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Special Report: Arab Spring: Revolution Interrupted
Aired May 25, 2012 - 22:00 ET
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight: a special report, "Arab Spring: Revolution Interrupted." It's not often that the correspondents who risk their lives covering conflict for CNN are in the same room at the same time anywhere. Tonight, they are, and we're going to spend the next hour taking an up-close look at the uprisings that are still playing out across the Arab world. But, first, a reminder of how we got to this point. In December of 2010, you may remember a Tunisian street vendor set himself on fire. He hadn't been able to produce the proper permits, and when he refused to pay a bribe, a local inspector slapped him. That was the final straw, the final indignity for this street vendor. He died from his burns. After his death, Tunisians fed up with high unemployment, corruption, and repressive conditions filled the streets. It was 28 days later Tunisia's president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, resigned and fled to Saudi Arabia. A wave of revolutions followed in neighboring countries, but more than a year later, they have hardly run their course. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COOPER (voice-over): February 11, 2011, Egyptians are celebrating across the country. After 18 days of intense protests, President Mubarak has stepped aside. Hopes are high for free and fair elections as the world looks to Egypt, hoping it might become a model of democracy in the region. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This moment of history belongs to you. You broke barriers and overcame obstacles to pursue the dream of democracy. COOPER: It quickly becomes clear the future of a post-Mubarak Egypt is anything but uncertain. Dreams of prosperity have yet to be realized as the economy worsens. Discontent with the pace of reform in the ruling military council leads to renewed protests in Tahrir Square. IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eyewitnesses show that they're actually breaking the cease-fires sometimes that are arranged here and just venting their fury. And there's another round of tear gas. I have got to put the gas mask back on -- venting their fury at the police. COOPER: By January 2012, Islamists have the political initiative, with the Muslim Brotherhood winning a majority of seats in parliamentary elections. Clashes between the military and protesters are again violent and deadly. Just one country away, another revolution, an uprising in Libya that began in February of 2011 quickly turns into a civil war. In March, opposition fighters are aided by NATO bombs, and the battle intensifies. ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is proving to be a much tougher battle than anyone had anticipated. This city, key territory, should the pro-Gadhafi elements be able to push in here, the concern is that this could potentially turn into a bloodbath. COOPER: Seven months of fighting ends with the fall of Tripoli in August. Two months later, Gadhafi is captured and killed. Libyans celebrate the possibility of a newfound freedom. But the sudden vacuum of power leads to a rise in regional militias that the transitional government struggles to control. Citing decades of neglect from the central government, the oil-rich eastern part of the country calls for a measure of autonomy. In March of this year, clashes between rival militias threaten to break apart a country held together largely by Gadhafi's dictatorship, while weapons from Gadhafi's bases spread instability beyond Libya's borders. In Syria, the Arab spring ignites the discontent that's been brewing for years against the oppressive regime of Bashar al-Assad. In March of 2011, demonstrations break out in the poor southern town of Daraa and quickly spread. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The level of anger and passion here is absolutely palpable. We're just a few miles from the center of Damascus, and this here is a crowd here that perhaps -- thank you. Thank you. This is a crowd here of perhaps several thousand people. They have taken over this whole area. They have put rocks in the road to prevent the police coming in here. COOPER: The government response is swift and violent. But the protests continue to grow even as the military begins to use artillery against civilians and a government militia murder and torture countless numbers of Syrians. In a country with no independent media, ordinary citizens are risking their lives to show the world what's happening, uploading amateur videos of the uprising. The regime insists they're not targeting protesters and repeatedly blame a small group of terrorists for the violence. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The government allowed peaceful demonstrations to take to the street, and they are protected by the police. COOPER (on camera): That's just -- oh, come on, sir. That's not true. You know that's not true. You're a very educated man. You simply know that is not true. (voice-over): Despite a peace plan put forward by the United Nations in the presence of a few hundred U.N. monitors, the violence in Syria continues with no end or solution in sight. (END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: CNN's Nic Robertson, Arwa Damon, Ivan Watson, and former CIA officer Bob Baer join many now. Nic, we talk about the Arab spring, but it is more than one season. This still continues. ROBERTSON: Absolutely. Bahrain, it's a project unfinished. The Shia population there are still clamoring for better rights. Syria, the Free Syrian Army has emerged. There's an element of almost civil war creeping into the -- creeping into the fighting there. This is -- Syria is only just beginning. Libya, for example, we don't have a centralized government there. Elections in Egypt. It really is the first phase that we saw last year. This is just -- it's going to keep going step by step by step. COOPER: And each of these -- Arwa, you have reported in each of these places. Each is obviously different. You were most recently I guess in Syria, when you snuck into Homs. How is that different than what you saw in Libya and Egypt, elsewhere? DAMON: The dynamics to every single country are incredibly different, which is why the way that they're all playing out is also phenomenally different, as is the international community's attitudes towards them. Syria is much more complex because of its strategic location, because of the various ways that historically -- Syria, really for the last few decades, has managed to position itself in such a way that it is regionally and internationally relevant. Those factors play greatly into how various global leaders are going to be approaching Syria. And you also have these other dynamics bleeding in from Iraq. You have the Lebanon dynamic, Turkey, of course, heavily involved. So it's no great surprise that Syria is playing out very differently and also potentially in a much more bloody fashion than any of the other revolutions that we have been seeing across the region. COOPER: Ivan, when you look at the map and with all the reporting you have done in Turkey, in Jordan, in Syria, also obviously in Egypt during the revolution there, in Libya as well, what really stands out at you from the past year, year-and-a-half? WATSON: I think just Arab people across the world standing up and saying they don't want their dictators anymore, these sclerotic systems that have been in place. And they're all doing it their own ways, but they feed off of each other. And then, of course, once the dictator falls, it's, what's next? And each country is wrestling with that question differently. And some are handling elections. In some cases , the dictators are still clinging to power, in Syria's case, trying to kill as many people as possible who say no to them. And they're all struggling with this next phase that's coming next, and that's what's fascinating, the elections in Egypt right now, people telling us and our correspondents there that they used to just talk about soccer or TV shows, and now all they can talk about is the politicians that they can now choose from. And that was never an option before. COOPER: And we want to in this hour talk about each country, and Syria, and Libya, and Egypt, and what we're seeing in each of those places now, as well as what happened. But, Bob, are you overall -- I mean, as you look at the region, are you optimistic about where things are now, about where they're going over the next 12 months? ROBERT BAER, INTELLIGENCE ANALYST, TIME.COM: No. I think we're heading toward chaos in the Middle East. COOPER: More than what we have seen? BAER: More than what we have seen, absolutely. Something's got to pop. We have to understand how cataclysmic these changes are. I worked in Syria for many years, and we always assumed that that regime would be always in place, replaced by one general after another, it would never change. Clearly, that's not the case. We have now that Saudi Arabia has effectively annexed another country, Bahrain. King Abdullah controls that country and the national guard. We have Libya, which is an unfinished revolution. You're going to see it break up in a couple weeks between east and west. You're going to see a fight over the oil facilities. We don't know. Now you have Lebanon. The mess in Syria has come across the border. And you have truly a sectarian conflict in front of us there between the Sunnis and the Shia. And to predict where this is going to go is -- is fruitless. You can't. COOPER: No one can. BAER: We're -- this is very serious stuff. COOPER: And no one in this administration or any country's administration can really predict... (CROSSTALK) BAER: I have spent my whole life in the Middle East, and I have never seen change so fast or so significant, and at the same time so dangerous. COOPER: Does it surprise you, having worked for so long in the Middle East, to see the amount -- that fear has kind of been put away by people? People seem no longer afraid in so many of these places, their willingness to repeatedly go out in Syria and demonstrate, knowing they're going to get fired upon. BAER: They would have never done this. I was in Hama right after it was hit in '82. And the Syrians were terrified. They were terrified of the regime, the secret police. They wouldn't say a word, nothing, nothing. They were terrified. They're not terrified anymore. COOPER: So, what changed? (CROSSTALK) ROBERTSON: I was going to say, it's a new generation. And some of the things that we have heard people say in Egypt, in Libya, and I think in Syria to a degree as well is, it's a shame my generation, the older generation, is what they say -- it's, you know, the parents of these young people who are risking their lives, who are losing their lives, they're saying, it's a shame we weren't strong enough to rise up and do this. COOPER: And we really -- we saw the young generation in Egypt being the ones who really came forward in the early days of the revolution. Even in Syria, it was children being arrested after graffitiing on the streets in Daraa that the protests began. DAMON: And Syria has one of the youngest populations in the Middle East. So it's not entirely surprising. They're also incredibly savvy. But when you look at the entire region as a whole and what has happened in it historically, the entire region was this massive, festering cauldron of discontent, to say the least. It was eventually going to boil over. The status quo in the Middle East could not last. And I think we're just beginning to see it starting right now. This is going to be a very prolonged revolution, or whatever we want to call it, and it is going to redraw the map of the region. COOPER: Are all these revolutions being co-opted? I mean, in Egypt, we have seen there was so much talk of democracy. And you had essentially a cross-section of the population in Tahrir Square. And, you know, people would give interviews in English saying things will never go back, and we're going to be a democracy, or we want freedom. And then it ends up being Islamists battling it out. BAER: You know, Islam is the default position in all of this, because in times of chaos, people turn to religion. It happens in this country. And they will in the Middle East. WATSON: We're seeing a pendulum swinging. I mean, you have had these generals and these families, these so- called, you know, secular regimes that had been in power for 20, 30, 40 years, who crushed political Islam and tortured its activists for decades. And now that is the natural kind of reaction. Let's give these guys a shot. And I think it will be interesting to see as they come to power one by one through elections in different countries how are they going to do with those unemployed young people who have been leading the protest movements and the revolutions? You guys try to govern this youth bulge in these Arab countries and see how you do. And maybe some of the glamour or the excitement will wear off of these Islamist movements after that. COOPER: Because a lot of them are not necessarily built for -- they're not built for running a city. BAER: The Koran is not a constitution. It's just not going to work. But they're going to try it. COOPER: We have got a lot more ahead in this hour. More than a year after the Arab uprisings began, just three autocrats have been fully ousted, in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. No leader is holding on tighter, though, than Syria's Bashar al-Assad. He's still slaughtering his own people. