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If it comes to a shooting war ...
|Marlboro Man
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Yea, I know, it's a long read, but it's worth it.
If it comes to a shooting war ...
By Victor N Corpus
One could call this article a worst-case scenario for the new American century. Why worst case? Because of the hard lessons from history. The Romans did not consider the worst-case scenario when Hannibal crossed the Alps with his elephants and routed them; or when Hannibal encircled and annihilated the numerically superior Roman army at the Battle of Cannae.
The French did not consider the worst-case scenario at Dien Bien Phu and when they built the Maginot Line, and the French suffered disastrous defeats. The Americans did not consider the worst-case scenario at Pearl Harbor or on September 11, and the results were disastrous for the American people. Again, American planners did not consider the worst-case scenario in its latest war
in Iraq, but instead operated on the "best-case scenario", such as considering the Iraq invasion a "cake walk" and that the Iraqi people would be parading in the streets, throwing flowers and welcoming American soldiers as "liberators", only to discover the opposite.
Scenario One: America launches 'preventive war' vs China
Our first objective is to prevent the re-emergence of a new rival. This is a dominant consideration underlying the new regional defense strategy and requires that we endeavor to prevent any hostile power from dominating a region whose resources would, under consolidated control, be sufficient to generate global power. These regions include Western Europe, East Asia, the territory of the former Soviet Union and Southwest Asia.
Consider these snapshots of China:
Since 1978, China has averaged 9.4% annual GDP growth
It had a five-fold increase in total output per capita from 1982 to 2002
It had $61 billion in foreign direct investment in 2004 alone and foreign trade of $851 billion, the third-largest in the world
The US trade deficit with China exceeded $200 billion in 2005
China has $750 billion in foreign exchange reserves and is the second-biggest oil importer
Last year it turned out 442,000 new engineers a year; with 48,000 graduates with master's degrees and 8,000 PhDs annually; compared to only 60,000 new engineers a year in the US.
China for the first time (2004) surpassed America to export the most technology wares around the world. China enjoyed a $34 billion trade surplus with the US in advanced technology products in 2004 (The Economist, December 17, 2005). In 2005, the surplus increased to $36 billion
It created 20,000 new manufacturing facilities a year
It holds $252 billion in US Treasury Bonds (plus $48 billion held by Hong Kong)
Among the five basic food, energy and industrial commodities –grain and meat, oil and coal and steel –consumption in China has eclipsed that of the US in all but oil.
China has also gone ahead of the US in the consumption of TV sets, refrigerators and mobile phones
In 1996, China had 7 million cell phones and the US had 44 million. Now China has more mobile phone users than the US has people.
China has about $1 trillion in personal savings and a savings rate of close to 50%; U.S. has about $158 billion in personal savings and a savings rate of about 2% (The Wall Street Journal, Nov 19, 2005)
Shanghai boasts 4,000 skyscrapers – double the number in New York City (The Wall Street Journal, Nov 19, 2005)
Songbei, Harbin City in north China is building a city as big as New York City
Goldman Sachs predicts that China will surpass the US economy by 2041.
Before China's economy catches up with America, and before China builds a military machine that can challenge American superpower status and world dominance, America's top strategic planners (Project for the New American Century) decide to launch a "preventive war" against China. As a pretext for this, the US instigates Taiwan to declare independence.
Taiwan declares independence!
China has anticipated and long prepared itself for this event. After observing "Operation Summer Pulse –04" when US aircraft carrier battle groups converged in the waters off China's coast in mid-July through August of 2004, Chinese planners began preparing to face its own worst-case scenario: the possibility of confronting a total of 15 carrier battle groups composed of 12 from America and three from its close British ally. China's strategists refer to its counter-strategy to defeat 15 or more aircraft carrier battle groups as the "assassin's mace" or shashaujian.
After proper coordination with Russia and Iran and activating their previously agreed strategic plan, troops and weapon systems are pre-positioned. China then launches a missile barrage on Taiwan. Command and control nodes, military bases, logistics centers, vital war industries, government centers and air defense installations are simultaneously hit with short and medium range ballistic missiles armed with conventional, anti-radar, thermo baric and electro-magnetic pulse warheads.
At the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Command and Control Center, ranking defense officials watch huge electronic monitor screens showing seven US and two British aircraft carrier battle groups converging on the East China Sea with another three US carrier battle groups entering the Persian Gulf, while the remaining two US and one British battle groups remain in the Indian Ocean to serve as a strategic reserve.
As the aircraft carrier battle groups advance, China draws out one of its "trump cards" by leaking to the world media that it is dumping its holdings of US Treasury bonds and shifting to gold and euros.
Meanwhile, strategic planners at NORAD watch with glee as they observe on the screen as monitored by their radar satellites that Chinese surface ships are making a hasty retreat as nine allied carrier battle groups advance toward the Philippine Sea and Chinese waters near Taiwan.
The assassin's mace: China's anti-satellite weapons
Glee and ecstasy soon turn to shock as monitor screens suddenly go blank. Then all communication via satellites goes dead. China has drawn its second "trump card" (the assassin's mace) by activating its maneuverable "parasite" micro-satellites that have unknowingly clung to vital (NORAD) radar and communication satellites and have either jammed, blinded or physically destroyed their hosts.
This is complemented by space mines that maneuver near adversary satellites and explode. Secret Chinese and Russian ground-based anti-satellite laser weapons also blind or bring down US and British satellites used for C4ISR (command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance). And to ensure redundancy and make sure that the adversary C4ISR system is completely "blinded" even temporarily, hundreds of select Chinese and Russian information warriors (hackers) specifically trained to attack their adversary's C4ISR systems simultaneously launch their cyber offensive.
For a few precious minutes, the US and UK advancing carrier battle groups are stunned and blinded by the "mace", ie, a defensive weapon used to temporarily blind a stronger opponent. But the word mace has another meaning; one which is deadlier and used in combination with the first.
A mace can be a spiked war club used in olden times to knock out an opponent. Applied in modern times, the spikes of the assassin's mace refer to currently unstoppable supersonic cruise missiles capable of sinking aircraft carriers that are in China's inventory; complemented by equally unstoppable "squall" or SHKVAL rocket torpedoes and regular 65 cm-diameter wake-homing torpedoes, bottom-rising rocket-propelled mines, and "obsolete" warplanes converted into unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) firing anti-ship missiles from standoff positions and finally dive-bombing into the heart of the US and UK aircraft carrier armada.
Missile barrage on advancing carrier battle groups
A few seconds after the "blackout", literally hundreds of short and medium-range ballistic missiles (DF7/9/11/15s, DF4s, DF21X/As, some of which are maneuverable) pre-positioned on the Chinese mainland, and stealthy, sea-skimming and highly-accurate cruise missiles (YJ12s, YJ22s, KH31A/Ps, YJ83s, C301s, C802s, SS-N-22s, SS-NX-26/27s, 3M54s & HN3s) delivered from platforms on land, sea and air race toward their respective designated targets at supersonic speed.
Aircraft carriers are allotted a barrage of more than two dozen cruise missiles each, followed by a barrage of short and medium-range ballistic missiles timed to arrive in rapid succession.
Supersonic cruise missiles constitute China's third deadly "trump card" against the US – part of the so-called assassin's mace. These unstoppable cruise missiles may be armed with 440-lb to 750-lb conventional warheads (or 200-kiloton tactical nuclear warheads 10 times stronger than Hiroshima) traveling at more than twice the speed of sound (or faster than a rifle bullet).
The cruise missiles, together with the SRBMs and MRBMs (short and medium-range ballistic missiles) may also be armed with radio frequency weapons that can simulate the electro-magnetic pulse of nuclear explosions to fry computer chips, or fuel-air explosives that can annihilate the personnel in aircraft carriers and battleships without destroying the platforms.
Their effective range varies from less than 100 to 1,800 kilometers from stand-off positions. Delivered by long-range fighter-bombers and submarines, their range can be extended even further. In fact, stealthy Chinese and Russian submarines can deliver such nuclear payloads to the US mainland itself.
No US defense vs supersonic cruise missiles
The US and UK aircraft carrier battle groups do not have any known defense against the new supersonic missiles of their adversaries. The Phalanx and Aegis ship defense systems may be effective against subsonic cruise missiles like the Exocets or Tomahawks, or exo-atmospheric ballistic missiles, but they are inadequate against the sea-skimming and supersonic Granits, Moskits and Yakhonts or similar types (Shipwreck, Sunburn and Onyx - North Atlantic Treaty Organization codenames) of modern anti-ship missiles in China's inventory.
Not only China and Russia have these modern cruise missiles, so do Iran, India and North Korea. These missiles can be delivered by SU-27 variants, SU-30s, Tu22M Blackjacks, Bears, J6s, JH-7/As, H-6Hs, J-10s, surface ships, diesel submarines or common trucks.
Adding to the problems facing aircraft carriers are the SHKVAL or "squall" rocket torpedoes installed in some Chinese and Russian submarines and surface ships. At 6,000 lbs apiece, these torpedoes travel at 200 knots (or 230 miles per hour) with a range of 7,500 yards guided by autopilot. They are designed to sink aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines. Again, it is unfortunate for the US and UK to have no known or existing defenses against this new generation of rocket torpedoes.
China's sea mines
Complicating matters for the US aircraft carrier battle groups are the hundreds of hard-to-detect, rocket-propelled, bottom-rising sea mines that are anchored and hidden on the sea bottom covering pre-selected battle sites in the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea designed to home in on submarines and surface ships, particularly aircraft carriers.
These sophisticated sea mines (EM-52s) have been deployed by Chinese and Russian submarines before the missile attack on Taiwan in anticipation of the major event that is to follow.
Finally, in addition to all these asymmetric weapons, the US and UK aircraft carrier battle groups will have to contend with the thousands of "obsolete" Chinese fighter planes converted into unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) launching missiles at stand-off positions and finally diving kamikaze-style into the heart of the carrier battle groups.
Chinese and Russian submarines fire their inventory of anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs) and "squall" rocket torpedoes at the aircraft carriers and submarines of the US and UK as the carrier battle groups come within range. As the battle progresses, the Chinese and Russian submarines maneuver to the rear of the carrier battle groups to complete the encirclement.
In less than an hour after launching the saturation barrage of missiles on the US and UK naval armada, all the aircraft carriers and their escorts of cruisers, battleships and several of the accompanying submarines are in flames, sinking or sunk, turning the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea into a modern-day "Battle of Cannae".
Meanwhile, the Chinese fleet that conducted a strategic retreat forms a phalanx along the forward positions off China's coast, ready to augment the hundreds or thousands of land-based long-range surface-to-air missiles of China (SA-10s, SA-15s and SA-20s) with their own short, medium and long-range air defense missile systems.
Applying its long-held military doctrine of "active defense", China also launches simultaneous missile attacks on the forces-in-being and logistics-in-place of the US and its allies in Japan, South Korea, Guam, Okinawa, Diego Garcia and Kyrgyzstan, hitting these US bases with missiles armed with radio frequency weapons, fuel-air explosives and conventional warheads. As another Chinese military doctrine states: "Win victory with one strike."
Chinese and Russian missiles cocked
Both Chinese and Russian inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and the two countries' extensive air defense systems have been coordinated and ready to respond in the event that the US and UK decide to retaliate with a nuclear attack.
In addition, Ranets-E and Rosa-E radio frequency/electro-magnetic pulse systems scattered all along China's coastal cities are on the look-out to neutralize incoming missiles and aircraft that may respond after the attack on the aircraft carrier battle groups. These systems can work in tandem with airborne-based anti-missile laser systems now in China's inventory.
China's trump cards vs the US
China's deadly "trump cards" (ie, the huge holdings of US Treasury bonds, the anti-satellite weapons system, the supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, SRBMs, MRBMs, "squall" rocket torpedoes, sea mines, UCAVs, DF31A and DF41 road-mobile ICBMs, JL2 SLBMs, air defense system, IO/EW/IW, and other RMA weapons) are the key ingredients of the assassin's mace.
China may not possess any of those expensive aircraft carriers of the superpower, but it can wipe out those carrier battle groups with a "single blow" of its assassin's mace or shashaujian –its major tool for conducting asymmetric warfare to defeat the US in a major confrontation over the Taiwan issue or other issues.
The US may possess the most powerful war machine in the world, but it can be defeated by an inferior force by avoiding the superpower's strength and exploiting its weaknesses. Again, an integral part of Chinese doctrine is: "Victory through inferiority over superiority." One famous Chinese strategist, Chang Mengxiong, compared asymmetric warfare to "a Chinese boxer with a keen knowledge of vital body points who can bring a stronger opponent to his knees with a minimum of movement".
The sad part for the American people, particularly the innocent sailors who will be manning the battle groups, is that even if US planners come to realize that the aircraft carrier battle groups (which are the mainstay of the US Navy and the main instrument of US power projection worldwide), have been rendered vulnerable or obsolete by China's assassin's mace.
The US cannot simply change strategy or discard such a weapons system. To change strategy or "retool" would mean wasting hundreds of billions of dollars invested in those highly sophisticated systems. The strong lobbying of influential defense contractors making those systems would make change extremely difficult.
For defense authorities to admit the strategic blunder constitutes an almost insurmountable barrier to a change of strategy. And finally, the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs related to those systems may be politically and economically unbearable for any US administration to bear should the program for the aircraft carrier battle groups be scrapped. Because of these factors, America may be stuck with an obsolete system that is too expensive to maintain but will only lose the war for the US when employed in a major conflict.
Meanwhile, on the Middle East Front
On another major front, on previously coordinated signals with China and Russia, Iran lets loose its own barrage of supersonic Granit, Moskit, Brahmos and Yakhont cruise missiles carried by trucks or hidden in man-made tunnels all along the mountainous shoreline of Iran fronting the Persian Gulf.
The three US aircraft carrier groups that entered the Persian Gulf to ensure the unhindered flow of Arab oil are likely to be helpless "sitting ducks" against the bottom-rising sea mines and low-flying, supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles in Iranian hands. In the process, a couple of oil tankers about to exit the Strait of Hormuz are hit with the aid of rocket-propelled sea mines, thus effectively blockading the narrow strait and stopping oil supplies from coming out of the Middle East.
A "weak" nation like China or Iran, without a single aircraft carrier in their respective navies, could thus obliterate the carrier battle groups of a superpower. Here, one can see the hidden and often unnoticed power of asymmetric warfare, which may well spell the end of "gunboat diplomacy" in the not so distant future.
The Central Asian front
On yet another major front in Central Asia, Russian troops lead the other member-countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) into a major offensive against US military bases in Central Asia.
The bases are first subjected to a simultaneous barrage of missiles with fuel-air explosives and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) warheads before they are overrun and occupied by SCO coalition forces. The missile attack on the US bases is followed by a lightning attack by four mechanized armored divisions coming from the Yili Korgas pass of China's Xinjiang province, linking up with Russia's own armored divisions in a pincer offensive against US forces in Central Asia and the Middle East.
America crippled on three major fronts
In just a few hours (or days) after the outbreak of general hostilities, America, the world's lone superpower, finds itself badly crippled militarily in three major regions of the world: East Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.
Impossible? Unfortunately, the answer is no. China now has the know-how and the financial resources to mass-produce hundreds, if not thousands, of Moskit, Yakhont and Granit-type supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles and "squall"-type rocket torpedoes against which US and UK aircraft carriers and submarines have no known defense.
Iran, on the other hand, already possesses the same supersonic cruise missiles that can destroy any ship in the Persia Gulf, including aircraft carriers. Russia and China, meanwhile, are operating on familiar grounds close to their territory, compared to the US, which needs to cross the Atlantic and Pacific to replenish troops and logistics.
A geopolitical reality America has to face
An important consideration in any US-China conflict is the geopolitical reality that the US and its allies will be operating on exterior lines, while China will operate on interior lines. This gives China a huge advantage in a major war in Asia against US and allied forces.
Consider the long sea lanes of communication (10,000 kilometers) that the US alliance would be forced to cross each time its forces had to resupply and you get an idea of the huge logistics problem that the US would face in a confrontation with China.
Such lengthy sea lanes of communication (SLOC) are highly vulnerable to a gauntlet of Chinese and Russian submarines lying in ambush along the route laden with underwater sea mines. This will make transporting personnel and equipment by the US over the Pacific or the Atlantic extremely dangerous and expensive.
Compare this US handicap with troop movement by Chinese troops using heavy-lift aircraft, railways and highways within the China mainland. China's interior lines of communication are shorter and protected, with little chance for enemy interdiction. Chinese troops can concentrate numerically superior forces rapidly at any given point to defeat invading US forces one by one with much shorter and less vulnerable lines of communication.
And in the event that the US forces and their allies are lucky enough to land on the Chinese mainland, they will be faced not only with a conventional People's Liberation Army of more than 2 million, but also with a people's militia conducting asymmetric warfare and a people's war in its teeming millions. US forces and their allies will be like a raging bull charging and goring a hive of killer bees. US forces may be able to set foot in China, but it is highly doubtful if they could come out alive.
Grimmer scenarios
There is a scenario grimmer than described above, however, and that is if strategic planners belonging to that elite group called the Project for the New American Century decide to launch a nuclear "first strike" against China and Russia and risk a mutually-assured destruction: 1)In defense of Taiwan ... or 2) In launching a "preventive war" to stop China from catching up economically and militarily. Or, if China decides to start an offensive against Taiwan with a one-megaton nuclear burst 40 kilometers above the center of the island. Or, if China and Russia decide to arm a number of their short and medium-range ballistic missiles and supersonic cruise missiles with tactical nuclear warheads in defending themselves against US and UK aircraft carrier battle groups.
Land-attack versions of these supersonic cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads carried by stealthy Chinese and Russian submarines can also put American coastal cities at great risk to nuclear devastation. Strategic planners must also consider these worst-case possibilities.
Scenario two: America vs a medium power
"In the Middle East and Southwest Asia, our overall objective is to remain the predominant outside power in the region and preserve US and Western access to the region's oil." - Paul Wolfowitz
"I cannot think of a time when we have had a region emerge as suddenly to become as strategically significant as the Caspian. But the oil and gas there is worthless until it is moved. The only route which makes both political and economic sense is through Afghanistan." – Dick Cheney in 1998 as chief executive of a major oil services company
History is replete with vivid examples where a much stronger and larger force has been defeated by a weaker and smaller force. The French were defeated by Vietminh guerrillas in Dien Bien Phu. Soviet Union forces, still a superpower at that time, were defeated in Afghanistan. And another superpower, the United States, was defeated by "ill-clad, ill-fed and ill-armed" Vietcong guerrillas in Vietnam.
Asymmetric warfare
If the US pushes through its plan of world domination, then it should expect all the smaller and weaker countries that do not wish to be pushed around to fight back using asymmetric warfare. This is a form of warfare that allows the weak to fight and defeat a much stronger foe by "attacking the enemy's weakness while avoiding his strengths".
The US, for instance, may possess the most sophisticated weapons system on Earth. It may have the most modern planes, helicopters, ships, guns, precision-guided weapons, sophisticated sensors and command and control systems, but if it cannot see its adversary, if it is fighting a shadowy and "invisible" enemy (like American and British forces are experiencing in Iraq), such advanced and sophisticated weapons systems are rendered useless.
In asymmetric warfare, most of the fighting is conducted at the team level. Thousands of agile and elusive teams consisting of two to five members equipped with man-portable surface-to-air missiles, portable anti-tank guided weapons, sniper rifles, man-portable mortars, anti-tank mines, anti-personnel mines, sea mines, C4 explosives (for making car bombs, booby-traps and improvised explosive devices or IEDs) riding on bicycles and motorcycles and fast boats will make the lives of any invading or occupying forces extremely miserable.
These "invisible" agile teams merge with the population most of the time and come out only when there is a vulnerable target to strike at. Then, they disappear into the shadows. They communicate via runners bringing coded written messages, so there are no electronic signals to track down. They operate semi-autonomously, so there are no centers of gravity that can be targeted.
And since they are indigenous to the area and united with the local people, their human intelligence (humint) is far more superior to that of the invaders. They will also enjoy a tremendous advantage in psychological operations (psyops), for it is much easier to mobilize nationalist sentiments against a foreign occupier than for an aggressor to justify occupation.
Asymmetric warfare may be compared to a fierce lion invading the territory of a school of piranhas; or a king cobra encroaching into a colony of fire ants. The lion may be the king of beasts, mighty and strong, but it is no match against the tiny piranhas in their own territory. The sharp fangs and claws of the lion are rendered useless. The same is true with the cobra's venom. The analogy applies to the French in Dien Bien Phu, the Soviets in Afghanistan and the Americans in Vietnam and now in Iraq.
Asynchronous warfare
Aside from asymmetric warfare, weak nations fighting the strong can also avail themselves of asynchronous warfare. If a strong nation invades or occupies a weak one, the weak bides its time before striking back. And it strikes at a time and place when and where the adversary least expects.
An example is Iraq. The underground resistance movement in Iraq may recruit Iraqi scientists or sympathetic scientists of other nationalities to infiltrate the US (via the Mexican border, for instance) and manufacture dirty bombs as well as chemical and biological weapons inside the US. Such weapons may be brought to Washington and detonated in or near the US Congress.
They could also hire a private plane, or buy one themselves, and use it to spread biological or chemical weapons they have manufactured in-country over New York or Washington. They can mail letters containing anthrax to key offices of vital services all over the US and paralyze utilities and other government functions nationwide.
Or they can smuggle, say, the components of a hundred portable surface-to-air missiles, assemble them in the US, and employ them simultaneously in all of the major airports in America. Or they can employ those portable surface-to-air missiles to simultaneously target American airlines taking off or landing in different international airports all over the world.
Some major powers may pass on their research on RMA (revolution in military affairs) to the Iraqi resistance to be tested inside the US. These weapons include laser weapons, ultrahigh frequency weapons, ultrasonic wave weapons, stealth weapons, high-powered microwave weapons and electromagnetic guns. They include miniature robot ants that infiltrate computers, stay dormant and then activate on the signal to destroy their hosts. The Iraqi underground could also recruit hackers to work inside and/or outside the US to hack into key US systems.
American crossroad
As the sole superpower, the US stands at a critical crossroad. One road leads to world domination. Using its pre-eminent military war machine without equal, it can strike at any perceived threat, change foreign sovereign regimes at will, grab precious mineral resources anywhere in the world and control local economies with its host of transnational corporations. It can also sabotage the economy of up-coming rivals, or launch preventive wars to preempt prospective competitors and try to defeat them militarily while they are still weak compared to America.
Such a course of action is very tempting, especially to leaders with global ambitions of becoming "Lords of the Earth". But such a road is full of risks and what is planned on paper, as what was done in Iraq, may not turn out as hoped. And such a path will necessarily ignite the outrage of most right-thinking people. America will earn for itself the enmity and hatred of people all over the world.
America had outlined its blueprint for world domination, by force if necessary, in the following documents:
National Security Strategy of the United States of America, September 2001
President George W Bush's speech at the Graduation Ceremony at West Point, June 1, 2002
Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for the New Century, a report of the Project for the New American Century, September 2000
Defense Planning Guidance written by then deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz in February 18, 1992
In these documents, the US outlined some of its new doctrines and policies, such as: preventive war, pre-emptive military action, unilateralism, regime change, acting as the world's constabulary or "cavalry", establishment of military bases and spreading US forces all over the world, control of outer space and the global commons of cyberspace and control of the world's oil resources.
[link to www.atimes.com]
Last Edited by Phennommennonn on 12/04/2011 11:52 AM
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Between the two of us it may get read!
[link to www.godlikeproductions.com]
|Marlboro Man (OP)
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LOL D, I did a quick search before posting this. If I would have seen your post, I would have just bumped it. There's a lot of key points and scenarios in this article that I've mentioned in the past as well. China has sat back and watched our operations for quite some time now while gathering intel. I don't think most folks really realize what would happen if we got into a conflict involving them.
|DaJ nli
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|Almost Smart
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I read it and I still may not know all about China's millitary powers, what pissis me off is when some of these so called experts say that China wont be a superpower until 2045, thats total BS imo, anyone with basic knowledge can see that it's right around the corner for them.
|Marlboro Man (OP)
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You have to keep an eye on what they're doing with oil reserves as well. They've been quietly buying into every major resource possible. Their rate of import vs. consumption doesn't quite add up either. It's as though they're stockpiling quite a bit on the side also.
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text:
Skinny Tastes Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps offer great taste and big flavor without a lot of calories. The recipe yields 6 servings, with each containing 147.7 calories, .1 grams of fat, 1.6 grams of fiber, and 24.9 grams of protein.
- Yield
- 6
- Stuffing:
- 24 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 celery stalk
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic
- 16 ounces fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup hot cayenne pepper sauce
- Wraps:
- 6 large lettuce leaves, Bibb or Iceberg
- 1½ cups shredded carrots
- 2 large celery stalks, cut into 2-inch matchsticks
- In a crockpot, combine chicken, onions, celery stalk, garlic, and broth. Cover and cook on high 4 hours. Remove the chicken from pot, reserve ½ cup broth and discard the rest. Shred the chicken with two forks, return to the slow cooker with the ½ cup broth and the hot sauce and set to on high for an additional 30 minutes. Makes 3 cups chicken. To prepare lettuce cups, place ½ cup buffalo chicken in each leaf, top with ¼ cup shredded carrots, celery, and dressing of your choice. Wrap up and enjoy!
Related Video
Nutritional Info
- Calories173
- Carbohydrates6 g(2%)
- Fat4 g(6%)
- Protein28 g(56%)
- Saturated Fat1 g(4%)
- Sodium615 mg(26%)
- Polyunsaturated Fat1 g
- Fiber2 g(6%)
- Monounsaturated Fat1 g
- Cholesterol83 mg(28%)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Chevrolet Puzzle game online
Chevrolet Puzzle is a classic jigsaw puzzle game, where you choose choose from two modes, sliding or jigsaw. In jigsaw you can also choose from four difficulties, easy, medium, hard, expert. Play with a time limit for more excitment. Have fun!
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Are we in a period where growth is transitioning from white hot to above average, or are we entering a full-scale recession where the music stops?
The latest global smartphone market data from Gartner shows growth slowing. Smartphone market expansion indicates growth is the slowest in years, with smartphone sales increasing "just" 13.5 per cent.
Is it market saturation? We have sold 3 billion smartphones to the 7 billion people on earth. 15% of the population is under 10 years old, and unfortunately, 3 billion people on earth live on less than $2.50 per day. Until we alleviate poverty and provide better opportunities to half of the world, have we sold a smartphone to everyone on earth who has the means to get one?
Or could it be China?
China makes up 30% of the smartphone market, representing the largest market for smartphone sales. Gartner research director Anshul Gupta worries, "China has reached saturation — its phone market is essentially driven by replacement, with fewer first-time buyers. Beyond the lower-end phone segment, the appeal of premium smartphones will be key for vendors to attract upgrades and to maintain or grow their market share in China."
Factor in the dramatic slowdown in China's economy and you have a huge hit to mobility prosperity. From its high, Chinese stocks are off 17%.
China isn't the only country with financial hiccups. Year to date, the Dow Jones Industrial Index is down 3%, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ 6% off its yearly high.
According to the World Bank, the global economy expanded at a rate of 2.47% in 2014. This is below its long-term average of 3.49%. Commodity prices have collapsed. There are several reasons for this, but one of them is lower demand from the larger economies, most notably China. The impact should be bullish for big consumers of oil like the United States, but it is devastating to exporters like Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela and their 280 million potential customers. The nations that benefit from lower energy and gas prices are the ones that have been saturated with Smartphones for years.
Recently, the Federal Reserve Board decided to reverse its original intent to raise interest rates. Raising interest rates is a sign of increased economic activity. This signal alone indicates the "in the know" players see turbulent times ahead.
Recession Buzz Puts Technology in Trouble
If we are in a recession, technology may get hit the hardest. In any slowdown, it's the most speculative sectors that bear the brunt. The hottest sectors are where the "excess" money goes, and the point of a recession is to clean out the excesses. That means a lot of valuations in tech will be reduced. Companies that have spectacular earnings growth will still see high earnings, but trade at lower stock prices.
Smaller companies will still produce products that will change the way we live, but they will not sell at levels they did just a year ago. Startups and small businesses will not get the funding they once did because the lower valuations will result in less money being offered for the level of growth they are in right now.
As consumption slows businesses will spend less on IT. They will put off investing in new technology, or make sure they get the latest model for the cheapest price. Tech companies all across the spectrum will see lower profits from companies, customers, and less capital from investors.
How a Recession Makes Business Opportunities
A recession is not necessarily a bad thing. First and foremost, it's temporary. Since the great depression, the longest recession was the last one: 18 months. Unemployment never rose above 10% in all that time. The world may feel like it's falling from under you, but it never does. The fact that everything takes on a heightened sense of urgency has proven to be blessing in disguise for entrepreneurs and innovators.
- The economic slowdown during the 1970s expedited the development of the first commercially made microprocessor by Intel. IBM, Xerox, and Hewlett-Packard all came out with single-user Personal Computers throughout this decade. The first hand-held mobile cell phone was developed by Motorola in 1973.
- The recession of the early 1990s ushered in the commercial use of the internet.
- Even the Great Depression reminds us that necessity is the mother of invention. The electric razor, car radio, and copy machine were all developed through these challenging times.
Apple's iOS App Store opened its doors in July 2008, right in between the implosion of Bear Stearns in March, and the collapse of Lehman Brothers which triggered the financial panic in September. The dreadful years that followed, created an urgency to develop mobility as fast and as vast as it has. Never has an innovation reached so many people in such a short period of time.
If we are on the edge of a new normal, new developments like the Internet of Things, Wearables, and other new uses for digital mobility will usher in an era of expedited innovation and development. The greatest leaps forward will happen as the world economy takes some small steps backwards.
The Great Recession Solution
The future may bode well for new ideas and promising startups, but what about your business? How do you navigate this adverse environment? How do you come out of it in one piece? Is it possible to emerge even stronger?
During times of growth holding market share is enough. If your industry is growing at a 12% annual clip, then maintaining market share increases unit sales at 3 times the pace of the national economy.
When times get tough, your industry can actively contract. Holding market share may lead to a drop in sales. To survive you need to capture a greater chunk of the market. To continue to grow there is no choice: you have to snatch away customers from your competitors.
There are two ways to do this. The first way is risky, and without any guarantee, it will work. You can lower prices on your products and undersell your opponents. The risk is that even if you do increase the number of buyers, the lower revenue coming in will not be enough to cover your expenses.
The other way is safer: Quality. Increase the quality of your product. Make it better. Add features to it that it becomes the best in the market. Not only will the average consumer prefer your product, they won't mind paying a little extra even if times are tight.
Quality is the only way to capture market share without sacrificing reputation, profitability, or the sustainability of your company.
Will you Consolidate or be Consolidated?
If you can stay afloat during the worst of times, you will inevitably be able to swallow up those that can't. How many competitors will go under during this time? How many top level developers, salesman, and testers will come to the market offering to work for basic salaries? How much inventory will be sold at fire sale prices?
Patents, product lines, even entire companies will go on the market at deep discounts. The business that survives a recession can gobble up 10 failed startups just to get a hold of what they designed. As times improve, you can bundle all this up to present a far superior product, or you can sell your own product along with upselling everything else.
Whether your business is the consolidator or the consolidated is up to you. It all depends on how you survive the rough spots, and that depends on just one thing. . .
Mobile Application Testing Strategies as Recession Proof Business Ideas
More customers will experience your business through your mobile application than your physical location. The channel that is most rapidly expanding today is mobility. If you want to dazzle with the appearance of your brand, make your mobile app the best in the business.
Mobile testing is the key. Mobile testing makes your app cutting edge in the eyes of your users. Even in good times, if your app has problems with function or performance people will simply stop using it. In tough times, they won't consider spending money on you.
If your app has no technical glitches, no long delays in seeing the next page, and the same stellar service anywhere you are, you can win the coveted prize of being the best. You will own a business channel that is rapidly becoming the most ubiquitous customer interface on earth.
Mobile testing puts you on the MAP to Mobile Application Profitability.
Functional Testing (SeeTest Automation): The average business will release a mobile app to market with at least 10 defects so make sure everything on your mobile application is working. All it takes is one disgruntled user in Tokyo, and he will wind up telling his friends in Toronto over social media. This is especially vital when making new versions of your mobile applications. You need an automated testing tool that integrates seamlessly with major continuous integration platforms like Jenkins and QC so your mobile apps can be deployed quickly to market without any major problems.
Performance Testing (SeeTest Network Virtualization): If your mobile application is moving too slowly, in the eyes of the user it is broken. Even if it is "not your fault," the user will penalize you by moving to another app. Network Virtualization is the mobile testing strategy of making sure your mobile applications work as well over a 4G network in Manhattan as they would a 3G network in rural Montana.
Load Testing (Experitest LoadRunner AddOn): If too many people are on your mobile application and you don't have the capacity available to accommodate the high traffic load, your application can slowdown, freeze, or crash. Even if you have normal traffic on your app, and they all decide to use one specific function at the same time, it could put undue pressure on your mobile application server. Load testing makes sure your app can handle all forms of traffic.
Cloud Testing (SeeTest Cloud): To expedite your testing operations, you can set up a mobile device lab in one location, and invite your mobile testers from all over the world to connect to your devices to test your app. If you have mobile testers throughout several time zones you can set up a 24 hour a day continuous testing process. The more your test, the quicker you can deploy your mobile application to market. The faster you can release the latest version of your mobile application to your customers.
Get Updates on Software Quality Assurance at
our Experitest LinkedIn Page
lang: en_US


