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Everything Austen Challenge Task 5
For task 5 I read 'The Man Who Loved Jane Austen' by Sally Smith O'Rourke.
What a great name this author has and she also wrote a lovely book.
My review is here.
For task 5 I read 'The Man Who Loved Jane Austen' by Sally Smith O'Rourke.
What a great name this author has and she also wrote a lovely book.
My review is here.
Posted on 13 August '09 by Michelle, under Jane Austen & Austen Inspired. No Comments.
Task 4 Completed – 2008 BBC Mini-series Sense and Sensibility Review
I have been eagerly awaiting the 2008 BBC version of Sense and Sensibility to become available in Australia and at last I've seen it. The opening scene immediately distinguishes it from previous adaptions and certainly made this Austen fan sit up wide eyed. Visually it is absolutely gorgeous and I'm going to say I love it far too much in the following review.
I was delighted with this version and the way it has picked up on parts of the book that have until now, not been translated to film. The actors are terrific, solid and you feel convinced. As much as I adore the Emma Thompson film version I feel this adaption is more true to the book. It certainly has time to address more as it is a mini-series. I am torn between my favourite Elinors now, Emma Thompson swept me away in the film and I am a huge fan but closer in age to Elinor, Hattie Morahan portrays Elinor Dashwood beautifully and I am sure it will be her face I visualise when I read the book from now on. I did find myself thinking about Emma Thompson a lot while watching it and I think it is because the two actresses' voices are uncannily similar.
Dan Stevens is my Edward from now on. He plays the part so close to my idea of Edward that it felt like I'd just put on my comfy slippers. I respected Hugh Grants' portrayal but I was never completely convinced.
One of my highlights and it probably won't make sense to everyone, was seeing Mark Williams waltz into Barton cottage as Sir Middleton. I adore this man and his quirkiness. Anyone who can get me to sit through an entire series on steam engines (Mark Williams on the Rails) just because of his infectious manner of delivery, makes it to my honours wall.
I would say the only part of this version that didn't sit comfortably with me was the actor who played Willoughby, Dominic Cooper. It certainly has nothing to do with his delivery, he was brilliant but it is simply that I visualise someone different, taller and more charming. It's hard to be impartial when I've already got such a vivid feeling about how my Austen men should be. Please don't let this form a negative opinion of Dominic Cooper because I'm sure he will make many melt, just not my taste I guess. I can't see the sexual appeal of James McAvoy either and yet as an actor he is fantastic.
The scriptwriter Kevin Hood did an amazing job. He's written a period drama with a contemporary style and delivery and I'm sure this version will recruit many new Austen fans to the fold.
Love it, love it, love it, love it, just in case you weren't convinced.
Posted on 11 August '09 by Michelle, under Jane Austen & Austen Inspired. 7 Comments.
by Keith Robinson
Published: April 2009
I love young adult fiction and make no excuses for it. I eagerly awaited the arrival of my copy of Island of Fog but when it arrived I was suddenly nervous because I really wanted to like it. I tentatively stepped into the prologue, let out the breath I was holding and launched into the first chapter. Now my book has a distinct bend in the middle from being stuck under my arm while I tended to my life of the last 3 days. What a great adventure Keith Robinson took me on. In keeping with the tradition of young adult fiction, Island of Fog brings together a group of young people who have to solve a mystery in order to save themselves and those they love.
Twelve year old Hal and Robbie are best friends and live in a small community on a green lush island. The outside world is not known to them, their parents exiled themselves when the world was ravaged by a deadly virus. Despite being marooned, their island life, up till now, has been ideal but now in their teens they start to question their surroundings. They crave things they have only heard about, they crave adventure and something new, they crave the sun and the moon. The sun and moon are never seen on their island because the island is covered in a thick impenetrable fog. Hal, Robbie and the other teenagers on the island are getting restless. They are adolescents and like all adolescents are going through physical and mental changes. They are becoming adults, getting taller, stronger, and forming crushes. They are growing hair in strange places but is it normal to grow it on your fingers, is it normal to be itching all day, is it normal to have a green scaly rash or sharp fangs. Should they show their parents? Can they trust their parents, whose explanations don't seem convincing anymore? Can they trust the strange outsider who arrives, unaffected by the virus and conveniently, at the same time as their physical changes? They know they aren't being told the truth and set out to find it.
Island of Fog travels along at an enjoyable pace and the suspense has you hungry for each page turn. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and love that young adult fiction can take you off on a great adventure without you being muddied up by 'adult themes'. Island of Fog ends but the story is certainly not wrapped up and I searched the last few blank pages with hope of finding an excerpt of the next book. So, Keith Robinson, thank you for Island of Fog and as I can feel a series coming on, I sit, eagerly awaiting book two.
Posted on 5 August '09 by Michelle, under Childrens fiction, Reviews, SciFi/Fantasy, Young Adult. 3 Comments.
by Nick Earls
Published: 1/7/09
We all 'think' we know what we want but it often takes a wake up call to really 'understand' what is best for us.
Curtis Holland is an average guy who has had extraordinary luck come his way. He and his friend Derek Frisk had a band called Butterfish, which went from local to global. With that came all the rockstar trappings, travel, money, parties, celebrity and pressure. After their 3rd album fails they are dropped by their record label and the band dissolves. Derek stays in LA to keep up the rockstar image but with some relief , Curtis gladly leaves that life and plans to work on producing other musician's work. So now he is back in Brisbane, has no band, his father died while he was on tour and so did his marriage. Moving into a suburban home with a studio in the back garden, disguised as a granny flat, Curtis takes a breath, opens a beer and adds up the cost of his absurd rockstar life.
When Annaliese Winter floats down his driveway looking for her dog, Curtis is rattled by his fascination with the complex 16 years old. As he gets to know the rest of her family, 14 year old brother Mark and their mother Kate, he find himself drawn to them and it seems his average street, in an average suburb is suddenly less ordinary. Curtis isn't sure what he can contribute to the relationship developing with his new neighbours. He is still jet lagged from his rockstar life and the truth is that he hasn't dealt with the loss of his father, his marriage or his band. Together with his brother Patrick, Curtis tries to reconnect with their father and by going through his belongings, they uncover much they didn't know and much they'll never know. A fast and furious visit from Derek drags up further regrets but also offers Curtis an alternate view of himself.
Curtis' return to reality explores the relationship with the place we call home and the need for balance in life. Returning home stirs up history of our time before we left but also gives us a safe place to review where we've been. Rediscovering what is important in our lives sounds simple but the fact that you've lost sight of it means that havoc was wreaked and there is much cleaning up to be done.
I particularly liked Curtis' journey to reconnect with his father. Exploring the idea that after we die we are reduced to a sum of our stuff and what we have chosen to share with others. It reinforces the lessen to be careful what you leave behind because you may leave an impression that you would be disappointed by. Perhaps we should all engage a trusted friend, who in the case of our demise, will remove those things we wouldn't want our family to find.
It was also interesting seeing Curtis and Patrick trying to resettle themselves after losing their last parent. I heard someone mention once – and I wish I could remember who, so I could credit them – that we never truly grow up while we still have our parents. That we complete our development when we have to face a world without our parents in it. Despite the sadness of losing their father, I was heartened to see them both grow a little taller from the experience.
I really enjoyed 'The True Story of Butterfish' and its simple message about discovering what is important in our lives. Although I read it over a very busy week, I found myself heaving an audible sign of relief each time I was able to pick it up again.
Nick Earls has a knack for making average into extraordinary and he's done it again with The True Story of Butterfish. It is full of Australian markers but with relief, is free of those Australian stereotypes and cliches that make me cringe, no shrimps on barbies or crocodile dundees to be seen.
Curtis' experience with the illusion of celebrity life highlights that at home we are all the same. That before 'they' were celebrities they were average people just like us and that in reality they still are. He sets his story in an average house, in an average street, in an average suburb, which could translate to any suburb in the developed world. By so doing, he reaches out to all us average folk, sitting on our average couches, doing washing, cooking, cleaning or like me typing a review on my laptop with a 4 year old tucked up beside me giggling away at 'The Little Rascals' on DVD and makes our lives seem a lot less average and in fact, quite extraordinary.
Thank you Nick Earls for The True Story of Butterfish.
Copyright 2019 by Torch Under The Blanket Books.
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Skip Hire Filwood
** If Skip is not placed on private land, a permit must be obtained. We can arrange a permit for you at additional cost.
*Skip hire prices can vary depending on waste type, area and availability. Firm price will be provided before hire.
Call for best price and availability - 03000 309 978
Calls charged at local rate or as part of inclusive minutes from mobiles
Discounts for Volume and Trade Accounts Available
Skip Hire
We are a nationwide local company that are able to provide a whole host of different types of skip. Whatever your job, from a small domestic clear out all the way to a larger scale project such as a kitchen or bathroom renovation project, The Skip Company will be able to help.
There is no such thing as a job that is too big for the Skip Company; nor is there a job that is too small. Our friendly and experienced customer service team are here to help, and will be able to offer their professional advice on the best kind of skip, and the right level of service to suit you. Let us know if you have a deadline to meet, or of you have any special requirements, and we will design a bespoke skip hire package that will be sure to fulfil your requirements.
Of course, the price is always a consideration when choosing skip hire in Filwood, and we are proud of our extremely competitive rates: we are confident that the price we quote will suit your pocket.
Contact us if you are uncertain about the size of skip that you will need to successfully complete your project, or if you are in any way unsure about the process you need to follow to hire one. We are here to help, and will make the whole experience as smooth as possible. By discussing carefully with you, we can estimate the appropriate skip for your individual circumstances.
Your skip will usually arrive a day after you place your order, but before we can do so it is very important that you contact the council to find out whether or not you will require a permit for the skip. We are able to help you arrange this, taking all of the anxiety out of the process.
Most basic household projects - for example, a house clearance - can be completed using a midi skip or a mini skip. These skips are convenient, and extremely effective when used in areas with limited or restricted access. If you are conducting something a little larger in scale, for example smaller building works, then a maxi skip may be more appropriate for your needs. The biggest jobs require the biggest skip: a roll-on-roll-off sided skip. We keep stock of these in two configurations: low sided and high sided.
To find out more, all you have to do is get in touch with The Skip Company today.
All areas of Filwood and surrounding areas covered
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subset: commoncrawl


