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John Paul II in prayer before the tomb of Cardinal Stepinac
In October of 1998, Pope John Paul II traveled to the Marian shrine at Marija Bistrica (Croatia) to officially announce the beatification of Aloysius Stepinac. Some 400,000 Catholic Croatians cheered and applauded the anouncement.
In his address, the Pope said, "An illustrious son of this blessed land is raised to the glory of the altars."
"One of the outstanding figures of the Catholic Church, having endured in his own body and his own spirit the atrocities of the Communist system, is now entrusted to the memory of his fellow countrymen with the radiant badge of martyrdom." [1]
The beatification of Cardinal Stepinac may prove to be one of the most controversial events in John Paul II's tenure.
Stepinac, a Croatian nationalist, collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. Military vicar for the murderous Ustashi who were engaged in a bloody ethnic cleansing of their country with the blessing and participation of Roman Catholic clergy. Croatian and Roman Catholic spin doctors have revised the history of those terrible years and now Stepinac is honored as an anti-Communist martyr.
It is understandable that Croats choose to overlook Stepinac's wartime activities in support of the fascist Croatian regime. After all, many of them still hold the prejudices and values that fueled the horrors of WWII. It comes as no surprise that the Pope, in his speech in Marija Bistrica, overlooked Stepinac's involvement in the Croatian Holocaust and, instead, focused on his resistance to the postwar Communist government of Yugoslavia. After all, the RCC has a 1700-year history of seeing only what it wants to see.
On the other hand, Orthodox Serbs, together with many Jews and Romanies, are not happy at all. To many Serbs, the archbishop symbolized Croatian fascism. They remember seeing his face on postage stamps and reading fascist propaganda in his diocesan journal. They remember his blessing the barbarous Ustashi troops as they marched off to battle or to slaughter tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews and Romanies. They remember him celebrating birthday Masses for the Croatian fuhrer, Ante Pavelic.
Stepinac was good at his work as military vicar. Croatian fuhrer Pavelic had this to say about the work of the Catholic clergy within the ranks of the Ustashi military. He was quoted in the official Ustashi newspaper as having said:
"I am convinced that posterity will be grateful to you Roman Catholic Croatian priests for having inculcated our first soldiers of the Independent State of Croatia with a wholesome spirit, a high morality and respect for God, as well as with fearlessness and courage in facing the enemy both within and without." [2]
After World War II ended, the Yugoslavia government tried Stepinac as a Nazi collaborator and the all-Catholic Croatian jury sentenced him to 16 years in prison. Pope Pius XII was outraged that his golden boy was tried and convicted. He responded by excommunicating every Catholic who had anything to do with Stepinac's trial and conviction.
Stepinac didn't spend a lot of time in prison. He was convicted in 1946 and released in 1951. The terms of his release forbade him from resuming his duties and required him to remain within the confines of Krasic, a town near his birthplace.
Pius XII elevated Stepinac to Cardinal in January, 1953. This really upset the government of Yugoslavia and diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Yugoslavia were severed.
When Croatia achieved independence, in 1992, one of the first acts of her newly-elected Parliament was to absolve Stepinac of the charges laid to him. According to their revised version of history, he had been put on trial, not for having collaborated with the Nazis. His 'crime,' they say, was that he refused to cooperate with Marshall Tito, Yugoslavia's Communist leader, in establishing a national Catholic church independent of Rome.
As Rome circles her wagons around the revised history of the RCC failure to speak out against the atrocities of the Croatian Holocaust or to control her priests and monks, she is also creating a new biography for Aloysius Stepinac. As one RCC apologist writes:
"In 1985, his trial prosecutor Jakov Blazevic admitted publically that Cardinal Stepinac's trial was entirely framed, and that Stepinac was tried only because he refused to sever thousand year old ties between Croatians and the Roman Catholic Church." [3]
In announcing the beatification of Stepinac, John Paul II referred to his 'martyrdom.' I do not doubt that the Pope's words were carefully chosen and that the identification of Stepinac as a 'martyr' was intended. This would be perfectly in line with the ongoing program to re-write history to paint a positive picture of the disgraceful and murderous conduct of the Catholic priesthood in wartime Croatian and, especially of Rome's shameful failure to use her power and influence to seek an end to the Croatian Holocaust.
Does Stepinac merit the honorific title of "martyr?"
According to my Catholic Dictionary, a martyr is
"One who gives up his or her life rather than deny Christ and the Gospel. A martyr strives for conformity to Christ and is willing to part with his or her earthly life rather than reject God. The Church's history is dotted with the heroism of martyrs. St. Augustine contended that martyrs are made not by the suffering endured but by the motive compelling them to relinquish their lives." [5]
Well, though that definition is provided by a Roman Catholic dictionary, it cannot be considered 'official.' Turning to the allegedly infallible Teaching Authority of the Roman Catholic Church which, together with Sacred Tradition and the Sacred Scriptures, is revered by Catholic faithful as the Word of God, I came up with this understanding of what it takes to be a martyr.
"Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death. The martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose, to whom he is united by charity. He bears witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine. He endures death through an act of fortitude. 'Let me become the food of the beasts, through whom it will be given me to reach God.'[St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Rom. 4, 1 SCh 10, 110.]" [4]
And here is where Rome's revisionists come into conflict with Rome's theologians.
Stepinac was charged, tried and convicted of the crime of collaboration with the Nazis following their invasion and dismantling of Yugoslavia. That he was guilty of this crime, at least, is supported by the historical record that includes photographic evidence, copies of homilies and written messages printed in his diocesan journal and in the official publications of the murderous Ustashi government and the sworn testimony of a great number of eyewitnesses.
In my research, I found no evidence that he was brought to trial because he refused to deny Christ or even his faith. If we are to believe the Romish spin doctors, the real reason he was put in the dock was that he resisted Tito's efforts to create an independent Yugoslavian Catholic church.
And there you have it. The horrors perpetrated by priest-led Ustashi murder brigades, the priest-administered Ustashi death camps - none of this appears important when considering Stepinac's sacerdotal life. That he continued to live the good life as a prince of the Roman church while all around him Orthodox Serbs, Jews and Romanies were being tortured and murdered apparently means nothing to the Romish spin doctors who are creating a new biography for their newest 'saint.'
All that really seems to matter is that he remained loyal to the Holy See; that he refused to help form a breakaway church. I suppose this would fit the Catechism's definition of bearing "witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine." Well, at least as far as Catholics consider their faith and doctrine to be truth, which is another issue entirely.
Even if we allow the above, Stepinac's 'martyrdom' fails to match at least one other criterion. He did not die as a consequence of his refusal to deny his allegiance to the Holy See. He was sentenced to 16 years at hard labor for his collaboration, but he served less than five years in the prison at Lepoglava, before being released to live in Krasic, the town of his birth. Granted, he was required to live out his life within the boundaries of Krasic, but that surely was vastly preferable to living in a cell.
Stepinac lived some ten years after being released to spend the rest of his days in Krasic. Offhand, I would think that rather negates any suggestion that he chose death rather deny his faith or his Christ. On the other hand, I suppose, by really stretching things, one could say he met the Catechism's definition as having borne witness "even unto death." In order to make the martyrdom idea more palatable to those Catholics who may question the use of the appellation 'martyr' when referring to 'Saint Stepinac,' I have seen several attempts by RCC apologists that suggest he was died as a consequence of his faithful resistance.
"In 1946 the then-Archbishop Stepinac was convicted of "crimes against the state and the people" by the Yugoslavian Communist regime, and sentenced to 16 years at hard labor. He died in 1961, of illness which apparently stemmed from poison administered to him by prison-camp authorities." [6]
That must have been a really slow-acting poison. It took more than nine years to make a martyr of Stepinac. Another RCC apologist provides a different spin on the archbishop's martyrdom:
"Due to pain caused by the many illnesses he contracted while imprisoned, Cardinal Stepinac died in Krasic on February 10, 1960." [7]
Again, it would appear that the pain of those prison illnesses took a very long time to kill the saintly archbishop. One has to wonder if the root cause of the man's death cannot be traced even farther back in time, like all the way back to World War I.
Stepinac, born near Krasic in 1898, was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian army in 1916. He fought on the Italian front until he was captured. He did not return to civilian life until 1919. One wonders whether the illnesses/suffering he may have endured on the battlefield or as a prisoner of war at that time were not responsible for his death in 1960. That is as least as plausible as the fanciful ideas coming from those who wave Rome's banner.
There is at least one other possible cause for Stepinac's death that has nothing to do with poison, or pain or religious persecution. The man was 62 years old when he died. He had endured many hardships in his life, all of which may have shortened it - or may not have reduced its span by a single hour. A great many people died at or before the age of 62 in those days and, in fact still do today. Stepinac may simply have died of old age. It does happen.
A month after his death, Stepinac's body was interred behind the altar of the Zagreb cathedral. Catholics do have a thing about bodies and body parts, don't they? Anyway, true to form, Roman Catholic faithful began visiting what has become a shrine to Stepinac and now there is a growing body of fanciful testimonies of favors being granted at the site. Sigh!
Let's see now. Seems almost anyone can become a Catholic saint. It would appear that the selection process is rather open. Many habitual sins that one might think would disqualify one from becoming a saint whose life all observant Catholics are expected to emulate apparently have no effect on the decision to canonize.
Flaming homosexuals have become not only saints but can even become doctors of the church, like St. Anselm. Degenerates who wrote erotic accounts of their depraved sexual fancies and "visions," have become saints and doctors of the church; people like Catherine of Sienna and Teresa of Avila. Anti-social people can become saints, like St. Anne of Constantinople, born of a wealthy family and orphaned early in her life. Her wealth attracted many unacceptable suitors so she spent her money on the poor and moved to a high place where she lived as a hermit for 50 years or so. Soon the Roman pantheon will have a new demigod, the fascist Aloyisius Stepinac.
I wonder who will be next? Adolph Hitler perhaps? He was a fascisst and a lifelong Catholic. He supported and encouraged fascism and a holocaust. He had friends in the Vatican, among them the former Secretary of State, Eugene Pacelli, perhaps better known as Pope Pius XII. He never was excommunicated, you know.
It could happen.
1. Boudreaux, Richard, "Enter The First Fascist Saint," Los Angeles Times, May 10, 1998
2. "Nova Hrvatska" , Nov. 26, 1941
3. Savor, Michael, "Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac: A Servant of God and the Croatian People," available on the WWW at ttp://www.hr/darko/etf/stepinac.html
4. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 2473.
5. Stravinskas, Pter, Ed., "Catholic Dictionary," Huntington:Our Sunday Visitor, Inc (1993), p. 322
6. "Stepinac beatification revives old debate," Catholic World News, July 9, 1998, http://www.catholic.org/media/news/vnbarchive/vnb070998.html
7. Savor, Michael, "Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac: A Servant of God and the Croatian People," available on the WWW at http://www.hr/darko/etf/stepinac.html