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One my biggest fears when we struggled to get pregnant was that our future child(ren) wouldn't know their grandparents. I never knew either of my grandfathers, both passed before I was born. Both of my parents were the youngest (or second youngest) of their siblings and started having kids later in life. I wanted Ladybug (who wasn't yet Ladybug) to know the people that I love so much.
My parents (aka Nana and Papa) are Ladybug's favorite people. She talks about them all the time, and it's so amazing to see her with them.
When Nana came over for our journey to the apple picking place, Ladybug got so excited when the doorbell rang that she cried. Cried! NANA!!!!!!! LOL.
It was $5 to get into the fields to pick which completely made sense once you looked at how much gets discarded by little people, or eaten along the way *ahem*.
|"I did it"
Ladybug loved getting all of the low hanging fruit and "running" (side note: toddler running is hilarious) down the rows. She made friends with strangers and "kids" and she got to hang out with one of her favorite people.
Ladybug speaks so well, she's a parrot and every day she says something new that makes me do a double take. On this day, Nana was a few feet ahead of us "Nana!!! Wait for me!" Huh? LOL
|My favorite picture ever in life, Ladybug and Nana
We picked and I brought home 10 lbs of toddler picked apples. And while Ladybug loves applesauce like Camels love Humpday, that seemed too easy. So, I took my first stab at an apple cake. Yummy deliciousness.


