text:
One chapter in the history of American warfare that should not be overlooked is the epic battles with insect pests and the deadly diseases that some are capable of transmitting to U.S. combat forces.
Known as "vectors," mosquitoes, fleas, mites, lice, and flies pose a threat of disease that can seriously hamper military operations.
It's little wonder, then, that the U.S. military has been a leader in research on preventing these diseases. What is not widely known is the role USDA scientists have played to support their work. From the discovery that DDT could prevent louse-borne typhus to the recent invention of a new class of mosquito repellent, USDA's Agricultural Research Service has helped prevent insect-borne diseases in both our military and civilians.
"Many of the most important products in use today to control disease-carrying insects were developed as a result of the relationship between USDA and the U.S. military," says Navy Captain Gary Breeden, research liaison officer of the Armed Forces Pest Management Board, located in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Breeden points out that the threat to the U.S. military exists not only during combat but also during peacekeeping and training missions. Indeed, it is as real today as it was 50 years ago, and in some ways worse. For instance, malaria is the single most important parasitic infectious disease in the world, killing more than one million children in Africa each year. Although researchers have learned many ways to control the spread of malaria during military operations, it remains a threat because the Anopheles mosquito is becoming increasingly resistant to available insecticides. In 2003, about 80 Marines and Navy corpsmen from Joint Task Force-Liberia contracted malaria during the few days they were ashore evacuating Americans. And service members deploying for Iraq and Afghanistan today learn a new word for an unusual danger: Leishmaniasis. This blood parasite kills more than 200,000 people per year and infects more than 10 million, mainly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The only way to contract leishmania parasites is through the bite of the tiny sand fly. The disease can occur as a skin, or cutaneous, form, known as "Baghdad boil" to troops in Iraq, and a more deadly internal, or visceral, form. The disease can be treated, but only by prolonged and uncomfortable therapy.
The partnership between USDA and the Department of Defense (DOD) is well established and time honored. In 1944, General George C. Marshall, then Army Chief of Staff, instituted the first formal collaboration, which has been continually renewed to this day. Most recently, USDA has begun a new DOD-funded program to develop a new generation of tools to protect our military from disease-transmitting insects. This initiative, "Deployed War-Fighter Protection Against Disease-Carrying Insects," began with projects at five ARS research units. The emphasis is on identifying and testing new classes of pesticides aimed at disease vectors, new tools for pesticide application suited to the military environment, and new methods for personal protection.
The Search for New Chemical Tools
A medical entomology unit was created by USDA during World War II in Orlando, Florida, to develop methods for stopping transmission of insect-borne diseases. It was there that DDT—which had been discovered in Switzerland years before but never used—was demonstrated to kill lice that transmit epidemic typhus and fleas that transmit plague. Using this knowledge, ARS and military entomologists came up with a system for mass delousing of civilian populations. This plan was first put into action in Sicily, where it has been credited with preventing an epidemic of typhus that would have sickened and killed thousands.
With repeated exposure to an insecticide, insect pests can develop resistant populations. That fact, as well as environmental concerns, has pushed American agriculture toward integrated pest management (IPM) programs, which minimize use of chemical pesticides. But IPM requires time and planning not available to military preventive-medicine officers, who must work not only fast but also in the most hazardous and limiting of conditions. For them, chemical pesticides are usually the most effective weapons.
ARS scientists at the Mosquito and Fly Research Unit, of the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology (CMAVE) in Gainesville, Florida, are literally laying the foundation for a long-term program to identify and test potential successors to DDT for military use: They're overseeing construction of a state-of-the-art insectary for production of the thousands of mosquitoes of several species that will be needed each week. When completed, this facility will be the finest of its kind in North America.
Meanwhile, both at CMAVE and at the Chemicals Affecting Insect Behavior Laboratory (CAIBL) in Beltsville, Maryland, ARS scientists are forming partnerships with universities, industry, and the World Health Organization to develop sophisticated procedures for selecting promising insecticide candidates from thousands of compounds already in company inventories. The ideal insecticide for military use will be fast acting against adult mosquitoes and flies, moderately persistent, easy to store and apply, not toxic to vertebrates, and slow to cause resistance—characteristics that would also be valuable in preventing epidemics among civilian populations.
Controlling house flies and other filth-breeding flies that carry intestinal bacteria onto food and skin, however, requires a different approach. Ronald J. Nachman, a chemist at the Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center in College Station, Texas, is developing ways to transport molecules that mimic hormones across the water-impermeable membrane of maggots; the goal will be agents that remain active for long periods in breeding places.
To be useful, pesticides and repellents must work against not only mosquitoes but also other disease-transmitting arthropods. Edward T. Schmidtman, an entomologist at the Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Laboratory in Laramie, Wyoming, will conduct testing against the tiny blood-feeding midge, Culicoides, the vector of Oropouche and other viruses. Jerry Hogsette, an entomologist at CMAVE, will do the same for house flies, which spread a variety of diarrheal agents. Sand flies—the vectors of leishmaniasis—will be supplied from colonies at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, Maryland. Advanced testing will be conducted at military medical research laboratories located in Peru, Kenya, Egypt, Indonesia, and Thailand.
The Hunt for the Next Best Mosquito Repellent
It is impossible to calculate how much illness, death, and misery has been prevented during the last 50 years by simple application of a bit of N, N diethyl-m-toluamide to exposed skin. Better known as DEET, it is the active ingredient in all the world's most effective and widely used mosquito repellents. Developed as a repellent for the military by ARS scientists in the mid-1950s, DEET is now used by an estimated 200 million people each year. Still, it has its drawbacks: Not all insect vectors are equally repelled; it can dissolve some plastics; and formulations for prolonging its activity on skin can be messy to apply.
Working with military counterparts, entomologist Jerome A. Klun and his colleagues at CAIBL have isolated and tested a possible replacement for DEET. Called "SS220," it's a stereoisomer from a mixture first synthesized by ARS scientists in 1978. ARS was issued a patent for SS220 in 2003. It is currently undergoing toxicology tests required for registration with the Environmental Protection Agency. Recent field tests show that 20 percent SS220 is as effective as 33 percent DEET in protecting troops against the major species of disease-carrying mosquitoes—and it does not dissolve plastics.
"This new repellent chemistry affords flexibility and choice for protection against a variety of disease vectors," says Klun. "The next challenge will be to find a long-lasting, odorless formulation for it that will encourage soldiers to use it routinely."
At CMAVE, chemist Ulrich Bernier and his colleagues have begun several other projects under the DOD initiative, including developing new formulations and looking at old formulations to be used as insect repellent compounds on skin. About 600 synthetic compounds related to piperdines, a repellent found in trace amounts in black pepper, were developed by Gainesville and Beltsville researchers in the mid 1970s and will now be researched further.
David A. Carlson, a CMAVE chemist, says, "We'll work with the University of Florida to re-examine the most promising compounds by carrying out structure-activity relationship studies using the old data and then testing candidates on cloth patches or in our olfactometer, one of only a few in the world. It's a specially designed piece of equipment that we use in the lab to test the reaction of mosquitoes and flies to a particular repellent. Possibly we can develop new candidates as we learn what works best."
Fabrics and Other Barriers Shield Troops From Insects
Millions of people—especially children—living in Asia, Africa, and Latin America are protected every night from bites of malaria mosquitoes by sleeping under bed nets that have been dipped in a special insecticide. This simple but effective method had its origin in the swamps of Florida, where in the 1960s Carl Schreck and fellow ARS scientists tested the concept of treating cloth to be used by soldiers. In a series of influential reports beginning in 1967, Schreck and his colleagues showed how treated clothing repelled mosquitoes, leading directly to current use of treated battle dress for soldiers and the nets for children.
But over the last 30 years, there have been changes that compromise the efficacy of treated cloth. The military uses some synthetic materials for tents and clothing because they're more durable, lighter, and more comfortable than cotton. But they're harder to treat by dipping or spraying. And mosquitoes are becoming resistant to pyrethroids, a family of low-toxicity compounds, originally purified from chrysanthemum flowers, which have both repellent and insecticidal actions.
At Kerrville, Texas, entomologists Mat Pound and Kim Lohmeyer of the Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory are investigating ways to reformulate the current pyrethroid treatment used by the military to maintain its activity beyond the current 10 to 15 washings. At CMAVE, Bernier and an industrial partner are studying how to infuse fabric with nonpyrethroid chemicals.
Prevention Is Only as Good as Its Application
In the early 1940s, two ARS engineers in Florida had a brainstorm. They needed to find an efficient way to propel a fine mist of insecticide for use by troops. A few years before, the DuPont Company had discovered a new, nontoxic refrigerant called "Freon," which had properties under pressure that now caught their attention. In 1941, L.D. Goodhue and W.N. Sullivan patented, on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture, the prototype of the first aerosol can, christened the "bug bomb" by grateful soldiers.
There remains much need for innovative methods to deliver insecticides in just the right quantities to just the right places; the best control agent is useless if it can't be applied. In Kerrville, Texas, agricultural engineer Allen Miller is working with Pound and Lohmeyer to develop delivery systems that provide sustained release of repellents. They are studying polymers and mechanical dispensers that would permeate the closed environment of a tent or vehicle, preventing mosquitoes or sand flies from entering. A polymer, such as those used in air fresheners, would dispense the insecticide over a period of 2 to 3 months, while the mechanical dispenser would activate at a particular time overnight. At Gainesville, a collaboration has begun with Navy engineers to improve the efficiency of ultra-low-volume misting, another ARS invention for use by aircraft, including possibly unmanned drones, in combat zones.
Kenneth Linthicum, director of CMAVE, worked in Asia and Africa on mosquito-borne viruses like dengue and Rift Valley fever and in the United States on West Nile virus. He knows the importance of being prepared.
"The tools ARS develops for the military will be immediately accessible to civilians," Linthicum says. "The rapid spread of West Nile virus demonstrates the nature of the threat. In the war against infectious diseases, the weapons used by soldiers and civilians to defend themselves will be the same."—By Jim Core, Rosalie Marion Bliss, and Alfredo Flores Agricultural Research Service Information Staff.
This research is part of Veterinary, Medical, and Urban Entomology, an ARS National Program (#104) described on the World Wide Web at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.
To reach scientists mentioned in this article, contact Jim Core, USDA-ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Beltsville, MD 20705-5129; phone (301) 504-1619, fax (301) 504-1641.
TIMELINE: Past breakthrough scientific achievements from USDA/DOD partnership
• From 1942 to 1944, USDA was involved in creating delousing preparations that led to saving thousands of U.S. troops from deadly typhus—and ultimately about 25 million people worldwide.
• USDA scientists in Orlando, Florida, demonstrated that DDT killed lice that transmit typhus and fleas that transmit plague. The scientists discovered it had "residual qualities" that kept it effective for weeks or months after being applied to fabric. The World Health Organization estimated that widespread use of DDT prevented more than 25 million deaths from malaria following World War II.
• USDA researchers Lyle Goodhue and William Sullivan invented the aerosol spray canister, dubbed the "bug bomb," to dispense insecticides. The design, patented in 1943, is the ancestor of many popular commercial spray products. Pressurized by liquefied gas, which gave it propellant qualities, the small, portable can enabled soldiers to defend against malaria-carrying bugs by spraying inside tents during World War II. Propellents used in these older aerosol cans have since been replaced with environmentally friendly ones.
• USDA scientists at the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine lab in Orlando (precursor to CMAVE at Gainesville) tested and reported the repellent properties of DEET. Beltsville scientists published additional findings in 1954 and registered DEET for public use. Today, billions of doses of DEET are being used worldwide in varying concentrations and forms, including gels, aerosol and pump sprays, sticks, and lotions.
• Military adapts ultra-low-volume (ULV) equipment in 1960 as part of efforts to improve flying-insect control. ULV foggers use a high volume of air at low pressure to generate fog droplets containing pesticide. It's considered the most efficient way of killing adult mosquitoes. Developed by CMAVE scientists, the method greatly reduces the amount of pesticide dispersed in outdoor applications.
• From the 1960s to the 1980s, Carl Schreck of CMAVE was a pioneer in development of permethrin-treated military uniforms and bed nets that repel ticks and kill disease-carrying mosquitoes, saving millions of people from malaria.
"ARS Partners With Defense Department To Protect Troops From Insect Vectors" was published in the September 2005 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.