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAMON: To get to the upper floors, you really have to hug the wall, because there's one window that's exposed. But this is where you really see the full impact of the damage that was caused by the incoming rounds. I mean, this right here, it just speaks for itself. (END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WATSON: This is a rebellion of farmers, carpenters and university students. The men here describe themselves as members of the Free Syrian Army, but it would be much more accurate to call them an impromptu village guard. Many of them are defending these olive groves that surround their community with little more than hunting shotguns. (END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: That was Ivan Watson reporting from Syria back in February, before the U.N. brokered the so-called cease-fire that was never more than mere words. The killings, of course, have continued unabated, and the Syrian government is still telling the same lies that we have been reporting on for more than a year now. They're still refusing to grant visas to international reporters to travel freely throughout the country, so that we can see for ourselves what's really happening. The closest we have gotten recently -- or I have gotten recently was when I visited a refugee camp along the Turkish/Syrian border. More than 20,000 Syrians have now taken refuge in Turkey alone. Tens of thousands more where fled to other nearby countries. I'm back with Nic, Ivan, Arwa, and Bob Baer as well. Arwa, you were just in Syria, in Homs. It was interesting to see Ivan's report about back in February the so-called Free Syrian Army. Have the forces changed over time? DAMON: I think what we're beginning to see now is a growing fringe element of radical forces. COOPER: Jihadists, you're talking about. DAMON: Yes, Islamist forces, whatever you want to call them, the sort of third entity that has emerged, if you want to say. On the one hand, you have government forces. On the other hand, you have the Free Syrian Army, this rebel fighting force, and now you have this third entity that is emerging that is more of the Islamist force whose ideology, whose desires for the country don't necessarily mesh with that of the opposition. But they're sort of latching themselves onto the opposition's cause of wanting to topple this regime. But their long-term goal for Syria and the thoughts and what they want to see the country become is not what the opposition wants. Of course, the great risk now is that this third force will begin to gain even more and more power, as the opposition continuously feels abandoned by the West, by various international players. Who do they have left to turn to, to protect themselves at this point in time? COOPER: And that, of course, fits into the narrative that the Assad regime has been repeating all along, that this is al Qaeda, that these are jihadists who -- that they're fighting against, even though when this uprise in Syria began in Daraa and elsewhere, it was just regular people demonstrating in the streets, not even calling for the overthrow of Assad. They were calling for reforms. You just snuck into Syria again with a group of Free Syrian Army. Are you hearing those concerns about jihadists, about... WATSON: Yes. Yes, yes. Some of these revolutionaries who started out with their peaceful protests waving olive branches are saying they're being pulled over at checkpoints by people asking them if they have gone to pray at the mosque today or ask them why they haven't grown a beard. And these were the ones who started the uprising. So, as this has gone into its 15th month, the uprising is morphing, it's changing, and it's impossible for it not to, if you consider the amount, the incredible atrocities that have been committed over the past year-and- a-half. That is going to warp Syrian society. It has. And, you know, Bob brought up earlier the sectarian element. You know, one scenario could be Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect, there could be none of his people left in that country when the dust finally settles, when this is all done. COOPER: Is this just inevitable, Bob, I mean, in insurgencies, in opposition movements, that more radical elements come forward? Because some are saying, had the U.S. gotten involved or... (CROSSTALK) BAER: No. COOPER: ... NATO gotten involved, that would have maybe forestalled that. BAER: I don't think we could have ever gotten involved at the beginning. It just -- we didn't have any appetite for it. We didn't know which sides were fighting. But the point is that Bashar al-Assad brought this on by turning the tanks loose on population centers. He asked for it. This started out as a fairly benign movement, almost, you know, an incipient democracy, and he opened up with the artillery. Anybody could have told him that. And what's happened, the result of this is that the Christians and the Alawites have had to rally around him, which is about 30 percent of the population, give or take, and that's a Syrian number. They don't like Bashar al-Assad. He's not very competent. He doesn't know what he's doing. The generals are the most important. But you only have 30 percent of the population. But you look at -- I mean, anything could turn tomorrow. The Kurdish area over here could break away. They're talking about it now. They're in discussions with the Iraqi Kurds. (CROSSTALK) COOPER: But Daraa is really where the first demonstrations were. BAER: Yes. It's a heavily Sunni Muslim area, but it's also tribal. But it didn't start off as an Islamic movement. It's -- the Alawites forced it into becoming one, and I don't think we should ever forget that. (CROSSTALK) ROBERTSON: This is the narrative that he wanted to create, as you say, to draw those people in the middle ground who were sitting on the fence... COOPER: That it's either me or the flood. ROBERTSON: It's me or the flood. But I remember talking to people when I was there earlier this year. They were just saying we just want to hear from the opposition. We want to hear what it is, their view, for the future of Syria, because we're afraid. We're afraid that there might be an Islamist element in there. We want to know that sort of us, the Christians, will be respected and taken care of, the minorities will be respected. And they didn't hear that. And it's those very people now with the rise of groups that are sort of sounding and acting like they have learned from al Qaeda's playbook with their terrorist acts that are taking those people who were sitting on the fence in the middle, who might, who might have gone to the opposition firmly into the Assad camp. (CROSSTALK) ROBERTSON: And that's what he wanted to create. That's the strongest position for him, divide and conquer. And he needs as strong a bloc on his side as possible. (CROSSTALK) COOPER: We have seen twin suicide attacks a number of times here in Damascus, in the capital. The regime is saying, well, look, this is al Qaeda. These are al Qaeda jihadist groups. The opposition says, this is actually the regime who is setting off these bombs to make people believe it's al Qaeda. What do you think is the truth? DAMON: Well, I think the truth is -- probably exists in a gray area that is somewhere in between. The issue is that, with the action that the Assad regime is taking, the regime's claim that it is, in fact, fighting foreign- backed Islamist groups might up being a foregone conclusion, because that is beginning to emerge. One also has to remember the ties that exist between Syria and Iraq, very tribal. And when the Iraq war was taking place, there were a fair number of fighters that went from Syria to Iraq. They were trained on how to build roadside bombs. COOPER: The Syrian regime allowed even fighters in. (CROSSTALK) DAMON: Exactly. They opened the border. These fighters know how to blow up an American tank using things that you would find in your kitchen. They now went back, reportedly -- and this is what's interesting. When they went back, a number of them were, in fact, detained by the regime, but then released in the summer and early fall, with the regime's knowledge that they would then eventually carry out these types of attacks against the government itself, yes, but allow the Assad government to say, look, we are fighting these foreign-backed groups. COOPER: What's the role that Iran is playing in Syria, and how important is Syria to Iran? BAER: Iran right now -- I have some very good friends in Tripoli -- Lebanon is dumping money into Tripoli to fight the Salafi Muslim Brotherhood groups. They're defending Hezbollah. They want to hold onto this regime in Damascus at any cost, simply because they do not want to lose Lebanon, which might happen if there was some sort of real revolution in Syria that succeeded. And it's interesting because we're seeing these surrogate wars. The Iranians are putting money into Lebanon, and you have got the Qataris and the Saudis putting money into Lebanon as well, supporting the Salafi groups. And the explosions on Monday were a result of this, where this -- these surrogates are fighting each other in Lebanon. So, what we're seeing is the Syrian mess move outside the borders of Syria. COOPER: Want to talk more about the regional instability that could happen that we're already seeing and what may spill over into Lebanon and elsewhere. Also want to get everybody's take on that. We have more ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: A family of eight lives in this tent. It's actually two tents that have been place together. Each is pretty large, about 10 feet by 15 feet. In between the two tents is the cooking area that the family uses to prepare all their meals. This family owned a fishery in Syria that they say was destroyed by the regime. Two of their sons were killed protesting against Bashar al-Assad last June. That's when the family fled here. They have tried to recreate their lives as best they can. They are unfailingly polite to visitors. They offer tea, they offer coffee. Whatever they have, they will offer anybody who's visiting. And they try to keep the tents immaculately clean. But the truth is, their lives are in limbo, and they know it. They want to return to Syria, but they see no sign they will be able to go back anytime soon. (END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: That's what we found when we were in Turkey just recently along the Syrian border, that refugee camp now home to thousands of men, women, and children. It's just 300 yards or so from the Syrian border. You can see the lights on the other side of the border at night. As we said earlier, more than 70,000 Syrians have so far fled to Turkey and Lebanon, even some into Iraq. Those who have taken refuge in Lebanon are now facing the same shelling and gunfire that they ran from. Intense street battles have broken out in Beirut, Lebanon's capital, after the killing of an anti-Syrian cleric and his bodyguard. There have also been violent clashes in the second largest city, Tripoli. The political and sectarian ties between Lebanon and Syria are complex. There's growing concern about violence spilling over Syria's border, not just to Lebanon, but beyond. Back with Nic, Arwa, Ivan, and Bob Baer. Just in terms of the humanitarian situations, which you have done a lot of reporting on, Ivan, we're seeing 23,000 Syrians now in Turkey, but also just a lot of internally displaced people within Syria, more than a million or a million-and-a-half at last count that I saw. WATSON: Yes. People are moving, running away. And they have these family networks, so they can move in with relatives for a while, but it puts immense strain on society. (CROSSTALK) COOPER: Yes. DAMON: Just to add to that, too, if you just look at the city of Homs in and of itself, people who are living in Barbar fled somewhere else and then got targeted there. Then they got targeted elsewhere. Some of this footage that is being smuggled out from us from the activists when they're interviewing residents of one neighborhood, that's the fourth or fifth time they've had to do that. COOPER: And those are Sunni neighborhoods? DAMON: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're not going to be able to go back, either. DAMON: No. ROBERTSON: These are infrastructures that are decimated. You look at collapsed buildings. Pools of water in the road. That tells you that the water supplies have been interrupted there. The electricity, of course, is gone from those neighborhoods we know. So this is just an increasing -- it's an increasing number of people who are... COOPER: And the Syrian regime has not allowed the Red Crescent to go into these neighborhoods to give humanitarian relief. DAMON: They've been able to access some of them, but it's in no way, shape, or form even beginning to meet the demand, not to mention that many of the activists are wary of approaching the Syrian Red Crescent that is viewed as being an arm of the regime. So they tend to stay well away. But you'll also have the emergence, especially in a city like Homs that is so diverse when it comes to the various sects that exist, these fault lines that are emerging. They're reminiscent of what would emerge in Baghdad where Baghdad split along Sunni and Shia. And you see that in Homs between the Sunnis and the Alawites. And along these front lines you have complete massacres to the point where activists in some cases have to bash massive holes through walls, crawl from building to building in that way to reach, say, the scene of a massacre where they're just trying to retrieve the bodies. And what you're increasingly hearing, for example, is activists that we speak to a few months ago that were talking about the need to keep a lid on these sectarian tensions, that we're talking about the need to have forgiveness and amnesty in the future. They have seen so much that they have completely snapped and now say no, we just have to slaughter them all. COOPER: A lot of people in the United States are obviously wary of any kind of intervention at this point. They've seen Iraq; they've seen Afghanistan. Bob, why does Syria matter in terms of the region, in terms of the situation? Why should people pay attention? BAER: Because the entire region is in one way or another involved in the fighting there. When you have -- when you see Libyan fighters and Libyan weapons going to Syria, going to Lebanon, and you see the Qataris and the Saudis coming in, they intend to fight this war there rather than Bahrain or even in Saudi Arabia. And who wins in Syria and who loses matters to the entire region. As the Alawites tell me, all the Saudis want to do is, "Well, we lost Iraq. We the Sunnis lost Iraq in 2003, so we're going to take Syria and Lebanon in recompense." It's this kind of thinking. COOPER: And that's why so much Qatari money is going to... BAER: And they truly believe this. It's a balance of -- well, terror in this case. And it's a proxy war with Iran. And we, the United States, can't decide which side to come down on. I mean, how can we come down on the side of the Iranians? COOPER: Are there chemical weapons in Syria? BAER: Syrian chemical weapons in Syria. This is not like WMD in Iraq. We've followed this for years. It's deliverable by missile. It's very sophisticated, and it's spread out in Syria. And if these chemical weapons were lost, it's a very, very alarming thing. And this is a serious threat. This is not -- this isn't imagined. And it's out there somewhere. COOPER: Because when a lot of people hear, wait, there's chemical weapons... BAER: No. This is different. I covered both Syria and Iraq, and we had this stuff nailed, and it's very dangerous stuff. And, you know, if someone were to put on a missile and fire it into Israel, who knows where the war could go from there. ROBERTSON: Something occurred to me very strongly last week. Last week I was sitting in a trial of Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian war criminal accused of the biggest mass slaughter since World War II, killing of 7,000 Muslim men and boys. There was laid out, almost 20 years after his crimes, ethnic cleansing as the government -- the government that Bosnia dictated it should be and implemented when for three years the world closed its eyes. And it knew what was happening from the satellite imagery and it was getting the pictures from the ground. And I sat there in that courtroom thinking this is what's happening in Syria. Today we know what's happening. We have the images. There is this sectarian split that's happening. There is a cleansing of people from neighborhoods where Assad doesn't want them anymore. And it's -- one day we're going to sit -- one day he may end up in the Hague in the court himself. And how many -- I wondered to myself how many tens of thousands of people will die before we reach that point? COOPER: Well, also, you know, the world cannot say that we didn't know what was happening in Syria. Some people said that in Rwanda, well, we just didn't know the details of it or in Cambodia. We've all seen. If it's not, you know, Arwa, you guys being there. It's activists who have pointed their cell phone cameras and turned them on and hit record and who have recorded their own deaths, have recorded their own slaughter. WATSON: And the frustration, the resentment that you hear from Syrians about -- about this is incredible. I had a guy in a refugee camp come up to me. He said, "Where are you from?" I said, "I'm American." He said, "Tell your president his election -- shame on him. His election is not more important than the slaughter that's happening inside Syria." Twenty years later at the Hague, these women who have lost their husbands and wives, the 7,000 who died, when we asked them, isn't it good that Mladic is on trial? Isn't that good? The answer comes back every time, "No, you should have stepped in at the time and stopped this slaughter." COOPER: I remember year two or year three of the war in Sarajevo, you'd go there as a reporter, and people would -- you know, whereas the first year of the war, people wanted you there and they wanted you to see what was happening. They would bring you to the hospitals and the operating theaters. By year two or year three, they would yell at you, "What more pictures do you need? Why should we show you more? Nobody's paying attention to anything you're doing. You're just ghouls. And I understand that argument. BAER: This is a lot worse. The potential for genocide in that part of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is much higher now and much more serious consequences. And we do have to get serious now. COOPER: We've got to take another quick break. More with Nic, Arwa, Ivan and Bob. Up next, Egypt's uprising. The violence continues even after the fall of Mubarak. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WATSON: I predict both sides are going to start fighting again. Within a matter of minutes. (END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: I'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: That protest in Tahrir Square broke out almost a year after Hosni Mubarak was ousted. Egypt today is a country at a critical juncture facing an uncertain future. Mubarak was the second Arab leader to be toppled in the uprising of 2011. He stepped down after 18 days of protests, handing power over to the military. It was a heady moment for the young protesters, the bloggers, the tweeters, and all those in Tahrir Square and the streets of Cairo who drove him out. Several months later, Egyptians are now choosing their first democratically elected president. But those young liberal voices of the revolution have mostly been sidelined. The election is widely seen as a battle between Islamists and holdovers of the Mubarak regime. Back with Nic, Arwa, Ivan and Bob Baer. Ivan, you covered the protests in the run-up to the parliamentary elections just recently in Egypt. I think a lot of people sort of stopped watching after Mubarak failed, but there's a real battle going on now in the streets of Cairo. WATSON: Absolutely. And once Mubarak stepped down, a lot of people started calling that initial Tahrir Square revolution a military coup, because he and his family were pushed out, and the generals took over and didn't do a great job of governing. COOPER: So what's happening there now? WATSON: So now presidential elections are taking place. The parliamentary elections led to a surprise. The Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis, kind of hardcore Islamists, won the majority of the seats in parliament, which was kind of a nightmare scenario for many people and particularly for the protesters that we met in Tahrir Square, who many seemed secular kind of Internet-savvy revolutionaries. COOPER: It was interesting, though, in Tahrir Square when push finally came to shove, and it became -- you know, in the dead of night and it was the people grabbing corrugated steel shields. It was a lot of guys with beards. I mean, it was harder-core elements than some of the more liberal people you saw during the day before it got really, really violent. You were traveling in... WATSON: Yes. I mean, those guys have been some of the real foot soldiers of the riots and the protest movements in Cairo, too. You have Islamists and also fans of soccer teams with deadly results when there have been some real killings in the last year. So now you have a presidential election under way, and there have been calls for symbols from the old regime from the Mubarak old guard running for president. DAMON: And I think there's a tendency to want to oversimplify things and sort of block it off into black and white. And, you know, black is the Islamists and the radicals and the Salafis and white is the people that want democracy and those young people that we saw in Tahrir Square. But I mean, if you just looked at the population of Egypt, it is a very complex, colorful, multifaceted population. And it is going to play itself out. COOPER: There's also a belief in the U.S. that somehow the U.S. could have controlled events or changed events. But this -- my sense was this was happening whether or not the U.S.... BAER: Oh, it was happening. Our worst mistake, Anderson -- I think you're absolutely right -- is to look at the Muslim Brotherhood, equate it with al Qaeda. It's just not. The Egyptians have run through their -- their streak of violence against foreigners. The head of al Qaeda today is an Egyptian, but he's essentially irrelevant. DAMON: This was not a religious revolution in Egypt. It was people wanting their basic rights but also people wanting jobs. A lot of what Egypt's economy is tied to is tourism. I mean, if we were to hypothetically assume that the Islamists would take over and kind of change the way that one could operate inside Egypt, and if they weren't able to get the economy going, if they weren't able to satisfy the demands of the various youth, they're not going to survive. COOPER: I remember going to Cairo in the early '90s and interviewing Muslim Brotherhood guys in secret with their faces in shadows and their slogan had been Islam is the solution. When Americans hear that... Because Americans are terrified of Islam because it's somehow developed into this entity that absolutely causes your average American to quake in their shoes. That's not necessarily reality. Islam is incredibly complex. There are so many different dimensions of it. Islam in its true form is not the Islam that we necessarily see being practiced or applied today. A quick break. More with Arwa, Nic, Ivan, and Bob. Up next, Libya. Tribal clashes are still a fact of life. Six months after the death of Moammar Gadhafi, can there be peace in Libya? Will the country actually survive as one country? (COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: It took opposition forces in Libya almost eight months to topple Moammar Gadhafi. He was captured and killed last October. The country he ruled for 42 years is scheduled to hold its first free elections in June. Voters will choose an assembly to draft a constitution. That's the plan on paper. But with Gadhafi gone, Libya has been consumed by clashes and violence. Gunmen recently attacked the prime minister's headquarters in Tripoli, killing at least one person. The interim government is struggling to rein in disgruntled militias that refuse to disarm. They're demanding cash and jobs in return for the role they played toppling Gadhafi. And there's growing concern that weapons are being smuggled out of Libya. No one is sure exactly where they're going to end up, but there are reports of weapons reaching Niger and Sudan. Let's bring your panel back in. How big a concern, Bob, for you are those weapons? BAER: Extremely. There are a bunch of weapon depots that were seized by disparate groups in Libya, and they were quickly moved through Niger over into Mali. And now they are up with surface-to-air missiles or with al Qaeda in Timbuktu. So, you know, what happens to these missiles. I've been told that there's talk of bringing them to Chad, to Cameroon, to Nigeria there. They're operational. They can bring down civilian airliners. COOPER: You think Libya is actually going to break up as a country? BAER: Absolutely. COOPER: Absolutely. BAER: I think it's going to be east and west. DAMON: The oil is all in the east pretty much so you have your ideal battleground that would potentially be laid out. What I do also think when we look at what's happening in Libya, giving everything the country has been through, we do need to cut it a little bit of slack. Right now post revolution there's an estimated 125,000 armed people. There's anywhere between 100 to 300 different separate militias. There are absolutely no institutions that exist whatsoever. Within all of that, it's actually holding together at this point in time pretty well. COOPER: Amazing, isn't it. ROBERTSON: When we talk about the weapons, a few months ago we were in Niger, and I remember talking to a local journalist there, very well plugged-in guy. He said the people had seen coming through the town there on the back of a big truck that had driven across the desert from Libya helicopter in pieces that had been broken down, put on the back of a truck, and driven out to Niger. A helicopter. If you can take something that big, the organization, it's not ten little people running around with stuff. It's a serious organized train of places to take them, people with money to buy them. ROBERTSON: Another thing that's happened in the east of the country here around the area, al Qaeda is believed to have set up camps, although al Qaeda wasn't part of the Arab spring. They're looking for ways to benefit, and they know they can tap into perhaps tribal, perhaps more conservative Islamists. COOPER: So are people better off in Libya now without Gadhafi? ROBERTSON: Not yet. They have an uncertain future. DAMON: It hasn't played out yet. We don't know what the end game is going to be yet. And I think, you know, these elections that are coming up are going to be very interesting, as is the way that the constitution, what kind of constitution eventually ends up being drafted. The concern right now, though, is that the country is holding together in this dysfunctional/functional sort of way. But everybody seems to believe that these elections are going to be some sort of magic wand that is going to solve all their problems. Once they realize that nothing is ever that simple, that is when the country really risks being fractured. COOPER: But isn't that the process? I mean, we saw that in south Africa as well, you know, with the first elections there. People kind of talked about it hugely optimistically as if it was going to be some kind of magic wand. And that's the process all countries go through. ROBERTSON: It's great to have a process. But if as a result of that process arms flood this region, strengthen elements of al Qaeda, destabilize other countries, al Qaeda is able to get more of a footprint and a hold here that threatens potentially Europe. Great, have a process, but there are consequences with that process. COOPER: We've got to take a quick break. What's next for -- not only for Libya but for Egypt, for Syria, for this region? Where is the next uprising going to start? Will democracy be able to take root in the region? What's it going to look like if it does? Our special report, "Arab Spring: Revolution Interrupted" continues in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: Hey, welcome to our special. We're back with our panel, Nic Robertson, Arwa Damon, Ivan Watson and Bob Baer. I want to get just your final thoughts on where you're going to be looking in the next 12 months, what the future holds for the region. ROBERTSON: I think Syria is going to be a big focus and how that spoils, as we've seen it recently into Lebanon, the impact that it has on the border with Turkey. The sectarian dimension of Qatar, Saudi helping fund the Sunnis here, Iran's involvement with -- I think -- you know -- I mean, Syria is going to be the focus, but I think the bigger picture is going to develop, and the trends of it are going to become clearer. And the sectarian issue, that's just developing and getting bigger and bigger and bigger. COOPER: And at this point in Syria, neither side can win. Assad can't wipe out the opposition. And the opposition can't overthrow Assad. DAMON: There will be a long war of attrition that will be regional consequences, or there's going to be some sort of other factor that becomes a game changer. But that is also not going to be able to prevent the inevitable scenario of a full-blown war in Syria. If that process were somehow taken out, step-bound tomorrow, that would still not avoid that scenario. And I think the debate needs to be about how to mitigate the spillover effect, because it is going to drag every single country down into it. BAER: We haven't talked about Iraq. I mean, you've got the Kurds up here. They are furious with Maliki in Baghdad. They are talking about federating with the Kurds here. Turkey's in on these negotiations. To me, it looks like we're almost, you know, rewriting the Ottoman borders and that we're going back and trying to fix the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. That's still playing out. The Ottoman Empire is still playing out? BAER: Imperialism, whatever you want to call it, it's still falling apart. And this is going to play out and it could go very bad tomorrow or it could just sort of drag along for a very long time. COOPER: Is this something the U.S. can really influence? BAER: No. Can't do anything about it. COOPER: Really? BAER: It's too big, too complicated, too expensive, and the hates are too deep for us to solve it easily. COOPER: It just has to play out. BAER: Let it play out. DAMON: The Middle East have been victim to western drawing its borders already once. I doubt everything it's been through it will allow western powers to do it once again. BAER: Especially not now. WATSON: I'm too young to have covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of... COOPER: Stop bragging. Jerk. WATSON: But I do feel -- to cover that -- but I do feel like we're living through that period today. And I think your comparison to the Ottoman Empire and those borders and -- sadly, Syria had an Ottomanesque tapestry in society. They're multiethnic, multisectarian, and that may be the casualty of this spasm. It is an extraordinary time with, you know, great negatives, but -- and potential for great change, but, I mean, when you think about 14 months ago the start of the uprisings in Syria, I don't really know of any experts who thought this was a real challenge to Assad. BAER: Nobody did. Nobody did. I mean, there may be somebody on the margins out there that just happened to be right. We just can't predict where this is going to go. COOPER: Fascinating times. Nic, Arwa, Ivan, Bob Baer, thank you very much. We'll continue to watch the events in all these countries. Will the people taking to the streets, demanding change, finally get what they want, and what exactly does that mean? Thanks for watching this special report, "Arab Spring: Revolution Interrupted."