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Main Features
- Multi-platform client (Windows / Linux / Mac)
- Integrated softphone (optional)
- Encrypted communications
- Integration with enterprise authentication systems (LDAP, Active Directory) for centralized access management
- Interoperability with major IM networks
- Perfect integration with the VoiSmart PBX
- Multi PBX support (enterprise networking)
- Presence supervision
- Phone status supervision, single and multiple phones extensions
- PBX phone book access, phone book move/add/change, "click and call"
- Management and administration via web interface
- Centralized access control
- Multi-User IM conference
- User Groups (lists) and broadcast communication
Unified messaging for all
VoiSmart IM speeds up the information exchange, connects colleagues and users without the constraint of physical proximity. Through IM, distributed offices or employees who use PCs or smartphones can communicate freely and instantly. VoiSmart IM client allows also to connect other messaging systems bringing their use into a single controlled environment. VoiSmart IM include phone status information such as: available, busy, DND and many other. VoiSmart IM simplifies communication and improves productivity by cutting useless calls. The VoiSmart IM client, in addition to instant messaging services, allows the user to browse the company phone book and to gain access to all phone services including click-to-dial (dialer). An integrated softphone is also available to make phone calls directly from the PC in safe mode without the need of a dedicated desk phone.
Did you know ...
Suppose that a business man, perhaps in abroad, should call a customer in another country, and suppose that it hasn't a roaming service on mobile phone, or it is very expensive, or he don't want let him know that he is in abroad. In this case, he can set in the PBX VoiSmart the number to forward his calls and that's all. For example, he could set the number of his mobile phone, or the hotel room phone number and all incoming calls or generated by a click and call will be transferred to that number.
And if he has no internet connection?
Just send an sms with the number to be call and the "callback service" will call for him and will transfer to the selected number.
VoiSmart, the solution to simplify your communications!


