't act. Reeves at least built up some credibility and goodwill early in his career, showing a modicum of comedic timing in "Bill & Ted's" and some indie cred with roles in films like "River's Edge." Maybe Worthington's got some chops, but if so, he's hiding them nicely.
To be fair, no amount of talent could overcome the words -- and costumes -- the actors are given to work with. Voldemort seems to think we wouldn't recognize him under all the fake hair, beard and nose, but it's clearly him. And Liam Neeson resembles nothing so much as a cross between Barry Gibb and Tony Manero. The flowing beard, the sparkly suit... Despite having not yet met Zeus, one can still be reasonably sure that he doesn't dress like that.
What of the Kraken? He's mostly thrashing tentacles, with a face that looks like an H.R. Giger drawing of a sphincter. And because the film was shot before the decision to go 3D, the Kraken's fury never comes at you. Frankly, by the time the Kraken shows up, you're rooting for him (it? her?) to take your frustrations out on Argos.
The only real upside to this "Clash of the Titans" is that it leaves plenty of room for Tarsem's "War of the Gods," which tells the same story and was just recently slated for an 11/11/11 release. You've waited this long, what's another year and a half?


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150 Years Ago Today…
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26 May 1863: "About five or six miles from Kinston our Brigade formed line of battle and commenced advan-cing on the Yankees…"
Item description: Letter, dated 26 May 1863, from James A. Graham to his mother. He discusses troop movements and skirmishes with Union troops in the coastal North Carolina area around Kinston and New Bern. Item citation: from folder 2 in … Continue reading


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The ultimate combination of colour and nourishment.
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Saturday Delivery: Order by 2pm and we'll deliver your order on Saturday. These timings do not apply to Bank and Public Holidays.
Just Right Beauty aims to provide only the very best products for you. We will gladly accept returns for replacement or refund within 14 days of dispatch from us.
As it is not possible to replicate exact colour matches and textures accurately using Web colours and images, the colours shown throughout the site are representative only and can vary from the actual product colours.
If you do not have your dispatch note or invoice, please include an explanatory note quoting your order number and reason for return.
In the case of incorrect products supplied by us, the products shall be returned to us and we shall redeliver the correct product at our own cost.
All items for return must be unopened and unused with all the packaging intact. In addition to this we will not accept any wig or hairpiece for return if it has been worn, styled, brushed or has been in contact with any food smells, hairspray, perfume or cigarette odours.
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MLB, MasterCard Designate "Hit It Here" ASG Promo For Cancer
July 8, 2009: MasterCard Worldwide said that it's annual All-Star Game "Hit It Here" promotion, which pays rewards if a home run ball strikes a designated sign, this year is making Stand Up For Cancer the recipient of any successful attempts during the game itself or during the State Farm Home Run Derby the previous day. Stand Up To Cancer, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation \established by a group of media, entertainment and philanthropic leaders whose lives have been affected by cancer in significant ways, has raised more than $100 million over the past year, due in part to an hour-long program that aired simultaneously last Sept, 5 on ABC, CBS and NBC. In previous years, the "Hit It Here" promotion was designed to award a lucky fan in attendance at the events. The promotion is part of Major League Baseball's commitment to dedicating 2009 All-Star Summer to raising funds and awareness for charitable initiatives and celebrating the importance of community service.
MasterCard and MLB said that the first home run to directly strike one of the MasterCard "Hit It Here" signs in Busch Stadium during the 2009 State Farm Home Run Derby or the 2009 MLB All-Star Game would result in MasterCard donating $1 million to Stand Up To Cancer. If a sign is hit during both events, MasterCard would donate a total of $2 million. The three signs will be placed, respectively, vertically on the left field light post; horizontally in left center field; and horizontally placed in right field along the facade of the upper deck. The 2009 State Farm Home Run Derby, part of Gatorade All-Star Workout Day, will be broadcast live on ESPN on July 13. The 80th MLB All-Star Game will be shown on Fox on July 14.
"The importance of charitable initiatives and community service is more significant than ever, and we're proud to say our business partners are joining us in our efforts to make MLB All-Star Summer all about giving back," John Brody, svp-corporate sales & marketing for MLB, said in a statement. "MasterCard deserves a great deal of credit for aligning this in-stadium promotion with the MLB 'Going Beyond' message to benefit such a worthy cause as Stand Up To Cancer."
The 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Charity Concert presented by Pepsi on July 11 in St. Louis starring Sheryl Crow (with Elvis Costello), which will be free to fans, will feature a $1 million donation by MLB to Stand Up To Cancer. Fans will also be able to make donations to Stand Up To Cancer after the concert.
President Obama To Toss Ceremonial First Pitch At 2009 All-Star Game
MLB, Disney Play Long Odds With All-Star Game Promotion