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Let's set the scene a bit first. It's a lovely early summer morning, outdoors of course, you have a croquet game set up of to the side on a big grassy lawn for people to enjoy. Your eating area, partially shaded by a 25 year old oak tree, consists of tables lined with fresh wildflowers in a mixture of glass jars and vases.
We know how much guests love their nifty gifts. Why not create a space where they can make their own tea mixture to take home, and brew some love? (pun very much intended there)... This works with coffee beans too!

subset: commoncrawl


text: Trinity House is the General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. Their remit is to provide 'Aids to Navigation' to assist the safe passage of a huge variety of vessels through some of the busiest sea-lanes in the world.Their responsibilities include the annual inspection and auditing of over 10,000 'Aids to Navigation' provided by local port and harbour authorities and those provided on offshore structures such as production platforms or wind farms. Trinity House is also responsible for marking, and dispersing wrecks which are a danger to navigation.The MV Golden Gate is the local Trinity House tender vessel in North Northumberland, George Shiel is the lighthouse attendant for Longstone, Inner Farne and Bamburgh lighthouses. The role includes the supply and maintenance of the local lighthouses and the support of the Trinity house ships, the MV Patricia and the MV Galatea. George provides guided tours inside Longstone Lighthouse for passengers on the MV Golden Gate interested in exploring the former home of Trinity House heroine, Grace Darling.


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Welcome to the last edition of Friday Night Cartoons before Election Day 2008. I hope you had the opportunity to vote early, but if not… please do not forget to vote this coming Tuesday.
And for those of you into such things, Happy Halloween.
Now, on to the definitive compilation of this week's best editorial and political cartoons. Remember, as always, your mileage may vary. Click on a cartoon to make it bigger or to start a slide show. Enjoy!
As always, our thanks go to the talented and observant cartoonists who, each week, help us smile through the pain.
(Okay, so that last one was not a cartoon, but it was fun nonetheless so I threw it in. It is good to laugh.)
Saturday additions:
See you next week.


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- Carrot : 2 big grated
- Ghee : 2 Tbsp
- Cardamom : 2
- Boiled milk : ¾ ltr
- Sugar : 5 Tbsp
- Condensed milk : 3 Tbsp
- Fried cashewnut : 2 Tbsp
- Fried kismis : 2 Tbsp
Add the grated carrot and crushed cardamom into the hot ghee and saute well. When the colour of the carrot starts to change, pour the milk into it and cook well. Then, add sugar and condensed milk into it and combine well. Stir it for a few minutes. When the mixture starts to separate from the sides of the pan, add the fried cashews and kismis and mix. Transfer it into a bowl and serve it hot or cold.


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Royal_jimmy wrote:God help us all.
Hopefully help us defensively when we scrap for the points to avoid relegation
WAZZOCK wrote:Best case scenario is they move away fans to Y24, 25 & 26, and have safe standing in the South Stand for home fans.
Nameless wrote:genome wrote:I think you've left a bit of an open goal there Namers
Although as we can see you can stick the ball on the 6 yard line and The Informant will still contrive to put it in Row Z !
Davezk wrote:#pray4IanRoyal
moo wrote:I think he'd be smart to give it another year, and break into a team on a full time basis before making a big money move to sit on a bench.
Like another centre mid that left us last year..


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Kitty and her basketball star boyfriend are walking home after the game, but the evening's not over. She invites him into her bedroom and unzips his jeans to see his massive penis. She works the shaft and head and lets him feel her boobs to make his cock even harder.
- dtr76ed
- : 4min 58sec
- : 4 Oct 2008
- Exclusive video
- : Wankz / Schoolgirl Internal
- : Kitty Bella, Jmac


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Diamonds are forever and therefore gifting a diamond to loved ones means a lot. Millions of people around the world look out for the best diamonds that they can buy offline and online. Although, some people are skeptical about buying designer diamond jewelry on the internet but many online sites have gradually come up that offer the right diamond buying experience to the shoppers that do not want to waste time and money. Online shoppers can look out for designer diamond rings, bracelets, earrings and even necklaces that they can buy at a click of a button. However, you still need to look out for the right sites that can offer you the best designer diamond jewelry you can find.
There is no doubt that you need to take a good look at the reputation of the website when you are looking for designer diamond jewelry. This is also important because you want to deal with authentic online retailers and diamond dealers that can offer you the right deal rather than scam you online. There are many people that have already experienced the bad side of online shopping but if you have researched well you don't have to worry about it because there are many genuine designer diamond jewelry stores available on the internet.
Variety is also equally important when you are looking for the best diamond retailers on the web. If you are looking for designer diamond rings you also need to make sure that the retailer also sells other diamond related items like diamond bracelets, necklaces and ear rings so that you can get to see wide range of jewelry that is on the site. Always search for reputed sites that offer wide range of designer diamond jewelry and not just designer diamond rings or earrings because you might have plans to buy something else as well. On the other hand, not all diamonds are similar and therefore you should look out for sites that offer wide range of cut and carat combinations that you can check out. There are some diamonds that are really expensive while some are affordable. This is mainly because of the cut and carat and other features that are in the diamond. The site should offer wide range of diamonds so that you can buy diamond rings and jewelry based on your budget as not all designer diamond rings have similar rates.
Many online diamond dealers that sell designer diamond jewelry also offer certification regarding the diamond that is used in the jewelry. Every diamond has a grade and therefore you need to buy diamond jewelry from retailers that provide better details and transparency while you are shopping online. There are many online retailers that do provide details about the diamond right below the picture of the designer diamond rings for the consumers to read and make their decisions. This makes the entire shopping experience easier because consumers can go through the information before making up the decision and checking their budget as well.


text: Although not all STIs are curable, all can be treated. If you're diagnosed with an STI, your nurse or doctor will discuss your options with you. Be sure to follow all treatment instructions carefully and finish all your prescribed medication. Your doctor or nurse may want to schedule a follow-up exam to make sure all signs of the infection are gone. To get tested or to talk with a health care professional contact your local clinic or health centre. For more information contact your local health care provider.


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Jo Ernst art exhibition at Manning Regional Art Gallery
Focusing on the work of a life model as art in itself, Jo Ernst's exhibition "Not just a nude - life models of the Manning", which opens this week at Manning Regional Art Gallery, offers some thought provoking contemplation of the creative process.
Jo explores body and spirit through the medium of the human figure, focusing on local models who have been an important part of her working and teaching practice for the past 11 years in the Manning Valley.
She holds that life drawing is more than an analytical study of bones, muscle and flesh, but the intimate study of the individual, that unique self and personal presence.
Related reading:
"I view the role of life model as an art in itself. It's pretty serious stuff, much more is involved than the view that you simply take your clothes off and just sit there," said Jo.
The launch is on Saturday February 10 at 2pm, together with the launch of Jocelyn Maughan's exhibition "Inspirations - Black Head to Patonga", and is free to attend. Both exhibitions run until Sunday 25 March.
For more details of this event and to find out more about Manning Regional Art Gallery events, please visit our website at mrag.midcoast.nsw.gov.au


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The September meeting began with a celebration of the ikebana achievements and contribution to the Melbourne Chapter by Mrs Doreen Schofield.
The Certificate of Appreciation was presented by Chieko Yazaki, President of the Chapter, who spoke about Doreen's extensive contributions.
* * *
The ikebana theme for the meeting was 'Blossoms Springing from a glass vase'. Lara Telford, a Sogetsu School teacher, gave a demonstration in which she used two glass vases, one inside the other.
The materials of her gold, red and green arrangement are: wattle, rhododendron and daffodils. Other member's works are shown below.
Aiko Roskram, kangaroo paw, 'sea holly' and asparagus fern.
Thea Sartori, Japanese Flowering Quince and Gypsophila.
Joy Manie, white and pink blossom, small glass containers on red lacquer tray.
Rosemary Hordern, helleborus and grape vine.
Marjorie Campkin-Smith, white camellia.
Chieko Yazaki, spiraea and anthurium.
Euginia Chudachek, yellow kerria.
Pat Hetrel, purple magnolia and mauve heath.
Beverley Webster, carnation, alstroemeria and gypsophila.
Helen Gray, purple alogyne.