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"The vampire comes to England to seduce a visitor's fiancée and inflict havoc in the foreign land."
When I first saw Francis Ford Coppola's version of "Dracula" back in 1993, I was disappointed. I went into the film thinking that I was going to see a bigger budget version of Hammer and ended up having no memory of the film other than Keanu Reeve's appalling attempt at an English accent and Gary Oldman's weird hairstyle which reminded me of a couple of breasts on his head.
Over the years, I've come to appreciate what Coppola tried to do a lot more. Instead of making a real horror film out of Bram Stoker's novel, he tried to turn it into a love story and there's nothing really wrong with that at all. Just because it didn't work so well for Universal's "The Mummy" (1932), which was itself little more than a reworking of Dracula anyway, obviously didn't deter anyone.
Of course, for a hardcore horror fan, "Bram Stoker's Dracula" was quite weak. Sexist as it may be, I think this was a film for girls or couples on a date night not people like me. My girlfriend at the time absolutely loved it and I went along with her enthusiasm for a while by collecting the comics, posters, the crappy Sega Megadrive game, and even the coffin-shaped VHS box set (with a copy of the book and a little badge in it). I even joined "The Dracula Society" in London and became penfriends with a lot of weirdos who I hope I never meet in real life. Remember, this was ages before the internet as we know it even existed.
Anyway, having rewatched "Bram Stoker's Dracula" quite a few times, I have now developed a fondness for it which is pretty much based around Winona Ryder (who does a really good English accent) and Sadie Frost. Everyone else in the film can go to hell as far as I'm concerned although Richard E. Grant was the best of the bad lot of Lucy Westenra's suitors.
I never appreciated at the time how beautiful Winona Ryder was as Mina nor did the very ginger Sadia Frost do much for me but getting older changes the way you look at things. In 1992 when the film was made, both actresses were at their peak physically and professionally. If "Bram Stoker's Dracula" should be remembered for one thing alone, it's their uber hot kiss in the rain just as Dracula arrives in England.
Bram Stoker's novel always had an element of eroticism about it with vampirism being an allegory in many ways for sexually transmitted disease. If you ever see a copy of it, I suggest reading as many of the footnotes as you can absorb in "The Essential Dracula: The Definitive Annotated Edition". I learned a lot from that book which is far more than I can say about any of the Dracula films. It was thus no great surprise that the sexual elements were made a lot more of than previously.
Another very memorable scene was the attempted seduction of Jonathan Harker by Dracula's brides. Basically, every time I watch that scene, Monica Bellucci stands out as being the most beautiful of all of them and I wouldn't mind being bitten by her myself.
A disappointing memory for me about Coppola's adaptation was that Anthony Hopkins was rumoured to be reprising his role as Van Helsing in a film that never actually happened, "Chronicles of Van Helsing". I think it became a comic book series for a while but, ultimately, the only movie which came from it was that awful Hugh Jackman version, "Van Helsing" (2004). It's probably best that it never happened though as I don't think much of Anthony Hopkin's performance in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" at all. There's too much comedy to it and the Van Helsing character seems out of place in an otherwise completely serious film. He's certainly no Peter Cushing.
Obviously, my Dracula will always be Christopher Lee so I still barely even register Gary Oldman in the movie at all. It's a shame really as the story is supposed to be about his character but the way that he played three (almost four) different versions was doomed to failure from the start as none of them make up a whole.
I'm keeping "Bram Stoker's Dracula" in the Video Vault for now though as, until somebody finally makes a definitive adaptation of the novel, it's still the most ambitious version so far. It's a very flawed film for sure but still highly watchable and entertaining for, unfortunately, mostly bad reasons. It's a time capsule of what horror became in the '90s.