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Upholstery wall strips
Wooden strips your time is over! There is a replacement for these upholstery wall strips. A product making any job much faster and cleaner. We call it the Contour Wall System.
Let's be honest, wood is not convenient at all. The sheet of wood needs cutting into lengths using a table saw. Each piece must be as straight as possible for keeping it in line next to moldings. Then you might need a circular saw for cutting them into the final measurement before fitting to the wall. And all of a sudden, dust spreads everywhere!
An additional negative side is wood splinters. In fact, some fabrics are far too delicate, and you may take the risk of damaging the cloth. This is the last thing you need after this hard work.
Contour wall system has only positive sides.
First, It is conveniently cut into strips of 96″ long. Dimensions are ¼" thick by 1 ¼"wide. Second, compared to wooden slats, this one is white PVC which is a good thing for working with paler and thinner fabrics.
Finally, we have such a nice cutter that You will enjoy cutting through our upholstery wall strips. The video on this page shows how painless it is to use it.
Not to mention that our strip is very easy to remove from the wall. In case you have to pull it out, just place a smal crowbar or a thick spatula under it then lift.
This picture shows a wall upholstery installation made using Contour Wall System.


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The holidays can be a super stressful time, but to me I think they are so much fun. I live for December. I love the snow, I love the cold, I love outdoor sports, I love the smiles, and the time spent with family, but most of all I love giving awesome gifts. For every occasion I try to make gifts personal, sometimes it gets hard though, because WE'RE BUSY! Here some cheats for those who are feeling a little stressed about the gift giving part.
Click on the picture or the heading for the link to buy. Happy Shopping 🙂
Gifts for Her
Small Wood Home Wooden Frame Signboard $49 (on sale from $125)
The perfect women power sign for a sister or a friend.
MVMT: Malibu Watch $125
Sophisticated but can go with anything. I LOVE MVMT watches; they're good quality, and reasonably priced watches.
Long White Beard Furniture: Wooden Bath Tray $65
This is local out of Ferndale, MI by a kickass lady I went to school with; Shelby Holtzman
The Sweet Whistle: The Calm Box $60
This box has the best smelling lavender candle, a coffee chocolate bar, and a charcoal bamboo soap. The coolest thing about this site, is that you can customize your own gift box starting at $7. Great for holidays or any other special occasion. even a good gift for a boss!
Ember: Ceramic Mug $79.99
You can heat your coffee/tea to the temp you want and keep it that temperature for as long as you want; I REPEAT you can heat and keep your coffee/tea hot. *insert drool face emoji*
Hollyhocks and Hydrangeas: Boho Baby Calf 24x24inches $120
My boyfriend's mom grew up on a dairy farm, we go there every Christmas and sometimes in the summer. My favorite part is going to see the baby dairy cows. I want this for my house, for her house, for Phil's Aunts and Grandma's house as well.
Covry: Atik Cloud Glasses $95
Hand crafted with a vegan leather case
West Elm: Mid-Century Turned Leg Tabletop Planter $23-$44 (Small or Large)
As a house plant lover I like to get my friends house plants, they add so much life to your house while making the air cleaner.
Small Wood Home: In All Things Give Thanks Wood Framed Sign $44 (on sale from $125)
Perfect for Mom or a Mother in Law. Heck, perfect for friends or yourself!
Gifts for Him
West Elm: Schmidt Brothers New Natural 13 Piece Set $144 (on sale from $180)
Basically, I picked this because my dad would flip over this. The raw wood and the best quality cutlery.
School House: Your Cabin in the Woods $19.99
This book is for anyone wanting to go out there and follow in Emerson's foot steps. Hint: get it for you Significant Other so you can enjoy it too.
Sword and Plough: Chevron Wallet $69
Perfect for the guy in your life who's wallet is falling apart and you wish they would just buy something thin and new.
Anthropologie: Curvature DOF Glass $14
Get your guy, dad, or father in law a set of these plus a sleek decanter and you'll be a favorite forever.
Goop: Decanter $100
Speaking of that sleek Decanter….
Anthropologie: Roast $27.50
Ok to be honest again, this stood out to be because of my dad. Growing up we had roast ALLLLLL the time. I hate roasts. I hate cooked carrots mixed with potatoes, where everything has the same taste. SO, I thought about getting him this to spruce up his recipe collection some 🙂
Long White Beard Furniture: Live Edge Shelf with Key Holder: $115
Again, COME ON this is amazing.
MVMT: Chrono Black Leather $135
I always buy Phil watches. I think its super attractive if a guy has nice watches, and shoes. So I normally buy what I like for Phil. He doesn't complain though! Plus with these MVMT watches you can switch out the bands to change up the look.
Anthropologie: The Bucket List Book $35
Again, buy this for someone close to you so you can use it as well. I wanna get this for my dad. Him and my mom have been crazy active for the last 5 years. They are always going on RV trips, concerts, etc. This would be perfect for them when they retire in a couple years.
Gifts for Little Ones
The Little Market: Adventure Animals $60
The cutest stuffed animals, gender neutral. Each purchase a portion of the sale goes to the women/artisans in Peru.
Land of Nod: The 50 States Activity Book $10
Pack your bags and take the journey of a lifetime with this activity book packed with maps, wildlife, people and places unique to America's 50 states.
Gap: Pompom Beanie $25
This is the cutest
Rebel Girls: Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls Boxset $65
I hope one day I have a little girl so I can buy this for her, I love how strong and powerful women are and I'm so happy that the youth are starting to realize that earlier and earlier as well.
Kidfanatics: Sports Jersey $56
This is the only thing my nephew told me he wanted. So I'm sure other 5th grade boys want the same? Im going to get him a microscope set this year too. He lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and there is so much to explore there.
Amazon: Makeup Kit $25
My niece grew up in a military family, traveling with an older brother. She is rugged and a tomboy on the inside but loves to be as girly as possible on the outside.
Target: Wooden Dollhouse $130
Chip and Joanna do it again, of course. How cute is this!?
Gifts for the Puppers
Link: Smart Dog Collar $99
Trust me when I tell you this is the coolest thing for any dog lover. Click on the link to at least read about it.
Amazon: Alligator Dog Toy $7
We only buy Alligator toys in our house. Im deathly afraid of them for no real reason, Ive never seen one in real life besides at the zoo but I honestly have nightmares about them all the time. I believe it all started with an episode of Rescue 911 when I was in elementary school where a kid was swimming and got taken by one. EEKK it makes me nervous to just talk about. ANYWAY, so we buy alligator toys so I can watch the dogs destroy them 🙂
Amazon: Himalayan Yak Chew
Ancient recipe from the Himalayas. All natural ingredients: yak and cow milk, salt and lime juice. Analysis: Protein – 52.8 percent min. Crude fat 0.9 percent min. Crude fiber 0.0 percent max. Moisture 10.2 percent max. Ash 6.0 percent max. PERFECT
I really hope that helps with your gift giving this year. There are millions of ideas out there but maybe these can help when your stuck on a certain someone. I had so much fun writing this, and I honestly found a gift for everyone on my list. Now its back to grad school homework *eye roll*


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Marvel Contest of Champions is one of the most popular games, which is playing by several people on a huge level. In fact, we can also see many game lovers, who are crazy to play such an amazing game in their leisure game. The concept and graphics are the two chief reasons behind the popularity of the game.
The players are required to pay attention to the currency, which can be collected by the Marvel Contest of Champions cheats. While there are many other ways present, which can help in getting the desired amount of the currency; however, this is the best ever method, which offers the maximum comfort zone to the players.
What Are The Controls Of The Game?
The players should always be familiar with the controls of the game. If we are not familiar with the controls, then it will be difficult to defeat the other players, who are playing for a longer time. In fact, we can also improve the performance in the game and play in a better manner. In order to grab the information related to the controls of such game, read the further article.
Left side of the screen – the players can be blocked by holding the left side of the screen, and the swiping such side will lead to the dash backwards. By this, we will be able to create a certain space between the opponent and us. So, basically, the left side of the screen helps in the defense.
Right side of the screen – the players are able to perform the light attack by tapping the right side of the screen. On the other hand, if we hold, then it will lead to the heavy attack. Well, usually people go with the light attacks, but let me tell you that these are not as effective as the heavy attacks.
Apart from this, the players can take proper assistance from the Marvel Contest of Champions cheats in order to collect the currency. The players are unable to play the game in a better manner when they don't have enough currency.


