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Newly released transcripts from meetings among Federal Reserve Board members in the second half of 2007 show the group as a whole was slow to pick up on the cataclysmic economic storm that was bearing down on the global economy.
Continue Reading Below
In the summer and fall of that year most of America was just learning that a multi-billion dollar market existed comprised of nothing but securities built from loans given to people who probably had no business getting them.
And, more importantly perhaps, that those securities were the foundation for a housing bubble that had prompted millions of Americans to wildly overextend themselves on credit.
Transcripts released Friday of meetings and phone calls from June through December of 2007, just as stock markets were beginning to respond to the early tremors, show the members just starting to connect the dots but still underestimating the devastation to be wrought by the domino effect about to kick off.
For instance, during a Sept. 17 meeting, Federal Open Market Committee member Janet Yellin said: "A big worry is that a significant drop in house prices might occur in the context of job losses, and this could lead to a vicious spiral of foreclosures, further weakness in housing markets, and further reductions in consumer spending."
Of course, all of that would eventually come to pass.
However, during that same meeting, William Dudley, then manager of the New York Fed's open market operations -- and now president of the New York Fed -- told FOMC members losses in subprime mortgages for U.S. banks "will ultimately turn out to be in a range of $100 billion to $200 billion."
Losses Proved to Be Much Higher
Those losses proved to be much higher. Banks received more than $400 billion in the Troubled Asset Relief Program approved in early 2009, and the wider impact of the crisis on household values and job losses ended up in the trillions of dollars.
Also at that meeting, Fed economists projected a 5% decline in housing prices over the next two years – 2008 and 2009. Instead, home prices across the U.S. fell about 30%, crimping consumer spending and shutting down a vital piece of the economic engine.
The transcripts show the writing was on the wall much earlier -- in June of 2007, shortly after two Bear Stearns hedge funds loaded with subprime loans began to implode, a move that foreshadowed the financial calamity to come.
During a June meeting of the Fed Dudley described the subprime mortgage space as "very unsettled." He said it was hurt by housing market fundamentals and problems with the two Bear Stearns hedge funds. The troubled funds had sent the spread on an index that tracks credit default swaps to a new record high at 1400 basis points.
Dudley noted the "danger that forced liquidation of illiquid subprime-based securities could exacerbate the pressure on this market," but said the problems are likely "mostly exceptional" in nature, suggesting that the problem was isolated.
But Dudley went on to tell the FOMC that there is a potential for a more widespread event of this nature to cause a cascading effect.
"There still are risks that forced selling could drive market prices down sharply, leading to lower marks for other portfolios of assets related to subprime mortgages," he said. "This, in turn, could lead to margin calls, investor redemptions, and further selling pressure in this market."
And, in hindsight, that became the defining theme of the subprime crisis, the way in which defaults on a bunch of bad loans to high risk borrowers spread like wildfire through the global economy and nearly brought it down.
Months of Hemming and Hawing
Dudley was also ahead of the curve on the issue of top credit rating given to these securities by the three primary ratings firms, foreshadowing another powerful dynamic that contributed to the financial crisis.
"The ratings are based on the risk of default, not the market risks associated with illiquidity. As a result, highly leveraged portfolios of highly rated but illiquid assets are subject to significant market risk that the ratings may obscure," he said.
Notwithstanding these warnings, FOMC members spent the next several months hemming and hawing over the scope of the problem and potential solutions.
By December however the players seemed to be getting a better grasp on the coming crisis.
Timothy Geithner, then president of the New York Fed and soon to take over as Treasury Secretary, said during a Fed phone call, "I think what's happening in markets now is very serious and really potentially very dangerous."
Geithner also predicted the dramatic interventions by the Fed that would follow, moves that included years of historically low interest rates and trillions of dollars of asset purchases by the Fed in an effort to pump liquidity into ossified credit markets.
"I think monetary policy is going to have to bear most of the burden for both responding to the risks to the economy presented by this dynamic and arresting some of the behavioral dynamic that we see manifest in markets today," Geithner said.


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The big news coming from Somalia these days is the increasing number of naval forces meant to combat piracy at the Somali coast.
On Boxing Day, China sent three navy ships to join the United States, Britain, Russia, India, Malaysia, French and other forces. However, this will not solve piracy until the situation on mainland Somalia gets better. Unfortunately, the world is still in denial as far as the influence of Somali Islamists is concerned.
Regardless of their often brutal methods, Somali Islamists are currently the only force capable of restoring stability in Somalia and ending the piracy menace. Instead of spending billions of dollars on ineffective naval patrols, the international community should simply accept the forthcoming Islamic led leadership.
Just a few weeks ago, Somali pirates hijacked a Saudi super tanker thousands of miles away from the international naval armada. Once a ship is in the hands of pirates, there's little that a navy can do without risking the lives of the captured crew. That again goes to prove that stability in Somalia is the best safeguard against piracy.
The international community still has incredible faith in the Somali Transitional Government even though it only controls the central town of Baidoa and parts of the capital. With Ethiopian soldiers expected to depart in coming days, the demise of the unpopular Transitional government is sealed.
While Islamist fighters sweep up the remnants of Somali government forces from the countryside, President Abdullahi Yusuf got into a fight with Parliament that led to his resignation. It is amazing that a government can fight itself even as its main backers are leaving. In any case, more than half of legislators and the Cabinet are permanent residents of neighbouring countries.
Ethiopian soldiers invaded Somalia in December 2006 for the same reasons they are leaving today: the Islamist movement had over-run the Transitional Government. The West and neighbouring governments such as Ethiopia and Kenya, are paranoid about Islamic movements. Military operations were supposedly meant to support President Yusuf but in reality, they were intended to vanquish the Islamists.
Ethiopian soldiers and US airstrikes overwhelmed Islamic fighters with sheer firepower. Kenya closed its borders to prevent escaping fighters – even refugees were stopped at the border. The final showdown in the 2006 war took place at Ras Kamboni, a coastal jungle on the borders of Kenya and Somalia. Fire from American AC-130 gunships devastated entire villages and few survived. Not even chicken were spared.
Drawing on Somali nationalism, the Islamists began an Iraq style insurgency in 2007. Ethiopia is widely resented by Somalis and the intervention, coupled with US airstrikes, was viewed as an occupation of Muslim land. Many in Somalia believe that Yusuf gets his orders from Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi – another object of intense hatred in Somalia.
The militant Al-Shabab youth group took up the fight on behalf of the Islamists. What began as a low-level campaign of random explosions grew into a full scale war by mid 2008. It is said that fighting in Somalia in 2008 was the worst since the fall of the last Somali government in 1991. Large areas of the capital city, Mogadishu, were deserted by fleeing residents.
With a divided Transitional government, Ethiopia realized that the war is good as lost, hence its decision to leave.
Meanwhile, in a move that replicates previous mistakes, the African Union has called for African peace keeping forces to prevent the fall of the Transitional government. Few African countries have volunteered and only Uganda and Burundi heeded the previous call for troops. The AU peace-keepers are currently confined to the Mogadishu airport, which regularly comes under attack from the Al-Shabab.
The Islamists have always been against piracy, which they describe as unIslamic. During their 6 month administration back in 2006, piracy ceased when they raided pirate dens.
This might be the best opportunity to reduce piracy's threat to international commerce by engaging in meaningful talks with the Islamists. After close to 20 years of chaos, an Islamic government in Somalia is better than no government at all.
Filed under: Analysis, News | Tagged: abdullahi, aden, al shabaab, china, courts, ethiopia, faina, government, gulf, indian, islamists, kenya, meles, navy, ocean, piracy, pirates, sirius, somalia, states, transitional, union, united, yusuf, zenawi | 2 Comments »

subset: commoncrawl


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The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms fell to their lowest level of the year in April, suggesting slowing economic growth has not translated into significant job losses, a report showed on Thursday.
Employers announced 38,121 planned job cuts last month, down nearly 23 percent from 49,255 in March, according to the report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. It was the lowest level since last December.
Continue Reading Below
April's layoffs were also down 6 percent from a year ago. So far this year, employers have announced 183,162 cuts, just slightly below the 183,653 that were seen in the first four months of last year.
After a pickup in economic growth in the beginning of the year, recent data suggests the recovery cooled heading into the second quarter. U.S. companies hired at their slowest pace in seven months in April, while the jobs report from the government due on Friday is expected to remain lackluster.
Still, the recent slowdown has yet to result in increased or widespread downsizing, said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The retail sector saw the biggest number of job cuts as companies reduced 5,897 positions, though that was down significantly from March's 16,445 layoffs.
The report comes a day ahead of the U.S. Labor Department's key jobs report, which is forecast to show the economy created 145,000 jobs last month, rebounding from March's disappointing 88,000.
(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)