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- Home
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- Departments & Offices
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- Recycling
- Curbside Organics Collection (Composting)
Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about.
The Department of the Environment, DoE is piloting the curbside collection of food scraps in a project funded by an Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) grant. This one year pilot affords DoE the opportunity to gain vital information for food scrap collection, prior to the implementation of a Countywide food scrap collection program. Approximately 140 participants from the targeted communities of PepperMill/Carmody Hills, Wilburn, and parts of Tantallon/Fort Washington have agreed to assist in pioneering this effort. Participants are provided with the necessary materials, including a 35-gallon-wheeled cart, a kitchen bin, a one-time supply of compostable liners, a refrigerator magnet, along with a How-To Guide and Frequently Asked Questions,( FAQ's).
Food and food-soiled paper items, including paper towels, plates and napkins, pizza boxes and ice cream containers may be composted by setting out at the curb by 6:30 a.m. for Monday collection. For the purposes of the pilot, residents are asked to include only food and food-related items in the cart for collection. The County wants to gauge the amount of food and related materials that are diverted from landfills. Residents may continue to place yard trim beside the cart in paper yard trim bags or in another container with a tight-fitting lid marked "Yard Trim" or "Yard Waste".
Collections began in the PepperMill/Carmody Hill and Wilburn areas in December of 2017, and in January 2018, in the Tantallon/Ft. Washington area. All materials are transported for processing at the County-owned Organics Composting Facility located at 6550 South East Crain Highway in Upper Marlboro, by the contracted hauler for the participating areas.
If you reside in one of the targeted communities and would like to participate, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com with your name, address, and a telephone number. There may still be time to join in this pioneering effort!
The Prince George's County Organics Composting Facility located at 6500 Old Crain Highway in Upper Marlboro is one of the largest composting facilities on the East Coast accepting yard trim and food scraps through its residential curbside collection program, institutions and educational facilities.
The facility produces a nutrient-rich amendment product called Leafgro Gold that is great for flower gardens, vegetable gardens, perennials, bulbs, planting trees and shrubs.
Click here to learn more about the Organics Composting Facility.


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From January 2017 our hourly work rates are changing.
It's the first time we've reviewed our hourly rates in six years. We know price rises are never popular, of course, and we've tried to delay this increase for as long as we can (much longer than most other companies!).
Here's what's changing:
- Our standard hourly rate is increasing from £35 to £48 (up by £13 per hour).
- However, for customers who purchase a package of work hours in advance, we're offering a rate as low as £38/hour.
- We also now offer pre-paid work hours from just five hours' work, rather than a minimum twelve hours in the past, which benefits our smaller clients.
- The minimum billable time has been reduced from one hour to just 30 minutes. This means our minimum invoice for work is now £24 and not £35.
- For our time tracking, we're now invoicing in fifteen minute segments.
- We'll be introducing some more fixed-fee prices to our work throughout this year, such as our new SEO packages, so you have certainty on being given a set price upfront for our work.
Why we're changing our prices:
- As we haven't raised our prices since 2010, inflation alone accounts for half of the price increase.
- The average rate for website work is now £86/hour (according to an independent survey), with just 3% of professional web design agencies now charging less than £50/hour, so we're still very competitive to others.
- Our experience now stands above many other design companies. We've spoken at national web design conferences, we attend international web design events, and have a proven track record of working with large organisations. With our web design work, we now exclusively work with the WordPress platform and are very skilled in this area.
- Our response and turnaround times are very fast.
- Our new prices will allow us to expand our support team.
What we're not changing:
- Many agencies have a "day rate". We don't think that's always fair, because what happens if someone is distracted by a call, lunch break, etc. We charge only for the time we're actually working for you, so we only have hourly rates or agree fixed-fee projects.
- Unlike a lot of other design agencies who force clients onto a monthly retainer, we're keeping our flexible work packages approach as it benefits our clients and means you only pay for what you need.
If you have any questions, please do of course get in touch with us.
Mike is the founding director of Primary Image. He specialises in the WordPress website platform and speaks regularly at national web design conferences. Mike became a member (MCIPR) of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in 2015. Outside of work, his interests include photography and politics.


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This week's podcast comes from a fresh UK dance stalwart under the name of Viers; a young producer who's ...On July 1, 2013 / By URB Staff
We at URB are delighted to present this week's podcast, coming from the newest signing to R&S as well ...On May 7, 2013 / By URB Staff
This week's special podcast comes from the mind of Houston-bred, Berlin-based "digital aesthetic" Lōtic. Signed to Brooklyn next-generation electronic ...On March 6, 2013 / By URB Staff
This week's podcast comes from the Swedish duo of Sally Shapiro. Yes, that's right, it's a twosome that consists ...On February 5, 2013 / By URB Staff
This week's URB podcast comes from ShadowBox; Brooklyn-based and roaming free through the doldrums of listeners worldwide, Bonnie Baxter's ...On January 20, 2013 / By URB Staff
With our final podcast of 2012 being a truly personal honor to share with you all, we give you ...On December 20, 2012 / By URB Staff
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Advanced Beneficiary Notices (ABNs): What is Valid Use?
By Andrea Stark, MiraVista
In many cases, suppliers encounter situations in which patients need a specific piece of equipment or type of medical service but do not qualify for reimbursement under Medicare. Instead of dismissing the medical need, suppliers could assume the cost on behalf of the patients, which obviously cuts into profits, or utilize the powerful ABN tool, which shifts the financial burden to patients.
How can you use ABNs in your HME/DME business?
The advanced beneficiary notice is a one-page CMS form that providers give to patients before supplying items or services that are likely to be denied by Medicare. This form is completed partially by suppliers and partially by patients.
Effectively using ABNs can save your business thousands of dollars by protecting you from Medicare denials, but only if used correctly. The ABN usage is valid only if patients are notified that Medicare may deny the claim before services are provided and if patients consent to being held financially responsible.
Here are the three details that patients must understand for an ABN to be valid:
- The specific services for which they may be held financially liable (a description of the item is required, not just a HCPCS code)
- The specific reason(s) those services are expected to be denied (in terms that beneficiaries can understand)
- The amount they may expect to pay in the event of claim denial
Be mindful of how to appropriately file these forms so that you can protect your business financially and promote transparency with patients about costs they could incur.
For more information on ABNs, please click here to learn more from Andrea Stark. To learn how Mediware ensures complete documentation, click here.