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Israel, B. A. and Coombe, C. M. and Cheezum, R. R. and Schulz, A. J. and McGranaghan, R. J. and Lichtenstein, R. and Reyes, A. G. and Clement, J. and Burris, A.
There have been increasing calls for community-academic partnerships to enhance the capacity of partners to engage in policy advocacy aimed at eliminating health disparities. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a partnership approach that can facilitate capacity building and policy change through equitable engagement of diverse partners. Toward this end, the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center, a long-standing CBPR partnership, has conducted a policy training project. We describe CBPR and its relevance to health disparities; the interface between CBPR, policy advocacy, and health disparities; the rationale for capacity building to foster policy advocacy; and the process and outcomes of our policy advocacy training. We discuss lessons learned and implications for CBPR and policy advocacy to eliminate health disparities.
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|community-academic partnerships, health disparities, Community-based participatory research (CBPR)
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Tall Handmade Stoneware Pottery Cup With Wood Ash Nuka Glaze And Cobalt Blue Drips, (Sku 53)
This cup was made from Stoneware clay on the pottery wheel. It was dipped in a wood ash glaze called a Nuka glaze, which comes from Japanese historical pottery and causes the pot to have a cream color. It was then brushed with Cobalt blue stain to give an earthen feel. The cobalt blue dripped down the glazed pot during the firing, creating blue color hues in the cream colored base glaze. The cup is 100% functional, dishwasher safe and microwaveable. It measures about 6" tall, width 3.5" including handle.


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Obama 'surprised' by his wealth
Touts riches amid call for progressive taxation
Former President Barack Obama paused to acknowledge his own wealth during a speech in which he argued for the rich paying a higher rate of taxation, remarking he was surprised by how much money he had accumulated.
Obama, delivering this year's Nelson Mandela lecture in South Africa, spoke in favor of liberal causes such as universal health care, unions, progressive taxation and retirement security, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Obama said rich people should be willing to pay a higher tax rate to fund government programs for the less fortunate.
"I should add by the way, right now, I'm actually surprised by how much money I got," Obama said. "And let me tell you something, I don't have half as much as most of these folks or a tenth or a hundredth."
The speech has been described as his most significant since the end of his presidency.
The Free Beacon noted Obama and his wife Michelle signed book deals worth more than $60 million after leaving the White House. The couple also has a lucrative new deal with Netflix to produce content for the digital streaming company.
"There's only so much you can eat, there's only so big a house you can have, there's only so many nice trips you can take," Obama said to applause. "I mean, it's enough."
The former president also draws nearly $200,000 a year from his government pension along with taxpayer-funded security.
The Obamas own an $8.1 million house in the nation's capital as well as their long-time home in Chicago.
A Forbes analysis of tax returns reported in January 2017 found the Obamas earned $20.5 million between 2005 and 2016, with three-fourths of that money coming from book deals.
The website Celebrity Net Worth estimates Obama's net worth to be $40 million.


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Most of us have had encounters, deliberate or accidental, that have changed our lives or at least remained in our memories. A new book puts a number of memorable meetings together for better and sometimes worse.
NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg sampled the book. She begins by describing an encounter she once had with some pretty exotic royalty.
SUSAN STAMBERG, BYLINE: This is a true story. It happened to me, although even I have a hard time believing it. Years ago, I lived in New Delhi, India and worked for the wife of the American ambassador, Chester Bowles. Mrs. Bowles, Steb, had many visitors and part of my job was to answer the door when they arrived. One day the bell at the Bowles' home on Rattindon Road(ph) rang and standing outside was the maharajah of Jaipur.
Your Highness, I said welcoming him in, what gorgeous pearls you're wearing. He was quite the glass of fashion. His turban was purple silk. His tunic was champagne-colored silk worn with a long, yellow silk vest. And the long, shiny pearl necklace was truly beautiful.
Oh, thank you, said maharajah. On Tuesdays I wear pearls. On Wednesdays, it's emeralds. Thursday, rubies, et cetera, et cetera.
I tell you this...
CRAIG BROWN: Hmm.
STAMBERG: ...hello, Mr. Brown, by making an introduction to Craig Brown, author of the book "Hello Goodbye Hello..."
STAMBERG: ...a collection of who said what to whom when some 101 real-life meetings took place. Mr. Brown, as you hear, joins us from our London bureau.
Glad you liked that story. Hello, goodbye, hello, Mr. Brown.
BROWN: Yes, sweet. It's a lovely story.
STAMBERG: You are a columnist for the London Daily Mail, also for Private Eye magazine in London. And this book presents encounters between all kinds of people whom Americans don't know or, forgive me, especially care about. But there are some that are real fun that we will understand. And would you tell us the one about Madonna meeting the great dancer choreographer Martha Graham in 1978, in New York.
BROWN: Madonna had just arrived in New York City and had got herself a place at Martha Graham's dance school and was absolutely terrified of Martha Graham, who had this incredibly severe reputation as the great kind of mother of modern dance. In the corridor, she needed to have a pee and left the dance class and met Martha Graham in the corridor and was completely struck dumb with...
BROWN: ...with terror in her presence.
STAMBERG: And we should establish that Madonna was 19 years old. But tell what actually happened with poor Madonna, age 19, cowering in the hall and needing to use the facility.
BROWN: Well, she in her own words, said, I ignored the aching in my lower abdomen. I forgot that I had a big mouth and that I wasn't afraid of anyone. This was my first true encounter with a goddess; a warrior, a survivor, someone - actually, I can't say the word...
BROWN: ...someone to be frightened of.
MADONNA: (Singing) Get into the groove. Boy, you've got to prove your love to me. Yeah. Get up off from your seat...
STAMBERG: OK, Rachmaninoff meets Harpo Marx.
BROWN: Yes. Well, Harpo had booked into this very fashionable hotel called the Garden of Allah, which was a great kind of bohemian place where all the Hollywood stars hung out. And at the same time, Rachmaninoff had booked into the chalet next door. And there was this terrible war of musicians, and that Rachmaninoff wanted to play his piano and Harpo wanted to play his harp, and they were each drowning out the other.
And Rachmaninoff, who was quite a grumpy man, complained to management, tried to get Harpo moved. But Harpo had this very clever idea of playing incessantly the one tune that Rachmaninoff was famous for - he had composed it at age about 20 - the "Prelude in C Sharp Minor." And so, Harpo kept playing the "Prelude in C Sharp Minor..."
BROWN: ...and eventually he won the battle and Rachmaninoff had to change chalets.
STAMBERG: Craig Brown how did you find all this out - all these stories?
BROWN: One of my jobs in England is reviewing books, so I review a book every week and have done for about 15 years. So I started noticing these strange meetings between people. And particularly the ones I enjoyed were between sort of high people and low people, sort of philosophers and pop stars, or presidents and film stars. And so, I particularly liked these strange juxtapositions of sort of serious people and lightweight people and see how they spark off one another.
STAMBERG: Here is a hero, hero worshipper situation, The Beatles, dying to meet Elvis Presley. It's August 1965 in Beverly Hills. Elvis is not all that eager. Tell us about the hello goodbye hello.
BROWN: Elvis Presley, to some extent, was nervous of The Beatles because he'd gone through a fallow period. He seemed to be going out of fashion and suddenly these young, English people with long hair, with girls screaming, they seemed to be the new Elvises. And at the same time, The Beatles were completely in awe of Elvis, so they wanted to be friends with him. And he didn't want to be friends with them.
STAMBERG: But he said they had to come to him, huh?
BROWN: Yes. Yes. No, he was a bit like a kind of renaissance court or something, that, you know, with status. And they had this very awkward, tongue-tied meeting.
STAMBERG: Craig Brown is a columnist for The Daily Mail and Private Eye magazine in London. His new book is called "Hello Goodbye Hello."
I'm Susan Stamberg, NPR News. Goodbye.
THE BEATLES: (Singing) You say goodbye and I say hello. Hello goodbye. Hello goodbye. Hello goodbye. I don't know why you say goodbye. I say hello. Hello goodbye. Hello goodbye. Hello goodbye...
WERTHEIMER: This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.
BEATLES: (Singing) I don't know why you say goodbye. I say hello. Hello goodbye...
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Cleaver & Keg was created out of frustration of the lack of premium snacks available in bars & pubs. This joint venture, based in Norwich and London, was created by two old school friends Danny Searle and Sean Cannon, both experts in their respective fields.
Danny is a Norfolk publican running craft beer-focused pubs, whilst Sean is an expert in the production and sale of fine charcuterie. After seeing the explosion in micro-brewed craft beers, they knew that beer lovers were just as discerning as wine buffs when it came to the appreciation of artisanal products with provenance.
They joined their talents to bring their expertise for both beer and charcuterie together and founded Cleaver & Keg. Both are especially proud of the care and passion with which their products are made. Cleaver & Keg's focus is on premium cured meat snacks, 100% British meat that is salt cured, air-dried and richly-spiced to the highest standards.
The range comprises of:
Chorizo Slices – Rich and spicy 100% lean British pork, perfectly portioned into pop-them-in-your-mouth pieces.
Salami Slices – Herby little bites of lean air-dried 100% British pork. Blended with a subtle mix of fennel seed and spices, it's traditionally cured and air-dried.
Strips O'Beef – Warmly spiced little slivers of 100% British beef silverside. The beef is marinated in a warm mix of coriander seeds and black pepper then cured, hung, air-dried and thinly sliced.
Hot Strips O'Beef – Hot and spicy little slivers of 100% British beef silverside. Like the Strips O'Beef it's marinated in a warm mix of coriander seeds and black pepper with the added poky kick of Yorkshire Chilli jam.
Dan Searle said: "The reason we go to the pub has changed. It is no longer the place to down cheap booze in a slightly ropey environment, it is now the place to experience new and exciting flavours in an aspirational setting. We thought it was a crying shame that the default bar snack was a packet of crisps or peanuts. We didn't think that that was good enough for people who really care about their drinks – us included and wanted to give the pub goers of Great Britain the snack they deserve."