text:
Teachings for Our Day
We learn from ancient prophets that the Book of Mormon contains many "plain and precious things" that were preserved to instruct us in our day (see 1 Nephi 13:40; 19:3). These truths provide clarity and increased understanding of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and help students of the Book of Mormon navigate through life's challenges with hope and strength. In the following quotes, modern prophets and apostles testify of these important teachings.Read More or Listen

subset: commoncrawl


text:
By Benjamin Powell and Edward Stringham
The average U.S. consumer now enjoys a larger and higher-quality home than ever before. In 2001, the average home was 1,693 square feet, while in 1960 it was less than 1,200 square feet. In 2001, 58 percent of homes had three or more bedrooms, and 57 percent had 1.5 or more bathrooms. Compare that with 1970, when fewer than half of homes had three or more bedrooms and only 30 percent had 1.5 or more bathrooms. Housing amenities have also improved. In 2001, 76 percent of homes had a washing machine, 73 percent had a dryer, 56 percent had a dishwasher, and 44 percent had a kitchen sink garbage disposal; 58 percent of homes had a garage, and 80 percent had an outdoor deck or patio. In 2001, 82 percent of homes had some form of air-conditioning and 55 percent had central air; in 1970, only 36 percent of homes had airconditioning and 11 percent had central air. Housing has improved almost across the board. Now, 98.7 percent of homes have complete plumbing that includes sinks, hot water, and flush toilets compared with 93.5 percent thirty years ago. The improvement has been especially dramatic for low-income households. University of California at Berkeley professors Quigley and Raphael (2003) report that the percentage of homes occupied by the poorest onefifth of income earners that have incomplete plumbing declined from 40 percent in 1963 to essentially zero today.
While the size and quality of homes have increased, so have prices. Between 1970 and 2001, the median price of owner-occupied housing rose from $78,051 to $123,887 (in 2001 dollars), leading a number of groups to declare a national affordability crisis. But despite noticeable price increases, housing is not necessarily unaffordable. The U.S. Census's 2001 American Housing Survey estimates the cost of owning the median home at $725 per month. If 30 percent of income is spent on housing, any household earning $29,000 per year can purchase the median home. Median household income in the United States is much higher, at $41,994, and so spending $8,700 per year on the median home is well within reach. Although a nationwide affordability crisis does not exist, the numbers in certain regions are less rosy. In many areas of California and the Northeast, for example, housing is much more expensive than in the rest of the United States.
Most commentators attribute the elevated prices to high demand for scarce land. A number of economists, however, point to another explanation. High prices may not be due to intrinsically valuable land but, instead, to housing regulations such as restrictions on density, height, and design; building fees; slow approval processes; restrictions on growth; and preservation laws. One way of measuring whether high prices are due to regulations or high demand for land is to look at how much increased lot size increases the value of a home. If land scarcity drives housing prices, doubling the lot size would increase the difference between construction costs and home value by 100 percent. But Edward Glaser and Joseph Gyourko (2002) found that consumers in most cities value homes on twenty-thousand-square-foot lots by only ten to twenty thousand dollars more than they do equivalent homes on ten-thousand-square-foot lots.
This indicates that intrinsically valuable land is not the main cause of high prices. Economists who have studied the issue conclude that the scarcest input for housing is government permission to build. Econometric estimates indicate that only 10 percent of the gap between construction costs and home prices is caused by intrinsically high land prices; the other 90 percent is caused by zoning and land-use regulations. Glaser and Gyourko conclude that "land-use regulation is responsible for high housing costs where they exist" (p. 30). Another study reached the same conclusion using a different methodology. Stephen Malpezzi (1996) constructed an index of seven different land-use regulatory variables and ranked fifty-six different metropolitan areas according to how strictly land use was regulated. Regulatory variables included measures such as changes in length of approval time, time required to get land rezoned, amount of acreage zoned for residential development, and percentage of zoning changes approved. Malpezzi found that a change from a lightly regulated environment to a heavily regulated one increased home values by 51 percent and decreased the number of permits to build by 42 percent. Home ownership rates also declined by about ten percentage points. Regardless of methodology, evidence shows that areas with high levels of regulation have higher housing prices, higher rents, and lower home ownership rates.
Although no national affordable housing crisis exists, prices are quite high in some high-regulation jurisdictions. In Santa Clara County, California, for example, the median price of a newly constructed home in 2003 was more than $638,000. Assuming a family can spend 30 percent of its income on a mortgage, even with low 5 percent interest rates a family must earn more than $135,000 per year to afford the median-priced new home. If the above estimates are correct, regulations such as urban growth boundaries, moratoriums on building permits, environmental regulations, and other restrictions raise home prices as much as $300,000 in this county. Put another way, the portion of purchase price paid by residents of Santa Clara County due to regulation is almost enough to buy three complete homes of median value elsewhere in the United States.
In addition to land-use restrictions, governments drive up housing prices for lower-income families by dictating improvements in housing quality that the families might not otherwise choose. Governments do this by, for example, setting minimum lot sizes. Also, the federal government's urban renewal program between 1949 and the early 1970s destroyed more than 600,000 low-income dwellings, replacing them with 250,000 homes that were mostly for middle- and upper-income buyers (O'Sullivan 1996). Martha Burt's 1992 study found that urban renewal's destruction of low-quality, low-cost residential hotel rooms in U.S. central cities contributed to the rise of homelessness.
Real federal outlays for housing have steadily increased since the early 1960s to reach their current level of approximately thirty billion dollars per year. Today, approximately 6 million renter households receive federal housing subsidies, and 1.5 million households live in public housing. But the public sector lacks a profit incentive, and government programs are highly inefficient. One study estimated that for every hundred dollars of government spending on housing production, housing worth only forty-three dollars to the residents is produced (Mayo 1986). Because residents of public housing do not own it—and, indeed, no one owns it—public housing usually deteriorates rapidly through poor upkeep, in many cases becoming uninhabitable within twenty years. Some of the worst effects of public housing have been on the very residents the housing was created to help. Public housing projects are often plagued by high crime, and are thus considered undesirable places to live. In contrast, private developers and landlords have an incentive to make sure customers are satisfied: they lose business otherwise.
Recognizing that government is not a particularly good landlord, many policymakers are looking for other "affordable" housing solutions. At the local level, inclusionary zoning is becoming increasingly popular. The word "inclusionary" actually refers to price controls on a percentage of new homes. Builders and subsequent owners are forced to price the homes so they are "affordable" to people at specific income levels. In Tiburon, California, for example, where the median price of existing homes exceeds $1 million, builders are required to sell 10 percent of new homes for $109,825 or less. Inclusionary zoning is most popular in California, Maryland, and New Jersey. A nationwide 1991 survey found that 9 percent of cities larger than 100,000 had inclusionary zoning, and the number is increasing rapidly. In 1990, roughly thirty jurisdictions in California had inclusionary zoning; the number had increased to more than one hundred by 2004.
Inclusionary zoning produces negative effects similar to those caused by other price controls. Price controls restrict the supply of new homes and actually make housing less affordable. Because builders are forced to sell a portion of a development at a loss, inclusionary zoning functions as a tax on new construction. Estimates of the level of the tax in California cities such as Portola Valley are above $200,000 per market-rate home. To maintain normal profit margins, builders end up passing the tax on to landowners and other home buyers. Elasticities of supply and demand determine exactly how the burden is split, but the result is almost certainly higher home prices.
Inclusionary zoning also leads to less construction. In the forty-five San Francisco Bay Area cities for which data are available, new construction fell by 31 percent in the year following the adoption of inclusionary zoning (Powell and Stringham 2004). In some cases, inclusionary zoning halts development completely. The experience of Watsonville, California, illustrates this effect. In 1990, Watsonville's inclusionary zoning ordinance imposed price controls on 25 percent of new homes. Between 1990 and 1999, with the exception of a few small nonprofit developments, almost no new construction occurred. The law was finally revised in 1999 because, in the words of Watsonville Mayor Judy Doering-Nielsen, "There was an incredible pent-up demand. Our inclusionary housing ordinance was so onerous that developers wouldn't come in." Jan Davison, director of the city's Redevelopment and Housing Department, commented that the inclusionary zoning law "was so stringent, and land costs were so high, that few units were produced," but "[it] was completely redone in 2000, and we got more units produced" (Morgan 2003). Watsonville reduced the number of units under price controls from 25 percent of all developments to 15 percent on smaller developments and 20 percent on developments of fifty units or more. In the three years after easing requirements, the city's housing stock increased by 12 percent.
In addition to restricting supply, inclusionary zoning produces a number of other undesirable effects. Price controls exacerbate shortages, decrease mobility, and are a poor way of helping those most in need. Because inclusionary zoning comes with restrictions on resale, it prevents equity appreciation and leads families to live in the homes longer than they would otherwise. This takes homes off the market and does not help other low-income families who are seeking to buy homes. Even if a family's income has considerably increased, owners of price-controlled homes are less able to move because price controls prevent their homes from appreciating at market rates. These residents are stuck with an asset that they cannot fully cash out and cannot even pass on to their children unless those children also meet low-income guidelines. This creates an incentive for owners to evade the law and resell or sublet their units at market rates. Governments then must spend resources supervising the price controls.
Interestingly, even high-priced construction benefits all consumers. When a high-income household moves into a high-priced new home, it vacates its old home for someone else. That family, in turn, vacates its old residence, freeing it up for someone else. Economists call this process "filtering" because as new homes are built, the existing stock "filters down" to lower-income households. A classic study, New Homes and Poor People, looked at the chain of existing home sales in thirteen different cities and found that each new home generated an average of 3.5 moves. Even though new housing tends to be higher priced, low-income households make up to 14 percent of the moves generated by new housing. According to Malpezzi and Green (1996), "to the extent that a city makes it easy for any type of housing to be built, it will also enhance the available stock of low-cost housing" (p. 1811, italics added). When new construction is prevented or slowed, this process is stifled. Without new homes, high-income buyers bid up prices on existing homes, thus making all housing less affordable. A sure way to make housing more affordable is to reduce zoning regulations and other restrictions on new construction.
Despite the regulations, the U.S. housing market is quite resilient. Ninety-eight percent of Americans live in privately owned and constructed homes. The size and quality of these homes have increased substantially over the past few decades. Some cities, such as Houston, Texas, have gone without zoning, and some, such as Celebration, Florida, are almost entirely privately planned. Developments such as Santana Row in San Jose, California, now provide streets, parks, and even private security. A shift away from government planning to private planning is positive for renters and homebuyers (Beito et al. 2002).
Further Reading


