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If you do not have access to the beta forum but want to participate in upcoming beta, please send an email to JAMES AT pocosystems DOT com stating your forum username, product beta and your license code for that product.
As a general rule, once an application is released only registered users of the given application will be granted access to the corresponding beta. In addition, we may not be able to grant access to everyone. However, we will consider each request. Thanks.

subset: commoncrawl


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Utterly predictable (as evidenced by the fact that I did predict it): three major advertising groups have announced that they will ignore the "Do Not Track" header, because of Microsoft's decision to enable it by default in IE 10.
How could anyone have failed to see this coming? Advertisers were perfectly willing to honor DNT as long as it was enabled only by the small population of users who care about tracking cookies. Now (at least among IE 10 users) they'd be restricted to tracking only the even tinier population of users who actually volunteer for tracking cookies.
Unless Microsoft changes their decision, they will have effectively killed DNT. The only way to revive it would be to legislatively require that it be honored (and I fully expect Steve Gibson to endorse that approach). The result could fundamentally undermine the viability of current online advertising business models, which could put a lot of Web sites out of business — or force them behind paywalls.
I generally accept the premise that Microsoft is not run by idiots, so I'm baffled by why they would do this, when the consequences were so foreseeable. The only explanation I can think of sounds like a conspiracy theory: perhaps it's all a ploy to undermine their biggest competitor, Google. Google has a lot more to lose than Microsoft, if advertisers are compelled to respect DNT. Perhaps they know that by forcing the issue, they'll make legislative action more likely, and by making DNT the default, they'll be taking money out of Google's pocket.
At any rate, I'm just glad I don't use IE. I like targeted advertising.


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The minimum wage in New York City is the federal rate of $7.25 an hour, or a full-time salary of about $15,000 a year. The minimum wage is not earned only by teenagers working part-time. In fact, many people earning this low wage are breadwinners supporting kids.
Who can possibly support a family in the country's most expensive city on that amount?
Mayor Bloomberg's New York City Center for Economic Opportunity sets the city's poverty threshold for a single parent with one child at $21,000, and with two children at $25,000.
If we are serious about narrowing the wealth gap, we need to have the courage to pay all people a livable minimum wage. Because of New York's high cost of living, the effective minimum wage here is less than $4, the lowest in the country.
New York City should adopt a minimum wage of $11.50 an hour, phased in over five years and then pegged to the Consumer Price Index. This will help single-parent families with either one or two children stay above water and bolster the city's economy, because almost every one of those dollars will be spent locally.
We realize that many nonprofits that provide important social services under city contracts will be impacted by this change. These contracts would be reviewed and adjusted as appropriate.
More than 20 percent of workers who live in Queens now earn less than $11.50 an hour.
I support and applaud our leaders in Albany who are working to raise our state's minimum wage to $8.50 an hour. But we need to recognize that the cost of living varies drastically within our state; $8.50 buys a lot more in Buffalo and Rochester than it does in Queens or Brooklyn.
New York should be a city where working men and women can afford to make ends meet and support their families in dignity. The city should adopt policies like paid sick leave, expansion of temporary disability insurance, and paid family-leave insurance, none of which it currently has. But we need to raise the minimum wage now.
Opponents will argue that paying a decent minimum wage will cause unemployment to rise and businesses to leave the city. But sound economic research says otherwise. New York is a city of opportunities, and the working poor need to be uplifted. That is a rising tide that will surely lift all boats.
John C. Liu is New York City Comptroller.


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VANCOUVER, WA -- Net sales for Nautilus Inc. for the first quarter 2009 were down by $57.5 million from first quarter 2008 net sales, a decrease of 44.4 percent, according to a financials release from the company today.
Nautilus reported net sales of $72.1 million, compared to net sales of $129.6 million for the first quarter of 2008.
"The first quarter was a tough one for us," Ed Bramson, Nautilus chairman and CEO, said in a call with analysts this afternoon.
Nautilus reported a loss from continuing operations for the first quarter of $13.8 million. Most of the loss was from the commercial business and from pre-tax restructuring charges of $3.8 million, he said. The commercial side of Nautilus' business had first quarter 2009 sales of $18 million, down 46.5 percent from the $33.7 million in the same period last year.
The commercial business sales were reduced mostly due to the economy and availability of credit to commercial businesses, plus more stringent sales terms by Nautilus, according to Bramson.
Included in the loss from continuing operations were pre-tax restructuring charges of $3.8 million. The restructuring charges are principally related to the company's previously announced closure of the manufacturing facility in Tulsa, OK, and a write-off related to abandoned information technology software.
In the first quarter of 2008, Nautilus reported a loss from continuing operations of $6.9 million or $0.22 per diluted share. Included in the loss from continuing operations were pre-tax charges of $10.7 million, primarily related to the cancellation in the first quarter of 2008 of the company's agreement to purchase Land America Health & Fitness Co. Ltd.