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Craig Harrison spoke to Pools PlayerHD following Saturday's defeat at Victoria Park.
The Pools boss refused to make any excuses after seeing his team beaten 2-0 by AFC Fylde and admitted that things have to improve quickly.
Pools PlayerHD subscribers can watch the full post-match interview with Craig Harrison right now.


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Electric fireplaces are perfect for homes, offices, waiting areas, commercial settings, and restaurants. Today's models feature clean lines, contemporary designs and finishes, and artistic lighting features.Read More
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Pump up your outdoor decor with these 9 inexpensive accents: Patio Umbrella, Outdoor Rug, Multi-functional Seating, Throw Pillows, Table Decor, Art, Planters, Lighting, Water Features.Read More
6 Simple Steps to Planning an Awesome Outdoor Area
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Introducing Avalon's 864™ family of linear gas fireplaces: 864 See-Thru, 864 TRV and 864 High OutputRead More
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We love the sleek, modern look of the Modena gas stove, from HearthStone's Contemporary Euro Collection.Read More
Plug and Play Electric Fireplaces: Ambiance in a Heartbeat
Flickering firelight instantly creates warmth and ambiance. Electric fireplaces make instant ambiance possible in rooms where you wouldn't expect to find fireplaces, such as kitchens, bathrooms and home offices. The nice thing about electric fireplace inserts is that no venting is required; you simply plug and play. Remote controls let you manage the fire from afar. Some fireplaces even play music from hand-held and streaming audio devices. Let's take a closer look at three electric fireplace inserts and three electric linear fireplaces, all manufactured locally in Mukilteo, WA by our friends at Fireplace Xtrordinair (FPX). Electric Fireplace Inserts 38 EI …Read More
Three Easy Steps to Designing Your Custom Fire Pit
Fire pits and fire tables by Oriflamme are popular because you can customize the components, from table tops to burners to fire glass. This article shows you how to design your own fire table.Read More
Versatile 11′ Patio Umbrella Shades Dining and Spa Areas
One of the best shade-providing patio umbrellas we've found is the 11′ Octagon – AKZ umbrella from Treasure Garden. At 117 inches tall (9.75 feet), this monster provides 100 square feet of shade.Read More