text:
Style #: 355001 | 355003
Rugged Trail Runners having tactical features starting with Altama's legendary Panama Sole technology. Using sticky SOFROC™ rubber that wraps up in the arch to aid in fast roping, we've turned a typical trail runner into a tactical machine!
- Panama Sole Technology using SOF ROC™ rubber
- Dual density EVA midsole
- Full length Rock 'n Roll Plate™
- Quick drying nylon mesh and microfiber PU upper
- Molded external rubber toe
- Injection molded TPU Heel Counter support
- Nylon loop lacing system
- Alta-lite™ blown PU insole
15 Oz. (420g)


text:
The international conference that convened this week in the Swiss town of Montreux in an attempt to find a way toward resolving the war in Syria is one of the more strange international gatherings of recent years.
The aims of the combatant sides in Syria remain entirely irreconcilable.
Neither the Assad regime nor the rebellion against it is strong enough to strike a decisive blow against its opponent.
Neither side is sufficiently weak to feel compelled to accept whatever outcome its enemy wishes to impose on it.
In such a situation, diplomacy becomes reduced to the rituals of protocol.
Form replaces content. And the purpose of bringing the sides together becomes unclear.
This conference has all the familiar paraphernalia of an important diplomatic event. Foreign ministers are gathered. Speeches will be delivered. An atmosphere of grave seriousness will prevail. But the basis for substantive progress appears entirely absent.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shake hands with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on January 21, 2014, in Montreux, Switzerland, before the start of talks focused on reaching a negotiated political settlement in Syria. (Image source: U.S. State Department) |
Conceived over a year ago, the conference is intended to set in motion the implementation of the 'Geneva Communique' of June 30, 2012. In its key passage, this document calls for the 'establishment of a transitional governing body with full executive powers that could include members of the government and opposition, and should be formed on the basis of mutual consent.'
The Syrian dictator, whose foreign minister Walid Mouallem is present at the conference, has made clear that he does not accept this goal if it means that he should step down.
As regime information minister Omran al-Zoabi expressed it succinctly on the first day of the conference: 'Assad isn't going.'
Assad himself told Russian MPs at a meeting in Damascus earlier this month that his departure would not be under discussion at the conference. "If we had wanted to surrender, we would have surrendered from the very start. We stand at the guard of our motherland,' the dictator informed his guests. 'This issue lies beyond the sphere of discussion.'
Assad has made clear that as far as he is concerned, the main subject that will lie within the sphere of discussion in Geneva will be his 'war on 'terrorism.' His message is that the regime is locked in combat with the same Sunni jihadi enemies that threaten the west.
From Assad's point of view, such a stance makes perfect sense.
He is in no danger of imminent defeat. The war in Syria has been at a bloody stalemate for about a year now. The regime controls the capital, Damascus and a contiguous land area stretching up to the Mediterranean cost in the west. Assad also still maintains his grip on the main cities of the country, with the exception of Raqqa in the east (controlled by the al-Qaeda affiliated ISIS group) and Aleppo, which is divided between the government and the rebels. Assad's allies, Iran and Russia, appear to still be standing firmly behind him. He has no incentive for compromise.
As for the rebels, they have similarly solid reasons not to submit.
They control an area of roughly equal size stretching from the border with Iraq up to the Turkish border in the north west.
Since early January, the opposition-controlled area has been engulfed in an internal civil war, with the al-Qaeda affiliated ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) resisting attacks from the Saudi-supported fighters of the Islamic Front. This fighting made possible relatively minor gains by government forces in the northern Aleppo area.
But the rebels, too, are not facing imminent defeat. They have no shortage of men willing to engage on their behalf. Assad failed to capitalize or expand on some modest military successes in the summer. So they too see no pressing reason to compromise their core demand – that Bashar Assad cannot form part of any transitional administration.
Rebel controlled areas have borne the brunt of extraordinarily brutal tactics employed by the regime over the last three years. These have included the use of chemical weapons against civilian targets, as took place in eastern Ghouta on August 21, 2013, with the loss of 1429 lives, according to US figures. A newly released report claims that the regime has carried out the mass slaughter of 11,000 detainees.
The dictator's uncompromising position led to a very great reluctance on the part of the opposition to take part in the conference at all. A no-show by the western financed opposition would have turned the gathering into a farce. As a result of western threats and pressure, the Syrian National Coalition eventually agreed to show up.
But this coalition in any case exerts little or no authority over the overwhelmingly Sunni Islamist fighting groups that are conducting the actual war in Syria.
They will not be there in Geneva, and will certainly not feel bound by any commitments made by the external leadership.
The Kurdish PYD, which rules the largely peaceful Kurdish enclave in the north east of the country, is also not invited.
So there are fundamental disagreements between the two sides attending the conference. On the rebel side, the most important and influential factions won't be attending at all. The government side has no intention of conforming to the conference's key premise (Assad's resignation and his replacement by a transitional authority.) The opposition representatives have no intention of compromising on this demand.
The chances of such a gathering leading to any type of diplomatic breakthrough are surely close to zero.
What then is the point of all this?
The Geneva II conference is happening, it appears, for the not particularly edifying reason that the west doesn't want to entirely ignore Syria, and can't quite think of anything else to do.
The Geneva II conference's main contribution to the diplomacy of the region is thus likely to be to pave the way for the Geneva III conference. And 'all the way up to Geneva 17, before this thing's finished,' as one Syrian observer put it. In Syria itself, meanwhile, the bloodletting looks set to continue.
Jonathan Spyer is a senior research fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, and a fellow at the Middle East Forum.