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Not much to report as work on Bear Alley Books is on hiatus for the moment while I earn a living. I've spent most of the week writing reviews for a book on Cult Novels and filling in some gaps in the Science Fiction Encyclopedia and Crime Fiction Bibliography for a bit of light relief.
Honest, it can be quite entertaining and amusing sometimes. For instance, back in the 1930s and early 1940s, four crime novels appeared under the name Princess Paul Troubetzkoy which a mate of mine flagged up as being wrongly identified. He was proved right: the princess was born Rhoda Marie Maire Boddam and married Prince Paul Troubetzkoy, a Russian sculptor, in 1931. He's quite famous—you can Google his name if you want to find out more.
But it was Maire Boddam that we were interested in. John wanted to find out more and I was able to establish that Paul Troubetzkoy had died in 1938 and his widow followed in 1948 in slightly odd circumstances. Her body was discovered on the path leading to a cottage where she lived by a repairman. It was believed that she had slipped and died after striking her head in the fall.
That's not the amusing bit... what I also found was a note that she had become engaged in 1943 and the announcement in The Times implied some irregularities in her parentage:
Cue the old joke: "Female horse?" "Of course. Nothing queer about Captain Boddam."
Well, it amused me... if only they'd slipped in that extra comma.
Scroll down for the latest episode of "Eagles Over the Western Front". Tomorrow will be a bit of landmark as we reach the 50th post featuring the adventures of Harry Hawkes.
I almost missed another landmark: Bear Alley is now three years old. Happy birthday me! If you want to discover why I called this blog Bear Alley, take a look at the first post I wrote as that explains it all. Nearly 1,250 posts later, I like to think we've done our little bit to unearth a few tidbits about the history of old British comics and story papers. All I can add is that I might be growing old and cranky but I'll try and keep going... who knows what else we might discover over the next three years.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Comic Cuts
Labels: Comics News
5 comments:
- Mike W17 Aug 2009, 16:23:00
Happy Birthday!ReplyDelete
congrats steve ,always enjoy my visits to Bear AlleyReplyDelete
Happy Birthday..ReplyDelete
3 is the magic number...
And once again, thanks on behalf of the British comics researchers of the future :-)ReplyDelete
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I stamped the boots from Country Livin' with Soft Suede and then using the Early Espresso watercolor pencil, I just colored where the shadowing lines are on the boot. Then gently using a Blender Pen smoothed out the pencil marks using a circular motion. Added a little more where I wanted it a little darker.
Next, stamp the boots again onto a post-it note and trim just around the top of the boot, leaving the rest of the post-it whole so that the stems/leaves stay "inside" the tops of the boots. The stems are stamped with Old Olive and the flowers with Real Red. The stems and flowers are from Wild About Flowers.
Soft Suede - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded at 4 1/4"
Pacific Point - 5 1/4" x 4"
Whisper White 5" x 3 7/8"
Ink: Soft Suede, Old Olive, Real Red
Here is a peek at all three. Tomorrow I'll share the details on the last card you see at the bottom.
Happy New Year!


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A driver paying a toll died after a big rig slammed into his car causing a fiery wreck that left two people hurt.
On Tuesday morning, Pennsylvania State Police identified the driver of the station wagon that was struck at the tollbooths on westbound Interstate 78 in Williams Township, Pa.
Police say Daniel Murphy of Hackettstown, N.J. was stopped in toll lane 4 of I--78 near Morgan Hill Road when a ShopRite tractor-trailer driven by an unidentified 55-year-old from Allentown, Pa. rammed into Murphy's 200 Ford Taurus wagon.
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
The force of the crash carried both vehicles through the tollbooth -- Murphy's wagon becoming stuck under the big rig. Parts of the wreckage slammed into the tollbooth before coming to a stop several lanes over against an embankment and bursting into flames sending smoke billowing into the air.
"It's a terrible sight," said Pennsylvania State Trooper Marc Allen. "We have at least one fatality."
Murphy, 65, was trapped in the wreckage and died at the scene. The tractor-trailer driver got out and was transported to a local hospital, according to ShopRite.
A tollbooth worker was also injured when that worker run towards the fiery crash with a fire extinguisher.
Witnesses claimed they saw the tractor-trailer swerving and moving quickly before the crash. Police did not confirm those details.
Police stopped westbound traffic and closed the tollbooths for hours. The backup spread all the way back to New Jersey where police diverted cars off the highway.
Late Monday afternoon, two lanes on I-78 westbound reopened. The four remaining lanes reopened around 6:30 p.m.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing.
ShopRite released a brief statement that in parts read: "...Our thoughts and sympathies go out to the families of all involved in this terrible accident."


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TULSA, Okla.-In preparation for Saturday's exhibition contest against Northwood, the 2013-14 ORU Men's Basketball Media Guide is now available for viewing online.
The 2013-14 publication includes an additional 60 pages of information over last year's guide, and includes player and coach information, historical results and records and information on ORU's 2013-14 opponents.
ORU opens the exhibition season on Saturday, November 2, at 6 p.m. inside the Mabee Center as the Golden Eagles face Northwood. Rogers State will also play an exhibition contest at ORU on Wednesday, November 6 at 7 p.m.
The 2013-14 regular season will begin at 5:05 p.m. on Sunday, November 10 as ORU travels across town to face Tulsa in the PSO Mayor's Cup.
For the latest information on ORU men's basketball, follow @ORUMBB on Twitter or go to www.ORUAthletics.com.
|2013-14 Men's Basketball Media Guide
|2013-14 Complete Media
Guide (34 MB)
|Section 1 - Introduction
|Section 2 - Meet the Golden Eagles
|Section 3 - 2012-13 Year in Review
|Section 4 - 2013-14 Opponents
|Section 5 - Records and History


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With abstract it really is possible to make your article striking. The most vital piece for the composition might function as the introductory sentence. Exactly the same is true for both of the other paragraphs of a five paragraph essay. Professional essay aid might be invaluable. This might be an additional region for composition assistance. Each element of the essay must have a special role. This stage will feature the principal body of the article. This procedure will undoubtedly be potential if you're aware of how to really compose the correct article outline.
He narrates the history by placing himself together of the figures.
Here's a step-by-step procedure that will assist you to compose a successful article. Actually supposing it's the instance that the essay is the greatest piece of literature on the planet, it truly is going to be disregarded in the event the essay hasn't relation to this issue. At the 1st period, you really need to choose an excellent matter on your own composition. Hence there's simply no place for vague generalizations inside an argumentative composition. Discuss the key notion of the essay.


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Brice police face criticism over ticketing methods
Comments "Brice police face criticism over ticketing methods":
Author: SharThere can't be 6,000 violations in a year in a town that small.
Author: DaigarIts pretty bad when other cops come out and publicly condem a police department on a large scale. Brice shouldn't even have a police dept or even be its own town its unnecessary
Author: VileBrice is so poor that they cant even afford regualr lightbars for their fleet of 4 or 5 cars? Looks like they took one off a fisher price toy and enlarged it. Small lights and big ego's and d"icks. Have to compensate for something right?
Author: DaisarLittle Hitters
Author: Kazradalyou know this so called "Chief" couldn't get a job at a real police department