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Pakistan Expanding Nuclear Sites: Report
By Arun Kumar
Pakistan has expanded two sites crucial to its nuclear programme in an effort to boost the destructiveness of its nuclear arsenal as feared by US officials, a US arms control institute said on the basis of satellite photos.
The commercial images reveal a major expansion of a chemical plant complex near Dera Ghazi Khan that produces uranium hexafluoride and uranium metal, materials used to produce nuclear weapons, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said Wednesday.
Photos also suggest the Pakistanis "have added a second plutonium separation plant adjacent to the old one" at a site near Rawalpindi, the ISIS report said.
Pakistan in recent years also has been building two new plutonium production reactors.
"All together, these recent expansion activities indicate that Pakistan is indeed progressing in a strategic plan to improve the destructiveness and deliverability of its nuclear arsenal," the report said.
Pakistan has roughly 60 to 100 nuclear weapons that can be delivered by attack aircraft and ballistic missiles, the report added.
The expansion would enable Pakistan to build smaller, lighter plutonium-fission weapons and thermonuclear weapons that employ "plutonium as the nuclear trigger and enriched and natural enriched uranium in the secondary", it said.
The commercial photos of the chemical plant in Dera Ghazi Khan, taken Aug 25 last year, show new industrial buildings, new anti-aircraft installations and several new settling ponds as part of the expansion, ISIS said.
The satellite images follow confirmation from Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, Friday that Pakistan was expanding its nuclear arsenal. Mullen Monday claimed US military assistance to Pakistan was not being used by Islamabad to bolster its nuclear weapons programme.
Given turmoil in Pakistan with the army waging war against Taliban militants in the northwest, ISIS said the security of the country's "nuclear assets remains in question".
"An expansion in nuclear weapons production capabilities needlessly complicates efforts to improve the security of Pakistan's nuclear assets," it said.
The Dera Ghazi Khan nuclear site in the past several years has been the target of at least one attack by more than a dozen gunmen, the institute said, citing media reports. Nearby railway tracks have also been bombed.
The attacks have been blamed on separatists from the nearby Pakistani province of Balochistan and not the Taliban, the report said.
"The brazen ground assault and nearby bombings are nevertheless troubling considering the role that the Dera Ghazi Khan plant plays in Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme," it said.
The ISIS report urged the US government to persuade Pakistan to halt production of fissile material and join talks for a treaty that would ban the production of plutonium and highly enriched uranium.
Pak nuke arsenal worry for India, US: Obama
Press Trust of India, Wednesday May 20, 2009, Washington
President Barack Obama says that Pakistan's 'large' nuclear arsenal is a worry for India and the US especially at a time when terror outfits like Al-Qaida and Taliban are trying to get such weapons.
The President's comments coincided with the release of the latest satellite photos which revealed that Pakistan is multiplying its nuclear arsenal much beyond its present stable of 60 to 100 weapons and increasing their destructive power and deliverability system.
Obama also said it is "absolutely imperative" for the US to take the "leadership" in meeting the security challenges spawned by nuclear proliferation in the world "particularly at a time when countries like North Korea and Iran are in the process of developing nuclear weapons capacity.
At a time when we see a country like Pakistan with large nuclear arsenal on the other side of a long running conflict in the sub-continent with India. At a time when terrorist organisations like Al-Qaida are trying to seek fissile material."
Obama made the reference on potential threats to India and the US by Pakistan's nuke arsenal after an Oval Office meeting with former secretaries of state George P Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former Defence Secretary William Perry and former Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia on Tuesday.
"We do not want a world of continued nuclear proliferation and that in order for us to meet the security challenges in the future America has to take the leadership in this area," he added.
US pledges to end 'incoherent' policy towards Pak
Lalit K Jha/ PTI / Washington May 20, 2009, 13:06 IST
Promising to end "incoherent" US policy towards Pakistan, the Obama Administration has sought a "very clear and transparent" ties between the two countries.
Acknowledging that the US is responsible for the current mess in Pakistan as it quietly walked away from the country after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Obama administration's policies towards Islamabad would be qualitatively different.
"I think when we ask the question it is fair to apportion responsibility to the Pakistanis. But it's also fair for us to ask ourselves what we have done and how we have done it over all these years? And what role did we play in the situation that the Pakistanis currently confront?" she told reporters.
She was replying to a question on the billions of dollars that have been given to Pakistan in the past, but which have not yielded desired results for the US.
"I think that it is fair to say that our policy toward Pakistan over the last 30 years has been incoherent," She said, adding that she did not know any other word to use.
Clinton argued that the Obama Administration's approach towards Pakistan is qualitatively different than anything that has been tried before.
"It basically says, we support the democratically elected government but we have to have a relationship where we are very clear and transparent with one another," she said.
"We came in the '80s and helped to build up Mujahedeen to take on the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. The Pakistanis were our partners in that. Their security service and their military were encouraged and funded by the United States to create the Mujahedeen in order to go after the Soviet invasion and occupation," Clinton said.
After the Soviet Union fell in 1989, Clinton said, "We basically said-- thank you very much. We had all kinds of problems in terms of sanctions being imposed on the Pakistanis."
Their democracy was not secure and was constantly at risk of and often being overtaken by the military, which stepped in when it appeared that democracy could not work, she said.
Senators promise to take up Sikh cause with Pentagon
Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC
May 21, 2009 02:06 IST
Several US lawmakers, who attended the annual Sikh American Heritage Dinner on Capitol Hill, organized by the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, pledged to support the Sikh community's efforts to serve in the US armed forces without compromising their religious principles, and promised to bring this issue on the House floor to press the Pentagon [Images] be more flexible in its rules and admit Sikhs in the US military.
Speaking to nearly 250 Sikhs from across the country who attended the dinner, Congressman Ed Royce, the senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, said, "I will work to make sure that Sikhs are admitted to serve in the US armed forces without any restrictions."
Congressman Jim McDermott, the Democratic co-chair of the India Caucus, also said he would work toward bringing this issue on the House floor to press the Pentagon to change this rule and said, "Medical professionals in the military were told they had to shave their head and take off their turban, and I thought to myself, who in the world is in charge over in the Pentagon that made that decision? I know there have been discussions going on about the carrying of the symbolic dagger (kirpan) and all of the things that are part of Sikhism, but to say these people can't operate in the US military is just plain silly," he argued.
McDermott acknowledged that "I know there have been some difficult times and I am aware of the history of the Sikh community, but the fact is that it's important that we be allowed to be who we are, worship the way we want to, but not to have to choose, or be picked on or excluded on any basis. This country needs to be the place where everyone has the right to participate to the fullest extent possible in their life."
Last month,two Sikh American military recruits, both medical professionals already in the US Army, who had been denied the right to report for active duty in July unless they remove their turbans and cut their unshorn hair and beards, called on the Pentagon to allow them to serve their country without having to compromise their religious principles and remove their turbans and shave their beards.
Captain Kamaljit Singh Kalsi, a physician, and Second Lieutenant Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist, said that they had been assured by military recruiters that their turbans and unshorn hair "would not be a problem" when they were recruited to join the Army's Health Professionals Scholarship Program, which paid for their medical training in return for their military service.
Both had maintained their turbans, unshorn hair and beards throughout graduate school and during specialized Army training, and at Army ceremonies and while working in military medical facilities. But, now the Army was telling them that the recruiters' assurances were false and that they would have to forsake their religious practices if they want to go into active duty.
Kalsi said, "I was shocked to learn that the Army would go back on its promise, and tell me I would have to give up my faith in order to serve. There is nothing about my religion that stops me from doing my job. I know I can serve well without compromising my faith.I have trained in my profession as a medical doctor thanks to the assistance I received from the US Army," he said. "Now, I want to make sure that I give back to the country and the people who have invested so much in me.At a time when our troops need as much help as they can get, I cannot understand why the Army would want to keep me from serving.
"Today, I have children of my own," he said, and added, "As a father, I hope they achieve all their hopes and dreams. And, as an American, I hope they never have to choose between their religion and their country."
Rattan from New York City, while acknowledging that he was not born in the US, said, "this is now my home and I am an American, and our country was built by people like me, from different parts of the globe, from different races and religions.All of us came here trusting in the core principle of equality and that is the same right I am asking for today."
Rattan said, "As an immigrant, I hope that my desire to serve in the Army shows my commitment to my country. I am willing to lay down my life for America. In return, I ask only that my country respect my faith, an integral part of who I am. My turban and beard are not an option�they are an intrinsic part of me." He said that he had "been looking forward to my service since I first signed up," and lamented that "it is deeply unfair that the Army is now asking me to choose between my religion or my country. I know I can serve well without compromising my faith, just as thousands of Sikhs before me have done."
In 1981, the Army banned "conspicuous' religious articles of faith for its service members, and everything from a Cross for Christians or Star of David for Jews or a Crescent for Muslims or any other such article worn by US soldiers around their necks or anywhere else, had to be covered up so that they would not be seen. However, Sikhs and other soldiers belonging to other faiths who were part of the army before the 1981 rule change had their religious observances grandfathered. As a result, Colonel Arjinderpal Singh Sekhon, a physician, and Colonel G B Singh, a dentist--who were both at the press conference to support the campaign of Kalsi and Rattan--served in the Army with their turbans and unshorn hair and beards for over 25 years. Both men only retired within the last two years.
At the Heritage Dinner, McDermott reflected on his role in creating a hate-free zone in Seattle, the constituency he represents in the state of Washington, following an attack on a Sikh in the aftermath of 9/11. He said, "It is my belief that we are all one, although we may look different, or we may dress a little differently, or worship a little differently."
"Everywhere to go there are Sikh physicians in hospitals and operating all over the place, and suddenly the military gets into this thing that we are going to change that," McDermott said, and exhorted the audience to "come back to Washington,DC, be full participants in America, and never take a step back for anybody."
Royce, who last month was part of a Congressional delegation led by House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Howard Berman which also visited the Golden Temple [Images] in Amritsar [Images] during a trip to India, acknowledging the presence of Sikh in America in all professions and harking back to their advent over a 100 years ago to help his state California build its railroads, said, "If you look at who the Prime Minister of India is and who the first Asian Congressman (Dalip Singh Saund) is, your presence outnumbers your overall population both here and in India."
"It is astounding that 15 percent of the Indian Army [Images] is Sikh," he said, and added, "Leadership that your community has produced has left a mark and it continues to do so."
Royce, who was honored with the Bhagat Singh Thind Award by SCORE, said, "I want to acknowledge what you contribute to his country. Your stress on honesty, hard work and generosity is something of tremendous value and you have been mentors to many Americans." He spoke of his visit to the Golden Temple and recalled how "very fulfilling it was and where I observed the incredible vitality there and you see that also in the fields in Punjab [Images]." Royce said, "We have to do more to explain to people in America and the world, about who the Sikhs are. Many Americans might think India is a Hindu nation, but it is also important to explain how much diversity there is and how Sikhs have contributed even though you are only two percent of the population."
"Wherever you reside, I and a lot of Americans will work to make sure that Sikhs are admitted to serve in the US armed forces without any restrictions," he pledged.
India, US, Israel monitor Pak via satellites: Report
Rediff News Bureau
May 20, 2009 19:31 IST
Even as the Pakistani Army continues its offensive against the Taliban [Images], a top Pakistani daily has reported on its web site that Indian, American, Israeli and French satellites have been secretly monitoring the region, taking images of suspected nuclear sites of Pakistan (particularly the Khushab reactor site) and exchanging collected intelligence with each other.
The Pakistan Observer reported Tuesday that officials in Islamabad [Images] are upset over this high level of international scrutiny, and allege that India and Israel have expanding nuclear and thermo-nuclear projects that are being allowed to grow unchecked.
The report states that a recently launched Indian satellite -- Cartosat 2-A -- has been sending telemetry data of the region to the Indian Space Research Organisation's Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. It adds that another Indian satellite -- IMS-1, which is equipped with a multi-spectral camera -- is in the region and able to send down high quality imagery to ISRC.
Another Indian angle to the story is that the Israeli satellite TecSAR, which was specially designed as a reconnaissance satellite, and which was launched by India in January 2008, has reportedly been taking pictures of Pakistani and Iranian nuclear sites and sharing them. In addition to the India-launched TecSAR, Israel has another satellite monitoring the area.
According to The Pakistan Observer, the United States, Britain, France [Images] and Russia [Images] are together maintaining more than a dozen military satellites, all designed to monitor and capture images of suspected nuclear and military sites.
Finally, it's not only nation-sates getting involved. Companies with private satellites in orbit have made available for commercial sale images of sensitive buildings and areas, the Observer reports. Some of these private pictures are of premium quality -- and 'cost buyers up to $200 (Rs 9,500) per square kilometer of imagery, plus an extra $3,000 (Rs 1.43 lakh) for quick turnaround work'. Western news media agencies often pay as much as $500 per picture or image, the Observer reports.
Also being shared among the international military community are photos of sensitive areas and establishments, taken by European photo-reconnaissance planes, including France's Mirage IV-P and Britain's Canberra PR-9. Plus, Pakistani officials fear that Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles have been used to capture particularly remote and well-defended sites, the report states. It goes on to assert that a few years back, the Pakistani Air Force had shot down an Israeli UAV that was being operated by the Indian Air Force over Pakistani territory.
Much of this international scrutiny has come about following rumours that Pakistan's nuclear programme has been expanded in recent years. Though the Western media has featured many stories to this effect, including a detailed report recently shown by MSNBC, experts in Pakistan have denied the veracity of such reports.
Who says Pune is not in NDA... five selected
Though the percentage of Marathi students, selected for National Defence Academy (NDA), has been increasing slightly for last 4-5 years, it is North Indian states that dominate the merit lists. The trend continues this year too. But there is a relief for Pune this year, as five students from the city have been selected for the NDA stamping out the notion that "NDA is in Pune, but Pune is not in NDA."
Allan Nagesh (49- Air Force), Akshay Morab (129-Air Force), Utkarsha Tarte (174-Air Force), Kaushal Pednekar (203-Air Force) and Vidyadhar Shelar (459-Army) from Pune made it to the merit list of the NDA. In the last five years, the number of students from Pune making it to NDA has been constant with four to five students clearing the tough entrance test every year. The total tally of students from Maharashtra making it to NDA is around 30 or ten per cent of the total intake.
Grab your US Army-issue iPod touch, soldier!
by Dave Caolo on May 19th 2009
Contemporary soldiers are fighting what Newsweek calls "Networked Warfare." Portable electronic devices and other equipment keep them connected to each other, weapons systems and real-time intelligence where ever they may be. In Iraq, the iPod touch is finding a role with the US military.
In one scenario, touches with language software have replaced much pricier translation units. In fact, soldiers are finding that iPods can replace several devices, lessening the burden of gear that must be carried around. Indian development firm Next Wave Systems is reportedly developing a system that would allow a soldier to receive intelligence almost instantly from a picture snapped with the iPod. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Defense is developing software that will let soldiers monitor video from aerial drones.
As for the iPod's durability, Newsweek reports that it's held up to military life with the proper outer casing. What's more, most of today's soldiers have used or already own an iPod touch, so training time can be kept to a minimum.
At one point, the article notes that, "Apple devices make it easy to shoot, store and play video." Of course, neither the iPhone nor iPod touch we all know can shoot video, though it's possible the Newsweek author is thinking of another Apple product (or just maybe there's a milspec iPhone that does video in advance of the 3.0 release). It's interesting to see a consumer product being used in such an important role. Good luck and be safe to everyone who lifts one in service.
Indo-Bangla Relation: A Strategic Analysis
Shah Mohammed Saifuddin - 5/20/2009
The independence movement under the leadership of Congress was for establishing independent undivided India through the eviction of British rulers from the soil of India, but the degeneration of Hindu-Muslim relation into hostility and the demand of Muslim league for a separate state for the Muslims of the region thwarted the dream of an independent undivided India and made the partition of subcontinent inevitable. While the initial proposal for the partition met with steep resistance as most of the senior leaders of Congress namely, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawharlal Nehru, and Moulana Abul Kalam Azad vehemently protested such proposal and termed it as British conspiracy to divide India, the Congress finally gave its nod of approval in the fear that outright rejection of the partition proposal might be used by the British colonial rulers against the independence movement to perpetuate their political domination over the country, and in the hope that with a small resource base, peculiar geographic reality that separates both the wings of the country by one thousand miles and paucity of leaders with political experience, Pakistan would not survive too long and would return to India in the end.
There is no surprise that partition of India came as a shock to Congress leaders and that they could never reconcile themselves to the idea of an independent Pakistan because their freedom struggle was for undivided India, and therefore, they wanted to roll back the geographical changes made to Indian subcontinent through partition and their intention was clearly demonstrated to Pakistan from the very beginning, which gave rise to a plethora of problem and a paucity of trust between the two nations.
What Pakistan needed in those formative years was national unity and balanced development in the two wings to ensure security and progress to consolidate its position as a powerful nation in the subcontinent to thwart Indian attempt to undo the partition. But the then Pakistani leaders' myopic failure to recognize Bengalis as equal partners and give them due share of political power and economic resource caused widespread resentment among the East Pakistanis, which was cunningly used by India against Pakistan in the subsequent years. The Indian political leaders in later years used their diplomatic channels and intelligence agencies to cultivate close relations with East Pakistani political establishment in order to involve themselves in almost all political movements in East Pakistan to use the prevailing sense of deprivation among East Pakistanis to their own political advantage and instigate East Pakistanis against West Pakistanis to accelerate the process of disintegration of Pakistan firstly, to weaken it and then to bring it back to India's lap through various political machinations to realize the dream of undivided India.
No amount of political negotiations between the two wings could improve the situation in Pakistan due, mainly, to the stubbornness of West Pakistanis, which gave rise to increasing sense of alienation and deprivation among the people of East Pakistan and finally when Sheikh Mujib was denied the premiership in 1970, Bengalis decided to get out of the relationship once and for all. So, for the first time and certainly for the last time in history, the disintegration of Pakistan became a common goal for both India and the Bengalis as the former wanted to break Pakistan to realize its vision of undivided India and the latter wanted to establish a separate independent nation to rid themselves of an insensitive and repressive political regime.
As soon as the Pakistani army cracked down on the unarmed East Pakistanis, India, under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, took bold steps to help the Bengalis in their just struggle for independence against the fascist regime of Yahya Khan. The Indira government set their objectives to do the following things to ensure a desired outcome in the war for both Indians and East Pakistanis:
1. To give safe passage to top Awami League leaders to India and help form Mujibnagar government
2. To help form Mukti Bahini and provide necessary training and weapons
3. To form Mujib Bahini as an alternative force and use them in special operations
4. To provide asylum to ten million refugees from East Pakistan
5. To launch a vigorous diplomatic campaign worldwide through its foreign services to garner support for East Pakistan's just struggle for freedom
6. To use its military and intelligence resources to the extent possible to help freedom fighters sustain a prolonged war against the powerful Pakistan army
India never lost sight of its strategic goal
Some people may argue that India's decision to help in 1971 was based purely on humanitarian grounds, but the reality is that India's decision to extend its wholehearted support to Bangladesh's liberation war was a premeditated one and was primarily based on its own strategic goal of disintegrating Pakistan to undo the changes made through partition. Former Indian foreign secretary Mr. Dixit said, "We helped in the liberation of Bangladesh in mutual interest, it was not a favor," and a senior RAW intelligence officer said, "Bangladesh was the result of a 10 year long promotion of dissatisfaction against the rulers of Pakistan" (RAW: Top-Secret Failures, p: 5 ). These statements from two top former Indian government officials are testament to the fact that Indian help for Bangladesh was not an altruistic one, rather it was for implementing India's own strategic goal of disintegrating Pakistan and that the intelligence agencies of India were also engaged in fomenting unrest in East Pakistan. With their strategic goals in mind, India concluded a seven point agreement with the Mujibnagar government to seal the fate of a negotiated settlement between East and West Pakistan, and to cripple Bangladesh by depriving it of its sovereign right to raise a standing army and to independently formulate foreign policy. Now, for the benefit of the readers let me briefly describe the points of 'seven point agreement':
1. Bangladesh government will select only those people for administrative posts who have actively participated in the liberation war and any shortfall therein will be filled by the Indian government officials.
2. A joint force will be formed comprising of the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini and this force will be placed under the command of the chief of staff of the Indian army who will lead the liberation war.
3. Bangladesh will have no standing army
4. India will help raise a paramilitary force to protect the internal law and order of the country.
5. Open market will be the basis for trade relation between the two nations and this arrangement will be subject to periodical review.
6. The Indian army will be stationed in Bangladesh for an indefinite period of time but the time frame for their gradual withdrawal will be determined through annual meetings between the two governments.
7. Bangladesh will formulate its foreign policy only in consultation with India.
The conclusion of the seven point agreement only ensured that the Mujibnagar government would continue the war until Bangladesh gained full independence from Pakistan, but it did not give the guarantee that China and America would not intervene in the event the Indian army directly involved itself in the war. So, the Indira government approached to former Soviet Union to extract security guarantee against impending Chinese and American threats and it was made available to them in the shape of '25 year friendship treaty' by the erstwhile Soviet Union, which was also seeking to play greater role in the subcontinent to expand its own sphere of influence.
The signing of the seven point treaty with Mujib Government and the 25 year friendship treaty with the Soviets removed all obstacles for the Indian forces to directly intervene in East Pakistan and it took them less than two weeks to overrun the defensive positions of the Pakistan army, which was already exhausted by a nine month long guerrilla war against Mukti Bahini and was at the final stages of disintegration and collapse. At the end of the war, Bangladesh got its much cherished independence and India could break Pakistan into two pieces for which it had been scheming since 1947.
Bangladesh steps into a strategic trap
While the public of Bangladesh, in general, and the Mujib government, in particular, was extremely grateful to India for her help and support in the war of liberation and wanted to maintain the best possible relationship with the Indian people, the political and military establishment of India had already done their strategic planning in line with the seven point agreement to reduce Bangladesh's relevance as an independent nation through limiting her power to formulate national policies. The strategic trap was set for Bangladesh in the form of '25 year friendship treaty' which took away most, if not all, options for Bangladesh to independently establish foreign, defense, and economic relations with other nations in the world. I would like to briefly mention a few clauses of the '25 year friendship treaty' that had a deleterious effect on our foreign, defense, and economic interests:
• Article 4: Both the nations will hold regular meetings with each other at all levels to discuss major international issues for mutual benefit.
• Article 5: Both the nations will cooperate with each other in the fields of trade, transport and communications on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and the most favored nation principle.
• Article 8: None of the nations will ever enter into a military alliance against each other and will refrain from allowing a third party from using their soil for military purposes that could constitute a threat to national security of either nations.
• Article 9: Both the nations will refrain from providing any assistance to a third party taking part in an armed conflict against either of the nations to ensure regional peace and security.
• Article 10: Neither of the party will undertake any commitment, secret or open, toward one or more states, which may violate the spirit of the treaty.
Article 4 practically eliminated Bangladesh's power to devise an independent foreign policy and made it compulsory for Bangladesh to consult India about any major foreign policy matter.
Article 5 forced Bangladesh to confer most favored nation status on India to clear the way for India to capture Bangladesh's economic market without any restrictions, but Bangladesh being a smaller economy was unable to avail itself of the opportunities of most favored nation status.
Article 8 ensured that if there was a military conflict between Bangladesh and India, Bangladesh, as a weaker power, could not seek help from outside world to protect its territorial integrity.
Article 9 was included to protect India's strategic interest in its insurgency infested North Eastern states by imposing restrictions on Bangladesh to provide help and support to the insurgents, but India itself broke the sanctity of this clause by providing military and political assistance to Shanti Bahini in Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Article 10 restricted Bangladesh's power to sign a defense deal with a third party to improve its armed forces.
By dint of this treaty India was able to diminish Bangladesh's power to protect herself and the right to establish political and economic relations with other nations independently and consequently became the de-facto power over Bangladesh to whom the new born country had to depend for her security and economic development only to lose her relevance as a sovereign nation. Thus the entrapment of Bangladesh was complete.
Political change in 1975 and new equation in Indo-Bangla relationship
After the independence, the war ravaged country needed solid leadership with political maturity to overcome the seemingly insurmountable problems created by nine month long war of liberation and steer the nation to build a society free from corruption, deprivation and exploitation through creating national unity, establishing rule of law, strengthening democratic institutions, and creating economic opportunities for the people. Unfortunately, within three years of its rule, the new government banned all but four state owned national newspapers, dissolved the parliament to create one party rule, put incompetent party men in different state owned industrial establishments, neglected and humiliated the military, raised an alternative security agency to suppress oppositions that destroyed all hopes for the new born country to establish democracy and attain economic self sufficiency. This created widespread discontent throughout the country which resulted in a military coup in 1975 to end the rule of this unpopular regime.
The new government was installed and gradually undertook plethora of measures to restore law and order of the country, to bring back discipline in economic sector, to lift ban on national newspapers and political parties, to increase budgetary allocation for the defense forces, and to change foreign policy direction to establish close and productive relationships with China, the U.S.A., Europe, and the Middle Eastern countries so as to diminish Indian influence over the nation created through signing of the controversial 25 year friendship treaty. The inevitable result of such a drastic measure by the new government of Bangladesh was confrontation with India which saw it as an attempt to challenge its supremacy in the region and considered it a security, political, and strategic threat from a country which it helped gain independence from Pakistan. Strategically Bangladesh was too important for India to let it slip off her radar so they adopted a new set of strategies to keep Bangladesh within her sphere of influence in light of new political reality. The next section of this article will discuss the strategic importance of Bangladesh and elaborate the strategies India had undertaken to get a firm hold on Bangladesh.
Shah Mohammed Saifuddin is the founder of Bangladesh Strategic & Development Forum.
Let's call Pakistan's bluff
India should move its forces back from the border to do away with Pakistan's so-called 'India threat'
Nitin Pai and Sushant K. Singh
The Pakistani military establishment is under severe pressure from the US to stop sponsoring jihadi militant groups, on the one hand, and to actually join the fight against them, on the other. Now, even in the unlikely event that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency decides to dismantle its jihadi connections, the army will still find it impossible to purposefully prosecute a counter-insurgency war against the Taliban. Why? Because the dominant belief among Pakistani military personnel—across the ranks—is that it is the US that is the real enemy and the Taliban are righteous fighters for the Islamic cause. One has only to imagine what a brigade commander would say to his troops to motivate them to fight their compatriots to realize that the Pakistan army is incapable of fighting the Taliban.
In a way, those who argue that the Pakistan army lacks the capacity to fight this war are right; but this is a lack of capacity that no amount of night-vision goggles and helicopter gunships can ameliorate. And this unpalatable reality is obfuscated behind the India bogey—the pretence that the Pakistan army could do much better against the Taliban if only it didn't have to defend itself from its much stronger adversary to its east.
If the "India threat" were to recede, Pakistan—and for that matter the US—will have no more excuses left to avoid having to do what is necessary. New Delhi should, therefore, call Pakistan's bluff by mounting what we propose to call Operation Markarap.
First, the new Union government, at the highest levels, must categorically declare that Pakistan need not fear an Indian military attack so long as the Pakistan army is engaged in a battle against the Taliban. Now, such a verbal commitment might not convince the military brass in Rawalpindi, but it is likely to play well in Washington. It will take the wind out of the sails of Pakistan's American apologists by depriving them of their strongest and seemingly plausible argument.
Second, India should move back some of the army strike formations currently deployed in Rajasthan and Punjab. Such a bold, strategic move will not only make India's verbal assurances credible, but will also immediately result in irresistible pressure on the Pakistan army to commit more of its troops to the western border. According to our rough estimate, the Pakistan army can shift around 150,000 troops to its western front without lowering its presence along the Line of Control.
Since the risk of Pakistani armoured columns rolling into India is not serious at this time, India can easily afford to move several divisions of its strike corps away from the border to more inland positions. Such military movements can be accomplished without affecting border security. Indeed, this is where India can exploit the existence of nuclear weapons to its advantage—for nuclear deterrence makes such strategic moves possible by lowering the risk of a conventional war. And even if the Pakistan army irrationally tries to exploit the Indian move by launching a conventional attack along the border, it will be hopelessly isolated internationally, not to mention at serious risk of yet another military defeat at the hands of the Indian Armed Forces. In the nearly seven years since Operation Parakram—the military build-up after the December 2001 attack on Parliament—the Indian Army has improved its mobility sufficiently to be able to quickly rebuff a foolhardy invasion.
Pakistan will have no more excuses left to avoid what is necessary for fighting the Taliban
Third, India should proceed with the normalization process in Jammu and Kashmir that includes reducing the visible presence of security forces in population centres. At the same time, this should be accompanied by greater vigilance along the Line of Control to prevent the infiltration of jihadi militants. It is conceivable that the Pakistani military jihadi complex will attempt to heighten tensions with India by increasing the tempo of terrorist attacks in Kashmir—as well as other parts of India—in a bid to maintain its alibi. An analysis of the reports of infiltration attempts this year suggests that the jihadis are exploring non-traditional, harder routes in northern Kashmir. This calls for the Indian Army to change its post-Kargil posture from merely holding the heights to proactively curbing jihadi movements in the valley.
Finally, Indian diplomacy must extract maximum advantage— mainly in Washington, but also in other capitals—by signalling India's invaluable role in helping the international community solve its "migraine". It is important to remember that there will be four, if not eight, more years of the Obama administration. Cooperating on the Afghanistan-Pakistan (Af-Pak) problem will provide a positive basis for engaging it and will provide India with greater leverage in negotiations over other contentious issues.
Given that what passes for Pakistan policy is an astonishingly trivial game of dossiers-and-lawsuits, India won't be worse off by mounting Operation Markarap, a Parakram in reverse. By calling Pakistan's bluff, India can shorten the time it will take for the Obama administration to realize that Af-Pak can only be solved by dismantling Pakistan's military-jihadi complex.
Nitin Pai and Sushant K. Singh are editors of Pragati—The Indian National Interest Review, a publication on strategic affairs, public policy and governance. Comment at email@example.com