"While we are not satisfied with the consolidated net loss, we are encouraged by the operating improvements," Bramson said in a release from the company. "During the first quarter, we achieved the highest gross margins in over a year and reduced operating expenses by 33 percent compared to the same period last year. Even though the overall consumer environment remains very challenging, our recently implemented marketing and operating adjustments are providing positive contributions in the direct and retail businesses."
Bramson added: "We continued to right-size our cost structure in the first quarter by implementing an additional $17 million in anticipated annualized cost reductions. These actions will begin to benefit our operating results in the second quarter, and we expect to realize substantially all of the benefit from these improvements in the fourth quarter of 2009."


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Arizona Birkenstock
About the Brand
Founded in 1774 in Germany, Birkenstock became a linchpin of laidback California style from the '60s on, and their iconic designs still look cooly modern today. Their serious orthopedic benefits are a major reason the shoes have stayed so relevant through the decades: The contoured cork sole conforms to your foot like magic and supports your arches like no other. Even more impressive is their resilience—a single pair can hold up for years and years. They're the most comfortable, quirky-yet-versatile, sensible-yet-sexy, trend-confounding shoes in existence; everyone should have at least one pair.


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bend back(redirected from bends back)
bend back
1. Of a person, to lean backwards. I bent back to catch my dog before he sprinted past me through the open door. I bent back to pick up all the socks I'd dropped on my way down the hall.
2. Of a thing, to push backwards. A noun or pronoun can be used between "bend" and "back." If you bend those curtains back, this room will get a lot more sunlight. Bend back the corner of the page to mark your place in the book.
bend someone or something back
to curve or arch someone or something backward. We bent the child back a little so we could examine the spider bite. Ouch! Don't bend back my hand! Bend the branch back so we can get a better view.
bend back
to lean or bend backwards. He bent back to pick up the book, and he fell. When she bent back, she ripped something.


text: Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - Pre-sessional v Summer school Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today! Job Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Pre-sessional v Summer school Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> United Kingdom View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message Russell HaddJoined: 06 May 2004Posts: 181 Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 9:26 am Post subject: Pre-sessional v Summer school As far as I'm concerned they do not compare. The average Summer school has low pay, long hours, a lack of professionalism and students who are in holiday mode. Whereas, pre-sessionals tend to have reasonable pay, realistic hours, a much more professional approach and students who know that they need to take things seriously or they may not get accepted for their studies. Back to top Will.Joined: 02 May 2003Posts: 783Location: London Uk Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 10:37 pm Post subject: Have you taught many pre-sesionals Russ? Pre-sessionals also employ people able to teach the courses i.e experienced people, qualified people. The type of teacher on these courses gets well paid but the company, school or uni/college etc also gets good value. They know what they want. That is why some people work in a summer school for the experience. The average EFL/ELT teacher returning home after a year or two gallivanting or 'teaching' abroad is and has been in holiday mode. Most of them can't teach more than one or two levels effectively. They have no professionalism and do not take working in a summer school seriously. It is a testing ground. A place to get a good short term reference. Good result; put it on the CV, bad summer; omit it. If you have the skills and the experience go for the EAP ESP pre-sessional not many get shortlisted. So there is a reason they pay well. Back to top Russell HaddJoined: 06 May 2004Posts: 181 Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 12:59 pm Post subject: I suppose that could be the problem. I was only in holiday mode for one year while I was overseas before deciding I thought I could make a career out of teaching. I've worked on 3 pre-sessionals for three different Universities and just one Summer School which was as a director in my first year. I certainly wouldn't have employed myself as the director of the Summer School and if I'd have had the choice I'd have employed fewer than 25% of the 'teachers' I had to work with. But these people were not teachers as such and not the types I would have thought would have come here complaining about Summer Schools. If anyone is serious about teaching and getting decent Summer experience then if they are in a reasonably serious mode during overseas assignments then they will walk into pre-sessional work. For me it was a kind of virtuous circle. I volunteered for Friday evening work with Spanish students hoping to enter the Eurasmus scheme and started to get more work with University students as a result. Most people I have worked with on pre-sessionals in the UK have had less experience and many have not had more than a 1st degree and Tefl Cert despite ads asking for Masters. Back to top Will.Joined: 02 May 2003Posts: 783Location: London Uk Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 4:16 pm Post subject: Interesting points Russ. Back to top Will.Joined: 02 May 2003Posts: 783Location: London Uk Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 10:56 pm Post subject: Well even after