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The Off-Road Pro Long Arm System is a race inspired system designed to take abuse. When vehicles get older in years, they are getting wheeled harder and harder. The Off-Road Pro Systems are designed to minimize wear points while taking that punishment! As few as possible OEM mounting points have been used with this system. All ends of the control arms feature our Pro Series Krawler Joints for maximum articulation. They are built to abuse unlike the factory bushings that break down from punishment. The suspension geometry features our tried and true independent 3 link design. There are no natural binding points. The suspension cycles perfectly smooth. No system on the market today is ready for racing or absolute punishment like our Off-Road Pro Long Arm System.
Rock Krawler is located in the United State's North East region where all their Jeep suspension products are designed and manufactured. In the North East Rock Krawler is the premier suspension modification choice for Jeeps. The Rock Krawler team does many custom Jeep lift kits for private clients. Then Rock Krawler takes what works best on those one-off Jeeps and applies it to the mass produced products coming out of their production facility. Rock Krawler is so confident about how clean, efficient and precise their production methods are, that their website invites visitors to the North East to stop by for a tour of the production facility. Shop Rock Krawler Now
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Linux: Ugly Duckling to Beautiful Swan
Linux Will Beat Apple
Last summer, Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of the Ubuntu distribution and of Canonical, Ubuntu's commercial sponsor, challenged the free and open source software (FOSS) to deliver a desktop experience superior to Apple's.
To a casual observer, Shuttleworth's focus on usability might seem less than a year old. However, Shuttleworth himself describes it as the latest stage in a lifelong interest.
"Thinking very carefully about what you are trying to deliver is essential in a successful process," he says. "Personally, I've been fascinated by product design for a long time. I'm drawn to companies and processes that deliver great product. If you look back at the work I've been involved in elsewhere and in Ubuntu, there's a consistent pattern of trying to make things simpler, clearer, and more useful."
Shuttleworth explains that usability was the main reason for Ubuntu standardizing on the GNOME desktop. Specifically, Shuttleworth was drawn to GNOME because of its Human Interface Guidelines, which, while not officially adopted for many years, were unofficially a major influence on GNOME developers.
Shuttleworth describes the guidelines as "a rallying call for specificity and clarity in the software user experience. When we were picking a platform for Ubuntu, we wanted to pick a platform that already believed in the idea of making something easy to use -- and GNOME met that challenge."
With GNOME as a foundation, he adds, in making Ubuntu, "we invested a tremendous amount in how you put the pieces of free software together to form something that feels designed. I think that's why Ubuntu has a reputation of being something very rich that you can install and that works out of the box, where the pieces fit together in an elegant way."
Increasingly, however, Shuttleworth suggests that "we've reached the limits of that. So the question is: Where else can we apply this energy? And, at that point, I started to want to drive Canonical in the direction of being a community leader in design. So I articulated the challenge to the free software community to show that we would aim to show that you can deliver great design inside something that is effectively crowd-sourced.
"Now, I don't imagine that bringing these two forces together will be easy, because there are elements of both that are inimical to one another. But I think that if we can unify those forces, then we can transform the free software experience from something of the ugly duckling of the software world to the powerful swan that it really is."
Mark Shuttleworth
The Challenges of Usability
Shuttleworth acknowledges that the goal of combining radical changes in the name of usability with FOSS community development is a controversial one. "The open source community is always fractious. 'The proposal' certainly generated a lot of opinions, right? Sort of loudly-expressed opinions," he adds as an aside.
A large part of the controversy stems from the fact that, until the last few years, FOSS has been written by developers for developers, with little concern for the user experience of those less expert than themselves.
However, Shuttleworth suggests that now, "More and more open source projects are interested in the idea of making something very easy to use, the challenge of making something beautiful. They're starting to realize that it's not a meaningless exercise. There are some elements in the approach that we are going to be taking that are already controversial and will be more controversial, but there is also a lot of support for the idea that bringing user experience to the front is essential if we want to grow the base of Linux users beyond those who are self-selecting for what's different and what's more powerful."
Another major concern is how to implement changes on the scale Shuttleworth envisions: in a single giant leap forward, as KDE did with its 4.x series of releases, or incrementally, as the GNOME desktop project prefers.
On the one hand, Shuttleworth says that "The KDE team ought to be commended for the quality of the default 4.2.2, which is the latest version, and for tackling the challenge of making a transition. A major transition is a special thing -- it's very tough to pull off, right?" On the other hand, Shuttleworth also maintains that GNOME's record of doing point releases every six months is also "an extraordinary achievement."
- Skip Ahead
- 1. Linux Will Beat Apple
- 2. Linux Will Beat Apple
- 3. Linux Will Beat Apple


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Archive for category Design Tips
A Logo Designer Should Provide You With…
Posted by Bucsko Design in Blog Tips, Branding, Design Tips, Graphic Design, Identity, Logo Design, Product Display, Tutorial on August 8, 2012
A Consumers Guide to the Correct Designer Files…
I have noticed recently that when I start on a clients project and ask for their original files to re-create, print or design product packaging; that more and more lately have been finished products of crap.
This isn't to say that it's always the designers fault by producing the wrong file formats for clients, but can be said the same for clients not understanding which formats they are entitled to let alone being educated enough to which formats will be used in which instances.
I've listed below some formats you should be receiving from your designer and what your designer is expected to give you based on the industry standards and what the majority of most creative's often follow for a guideline to ensure 100% customer satisfaction.
File Formats | Deliverable's
The more files you're provided by a designer the easier it will be down the road to encounter less problematic headaches, not to mention any creative that has to work with your files later will be appreciative of the effort put forth from the beginning by your graphic designer.
Whether you're printing high quality, integrating a logo into a website, or inserting your company logo onto merchandising material; there's always various file formats that should be used over other deliverables.
I always provide my clients with a full colored, CMYK file for the printed file formats (.EPS | .TIFF) and RGB for the web formats (.JPG | .PNG | .GIF). I also include a Hexadecimal Code and Pantone Color Code as these are becoming more common today with variations in printers, designers and software programs using multiple platforms to accomplish several tasks.
An EPS or .AI file, are versatile vector formats of your logo. These can be resized as big or small as you want without compromising the quality of the logo.
EPS is compatible in a large number of programs and is great for use with printed elements due to its high quality. The same can be said for .AI files which are produced by Adobe Illustrator Software and is highly used throughout the industry.
These files are used for the following:
Business cards
Tri-Folds Pamphlets
Product Printing
Product Label Printing
Printed Merchandising Material
High Quality Printing
.JPG | .GIF | .PNG Files
Although these files cannot be resized like that of an .EPS or .AI format, the image formats are still preferred for online web use. Being smaller file sizes, they load much faster on the Internet and look crystal clear to the eye when viewed on a monitor/screen. Bucsko Design & Logo creates our image files larger than most so clients are able to downsize as needed yet still keep the clarity that is desired.
These files are used for the following:
Online Ads and Banners
Email marketing and signatures
Web | Internet | Online Deliverables
eBlast Campaigns
Social Media Sites
Online Profiles
.TIFF | .BMP Files
A .TIFF or .BMP is widely used by graphic artists and is common in most software programs today. These formats are higher in quality than .JPG, .PNG or .GIF, but not vector-formatted like an .EPS or .AI file format would be.
When my company, Bucsko Design sends either the .TIFF or .BMP files to a client… I create them in a larger size so the client can resize later or keep the larger size for more versatility in production. Many printers will call me and ask if I can produce these formats in 300DPI (dots per inch) and are implemented well into Higher Quality Printing Projects.
These files are used for the following:
Word Document | PDF Software Programs
Promotional Mailings
Full Color Printing
I always provide my clients with a full colored, CMYK file for the printed file formats (.EPS | .TIFF) and RGB for the web formats (.JPG | .PNG | .GIF). I also include a Hexadecimal Code and Pantone Color Code as these are becoming more common today with variations in printers, designers and software programs using multiple platforms to accomplish several tasks.
Black & White Logo Versions
I'm not sure why more of the Black & White logo versions are not presented to clients when they receive the final files but most designers always produce, or (were taught in Design 101) to start their design in Black & White then once completed, convert to the desired color palettes requested by their clients… none-the-less, these B&W files are more often than not left out of the mix.
Favicons | Icons
A miniature logo that appears in the top left corner of the web address bar in your browser or better known as a "Favicon" spreads the brand identity further across all platforms for better exposure. This is especially true with the overwhelming use of Mobile Marketing and Sales via iPhones, smartphones, tablets and iPads to name just a few that are inundating our market. My software that I use at BD&L, automatically kicks me a favicon sized logo when I complete a full size version of the design. Trust me, you will be elated as a customer, to get this little gem of a graphic from your designer and the usage is never ending plus multi-faceted.
Kindest Regards,
RJ Bucsko | Bucsko Design & Logo | http://bucsko.com
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They apparently have a interactive tutorial that runs under Joy, too.
Starting to force myself to learn Ocaml at home for some sound analysis stuff that a friend and I are going to play with. Should be interesting. This weekend, we learned a little bit about how Ocaml structures program code, and we also looked at his sound engineering text, and found out more about PCM, and sound in general.