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- There are 48,000 people living with dementia in Ireland. This figure is expected to grow exponentially over the coming years and if current trends continue there will be 132,000 people with dementia by 2041.
- Improving dementia services is an essential part of political and social reform in Ireland. The quality of dementia services has a major impact on us all. It is a major constituency issue and must be a political priority.
- The Programme for Government must include a specific reference to action and investment on dementia.
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A home is a place of comfort, sanctuary, and escape. As such, any individual would require that their ideal home be a representation of exactly what they envision. Creating such a space is every person's dream.
Some homes can be designed and constructed, while others can be bought ready-made. For the latter, it is possible to find a home with a design as well as amenities that you would desire in your dream home. However, it is nearly impossible to find a ready-made home that represents exactly what you require down to the last windowpane. For this reason, some individuals choose to remodel or reconstruct parts of their purchased homes in order to design it to suit their own tastes.
One of the most remodeled parts of ready-made homes tends to be the kitchen, with the master bedroom and its bathroom coming at a close second. The kitchen is the area of the home that is used thoroughly each day several time a day, for an array of work. Whether it's preparing a simple breakfast sandwich or cooking a five course dinner, a kitchen suited to your needs and preferences is always best.
Pantry cabinets
A significant element in any kitchen or pantry is its cabinets and countertops. Cabinets should be selected and installed to match and suit the general theme and color scheme of the home, and blend seamlessly into the kitchen walls so as to provide maximum space for movement. They should also be large enough to hold all the necessary kitchen equipment. Wooden cabinets are usually the best option. Professional kitchen fixture companies will install the cabinets for you in the way you prefer it.
Air circulation
Proper air circulation is crucial for a kitchen, as the kitchen area tends to gather smoke and can be dangerous. An exhaust system can be installed in your pantry or kitchen to combat this problem. It is important to invest in kitchen exhaust cleaning by a professional at least once a year to ensure that oil and dust gathered in it does not inhibit its functioning.
For safety purposes, a smoke alarm should also be installed in the kitchen, to prevent any dangerous accidents.
Flooring and splash back
The floors of a kitchen or pantry should provide sufficient grip and must not be slippery. For this reason, slippery tiles such as linoleum may not be suitable for a kitchen floor. Hard wood or terracotta flooring would provide grip and safety. Your kitchen also requires splash backs to protect your walls form stains and discoloring. These may be selected to match the colour palette of the rest of the kitchen.