all my advice I ended up accepting a course directors post at summer school... I thought I said never again. Next time I will know better and remember how to translate 'can you start tomorrow into English. It means 'you have bitten off too much to chew already.' Back to top ahopfeJoined: 01 Sep 2004Posts: 145Location: Zheng zhou City - nearly 10months and going stong China Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 1:17 pm Post subject: Summer School I have completed a Summer school and I thought it was a absolute ball , sure the hours were long 5 hours a day - seven days a week , the pay was ok , and the working with children experince was invaluable , i mean like at the moment i am completing a Year contract and i am geting put in to any class at any time , atleast summer school was a standard class , and not teaching 2- 5 year olds , Seriously give me summer school any day - kids that want to learn Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> United Kingdom All times are GMT Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Where to Begin----------------General DiscussionNewbie ForumCurrent Events ForumTechnology ForumOnline Teaching Forum Africa Forums----------------General Africa Forum Asia Forums----------------CambodiaChina (Job-related Posts Only)China (Off-Topic)Hong KongIndiaIndonesiaJapanMalaysiaPhilippinesSingaporeTaiwanThailandGeneral Asia ForumVietnam Caribbean Forums----------------General Caribbean Forum Europe Forums----------------Czech RepublicFranceGermanyGreeceItalyMacedonia and the BalkansPolandRomaniaRussia & C.I.S.SpainTurkeyUkraineUnited KingdomGeneral Europe Forum Latin America Forums----------------ArgentinaBrazilChileColombiaCosta RicaMexicoMexico (off-topic)PeruGeneral Latin America Forum The Middle East Forums----------------BahrainEgyptIsraelKuwaitOmanQatarSaudi ArabiaUnited Arab EmiratesGeneral Middle East Forum North America Forums----------------General North America Forum Oceania----------------Australia/New Zealand You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Contact Dave's ESL Cafe Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved. Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group Teaching Jobs in China


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What is it about women and cats? Throughout history, there's been a symbiotic relationship between us and our feline friends that continues in the present. The ancient Egyptians admired cats for their natural hunting skills and domesticated them to vanquish mice and snakes. The cat's regal air inspired worship from cults, most notably the followers of the cat goddess Bast (also known as Bastet, according to Wikipedia). The parallels between women and cats in pop culture have often been unflattering. The legend of Bast inspired the entertainment industry, most notably in horror films such as 1942's "Cat People" (remade in 1982 with Nastassja Kinski) where a woman was cursed to transform into a murderous panther that killed anyone who crossed her. In the 1960s, the link between felines and females came to a head with the popularity of the Catwoman character in the Batman comics and Julie Newmar's sexy performance as the villainess in the campy TV show. Catwoman endured over the years and was portrayed as a complex antiheroine by Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry and Anne Hathaway in different films with varying degrees of success. While Catwoman is usually depicted wearing a skintight catsuit, another popular take on feline style is the leopard print, which today is more than a trend, it's a must-have look in any fashion-conscious woman's wardrobe. Around the same time that Catwoman emerged as a subversive icon of female empowerment, Hollywood became a jungle filled with leopard-spotted starlets. Sex goddesses such as Brigitte Bardot and Jayne Mansfield showed a penchant for wearing coats, bikinis and accessories adorned in leopard print and the classic 1967 film "The Graduate" treated moviegoers to the chic vision of Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson — the original cougar (yet another feline reference) — effortlessly seducing Dustin Hoffman in her leopard coat and intimates. Media images of famous women dressed in leopard usually have an underlying sex appeal and danger. It's debatable whether these images are empowering or objectifying. Sexy is powerful, in my opinion. Whether leopard spots help empower a schemer like Mrs. Robinson or a playful sex kitten like Jayne Mansfield, who reportedly was far smarter than her public persona suggested, animal prints are fun and leopard is eternally chic, especially in intimate apparel. At Pink Slip, many of our favorite brands offer fabulous leopard patterns in their assortments and I highly recommend them as a timeless, on-trend look that puts the grrr in girl power.
Eberjey Leonora chemise
Eberjey puts its signature romantic touch on leopard print with its Leonora collection. Their A-line chemise is soft and light in sueded, soft leopard jersey. It features stretch-to-flatter mesh, lace on the neckline and side edges and an underbust applique.
The Eberjey Lenora bralet set
The Leonora collection also combines lace and leopard in its bralet, a soft cup in jersey with a sweet lace neckline, an underbust band and a bow accent in the center. A matching Leonora thong completes the kittenish look.
Claudette Dessous Sucre
Claudette takes a playful and sexy approach to its designs and the Dessous Sucre Collection is no exception. The style's full coverage bra is highly functional with non-stretch mesh underwire cups that have 3-parts, transversal seams for a rounded shape and vertical seams for uplift. Stretch mesh sides and back for breathability, with elastic edge for a more custom fit. The mesh center panel has a flirty ribbon bow at top. Covered elastic, wide-set straps have bows at bases and adjust in back with coated metal hardware. A cute thong is available, complete with matching bow.