text:
B.C. has made its mark in the late night talk show world yet again – this time thanks to a face mask graphic from aboard BC Ferries.
Earlier this month, the ferry company received widespread attention for a particular graphic intended to depict a man wearing a face mask.
As of this week, face masks are mandatory in all public indoor spaces – although BC Ferries vessels have had similar mandates for several months.
But shortly after BC Ferries unveiled the new signage, social media users pointed out the graphic could be interpreted to be showing male genitalia, making it go viral.
Turns out, James Corden fans were just as quick to pick up on the dual imagery when he showed it Wednesday night on the Late Late Show.
"A company in Canada is getting a lot of attention online for its sign encouraging people to wear a mask, because, well, you'll see it when you see it," he told the audience, followed by laughter.
"I mean, talk about graphic design – that's a play on words."
Is that a "mask required" sign or are you just happy to see us? 👀 pic.twitter.com/BTALAfq9dF
— The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) November 19, 2020
In a tweet earlier this week, BC Ferries acknowledged the various responses to the design.
"If there was anyone unaware about our mandatory requirement to wear masks … they know now."
What imagination...😳 If there was anyone unaware about our mandatory requirement to wear masks...they know now 🤦 ^kb
— BC Ferries | Travel safe. Wear a mask. (@BCFerries) November 13, 2020
According to BC Ferries, the signs will be replaced in the near future.
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Want to support local journalism? Make a donation here.


text:
Baby Blanket Axel and Luna
item no. 748308
Reversible blankets are particularly soft and tender to cover and keep baby warm- to cuddle or to play with. Their many uses make them an indispensable accessory- both at home and away from home.
- Incomparably soft and supple blanket with a small- discreet pattern- ideal size for playing- cuddling and keeping baby warm
- Versatile: Practical for home and away- Discreet- Two-tone design for every taste
- Feels great thanks to the soft velvet- Quality guarantee: Extra soft material. 75x100 cm: 100% polyester / 135x100 cm: 100% cotton
- Maintenance-friendly: machine washable at 30°C
A Vegan Brand
Nattou is vegan certified. This means that we don't use any animal materials and that we don't conduct tests on animals.


text:
I will be traveling to Latvia this July! This will be an opportunity for me to do some more research and gain more familiarity with the different resources available. I will be going back to school in the fall, so I won't be able to make another trip like this for at least two years.
What does this mean for you, my readers? I can offer various lookup services for different records, maybe even take pictures of ancestral homes. We can also discuss research services, but that will be on a case-by-case basis. Research services would start at $20/hour, specific record lookups would be a flat rate, depending on the type of record.
If you're looking to plan your own research trip to Latvia at some point, but want to know ahead of time what specific records are available for your parish (for example, population registers, different types of estate documents, etc.), I can also offer a survey of sources. I will examine the specific fonds pertaining to your parish to compile a specific listing of the documents available, as well as more general fonds to find items of interest for your parish. This service is available for $25 for rural parishes or small towns. Larger towns and cities will be on a case-by-case basis.
Interested? Email me: and we can discuss details (you will need to type the address into your email program, I have it here as a gif to prevent spam). If there is something you're interested in that I haven't mentioned, let me know and we can see if we can work something out. Any details you provide to me about yourself, your family and your research will be kept completely confidential. If you want to know more about me, I have provided some more information on the "About" page, and you can always email me to ask any questions you may have. All prices are in Canadian dollars and taxes may apply.
More posts on history and migration to come soon! While in Latvia I also plan to go to the National Library, where there could also be a variety of useful sources for family history researchers. I'll keep you posted on what I find there as well.


text:
(CBS) — They came to the United States for medical treatment for their son, but a French family is now stranded in Chicago because the airline that brought them here won't take them back.
Kevin Chenais, 22, weighs 500 pounds and spent a year-and-a-half at the Mayo Clinic for treatment of a hormone disorder.
He was supposed to fly home to France on British Airways, but for seven days, he and his family have been stranded in Chicago.
"We blame British Airways because now they just leave us, and they brought us here," said Christina Chenais, Kevin's mother.
When it was time to go back, British Airways essentially decided, Kevin was too large to fit on board.
"If they could bring him here with that problem in economy, there was a way to take him back by economy but just get him back home for his medical treatments to continue," said Christina Chenais.
In a statement, a British Airways spokesperson said: "Our customer service team worked diligently to find a solution…Unfortunately, it is not possible to safely accommodate the customer on any of our aircraft…"
Kevin requires round-the-clock oxygen and full time medical attention.
"I'm sure a lot of big people like or bigger cannot travel because they have the same problem," said Kevin Chenais.
They are now out of cash and marooned at an airport hotel and the family now plans to travel by train to New York and board the Queen Mary II to England, all taking time and money they can't afford.
Kevin's parents insist British Airways was informed about Kevin's size and medical needs before they bought their tickets.
British Airways won't comment specifically on that, only saying the needs of individual customers must be addressed on a case-by-case basis.