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Read this article on the Jewish Journal website.
The Jewish Journal
September, 2003
A Child's Murder, a Mother's Strength
By Wendy Mogel
The Blessing of a Broken Heart, by Sherri Mandell (Toby Press, 2003).
When a crime takes place in my neighborhood, I play a mental trick. Of course that (naive) person was mugged. She was walking alone after dark. Naturally that (careless) family was burglarized — they left their garage door unlocked. Why was that (foolish) person robbed in broad daylight? Because they live south of Third Street instead of north of it like me and my savvy neighbors. If the crime gets close, I just stretch. That robbery was on my block, true, but, please note, it was on the odd numbered side of the street.
Sociologists call this the "just world" phenomenon. We attribute meaning and logic to disturbing events so that we can get out of bed in the morning believing that the world is stable and predictable, that if we live according to the rules nothing bad will happen to us or our loved ones, that victims of misfortune deserve what happens to them.
When I started reading The Blessing of a Broken Heart, Sherri Mandell's book about the murder of her 13-year-old son, I had plenty of grist for distancing myself from the horror of her loss. On the day he was killed, her son, Koby, and a friend skipped school (there you go) to go hiking in a scenic gorge near their home in a West Bank (need I say more?) settlement. There, they were brutally bludgeoned to death in a cave by Palestinians from a nearby village. The cave was located in an area in which travelers are required to have an armed army escort (case closed). That no one had ever been harmed in the gorge did not enter my computation.
By the time I finished this beautiful book, all of my tricks had failed me. Mandell, a journalist, chronicles her experiences during the year after her son's death with unusual breadth and compassion. She invites us to join her as she observes the different faces of mourning.
In this startlingly moving passage she talks to her daughter:
The night of the funeral, I go to Eliana, 10 years old, to comfort her. We are in her room, on her bed. Her hair is dark and tussled; her eyes look at me with infinite kindness. She rubs my back, asks if she can bring me tea. I tell her: "I'm the mother and I'm here to take care of you."
She says, "No, I'm your mother."
I say, "No, I am still your mother and this is very hard now, but we will get through it, we will go on, and I will still be your mother."
"No," she says," I'll be your mother."
"No, I am your mother, and I know this is hard, but your are my child, and I will take care of you," I say firmly.
"Okay," she says, "I'll be your grandmother."
And to her 6-year-old son:
Gavi asks me: "Who is Koby's mommy now?"
I wonder what to answer. It's true that I am still Koby's mommy, but I no longer am the one who takes care of him. I answer, "God is his mommy."
"Oh good," Gavi answers, "then he can see a falling star whenever he wants."
Mandell also explores the stages of her own grief. At first she wonders, "I am like the canary in the coal mine. I have been sent out to the land of the dead to see, can one live there?" She is surprised that the Jewish period for mourning a child is only 30 days. Then she comes to understand that when you lose a child, you grieve for the rest of your life.
"You don't need the rituals to remind you to grieve," she writes. "You will think of your child forever."
Later she sees how agonizing it is to modify the reflexes and habits of love. "Six months after your death," she writes Koby, "my body has phantom legs that walk to your bed to wake you for synagogue. My body lags in recognizing your absence. It is still moving towards you, like a flower to the light. The phantom legs walk to the door to welcome your home form school, bring you chips and salsa when your return."
Slowly, Mandell learns how better to communicate with God. "God speaks to me. I know that. But sometimes his voice is silent. Other times he mumbles. I have to keep learning, so that I can recognize his language. I have to keep my heart open…."
She understands that without an intimate knowledge of death we are not fully alive.
"The thought of life without death scares me now," she writes. "Grieving is also the place of God, the sacred place that connects heaven and earth. It is up to us as grievers to discover and dwell in that space. The sage says, 'Each moment is a miracle and an agony. A miracle that the world exists in all its glory. An agony that this world is one of suffering and pain."
I watch the news of unending conflict in Israel, and much as I wish it to be otherwise, the suffering of its families too often remains on the odd numbered side of my street. "The Blessing of a Broken Heart" gives the struggle a precious face and, at the same time, illustrates the power of Jewish faith, ritual and community to heal.
September 18, 2003


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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Most Irresponsible President
I suspect that he had a model, or thought he did, the late Ronald Reagan. Now it is true that Reagan supported increasing defense spending and cutting taxes, and did so, although he also supported some tax increases, particularly the whopping one for social security that largely offset his income tax cuts. One might argue that he had a war, the Cold War. But it was cold, and he had a habit of avoiding letting it get hot, including pulling troops out of Lebanon when they were attacked, something that led Osama bin Laden to view the US as weak, although he did invade Grenada, a one day affair. So, indeed, the image of Reagan, who was more politically popular than W's dad, the more fiscally responsible Bush Sr. who coined the term "voodoo economics" to describe the policies of Reagan, may well be what W and his followers and much of the media are thinking of. After all, Reagan is a divine being, and he sort of did it, so what is the fuss?
5 comments:
- Suzan said...
There was no fuss.
For them.
- June 29, 2011 at 4:21 PM
- Ken Houghton said...
Didn't Grenada run two days? I distinctly remember the SNL "Time-Life 48 book series" (one for each hour, starting with Hour 1: Breakfast).
(For those too young to remember, the NYPost cover photo on the day after the war was planned to be the cover of the next Village People album. On a more serious note, for those TYTR, the 241 people killed in the Lebanon barracks bombing far eclipsed the eight deaths that cost Carter the 1980 election. But one was a USNA graduate and the other made Hellcats of the Navy.)
- June 29, 2011 at 5:21 PM
- Brenda Rosser said...
Re: "the main reasons we went from budget surpluses under Clinton to massive deficits under Bush were this combination of starting wars and cutting taxes..."
This sounds sort of familiar: "[President Johnson] also knew that if he raised taxes to pay for the war, the public would demand an immediate halt with an intensity that he could not resist. Johnson relied on borrowing, which raised interest rates. Michael Perelman. Econospeak. 'Financial Catastrophe: Here We Go Again'. 20th September 2008
Perhaps it is true that the act of raising taxes may not make it possible to raise the 'real' resources necessary to fight a war. It could just as well depress the entire national economy (and especially) in the context of a great depletion of key natural resources.
I get the impression, looking at the economic history of the last 40 years, that Reagan, Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr and Obama have essentially given up on the prospect of a viable national US economy. It is possible that they and other 'leaders' may be consciously orchestrating the gradual demise of modern (national) economies around the world in order to institute something entirely different?
- June 29, 2011 at 10:12 PM
- Barkley Rosser said...
At least LBJ did not cut taxes, he merely failed to raise them (except for a one year income tax surcharge).
- June 30, 2011 at 7:08 AM
- Gary T said...
Apparently, it lasted longer than one year:
"We should also consider occasional surtaxes, like the 10 percent Vietnam-era levy that brought the real top rate from 70 percent to 77 percent in 1969. The surtax itself fluctuated. It was 7.5 percent in 1968 and 2.5 percent in 1970."
I wish I knew more about it, whether it was added to all brackets or just the top marginal (I believe it was the later).
- June 30, 2011 at 10:53 AM


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(Sept. 24, 2010) On September 22, 2010, the Constitutional Court of Indonesia ruled that, under the existing law, the Attorney-General's term expires with the end of the term of office of the President and other Cabinet members. Speaking after delivering the Court's decision, the Chief Justice said that the ruling meant that the term of the current Attorney-General, Hendarman Supandji, had ended at the time of the October 2009 election and that he therefore no longer legally held the position. (Nivell Rayda, Camelia Pasandaran, & Heru Andriyanto, Surprise Ruling Sees Attorney General Lose Job, THE JAKARTA GLOBE (Sept. 23, 2010), http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/surprise-ruling-sees-attorney-genera
The ruling was made in response to a petition by a former Minister of Justice, whom Hendarman has charged with corruption. The petition claimed that Hendarman, who was appointed Attorney-General in 2007, did not have the authority to bring the charges as he had not been validly re-appointed after the election last year. The Court held by a majority of five to two that article 22 of Law Number 16 of 2004 on the Attorney General's Office did not clearly stipulate the end of an Attorney-General's tenure and therefore his or her term ended once the Cabinet was dismissed. The judges considered that the law should be reviewed immediately to provide greater clarity. (Id.)
Despite stating that Hendarman's term had legally ended, the Chief Justice said that any decisions made before the judgment would stand, including the decision to prosecute the former Minister. (Id.)
The State Secretary, Sudi Silalahi, responded to the situation at a press conference, saying that the ruling itself did not state anything about Hendarman's legitimacy. In terms of the Chief Justice's comments about Hendarman's dismissal, Sudi said that "[a]ny comments outside the court cannot be taken as reference but as we said, we respect the court ruling and we will use it for future reference." (Hendarman Still Legitimate Attorney-General, Government Says, THE JAKARTA GLOBE (Sept. 23, 2010), http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/hendarman-still-legitimate-attorney-
general-government-says/397654.) A presidential adviser for legal affairs had earlier said that he considered the current Attorney-General's position to be legal because the additional comments made by the Chief Justice were not part of the Court's ruling and therefore Hendarman's term would expire in 2014, along with that of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Cabinet. (Rayda, et al., supra.)
Sudi indicated that the President would appoint a new Attorney-General in the near future and that Henderman would remain Attorney-General until his replacement is sworn in. (Hendarman Works Despite Controversy, THE JAKARTA POST (Sept. 23, 2010), http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/09/23/hendarman-works-despite-co
ntroversy.html; Camelia Pasandaran, Government to Obey Attorney General Ruling But Insists President Decides, THE JAKARTA GLOBE (Sept. 23, 2010), http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/government-to-obey-attorney-general-
ruling-but-insists-president-decides/397770.) It was reported that Hendarman had previously indicated that he would retire as Attorney-General next month, regardless of the Court's decision. (Rayda, et al., supra.)


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Lagrotteria, Sr., Salvatore, Age: 87, Oceanport
Salvatore Lagrotteria, Sr., 87, of Oceanport, died on Friday, March 10. He grew up in Long Branch and lived in Oceanport for the past 55 years. He served as chief of Port-au-Peck Fire Company in 1973 and loved to hunt, fish, golf and an avid boater. He had a hole in one at Old Orchard Country Club.
Sal was a master plumber and owned S. Lagrotteria Utilities Construction in Oceanport from 1972 to 1992. He served in a MASH unit in Germany while in the U.S. Army during the Korea War.
He was predeceased by his wife of 50 years, Phyllis in 2004; his parents, Joseph and Pauline Lagrotteria; and a sister and two brothers, Josephine, William and Carmen. Surviving are his son, Salvatore Lagrotteria Jr. and his wife Wendy; a daughter, Pauline and her husband Scott Poyner; five grandchildren, Clifford and his wife Meggan Bebout, Frank Bebout, Gregory and his wife Nicole Bebout, Salvatore Lagrotteria III and Samantha Lagrotteria; seven great-grandchildren, London, Cadence, Beckham, Presley, Taitum, Teaggan and Payton Bebout; and a brother, John.
Memorial donations may be made in his memory may be made to the Oceanport PBA #364, Box 364, Oceanport, NJ 07757. For condolences, please visit www.fiorefuneralhomes.com.
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McConnells 350 PVC paint is a long established one coat air drying finish paint for PVC materials. This was originally developed to coat shoe component including uppers and soles. It also finds application on tarpaulins, musical instrument cases and a variety of other PVC covered products. Product reference D793 black was developed specifically for brush finishing on Traditional Irish Musical Instrument Cases.
What's special about 350 PVC Paint?
Manufactured in a clear base form the paint can be swiftly tinted to a range of BS & RAL colours
Other colours can be readily matched using our computerised colour matching system.
McConnells 350 PVC paint is a flexible yet good wearing finish.
350 PVC is available for both brush or spray application.
As a brush or spray applied coloured PVC coating onto PVC substrates, including signwriting.
For coating items such as PVC uppers and sole of shoes, cases covered in PVC material, PVC covers for boats & vahicles,
First select colour if appropriate, then select quantity and add to cart.