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Nest-like in shape (hence its name), 2 Nest Village is a cluster of container-shaped, modern homes for El Paso, TX. Designed by OFIS Architects, the units are prefabricated and stacked in a way that optimizes light, ventilation and protection from the desert wind and sun. Each home has its own solar shade that not only keeps interior temperatures down, but also adds a cool design element which is amplified due to the repetitive look of the complex. The positioning of the units also creates an oasis-like internal park which is complemented by private terraces and roof gardens.
To make construction faster, more sustainable and more affordable, all of the rectangular units will be prefabricated and have common dimensions. Going along the same thought process, the other construction systems and installation details will all be kept uncomplicated. Room sizes, window and door dimensions, closets, and ceiling and floor materials will all be standardized.
While the homes appear to be stuck closely together at first glance, there is actually space between each one to facilitate ventilation and a cooling effect. Each container also has its own shading system made of precast wooden panels covered with fabric that sticks out stylishly sort of like an awning. And while the units are shaped like shipping containers, they have thick plaster and stucco walls that maintain inside temperatures.
Another noteworthy element is the design of the parking lot. Located underneath the communal garden, the lot maximizes minimizes the heat island effect and storm water runoff since it's underground. Having an underground lot also maintains the beauty of the landscape (who wants to have a view of an ugly parking lot from their apartment?) and also contributes to LEED credits for protecting and restoring habitat, maximizing open space and others. Lastly, the garage space is used to draw air in from outside and channel it upwards fr ventilation and create a passive heating/cooling effect.