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phil_nash needed a new button or icon design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 61 designs submitted by 12 freelance designers.
We need new icons to represent types of player for our iPhone game (vConqr). There are four types - one human, three A.I.
Icons should work well at 32x32 pixels
vConqr is a turns based strategy game for iPhone and iPod touch (read more at http://www.vconqr.com).
We're currently overhauling the menus and player setup screens and need new icons to represent player types. There are four types:
1. Human player
2. Easy A.I.
3. Medium A.I.
4. Hard A.I.
Note that in future we may add more A.I. types, so a scheme that can be extended is preferred.
Here's an early version of the new player setup screen, with the old icons: http://pan.europe.googlepages.com/v…layers.png
For reference, the old player screen looked like this: http://pan.europe.googlepages.com/v…layers.PNG
The new one is still in progress, but any changes should not greatly affect the context of the icons. The only probable impact would be that that background image will change, so don't try to match the colour scheme (ideally the icons should be neutral colours anyway).
- We intend these icons to be set on a white background, but icons that work well against other backgrounds too are preferred. Neutral colours/ black & white are best
- We want the three A.I. icons to be distinguishable and imply their relative levels in a reasonably universal manner. I had in mind computer icons (along the lines of the current ones), but with anthropomorphised screens with cartoon faces. Easy is happy, medium is neutral and hard is angry. But that's just an idea - don't be limited to it.
- Work well at 32x32
- Busy or fussy images
- Too much colour (if any)
- A.I. icons that are hard to decipher the level of, even after explaining