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Many Boost and Nextel iDEN subscribers have already migrated to CDMA or another carrier, but there are still over a million Boost iDEN users left. Some have been holding out because iDEN offers better coverage than CDMA in their area or because they use the iDEN push to talk (walkie-talkie) feature, which is not available with Boost CDMA. Plus, switching to CDMA means buying a new phone.
Boost iDEN customers who thought they had another eight or nine months before they had to worrry about making a phone change are in for a rude shock. Sprint has started sending text messages to Boost iDEN subscribers announcing that iDEN plan prices are going up November 7th. The text to Boost iDEN Monthly subscribers reads:
Effective 11/7, your Monthly Unlimited price plan for iDEN phones will increase by $10/month. For details http://msg4u.us/pi5
If you go to that URL you see this:
Effective November 7, 2012, the price of your Monthly Unlimited plan for your iDEN (Nextel walkie-talkie) phone will increase by $10/month. Please make sure to add enough money to cover your new monthly payment amount before your next payment is due so that your service is not interrupted.It's not just monthly plans that are getting price increases. iDEN pay as you go text messages and voice minutes will go up to 25¢ each from the current 20¢ (10¢ for grandfathered customers). Daily Unlimited users are looking at a jump from $2.00 to $2.50/day and anyone still on the grandfathered Daily Chat & Text plan will see an increase from $1.00 to $1.25/day.
You can avoid the price change if you switch to a CDMA phone that runs on a comparable plan on our Nationwide Sprint Network®. To learn about your choices to become a CDMA customer please call us at 1-888-266-7848. Then press 99 and be prepared to provide your Account PIN.
We value your business and strive to deliver an exceptional wireless experience.
How can I avoid the price increase?
Switch to a CDMA phone that runs on a comparable plan before November 7, 2012.
How long will my iDEN phone work?
Your iDEN phone operates on the Nextel National Network. Once the Nextel National Network is retired in June 2013, your iDEN phone will not work. In order to continue your Boost Mobile service, you will need a CDMA phone that operates on the Nationwide Sprint Network.
What CDMA phones are available?
We have a variety of CDMA phones for you to choose from. To learn about your choices to become a CDMA customer please call us at 1-888-266-7848. Then press 99 and be prepared to provide your Account PIN.
What do I do with my old phone if I switch to a new phone?
Send us your old phone through the Boost Mobile Buyback Program. The Boost Mobile Buyback Program collects unwanted wireless phones regardless of carrier or manufacturer. Visit buyback.boostmobile.com to see if your old phone qualifies for a credit that will be applied to your Boost Mobile account. There, you can create a Buyback quote and follow the easy instructions to print your pre-paid shipping label and mail your phone. While all phones may not qualify for an incentive, remember you helped the environment by recycling.
I believe that Sprint is increasing iDEN prices because it wants to encourage a sizable number of iDEN customers to migrate now rather than waiting until the last minute in order to minimize the impact on customer service and back-end systems. However, forcing customers to choose between a plan price increase or the unexpected cost of a new phone is not going to win the company any good will. There are already dozens of customers expressing their unhappiness with the increases on Boost's Facebook page and many are saying that will be going to a different carrier.


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While it is true that a timeshare contract is a binding legal document, it is often mistakenly thought that such a contract cannot only be cancelled. In fact, most timeshare companies maintain that their contracts are non – cancellable. This misconception is perpetuated by timeshare companies and user groups that are funded, maintained and controlled by the timeshare industry.
The FHA 203k loan program provides home buyers the opportunity to buy and fix up a property, without exhausting their personal savings.
(Bloomberg) -- Lending for mortgages dropped in 2011 as refinancings declined and many borrowers relied on loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, according to bank regulators' 2011 data on housing loans.
"The total number of originated loans of all types and purposes reported fell by about 780,000, or 10 percent, from 2010, in part because of a 13 percent decline in refinancings," the bank regulators said today in a release in Washington of mortgage lending transactions in 2011 at 7,632 U.S. financial institutions covered by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
"Home purchase lending also fell, but by a more modest 5 percent," last year, the regulators said.
The banking regulators' data for 2011 cover a period in which housing was deeply depressed and had not shown the improvement in prices and sales that have occurred in 2012. The group of banking regulators includes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve, the National Credit Union Administration, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The 2011 data "reflect a continued heavy reliance on loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration insurance that began several years ago with the onset of problems in the mortgage market," the regulators said. The share of home purchase mortgages by the FHA was 31 percent in 2011, up from 7 percent in 2007 although down for 36 percent in 2010.
Home purchase mortgages backed by the Veterans Administration have risen to 8 percent in 2011 from 7 percent in 2010 and 3 percent in 2007.


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Games Home / Entertainment Channel / Bullz-Eye Home
|Buy your copy from Amazon.com
Publisher: Activision
Category: Action/Adventure
Available for: Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC
The Wild West has experienced a renaissance of sorts on television, with series like "Deadwood" and "Firefly," but the video game industry has struggled with titles rooted in the same ancient genre. Past games like "Dead Man's Hand" and "Red Dead Revolver" were less than well-received, and the last decent western game that comes to mind ("Gunsmoke") debuted on the original NES game console. It's refreshing, then, to see a game like "GUN" push its way to the front of the line and succeed; thanks most in part to its straightforward control system and addictive gameplay. "GUN" isn't without its faults, though, and while the storyline is one of the best in recent years, it's far too short to make a genuine impact.
The hero of the story is Colton White, a relatively calm gunslinger considering he's just watched his father Ned (voiced brilliantly by Kris Kristofferson) slaughtered by a group of bandits, led by an evil priest named Reed. (Coincidentally, an all-too-similar evil priest character appeared in the summer sequel to "The Mask of Zorro.") Before dying, Ned makes one last request of his son: that he travel to Dodge City and exact revenge on Reed and his dastardly cohorts, including town mayor Hoodoo Brown and ex-Civil War general Thomas Magruder. As Colton slowly learns more about Magruder's plot to uncover a secret gold mine rumored to be somewhere in the area, he also discovers more about his father's past.
Featuring an open environment that makes the game seem a lot more like a western "Grand Theft Auto," "GUN" is just as much about its optional side missions as it is the main story. Whether its cashing in on a bounty, cleaning up at the poker table, or ridding the land of a pesky grey wolf, the side missions enable you to earn money for purchasing upgrades and increasing stats. While these missions do make the game last a little longer, they ultimately become a nuisance to play through. The main story is much more interesting and involving, including particular subplots that involve working alongside cowboy rebels and a tribe of Apache Indians.
The best part of "GUN" by far is, quite simply, the gunplay. Featuring a simple control setup that gives you complete command over your weapons, the push of a button will quickly take you into Quick Draw mode (a "Matrix"-like slo-mo), allow you to change weapons, or zoom in on your target without losing much time. This results in a much more enjoyable gameplay experience, as you don't have to worry about wasting the first few hours learning yet another new combat system. Even more outstanding is the game's camera control which, for once, doesn't suck, but instead gives the player a decent view of the action, with no in-game bugs to be found.
Finally, it's tricky to talk about a western video game without mentioning horseback riding; and if the game doesn't feature horseback riding, then it's not a western. The horseback riding in "GUN" appears to a love-hate experience. In my time playing the game, I found gunplay while riding a horse much more difficult than just chasing your opponents around on the ground. There are pros to using the horse, though, including a greater resistance to getting hurt (since the horse must first die before you start taking damage) and its value in swiftly getting you across the vast landscape. Other players may enjoy the horseback riding featured throughout the game more agreeable, but if given the choice, I'd prefer not to ride a smelly animal if I don't have to.
And yet despite all of the praise, "GUN" simply isn't worth more than a weekend rental. The average gamer will have the main story completed well under eight hours, and that includes taking the time to participate in a handful of side missions. This doesn't, however, signify that you should ignore this title by any means; it's certainly one of the better games currently on the market, especially one available for so many different consoles. It features a lot more depth than most games have these days, including a rather enjoyable storyline (movie rights, Hollywood?) and simple enough controls to satisfy both novice and hardcore players. How often do you get to say that these days?
~Jason Zingale


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I spend most of my time at home, so I spend most of my knitting time at home. In the winter, that's usually on the sofa, the right hand end to be precise lol. I put my feet up on the foot stooly thing, have my glass of water to hand and either music/tv on. Sometimes I venture to a different chair 😉 In the summer, when it's warm enough to be outside, my knitting and I move to our Adirondack chairs outside. They have wide arm rests useful, for phones and water and the yarn (always centre pull to stop it falling on the ground TOO often).
I've been known to knit in the kitchen while Simon cooks, or at the computer (good way to finish a boring project). I don't knit in bed as often as I used to, but if I'm unable to nap/having a particularly horrid day, then knitting in bed infront of a good film is great.
Rarely do I go out without some knitting with me. On long car journeys it's amazing how much of a sock can be knitted. I think once you've knitted and found spaces of time to knit, you become aware of how much time non-knitters must be at a loose end. In those moments, my knitting comes out. Knitting is also a good way for me to STOP and not make myself do more than I should. Mum and I spent an hour in Edinburgh's art gallery's coffee shop knitting, switching off, taking 5 whilst dad and Simon went off and "did" art. It meant my batteries were recharged.
Some pictoral evidence:
from top left to bottom right: (1) me knitting lying down in the sunshine in the middle of Mount Grace Priory (2) Picasa wouldn't let me move the pics, so Mum's head and feet are chopped off: Mum knitting in Edinburgh (3) the adirondack in the snow (3) me and the sock I'm knitting up a mountain in Austria (4) me knitting amongst the DIY (wallpapering to be precise) (5) the sofa, as you look at it, I sit on the left (6) The dining room, where yarn winding and yarn storage and Ravelry happens (7) me knitting on the sofa