subset: commoncrawl


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News |
March 09, 2018
The Lectric Monks EP Launch Interview
Exciting times await the six monks, hailing from Pretoria, as well as their fans – they have launched their very first EP! We had a sit down with the vibrant hexad to get the lowdown on their creative processes, possible tours and Strab festival do's and don'ts. Right guys, you have made some name for yourself here in our home town. After this launch, will you be planning on touring the rest of Mzanzi? Definitely! We are looking to take the show on the road wherever it may take us. Durban and......
Continue Reading
News |
April 19, 2017
Pixies Rock The Lawns
Nostalgia can be a quite addictive and a beautiful experience. 10 years ago you had your first kiss with Thembi the girl who sat behind you in Afrikaans. You have...
News |
February 16, 2017
A Look Into Off The Grid Music Festival
Before we take a look into Off The Grid Festival, let's talk about how being a "good person" isn't always easy. Take festivals for example… I love everything about them!...
News |
February 01, 2017
Excitement is building as Leftover Crack, the band your mother warned you against, are coming to our shores in a few days time! Most of you know what to expect,...
News |
November 07, 2016
Q & A with Aidan Martin
Aidan is most likely the South African bluesy rock love child of Jimmy Page and Keith Richards. His band has just dropped a new music video for their song Refugee....


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Clinique Altermed offers safe psychological and psychotherapy services by fully accredited professionals
At Clinique Altermed, each psychologist holds at least one official graduate diploma in addition to related compulsory training that must be completed concurrently with his or her practice.
Since September 2009, "An Act to amend the Professional Code and other legislative provisions in the field of mental health and human relations" has defined the practice of psychotherapy in Quebec."
The bill stipulates that:
"Psychotherapy is psychological treatment for a mental disorder, behavioural disturbance or other problem resulting in psychological suffering or distress, and has as its purpose to foster significant changes in the client's cognitive, emotional or behavioural functioning, his interpersonal relations, his personality or his health. Such treatment goes beyond help aimed at dealing with everyday difficulties and beyond a support or counselling role."
Every physician, psychologist or holder of a psychotherapist's permit shall practise psychotherapy in accordance with the laws and regulations governing the physician, psychologist or permit holder, and with the following rules:
- establish a structured process of interaction with the client;
- do a thorough initial evaluation;
- apply therapeutic procedures based on communication; and
- use scientifically recognized theoretical models and proven intervention methods that respect human dignity."*
Individuals have the right to demand quality service from an accredited professional before beginning psychotherapy.
*An Act to amend the Professional Code and other legislative provisions in the field of mental health and human relations (Bill 21), Quebec Official Publisher, page 9, http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=5&file=2009C28A.PDF
Psychologist at the Plateau Mont-Royal clinic
- Alejandra Drannikow (With us since 2011)
Her Approaches
Alejandra Drannikow – Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic
Professional Affiliations
Our psychologists are all members of the Ordre des psychologues du Québec (OPQ).
The code of ethics and professional conduct of the OPQ is respected in every way in order to protect the confidentiality of patients.
All receipts issued mention the name of the therapist's order.
Training, Certification and Skills
Our psychologists have completed graduate degrees in psychology and adhere to the code of ethics and professional conduct of the Ordre des psychologues du Québec (OPQ).
In addition, they maintain their level of knowledge


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Residential parking permits are available for the use of residents and their visitors. Permits are only valid for use when the vehicle is parked as close as possible to the residence to which it was issued. They must be used only to attend residence of issue, and are not to be used to visit any other property, even if it is within the boundaries specified on the permit.
Resident parking permits are only available to residents whose primary place of residence is within the municipality and who are living at the residence.
Permits must be displayed as per the conditions of use at all times. Vehicles parked with permits that are not displayed correctly or are illegible to a person standing outside may be subject to the issue of an infringement notice.
Up to two residential parking permits may be issued free of charge to each rateable residential property unless Town Planning restrictions apply. The two free permits may consist of:
Residences where no Specific Vehicle Permit has been issued are not eligible to receive more than one Variable Permit.
Additional permits may be available to residents for a fee. The number and cost depends on the residential permit area. For more information, please call Council's Service Centre on 8290 1333, or enquire in person at the Stonnington City Centre or Prahran Town Hall.
Resident parking permits do not apply at any time to:
Permits may not be used for business or commercial purposes at any time. They are only for the use of residents.
Resident parking permits are designed for passenger cars only of residents. Please note that permits are NOT available for:
The information on this page does not provide all permit conditions of use. Full conditions of use of residential parking permits are provided at the time of application, issue and renewal. It is the responsibility of the permit holder to be familiar with, and ensure that their visitors are aware of, the permit conditions and adhere to them at all times. It should be noted that infringement notices incurred due to a lack of knowledge or understanding of the permit conditions may not be waived.
Where permits are used contrary to any of the terms and conditions a parking infringement notice may be issued and the permit cancelled. Continued mis-use of parking permits may also result in all permit privileges for a residence being revoked.
Please download the Residential Parking Permit application and conditions.(PDF, 235KB)
Last updated: 26 June 2018
The City of Stonnington acknowledges that we are on the traditional land of the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri people and offer our respects to the elders past and present. We recognise and respect the cultural heritage of this land.


text: Chilly Sunbath 10:36 Hope you are enjoying your Sunday. Much Love to you! XO Denim skinny Jeans - Zara Shirt - Jennyfer Women's down vest - H&M Share This Story Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin this Post Tags: MyStyle Newer Post Older Post You Might Also Like 0 comments


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EDIT: It took me a while to figure out that this was dead. Hey, YOU try reading through 400+ comments!
This free YoYo lip gloss (sadly not in the shape of a fun toy or famous cellist) only if you write a review, comment, or simple fact about the lip gloss on your blog or favorite site. So theoretically, you could just leave a comment here on HIF saying how much you love the lip gloss and then link to your comment when you sign up for the freebie.
Don't know how to link to your comment? It's easy! Just leave a comment, then click the blue number next to your name. Finally, copy the link in your browser bar and you're all set. If you're having trouble, I made a quick tutorial that should clear things up.
I haven't ever used this before, but I'm hoping it's awesome. Actually, my little sister is hoping it's awesome, because she's the one who'll be using it!


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I have been a huge fan of local search (and Google Local) for quite a few years now, and have signed up for and/or recommended every client I have sign up with any and all search engine local programs. That being said, I am not sure how many have noticed what Google is now doing with their local results - check this picture out: (I did a search for Gilbert Arizona Web Design)
You will see much more than 3 results come back in the local results now (old version just showed 3 at most). I think this is a good move (even though the text is harder to read) because I always wondered just how many people actually clicked on the link to see more local results. This has the potential to give more local businesses exposure, users writing more reviews and make it easy for them to rank higher on the (more natural) search results for at least one of their most targeted phrases, and do it for free. Of course Google is going to benefit in the form of advertising revenues, but I still think this was a pretty good move.
If you are newer to local search on Google, you can go to http://local.google.com and click on the learn more for "add/edit a business" and sign your business up. It is pretty simple and easy to do, and most local businesses are not doing it, so this could give you even one more edge over them. Any of the major other engines have local programs to that you can sign up for Ask Local, Yahoo Local - you get the picture.