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Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals
Revamped Formulation for Even Loyal Stimerex-ES Fans
-The Most Potent No-Crash Energy-Boost Supplement Ever Created!
-Contains 25 mg Thermo-Z brand Extract
- Legal in All 50 States!
-The #1 Selling Fat Burner/ Energizer!
Hardcore Fat-Burning Formula for Real Fat Loss!
Many supplement customers know Stimerex-ES® with its stand-out black diamond-shaped tablet, a Hi-Tech original when it comes to Fat Control and Energy products. This formula has become the standard in the industry as far as natural fat loss supplementation is concerned. Hi-Tech introduced Stimerex® to the fat loss market in 2001 and it has been the leader among natural fat loss formulas for ten years.
In fact, since Stimerex® was introduced ten years ago, more than 1 billion dosages have been purchased! A number that big means a solid track record of feedback from millions of content, happy customers. This kind of feedback has given the Hi-Tech R&D team invaluable information in the development of more aggressive fat loss compounds and has provided key information that has helped us fine-tune existing products - products that have been at the center of the original Stimerex® formula.
Due to advancements in the design of new ingredients that have strong potential in supporting fat loss, increasing energy and improving mood, Hi-Tech, always on the cutting edge, applied new research with a decade of anecdotal evidence from happy Stimerex® customers. The R&D team went back to the lab to design a updated, hardcore version of Stimerex®, but not just a newer version but rather one that would raise the bar in the fat loss supplement industry.
Stimerex® Hardcore –Effective and Powerful!
This revolutionary new formula is the culmination of a decade of R&D, combined with ground-breaking new ingredients and some current ingredients that have been made even more effective. This means more effective fat burning for real fat loss, with hardcore stimulants for an amazing burst of energy and potent heat-promoting compounds for a higher level of thermogenesis. One ingredient is the powerful new stimulant, 1,3 dimethylamylamine.
Contains Hardcore Stimulants, Including the New Stimulant 1,3 Dimethylamylamine
1,3 dimethylamylamine is easily one of the most revolutionary stimulants to come out of herbal stimulant science. This ingredient is an extract from the plant Pelargonium graveolens and is a key component in the stimulant formulas of the new, next level Hi-Tech Weight Control and Energy products, which includes Stimerex® Hardcore. All that's required is a one tablet dose; this should leave no question as to the potency of this new compound – powerful but smooth.
1,3 dimethylamylamine is a sympathomimetic amine, this means it imitates norepinephrine – which is the neurotransmitter that generates the body's stimulant activity. So, 1,3 dimethylamylamine acts as a stimulant, it promotes a positive, happy mood beyond the original stimulant profile of Stimerex®. As well, its norepinephrine-like effect supports the other ingredients in the formula that promote fat loss through other mechanisms.
Besides 1,3 dimethylamylamine, our new Stimerex® Hardcore formula also includes each of the key all-star ingredients in the original Stimerex®, ingredients that have effectively promoted fat loss for ten years. Several of these compounds have been fine-tuned to improve their effectiveness even more. These ingredients include a 25mg dose of Thermo-Z™ ephedra extract, along with ramped up dosages of the Thermo-Rx® phenylethylamine alkaloids from Acacia rigidula, these include R-beta-methylphenylethylamine, methylsynephrine, B-phenyethylamine, and N-methyl-B-phenylethylamine.
25mg Thermo-Z™ Ephedra Extract – Turbo Charged Formula
Stimerex® Hardcore uses a cutting-edge quick release technology that allows an instant blast of the active ingredients that rapidly hits your system with fat-burning, energy-promoting, good-mood effects. Additionally, Stimerex® Hardcore includes the Hi-Tech proprietary Extend-Rx system of delivery, one more unique manufacturing process which will provide greater bioavailability of the formulas active ingredients, which features an timed release profile that will maintain your energy at high levels, promote appetite control and support a thermogenic environment for ultimate fat burning all day.
Along with its well- known effects tied into increased energy and improved mood, the Stimerex Hardcore ingredient formula has been designed to include several, multi-modal ingredients because of their known potential in promoting a multi-faceted approach to losing body fat, as well as new levels of energy.
As an example, the Stimerex® Hardcore formula includes 25mg Thermo-Z™ ephedra extract, Hi-Tech's 1,3 dimethylamylamine, phenylethylamine alkaloids, green tea extract (EGCG), and the xanthines theobromine and caffeine as beta-2,3 adrenergic receptor agonists to promote increased breakdown of fat into fatty acids and glycerol –otherwise known as lipolysis - and the mobilization of fat along with promoting thermogenesis, all of which leads to the accelerated burning of fatty acids that enter the bloodstream from improved lipolysis and fat mobilization.
Additionally, Stimerex® Hardcore includes yohimbe extract as an alpha-2 adrenergic receptor antagonist to promote the improved lipolysis that's tied into stimulation of beta-2,3 adrenergic receptors. Genetically, women are predisposed to a larger amount of alpha-2 adrenergic receptors on subcutaneous fat cells in the thigh, hip, and butt areas, which usually means more fat storage in these areas. In this case, Stimerex® Hardcore is a woman's best friend!
As well, the Stimerex® Hardcore formula includes the xanthines theobromine and caffeine to promote inhibition of the lipolysis cascade negative feedback loop. Next is 5-methoxytryptamine (5-MOT) to promote appetite control through inhibition of the hunger-regulating center located in the brain, this leads to a full feeling and a reduced desire to eat, this is done by support of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is tied directly to hunger control and the desire to binge-eat. Stimerex Hardcore also includes Cassia nomame extract to help block digestion and absorption of fats in the diet to generate a reduced level of calorie absorption.
As you can see, Stimerex® Hardcore has the fat loss and increased energy categories all locked up with a superior formula that consists solely of innovative ingredients geared to give you what you need to burn fat using a multi-faceted approach. Stimerex® Hardcore from Hi-Tech is possibly the most heavily dosed, loaded and ramped-up hardcore fat-burners and energizers you'll ever see! This is the next generation in fat burning supplements in the decade long evolution of the very successful Stimerex family of fat loss and energizer products. As you can see, Stimerex® Hardcore is a super-charged version of the original that includes a stimulant potency level untouched by even Hi-Tech's other stimulant products.
When you try Stimerex® Hardcore, be prepared to feel a out of this world mood, feel a smooth wave of energy from the moment you wake up all the way until you decide to get ready for bed, and, most importantly, begin losing that undesired body fat! Whether you're a man hunting for a chiseled six pack, or a woman striving for sexy curves, the answer is Stimerex® Hardcore!
Serving Size: 1 Tablet
Amount Per Serving
Proprietary Blend: with Thermo-Rx™ and Extended-Rx Technology™ - 510mg
Caffeine (anhydrous) - 150mg
Take 1 tablet three times daily. Do not exceed 4 tablets in any 24 hour period.
Do not use if you are pregnant or nursing. Consult a physician before using this product if you have, or have a family history of high blood pressure, heart, liver, thyroid or psychiatric disease, diabetes, anemia, nervousness, anxiety, depression, seizure disorder, stroke or difficulty in urination due to prostate enlargment. Do not use if you are taking an MAO or MAOI inhibitor or any other dietary supplement, prescription drug or over-the-counter drug containing phenylpropanolamine. Exceeding recommended dosage may cause serious adverse side effects including heart attack and stroke. Discontinue use and call a physician immediately if you experience rapid heartbeat, dizziness, severe headache, shortness of breath, or other similar symptoms. Individuals who are allergic or hypersensitive to caffeine should avoid the use of this product. Not intended for use by persons under the age of 18. Improper use of this product may be hazardous to a person's health.
Keep out of reach of children. The FDA has suggested a maximum of 10mg per day of ephedra.


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Sockeye salmon has a sturdy flavor and so needs very little in the way of preparation. In fact, some would say it is best eaten raw (first ensuring it is sushi quality, of course). I prefer to simply saute sockeye fillets in butter–no herbs and no sauce. At most, I might sprinkle on a little lemon juice after the fish is fully cooked. Continue Reading
Category : Holidays, January, Main Dishes, Recipes
Category : January, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
Winter meals in the northwest corner of the Pacific Northwest are all about warmth, stick-to-your-ribs heartiness, and flavors with substance. For locavores, winter is also about root vegetables, the kinds of things that are harvested in late fall and can be stored over the winter. Continue Reading
Category : Breakfast, January, Main Dishes, Recipes, Vegetarian
A friend of mine enjoys the taste of squash, but she has a hard time getting past the mushy texture. Since she grows so much squash in her garden, and often shares with me, I've been doing some experimenting to see if I could solve her problem and come up with some variation of cooked squash that was crispy.
This recipe was not a success from the texture point of view. However, the flavor was wonderful! Continue Reading


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If you are a woman 50 and over and you want to
- Get fit and you haven't been exercising for a while
- Start exercising for the first time in your life
- Understand why you should and shouldn't be eating
- Understand the language of being fit and healthy
- Know how, when and what to wear & where to buy it
Then this book is for you. Written in easy to understand language by someone who has been there and done that.
This book will take you on a journey to a new and healthy you.


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The fundamental nature of the Organization 5.0 approach requires the buy-in of the owners. Although a potential barrier to change, this provides an opportunity for active investors seeking to add value to their portfolio companies, to support organisational development.
The Evolution of Investment Strategies
Working for a Start-Up of 30 people for 4 years (with €12m of VC funding raised) gave me the direct experience of seeing how the Investors have a high degree of influence, yet only see the organization from the information available at the Board Room.
Critical Questions to Active Investors
John Oliver provides metrics-based human capital tools to investors, based on "Integrative" and "Meta-analysis" based research.
- Adult Developmental Metrics (based on the Lectica assessment tools and growth process)
- Organsitional "Stretch" Metrics (based on the Competing Values Framework and 30+ case studies of autonomous team organisations)
Articles and Research Papers
Time Spent Raising Funds vs. Time Spent With Portfolio Companies
Investors are often stretched in where they spend their effort, with the priority of raising their own funds, taking over their abilities to attend to actively supporting their portfolio companies.
Investor Alpha Through Human Capital Value Add