text:
866-295-4143, email@example.com
New Testament churches do not naturally die; they are so constituted that they cannot die a natural death. They may, however, be killed, but even in this, they can hardly be killed by outsiders except by the annihilation of the entire membership. Churches are most often killed from the inside; their own members kill them. A church is not just an organization; it is also an organism -- a living thing, and as such, it has the potential of either growing and thriving, or of languishing and dying. The Lord promised that His church, considered as an institution, would not die, (Matthew 16:18), but this only means that there will be a continuity of churches like the Jerusalem church until His return; it does not guarantee the continued existence of any individual church.
How then may a church be killed?
The Scriptures liken church members to the members of a physical body, (I Cor.12:12ff), and just as certain organs of the human body cannot be removed without death coming to the body, so it is with the church, the body of Christ. When the members of the church start staying away from it, this soon leads to its death.
This is generally a gradual thing, starting first with the neglect of the business meetings because "it doesn't matter whether I am there or not. The others are going to run things to please themselves."
The night services are really the acid test of a church member's love for the Lord, for many people come to church for the morning services simply because there is nothing else to do except stay home. Of course, many professed Christians who will even forsake the House of God Sunday morning in order to sleep in; these are the very most unfaithful kind. But of those who attend the Sunday morning services regularly, many could not be gotten out for evening services for anything. But the same excuses that are thought valid for staying away from church services, will not do when one is invited to a party, or when money is to be made by being in a certain place, etc. But the Lord will one day settle up the accounts. "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits" Prov. 16:2.
Some church members permanently forsake the church, never more to return; but if we consider the connections between the two verses in Heb. 10:25-26, we find that this is an indication that the individual was only a false Christian. The same is true in I John 2:19: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."
Starving the Church through Lack of Converts
A church lives and grows only by conversions and the additions of those converts to its number, and therefore if it is not nourished by conversions as a result of preaching and praying, it will soon die off from lack of additions. Souls being saved are a blood transfusion to any church. "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" Acts 2:47. God does the adding to the church, yet He does it through the prayers and the preaching and the witnessing of His people.
Starving the Church through Lack of Spirituality
A church may be killed by starving it of spirituality; we must remember that the degenerate Church of Rome was once a New Testament church until it lost its spirituality. Heresy in doctrine is first preceded by heresy in practice; i.e., by a carnal life. How may this be prevented? By its members living a sanctified (dedicated) life from day to day (not week by week, nor month by month). But dedication requires self-denial, and all too many professed Christians are unwilling to do this.
Starving the Church through Lack of Prayers and Finances
Then it is possible to starve a church to death by not supporting it with one's prayers and finances. A church is a business -- the grandest, most worthwhile business in the world, and therefore it must have money to operate. Because it is a heavenly business, it needs, in addition to money, the prayers of the Lord's people. Some professed believers are much more diligent in running down the church, the pastor, and those who are faithfully working in the church, than they are in praying for these and helping them. The same thing is true of Christians as it is of mules: THEY CAN'T PULL WHILE THEY ARE KICKING, AND THEY CAN'T KICK WHILE THEY ARE PULLING.
As to the failure of God's people to support the church financially, Malachi 3:8-10 is still in the Bible, and it calls the withholder of the tithes and offerings just what he is -- a thief. Nor will it do to say "But that is in the Old Testament." The division of the Bible into the Old and the New Testament is strictly a man-made division; the Scriptures themselves know nothing of this. But in any case, I Cor. 9:1-14 obligates believers to support the church in precisely the same way that the Tabernacle was supported -- by tithes and offerings. See especially I Corinthians 9:14.
Strife has probably killed almost as many churches as any other one thing. When two people are in disagreement, and both are utterly selfish, it will cause a strife which will grow until it consumes the whole church, unless the church takes steps to end the strife. Strife is a mark of spiritual immaturity and carnality: "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ ... For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" I Cor. 3:1,3.
Strife generally has its roots in pride, for where there is strife, both parties proudly assume that they are right, and will not admit even the possibility of being wrong. At the same time, neither will try to see the other's point of view, nor will either admit that the other could be right in the least degree. It is a fortunate church which does not have such an undercurrent of strife.
Strife is also promoted by self-righteousness in that one looks down upon others, while exalting self in his own mind. He takes the attitude of the Pharisee in Luke 18:9. Pride stands in the way of humility, which is always the first step toward repentance.
One of the most tragic forms of church strife is when a member, or group of members, get their feelings hurt by the preaching (which is very common when the preacher is faithful to preach against sin, and to declare the members' duties). Often the dissident members will mount a campaign to run the preacher off, and the most common excuse used is that he is a "dictator." Now we have no sympathy with a genuine dictator in the pulpit, but ere a man of God is stigmatized as a dictator, men had best consider what the preacher is commissioned and commanded to do: he is to "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" II Timothy 4:2. "Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear" I Timothy 5:20. "These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee" Titus 2:15. "This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith" Titus 1:13.
On the basis of these, and the many other similar texts, the preacher has a duty not only to declare the truth, but also to rebuke those members who are living wayward lives, and no one has a right to call him a dictator for only doing his duty. This is not to say that he may use the pulpit to chide members for personal differences of opinion, nor that he should jump upon and spur every one for every little misstep. The wise pastor will quickly learn to use Christian psychology even in the most serious breaches of Christian ethics, and that "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger," Proverbs 15:1. A belligerent or overbearing preacher will produce only heartache for himself and discouragement for the church.
Strife between the members of a church and the pastor often destroys a church for the simple reason that by rebellion against the pastor, the members are rebelling against the Lord, for though the church may vote to call a man as pastor, yet if they are led of the Lord in doing so, the pastor is made the superintendent or overseer (Greek "bishop") over the flock, Acts 20:28. Not only so, but the preacher, when he stands to declare the gospel, is an ambassador for Christ, beseeching men in the stead of Christ to be reconciled to God, II Corinthians 5:18-20. And yet more so, when he preaches Christian responsibility to believers, they are obligated to obey and submit themselves, for the pastor is accountable to God for them, and thus it is a solemn thing to disobey when the pastor is only endeavoring to lead one on to serve the Lord better and more faithfully. "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you," Hebrews 13:17.
Some churches degrade the pastoral office to that of a mere figurehead, and treat the pastor with less respect than any layman in the church; sometimes they let their independency and autonomy go to their heads, and they think they can run the preacher off any time they don't like what he says. But it is noteworthy that the Scriptures give not a single example of the dismissal of a pastor from a church, nor of a church even challenging the authority of the pastoral office.
It is to be granted that the church has authority over its members, including the pastor, but it is also true that the pastor is a man specially called of God to his office, and he stands in a special relationship to God, and while on rare occasions it may be necessary to dismiss and exclude a preacher because of immorality or heresy, yet a church should be very slow to take any action against one of the Lord's prophets without good reason. "Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses" I Timothy 5:19. "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm" Psalms 105:15.
In the Scriptures, stubbornness is a sin that is compared to witchcraft and idolatry, I Samuel 15:22, and yet some people seem to delight in stubbornly resisting all spiritual progress and activity in the church. It is no virtue to be so set in one's ways that one hinders a church from changing for the better. No church was ever so perfect when it started but that it has room to change for the better. Indeed, sanctification is itself a progressive changing for the better of individuals, and if the members daily change for the better, so should the church. The sin of the Sardis Church was that it stubbornly refused to repent of sin, Revelation 3:3, and consequently it slowly died on the vine, all the while refusing to admit its cold and indifferent state. There is such a thing as dead orthodoxy -- a doctrinal soundness which is devoid of any real love to Christ.
Some say, "Well, it is my life, and it is my business whether I repent or not," but this is not true, for every person is an example to someone else, and his bad example will lead others astray, perhaps concerning something much worse. Besides, the corruption of a church member is a corruption of that much of the church, and "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" I Corinthians 5:6. No one can afford to indulge any sin, because sin in church members is what kills churches.
There are many ways to kill a church, but the important thing to notice is the solemn consequences of tearing down a church of the Living God. "If any man defile (the Greek word is the same as that translated "destroy") the temple of God (a church, as the preceding verse shows), him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple are ye" I Corinthians 3:17. It matters not what excuses may be given, if an individual or group of individuals so conduct themselves as to cause the death of a church, they had better prepare to shortly face the judgment of God in the loss of their physical lives.
A church is of more importance than the collective rights of all the members, for a church exists, not just for its own present members, but is a witness to many who may never join it, but who may be led to the Lord through its ministry. Not only so, but the rights of future members must also be considered when taking any action that might be detrimental to the church. Many carnal church members, in their zeal to get their own way, justify their own sins, sooth their own pride and hurt feelings, do not care that they may quench the only faithful lighthouse of the truth in their community. They care not that future generations may not have opportunity to hear the gospel and to be saved because a church was destroyed by the carnality of its members.
The attitude of some is "I'm saved, so let the rest of the world go to hell for all I care." Such an attitude hardly evidences genuine salvation. If it be true that "Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" I John 3:17, how much more so is this true of those who have no concern for the welfare of the souls of others? God pity the man who destroys a church: if he is saved at all, he puts himself under the judgment of physical death for putting his own selfish wants and will above the welfare of a church of the living God.
All of the foregoing points may be summed up in this one, but we venture to make a few more comments which fall specifically under this heading. We live in the most affluent age that this world has ever known. Add to this the fact that this generation has greater means to get the gospel to every race, nation and tribe of people than any previous generation. Radio, TV and the press make evangelism possible as never before. But what happens? Instead of using these means for the glory of God, men become so selfishly involved in them that all of these become definite detriments to the truth.
It has been found that people [in some countries] spend hundreds of times more on pets than on all religious enterprises combined, and Newscaster Paul Harvey reports that for every dollar that is spent on churches, $12,000 is spent on crime. It should be obvious from this that we are working at the wrong end of the problem.
Giving to missions is the thermometer which shows the spiritual atmosphere of a church. It is generally the gauge of godliness in the church. Call it home missions or whatever one pleases, but the selfish use of the Lord's money for the gratification of the members of a church will kill that church as quickly as almost any one thing. May God give us more sound and serviceable churches by stirring up church members to be more dedicated and obedient.
Are you killing your church by your sinfulness by your selfishness, by your neglect? Then repent before both the church and yourself are destroyed.
- Receive these reports by email
- www.wayoflife.org
Sharing Policy: Much of our material is available for free, such as the hundreds of articles at the Way of Life web site. Other items we sell to help fund our expensive literature and foreign church planting ministries. Way of Life's content falls into two categories: sharable and non-sharable. Things that we encourage you to share include the audio sermons, O Timothy magazine, FBIS articles, and the free eVideos and free eBooks. You are welcome to make copies of these at your own expense and share them with friends and family. You may also post parts of reports and/or entire reports to websites, blogs, etc as long as you give proper credit (citation). A link to the original report is very much appreciated as the reports are frequently updated and/or expanded. Things we do not want copied and distributed are "Store" items like the Fundamental Baptist Digital Library, print editions of our books, electronic editions of the books that we sell, the videos that we sell, etc. The items have taken years to produce at enormous expense in time and money, and we use the income from sales to help fund the ministry. We trust that your Christian honesty will preserve the integrity of this policy. "For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward" (1 Timothy 5:18). Questions? email@example.com
Goal:Distributed by Way of Life Literature Inc., the Fundamental Baptist Information Service is an e-mail posting for Bible-believing Christians. Established in 1974, Way of Life Literature is a fundamental Baptist preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. Brother Cloud lives in South Asia where he has been a church planting missionary since 1979. Our primary goal with the FBIS is to provide material to assist preachers in the edification and protection of the churches.
Offering: Offerings are welcome if you care to make one. If you have been helped and/or blessed by our material offerings can be mailed or made online with with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or Paypal. For information see: www.wayoflife.org/about/makeanoffering.html.


text:
Latest Broadband News
View latest news | View archived news
24 December 2013
03 September 2013
01 September 2013
BT switches off dial-up internet
27 August 2013
BT launches student broadband deals
How do I switch my broadband to another provider?
To switch your broadband supplier to another provider you will require a MAC code - a migration authorisation code.
Our handy tool above will provide you with all the information you require to obtain your MAC code and switch internet service providers to another provider. The process is termed broadband migration. It's quick, free and very easy to do - follow the instructions above for full details on how to obtain your MAC code and switch to another provider.
By switching internet service providers to another provider, you could potentially save hundreds of pounds a year... New broadband deals are available all the time and prices are getting cheaper with increased competition (just look at how many internet service providers we have listed on the left side of this page!), so if you have been with your current broadand provider for a long time, it is highly likely that there are better broadband deals available from other providers, saving you lots of money!
There is no charge for a MAC code.
MAC codes consist of four letters, followed by between seven and nine numbers, a slash, and five alphanumeric characters (e.g. LAEM3456789/1F14T).