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Allegiance Quilt – Step 1
© Vicki Welsh
© Vicki Welsh
In this step we will make 18 pinwheel blocks.
Using Fabrics 1 and 3 make 18 pinwheel blocks. For the veteran's quilt the blocks will finish to 6" (6.5" unfinished). For the Quilt of Valor the blocks will finish to 9" (9.5" unfinished).
There are many ways to make a pinwheel block and you should use your favorite method. If you are cutting half square triangles here are the cutting instructions:
Veteran's quilt: Cut 36 squares in each fabric 3 7/8" and cut once on the diagonal.
Quilt of Valor: Cut 36 squares in each fabric 5 3/8" and cut once on the diagonal.
Alycia is making the Quilt of Valor size. So she calculated that using 42 inch wide fabric would yield 7 squares per strip. Therefore you would need 6 strips.
You can press the seam however you prefer. Just try to minimize the bulk at the center of the block. The direction of the seams on the edges of the block doesn't matter at all.
PRINTABLE VERSION: is HERE
PRINTABLE VERSION: is HERE
Alycia's Method of Half Squares Triangles:
Alycia Cuts 5 ½ inch squares (as she is not the most perfect seamstress). Then she draws a line down the center of the light colored square.
I sew ¼ inch on either side of the line, and then cut down it. That way I don't stretch a diagonal. Most of the time I do not need to trim down, but this gives me a little leeway in my imperfections.
|Ta da!! Step 1 and 9 1/2 inch pinwheel block
I will always accept these quilts – the small ones will go to Honor Flight Northern Colorado. The larger ones to all of our locations. You can also find your state coordinator – there is such a GREAT need for Quilts of Valor right now . So you are welcome to contact your state coordinator – or even request a destination when all finished ;-) Questions? Definitely let me know!


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The beauty of Théoule-sur-Mer
Theoule-sur-Mer is a beautiful French town on the French Riviera. It is located about ten kilometres from Cannes and forty kilometres from Nice. Theoule-sur-Mer is a very nice resort with a rich wildlife and flora.
This little gem, tucked away among the rocks of the Esterel Mountains, is one of the most interesting small coastal towns on the Côte d'Azur and Var. Theoule sur Mer is easily reached by car or train from Nice or Cannes. Since the old times, the centre has been dedicated to fishing and thanks to its inhabitants it has maintained its air of a small paradise and settlement, becoming one of the favourite places for those in search of peace and beauty on the Cote d'Azur. Come and enjoy blue sea and fine sand, for the bravest of you, try to come early in the morning to check the sunrise. Far away from the busy beaches of Cannes and Nice, this little corner of paradise is quiet and idyllic.
Theoule-sur-Mer possesses superb sandy beaches and a red rocky coast that over the centuries has been moulded by the constant movement of the sparkling waters, forming small bays, portions of paradise for whoever can arrive by sea.
After renting one of our apartments or studios in the city of Nice, it will be very easy for you to get to Theoule-sur-Mer by car or train. Do not forget to choose NiceRent for your next holiday rentals in Nice, we offer a fine handpicked selection of apartments and studios in the city centre.


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While interactive displays, such as SMART boards, are especially popular in education, they can add value to any meeting-room by allowing more stakeholders to participate and stay engaged.
Virtual meetings facilitate collaborative, two-way discussions in government—and they completely revolutionize distance education. Our experts can help you integrate displays and supporting equipment into nearly any environment.
Our goal is to provide you the best possible solution within you budget that not only meets but exceeds your expectations. To explore how Daly can help you, please contact your Daly account executive, call 301-670-0381, or email firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Love You! Happy Anniversary!
18 comments:
- kiwimeskreations said...
Grace this is a wonderful card - and your anniversary a great testimony to the 'glue' that God provides to a marriage when He is the centre.
- August 14, 2013 at 3:55 AM
- SarahGeorge said...
That's awesome! Wish you both a very Happy Anniversary:). Today happens to be our Engagement day. I was thinking of making a card to my hubby and yours has given me a nice inspiration:). Thank you dear Grace.
Hugs :)
- August 14, 2013 at 6:21 AM
- Carla S. said...
Gorgeous card, Grace! Happy Anniversary! Enjoy your celebration!
- August 14, 2013 at 10:30 AM
- Rosietoes said...
Happy anniversary Grace. Love the card.
It is a blessing to be married to a godly man. We too have been married for 42 years and I wouldn't change him for the world. :)
Edna x
- August 14, 2013 at 10:35 AM
Hello to all. I am Grace's lucky husband and I want to thank her for the beautiful card, but especially for 42 wonderful years. Not only is she a talented card designer, but a great wife, mother, friend and advisor. Grace, I love you
- August 14, 2013 at 12:55 PM
- JoAnn said...
Happy Anniversary. This is a great card for your hubby. Love this image.
- August 14, 2013 at 6:42 PM
- Only By His Grace said...
Congratulations dear Grace.
May you have many more blessed years of marriage.
Your card is beautiful.The embossing folder you used looks like water. Great choice.
I loved what you said about your marriage.I too am so blessed to have such a wonderful marriage.
Hugs Maz
- August 14, 2013 at 7:12 PM
- Mary Ann said...
Beautiful card!!!Happy Anniversary,May you both have many more Blessed years together!!!
- August 14, 2013 at 7:45 PM
- ednamburgess said...
Happy Anniversary to you both. A lot of years to remember. Ours is at 57 and still going. Love your card. Guess I don't know your short cut but would like to know who made the embossing folder. I do have that stamp though. Edna
- August 14, 2013 at 7:51 PM
- Lenoria said...
Congratulations to you both!! Your husband sounds so sweet and is obviously very proud of you too. I pray your anniversary is everything you want it to be and that God blesses you with many more!
- August 14, 2013 at 8:15 PM
- Sabrina Jackson said...
Happy Anniversary, Grace and Alan! May God continue to be the center of your marriage and bless you with many more! Beautiful card, Grace, and let me tell you, this CAS beauty is perfect in every way! Hugs and blessings, Sabrina
- August 14, 2013 at 8:17 PM
- Mickie said...
A very manly card for your man Grace, so neat. A blessed marriage always consists of three: man, woman and the Lord. God Bless!
- August 14, 2013 at 9:01 PM
- Jan Marie said...
Love your card, your post and that sweet, sweet comment from your beloved!! What a blessing you both are as examples of godly love. May the Lord continue to bless you and grow your love for one another!
- August 15, 2013 at 12:37 AM
- Conniecrafter said...
Happy Anniversary.... this is a terrific masculine card, and I like that you didn't coloring and that embossing is perfect!
- August 15, 2013 at 9:26 AM
- Clare said...
Happy Anniversary, Grace & Alan! Your card is very chiq and impressive, Grace. It sure doesn't look CAS.
- August 16, 2013 at 1:30 PM
- ednamburgess said...
HELP! I can't find the Twigs cuttlebug emboss folder on line. Edna B.
- August 21, 2013 at 10:28 AM
- Grace said...
Edna I searched on line and did find one here:
I hope you stop back to see this as I don't have an email address for you and your profile does not give one. I hope this will help.
I could have sworn this was called twigs but they have it listed as Forest Branches so that's another name you can search under if you can't get in on this one.
Please understand that many of my supplies were purchased before I began blogging and packaging and names were not saved, never thinking I would be asked or need them. This was one of those items, and though it's not being carried by Provocraft any more, your re-sellers will still have them from time to time.
I hope this helps!
- August 21, 2013 at 1:10 PM
- ednamburgess said...
Thanks to the link to the Forest Branches cuttlebug folder. I just ordered it. I appreciate your help. Edna B.
- September 10, 2013 at 6:47 PM


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The République du Kabinda (República de Cabinda) and the Frente de Libertação do Estado de Cabinda (FLEC) have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Micronations Multi-Oceanic Archipelago (UMMOA).
The République du Kabinda and FLEC are recognised as the only sovereign representative of the people of Kabinda (Cabinda), which has been engaged in a liberation struggle with the government of Angola. Kabinda is a member of the Organization of Emerging African States (OEAS) and the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO).
The United Micronations Multi-Oceanic Archipelago (UMMOA) is recognised as a new political construct consisting of a multi-oceanic archipelago, with a platform dedicated to the protection of the environment, and is recognised by the International States Parliament for Safety and Peace (ISPSP).
Kabinda and the UMMOA have mutually recognised one another, and will support each others claims in the areas of technical, political, financial, and multilateral cooperation.


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HugoFox has designed all its sites to be fully responsive, which means they work on mobiles devices and tablets (and look the bees knees too).
We made a promise on day one that we wouldn't clutter our sites with pop-ups, banners or sponsored links – and we still hold true to our word. We like our websites clean, smart and without distractions which could irritate our users.
There's no HugoFox branding on our websites, and you can use your existing domain name – so your site remains exclusively yours.
HugoFox is designed with search engines in mind, so you're easy to find. Our sites are also compatible with social media links, to keep you well connected and interactive.
Once you've created your website, it's simple to add all the above and more – quickly and easily. Email alerts also make it possible to communicate new posts to customers and visitors, spreading the word further, for less.
You don't have to worry about adding further updates or implementing the latest technologies as these upgrades will be taken care of and applied automatically without charge.
We'll provide support and guidance when it comes to adding or developing a Google+ listing, which will help make your brand or club even more visible online.
Add, tweak or remove whatever you like, whenever you like. It's easy and quick to log in and edit any part of your website – there's no need to pay anyone to do it for you.
Unlike other content-managed websites, you don't need any technical knowledge to set yours up or make changes – just a login and password.