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The United Soccer Coaches Course Menu is designed with flexibility in mind for coaches to choose their desired level of entry based on previous experience. Development courses all offer unique material and can be taken in any order. We recommend reading each course description to determine the best fit for you; make sure to pay attention to any potential prerequisites.
If there are no courses in your area, consider hosting a course at your facility.
Educated coaches help to deliver a positive playing experience for young athletes and a more enjoyable experience for themselves. The United Soccer Coaches Coaching Development Courses reflect the current soccer landscape with a focus on small-sided games and allows all types of soccer organizations to deliver useful coaching education from novice to intermediate in an accommodating way. The following courses ensure that coaches get the education they want and need alongside their peers in your own backyard.
United Soccer Coaches has developed the Foundations of Coaching online course as the perfect introduction to coaching youth soccer for the first time, and as a helpful refresher for those coaches coming back to the youth game. Focusing on improving coaching instruction in order to progressively improve player development, the Foundations of Coaching provides insight into targeted training activities and age-appropriate instruction for beginning to advanced players. The course is free to members.
This course is designed for coaches with players ages 8 and under. The curriculum is packed with age-appropriate training activities around a 4v4 game structure.
Time Commitment: Up to 3 hours in person plus additional online course content
Testing: No
Prerequisites: None
Schedule for 4v4 Host a Course
This combined course for the next level of coaching is a nine hour in-person course focused on the 9-12 year old player. Content highlights player development, principles of play, technique, and tactics with small-sided games.
Time Commitment: Up to 6 hours in person plus additional online course content.
Testing: No
Prerequisites: None
Schedule for 7v7/9v9 Host a Course
Moving up the continuum of age levels to the 13 and above player, this Diploma is designed for an intermediate coach. It is focused on the 11v11 game with topics including the modern numbering system, formations and systems of play, player competencies and defensive and offensive tactics.
Schedule for 11v11 Host a Course
The United Soccer Coaches Academy conducts Special Topics Diplomas periodically in different parts of the country, as well as special clinics at various events, including the annual United Soccer Coaches Convention. Some examples of Special Topics Courses include Zonal Defending, Sports Psychology, Striker Play, Management of Soccer Programs, etc. For further information, contact the United Soccer Coaches National Office. All candidates must be at least 16 years of age at the time of application. Candidates under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the course.
Schedule for Special Topics Host a Course
Build your coaching education experiences to reach the highest levels of coaching with the United Soccer Coaches Advanced courses. When you complete these courses you will have earned a diploma that is respected industry-wide and enhances your coaching resume. These include the National, Advanced National, and Premier. In addition, United Soccer Coaches has university partners who offer a Master Coach diploma and Master's Degree in Soccer Coaching.
The overall objective of the National Diploma is to acquaint the coach with the technical and tactical needs of soccer players and provide an organized and progressive methodology of coaching those needs. Basic technical and tactical knowledge is the central theme of the course in a 7v7 model. The course includes sessions on the teaching process, psychological skills training and Laws of the Game.
Time Commitment: 40 hours of directed learning, 1 hour field assessment
Testing: Yes
Prerequisites: None. United Soccer Coaches 11v11/ Pre National Diploma or the U.S. Soccer 'E' License are recommended.
Schedule for National Diploma
The Advanced National Diploma emphasis is on training those players within a team concept designed to produce a successful environment. The 9v9 model is the main focus. The curriculum includes team organization and training, advanced methodology, analysis and understanding systems of play, a focus on tactics within thirds of the field, technical position overviews, match analysis, and the psychological aspect of coaching.
Time Commitment: 40 hours of directed learning, 1 hour field assessment
Testing: Yes
Prerequisites: National Diploma, U.S. Soccer 'D' or 'C' License
Schedule for Advanced National Diploma
The Premier Diploma is top technical award of United Soccer Coaches education. The course content includes a thorough examination of different systems of play, including: technical and tactical implications; 11v11 topics, including coaching in the game, phase play and shadow play; nutrition; sportsmanship/ethics; and a leadership component including team management, personal development and the coach's role in game development in his/her community.
Time Commitment: 40 hours of directed learning, 1 hour field assessment
Testing: Yes
Prerequisites: Advanced National Diploma, U.S. Soccer 'B' or 'A' License
Schedule for Premier Diploma
The Director of Coaching Diploma is a 21-hour course designed to address the issues confronting the Director of an American club. The curriculum has been created in cooperation with US Club Soccer. It examines the technical, conceptual, leadership and administrative skills of future and current Directors of Coaching for youth soccer clubs for the purpose of developing the American soccer player. This is accomplished through a curriculum rich in application and theory and will focus on organizational structure, methods of coaching, leadership theory, evaluation and development of coaches and players and fiscal, legal and moral responsibility. Candidates will understand each of the individual units of the club as well as the interrelationship of those parts to achieve the specific goals and objectives of a youth soccer club.
Time Commitment: 21 hours
Testing: No
Prerequisites: None. Recommended National Diploma or U.S. Soccer D License
Schedule for Director of Coaching Diploma
Designed to enable the club DOC to support the on-going professional development of coaches to deliver excellent coaching practice.
This 3-day workshop adopts a blended approach, mixing on-line, classroom and field-based learning.
Attendees will explore the concept and practice of coach learning. They will deliver elements of the United Soccer Coaches small-sided games curriculum and receive feedback on the effectiveness of their facilitation skills. They will learn how to create professional development plans and use mentoring to provide supported practice in the field.
By the end of this program attendees will be able to deliver United Soccer Coaches small-sided games courses within their club.
All attendees who have completed the pre-course requirements and workshop will receive the United Soccer Coaches Coach Developer Diploma.
Time Commitment: 18 Hours
Testing: No
Prerequisites: United Soccer Coaches Director of Coaching, Advanced National or Premier Diploma, U.S. Soccer B or A License or UEFA B License
Schedule for Coach Developer Diploma
The Master Coach Diploma / Certificate, created in collaboration with the University of Delaware, builds upon the 150 hours of field and classroom learning contained in the United Soccer Coaches National, Advanced National, and Premier Diploma courses. All coaches in the program will have the opportunity to learn and grow in fields such as sports psychology, leadership, team and organizational management, use of technology and nutrition Furthermore, candidates will also receive nine continuing education credits from the University of Delaware.
Time Commitment: 8 months
Testing: Yes
Prerequisites: Applicants for the Master Coach must be current United Soccer Coaches members and are expected to have passed the Premier Diploma with a grade of "Good Pass" or higher. The committee may consider applicants who have earned a grade of "Pass" in the Premier Diploma on the basis of contributions to the wider soccer community, a distinguished track record, or completion of other specialized United Soccer Coaches courses such as the Director of Coaching Diploma, High School Coaches Diploma or Youth/Advanced Youth Diploma.
Register for Master Coach Diploma
The Coaching Education Program in the Patton College of Education at Ohio University and United Soccer Coaches have developed an online master's degree program specific to soccer coaching. It is the only sport specific graduate program in the United States. The program faculty are accepting applications for Cohort 8 that will begin with a residency course at the January 2017 United Soccer Coaches Convention and for Cohort 9 that will begin with a residency course on the Athens campus of Ohio University in June 2017. This unique degree program is delivered with 10 online graduate courses and 2 face-to-face residency courses. Two cohorts of 25 students each are admitted twice a year in January and June. Students register for two courses per semester/summer session and take one course at a time.
Time Commitment: 2 years
Testing: Yes
Prerequisites: A prospective student must meet the following requirements to be considered for unconditional admission to the School of Recreation and Sport Pedagogy Graduate Program in Soccer Coaching:
Register for Master's Degree in Soccer Coaching
The objectives of the Goalkeeping courses are to first, provide clarity around the goalkeeping function, second, to create an optimal learning environment for the specialized position, and third, teach the tactical components and the specifics of training.
Note: When Goalkeeping Level 1 and Level 2 diplomas are offered on the same weekend / same location, it is usually possible to earn both. Check with the host to confirm.
The overall objective of the Goalkeeping Level 1 Diploma is to explore some of the myths and mystiques surrounding the goalkeeping function. The six-hour course is directed towards the team coach - not the specialist goalkeeper coach. The object is to empower the coach with knowledge and practice methods that will enable the coach to evaluate a goalkeeper in game situations and then design an appropriate practice program for goalkeepers in and outside of team practices. The course includes lecture (theory) and field (practical) sessions.
Time Commitment: 6 hours
Testing: No
Prerequisites: None
Schedule for Goalkeeping Level 1 Diploma Host a Course
The overall objective of the Goalkeeping Level 2 Diploma is to create an optimal learning environment for this specialized position. The 12-hour course is geared towards the specialist goalkeeping coach and the team coach looking for in-depth information surrounding the coaching of goalkeepers. The course includes both lecture (theory) and field (practical) sessions. A United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeping Level I Diploma is a prerequisite for this course.
Time Commitment: 9 hours
Testing: No
Prerequisites: Goalkeeping Level 1
Schedule for Goalkeeping Level 2 Diploma Host a Course
The overall objective of the Goalkeeping Level 3 Diploma is to explore the tactical components of goalkeeping and the specifics of training and developing goalkeepers. The emphasis of this eighteen-hour course is on the tactical role of the goalkeeper within the team framework. All candidates wishing to take the Goalkeeping Level 3 Diploma must hold the Goalkeeping Level 1 and 2 Diplomas or equivalent (United Soccer Coaches /U.S. Soccer Level 1 and Level 2 Diplomas).
Time Commitment: 18 hours
Testing: No
Prerequisites: Goalkeeping Level 2
Schedule for Goalkeeping Level 3 Diploma Host a Course
The Advanced National Goalkeeping Diploma is top technical award of United Soccer Coaches four level goalkeeper education program. The course content includes, advanced positioning, communication, goalkeeper psychology, fitness and methodology as well as a thorough review of technical fundamentals. An important aspect of the Diploma is integrating the goalkeeper into team training and developing the goalkeeper's coordination with, and direction of their teammates in game situations.
Pre-course assignment: Video-tape yourself training a goalkeeper/s (20-30 minutes). Session training forms and self-evaluation forms will be sent once you sign up for the course.
Time Commitment: 40 hours of directed learning, 1 hour field assessment
Pre-course assignment: Video-tape yourself training a goalkeeper/s (20-30 minutes). Session training forms and self-evaluation forms will be sent once you sign up for the course.
Testing: Yes
Prerequisites: Goalkeeping Level 3 Diploma OR Goalkeeping Level 2 Diploma and extensive experience as a goalkeeper and goalkeeper coach, and National Diploma
Schedule for Advanced National Goalkeeping Diploma
This introductory course is perfect for high school and youth coaches who want to establish a solid foundation of coaching knowledge. The interactive course features an engaging interface that incorporates audio, video and text to teach essential soccer coaching techniques and methods.
Time Commitment: 5 hours (Online)
Schedule for NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching
The High School Coaches Diploma: Systems and Tactics—Team Training is a twelve hour course focused on enhancing the skills of high school coaches in the areas of technical and tactical training and the development and implementation of systems of play. The course begins in the classroom with lecture and discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of various systems of play; the course then moves to the field for model training sessions on functional training and phase play, set pieces, small-sided games, incorporating the goalkeeper into team training, and coaching in the game.
Time Commitment: 12 hours
Schedule for Systems and Tactics - Team Training
11v11 Formations and Systems of Play explores the various systems and principles of play associated in the 11v11 game. Explore attacking and defending shape and different approaches for a variety of systems including the 1-4-4-2 and the 1-3-5-2. Each system overview includes the formation, player functionality and characteristics, systematic adjustments when attacking and defending and a review of the strengths and weaknesses associated.
United Soccer Coaches has launched Get aHEAD Safely in Soccer™, the first interactive online course developed to educate coaches on how to teach safer heading techniques for players ages 11-13. This 30-minute course is free and available to anyone and everyone interested in heading safety.
This course offers coaches the latest methods to optimize every practice by examining the differences between naive, deliberate and purposeful practice. The concepts are presented by Andy Barton, the Soccer Mindset Academy's Performance Director, an education partner of United Soccer Coaches. Consisting of five video presentations, each offers advice on best practices and suggestions for how to implement the development based concepts with your players and teams no matter the age or level.
United Soccer Coaches developed a brand new online course highlighting sports psychology and teaching individual mental skills. Focusing on improving mental abilities to progressively improve player development, this Special Topics course provides insight into methodologies that can improve player confidence, motivation, and stress management. You will also be empowered with additional information to improve individual feedback and goal setting. This course is FREE for members.
United Soccer Coaches has developed the Foundations of Coaching online course as the perfect introduction to coaching youth soccer for the first time, and as a helpful refresher for those coaches coming back to the youth game. Focusing on improving coaching instruction in order to progressively improve player development, the Foundations of Coaching provides insight into targeted training activities and age-appropriate instruction for beginning to advanced players.
United Soccer Coaches and U.S. Futsal have partnered to create their first-ever coaching course for the most popular soccer variation in the world.
The short and long term effects of the U.S. Soccer Federation Player Development initiatives are far reaching, impacting all youth clubs and coaches. As a way to prepare you for some of these initiatives, United Soccer Coaches has developed the Small Sided Games: 4v4, 7v7 and 9v9 Special Topics Diploma. This series is dedicated to preparing players, teams and clubs to address the tactical, technical and logistical opportunities presented in this new era in youth soccer. Coaches attending the "United Soccer Coaches Small Sided Games Diploma - 4v4, 7v7 and 9v9" will be treated to four presentations including 42 training activities to support the new playing formats.
This series explores the five principles of attack, namely penetration, width, support, mobility and improvisation. These concepts are detailed in 4 dynamic 20-30 minute presentations facilitated Ian Barker, United Soccer Coaches Director of Coaching Education. Each session includes 5-6 activities to improve your teams attacking success. If you are a Coach, Professional Educator or Club Director you will not want to miss this opportunity to learn from best practice and achieve professional development credit! Participants registering for the complete volume will receive a Special Topics Diploma and 23 printable, full color activity plans suitable for players 8 and older.
This series explores the five principles of defense, namely pressure, cover/support, balance, delay and compactness. These concepts are detailed in 4 dynamic 20-30 minute presentations facilitated Ian Barker, United Soccer Coaches Director of Coaching Education. Each session includes 5-6 activities to improve your teams defending success. If you are a Coach, Professional Educator or Club Director you will not want to miss this opportunity to learn from best practice and achieve professional development credit! Participants registering for the complete volume will receive a Special Topics Diploma and 23 printable, full color activity plans suitable for players 8 and older.
This series focuses on moments in the game that become critical to the result. Topic areas include transitioning into a counterattack, 'killing' the game off when in the lead and game-winning restarts, to name just a few. The clinicians in this series are proven winners in pressured situations and collectively have won the World Cup, Olympic Gold Medal and National Collegiate Championships as coaches. The talented group of educators will inspire participants to work with their teams and provide unique insight into decision making at crucial moments in a game. If you are a Coach, Professional Educator or Club Director you will not want to miss this opportunity to learn from best practice.
An interactive online mini-course developed to help educate coaches about the inclusion and support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender athletes. This 10-minute course is offered as a free public service by United Soccer Coaches' LGBT and Allies Member Community in partnership with Athlete Ally, a national nonprofit organization that provides public awareness campaigns, educational programming and other resources to foster inclusive sports communities.
The United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeping Academy has launched Goalkeeping Level 1 as its first-ever online diploma. The Goalkeeping Level 1 Online Diploma provides coaches a basic and working knowledge of instructing goalkeeping to youth and entry level players. This is education coaches won't find any place else in the game of soccer.
Topics covered include handling, positioning, footwork, communication, warm-ups and mental skills for successful goalkeeping.
United Soccer Coaches offers a comprehensive yet focused curriculum inclusive of all coaches at all levels of the game.
Our staff coaches approach all participants in United Soccer Coaches Education programs as colleagues with whom we share the coaching journey. Collegiality and mutual, lifelong learning underpin all we do in our coaching education. Our mission is to help our fellow coaches grow and develop in a positive and professional manner in each and every course we teach.
United Soccer Coaches Academy offerings are geared toward enhancing the development of the broadest cross-section possible of our membership. You may enroll in a course geared to the level of player you coach. We celebrate the immense knowledge current and former players bring to the craft of coaching, we embrace coaches new to the game and we honor the wisdom of veteran coaches.