Encore L'Amour Collection by Mimi Holliday
Mimi Holliday is another very flirty line that's doing leopard in its Encore L'Amour group. The Encore L'amour Shoulder Bra combines leopard with soft tones of peach and neutral nude tones. The bra supports you with wide lace straps leading all the way up to your shoulders, and boosts you while scalloped edge flatters your decolletage. Don't forget the coordinating bottom!
The Encore L'amour group also offers a firty sheer alternative to a slip with a chiffon belt to create shape and silhouette, and button fastened gusset to make it practical and easy to wear. A soft gathering of chiffon around the edge of the bottom half of the teddy adds a fun vintage feel.
Whether you prefer your leopard style with a light touch or want to go wild with an all-over pattern, these stylish brands have options that are undeniably … spot-on!


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Postby Nathandiel » Sat Jun 06, 2015 12:02 pm
Nathandiel's gums were bleeding.He'd brushed them down past the first layer of tissue.
Compulsive much?
He grimaced and pulled his lips back from his teeth to reveal two lines of white enamel awash in bubbles in a ribbons of bright red. He turned his head from side to side as he watched himself in the mirror, his right hand still up and gripping the pink toothbrush. He stuck out his tongue and leaned forward to examine it. He could still taste copper.
One little kiss from one little elf who felt the need to nibble on human bits and now I'm stuck with the taste of people in my mouth.
Maybe that's what he got for an act of secondary cannibalism. He could taste his own blood now, but it wasn't the same as the underlying taste. He cursed and jammed the brush back into his mouth and resumed his relentless scrubbing, the sound of the brush moving over his teeth loud inside his skull.
He wandered away from the mirror and scratched at his bare stomach as he left the wash station behind and approached his desk. His fingers moved over a filing folder, the index one moving to caress the name on the patient tab: Kerala. She wasn't' a patient, none of the files in that pile belonged to his patients; they were all Grim. He hooked the edge of the cover with his index finger and opened the file.
Kerala had made a spectacle -albeit an unoriginal one, but a spectacle none-the-less - of her inquisition trial that night. Nathandiel couldn't remember which stage of her inquisition she'd been in and he wasn't terribly familiar with the process; he'd only been required to do the first one. He switched hands and picked up his pen and began to scribble his notes while he brushed.
The Grim who'd gathered at Awatu's overblown establishment in Frostfire had all partaken of the hearts that Kerala had removed from her line of victims. He winced internally as he recalled her extraction technique and detailed it in his notes. Inefficient surgical techniques annoyed him but he'd come to find that Hordelings were particularly fond of doing things with about much as finesse as they used to empty their bowels.
He wasn't sure what the eating of the hearts had been intended to mean. Blood for blood's sake seemed to be a practice the Grim were fond of. He supposed he could inquire further with Drinn when she arrived. They were off harassing someone somewhere in an Alliance city and he couldn't risk being seen there in the event that they failed, so he'd gone home.
He stopped and looked at his toothbrush; the pasty bubbles pink now. She'd sliced out the cartilage from the bit of heart that she'd gotten a hold of and she'd done it expertly. She'd offered it to him but he'd declined. He wondered if that had disappointed her at all. He would have to make it up to her. When she got back she'd be full of stories about the things that had happened on their excursion and positively bursting with energy from all the fighting. He'd have to diffuse her anyway if he planned on getting any sleep, he'd make it up to her then.
He finished his notes on Kerala and stashed the folders amongst the genuine patient files. He headed over to the bed and sat on the end, staring at the fire as he continued to brush, pressing back to reach the molars now.
Soft and warm things curled around his ankles and he looked down to find he two wolf puppies; Castor and Linna, looking up at him. He lifted a brow as he paused in his brushing and both pups stood, their tails wagging and their eyes on the brush.
"Yeah it's blood." he said in the higher-pitched tone he used when speaking to his and Drinn's puppies. "I think at this point it's more Daddy's blood than anyone else's."
Their tails continued to wag.
His eyes narrowed, and out of pure curiosity he extended the bush down to the tiny dogs. Miniature noses flared and then slender pink tongues licked at the bristles. Castor shook his head and made a scoffing sound. "Minty isn't it?" Nathandiel asked. The pups continued until Linna snatched the brush and hurried away with it, Castor padding awkwardly after her.
Nathandiel's shoulders began to quake, the laughter coming on slowly. He wiped his mouth as the giggles became involuntary and laid back on the bed. "Where the hell am I?" He asked and closed his eyes, wincing, he could still taste people in his mouth.


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From Ian:
One year ago American student and veteran Taylor Force stabbed to death by Palestinian Terrorist
When anti-Israel students on campus chant "Long Live the Intifada," remember Taylor Force.
The Taylor Force Act proposed legislation seeks to cut off funds from the Palestinian Authority for its policy of paying the families of terrorists. The Free Beacon reports on the reintroduction of the legislation:
The White House is signaling its support for a new congressional effort to cut all U.S. funding to the Palestinian Authority due to its continued support of terrorism against Israelis and Americans, according to senior lawmakers and senior White House officials.