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1. A problem that can't be punched
Superman can do pretty much anything he has to do, physically. If the bad guy can be punched into submission or thrown into the sun, then there's no real conflict or threat in the film. In Superman Vs The Elite, there is a moment where it really looks like Manchester Black and company may have beaten the Man of Steel into submission. It only lasts a moment, but the apprehension really engages and makes the climax all the more satisfying. Superman needs to do more than fly up and punch something to engage the audience, the ending of Superman The Movie actually does this well, but the whole time-travel thing lets it down a bit.
2. John Motherfucking Williams!
I like the work of Hanz Zimmer. I own a few of his albums and think he was a great fit for the Nolan Batman franchise. But seriously, why the hell was he brought onto Man of Steel? Williams' Superman Theme is one of the finest pieces of soundtrack work ever and even the Lego video games recognise this and work with it. I'm not ashamed to admit that when the brass starts up, a chill goes up my spine, even in the bad films. A great theme, forever tied into the character, why the hell would anyone not use it?
3. A man can fly
Somewhere along the way, Superman lost the sense of wonder that used to hang around him. Superman Returns tried to bring this back, but fell short somewhere. In this age of cheap and nasty CGI effects, seeing a man hanging in the air just isn't that impressive; but it really needs to be. Superman needs to evoke a sense of childlike wonder in adults, and to do that, he needs to be the adult take on Peter Pan, just hanging in the air in the way every child has ever wanted to do.
4. The Man of Tomorrow
Everyone in the world knows that Superman is the "Man of Steel". Seriously, most people in developed nations can name at least three of his super powers, so why keep harping on them? What good Superman comics do is show that Supes is the man that we aspire to be, the man that we all could be if we were a bit less selfish and put the greater good before our own. The original film did this so very well, but a new balance needs to be struck in the postmodern cynicism of the 21st century.
5. Hire a decent actor
Christopher Reeve was the perfect cast for Superman and every new take will be unfairly compared against him. That said, try harder than Henry Cavill dammit. He needs to be Clark Cent in one moment and Superman in the next, so cast wide and make sure he's locked down before you cast anyone else.
6. Superman is not Jesus
Seriously, stop trying to make Superman flying Jesus. For starters, he's an analogue of the European Jewish migration story, so the theological influence is clearly Moses, not Jesus. Superman is not here to save us from ourselves or die for our sins, he's here to show us what we can be. He is the prophet, not the messiah. That's right, Superman has more in common with Mohamed if we're sticking to the Abrahamic monotheistic faiths as exemplar. It may honestly be better to discard the entire symbolism here and focus on the "Man of Tomorrow" factor as mentioned above.
Well, that's my take, for what it's worth, what's yours? Long for the return of the Donner/Reeve combo or prefer the bloodthirsty Snyder smash?


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Welcome to Boy Scout Troop 1! We're happy to see your scout and you continue with, or start on, your Scouting adventure and that you chose to do so with Troop 1.
We've designed this Guide to give parents an overview of Scouting
and of the organization, policies, and procedures of Troop 1. Please
review this Guide with your Scout. Cub Scouting is a family-oriented
program with adults doing most of the leading. Boy Scouting is a youth-led
program. But active participation by parents is essential to maintaining the
quality of the program, safeguarding health and safety, and developing and
supporting youth leadership. For Scouts, participation means regular
attendance at and participation in meetings, activities, and campouts. For
parents, participation means actively supporting the Troop to the best of
their ability by encouraging their Scouts to attend and participate and by
helping with Troop activities and events. Together, this means that we can
provide an exciting and fun outdoor program that helps build character,
develop physical fitness, and promote citizenship. This distinguishes
Scouting from all other youth programs.


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PORTSMOUTH — John and Kelly Habig are cutting a $25,000 check and have issued a challenge to Seacoast families and businesses: Come together to help match it.
Since 2005, the couple has donated to Families First Health & Support Center, a Portsmouth based community health and family resource center serving the Seacoast and Southern Maine with affordable primary health care, parenting programs, prenatal care, dental care and mobile health care for the homeless. Each year the center assists nearly 6,000 residents who might otherwise go without these vital services.
But as with many non-profits, fundraising over the last several years has proved to be a challenge, something the Habigs decided to do something about by issuing a challenge of their own.
"We decided we needed to evolve our simple gift-giving to Families First to inspire more people and businesses to give back to this community and make a difference in someone's life," John, who serves as executive director and financial adviser at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in Portsmouth, says. "So in 2009, we issued a challenge to get others involved by seeking donations of to go toward matching our $25,000 donation. We desperately want to make a difference and hope we can inspire others to give back."
Martha Cunningham, development director at Families First, says funding concerns have never been greater for the organization than in the last several years.
"For all non-profits it has been a very challenging environment given the economy since 2008. In challenging times people give less and funding gets cut," she says. "But the number of people in need increases with more uninsured, unemployed and homeless. When a donor steps forward with a $25,000 donation it is a big opportunity to inspire others to give."
Each year since the challenge began in 2009, others have stepped forward to meet the total goal of $50,000. In 2011, the program exceeded it's mission and brought $54,000 to Families First's bottom line. Cunningham says that fundraising efforts such as this contribute 25 percent of the organization's $4.7 million operating budget, but what $50K in funding does goes far beyond the basic statistics on spreadsheets.
"I could tell you the number of people who could be served by this amount, or that 60 percent of them live at poverty level, which equates to $19,000 a year for a family of three, but simply saying how many it provides services for doesn't begin to sum it up," Cunningham says. "These are people who typically choose groceries, rent or fuel over their own health needs. Some come to us with chronic illness or cancer and would otherwise not receive treatment. Some are pregnant and would otherwise go without prenatal care. The impact of this funding is changing and saving lives, so it is much greater than what you can quantify."
According to Cunningham, many patients also experience risk factors such as low education, chronic mental illness and poor parenting skills that put children at risk for abuse and neglect. To make services available regardless of ability to pay, uninsured patients are offered a sliding fee scale for primary, prenatal and dental care. Homeless patients using the organization's mobile health care program pay no fees and all one-to-one family support programs and most parent education and family groups are offered at no cost.
Residents of Portsmouth for 24 years, now living in Rye, and the parents of three grown children, Kelly says she and her husband are in a position to give back and they take to heart the words of Winston Churchill who said, "We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give."
"We are very committed to organizations that serve the health and human service needs of children and families in our community," Kelly says. "It is so important to give children a good start in life. There is a ripple effect to giving back that impacts our whole community and we are asking others to step up with us and change lives for the better."
To donate to the Habigs' challenge for Families First, contact Martha Cunningham at 422-8208, ext. 144, or firstname.lastname@example.com. For further information about John visit www.morganstanleyfa.com/habig or call 422-8901.


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I'm a serial entrepreneur who has launched and run several successful businesses of my own since age 8. After running a successful MSP of my own for 10 years, I founded Orange Nomad to help MSPs, small businesses and entrepreneurs bridge the gap between strategy and execution.
I enjoy the challenge of working with the smaller firms. All my life I've had to build something from nothing, and that's what I've gotten really great at - scrappy, creative and really, really smart strategy coupled with hard work.
I love helping the 'underdog.' When a client comes to me with a story about how I've helped them finally get the financial success they so desperately needed, or that I've helped their business grow, I'm totally fulfilled. That gives me far more personal gratification than helping a $20 million dollar firm generate an increase in sales. I've built my business from nothing and know how hard it can be to start and grow a business when you've got no money, no help and the world on your shoulders. I'm proud to be that "guiding force" to help my clients enjoy the same level of success I've been able to achieve myself.
The three things I'm most passionate about are: cars, technology and the color Orange. My life as an entrepreneur, strategist and speaker has afforded me the opportunity to travel a good bit. So, combining my love of Orange and my digital "nomadic" lifestyle seemed appropriate as the name of my newest venture. Never hesitate to introduce yourself to me when you see me out and about. I'm nice. (Don't let my haircut intimidate you) Promise.
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Open source discussions at Offentliga Rummet
On 25 May 2016 a representative from SSRG contributed to discussions concerning experiences from practice of open collaboration and governance at Offentliga Rummet 2016, Malmö. Specific challenges and a number of open source solutions deployed in different Swedish municipalities were discussed amongst participants.
Workshop participants during a discussion concerning governance and open collaboration in open source projects.
The IT-manager from Alingsås municipality, Göran Westerlund, presented experiences concerning establishing open collaboration through open source projects. Specifically, the presentation addressed how to establish open governance in open source communities.
Andrew Nordh, project leader at the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, presents a perspective on strategies for openness from the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions.


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I am now writing original articles (that you will not see here on this blog or any other blog) over on ezinearticles.com
To read my articles you can follow the links in this post or you can always find the link on the sidebar to the right!
I appreciate your support and encouragement as I continue to broaden my writing skills. I hope you find some interest and possibly encouragement, when you read my articles. At the very least entertainment?! Ha!
Hope to see you there and here!
As always keep on being grateful! C.