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"Cristiano Ronaldo will never be of Messi's level. Lionel doesn't need Cristiano Ronaldo's powerful shot. Messi just dribbles towards the goal with the ball at his feet. When Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or he told Messi, 'No more second places'. Now silver is the best he can achieve."
Diego Maradona
"If you give Arjen the ball and he has two opponents in front of him, he'll still try and get past them. He's not the type of player to sacrifice himself for the wing-back and cut inside to create space for me, or to track back and help me out when I have two opponents to deal with. I was the one sacrificing myself for Arjen, and that's not something I'm used to. I prefer to do things together, both defending and attacking. It was a bit frustrating."
Gregory van der Wiel on Netherlands team-mate Arjen Robben
"When I grew up in Italy, Serie A was the best. Diego Maradona was sensational. Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Roberto Baggio, Paolo Maldini, Maradona at Napoli. Serie A was great. But I hope I get the chance to see Messi, to tell him that he is prepared to be the best player in all history."
Kobe Bryant, NBA superstar
"It was incredible from the moment we left the hotel to make our way to the ground, but the atmosphere inside the stadium itself was unreal. That's the best atmosphere I've ever played in. It wasn't intimidating, because they were friendly in their manner and just really wanted to support their team. It was just incredibly loud, passionate and exciting. It's great to see how passionate the fans are out here and that's one thing that has really hit home throughout this tour. I won't forget this trip for a long, long while. Some of the things I've seen and heard will stay with me forever. The passion that the Asian fans have for football is incredible, and that was epitomised by the Indonesian people last night."
Nedum Onuoha after representing Queens Park Rangers against Persebaya Surabaya in Indonesia
"I said to his family, I'm not sure if you've got a freak here because he's got at least three or four lungs. I don't know how he does it. He's resilient, he's tough, he's up for the cause every single game. He's quite a remarkable athlete. You can see the energy level that he brings. His mental toughness is as good as I've seen in a player. As we all know in professional sports, confidence is something that is drained away from you extremely quickly. But his confidence level – that's what really what separates the men from the boys as far as finishing is concerned – is incredible."
Paul Mariner on his Toronto FC midfielder Ryan Johnson
"[Carlos] Alberto Parreira introduced style of play that is not suitable for a team like Bafana Bafana. It might be suitable for Brazil, where they have the likes of Roberto Carlos, but we need to play the type of football for which we have the players. What I am hoping to introduce is that we need to identify our style of play, our philosophy and then stick to it. Spain, for instance, does that. They have a style that is easy to identify, and a new coach does not come and suddenly change everything."
Gordon Igesund, the new South Africa coach, to FIFA.com
"I've travelled around this country with England squads, both at senior and U-21, but we've never stopped the traffic like we have with Team GB. It's something special."
Stuart Pearce to FIFA.com on the excitement surrounding his Great Britain Olympic team
"Firstly, for his career, for all it means in Argentinian football and globally. I chose him for the characteristics he demonstrates in every capacity, for his humility, for his comradeship and his commitment - I think the captain should have all of those. Captains must fight for their peers, advise them in terms of how to train and how to eat, and be examples to all."
Mathias Almeyda on why he appointed David Trezeguet as his River Plate captain
"We accepted this offer for Tim with a heavy heart. The transfer salutes Tim's unswerving commitment to our cause over the last eight years and also respects his desire never to play against Everton. On a personal level, I will miss the first-ever player that David [Moyes] and I went to see together, and the wide-eyed bundle of energy that walked into my office a short time later and told me that Everton was his destiny. I can guarantee New York Red Bulls will have many, many admirers cheering them on from across the ocean – all wearing the blue of Everton. Thank you, Tim."
Bill Kenwright, Everton's chairman, on Tim Cahill
"I'm not really keen on comparisons. However, the comparison with Messi is a beautiful thing. We are both left-footed, Argentinian, and brilliant."
Diego Maradona