text:
top of page
Fri, 24 Dec
|St. Patrick's, Sixtowns
SIXTOWNS ~ 3.00pm - CHRISTMAS EVE
Places at this Mass are limited so only book if you are certain that you can attend. Bookings limited to 6 tickets per family - please DO NOT order more than required. All that you book for must be part of the same bubble so that they can be seated together. Click the RSVP button below to proceed.
Registration for this Mass is now closed.
See other MassesTel: 028 79628248
bottom of page


text:
Following Chen Guangcheng's remarkable escape to Beijing and then New York, CNN's Steven Jiang describes the growth of China's home-grown rights movement, which includes some of Chen's associates:
Hu Jia is an old friend of Chen and among the first people he met after fleeing to Beijing. A champion of democracy and political freedom, Hu, 39, was arrested and sentenced to three and a half years in prison on subversion charges before the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
[…] "I've always told the authorities, we're playing the game of cat and mouse — but I am the cat," he added.
Inspired by the likes of Hu and Chen, analysts see a trend of more people in the younger generation — armed with legal knowledge and Internet skills — joining the ranks of human rights activists at a time when mass discontent over problems like a widening income gap and rampant official corruption simmer beneath the surface.
Former English teacher He Peirong — known by her online name Pearl — was so touched by Chen's story that she became involved in the plan to rescue him from his village to Beijing. Police in her hometown of Nanjing detained her for a week after Chen's escape in April, but she says she feels no regrets.
"As we become more educated and better off, I think our political conscience will become stronger, as more people wake up to stand up for their rights," she said, adding that police had warned her not to go to Beijing during the Party Congress.
The article also describes the current situation of Chen's mother, brother and nephew, Chen Kegui, following the younger Chen's arrest. See more on Chen Guangcheng via CDT.


text:
Find food that fits your pet's needs
Find a dog food that fits your pet's needs
Find a cat food that fits your pet's needs
Your cat brings you joy every day --- whether she is bounding to the door to see you or proudly trotting around with her latest toy mouse, puff ball or ribbon --- these simple actions are pure happiness. Naturally, you want to return that joy to her.
Tasty and delicious cat treats are a great way to connect with your cat and display your care and love for them. They can also be used as rewards for good behavior and as part of training.
We offer Prescription Diet® cat treats or if you prefer, to make treats for your cat, try this homemade cat treat recipe.
Hypo-Treats Metabolic Treats View all Prescription Diet® cat treats |
It's important to feed your cat treats as a snack --- they should not be more than 10% of your cat's daily nutrition --- and remember to make them a part of a healthy routine.


text:
OR WAIT null SECS
© 2024 MJH Life Sciences™ and Pharmaceutical Technology. All rights reserved.
Vivalis and Intercell have agreed to the terms of a merger to create a new European biotechnology company called Valneva that will specialize in vaccines and antibodies.
Vivalis and Intercell have agreed to the terms of a merger to create a new European biotechnology company called Valneva that will specialize in vaccines and antibodies.
Vivalis currently specializes in cell-based solutions for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. Intercell is a vaccine company seeking to develop and commercialize immunomodulatory biologicals. Together, the companies are seeking to create a "leading" biotechnology company with greater scale and diversification, and a strengthened financial portfolio, with a combined cash balance of EUR 94 million ($124 million) as of Sept. 30, 2012.
The combined companies' portfolio will comprise a range of partnered product candidates, including a pandemic influenza vaccine in Phase III, a Pseudomonas vaccine in Phase II–III and a Tuberculosis vaccine in Phase II, as well as several validated and commercialized technology platforms, including the EB66 cell line for human and veterinary product development.
Vivalis is acquiring Intercell for an undisclosed amount. Upon completion of the merger, Intercell shareholders will receive 13 new Vivalis ordinary shares and 13 new preferred shares for every 40 Intercell shares they own. According to a press statement, the merger consideration implies a 31.7% premium for Intercell shareholders based on the average share prices in the last three months.
Following the completion of the merger, which is expected in May 2013, Valneva intends to launch a EUR 40-million ($52 million) rights issue. Shareholders will have the right to subscribe on a pro rata basis.


text:
Monday, May 10, 2010
Positano hiking– Teetering on the Brink of a Mountain
'Get up you lot, we're going mountain climbing!'
My sleepy family was coerced into getting out of bed at 9:00am on a school holiday and amidst grumbles and more importantly, cries of 'where are we going to eat?', I managed to have everyone on the Montepertuso bus for 10:20.
Unlike my husband who had often visited Santa Maria Del Castello, a small village at the tip of the mountain, with his aunt and company armed full of homemade food and wine, we had only brought water for the dog. An elderly lady (my taxi driver's mother) kindly pointed out the right stairs to take on Via Corvo just above Chiesa Nuova and we set off under a beautiful cloudless blue sky in early April.
The steps and paths were steep and twisting upon themselves so that we were weaving in a vertical direction up one side of the mountain. Scrawny plants of thyme crushed underfoot on the wilder trails and large rosemary bushes dotted the cliff faces ready to burst into flower.
My husband's childhood stories of breaking into song with his uncles and aunt in the regular hiking excursions to this village as part of their Sunday entertainment, became less credible as I stumbled on the loose stones under the hot sun.
How could someone sing and climb on a path so steep? Would the vino have helped?
None-the–less, we kept up a steady pace and my family managed to chatter in allegria while plodding along. Every breathtaking turn was an opportunity to stop and take another photo of the cliffs falling all the way down to the sea.
'Guarda che vista!', (look at those views!) became the leitmotiv of the walk.
Halfway there I couldn't believe how high we'd come, nor how far we still had to go. But there was no turning back. My greatest concern was that returning down the roughly hewn steps would be even more difficult than going up.
Are we there already? Where is this place?
My husband recounted that his primary school teacher in Positano came from Santa Maria del Castello on the mountain but somehow I imagine that she would have found herself a room in Positano for the week rather than do this trail every day. It's true that crossing over the mountains by foot or mule was once common place in these parts but going up and down daily, rain or shine, while not impossible, would have been draining.
Punta Amalfitana
After an hour and a quarter of climbing, we finally rounded a bend,and came across the first houses in the village. A burst of cheering from a nearby field alerted us to a boys football match supervised by a priest and blocking our way were Carabinieri (police) who had stopped a nervous young driver and were examining his documents. It was a real country scene with burgeoning fertile vegetable gardens, flowering almonds and barking dogs but with the mod cons of cars going up and down a narrow two-way country lane just wide enough for one car at a time. As there was only one way to go, we turned right and followed the cars to the best trattoria and main attraction in town – Zi' Pepe.
Santa Maria del Castello Castel Sant'Angelo – view from the Trattoria
Naturally, Zi' Pepe which had always been a rustic trattoria in Santa Maria Dell' Castello had with the years, been refurbished into a large room but the food had remained as genuine as it had ever been. This is not the tourist style restaurant that you'll find in Positano. I didn't hear one word of English spoken the whole time that we were there. Even Italian was the second language as Neapolitan dialect flowed more freely than the wine. This is a real restaurant for Italians and they are not anxious to share it either.
We ordered antipasti for my two eldest sons (we are a family of six) from the Richard Gere lookalike waiter and he brought a abundant spread of fried tidbits (eggplant and potatoes croquettes, tiny arancini, fried stuffed olives) homemade salami, three types of prosciutto, fresh mozzarellas ( the mozzarella man was still there, talking to local diners), fried zucchini, roasted peppers, marinated anchovies, calamari salads… it seemed to be never ending. It was all too much even between the six of us, so our dog under the table got the treats we couldn't eat.
It was difficult choosing first and second courses not so much for the variety but for the guaranteed quality of the food at very modest prices of not more than 5 Euros a dish. Pasta con sugo di cinghiale (sauce made from wild boar) or porcini mushrooms was our pick followed by a parmigiana di carciofi because the artichokes were in season. It was all washed down with a good vino rosso di casa (house red) at 3 Euros a bottle. When Richard Gere offered coffee and Limoncello, I wisely declined thinking of the epic journey back to Positano ahead of us. Any more spirit and I'd be staggering back or sleeping it off.
Surprisingly, or rather, unsurprisingly, the restaurant was full of nattily dressed locals from Positano. Most had arrived by car but some friends had hiked up just before us and were returning via Montepertuso. Our friend stopped to pick up his walking stick he'd left propped outside the trattoria, and we joined them rather than take the same trail down.
The Islands of Ischia and Procida
Our friends led us on a scenic path which dipped steeply into the valley at the throat of Positano only to rise sharply again on the other side of the mountain. Perched at the top before descending towards Montepertuso we were treated to a view of Ischia and Procida across the top of the mountain into the Gulf of Naples. This was a beautifully shaded walk in cool pine forests and under pencil slim cypress trees. Our tiny dog ran ahead trying to anticipate the path's direction poking and prodding in every hole he came across.
We rose so high at one point that I was sure that he'd taken the wrong turn somewhere. But the path started zigzagging all of a sudden, down, down, down through people's picnic points, hunter-gathers of wild asparagus and bonfires grilling sausages for a belated Pasquetta (Easter) picnic. It wasn't an easy path to come down through on account of the high steps full of loose stones. A twisted ankle would be a probable scenario and I had time to ruminate on how the hell I'd get down in the event of a misplaced foot. I also made a mental note to bring my hiking boots to Positano rather than just wear trainers.
The valley of Positano far below.
But we did make it down safely to Montepertuso Village roadside in Positano, level with the stairs that end at La Selvatella bus stop. Already we had plans to come back next year at Easter because of the incredible feeling that teetering on the brink of that mountain had given us. We'd do it in the opposite direction next time and naturally stop by to be served by Richard Gere at Zi' Pepes' for our pit stop.
Any takers?
14 comments:
- LindyLouMac said...
I would truly love to do that hike it looks absolutely awesome, those views! The path looks fairly treacherous looking at your photo I bet that got the adrenalin racing. Thankyou for a wonderful description of your family outing, I felt I was there with you.
- May 10, 2010 at 7:16 PM
- Cathi said...
I would absolutely love to take this hike - it all sounds so fabulous! Love your photos and stories, keep them coming! xxoo :)
- May 10, 2010 at 7:19 PM
- Lucia said...
I would love to!!! But alas, I'm so afraid of heights, just the story alone made me anxious. But those views they are magnificent!
- May 10, 2010 at 7:57 PM
- Anne in Oxfordshire said...
Wow Scintilla Absolutely stunning , but what a hike. You and your family had a fabulous day out, I would do it .. little afraid of heights though, oh what the heck , just to have lunch like that with Richard Gere lookalike..
The wild boar sauce with pasta is delicious, had that on my last trip to Italy.. It all sounds tasty.
Thank you for sharing this great day, your photos are FAB!! - May 10, 2010 at 8:29 PM
We love doing that hike. Hey, when you live here, that's mostly all there is to do in the winter: hike the mountains. We usually use the second trail though.
Last fall we hiked even higher, Monte Molare. Amazing views of the two gulfs from that height.
I would recommend to try another trattoria though: La Sorgente del Melo, we LOVE it, he's from S.M. del Castello while his wife is from Positano and cooks AMAZINGLY!
Dollyna - May 10, 2010 at 8:32 PM
- Annika said...
heartstoppingly beautiful, of course, but also kind of scary. I still can't believe we walked with Nicki up on that mountain... but then again, the views are so gorgeous that they take your mind off the risk of falling.
- May 10, 2010 at 10:12 PM
- Antique ART Garden said...
You are one brave woman ! heights scare the weebie-jeeboes out of me.Great recounting, food sounded so wonderful, thanks for sharing ! Gina
- May 10, 2010 at 10:48 PM
- The Food Hunter said...
I miss Positano...You got some really great pictures.
- May 10, 2010 at 10:53 PM
- nyc/caribbean ragazza said...
I've walked from Nocelle to Montepertuso and thought that was taxing. heh
I didn't know there was a village even higher up on the mountain.
Beautiful photos. - May 11, 2010 at 5:39 PM
- Proud Italian Cook said...
I'd be so afraid but that view would be worth every step! Paradise on earth! Thank you for sharing something I most probably will never experience!
- May 14, 2010 at 6:25 AM
- Madeline said...
incredible hike, and as usual fabulous, stunning photos!
- May 18, 2010 at 5:03 AM
Loved this post, Scintilla. The photos, the description of an excellent lunch... Packed water for your dog... you're my kind of people.
- May 18, 2010 at 1:21 PM
- joe@italyville said...
wonderful! I hope to take this walk soon... July maybe.
- May 27, 2010 at 10:17 PM
- Elisa @ Globetrotting in Heels said...
wow, that looks like a fantastic hike! And your photos... bravo. Gorgeous.
- June 7, 2010 at 5:26 PM