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Who wants to wash up in a dingy or ill-equipped bathroom? Salvation can be as simple as installing some fresh new bathroom hardware. As trendy as the city, the Manhattan Series from Berenson is chic, sleek and the perfect bathroom tweak. Clean lines, solid frames and vivid colors tell you everything you need to know about this cool bathroom hardware. So step inside, and take this collection for a test drive.
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It took approximately 1.5 minutes to set it up once I took it out of the box. After I finished shaping the braches I was surprised at just how beautiful this tree looks!
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With such close proximity to the United States, many Americans have Caribbean roots. Like many others who feel the pull of the region, my own Caribbean heritage -- my parents are from the Dominican Republic -- inspired me to serve as a U.S. diplomat there and led to my current position as Director of the Office of Caribbean Affairs. More than 6 million U.S. citizens and residents visit the Caribbean every year and leave with wonderful memories: idyllic beaches, crystal blue waters, and inviting hosts. Relaxation at its best, some would argue.
The reality is that the challenges many Caribbean citizens face in their daily lives are far from relaxing. Poverty, social stigmas, and above all, crime and insecurity deeply impact the people of the region. The U.S. government's continuing commitment to confront security challenges, in particular, took me to Trinidad and Tobago this week as part of the U.S. delegation for the third annual Caribbean-United States Security Cooperation Dialogue.
Officials from 15 countries traveled to Port of Spain to discuss the region's shared citizen security partnership, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI). This partnership is substantially reducing illicit trafficking in narcotics and arms, increasing public safety and security, and promoting social justice so all sectors of society can prosper. Each delegation from nations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic included my counterparts from government ministries, as well as leaders from police forces, counternarcotics agencies, and the military. This mix helps us achieve the whole-of-government approach that will connect the dots and address underlying institutional weaknesses so we can achieve the goals of CBSI. For example, our efforts to prevent at-risk youth from turning to crime do not only focus on workforce training and education; we also help improve the management and modernization of juvenile detention facilities, ensuring that young people already affected by crime have the skills they need to turn their lives around.
In Port of Spain, we outlined our plans for the next year of programs we have built together. In my travels all over the Caribbean, I have met Caribbean citizens whose lives have changed for the better because of CBSI programs. During my visit to St. Kitts and Nevis in October, I saw police and prosecutors working together in a ground-breaking task force to fight violent crime, thanks to the technical assistance of a legal advisor from the U.S. Department of Justice sponsored under CBSI.
In the Dominican Republic, we visited an impoverished village -- near where my mother was born -- where the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has partnered with local organizations to build self-reliance and improve employment opportunities for the community. It is the same type of partnership that we are creating under CBSI. I listened as, one by one, leaders gave updates to the community from the councils the program created. The high school leader of the youth council won raucous applause; the record-keeper for the water council -- also raucous applause; and then the women's council leader spoke. She first passionately addressed her community, telling them always to be thankful for the improvements they've experienced and to make them permanent. Then she turned to us: "Before, I didn't have a future, my children didn't have a future. But now, because of this help, because of this program to improve our community, I feel truly empowered and know we are able to live a good life."
I will think of that community and that passion as we continue our work. We invite your comments: If you're living in the Caribbean, what is the biggest security challenge you face? How could governments improve the situation? The United States and our CBSI partners are always looking to do more and affect more lives.
Kayleigh in the Dominican Republic writes:
Hello Mr. Alsace. I am an American citizen currently living in the Dominican Republic. I live on the north coast, in Sosua. As you very well may know, this area is known for its high level of crime and prostitution. Unfortunately here in this area, it is very easy to pay off the police officers and they will turn a blind eye to what crime is happening. It really is affecting the community as a whole, Dominicans and foreigners alike. It is hard to say how governments could improve the problem, but I am hoping that through the progress that is being made on behalf of the CBSI that this problem will be addressed and resolved. Thank you for trying to improve the lives of the people of the Dominican Republic.
Francisco C. in El Salvador writes:
hello I really wish can get your support in my case I am interesting to enter in some programe for victims I know its complicate get asylum and refugee, I was try to get the support of the usa embassy here but they dont have this kind of programe also I was try to get the support of CARSI merida initiative and OAS for all the information I send long time ago I have problems in my country


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WorldNetDaily Exclusive
Army to 'inquire' into charges against Lakin
Will seek 'disposition … in the interest of justice and discipline'
Lt. Col. Terry Lakin is the highest-ranking active-duty officer to refuse to obey orders based on President Obama's eligibility.
The U.S. Army says it will "inquire" into the "truth" of the charges filed against Lt. Col. Terry Lakin, who has refused to follow orders until Barack Obama documents his eligibility to occupy the Oval Office, and ultimately will "determine what disposition should be made of the case in the interest of justice and discipline."
WND reported Thursday when the formal counts against Lakin were filed without comment by the Army.
The counts, posted on the SafeguardOurConstitution website, which is generating support for the officer, allege violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice Articles 87 and 92.
Lakin publicly asked the president to document his eligibility and expressed a willingness to deploy with the 32nd Cavalry Regiment to Afghanistan. But he received no response from the White House.
The filing of charges, however, may be part of the still-unrevealed strategy Lakin and his legal counselors are pursuing.
Formally, Lakin is accused of "through design" missing "the movement of US Airways Flight Number 1123, departing from Baltimore/Washington International Airport arriving in Charlotte, North Carolina, in order to deploy for a Temporary Change of Station in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with the 32nd Calvary (sic) Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky, with which he was required in the course of duty to move."
The second charge accuses Lakin of failing to report "to the office of his Brigade Commander, Colonel Gordon R. Roberts, at 1345 hours, or words to that effect, an order which it was his duty to obey."
The charges against Lt. Col. Terry Lakin, the highest-ranking and first active-duty officer to refuse to obey orders based on President Obama's eligibility.
The SafeguardOurConstitution website explained the first charge, "missing movement," is a serious crime in the nature of a felony. The second is "disobeying a direct order" and includes four specifications.
"Any soldier convicted on all charges and specifications would expect to be sentenced to years at 'hard labor' in the penitentiary," the site said.
Today, Army spokesman Chuck Dasey told WND via e-mail that the charges were "preferred" by the Medical Center Brigade Headquarters company commander.
The charges then were forwarded to the acting Medical Center Brigade commander, who directed the appointment of an Article 32 pretrial investigation "to inquire into the truth of the matters set forth in the charges and to secure information to determine what disposition should be made of the case in the interest of justice and discipline," Dasey wrote.
He said the investigation will be scheduled when the investigating officer gets the orders.
Attorney Paul Jensen, who is representing Lakin, earlier in the week gave hints during an interview on the G. Gordon Liddy radio program about what he expects.
"In the (Uniform Code of Military Justice), just as you would expect, criminal defendants have the process of the court, for subpoenas and depositions under the rules that are prescribed," Jensen said.
Lakin posted a YouTube video inviting his own court-martial because he believes military orders under an ineligible president are illegal. He then posted a letter telling Obama it's up to him to provide the proof.
"I'm not going to say what we are going to do other than we are going to do what you would want us to do," Jensen said on the Liddy program.
The attorney avoided broadcasting any specific defense strategy for the case. But he expressed confidence there will be an aggressive discovery phase in preparation for a defense of the charges.
"Every criminal defendant has to be allowed the benefit of doubt to discover information relevant or which may even lead to the discovery of relevant information that could support his case," he said.
"It would be shocking to me that a defendant … would not be permitted to discover information that would lend itself to proving his [case]," he said.
The discovery issue previously was raised in court by attorney John Hemenway, who was threatened by a federal judge with sanctions for bringing a court challenge to Obama's presidency.
Hemenway is serving in emeritus status with the Safeguard Our Constitution website.
Hemenway brought the previous court challenge on behalf of a retired military officer, Gregory S. Hollister, who questioned Obama's eligibility.
Here is the only "birth-certificate store" around! Read about the hunt for Obama's documentation!
The Hollister case ultimately was dismissed by Judge James Robertson, who notably ruled during the 2008 election campaign that the federal legal dispute had been "twittered" and, therefore, resolved.
Robertson sarcastically wrote: "The plaintiff says that he is a retired Air Force colonel who continues to owe fealty to his commander in chief (because he might possibly be recalled to duty) and who is tortured by uncertainty as to whether he would have to obey orders from Barack Obama because it has not been proven – to the colonel's satisfaction – that Mr. Obama is a native-born American citizen, qualified under the Constitution to be president.
"The issue of the president's citizenship was raised, vetted, blogged, texted, twittered, and otherwise massaged by America's vigilant citizenry during Mr. Obama's two-year campaign for the presidency, but this plaintiff wants it resolved by a court," Robertson wrote.
Then the judge suggested sanctions against Hemenway for bringing the case. Hemenway responded that the process then would provide him with a right to a discovery hearing to see documentation regarding the judge's statements – not supported by any evidence introduced into the case – that Obama was properly "vetted."
Hemenway warned at the time, "If the court persists in pressing Rule 11 procedures against Hemenway, then Hemenway should be allowed all of the discovery pertinent to the procedures as court precedents have permitted in the past.
"The court has referred to a number of facts outside of the record of this particular case and, therefore, the undersigned is particularly entitled to a hearing to get the truth of those matters into the record. This may require the court to authorize some discovery," Hemenway said.
The court ultimately backed off its threat of sanctions.
WND columnist Vox Day earlier wrote about this very scenario, calling it a "get out of war free" card.
The comments followed the case of a reservist who challenged the legality of his deployment orders under Obama. The orders later were canceled by the government.
"Rather than contesting the suit," Day wrote, "the Army took the highly peculiar step of revoking the major's deployment order, suggesting that the Pentagon generals are not entirely confident that they can demonstrate the legitimacy of their purported commander in chief.
"The Pentagon's decision to back down rather than risk exposing Obama's birth records to the public means that every single American soldier, sailor, pilot and Marine now holds a 'get out of war free' card."
Obama's actual response to those who question his eligibility to be president under the Constitution's requirement that the U.S. president be a "natural born citizen" has been to dispatch both private and tax-funded attorneys to prevent anyone from gaining access to his documentation.
Jensen also asserted the information obtained in any trial should be public record.
"There is no reason that I can foresee that classified information would come out [during a prosecution and trial]," he said. "These are public proceedings. I rather think the press will cover any trial and the evidence will be public."
He said the public can support Lakin through prayers and through a legal-defense fund.
The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."
WND has covered a multitude of challenges and lawsuits over the issue. Some have alleged that he was not born in Hawaii in 1961 as he has written, or that the framers of the Constitution specifically excluded dual citizens – Obama's father was a subject of the British crown at Obama's birth – from being eligible for the office.
"It's by far the most difficult thing I've ever done," Lakin said during the interview. "The Lord blessed me with a great family, wife and good upbringing. I've tried to uphold the principles espoused by my parents and do the right thing and not take the easy way out. I just seek the truth."
"My motivation stems from my oath of office to defend and uphold the Constitution," Lakin said. "It's the Constitution. That needs to be upheld."
Lakin earlier released a copy of a letter he sent to Obama saying, "The burden of proof must rest with you."
The letter, posted at the Safeguard Our Constitution website, describes how Lakin tried through his chain of command and his congressional office to get answers to questions about Obama's eligibility.
Lakin originally announced his position with a video stating he would not follow orders because he was not sure of their legality under Obama, who has concealed personal information that could confirm he meets the constitutional requirement that a president be a "natural born citizen."
There's a new strategy to get answers to Obama's eligibility questions. See how you can help.
Lakin is not the first officer to raise questions. Others have included Army doctor Capt. Connie Rhodes and Army reservist Maj. Stefan Cook. But Lakin is the first active-duty officer to raise the question.
Besides Obama's actual birth documentation, the still-concealed documentation for him includes kindergarten records, Punahou school records, Occidental College records, Columbia University records, Columbia thesis, Harvard Law School records, Harvard Law Review articles, scholarly articles from the University of Chicago, passport, medical records, his files from his years as an Illinois state senator, his Illinois State Bar Association records, any baptism records, and his adoption records.
"Where's The Birth Certificate?" billboard helps light up the night at the Mandalay Bay resort on the Las Vegas Strip.
Because of the dearth of information about Obama's eligibility, WND founder Joseph Farah has launched a campaign to raise contributions to post billboards asking a simple question: "Where's the birth certificate?"
The campaign followed a petition that has collected more than 500,000 signatures demanding proof of his eligibility, the availability of yard signs raising the question and the production of permanent, detachable magnetic bumper stickers asking the question.
A new effort now asks those in authority regarding the nation's elections to demand the full proof.
The "certification of live birth" posted online and widely touted as "Obama's birth certificate" does not in any way prove he was born in Hawaii, since the same "short-form" document is easily obtainable for children not born in Hawaii. The true "long-form" birth certificate – which includes information such as the name of the birth hospital and attending physician – is the only document that can prove Obama was born in Hawaii, but to date he has not permitted its release for public or press scrutiny.
Oddly, though congressional hearings were held to determine whether Sen. John McCain was constitutionally eligible to be president as a "natural born citizen," no controlling legal authority ever sought to verify Obama's claim to a Hawaiian birth.
Your donation – from as little as $5 to as much as $1,000 – can be made online at the WND SuperStore. (Donations are not tax-deductible. Donations of amounts greater than $1,000 can be arranged by calling either 541-474-1776 or 1-800-4WND.COM. If you would prefer to mail in your contributions, they should be directed to WND, P.O. Box 1627, Medford, Oregon, 97501. Be sure to specify the purpose of the donation by writing "billboard" on the check. In addition, donations of billboard space will be accepted, as will significant contributions specifically targeted for geographic locations.)
If you are a member of the media and would like to interview Joseph Farah about this campaign, e-mail WND.
Note: A legal-defense fund has been set up for Lt. Col. Terry Lakin.