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Snow, Edward Rowe
Category: Sunken Treasure
Keywords: Central America, Dodington, Mary Rose, Vasa, City of Salisbury, Royal Tar
Comments: Illustrated
Size: 5.5″ x 8.25″
Pages: 239
Editions: The first edition (not stated) was published by Dodd, Mead & Company, New York City (1963), in hardback with a dust jacket. The first UK edition was published by Alvin Redman, London (1964), in hardback with a dust jacket.
Description: This book is about shipwrecks in various part of the world includes four treasure wrecks: the "SS Central America"; the "Dodington" (which was recently salvaged off the coast of Africa); the "City of Salisbury" and the circus ship, "Royal Tar". Also included are the stories of the "Mary Rose" and "Vasa" excavations.


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Mini Soccer Tournament – 16 June 2018
Mini Soccer Tournament – 16 June 2018 Portland United Youth are delighted to invite your teams to take part in our Mini Soccer Tournament to be held at the Bowl, Grove Road, Portland on the Saturday, 16th June 2018. We have applied to the DCFA for sanctioning. ENTRY FEE £30 PER TEAM U6's, U7's, U8's will compete in the morning. Register by 9a.m for a 9.30a.m start U9s, U10s, U11s


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In Book VII of The Republic, Plato paints a dark scene for readers. Imagine prisoners shackled in a cave, their heads chained in such a way they can't look out into the world itself. They can only see manipulated shadows on walls, and that's about all. Known as the "allegory of the cave," this passage lets Plato offer commentary about the nature of reality and human understanding. In an episode of Philosophy Bites, Simon Blackburn (Cambridge University) talks with Nigel Warburton and David Edmonds about what Plato really wants to say here. And, above, some clever artists provide an award-winning animation of the cave scene using nothing other than clay. Big thanks to Eren at FilmAnnex for sending this one our way.
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My face seems permanently speckled with a fine spray of cherry juice these days; produced when I enthusiastically extract the stones with my cherry pitter but I'm not complaining because I absolutely love cherries and don't think that I could ever tire of them.
This cake is so delicious and because of the inclusion of the ground hazelnuts and almonds, beautifully moist to eat. I had toyed with the idea of baking a chocolate sponge hazelnut cake and adding the cherries, but I am delighted that I instead opted to make a cake with little chocolate chunks running through it. In this way the individual flavours of all the ingredients really came through in their own right, yet really complemented each other.
Chocolate goes so well with cherries and both these ingredients bring out the best in hazelnuts. Baking the fresh cherries in the cake really enhanced their juiciness and made the cake totally addictive to eat. I would recommend eating this cake at room temperature, before the chocolate chunks harden. There is something so inviting about eating slightly melted chocolate in a warm cake… you feel like you are doing something completely self-indulgent, forbidden and completely naughty.
In some of the photos you will see that I have served the cake with a scoop of cherry sorbet. This was delicious with the warm cake and I would thoroughly recommend making it. I will post the recipe for that separately, as it is SO good and deserves a post in its own right. In the meantime, do have a go at baking this cake. It's incredibly tasty and relatively easy to make.
Ingredients:150g butter softened
150g caster sugar
3 large eggs
150g self-raising flour, sifted
30g ground almonds
100g ground hazelnuts
100g dark chocolate cut into 1cm chunks
150g cherries, pitted
To finish:
2tblsp apricot jam
2tblsp water
Method:1. Preheat oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160/Gas Mark 4. Line a 22cm cake tin with non-stick baking parchment and set aside.
2. Place the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl and using a hand-held electric mixer, cream together until light and fluffy. Gradually, add the eggs, making sure that they are well mixed in before adding more.
3. Add the flour and fold in using a large metal spoon. Next, add the ground almonds, ground hazelnuts and chocolate chunks and fold these in so that they are evenly dispersed.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and level the surface with a spatula or the back of a metal spoon. Finally press the cherries evenly into the top of the cake, but just enough so that most of each cherry is still visible. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until the cake is well risen, golden brown and a thin skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes while you make the apricot glaze.
To finish:
6. Place the apricot jam and water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Allow to bubble for about 2 minutes and then remove from the heat. Pass through a fine sieve so that and chunks of apricot are collected. These can be discarded. Use a pastry brush to brush the apricot glaze on top of the cake while it is still warm. Remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to finish cooling completely. the cake can also be served still slightly warm.
Serves 8-10.


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Higher cut quality removes more rough material and results in higher prices.
Although the carat weight of a diamond has the strongest effect on prices, the cut can still drastically increase or decrease its value. With a higher cut quality, you would expect the diamond's cost per carat to increase.
This is because there is a higher wastage of the rough stone as more material needs to be removed in order to achieve better proportions and symmetry. On top of that, there are additional costs for skilled labor since polishing an ideal cut diamond requires significantly more time.
Ultimately, economics and profitability are the main driving forces behind every cutting decision. In the real world, it is not feasible for cutters to turn every single piece of rough into an ideal cut diamond since it will not be profitable to do so. This is the reason why the market is flooded with sub-par diamonds that are cut for weight retention and not for beauty.
And if you are wondering who on earth would buy stones with lower cut grades? The answer is definitely not me (and hopefully not you as well) – I want my diamonds to sparkle and be full of life. However, there are people in the market (both knowingly and unknowingly) who would still purchase poorly cut diamonds to fulfill their own budgets and needs.
My take on this is; if a diamond is cut well, then it will be visibly larger and more attractive than another one that is cut badly. Size does matter but it isn't everything. Sometimes a stone with a smaller carat weight can be a much better purchase than a larger one because of its visual appeal and costs.
As you can probably tell by now, I always highlight and preach the importance of cut to all my readers. It is my personal belief most people will want a diamond that's lively and not dull looking. Ultimately, whatever buying decisions you make still boils down to your own preference and balancing of the 4Cs.
A proper analysis of a diamond's cut goes beyond the information found in a grading report and I hope you had learnt something useful on the website so far. Take a deep breath, go for a 10 minutes break, grab a cup of coffee and then, return here to familiarize yourself with the rest of the 4 Cs.
Once you are ready, I am going to give you more insider's tips and show you a step by step guide to choosing the best diamond within your budget.
My girlfriend and I are looking at various ring options and we are doing the shopping together. So, no surprises there but at least this guarantees we find something she likes.
What's the differences between cathedral settings and solitaire settings? Are there any pros and cons of one over the other?