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Independence Day Resurgence earns better than Raman Raghav 2.0 and Junooniyat
In a seemingly low-scoring weekend, Hollywood release, Independence Day Resurgence, took home a greater piece of the first weekend pie than new releases Raman Raghav 2.0, Junooniyat and 7 Hours To Go. On the bright side, Udta Punjab managed to clear a milestone in its second weekend, even as TE3N and Finding Dory look to wrap up their box-office stint.
Independence Day Resurgence got a solid start over its Bollywood contemporaries as it registered a 40 per cent occupancy rate in the early shows on Friday. By the end of day one, the film earned Rs 4.70 crore. ComeSaturday, the film witnessed a growth in numbers, with the day-end total reaching Rs 5.80 crore. The trend of growth continued on Sunday as well, with Rs 6.40 crore added to the kitty. With Rs 16.90 crore in earnings thus far, Independence Day Resurgence can look to earn big through the week, likely closing week one collections close to Rs 25 crore.
Raman Raghav 2.0 managed to scrape an average performance out of its box-office numbers. Beginning Friday on a low note, the film registered an opening day total of Rs 1.10 crore. This was followed by figures of Rs 1.40 crore on Saturday and Rs 1.48 crore on Sunday. With a first weekend total of Rs 3.98 crore, Raman Raghav is likely to struggle through its first week in theatres.
Junooniyat managed even poorer numbers than Raman Raghav 2.0. Starting its weekend with a total of Rs 55 lakhs on Friday, the film saw no growth in earnings over the weekend and added similar figures on Saturday and Sunday. Having earned approximately Rs 2 crore in its first weekend, Junooniyat is unlikely to make it beyond the first week, with a run of dismal figures on the cards.
Films like 7 Hours To Go couldn"t move past the 25-lakhs barrier on day one and didn"t register box-office numbers to write home about.
Of the releases entering their second week, Udta Punjab came away with a better deal than Finding Dory.
Witnessing a drop of close to 80 per cent, Udta Punjab"s second Friday figures stood at Rs 1.40 crore, which was followed by growing numbers of Rs 2.10 crore on Saturday and Rs 2.35 crore on Sunday. With Rs 5.85 crore collected from the second weekend, Udta Punjab"s total collections stand at Rs 54.35 crore so far. Having crossed the 50-crore mark, Udta Punjab is headed for a low-scoring week, likely closing collections at Rs 60 crore at the end of the second week. But the film has registered a fair performance overseas, earning Rs 13.85 crore thus far, taking the worldwide total up to Rs 68.20 crore.
Finding Dory has been enjoying a steady run at the box-office thus far. Opening week two with Rs 33 lakhs in earnings on Friday, the film"s collections picked up the pace over the weekend, earning Rs 79 lakhs and Rs 89 lakhs on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. With a second weekend total of Rs 2.01 crore, the film"s overall total stands at Rs 9.29 crore thus far, with a possibility to earn Rs 12 crore by the end of the week.
Nearing the end of its box-office run, Amitabh Bachchan-starrer TE3N managed to make it through its third weekend, despite a low-scoring second week, which ended with a total of Rs 2.25 crore in hand. The film reopened its till on Friday to earn Rs 6 lakhs, which was followed by Rs 10 lakhs on Saturday and Rs 13 lakhs on Sunday. Having collected Rs 18.88 crore in the last 17 days, the film is headed for a lifetime total of Rs 20 crore domestically. With overseas earnings of Rs 6.96 crore thus far, the overall collections for TE3N stand at Rs 24.84 crore so far, which is an average total for a film of its stature.