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SummaryAbsolute Legends, with Tim "WetDreaM" Buysse as CEO, owes a lot of money to players who left the team. For example they owe the SC2 player DeathAngel about 3000€, and one of their former LoL teams about 10 000$. But the money problem doesn't stop there. A hotel owner called some players to ask for help since AL didn't pay the hotel bill. The former Co-C.E.O (Ryad) got tired of all the problems and decided to leave the organization a few days ago. Statements from some former players and staff can be found at the end.
Why am I doing this?I am writing this to warn players who might consider joining this team or work with WetDreaM in the future. I feel obligated to tell the truth about this team. After the recent statement by BabyK about AL not paying him what they owe, I felt that I wanted to give a statement of my own to support his claims and tell my story. There are many reasons as to why I didn't do this sooner. I still had some trust in Ryad, I didn't want to lower the chances of all other players to get paid etc. I wish I did it sooner but I also wanted to avoid unnecessary drama around me. I don't want this to be about me, just look at this as a warning and a former player for the team trying to do what she thinks is the right thing.
eSahara became a part of Absolute LegendsIn December 2011 I joined the team eSahara. A few months later, eSahara became a part of Absolute Legends. The conditions changed a lot after the merge and the team seemed to be more about business and making money.
Once I heard about the merge with AL, I was a bit concerned because of past incidents around the CEO, WetDreaM. He used to be a maphacker in BW and DotA, and had quite a bad reputation. More about this here: http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=100616¤tpage=All). Despite this, the CEO of eSahara seemed convinced that the merge would be a good idea and I didn't question him about it.
After the merge, the team spirit faded away. Our salaries were late and both players and staff received a lot of criticism for not doing enough for the team. Getting information about whether or not we could go to LANs was almost impossible, resulting in players not getting spots in tournaments such as DreamHack Summer 2012. It should be added that we asked about this particular event pretty much every day for over a month.
DeathAngel was lucky to receive a spare event ticket, due to a cancellation. He booked his flight to Sweden a day or two before he left from Korea. I booked my event ticket and trip myself before I even knew if it would be refunded or not. I wanted to go there anyway, but actually receiving the refund from AL took months after plenty of delays and excuses. The other SC2 players on the team missed out on the event. I want to point out that this was a big loss for players like BabyKnight. He was improving at that point, but the team didn't provide enough opportunities for him to play at such LANs. He might have missed out on spots in tournaments and show matches as he missed out on a lot of attention.
The way we were treated after the merge is something I really don't agree with. We were told how unprofessional we were, how badly we did, what a waste of money we were, etc.. They didn't give us the motivation I expect from a team.
A call from Grand Hotel in JönköpingJuly 10th, ten days after I left AL, I received a call from Grand Hotel in Jönköping. This was the hotel the Absolute Legends players stayed at during DreamHack Summer (DotA, LoL, DeathAngel and me). The hotel told me that AL didn't pay for the rooms they had booked, despite various reminders and promises. The total amount was about 30 000 SEK (~$4643) according to the hotel. They asked if there was any way I could help them or if there was any Swedish contact they could talk to. I couldn't help them.
I talked to the hotel again a few weeks later and they still hadn't received the money from AL. They told me they would contact the team sponsors. I told Ryad about this. I talked to one of the DotA players, "shatan" - he got the same call from the hotel as well. I hope they received the money by now.
Money problemsI heard about a lot of other similar delays regarding payments from AL. It seems like it's been going on for a really long time. Tim promised to come to DreamHack to pay, but then he had to cancel. Sure, this can happen, but if it happens over and over you begin to get a bit suspicious.
I talked to other (former) players from AL and they told me about problems similar to what the SC2 team experienced. Talking to one of the old dota teams and two old LoL teams made me feel like AL was nothing but a scam. They seem to owe a lot of money. Those who were paid told me about months and months of delays. It wasn't just about salaries. A lot of prize money was sent to AL, but never passed on to the players. There was also travel money that was never repaid. I asked Ryad on December 31st 2012 if the the prize money was paid to one of the former LoL teams and he said no. I spoke to some of the LoL members and was told that AL owes this particular LoL team about 10 000$.
We never had as big problems in eSahara before the merge. AL almost never managed to hold on to teams and players for a long period of time. The SC2 roster of AL disappeared fast with Verdi, Check, Satiini, Maka and HongUn leaving relatively shortly after the merge and BabyK, naama and me a few months later.
Bad communicationJuly 5th 2012, BabyK wrote the following on twitter:
"I've been without contract for almost a month now, and AL still hasn't made an announcement stating I'm free agent."
AL didn't renew any contracts in time, neither did they announce that we were free agents. The communication was really bad and it was often difficult to reach the people in charge. A few days after BabyK's tweet, AL announced that I left the team - but that Naama, BabyKnight and DeathAngel resigned with AL.
That wasn't entirely true. No contracts were signed. A few days later, Babyk joined FXO and Naama joined Fnatic. DeathAngel stayed in AL a while since he didn't find another team right away. During this time he did not receive his salary and reimbursement for events. It eventually added up to 3000€ for him. Eventually, DeathAngel left the team. He was promised money, but after leaving, he did not hear from AL despite efforts to contact them.
Comments about the recent statements from BabyK and AL(http://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/15mfhl/babyk_screwed_by_absolute_legends/, http://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/15oez7/absolutelegends_response_to_jonbabyknightandersen/)
I can only agree with what BabyK already said. Regarding the defense from Tim saying that BabyK never provided him an invoice, I was asked to make an invoice as well. The funny thing about the invoices is that the DotA team never had to provide them. They were paid through paypal, with months of delays. Anyway, I passed on the invoice as requested, but Tim still refused to pay me. A while after I left AL, Tim stopped replying to me. I could I only speak to Ryad. I made it clear to him that I wouldn't let it go if they didn't pay.
About two months after I left AL I finally received my money, but not from Tim. The only reason that I got my money was because I asked Ryad about it almost every day for months and in the end he paid me even if it wasn't his responibility.
BabyK pointed out that we were also promised gaming gear. Ryad told me it would be ours to keep. Eventually more than six months passed in the team without us receiving it. Eventually we left and while one could argue that gear should not be given to players that leave the team, the delay was so severe and Ryad had still promised the gear to us way back. Tim agreed to give me gaming gear as well, despite him not liking the idea. I never received the gear.
The contractsAs a response to BabyK's tweet, AL stated that he never signed a contract with AL. As for me, I never signed a contract with eSahara or AL. I refused to, because the contract I was provided was ridiculous. The other SC2 players signed with eSahara and no new contracts were provided at the time of or after the merge. However, we were told that the old agreements were still in effect in AL - but that AL would be responsible for the payments from that moment on.
Ryad left ALA few days ago, Ryad announced that he left AL. I asked him what happened and I got this as a reply.
"Hey Madeleine can't keep working with Tim he doesn't reply to me for so long now ... i mailed like 10 times, also there is many problems like what happend with you with other teams etc;; tired of this"
With other teams he refers to other teams within AL.
Ryad invested a lot of money into eSahara. Him leaving the organization he spent so much time, effort and money into speaks for itself. He was the only reason I thought there might be hope for AL, but that hope is long gone now. I want to point out again that Ryad was the good guy in this and that if he continues in eSports it is worth giving him another chance.
ProofI understand if people want evidence and not only my words to support my accusations, but I don't have more proof that I can/am allowed to provide. The statement from BabyK made me want to tell my story. I also asked some former AL players and staff if they could add anything and I hope that will help. Thanks to everyone who helped me with this. Their statements follow.
Statement from "Xinec", LoL player for AL at the beginning of 2012The treatment Absolute Legends gave me is under all criticism, there is only one thing I can say they did well, and that was sending the contract out fast. It's just sad that they weren't able to overheld it themselves.
We were supposed to discuss the terms of our employment once a month, but since the CEO of Absolute Legends either were ignoring me or too busy to take his time to take care of his employees that never happened.
I played under the organization for about 3 months, and I paid 4 flight tickets for myself and 3 of my teammates under the agreement they would pay me back within 14 days.
Yet I have not received 0 euro from the AL organization, who have taken all the price money, not paid me back from flight ticket nor paid my monthly salary.
- I have email proof that the CEO of AL says he has transferred the money, yet I have not received any.
The only reason I haven't taken them to court is that I don't have the economy or experience to do so comfortably.
Statement from "GoDZ", manager for the dota team playing for AL march-september 2012Well, our time with Absolute Legends (AL) wasn't the best. It wasn't the worst either, e-sports is kind of like that. There are people who are out to exploit you, people who just straight up scam you, and people who are fantastic and will do anything to help and support you. AL had a bit of all of that during our stay. But as numerous stuff has come up, I feel it worthwhile as a precautionary tale of this organization to not tell our whole story but just incidents that speak of the character of this organization, specifically their "CEO" Tim Buysse, known as "wetdream" in gaming.
1. At one point we were behind 3-4 months of salary (it wasn't even a big salary so not sure why it was so late). We had constantly chased up on it and gotten various reasons for its delay. We figured it's just normal/e-sports. Finally, after telling us on 2-3 occasions the transaction had be sent and just had to wait for it to process, we got fed up. Ultimately, He admitted that he lied and was not upfront about the financial situation. Lies about the payments happened on numerous occasions.
2. After parting ways with AL we finally got paid the salary we were owed (took ages and even threats from my end, something I'm not proud of, but I felt was necessary for the sake of the players, who are my good friends). We were owed other LAN expenses we had paid from our own pocket in Seattle at TI-2, but we were fed up with him lying, and just took it and left quietly not saying anything. 1-2 weeks later the paypal transaction of our complete 4 month owed salary was protested on Paypal by none other than Tim Buysse again due to a comment someone had made against AL not coming from any of the players or myself - and was transferred back to him or something. After a heated discussion between him and myself it was returned to us.
3. There were other incidents, that led us to doubt AL's credibility and various other things as to their values, such as Tim asking us to not receive prize money for winning an AL tournament (while we were still with AL), and to keep the money for future AL tournament. Why he would not want to give his team something to reward them getting first in a tough competition that they earned and deserved I don't know.
Anyways, These incidents listed are as factual as can be. All can be verified by multiple parties which is why I choose to include them and not other incidents involving Absolute Legends and Tim Buysse. People can come to their own conclusions, but I do not trust anything he says or will ever say, and would strongly advise people to avoid working with him at any cost. If anyone has any questions or wants to reach me regarding the matter they can do so at dparker49 [at] gmail.com
Statement from "DeathAngel" (SC2)I didn't get my salary for july, august, september, octomber and november. I didn't get my refund for some extra spendings at DH summer, I didn't get my refund for IEM koln or DH Valencia. I was always assured it's just some delay in payment and for example in august I got my june salary. So I was still thinking it might all be ok at some point in time. After november it was past 3k euro so I just left the team since it was too much money that I didn't receive. They just ignored me after I left. They didn't ever reply to my messages on skype or somewhere else.
Statement from "Satiini" (SC2)I would like to express my support for Babyknight on the issue of Absolute legends, im sorry to hear he did not recieve his money from Absolute legends, but I am not surprised about this since I was also in AL and I had similar problems with mr Tim Buysse, and I know many of the players had the same issues. Nobody should believe a single word he says, he kept ignoring me in skype aswell and refused to respond.
Statement from "Matt", former LoL caster for ALAfter working for aL from the months of June-December I can agree with many others that their payment ethics and level of respect for players in this way is of an incredibly low quality. I have no bad blood with any members of the organisation, and I regret to say that until they sit back, pay their debts and turn over a new leaf of proper business practice and respect for others, that they should not be continuing their business in it's current form. Stop making promises you can not keep.
Statement from "naama" (SC2)I was happy playing for esahara. When they merged with AL, everything went downhill. Bad communication with the AL managers, delayed salaries and overall very bad relationship between players and the owners.
Statement from the former SC2 manager "illu"As the former General Manager for eSahara and Team Manager for AL.SC2 I'd like to show my support to my former players who are in trouble with AL's CEO. When we were in eSahara, we had not that much trouble, Ryad was a very good CEO, he did very good job and he gave a lot of his time to this team and to keep it alive. Unfortunately he had to sell eSahara to Absolute Legends to keep it alive, which sounded like a great news at the beginning. But we've noticed really quickly that the team would have failed due to lack of skill from the new head management. In fact that was true, Tim wanted to manage a SC2 Squad like a LoL Squad which totally
failed. I am sad to hear that my former players are still waiting for their money, a full Razer bundle has also been promised to everyone of us, we are still waiting for it. I hope my players are going to get their money back, eSports is full of shady organisations and that's really sad. It was hard to do the work, I had not that much informations about a lot of things but I had all the criticism when things failed.. which was pretty unmotivating. Baiscally I wasn't able to talk, I just had to execute what Tim told me to do (when he told me to do something). That was not my management style, I have nothing against following a Head Management Plan but when the guy absolutely doesn't know what he is talking about, that turns my job impossible to do properly.
ConclusionWith this I would like to warn all players ever considering joining AL or working for Tim, and in general – be careful. There are so many teams out there that are doing the same. The only thing I want with this is to lower the chances of players getting treated like this again.
Edit: The problems continued even after my warning. See for example http://www.esportsheaven.com/articles/view/id/5092#.UuVvahA1hD_.