text:
Daylight was increasing as I stood there next to Milton. The birth of a new day is always a new beginning.
The Pacific Ocean looked so beautiful in the early morning, crashing against the rocks with such a fierce determination.
I sat down on the rocks beside Milton's body. I unscrewed the flask and took a few drinks, toasting Milton. Then I poured the rest of the bourbon onto the rocks next to his body.
Despite my heartache, I couldn't help but smile. I'd finally had my bourbon neat, and Milton finally had his bourbon on the rocks.
I had to go see Milton one last time. I got back in the van and drove down the road to where I could access the beach. I then drove the van around the rocks and the bluff until I got near to where Milton had fallen.
I got out and traversed the rocks until I reached Milton. I was hoping by some miracle that he was still alive, but he was dead. I checked his pulse for the longest time but it was silent.
I checked inside his jacket. Amazingly, his glass flask of bourbon was still completely intact…
I walked over to Diamond and knelt down beside him. His eyes were open, and the hole between them was still oozing blood. I felt around in his jacket and found a .38 caliber pistol. I knew that bastard was lying. If I had turned my back for an instant he would've pulled it and made Swiss cheese out of me. That might make what I had done a little easier to take.
Just for insurance I pulled the gun, putting it in his hand. I didn't know if the LA.P.D. lab boys would know or not but didn't care...
The shot cut through the air, echoing so loudly it effectively killed the night and brought on the dawn. Everything had that early morning glow around me, but I still had my arm outstretched, aiming at the air where Diamond's head had been just a moment before. My arm started shaking. I was still trying to process what I'd actually done. Had I really just killed a man in cold blood? Was I going to be able to live with the consequences of my actions? I guessed only time would tell.
But I was quite sure he actually was armed…
"That's unfortunate," he said. "But you're not going to shoot me, Randolph," he said as he raised his arms out parallel to the ground. "I'm unarmed! And that's the thing about you, Randolph. You're a man of principle. And that's what's going to be your downfall. Because once I take care of the whores there will be no one left alive to accuse me of anything. Now put the gun down, Jake Randolph. You know you're not going to shoot me."
"You misjudged me, Diamond," I said as I pulled the trigger and put a bullet right between his eyes…
I let the bastard keep talking.
"So, we were looking for Dunn to complete the murder-suicide scenario so it would tie things up neatly for the L.A.P.D. and they wouldn't have to start asking a lot of uncomfortable questions. You threw a monkey wrench into the whole thing when you got involved. You've cost me time and money, Randolph, and so help me I'll see that you pay for it."
I raised the pistol, pointing it at his face.
"Cal, Striker, and your two goons are dead, Diamond. And you're next."
He got a strange look on his face…
"This was the plan all along, Randolph," he said. "I knew when Striker went to Paige's apartment to try and bring her around about the blackmail that she would double down. That's just the kind of broad she was. So, Striker would have to kill her and Milton. And then it would've looked like a murder-suicide. Dunn gets drunk and strangles Paige to death and then is so distraught he takes his own life. It was simple, really. But I didn't bank on the fact that Dunn wouldn't be in the apartment when Striker got there. Just bad luck."
I stood at the precipice staring down to the craggy surface below that Milton Dunn had made his final resting place. He lived his life on the edge; a tightrope walker without a net that now had lost his balance and wound up a soggy jigsaw puzzle with pieces disappearing into the Pacific Ocean along with his spilt life's blood.
I was in shock. I'm not a crying man but I couldn't hold back the tears. I felt as if I had failed Milton.
"Why, Diamond? Why?" was all I could get out.
Diamond leaned over and looked at Milton…
I only had two bullets in Striker's gun, so I had to make them count. I pulled the pistol out from the holster under my arm.
"Okay, Diamond. Where's Milton?"
Diamond and the other man turned. The other man had what looked like a .45 in his hand. He raised it up. I was tired of risking my life for these assholes so I shot the guy through the neck. He fell over and expired. And I felt nothing.
I pointed the gun at Diamond. "Where's Milton? I won't ask again."
He gestured down below the bluff, "See for yourself."
By the time I got to Point Dume it was almost dawn. Under other circumstances it would've been beautiful to stand at the end of that bluff and watch as the night passed away and the morning was being birthed. But this wouldn't be the day for that.
I parked the van a good ways back and eased my way down the bluff. I saw a car down there and some movement. I continued going forward and saw two men standing at the edge of the cliff. One of them I didn't recognize.
But the other was clearly Bobby Diamond…
It was something Diamond said at the club earlier about where Milton used to take Paige: Point Dume.
Point Dume is a high bluff on the coast of Malibu that protrudes out into the Pacific Ocean. It's a beautiful spot, and understandable why Milton would want to drive the woman he loved out there.
I hated it because that tramp played him for a fool. He didn't deserve that. If I was able to get back in time to save Milton I intended to help find him a good woman that would be worth him laying the bottle down for…
I liked Harrigan in those moments. I didn't get to see that side of him often. He was usually very gruff, very business-like, and very impatient. But there was no one in the world I trusted more, and no one I'd rather have on my side in a fight.
I got to the van and peeled out the tires as I headed back toward Los Angeles. My first thought was to go back to the Cherokee Club, only not through the front door next time.
But I had a feeling I knew where Diamond would take Milton and why…
I knelt down next to Striker's body and picked up his gun. I checked to make sure it still had some bullets left in it. It had two. I put it in my shoulder holster and felt around inside Striker's jacket until I found the keys to the van that brought us up there, getting his warm blood all over my hands in the process. I used the end of his jacket to wipe them off.
I stood up and looked at Harrigan.
"Thanks, Jim," I said.
He smiled, "We've got to stick together, Jake. That's how we survive."
"Are you ready for the drive back?" I asked.
Harrigan shook his head, "I've got to stay here and clear this up with the Bakersfield police."
He looked through the window of the construction office trailer.
"There's a phone in there. I'll call them and wait for them."
"Okay," I said, "but I've got to get back to L.A. Diamond still has Milton and I have to try and save him if he isn't dead already."
He nodded, "Do what you have to, but be careful, Jake."
"Don't worry, Jim," I said, "I'm taking no chances this time, believe me."
I offered a hand and helped him up off the ground.
"Well, I think that's everyone," I said. "I took care of Cal, and you got one of Diamond's goons."
"What about the other one?" Harrigan asked as he brushed himself off.
"I hit him in the face with a sledgehammer," I said.
"Is he dead?"
I grinned, "Well, if he isn't he probably wishes to hell he was."
Harrigan nodded, "Well, that's it, then."
I shook my head, "Not yet. I have to get back to L.A. and try to save Milton. And I'm fast running out of time."
This wasn't my fight, but I paid close enough attention to step in if Striker somehow managed to get the upper hand, which was doubtful.
Harrigan was on top of Striker when a shot rang out. Then they rolled over and Striker was on top. He rose up.
No!, my mind screamed.
Then Striker fell over. A sea of crimson was spreading out across his chest.
Harrigan sat up and looked at Striker, "Damn it! I didn't want to have to do that!"
I came over, putting my hand on his shoulder.
"I know, Jim. You didn't have a choice."
I heard another gunshot and moved in the direction of the sound. I heard a scuffle and voices yelling back and forth. I came into a clearing near an office trailer that had a light pole outside of it, which was on. It was like a spotlight that was highlighting Striker and Harrigan as they fought with each other, rolling around in the dirt and each struggling to get control of the pistol.
"I trusted you, you son-of-a-bitch!" Harrigan yelled as he punched Striker in the face. They continued fighting for the gun, rolling and tumbling around…
The sand created a ton of dust that swirled up into the air. When it settled, Cal's hourglass had run out of time. There was no trace of him, just a gigantic mound of sand where Cal had once been standing.
I picked myself up, dusted myself off and walked toward the mountain of sand, addressing the pile, "I told you, Cal. You'd be dead before the sun came up."
The last things on the agenda were taking care of Striker and making sure that Harrigan was still alive.
Then I had to get back to L.A. and save Milton…
He fired the gun and I rolled over sideways to the left, where my gun was. He started to fire again so I had to roll to the right without grabbing the gun. I rolled to the left again, every bullet slamming into the dirt directly where I had just been lying. I got a grip on the gun and rolled back over, aiming for the clasp on the wooden gate. I fired and snapped the clasp, and the gate swung open under the weight of the sand and a sea of it washed over Cal, covering him completely up…
My gun had slipped from my hand as I fell. It was laying in the dirt to the side of me about 20 feet from my grasp.
"I've been waiting for this moment, Randolph. You're a weed that needs to be pruned."
I thought my number was up, but wasn't going out without one more inflammatory comment.
"Remember what I said at the warehouse, Cal? I told you you'd be dead before the morning?"
He laughed, "Yeah, but it looks like you had your wires crossed. Because you're the one that's about to check out, Randolph, not me."
"Wanna bet?"