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September Meeting
{Artwork by Happily Handmade by Mary}
Our first official meeting for 2017-2018 at The Broad Street Grind on September 25 was a great success. We had a wonderful guest speaker from Souderton High School and five new local guests who joined us for dinner. This is going to be a great year with a more fitting location for our club. We're so happy to be in the community for our meetings and appreciate everyone at The Broad Street Grind for having us.
Our wonderful guest Elise from Souderton High School presented club president Nancy with the new Poetry for Social Change book. Local poets and students are featured and were speakers at this year's Souderton Art Jam in the park.
Our wonderful guests that joined us for our first meeting, thanks ladies! We hope to see you again!
Our next meeting is October 23rd; same place, same time! Check our events page for more details!


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Brevity is the Soul of Wit
It is the rare blog post that forces me to scroll. Blogging is content snacking, not content feasting. I can read an average blog post in well under a minute. Have you ever read a five page blog post?
Vloggers get it (most of them...).
Rocketboom: 3 minutes. ZeFrank: 4 minutes. Wallstrip: 4 minutes. Scoble tends to ramble a bit but even he seems to be getting better. Now, this may be an unintended consequence of YouTube wanting to keep their backend and copyright risks under control, which led them to limit the length of clips, but online video people tend not to be too verbose.
Attention spans have never been shorter.
So why, oh why, do podcasters insist on making 30-minute, 60-minute or even 90-minute shows? Have a point, make the point, support the point. Edit mercilessly.
Since programming is streamed on the FoneShow platform, we have very specific data about how many listeners are sticking around and for how long. After about 10 minutes, chances are you're talking to yourself.


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INDIANAPOLIS – The final weekend before Indiana's May 3 primary is filled with a blitz of candidates and campaign stops.
"The people here in the Hoosier state are at a crossroads and you have a very clear choice," Carly Fiorina said at a rally in Plainfield Saturday, the vice presidential candidate should Ted Cruz win the nomination.
Indiana is widely seen as a must-win for the Cruz campaign, which is focusing squarely on its mounting task to deny Donald Trump the GOP nomination before the party convention in Cleveland.
"The truth is Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are two sides of the same coin," Fiorina said. "Hillary Clinton is a typical politician who has made millions selling access and influence, and Donald Trump has made his billions buying people like Hillary Clinton. He will not fight for us. He is the system."
Trump was off the campaign trail Saturday, but has scheduled rallies Sunday in Terre Haute and Fort Wayne.
The GOP front-runner will also be in Carmel Monday for a 4 p.m. rally at The Center for Performing Arts.
Early voting, which ends Monday, is up in Marion County.
Election officials reported Saturday night in-person early voting is up 93 percent from this time in 2012 and up 14 percent than this time in 2008.
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton will be in Indianapolis Sunday, attending a get out the vote event at 12:30 p.m. at Douglass Park Gymnasium.
Saturday, former President Bill Clinton campaigned across Indiana, including a stop in Kokomo talking to a group of United Auto workers.
"Hello Kokomo, I'm glad to be here," Clinton said. "She's got the best record of actually getting people together to make something happen."
Cruz was in California Saturday.
Fiorina and Heidi Cruz have a planned rally Sunday afternoon in Lafayette.
"You go tell your friends here in the Hoosier state because indeed Hoosiers now are at a crossroads," Fiorina said. "And you have a choice. You have a choice."
Click here for all the presidential campaign events in Indiana on Sunday.


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Colors: Black, Blue, Dark Gray and White
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Reworking your rest room will be a simple approach to add value to an older residence or change the look of a newer house. When test-fitting, simulate finished ground and wall surfaces to get the clearances proper. At $one hundred sixty, it's an inexpensive, useful approach to make a room feel more spacious. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you would spend $thirteen,000 to greater than $20,000 on a master lavatory transform to make it an oasis.
I just had my lavatory reworked to the cost of $14,000. I bought my supplies for my bathrooms merchandise by item as a result of I could afford the acquisition in that method. Our rest room design is the proper resolution for the outdated, heavily used, small bathroom which you could by no means quite get clean sufficient.
Nonetheless, it is onerous work because I had a heavy, cast iron tub removed and am putting in a lighter, acryllic one. Since this text is referenced to a small lavatory, the costs here are means too high for labor except you are in Manhattan.
On average, a rest room reworking job will value you around twice as a lot as the materials cost you. A small rest room ought to price you $1-2k labor for reframing, concrete board, tile, toilet, vainness and equipment install. Until you're DIYing your renovation, you may use a general contractor (GC) or contract out the work yourself.
Medium ($forty six,000 to $75,000): The low-cost upgrades above, plus a total kitchen renovation and minor rest room upgrade. A toilet remodel is often a lengthy challenge, and thus a contractor may ask for money in advance of the work being began and after completion of particular milestones along the way.


text: Summation NotationSummation Notation is a mathematical notation for finding the sum of the terms of any sequence. The mathematical symbol for summation is the Greek letter sigma, . In the previous book we used the following example to denote the sum of the first five terms of a sequence: . The notation that describes the summation of the first term through the fifth term of a sequence is . Therefore, .


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Rob Gronkowski is flexing a different kind of muscle these days: his brain.
The outrageous NFL star is set to make an appearance on "Celebrity Family Feud" later this month, and judging by the previews Gronk still isn't ready to talk Deflategate.
When quizzed by host Steve Harvey about an object that can either be inflated or deflated, the tight end slams on the buzzer before claiming "I don't even want this one."
This isn't the first time Gronk has deflected talk about the Patriots' ball-tampering scandal. In fact, his "responses" get more and more ridiculous for every time he's asked.
Warning: Gronking is the real deal.
Sometimes it only takes 140 characters or less to make a statement. Case in point: Gronkowski's Deflategate rebuttal on Day 1 of the scandal on the day after the Patriots defeated the Colts in the AFC Championship Game.
Are you drunk, Mr. President?
Not many people can insult the leader of the free world and get away with it — unless your name happens to be Rob Gronkowski. While celebrating New England's Super Bowl win at the White House in April, President Obama hopped on the Deflategate bandwagon by taking a swipe at the Patriots. Clearly upset over a Chicago Bears devotee insulting Tom Brady, Gronk made sure to hit back at Obama when asked about his partying ways.
"Maybe the President was getting wasted from his Deflategate joke," Gronk cracked. "We're still wondering as an organization about that."
Gronk: 1, Obama: 0
Flex this.
If you're looking to get a glimpse of Gronk's bulging biceps, all you have to do is ask — about Deflategate, that is.
No more questions. Please.
Articulate and Gronk aren't two words that typically go together, but the upstate New York native attempts to be just that during an interview with "SportsCenter" in May. Instead of promoting the release of Madden 2016 — while pushing to be the cover star — Gronk is hit with numerous questions surrounding the Deflategate punishment, which proves to be too much for the Super Bowl champ to handle.
"Whoa . . . These are a lot of questions," he says. "I thought we were here for a cover vote."
No, Gronk. Not this time.


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The American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (AmCham) officially opened its expanded office at Shaw Centre in Orchard Rd yesterday.
The chamber, which has expanded into two units adjacent to its original office, said the larger office signalled its confidence in the growth of the American business community here. It said it was not looking to increase its headcount of 17 full-time staff.
AmCham, which helps its members network with government and business partners, has around 5,000 members representing more than 750 companies. It said it was the largest foreign business chamber here.
The United States Ambassador to Singapore Kirk Wagar said on the sidelines of the opening ceremony that Singapore played a unique and pivotal role in helping American companies expand into the region.
Many American companies often invested through Singapore into regional countries that were "not as evolved" in their legal systems, because of Singapore's "stability, transparency and rule of law", he noted.
Many investors also relied on knowledge from Singaporeans or Singapore firms to invest in China, Indonesia and India.
"Singapore is the single largest foreign direct investor into three most attractive yet complicated markets in the world - China, Indonesia and India," Mr Wagar said.
"So to (invest in these markets) you either do it as an American company with Singaporean employees to help you with insight, or you partner in a strategic relationship with a Singapore company. Where else can you do that?"
Mr Wagar noted that the US invested more in Singapore than Japan, Australia and China combined for these reasons. As at last year, the value of the US' investment in Singapore stood at US$179 billion (S$257 billion).
He said that firms in knowledge industries such as Google, Facebook and Amazon would find Singapore attractive because their intellectual property would be protected.


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google.com, pub-5782989497027414, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0
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