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Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol reports on his recent trip to Iraq, and wonders why the New Republic is doubling down on the Beauchamp fake story
HH: We open today's program with a segment, I promised you I'll do a segment at least once a day on the conditions leading up to the report by General Petraeus in September. Today, we're joined by Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol. Hello, Bill, good to talk to you.
BK: Hi, Hugh, how are you?
HH: Good. Now you're just back from Iraq.
BK: Yes, and in fact, I had dinner with General Petraeus a week ago today now that you mention him.
HH: Tell me, how long were you inside Iraq for?
BK: I was there with Fred Kagan and Kim Kagan, the two military experts, for eight days. And we were in Baghdad, and out west in Anbar province, saw very senior officers like General Petraeus and General Odierno, and talked to a lot of battalion and brigade commanders, and to lots of lieutenants and captains and enlisted guys.
HH: We'll come back and walk through the specifics, but give us the bottom line. Is the surge working?
BK: Yes. No one there thinks it's not, and that includes, incidentally, lots of military officers we talked to who were skeptical about it. There were divisions among the military over there about whether this was doable. Now that it's been going six months, I had a long conversation with a colonel who was a skeptic, he thought it was a mistake in January, and he says it's unquestionably working.
HH: Now given that the military believes it, and a number of observers…you're not alone in this, nor is Mr. Kagan. You've also got O'Hanlon and Pollack and a number of other people, John Burns was on this program at length, General Petraeus is expected to say the same thing. Does that mean that the Democrats will listen?
BK: Well, I hope a few will. I mean, Ken Pollack and Mike O'Hanlon are Democrats, and they went over there and saw things with their own eyes, and reported back the truth. Whether elected officials will listen, I don't know. I mean, it's a depressing thought that an entire political party, or the bulk of one, doesn't want, seems not to want to hear good news about a major American foreign policy effort in which, you know, 160,000 American soldiers are fighting bravely, and the country is fighting a brutal enemy, which if it defeats us, will be a very bad thing for America. So I hope some Democrats do decide to listen.
HH: Now when you say it's working, unpack that a little bit for the audience. Does it mean more terrorists dead? Does it mean more ability to walk the streets? A greater amount of power? What's it mean?
BK: Well, all of it. It means more security…Iraq's a complicated place. Things can work in some areas, and be lagging in others. But there's more security throughout. In some areas, that security has translated with amazing speed to political improvements. In Anbar province, in Ramadi, the Sunni tribes have flipped. They've turned against al Qaeda. We fought al Qaeda, they're no longer intimidated by al Qaeda. They saw al Qaeda close up, too, and they've decided to throw in with us. So that province has gone from one of the worst in Iraq a year ago to one of the most secure, and one of the most hopeful. Parts of Baghdad which are mixed, or more complicated to deal with, but even there, we walked around Haifa Street, now we walked around in body armor, and it was, you know, it wasn't the most peaceful, and there were threatening things there. But we walked around Haifa Street. Six months ago, that was a no-go zone. There were bitter, bitter firefights, a famous video of one which you can watch on YouTube. And now that area is improving. The American soldiers are doing a fantastic job. There's a lot of political reconciliation going on at the ground level. The national government's pretty dysfunctional, and that's something of a problem, but at the ground level, things are getting better.
HH: I talked with Max Boot yesterday about not making the mistake the Kennedy administration did with Diem, because political paralysis, they moved against Diem, and we ought not to move against Malaki simply because paralysis has affected the national level when you've got developments on the ground. Do you agree with that?
BK: I think I do, and I think you make an even broader point which you're hinting at, which is that I think our government has actually put a little too much emphasis on the Iraqi national government. It's not a very well-functioning government, and it could be better. But a lot can happen at the local and provincial level. A lot is happening. In some respects, all you need from the national government is a kind of benign neglect. You don't need to do that much. You need to not to mess things up, and they're not messing things up as much right now. So eventually, would we like to have a more competent and focused national government? Sure. But can we sustain this progress for the next six months or a year without much more from the national government? I think we can, actually.
HH: We need them to build an Iraqi Security Force that are as competent as necessary to secure stability. Is that happening, Bill Kristol?
BK: Yes, and one of the great success stories is the Iraqi army. At least I saw this personally. Almost every patrol that Fred and Kim and I went out on with American troops, we also went out with Iraqi troops. And they're obviously not quite up to the level of the Americans, but they are serious fighters, and they are taking casualties. There were three times as many Iraqi casualties over the last few months, General Petraeus went out of his way to point this out, as there were American casualties in fighting al Qaeda or the Shiia sectarian militias. They're fighting, they're patrolling, they're doing a good job of helping with the political reconciliation. The Iraqi police is more problematic. That's the more iffy thing. They're a little more penetrated by the Shiia sectarian militia, but we're working hard on that. We spent half a day with the new head of the Iraqi police, who's really committed to making this a non-sectarian organization. It's a long, difficult slog. But the Iraqis…that's what I mean about the government. You can have a pretty ineffective government, and a pretty ineffective minister of defense. But on the ground, these Iraqi units, partnered with American units, are doing a pretty good job.
HH: Now I opened my virtual Washington Post this morning, and see a Karen DeYoung and Tom Ricks article that oh, sure, things are going well in Baghdad, but Basra's going to hell. A) your reaction to the reporting of that, and B) does it matter?
BK: We didn't go to Basra. They're worried, our people are worried about Basra. The reason it's going to hell to the degree it is, is that the British basically pulled out, unfortunately. They turned it over too soon, they didn't stay, and they didn't partner with the Iraqis down there, and now you have some Shiia gangs sort of fighting there. I don't think it's a strategic problem for us, but it's a bit of a mess, and it's probably going to remain a bit of a mess. It doesn't matter, fundamentally, in terms of our strategic objectives in Iraq, to prevent Iraq from becoming a terror-friendly state, prevent it from becoming an Iranian puppet state. Basra can be something of a mess without fundamentally threatening that.
HH: It does matter, though, in terms of optics back in the United States, and to find that there's another front for the defeatists to seize upon, is what's defeating us. When you sat down with General Petraeus, what did you gather about how he's going to approach this September report? Not what he's going to say, but how he's going to try and communicate? Is he going to try and get to the American people or just to the lawmakers?
BK: Well, he didn't say. He kept his cards pretty close to his vest. I think he has an obligation to report to the lawmakers. I think he also understands, and he's done this on your show, obviously, and on others, he understands he has an obligation to report more broadly to the American people. He seems to believe that things are going pretty well, in some ways, faster than he expected. In other ways, there are some challenges. But in general, I would say, incidentally, if you ask the senior American military where they expected to be in August, they're a little ahead of schedule, both on the military situation and on the political situation. I just want to emphasize that. They are astonished by the speed with which there's political progress in certain areas. Not just in Anbar province, but Diyala and other places. You know, war is a fluid situation, and things can go worse faster than you would hope, things can get better, sometimes, faster than one expects.
HH: Sure.
BK: So I think he is going to say that he feels they are basically on plan, the strategy is working, it certainly deserves another six months to play out. That's the time frame that he planned the strategy for, you know, the surge plays out for about fifteen months. And I think he thinks it would be a real shame, and more than a shame, kind of a disgrace to pull the plug and make all the efforts for naught, just because people here are frustrated or because of partisan politics.
HH: Now Bill Kristol, give us some sense of how you went about this process, because obviously, the military is opening itself up to people from all parts of the ideological spectrum for close examination. But the anti-war fanaticists are out there saying no, no, no, they're being…Potemkin village here, and sweet meats there. What did you see? How did you go about it? How did you live for that eight days?
BK: We stayed mostly in the international zone, right by the Embassy. We went out to forward operating bases, we went out to very dusty small patrol bases where American soldiers were living in pretty primitive conditions. Fred Kagan and Kim Kagan had been there before, I haven't been, so I'm not going to claim to be some kind of before and after expert on this. But they had been there before, and they asked to see certain areas where they had been before, so they could do a before and after snapshot. We were not given a Potemkin tour. There were certain places that are very dangerous that I didn't, we didn't go to. I don't want to put American soldiers at risk having to like shepherd people like me around, you know, so we went to places where we weren't too much of an intrusion or a strain on the military. But I've got to say, we got briefings from brigade commanders, colonels, battalion commanders and lieutenant colonels. We talked with lieutenants and captains, we talked with them in private when they were not with their superior officers. Petraeus has given orders for people to be candid and frank, and they really were. I'm very…I've been in government in and around Washington, as you have, Hugh, and I know when I'm getting a snow job. And I think we got a pretty candid look at what is going on, or what these American soldiers think is going on. And you know, you couldn't get 160,000 American soldiers to deceive everybody, even if you wanted them to.
HH: Right. Speaking about soldiers deceiving…
BK: And look at how consistent they are in what they're e-mailing back, and what they're telling their relatives and their friends back in the U.S. Everyone there knows, people who were skeptics, people who think it was a bad idea to go to war in Iraq, people like that, soldiers and civilians, those, no one there denies that things have gotten pretty remarkably better in the last six months.
HH: We don't have much time, but I do want to go to the Beauchamp deception at the New Republic. Your magazine's been hard on the New Republic. What does Franklin Foer have to do at this point, Bill Kristol?
BK: I'm just amazed that he's sticking by a guy who's in fact, we know, recanted his own story. But look, he publishes this story, the core of it was this story about him and his buddies humiliating a woman who had been injured by an IED at a base in Iraq. This was supposed to show the dehumanizing effects of the war. He first lied to Franklin Foer, then he admits okay, it happened in Kuwait. I don't believe it happened at all, and no one's been able to find anyone who thought it happened in Kuwait, either.
– – – –
HH: I carried on my conversation with Bill Kristol after we had to go to the break. Let's conclude that, because we talk about the New Republic article by Private Beauchamp, which is now revealed to be completely, totally false. Here's that conversation with Bill.
Finish your thought about…once he makes that deception, it does destroy the credibility of this.
BK: Yeah, once you, once a writer acknowledges to his editor that he has deceived the editor about the most important aspect of the story, this was the core of the story that he had done this dehumanizing thing in Iraq, once the writer admits oh, well, that was in Kuwait, then the editor has to say I have lost confidence in this writer, and I can't stand behind his story. It's like in the law, you know more about this than I do, Hugh, but isn't there, if you're a witness…
HH: Yeah.
BK: …and your key claim collapses, you just have to throw out the whole…
HH: Yeah, it's the Perry Mason moment. You're exactly right. It's the Perry Mason moment. As soon as you find someone lying on the stand, everything crumbles.
BK: And this is lying about the most fundamental claim that the war is dehumanizing. It turns out this alleged bad behavior by Beauchamp happened before he went to war. At that point, the editors at the New Republic should have said I'm sorry, we cannot stand behind this person, we were deceived, we retract the story. And I think they're really, frankly, a little crazy to be defending this guy. He himself has retracted the story to the military. There's not a single named witness to any of these incidents, and the New Republic is sort of stubbornly standing behind it.
HH: Well, they're going to go to the mattresses, aren't they, and say the military made him recant, and we're standing by our story. That's the only way Franklin Foer can stay as the editor, isn't it?
BK: Well, I don't know. But what happens when Beauchamp comes back from Iraq? What does he say? I mean, I just think they're really, they've lost, they've let their anti-war animus, and frankly, probably, their hostility to the Weekly Standard and to all of us, I think just simply trump into their normal editorial judgment.
HH: I think you're right. Bill, thanks for spending time with us. I appreciate it.
BK: Hugh, my pleasure.
End of interview.


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Fever Ray - Now's The Only Time I Know (Gossip Rework) - Free Download
While we await the new The Knife album Shaking The Habitual come April - go grab this Gossip rework of Karin Dreijer-Andersson's Fever Ray track Now's The Only Time I Know! It replaces the original version's xylophone and synth universe with guitars and drums! No wonder since Hannah and Nathan of Gossip are so badass at it! Check it out + download belooow!


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I'm not. Not that I couldn't be, I've just never seen it. You can't really be a fan of something you've never seen. Same with The Bachelor and all it's iterations, but that's another story...
Rachel over at Imagine Gnats IS a Project Runway fan! A huge one, in fact, as she has asked me to promote a seriously fun BINGO game on my blog. You can find the info, bingo cards and little button shaped markers here.
But wait! There's more!
If you play along, you will be entered into a drawing to win Aneela Hoey's new line Cherry Christmas! Enticement! I like it!
Makes me wish I watched the show! Head over to Sewn Studio now to get started! I've love to know if you decide to play along!