Leading lawmakers in the House and Senate gathered Tuesday on Capitol Hill to introduce legislation that would cut all U.S. funding to the Palestinian government, which has been criticized for providing financial incentives to terrorists who kill American and Israeli civilians.
The White House signaled its support for the legislation in a vast departure from the Obama administration, which worked against similar efforts when in power.
The murder of Taylor Force was part of what became known as the "Knife Intifada," in which stabbings became the hallmark of Palestinian attacks.
When anti-Israel students on campus, such as these students at UT-Austin, chant "Long Live the Intifada," remember Taylor Force.
US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley: Palestinians Must Stop Incitement, Engage in Direct Peace Talks With Israel
The Palestinian Authority must "stop its incitement to violence" and engage with Israel in "direct peace negotiations, rather than looking to the UN," a top American diplomatic official said on Tuesday.
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley made the statement after meeting with her Palestinian counterpart, Riyad Mansour — an encounter she described as "productive."
"The US is committed to supporting a true peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority," she said.
Last month, Haley received warm praise from the pro-Israel community in both the US and abroad after taking the UN Security Council to task for its double standards when it comes to its treatment of the Jewish state.
Following her first meeting with Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, Haley said, "Never again will our allies have to question our support."
Liberman urges US to cut ties with Israel-bashing UN bodies
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Wednesday asked US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to reconsider American support for the United Nations agency that deals with Palestinian refugees, as well as for the UN Human Rights Council.
During a meeting at the State Department, Liberman urged Tillerson to consider quitting the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council and to stop funding the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, known as UNRWA.
The agencies do not fulfill their mission, he told the secretary, according to readout of the meeting issued by Liberman's office. "Instead, the Human Rights Council deals with demonizing Israel and with efforts to harm it by distorting reality."
He said it was unacceptable that 60 percent of the council's resolutions targeted Israel instead of dealing with the dire human rights situation in Iran or North Korea or Syria.
Last week, the US envoy to the Human Rights Council, Erin Barclay, criticized the council for its outsize focus on Israel.
Palestinians: Fake News and "Alternative Facts"
There is no shortage of Palestinian and Arab news websites that publish hoaxes, propaganda, lies and disinformation disguised as real news. This garbage is accepted as factual by many Palestinians and other Arabs.
This is a form of incitement to which the West is deaf, largely because journalists working for Western mainstream media do not wish to understand what is being reported in Arabic, or even in English.
Blood libels against Jews were once thought to be part of the dark past. They are not. What do such stories accomplish? Excuses for the murder of Jews.
Another "new" old blood libel that Palestinians have been spreading against Israel claims that Israelis are flooding Palestinian communities with narcotics in order to spread moral corruption and destroy the health of Palestinians. This lie helps Palestinians avoid responsibility for the smuggling of drugs (by Palestinians) into the West Bank and Gaza Strip from Jordan and Egypt.
That leaves us with some questions: Where is the international community's exposure of the lies that fuel the Palestinian murder of Jews? And: Will the international community once again in history fail to speak the truth about the murder of Jews?
The great anti-Semitism panic of 2017
The ADL, though, has a strong self-interest in such exaggerated complaints. When Greenblatt took over the ADL from the long-serving Abraham Foxman, he announced that the younger generation among ADL's primary constituency, liberal, secular Jews, was no longer terribly interested in the issue of anti-Semitism, and instead wanted the ADL to focus on oppression more generally. The enthusiasm and fund-raising dollars were in supporting Black Lives Matter and transgender rights, not worrying about anti-Semitism on college campuses. One strongly suspects that this is because the threat of anti-Semitism was seen primarily as coming from the anti-Israel left. Trump created a wonderful entrepreneurial opportunity for the ADL to focus on what is naturally its core issue, anti-Semitism (and also to ensure that the more conservative Simon Wiesenthal Center, whose director was invited to give the invocation at Trump's inauguration, doesn't steal its thunder), by focusing on the threat from the right. The ADL's reticent donors are no longer reticent in the age of Trump, with the media reporting that donations have been pouring in since Trump's victory. It's therefore hardly in the ADL's interest to objectively assess the threat from Trump and his supporters. Indeed, I'm almost impressed that an ADL official managed just the other day to link the JCC bomb threats to emboldened white supremacists, even though the only suspect caught so far is an African American leftist. Meanwhile, Foxman has been a cooler head who has been telling people, "cool it, cool it."
Another group that has had a strong incentive to exaggerate the present threat of right-wing anti-Semitism is Jewish progressive activists. For the past decade or so, leftist Jews have increasingly found themselves excluded from progressive coalitions that not only take very harsh anti-Israel lines, but also have refused to take seriously anti-Semitism in their midst, suggesting that allegations of such anti-Semitism are mere covers for the "privilege" of "white Zionists." So long as the problem of American anti-Semitism was largely associated with anti-Zionism and far-left politics more generally, Jews were not permitted to be part of a coalition of the marginalized.