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We offer FREE shipping and returns on all orders shipped via USPS within the continental U.S. Depending on your shipping location, please allow 5-7 business days for delivery, excluding holidays. Orders placed after 2 PM EST Monday to Friday (excluding holidays) are not guaranteed to go out the same day.
Your order is shipped from our warehouse in New Jersey. We currently do not ship internationally. Please refer to chart below for optional shipping methods:
Standard Ground
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Third Day
3 business days
Approx $15.00 - $25.00 (depending on distance and weight)
Second Day Air
2 business days
Approx $20.00 - $35.00 (depending on distance and weight)
Any orders placed over the weekend will go out on Monday, including priority shipments. Expedited orders received by 2 p.m. EST are shipped the same day, excluding holidays. Expedited orders received after 2 p.m. EST are shipped the following business day.
Please note, UPS does not deliver on Saturdays. Orders shipped by USPS can take 3-7 business days to arrive. Carriers will not guarantee the arrival dates of packages. Please keep this in mind if you need a package to arrive on a particular date.
After you place an order online, you will receive an email confirming your purchase. If you do not receive this email, contact Customer Service at firstname.lastname@example.com or call 1-866-762-6151 for investigation in this matter. Once your order has been shipped, you will receive another email with your shipping confirmation. This email will include your tracking number. If there is any shipping delay, our Customer Service team will notify you by email.
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At Holiday Retirement, our residents eat with us as many as 21 times a week — that's 1,092 times a year! And when you're tasked with dining on that scale, at hundreds of communities, for thousands of residents, you start with what works.
We know that means doing everything with the residents in mind. And more specifically, what the residents have shared about what they like and want to eat. And then the balancing act begins, and the dining services team sets to work blending variety, flavor and nutrition.
To achieve this, the team works with 4-week menu cycles. During each 4-week cycle, the menu changes every day. And each menu cycle is planned with season, location and resident profiles in mind because we understand that the favorite fare of a community in Iowa may differ wildly from one in Maine. We plan our menus so that chefs can take advantage of fresh, local ingredients and create dishes that will delight residents. Additionally, chefs always have the flexibility to add a "resident favorite" to the menu on any given day.
The dedication to resident preferences and needs doesn't end there, however. Every Holiday Retirement community has a kiosk dedicated to feedback so that residents can share their thoughts on the menu, individual dishes and their dining experience. Likewise, every community has a Resident Dining Council made up of residents who solicit feedback from their friends and neighbors and carry that information to meetings with the chef and general manager.
Information sharing goes both ways in the menu planning process, as new recipes are always chef-and-community-tested before being added to a cycle. Community chefs debuting a new dish take time to introduce it to the diners and will often send out sample plates so residents can familiarize themselves with the dish before it hits the menu for everyone.
It's a bit of a balancing act to serve up a balanced meal, but our dedicated teams do it every day. Ready for a taste of life at Holiday Retirement? Join us for a meal at a community near you or get in touch to learn more.


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"There's Nothing Rhode Island Can Do To Address Climate Change"
Is this the best we can expect from the most powerful Democrat in one of the bluest states in the country? Take action now to reject Speaker Mattiello's failure of leadership.
Is this the best we can expect from the most powerful Democrat in one of the bluest states in the country? Take action now to reject Speaker Mattiello's failure of leadership.
You and your pet can help launch CARI's nationwide campaign against the world's biggest oil baron, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase! We're cutting up our Chase credit cards on social media and demanding that Chase stop funding fossil fuels by 2030.
Is the human species a failed experiment? If the trajectory of global climate change remains unaltered by the (very short-term) future, it seems inescapable that the answer is yes.
CARI endorses the Green New Deal and urges Sen. Whitehouse, Sen. Reed, and Rep. Langevin to join Rep. Cicilline in co-sponsoring the resolution in Congress. Please share this letter and sign on!
This column is heavy. It's going to make you uncomfortable. If I had read it 10 years ago, or maybe even 6 months ago, it would have made me uncomfortable…But now, it's my constant, waking truth. It is the objective truth. And so it has to be your truth, too. Please read on.
For the first time ever in the US, a commercial-scale offshore wind farm is in the permitting process. Fisherman opposition may kill the project.
CARI has endorsed 13 climate champions from around Rhode Island for State House seats. To step up the fight against climate change in the Ocean State, please support their campaigns and help them to victory on November 6!
In the Wednesday September 12 Democratic primary election, CARI has endorsed Matt Brown for Governor, Aaron Regunberg for Lt. Governor, and 7 fantastic climate champions from around the state for State House seats.
Climate Action Rhode Island (CARI), the Rhode Island affiliate of 350.org, is proud to announce its enthusiastic endorsement of Laufton Ascencao for Rhode Island House District 68 Representative, representing parts of Bristol and Warren.
"Matt Brown tells the full truth about the reality of the climate crisis. Along with his willingness to speak directly and openly about systemic racism and our broken economic system, Brown does not water down how urgent and serious the climate crisis is. This is the kind of honest and courageous public leadership we need in Rhode Island and beyond."
Welcome to CARI's biweekly newsletter! Here you will find summaries and resources for RI events, actions, and legislative updates. Connections will be made to the broader movement with links to further reading. Please contribute your information by emailing Nicole DiPaolo at [email protected]
CARI urges the Rhode Island House Corporations Committee to vote against allowing dirty biomass incineration plants, like the one proposed by big campaign donor Mark DePasquale, to qualify for clean-energy net metering.
200+ protesters with Climate Action RI peacefully took over the Interior Department's farcical oil-drilling science fair for over two hours, turning it into a vibrant and powerful public hearing.
Trump's Interior Department will be rolling into Providence on Wednesday, February 28. They're holding a SHAM public meeting at the Marriott to promote offshore oil drilling. We're going to take the opportunity to show them what democracy looks like.
Yesterday at the State House, Sen. Calkin and Rep. Regunberg introduced the Energize Rhode Island: Economic and Climate Resilience Act of 2018. CARI Vice-President Justin Boyan, alongside his daughters, was one of the speakers at the press conference launching the bill. Video and text of his remarks are below.
CARI member Terry Bontrager authored this letter on behalf of CARI to EPA Secretary Pruitt opposing the repeal of the Clean Power Plan.
350.org founder Bill McKibben urges Rhode Islanders to join the "climate warriors" at CARI•350 RI. "Little Rhody can play a very big part if you jump in!"
"Although I felt betrayed by my country during my time at the UN Conference on Climate Change, I felt an immense amount of solidarity with other Americans who felt morally responsible to stand for the truth." College student, climate activist and CARI member Lauren Maunus describes her experience attending COP23 last month.
Yesterday, Invenergy and the RI oil lobby sponsored a private influence-peddling breakfast event. Their guests included OER head Carol Grant and ISO-New England CEO Gordon van Welie. Outside in the cold, we protested in the name of science.
Climate Action RI / 350 RI joined the RI Sierra Club and Clean Water Action in endorsing the 2018 campaign of environmental champion Aaron Regunberg.


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American Idol!
- Adam Lambert
- Flawless, week after week. Adam Lambert's performances on American Idol are simply flawless. No American Idol contestant has ever performed with such originality, versatility, and talent. I truly believe he could sing ... more »
- American Idols!
- Every year, tens of thousands of hopefuls from across the nation audition for American Idol and a shot at stardom. Hopeful singers from every genre pour their musical hearts out for the show's judges ... more »
- Jordin Sparks
- American Idol Season 6 Winner! Jordin Sparks may have been the youngest American Idol when she won the title on the reality show's sixth season, but the Glendale, AZ, resident had already packed plenty of accomplishments ... more »
- Fantasia Barrino
- American Idol Season 3 Winner! She may have won with her version of American Idol's 2004 single "I Believe," but it was her passionate take on George Gershwin's "Summertime" that had everyone talking weeks after she ... more »
- Ruben Studdard
- American Idol Season 2 Winner! Partway through the second American Idol in early 2003, guest judge Gladys Knight christened corpulent crooner Ruben Studdard a "velvet teddy bear," a nod to his smooth, Luther Vandross-styled voice and ... more »
- Taylor Hicks
- American Idol Season 5 Winner! With his raspy, soulful voice and salt-and-pepper hair, Taylor Hicks was one of the unlikeliest contestants to make it to the final round of American Idol, but his quirky charm and ... more »
- Carrie Underwood
- American Idol Season 4 Winner! The first country American Idol, Carrie Underwood grew up in the small town of Checotah, OK, and began singing with her church at the tender age of three. Throughout her childhood, ... more »
- Kelly Clarkson
- American Idol Season 1 Winner! The winner of Fox TV's first American Idol: The Search for a Superstar competition during the summer of 2002, Kelly Clarkson went from an anonymous talent to a nationally known singer, ... more »
- David Cook
- American Idol Season 7 Winner! David Roland Cook (born December 20, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Cook was born in Houston, Texas and raised in Blue Springs, Missouri. Cook's interest in music began early ... more »