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The "botification" of Microsoft's software portfolio continues this week with the 2.0 release of the company's News Pro mobile and Web app.
First launched in January, News Pro is a self-updating, news-reading app from Microsoft Garage that delivers a personalized selection of articles to users' Apple iOS devices or their Web browsers. Users can search for their topics of interest and the app will seek out relevant news stories from thousands of publications and blogs. Over time, the app "learns" a person's interests and will make recommendations.
Now, with the latest version of the software, users can catch up on current events by conversing with the app's new bot.
"Reading news, especially work-related news, can sometimes be a bit dry. A bot that can have some basic conversation with you could make news reading more fun," stated Yumao Lu, a principal development manager at Microsoft's Bing division. "News Pro bot is your news agent at your beck and call."
Further reading
Users can chat with the News Pro bot about a news topics using the app's assisted keyboard. For an added bit of personalization, users can upload pictures of themselves to search for online articles featuring their doppelgangers.
Another new addition is curated groups, where friends and colleagues can discuss news articles using the app's chat functionality. Groups are automatically created based on where users work along with their interests, specialties and industries. After analyzing social networks and News Pro user groups, the app then makes article recommendations tailored to the curated group's composition.
News Pro is the latest Microsoft application to get the bot treatment. During the software giant's Build developer conference in March, the company introduced Skype Bots, which enable users to hold conversations with helper applications.
Currently, only a handful of bots are available for the Windows and Mac versions of the communications software. In the meantime, Microsoft is working with developers to create an ecosystem of intelligent Skype bots that will one day enable users to book travel, set appointments and complete other tasks with some help from the company's digital assistant technology, Cortana.
Microsoft's efforts to usher in a bot-powered era of conversational computing hit a snag earlier this year when the company was forced to pull the plug on its Tay chatbot. Tay began spewing racist and offensive tweets after the bot was subjected to "a coordinated effort by some users to abuse Tay's commenting skills to have Tay respond in inappropriate ways," a Microsoft spokesperson said on March 24.
Despite the setback, Microsoft doesn't appear to be any less bullish about bots.
Last week, industry watchers spotted a job posting revealing that the company is working on a new bot called Bing Concierge. "In Bing Concierge Bot, we are building a highly intelligent productivity agent that communicates with the user over a conversation platform, such as Skype, Messenger, Short Message Service (SMS), WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.," stated the listing before it was yanked.


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Tag Archives: those we have lost
Goodbye . . . Hello: A First Decade Homage to the Lost
Posted on January 1, 2011 by bigshotprof
Here at the end of the first decade of the new millennium, it is time to take stock. I view the decade of 9/11 as an historical airlock—a chance to purge from our lungs the excess carbon dioxide of having … Continue reading →
Posted in citizenship, google searches, Opinion, politics, relationships, satire, schools, science | Tagged 2010, 2011, apps, brands, college, decade, facebook, facts, goodbye, hello, internship, job, knowledge, lecture, millennium, personal brand, privacy, say goodbye, social media, those we have lost | Leave a comment


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Support Circle Video Series on Eating DisordersFor many people, it's hard to know where to turn when seeking answers about an eating disorder. They want someone who understands them, someone who […] Read More
Free Eating Disorder Support GroupsFree eating disorder support groups in Los Angeles and Woodland Hills are offered weekly to the community. The free support groups are available for adolescents […] Read More
The Bella Vita NewsletterStay inspired with the latest blog posts, news and other important messages from The Bella Vita Name Email Read More


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A simple journal makes a fabulous way to preserve and document your life. It's quicker and easier than designing an entire 12 x 12 scrapbook page and gets to the heart of…well, your heart!
Up until about a year ago, I ONLY scrapbooked the "12 x 12 way". Now that I use what I like to call the "storytelling method", I've been scrapbooking in a variety of ways.
This page took me less than 30 minutes to put together and tells how I began drinking coffee, my favorite kind and a bit about our trip to Seattle (the first Starbucks, of course!). THE STORY is the star here.
I encourage you to get an archival journal, an archival pen (or 2 or 12) and sit down once in a while and write down what is on your mind. Grab a photo or 2 (or none, even!) and add them to your entry.
As I work on my personal journal, I will be sharing some of my entries here, some on my newsletter and some on StampNation. Stay tuned to be inspired.
And if you want the low-down on the "storytelling method" CLICK HERE to learn about how to get your copy of the book I wrote on the subject.
What else will you learn from reading my book?
- You DON'T have to scrap it all! I'm serious! And I will teach you how to live this idea!
- How to get started! You will have a clear vision and purpose.
- You will be ready to embark on YOUR journey to scrapbooking freedom!
Happy stamping and Journaling!


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Lenox boys meet their match, fall to Whitensville Christian in state semifinals
Jeff Thomas, March 16, 2011 6:21 p.m.
The Lenox boys basketball team found out that there is always someone a little bigger around the corner.
Sporting a 6-foot-9 center as well as 6-7 and 6-5 forwards, Whitensville Christian hit the Millionaires early and never let them recover, beating Lenox 57-42 in the state Division III semifinal at the DCU Center.
The Crusaders (22-2) advance to Saturday's state final where they will meet Watertown here at 12:30.
Lenox, a team used to getting up early in its opponents, foud itself in a big hole early, trailing 15-6 after the first quarter and 31-13 at halftime.
Senior center Hans Miersma had a lot to do with that. Besides scoring 16 points in the game he was a defensive force as the Millionaires were not used to facing an opponent so much bigger than them.
Miersma had six blocked shots, four coming in the first half. Miersma, as well as 6-7 Justin Tienhaara and 6-5 Peter Koopman completely controlled the paint on both ends of the floor.
With nowhere to go inside, the Millionaires took their game to the perimeter but could not connect.
Austin Martin had the only 3-pointers for Lenox, all in the second half. He hit two to open the second half and the Millionaires made a run at the Crusaders.
Martin stroked his third 3-pointer to get the Millionaires with six, 44-38, in the fourth quarter, but the Crusaders took advantage of the Lenox defense as it pressed to force turnovers, allowing Whitensville Christian to run.
The Crusaders went on a 13-1 run that put an end to any hope the Millionaires had of reaching the state final.
Taylor Bajema led the Crusaders with 19 points and Colin Richey added 16.
Kevin Carpenter led the Millionaires with 12 points.


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This was my first time using Illustrator for drawing portraits. I still need to learn a lot. This was also a real pain in the a** for my computer. It feels like a was rendering 10 minutes 3D animation . I wanted to enchance her lashes, but it was crashing so much that I gived up. There were to many objects to handle it.
Here is the screen shot of outlines:
Digital art, Portraits, Vector


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For those who might wonder why a Black honor student would carry a gun, Carlos Ball eloquently explained the dual realities that exist for many black men and women in this country while speaking with the local CBS affiliate in St. Louis, Mo.: "The way St. Louis streets work, we're afraid out here. We're afraid of the police. We're afraid of other youth who may want to pull a gun and fire on you. So, sometimes people have guns just to protect themselves, [but] not with the intentions to do a criminal act with it."
Tragically, now Ball has a more personal anecdote to this rationale: His brother, 25-year-old Cary Ball Jr., was shot and killed by police on April 24th near the Edward Jones Dome. Despite Ball Jr. placing his gun on the ground, police shot him 25 times.
St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson says the three officers involved in the shooting are suspended pending an investigation:
"We've invited the family and the witnesses to provide statements to us," Dotson said, "Some of them have. Some of them haven't. I encourage anybody who has information, we're certainly looking into the matter."
Police report that Ball had crashed his car after a high-speed chase, ran away on foot, and then pointed a gun at officers and ignored them when they ordered him to drop his weapon.
Dotson says they have found no surveillance video from the area that shows what happened. The officers were put on administrative leave pending further investigation.
Wednesday marked the second protest at police headquarters.
Read more at News One.
Also On The Chicago Defender:
comments – add yours