Lo and behold, along comes Trump, and left-wing Jewish activists are portraying Jews as one of the many groups threatened by him. Trump, and, more specifically, exaggerating the threat of anti-Semitism from Trump and his supporters, gives these Jews an opportunity to, for example, stand side by side with Muslim activists in opposing various "isms" and "phobias," rather than quarreling with them over Israel.
The irony of all this is that if you talk privately to those who work in the Jewish organization world, many will confide that the greatest threat to the security of the American Jewish community is "changing demographics," which is a euphemism for a growing population of Arab migrants to the United States. Anti-Semitism is rife in the Arab world, with over 80 percent of the public holding strongly anti-Semitic views in many countries. The issue of whether and to what extent the United States should expand refugee admissions is a complex one, and a potential rise in (potentially violent) anti-Semitism, at least in the short term until refugees and their families assimilate, is hardly the only factor to be considered. But it's surely a paradox that the groups and individuals who express the most public fear of potential anti-Semitism emanating from the Trump administration express little if any concern about the potential problems of admitting an untold number of refugees and immigrants from countries where extreme anti-Semitic sentiments are mundane.
Jewish Leaders Urge US Attorney General to Advance Investigation Into Ongoing Faux Bomb Threats
A major network of Jewish North American institutions has sent a letter to US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, urging him to take immediate action in advancing the investigation into the ongoing wave of faux bomb threats being leveled at Jewish centers across the continent.
The JCC Association of North America's statement, signed by 141 of the organization's leaders, said: "We are frustrated with the progress in resolving this situation. We insist that all relevant federal agencies, including your own, apply all the resources available to identify and bring the perpetrator or perpetrators, who are trying to instill anxiety and fear in communities across the country, to justice."
Doron Krakow, president and CEO of the JCC Association, said that Jewish community centers (JCCs) play vital roles in their communties' lives.
"JCCs have demonstrated incredible resilience over the past several weeks, relying on long-practiced measures to ensure that we can safely and effectively serve communities across the continent," Krakow said. "We will not allow antisemitism to get in the way of our providing our invaluable programs, and we urge Attorney General Sessions to be an even stronger partner to us."
The JCC Association's letter came on the same day that centers in Colorado, Delaware, Connecticut and Vancouver received bomb threats, and a day after a dozen such threats were lobbed at JCCs and Jewish day schools across the US and Canada.
Trudeau, Wynne mum after two Jewish community centres receive bomb threats
Approximately 600 people, including children who attend a Jewish daycare, had to be evacuated from the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre (JCC) in downtown Toronto after receiving a bomb threat around 10 am on Tuesday, March 7, 2017.
Shortly afterwards, the Jewish Community Centre in London, Ontario received a similar call, prompting that centre's evacuation. It is the second time in less than two months the London JCC was targeted.
Mayor John Tory rushed to the Toronto JCC to reassure the Jewish community that "we shoulder to shoulder with them & won't be intimidated by threats".
Tory said he was "heartened" by the fact everyone was evacuated from the centre safely and that police responded so quickly.
"I'm deeply saddened by the fact that this would happen here and in other parts of North America," Tory said. "It's clearly part of some deranged pattern of anti-Semitic behaviour."
Following an uptick in anti-Semitic hate crimes, York Regional Police has initiated increased patrols and presence at synagogues and Jewish institutions across Ontario's York Region following the threats to Jewish communities across Canada as well as the US, where since January 120 Jewish institutions, including the offices of the Anti-Defamation League, received bomb threats.
On Tuesday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that the Trump administration condemns anti-Semitism "in the strongest terms" as Jewish institutions across North America were hit with a fresh wave of bomb threats.
Clifford May: Peace between Israel and the Palestinians Can't Be Rushed
Whatever dedication, resources, or creative thinking the Trump administration might bring to bear in trying to resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict, writes Clifford May, the circumstances for success are, at the moment, simply absent:
Israeli leaders from Labor on the left to Likud on the right are convinced that the withdrawal of their military forces from the West Bank would leave a vacuum—and that jihadists would fill it.
Consider the precedents. In 2005, every Israeli soldier and settler was pulled out of Gaza. Within two years, Hamas had taken control and begun launching missiles at Israeli villages and cities. . . . Five years earlier, the Israelis withdrew from southern Lebanon. That strengthened Hizballah, Iran's proxy, with whom other wars had to be fought, the last in 2006. . . . Back in 1982, as part of a historic peace agreement signed a few years earlier, Israelis handed the Sinai peninsula over to Egypt. Today, a branch of Islamic State wages an insurgency there. . . .