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The Substance of Faith
You can scroll the shelf using ← and → keys
You can scroll the shelf using ← and → keys
Second Sunday of Easter – Year B
Acts 4:32-35
The Antidote for Suffering
Suffering implies some sort of pain. It may be the physical pain of illness, the hunger of poverty, the emotions of grief, or the shock of betrayal. One way or another, suffering includes pain.
Our society today is obsessed with remedies for pain. We consume vast quantitates of medications designed to mask the reasons for physical pain. We spend time with therapists and absorb countless self-help books in a quest to eradicate the pain of guilt. People hook up to avoid the pain of loneliness. As one song says, "Some drink to remember. Some drink to forget." Both sides of the equation are about pain.
The list of the ways we look for an antidote to suffering is endless.
This passage for the Second Sunday after Easter suggests a different approach. It suggests community as a way to deal with suffering. A community is group of people committed to one another – and a common approach to life. In the case of the early church, it is a commitment to the risen Christ.
32 The community of believers was one in heart and mind. None of them would say, "This is mine!" about any of their possessions, but held everything in common. 33 The apostles continued to bear powerful witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and an abundance of grace was at work among them all. 34 There were no needy persons among them. Those who owned properties or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds from the sales, 35 and place them in the care and under the authority of the apostles. Then it was distributed to anyone who was in need. (CEV)
The testimony of the Word is that the member of the early church shared completely in this community and the suffering of want was eliminated. Community was the antidote to suffering.
This type of radical community has rarely been practiced in the history of the church. Many of us can name a few communities who have practiced it – primarily because they are well known due to their departure from the way most of us live – including me.
Too radical for you? Think of other examples where community mitigates suffering. Twelve-Step groups find their power in community. When crisis strikes, we ask for the prayers of as many people as we can because we find comfort in the prayers of Christian community. Don't we often ask, "How do people get by in dire circumstances without Christian friends?" That question is simply a way of asking, "How do people handle suffering without community?"
Perhaps these more common ways of alleviating our suffering by gathering together might be hints that the radical community of the early church is not an ancient practice, long discarded; rather, it is a timeless practice waiting for people of faith to discover its full power.
Thus Jesus introduced us to the shocking power of sacrifice,which can turn something that looks for all the world like loss into something that feels for all the world like gain. According to Frederick Buechner, "To sacrifice something is to make it holy by giving it away for love."
— Barbara Brown Tayor in Home By Another Way
Blessings have an unpredictable and even ferocious and power to change the way we envision life and ourselves.
Gary Gunderson and Larry Pray in The Leading Causes of Life
I used the Med text to ask, "Have we underestimated the power of God?"


text: While Mi Rancho is famous for our Cocina and Perishable departments. We are also a complete GROCERY market. Carrying a large variety of local vendors as well as our traditional Mexican and South American Products. We buy local whenever possible, means LOW COST to you and green to our environment. "Still the low price leader".


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The Palm Beach Soccer Academy's U16 girls, U16 boys and U12 girls travel soccer teams won championships at the 6th Annual Wellington Wave Soccer Shoot-Out. The competition was held Jan. 4-6 at Village Park.
Steffan Gawlikowski scored two goals in the championship game to lead the U16 Nomads boys to a 2-0 victory against host Wellington.
The U12 Nomads girls defeated Coral Springs United 6-3 in the Silver Division championship game, and the U16 Nomads girls Red team won the High School Division with 12 points. The U16 Nomads girls Blue team finished second in the division with six points.


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motion that forces change—this is freedom. This is the force of faith. Nobody gets what they want. Never again are you the same. The longing is to be pure.
What you get is to be changed.
When my husband's new job post came through and I was preparing to leave New York after seven years, and I was saying goodbye all the time, everyone—every single one—everyone (even a friend who was a war corespondant for 20 years and should know better) said, Oh it will be such an adventure! You're going on an adventure! How adventurous!
I suppose they were being nice, as a way to console me. But after a while I grew tired of it. If it's so great, I wanted to say, why don't YOU go on a stupid adventure?
Why don't you pack up everything you own and stand alone weeping in the empty rooms of your home—the bare rooms actually exuding a longing back to you—the ghosts of love, longing and joy, loneliness and accomplishment punching you in the stomach; the grief of departure lurking over every day because no matter how long you've prepared—and you've prepared for years—the grief will always be almost unbearable.
Why don't you say goodbye to your children's teachers, choirs, rituals, classrooms and friends, to the long walk to the school bus and to the true neighbors you've loved and depended on since pre-K, who you meet twice a day waiting for the school bus and so you know every innuendo of their days and lives.
Why don't you say goodbye to the dog you adored and the cat you endured and your babysitters who saved your life every day? To knee-high boots and sweaters and guys who know what they're doing when they cut your hair. Even if it's like $10,000. To the view out your kitchen window and to the thousands of pre-dawn moments when you gazed out the window while waiting for water to boil for coffee.
Your parents, and your brothers and sisters.
Your church, which gave you meaning for the first time in your life. Your friends.
Your seasons—autumn and fireplaces—to your English language, your coffee and your snowfall. Say goodbye to the feeling of entering Central Park for a long walk—the transformation of that. Say goodbye to the bunk bed your children slept in together all these years, and to the doormen who watched them grow up and who ushered us into and out of the world each day. Say goodbye to the children too—the little children—because soon after we leave, your son will master the Rubik's cube in 38 seconds and your daughter will have her first boyfriend, and their childhoods will suddenly seem far away.
So why don't you have the adventure, and let me be? I'll stay here. You jump from the ledge into the abyss and see how it feels. You know you'll have to do it eventually anyway. We all do at some point. Feel how crushing, sad, lonely, brutal and disorienting it is, and think how it all could be avoided if you just had a different life.
Take your little adventure. Take the leap, and let the force of the current carry you. And watch for the angels who arrive to usher you, and watch how you survive. And feel, one day, the way you resurface, and feel the realignment that happens—and see how you have changed, and how you are the same. And how everything is different now, and how it is always the same.


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Ways to plan for retirement, college
NEW YORK -- Saving for retirement and her children's college education is so huge and daunting that Sharron Luttrell doesn't have a clue how to begin.
"Where do we start? How do we even know what options are available to us?," asked the 39-year-old Boston mother of two.
What Luttrell does know is that she and her 50 year-old husband Martin better get up to speed financially -- fast.
"College is only 10 years away instead of far off in the distant future," said Luttrell, whose daughter turns 8 next month.
The Luttrells, counted among the nation's 76 million Baby Boomers, can't afford to procrastinate when it comes to financial planning. After all, like many of those born between 1946 and 1964, they'll be hit with tuition bills and possibly the cost of caring for their own elderly parents just as they near retirement.
"They are definitely going to be the first generation to feel the triple squeeze," said Christi Gebhart, a personal financial planner in New York who says many Boomers haven't prepared or thought that far ahead.
"They are reaching their 40s or 50s and starting to freak out a bit. They say, 'Oh my, we have spent everything we made,'" Gebhart said.
Boomers -- like anyone -- must start with the basics, say the experts: setting goals, tracking their spending, outlining assets and liabilities and developing a budget that includes a savings plan.
"It's never too early or too late to start planning for retirement. For boomers, it gets more difficult as time goes on," said Kenn Tacchino, associate professor of taxation at Widener University in Chester, Pa. "You just have to march double-time to catch up."
For starters, here's what the pros suggest:
1. Establish goals.
When New Yorkers Melinda and Rob DeRocker hired Gebhart in January, they realized they'd been paying more attention to their careers than what they were working for.
"I thought more about what my next business trip is than my long-term financial picture," said Rob DeRocker, 42 and co-owner of a public relations firm.
Gebhart made the couple write down their goals.
Now he and Melinda, 46, know they want to own a second home in the next five years and have $500,000 in long-term savings in 20 years. They also want to have money set aside to care for their parents if necessary.
2. Track expenses.
Monitor spending for at least three months, said Gebhart, who guarantees people will be surprised where they could cut back. She and her husband bought a coffee maker when they learned they were spending $275 a month getting it to go.
"Would I ever chose to spend $275 a month on coffee? Of course not," Gebhart said.
3. Take advantage of your job's benefits.
"Many employers provide pre-retirement seminars. They should be attending those," said Tacchino, who also holds retirement seminars.
He also urges people to enroll in their company's 401(k) plan if there is one and to contribute the maximum amount that the employer will match.
4. Pay yourself first.
Have a plan to save a certain amount of money each week or month, and stick to it.
"Someone who wants to catch up is really going to have to save a lot," said Ray Forgue, associate professor of family studies at the University of Kentucky.
Forgue also suggested the Web as a resource for figuring out how much money you'll need to save every month for retirement or any financial goals. For example, money.com features a retirement calculator.
Figuring out where your money goes and your net worth might also inspire you to save more and trim expenses, he said.
5. Reduce spending.
"There are so many Boomers who got caught up in the yuppie '80s and lived for today," Tacchino said. "They say, 'Geez, I would love to save for retirement, but I have too much on my plastic.'"
Even if you don't have credit card debt, chances are you can and should cut back, Gebhart added.
Client Melinda DeRocker was appalled by the amount she was spending on little items like manicures and home furnishings. Because the DeRockers don't have credit card debt and can meet their monthly bills, including the mortgage on their two-bedroom co-op, they never thought about what they really could afford.
"I was dismayed by how little we were actually saving," she said. "Little things add up so quickly. It was not one particular thing, but the whole picture that upset me, and I had to take a good hard look at myself."


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Today we like A Lesser Panda, because it is good. Do you want it?, well you can come buy a copy right here at Bangs!!! Holy one stop shopping! If you are one of those computer types, you can also download it off i-tunes….. YAY! The future!!!!!
Why don't you go ahead and check it out, JUST DO IT!!!!!!