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The Mark/Space Blog
News and views behind the scenes at Mark/Space and the mobile industry, where we make phones, tablets and other gadgets play well with Macs, PCs, the cloud, and each other.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Fliq Notes Update for Android 7 (Nougat) & Google Pixel
Fliq Notes has been updated for full compatibility with Android 7 (Nougat), found on devices such as the Google Pixel. This update also includes compatibility updates for Android 6 (Marshmallow).
Posted by Brian Hall at 9:02 PM No comments:
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
Nokia @ Microsoft Build
We're checking out the latest from Nokia and Microsoft today. Both Android based Nokia X and the latest Window Phone powered Lumia devices. A number of big announcements today. A great resource to check out and learn more is Windows Phone Central over at www.wpcentral.com
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Boxdev '14
Monday, August 12, 2013
From A to Z
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Fliq In App Purchase Now Nook and Kindle Too
Last month we rolled out in-app-purchase for our Android versions of Fliq Notes and Fliq Tasks in the Google Play store.
Following on that, we are now supporting In-App purchase for Fliq apps found in the Amazon (Kindle) and Barnes and Noble (Nook) app stores as well. In app purchase makes it easier than ever to get set up with a subscription to keep your notes and tasks backed up and in sync across all your phones, tablets and e-readers.
Posted by Brian Hall at 8:19 AM No comments:
Friday, June 14, 2013
Frictionless Subscriptions - In App Purchase Comes to Fliq Apps
Purchasing our premium subscriptions for Fliq Notes and Fliq Tasks has just become much easier.
Starting today with Fliq Tasks, and next week with Fliq Notes, we are rolling out updates that support in-app purchase (IAP) via Google Play Store.
And thanks to Google Play, this now makes more payment options available. In addition to the usual choice of credit card, there are some additional choices - including Google Play gift cards and direct carrier billing (where available).
For those that are using devices that do not support Google Play, or that prefer to purchase direct from us, that continues to be an option at the Mark/Space Online Store.
Posted by Brian Hall at 3:11 PM No comments:
Monday, June 10, 2013
+markspace (we are now on Google Plus!)
Thursday, June 06, 2013
Google Nexus... Compost bin?
|Take a look at the logo on the badge - Nexus!
Google hosted the local Mobile Monday (#MoMoSV) event earlier this week at their Mountain View campus and I couldn't help but notice this juxtaposition of brands... Google and Nexus. But not how the mobile trained mind would think - not as in a Nexus phone, but rather as in the Nexus 100 recycling bin!
Friday, May 24, 2013
Tizen Developer Conference
|Brian Warner of the Linux Foundation kicks off the final session
Native apps are developed as HTML5 apps, but there are also a number of companies at the event offering tools and services for porting Android and iOS apps to the platform.
It is a bit early to tell, but the conference is doing an excellent job helping us get all the details we look for when deciding if we should develop for a new platform.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Fliq Notes and Tasks on Amazon and Kindle
Your Notes and Tasks are now available on more devices than ever -- we have just released our cloud-enabled versions of these applications on the Amazon Appstore for Amazon Kindle, including the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD.
The largest change is support for our new premium accounts that keep your notes and tasks handy and in sync between many devices - phones, tablets, and now readers from both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
To learn more about all the changes and new features, visit our blog posts with all of the details for each of Fliq Tasks 3.0 and Fliq Notes 3.0
- Fliq Notes (Amazon Kindle)
- Fliq Tasks (Amazon Kindle)
Posted by Brian Hall at 8:46 AM 2 comments:
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July 11, 2011
earrings - vintage shop in Copenhagen / purse - Athens tourist shop / scoop-neck tee - UO / belt - vintage, thrifted / striped maxi skirt - H&M / sandals - Target, thrifted
I can never resist dressing for a theme - I love going all out for every costume party, for every holiday (Halloween is my favorite, obviously), and, evidently, for the significant architectural works we visit on this trip. Saturday we decided to visit Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum, and I immediately started building my outfit around this striped skirt. I thought the contrasting vertical and diagonal stripes echoed the mixed geometries of the building nicely, while the sleek silhouette and sober color palette kept things appropriate to some of the heavier subject matter. The earrings were a last minute addition - I always end up wanting to sneak just a little color into otherwise neutral outfits.
Do you guys ever find yourselves dressing to 'match' certain places you visit?
29 comments:
You are punching me in the face with your awesomeness. I swear, this skirt gets me every time. It's amazing on you. And this time it helps you camouflage yourself! Really, this is just plain genius. :)
Looking forward to seeing your packing genius on m'blog tomorrow!
- July 11, 2011 at 1:59 PM
- Hannah said...
Those earrings are awesome! And you do match the building quite nicely!
- July 11, 2011 at 2:18 PM
- Julie Del Moore said...
You look absolutely STUNNING! And those earrings are gorgeous.
I wouldn't say that I "match" the places I go but I definitely play dress-up accordingly. Like when I visit my friend at her farm-- cowboy boots and cut-offs. And the farmer's market-- usually flowy skirts or floral prints....and when I go see Harry Potter this weekend I will probably draw a lightening bolt on my forehead and wear some busted up glasses. =)
Julie Del @ J.Bird
- July 11, 2011 at 6:00 PM
- Elizabeth said...
Yes! I love themed dressing! Even if it is only me. I wish there were more themed parties to go to! Even when there is no theme other than what I am doing for the day, like you, I like to create an outfit around what I will be doing that day. It makes things more fun and more rewarding to put an outfit together when you feel like you've dressed specially for something.
One day I was going to a friends party, we had talked about the belt I wore before but he hadn't seen it so that was my theme for that night; I created the outfit around the belt:
- July 11, 2011 at 6:15 PM
- Elizabeth said...
BTW I love your outfit, the skirt was a great thought.
- July 11, 2011 at 6:16 PM
Ooh, I really like the turquoise earrings with all the black and white. And I like the stripes of the skirt with the stripes of the building.
- July 11, 2011 at 7:48 PM
- S. of Narrowly Tailored said...
Your skirt + my eyes + my monitor = craziness. But seriously, I love this outfit -- it's a great look on you. The earrings are amazing!
- July 11, 2011 at 10:30 PM
- thatdamngreendress said...
This is all kinds of architecturally awesome- I love it!
I have an old 'novelty print' polyester blouse that depicts a series of paintings from Renaissance Venice- as an art history student, I loved actually wearing this IN Venice. To fully nerd out, it's Vittore Carpaccio's cycle depicting the travails of St. Ursula and her retinue of 10,000 virgins (which I realised one day AFTER studying the paintings, like, hey, this shirt I already own looks familiar somehow...)
- July 11, 2011 at 11:41 PM
I love the outfit, simple yet classy. The splash of colour with the earrings adds a little something too :)
Also love how many of your outfits consist of items from around Europe - the best way to make an outfit individual! x
- July 12, 2011 at 2:40 AM
- Looks & Books said...
I usually try to match my clothing to where I'm visiting in terms of what will be comfortable/appropriate, but I do sometimes catch myself being "matchy" in a certain way.
Mostly, I just wanted to tell you how much I love that skirt.
- July 12, 2011 at 9:53 AM
- Learned Lady said...
Hi I'm new here and having so much fun exploring your blog! I have a random, probably stupid-sounding question. I am amazed when I see people like you pair brown and black together and have it look so flawless and classy. Whenever I try to mix brown and black clothing and/or accessories, I end up looking like a hot mess (for lack of a better term!).
Is the key to utilize the warmer cognac shade of brown, or a lighter camel shade, rather than a chocolate brown? It seems a lot
of the brown/black combos I see that work on others are cognac and
black. Thoughts? Ideas? Would love some advice on this, because I'd really like to try it and have it actually look good on me!
- July 12, 2011 at 11:40 AM
I love that you are in Berlin, finally (and so cute!)! I lived there last year and I was hoping you would get a chance to visit. Let me know if you want any recommendations (though I think you mentioned that you know the city already!)
- July 12, 2011 at 3:43 PM
the skirt!!! You are a genius wearing it for the visit of the museum! awesome. I definitely try to dress for special occasions, but am not sure if I ever dressed for a place. Of course it should be appropriate and all, but not like you did, that is soooo awesome!
- July 12, 2011 at 4:28 PM
- Jessica Bruner said...
Your earrings are so dreamy!
- July 14, 2011 at 8:29 PM
- the other emily said...
Oh no, but it's such a lovely face! This skirt is one of those magical garments that just gives you oodles of extra confidence when you wear it. I need to try it with some color one of these days though, ha.
And I absolutely loved putting together the packing post, so thank you for having me! :)
- July 17, 2011 at 11:21 AM
- the other emily said...
Thanks Hannah! I love these earrings and I really need more excuses to wear them.
- July 17, 2011 at 11:22 AM
- the other emily said...
Aw, thanks Julie!
Haha, I know what exactly what you mean about dressing for the 'vibe' of a place, I feel like I subconsciously do the same thing all the time. :)
- July 17, 2011 at 11:23 AM
- the other emily said...
I couldn't agree more! I definitely need more themed parties in my life - or any parties for that matter, ha! That's the only downside of the traveling lifestyle, you're a million miles away from everyone you know!
- July 17, 2011 at 11:24 AM
- the other emily said...
- July 17, 2011 at 11:24 AM
- the other emily said...
Hahaha, yeah, it's a definitely moire-inducer in pictures. Thanks love. :)
- July 17, 2011 at 11:25 AM
- the other emily said...
Thanks Emily! It seems like I've always got to sneak some color in there somehow...
- July 17, 2011 at 11:25 AM
- the other emily said...
Haha, that is awesome! It's like the intellectual's version of wearing the t-shirt of the band that's playing - I can't help but love it!
- July 17, 2011 at 11:36 AM
- the other emily said...
Thanks Jodie! I am definitely big on sartorial souvenirs when I'm traveling, I can never resist picking up a few new pieces to remind me of the places I've been. :)
- July 17, 2011 at 11:37 AM
- the other emily said...
Well thank you! I snagged this skirt on the sale rack in Rome in a fit of wardrobe pique - it was too hot to wear pants anymore, but all of my other skirts were too short to wear into cathedrals! So I popped into H&M for a quick maxi fix, and I've been loving it ever since. :)
- July 17, 2011 at 11:38 AM
- the other emily said...
Well welcome!
I don't think it's a stupid question at all - as I said in my email to you the other day, I don't think there's exactly a 'secret' to pairing brown and black together, but I do tend to favor lighter cognac and camel shades of brown over more chocolatey shades when wearing them with black - the lighter shades offer better contrast, so they look a little more 'intentional.' If having the two colors right next to each other looks odd to you, you can always try to break them up a little with something else in between - like a black boots & a camel skirt with bare legs or colored tights between, or even a cropped pair of black pants with cognac flats with a little ankle to separate them. I hope that helps!
- July 17, 2011 at 11:42 AM
- the other emily said...
Thanks Johanna! I visited Berlin briefly in college and loved it (although I wouldn't say I know the city well yet), so I'm glad to be back with lots of time to soak up the city. We would definitely love some recommendations from a former local!
- July 17, 2011 at 11:43 AM
- the other emily said...
Haha, thanks Anja! I think maybe it comes from studying architecture, I am already predisposed to focus on the details of the buildings I'm visiting, so I suppose it's only natural to echo them with my clothes. :)
- July 17, 2011 at 11:44 AM
- the other emily said...
Thanks Jessica! I picked these up super cheap while I was studying abroad in college, and they're definitely one of my most treasured souvenirs.
- July 17, 2011 at 11:44 AM
Those earring were SUCH a good finishing piece. LOVE this look so much!
- July 18, 2011 at 10:12 AM


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The Paper Niche has a Saturday night crop night,
with a different theme each week. This week was
Below is the project of the night, put together
by Beatriz. She did a great job!
this is from Beatriz' blog: so nice of her!
"What a night! We had another unforgettable crop night @ Paper Niche. This week the theme was "Mexican Fiesta". We had a real pinata filled with scrapbook goodies and Tammy's husband was sooo nice in holding it so we can hit it and break it!The food was delicious! We had Bean dip, chicken tacos, corn & bean salad, chips and candy. Camille's birds were the hit of the night when they became "Mexican boys" for the night's layout. Tammy, you are amazing! Thank you for making our crops something we look forward to week after week. We love you!"
Thanks Bea and Tammy and all the girls at the Niche!
I love the way she put the sombrero on their little heads! OLE'
I am so happy that these little guys and gals are being used in so many different ways.
Please send pictures if have them and show me what you've done. Thanks!