text: Well, I still don't have it forwarding packets, according to their webpage. What is the delay from time of packets submitted to posted on the web? Seconds/minutes/hours? Looking harder here, but it sure looks like Windows firewall is set to allow JAVA to do it's thing... Bruce, how did you tell Win7 firewall to use JAVA? Did it pop up a security window for you to enable traffice? I don't remember seeing that, but this isn't the first JAVA thing I've done...Win7 firewall settings show java.exe and javaw.exe enabled for both TCP and UDP traffic. Bleh. Mark N8MH At 08:20 AM 2/16/2012 -0400, Bruce Robertson wrote: >I sent packets yesterday with this email address, and then registered >in the evening. This morning I see that it has retrospectively counted >those packets to my new account! The only authorization I had to do >with the software was to tell my Win7 firewall that java could connect >to the internet on my behalf. > >So the system seems quite robust (not to mention pleasing to the eye). > >73, Bruce >VE9QRP > > > >On Wed, Feb 15, 2012 at 10:36 PM, Mark L. Hammond ><marklhammond at gmail.com> wrote: >> Okay, I had a brain failure here (least I think so...) >> >> I used my gmail address to register my station on the webpage, but used my amsat address when the program started. I registered online weeks ago, so when the registration page came up, I didn't even consider that it was supposed to "match" to the website registration page. >> >> Will know tomorrow, but that has to be my problem. >> >> Makes sense...another "duh" moment :) >> >> 73, >> >> Mark N8MH >> >> At 05:13 PM 2/15/2012 -0500, Mark L. Hammond wrote: >>>FYI: I have sent a couple hundred packets in, and they don't show... >>> >>>Mark N8MH >>> >>>On Wed, Feb 15, 2012 at 4:54 PM, Andy Kellner <hawat1 at yahoo.com> wrote: >>>> Looks like the Masat team updated / fixed their website, too. >>>> Now when you go to the 'track our satellite' section, it actually shows the position >>>> of the satellite and - more importantly - the 'Packets Received' from each registered >>>> >>>> Amateur station ! So now you can check if the packet upload is actually working. >>>> >>>> http://cubesat.bme.hu/en/ >>>> >>>> >>>> Good stuff. Nicely Done, Masat team. >>>> >>>> Andreas - VK4HHH >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. >>>> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! >>>> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >>> >>> >>> >>>-- >>>Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. >> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! >> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > >-- >http://ve9qrp.blogspot.com