The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas—who turns eighty-two this month—does not appear to share Hamas's religious [dedication to Israel's eradication]. But were he to end his long career by shaking Netanyahu's hand on the White House lawn, he'd be labeled a traitor, not just by Hamas but also by those seeking to succeed him in the West Bank, as well as by the Islamic Republic of Iran which, as a direct result of President Obama's policies, is currently the ascendant power in the Middle East. All this suggests that now is not the time for dramatic diplomatic initiatives. Significant changes will occur once Abbas passes from the scene. American policymakers should be getting ready.
Kerry's knee-capping of Israel
Kerry's venality here is plain. Herzog makes it clear that Netanyahu never promised to freeze settlement construction for the duration of the talks. On the contrary: Israel had fully informed Kerry it would announce construction of up to 1,500 housing units beyond the Green Line to coincide with every phase of terrorist releases. This was the price of getting the very controversial and dangerous prisoner releases through the Israeli cabinet.
In other words, having improperly promised Abbas and foisted upon Israel these prisoner releases, Kerry knew that some construction in settlement blocs adjacent to the 1967 line (in areas that even Palestinian maps in previous negotiations indicated would be part of Israel) would follow. Abbas knew this too, and they both went along with this. So, settlements certainly were not the main reason behind the failure of the talks, Herzog writes. And yet, Kerry's "poof" vindictively and falsely pinned the failure on settlement activity; an American crime against Israel that has skewed the global diplomatic narrative ever since.
In the end, Herzog's essay is more than an impeachment of Obama and Kerry. It is an indictment of the overall Oslo paradigm (even though Herzog won't say this himself).
His essay makes it obvious that, alas, the Palestinian Authority under Abbas is not a "willing or capable" peace partner for the visible future; isn't truly seeking an end of conflict and all outstanding claims; and its bottom-line is nowhere near that of even the most flexible Israeli government.
Therefore, it is time for a new approach in dealing with the conflict.
"The sea changes in relations between major Arab states and Israel," concludes Herzog, allow for emergence of a solution strategy "in a broader regional context."
Probe faults conduct of V15, One Voice groups in 2015 election
Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit has found a number of problems with the conduct of the V15 and OneVoice groups that were active in Israel during the 2015 Knesset election with the aim of ousting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The problems were identified as part of a probe Mendelblit asked the Israeli Corporations Authority in the Justice Ministry to conduct. They include a failure to report a donation of $233,500 that came from the U.S. government and was transferred to the groups through the American ambassador. The probe also determined that the use of the name Darkenu, the umbrella organization under which V15 and OneVoice are currently operating, is illegal. The Corporations Authority has warned the groups to cease and desist until the name can be legally registered.
"The company must take care in future to submit the reports required by law," a summary of the probe's findings said.
In response, Darkenu said: "In the year 2013, the OneVoice company received a donation from the U.S. government earmarked to promote negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Because of a change in the status of the company in 2015 to a public benefit company, it was necessary to put out various reports to the authorities, including about the aforementioned donation, and that is what was done."
Panel clears Friedman for full Senate vote as US envoy to Israel
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved David Friedman to be US ambassador to Israel on Thursday, sending his nomination to the full Senate for a final vote on his confirmation.
The committee vote was split almost entirely along party lines, with every single Republican member voting in favor of the 57-year-old Long Island Native, and every single Democrat voting against except for New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez.
Friedman will now go to the full Senate for a final vote on his confirmation, though it is not yet clear when. He is likely to be approved, as there would need to be at least three Republican defections to block the nomination.
Democrats warned ahead of the vote that Friedman was ill-equipped for such a sensitive diplomatic position
"The last thing we need in this position is somebody who has a penchant for over the top hyperbolic and even false statements," said Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine
Arab League warns US Embassy move is 'serious threat to world peace'
One day after Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman met with US Vice President Mike Pence, the Arab League on Wednesday voted unanimously in Cairo for a resolution blocking the proposed relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
"The establishment of any diplomatic mission in Jerusalem, or transfer of one to the city, is an explicit assault on the rights of the Palestinian people and all Muslims and Christians, and a serious violation of international law," the League said.
"It would constitute a serious threat to peace and security in the region, as well as contribute to an implosion of the two-state solution, and the promotion of extremism and violence."
In January, Jibril Rajoub, a senior Palestinian leader and Fatah official, warned that an embassy relocation is tantamount to "a declaration of war against Muslims."
UN report to cite Israeli annexation, urge ending trade with territories
A new United Nations report on the settlements is due to be made public. Ynet found that the report is said to blame Israel for acting to annex the disputed territories in the West Bank, as well urge companies to end trade and business agreements with Judea and Samaria, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The report was written by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Jordanian Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein. It is also said bereft of any mention of Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank or in general.