text:
It's dark. I love it with the lights off. She insisted on teasing me this way. My arms are tied behind me; my naked body bound to a chair. Goose bumps prickle my flesh as she softly blows on my hard cock, almost breaking my willpower. Her lips are so close, yet not close enough. I insist on teasing her this way. "Na ah, not yet, baby." She tilts her head up, her blond hair cascading over her shoulders as her eyes lock with mine. They're intense; desperate. She's silently begging me with her eyes; asking me to let her touch me already. I'm used to this. She needs to learn that when you're in my house we play by my rules. "Slade," she whimpers. "Come on already." "Look down, baby." She tilts her head back down and runs her tongue over her lips as she eagerly looks at my cock; no doubt imagining what it tastes like in her mouth. "That's it. Don't move." I lift my hips, bringing the tip of my head to brush her lips. "You want me in your mouth?" She nods her head and lets out a sound between a moan and a growl. Damn, it's such a turn on. "How bad do you want it? I want to fucking hear it?" Her nails dig into my thighs as she growls in aggravation, "More than anything. I fucking want it so just give it to me, dammit. You already know how bad I want it." A deep laugh rumbles in my throat as she scratches her nails down my legs in an attempt to hurt me. What she doesn't realize is that I welcome the pain. I get off on it. "Is that all you got, pussycat?" I tease. "If you want my cock, you're going to have to do better than that." She looks angry now; determined. Standing up, she points a finger in my chest. "You're the one tied up. This is supposed to be my game. Why do you have to torture me and make me wait?" Biting my bottom lip, I nod for her to move closer to me. When she gets close to my face, I stick my tongue out and run it over her lips, causing her to tremble as I taste her. "Show. Me. How. Much. You. Want. Me." Straddling me, she screams and slaps me hard across the face before yanking my head back by my hair. If I could get any harder, I would. Fuck me. "Now, that's what I'm talking about." I press my stiff cock against her ass, showing her just how turned on I am. Then I look her in the eye. "Show me what you can do with your mouth. First impression is always the most important." A mischievous smile spreads across her face as she slithers her way off my lap and down between my legs. Gripping my thighs in her hands, she runs her tongue over the tip of my dick before suctioning it into her mouth. It hits the back of her throat, causing her to gag. She doesn't care; completely uninhibited. She just shoves it deeper. Fuck yeah. I moan as she swirls her tongue around my shaft while sucking at the same time. It feels fucking fantastic. "I told you it's worth the wait, baby. Just wait until I get inside you. It feels better than it tastes." She pulls back and licks her lips. "Then why don't you show me. My pussy has never been so wet." She stands up and bends over in front of me, exposing her wet lips. I can see the moisture glistening from here; beckoning to suck me inside. She smiles as she runs her fingers over the folds as if she's teasing me; testing me. "You like that?" She asks seductively, tantalizing me. "You want this tight little pussy all for yourself, you greedy little bastard?" I nod, playing into her little game. She seems to think she's in charge. "Well, come and get it." She inserts her fingers into her mouth and sucks them clean, before shoving them into her entrance, fucking me with her eyes. Her ass moves up and down in perfect rhythm as she purrs. "I'm waiting." She shoves her fingers deeper. "I want to see those muscles flexing as you ram into me. I want you to…" Well you won't be waiting for long. Breaking free from my restraints, I stand up, grab her hips and flip her around before slamming her back up against the wall. "What were you saying, baby?" I growl into her ear. I grip both of her ass cheeks and lift her as she wraps her legs around my waist, squeezing. "I'm not sure you can handle what I have to offer." I grip her face in my hand before leaning in and biting her bottom lip, roughly tugging. "You're finally about to get what you've wanted. I just hope you don't have shit to do for the next few days because this might get a little rough. Last time to make your escape, because once I start there's no stopping until you're screaming my name loud; so loud it fucking hurts my ears." I search her eyes waiting to see if she's changed her mind; nothing but raw heat and lust. She still wants it. She's brave. No girl walks into my bed and walks out unscathed. So, she'll get it. I lift an eyebrow. "Okay, then." I take wide strides across the room to my king-sized bed and toss her atop the mattress. Before she can blink, I am between her thighs, spreading them wide for me. I run my tongue up her smooth flesh, stopping at intersection of her thighs and clean shaven pussy. "You ready for me to make you cum without even touching you?" I begin blowing my cool breath across her swollen, wet pussy. She thrusts her hips up; no doubt her hungry little pussy wanting more and just as I'm about to show her my skills, there's a knock at the damn door. |
Title: Slade
Author: Victoria Ashley
Series: Walk of Shame #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Erotica
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/21956914-slade
Release Date: June 3, 2014
My name is Slade Merrick and I'm a f*cking sex addict . . .
I've been told it's a problem. But I see it as a passion; something that I'm good at. And who the f*ck stops something that they're good at?
They want me to seek help; get my c*ck in check. Don't judge my lifestyle. You're no better than me. Just admit it, you like to f*ck too. Sex is what I do best; my own personal high, so I embrace it instead of being ashamed.
When I'm not f*cking, I'm slinging drinks at Walk Of Shame or stripping my way into your bed; another thing I'm good at. Every woman's darkest fantasy brought to life.
So, am I stopping? F*ck no. Sex is beautiful, raw and erotic and I get off knowing I can have it with anyone I want . . . with the exception of her.
She walks into the club swaying those hips, instantly drawing my c*ck to attention. She's pure perfection. That is, until she opens that mouth, drawing me in and for the first time in forever I want something more than sex. I want her and she hates it.
Things get dirty. Dirty is what I like; it's how I live. But . . . she's playing a game she can never win.
About the Author
Victoria Ashley grew up in Rockford, IL and has had a passion for reading for as long as she can remember. After finding a reading app where it allowed readers to upload their own stories, she gave it a shot and writing became her passion.
She lives for a good romance book with tattooed bad boys that are just highly misunderstood and is not afraid to be caught crying during a good read. When she's not reading or writing about bad boys, you can find her watching her favorites shows such as Sons Of Anarchy, Dexter and True Blood.
She is the author of Wake Up Call and This Regret and is currently working on more releases for 2014.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/VictoriaAshleyAuthor1
Twitter: @hooha84Author
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/7232339.Victoria_Ashley