text:
A few economists seem to be catching on, but not nearly enough…
About a year ago, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard wondered whether too much faith was being placed in what models say economic growth should be but, as detailed in When Models Trump Common Sense, he was rebuffed by nearly the entire establishment (or at least "a small army of bloggers with PhDs in economics").
Now, in a story at Project Syndicate, Raghuram Rajan, Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the IMF's youngest-ever chief economist tries to explain Why Stimulus Has Failed and, in doing so, questions whether the root cause of our current economic troubles is simply a lack of demand, casting himself as an Austrian sympathizer in the process: Read more…
About Tim:
Tim Iacono is the founder of the investment website 'Iacono Research' (http://iaconoresearch.com/), a subscription service providing market commentary and investment advisory services specializing in natural resources. He also writes a financial blog, formerly known as 'The Mess That Greenspan Made', a sometimes irreverent look at the many and varied after-effects of the Greenspan term at the Federal Reserve.
The views expressed in the posts and comments of this blog do not necessarily reflect APMEX Inc. They should be understood as the personal opinions of the author. No information on this blog will be understood as official.


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This is a camouflaged version of the 2014 Lexus IS sedan. A Toyota public relations executive posted it to Facebook on Tuesday.
Redesigned Lexus IS to debut at Detroit auto show
December 3, 2012
Lexus will unveil the redesigned IS sedan at the Detroit auto show on Jan. 15.
Toyota's luxury division says the new IS is inspired by the LF-CC concept that debuted at the Paris motor show in September. The current-generation IS has been on sale since 2005.
Lexus will stream the press conference live at www.lexus.com.


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Apple may be gearing up to take advantage of near-field communications technology in a next-generation iPhone. According to 9to5Mac, prototypes of a sixth-generation iPhone appear to include NFC hardware wired to the power management unit. Combined with Apple's recent unveiling of the Passbook app for iOS 6, the implication is that iPhone users may soon be able to wave their devices at merchant terminals to pay bills and even receive loyalty discounts.
NFC is a low-power, short-range radio communication technology. It allows two devices to communicate securely when in close proximity to each other. One common consumer implementation of the technology is used in credit cards which can be "waved" over a special reader to pay a retailer. In parts of Asia, mobile phones with NFC capabilities are commonly used to purchase items at retail, to buy from vending machines, or to pay transit fares, with transactions added to a monthly cell phone bill or deducted from a credit card associated with a user's account.
Despite the efforts of credit card companies and handset makers, NFC hasn't taken off much in the rest of the world just yet. Even Google's vast resources have yet to help its Google Wallet system gain significant traction with users or retailers.
But the iPhone's popularity, along with Apple's usual knack for simple consumer-facing technologies, could be the catalyst to popularize NFC with smartphone users. Passbook, a new app that will be part of iOS 6, will be a one-stop shop for coupons, tickets, passes, and customer loyalty cards. Buy movie tickets from Fandango, for instance, and the app will store a bar code that can be scanned for entry at the theater. With an NFC chip, you could merely wave your iPhone over a special reader to check yourself in.
Apple could go one step further, connecting the NFC hardware to a user's iTunes account for iPhone-based mobile payments. Pop in the local 7-Eleven for a quick snack or drink, and you could simply wave your iPhone over the credit card terminal to pay from the credit card associated with your iTunes account or Apple ID.
Rumors of NFC hardware coming to Apple devices has been growing over the past year or so. When combined with the fact that Apple has applied for several patents related to mobile NFC use, as well as hired its own NFC expert, it certainly seems plausible that a next-gen iPhone could begin Apple's foray into mobile payments.


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CHLOE Lighting CLAIRE Tiffany-style 2 Light Victorian Table Lamp 16" Shade
- Table Lamp measures 24 inches (L) X 20 inches (W) X 12 inches (H)
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- Multicolor shades
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Guests and other visitors paying a visit to your place will be surprised to check out this lovely lamp and would wish to add one to their interiors. Besides, you can also wrap this classy table lamp to gift your dear ones. Put an end to your thoughts and get this classy table lamp right away.


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I wanted to show off these beautiful pierogi I made. I made them extra large because that is how my grandmother made hers. I also browned them in some butter the way she did, but they're great simply boiled. I've never seen pierogi this size anywhere else; they're usually about the size of potstickers. I used a great recipe from the book, From a Polish Country House Kitchen. After making them, I bought the book, and it's quite awesome. The pierogi recipe is here on Serious Eats if you'd like to take a look.
The dough was very easy to work with. I also made the filling with peas, bacon and ricotta, which was really tasty. I couldn't leave well enough alone, however, so I also made a mashed potato and ricotta filling (plus salt and pepper and nothing else--delicious). I did all this one day when I was home by myself, and it was a ton of work. If I had my favorite kitchen helper with me, it would have been a lot easier. And of course, there's always a learning curve when you cook something for the first time.
I think I will try this again, but I'll stick to one type of filling and make smaller pierogi, as these take forever to boil. I also learned that it's important to roll the dough as thin as possible, so the pierogi aren't too doughy, for lack of a better word.
I wanted to make borscht and pierogi on the same day, but fortunately I was wise enough to give up that dream. So I made this the next day, and it was so full of flavor and vegetal goodness! Easy too. I referred to the borscht recipe from that same cookbook as well as several others and came up with my own ideal version, which is below.
Vegetable Borscht
Pureeing some of the soup in a blender adds body and silkiness.
Serves 6 to 8
2 tbsp canola or safflower oil
1 large white onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, sliced
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried marjoram or oregano
Cayenne pepper to taste
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 to 5 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
4 or more cups water
4 to 6 beets, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
2 to 3 carrots, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 to 3 parsips, cut into 1/2" pieces
Greens from the beets or 1 bunch of Swiss chard, chopped; or a few handfuls of spinach leaves
1 to 2 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
Juice of half a lemon, or to taste
Chopped fresh dill for serving
Greek yogurt or sour cream for serving
Hot sauce or sriracha for serving
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large pot on medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, caraway, fennel, thyme, marjoram and cayenne, and stir occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, about 10 minutes; season lightly with salt and pepper. Add tomato paste and garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring well.
Add broth and 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add beets, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. If there is not enough liquid to easily cover all the vegetables at any point, add additional water. Add carrots and simmer for 5 minutes. Add parsnips and simmer until all vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes more. Add greens and simmer just until tender (time will depend on the type of green you choose). Add vinegar and lemon juice. Check seasoning and add additional salt, pepper or cayenne as needed.
Ladle about one third of the soup into a blender and puree (carefully). Return to the pot and stir until heated through. Serve with a generous sprinkling of fresh dill and pass yogurt and hot sauce at the table.
Ladle about one third of the soup into a blender and puree (carefully). Return to the pot and stir until heated through. Serve with a generous sprinkling of fresh dill and pass yogurt and hot sauce at the table.