The report notes that 2017 marks 50 years since the Six Day War (the text describes this period as 50 years of Israeli occupation of Palestinian Land). It additionally states that Israel's activities in the West Bank have brought on a consistent growth of the settler population and a unilateral takeover of widespread areas of land, in opposition to international law.
"With the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory now in its 50th year, the illegal settlement enterprise continues to advance
apace. Through unabated expansion of illegal settlements and parallel efforts to consolidate Israel's control over the West Bank, successive Israeli governments since 1967 have overseen the steady growth of the settler population and the unilateral takeover of large swaths of the west bank's land reserves, in clear violation of international law.
The report goes on to state that Israel's actions have dire effects on Palestinian human rights in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
UN Seeks More Than $100 Million to Counter Terrorism through "Development" - Despite No Definition of Terrorism
"Ever since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, U.N. relief agencies have sought to distance themselves from the U.S.-led war on terror, fearing a hit to their reputations and more risks of retaliation for peacekeepers and aid workers in the field.
But the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) is now seeking to carve out a big role for itself in preventing terrorism from taking root, requesting $108 million over the next four years to fund what would be the U.N.'s largest global push to limit the spread of violent extremism, according to a confidential UNDP draft strategy paper obtained by Foreign Policy...
The U.N. push into the counterterrorism field may face strong head wind from Washington, where President Donald Trump's administration is questioning the value of preventative strategies aimed at the root causes of terrorism, like those favored by former President Barack Obama's administration.
'Saying we need jobs for jihadis - [that] it's about root causes and upstream factors - is wholly fallacious,' Sebastian Gorka, an advisor to Trump, told NPR this month. If 'poverty and lack of education' were the causes of terrorism, 'then half of India would be terrorists. And they're not.'...
Some observers say the UNDP is simply slapping a counterterrorism label on traditional development work - like promoting jobs for women and youth - in the hope of stemming its own steady decline in funding over the past decade... One reason the U.N. has been leery of jumping into counterterrorism is the difficulty of determining just who a terrorist is..."
Netanyahu in Moscow leverages Putin Purim greeting to slam Iran
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Moscow Thursday afternoon, and used Russian President Vladimir Putin's greetings for Purim as a chance to blast Iran.
"I think you for your good wishes on Purim," Netanyahu said alongside Putin before their meeting in the Kremlin. "Some 2,500 years ago in ancient Persia, there was an attempt to wipe out the Jews, which did not succeed, and which we commemorate with this holiday."
Today, Netanyahu said, Iran – the continuation of ancient Persia – has similar designs: to wipe out the state of the Jews. "They say this clearly, and it is etched on their ballistic missiles," Netanyahu said.
The prime minister continued: "I want to say clearly that Israel is today a state with an army, and we are able to defend ourselves. Extreme Shia Islamic terror does not only threaten Israel, but rather the region and the world. I know that we are partners in the desire to prevent any victory for Islamic terror, from any direction."
In his comments, Netanyahu said that Russia has played an important part in the fight against Sunni Islamic terror represented by Islamic State and al-Qaida.
"It is obvious that we would not want that terrorism to be replaced by extreme Shia Islamic terrorism, led by Iran," he said.
Netanyahu tells Putin that Iran must not replace IS in Syria
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin were focused on keeping Iran from filling the vacuum left by the Islamic State in Syria and combating Iranian-sponsored radical Islamic terrorism.
"One of the things that we are fighting against together is radical Islamic terrorism. Of course, there was significant progress last year in the fight against the terrorism of radical Sunni Islam led by the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, and Russia has a very important contribution," Netanyahu said ahead of his meeting with the Russian president.
"It's obvious that we wouldn't want this terror to be replaced by radical Islamic Shiite terror led by Iran," he said.
While Russia has played a major role over the last year in Syria combating the Islamic State and the Syrian rebels, Israel is concerned that the Kremlin not allow Iran, Russia's ally in supporting Syrian strongman Bashar Assad, a permanent foothold in the country.
Netanyahu and UK's Boris Johnson spar over settlements
Visiting British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu butted heads publicly on Wednesday over whether Israeli settlements hinder the peace process.
Speaking before Government Press Office cameras ahead of their meeting in the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Netanyahu welcomed Johnson and said he looked forward to visiting London later this year to celebrate the centennial of the Balfour Declaration, which laid key diplomatic groundwork for Jewish statehood.
Johnson recalled the time in his youth when he worked in a kibbutz and joked about his "not-very-substantial contribution to the Israeli economy back then." On a serious note, he went on to say that Prime Minister Theresa May and the rest of the UK government are "rock-like supporters of Israel."
"What we want to see is an Israel that is at peace with its neighbors," said Johnson, who had just come from meetings with Palestinian officials in Ramallah. "I should remind you that the policy of my government is for a two-state solution, which is what we want to achieve and help to bring about in a modest and humble way. And obviously we want to help remove the obstacles to that."
He then briefly changed the topic, stating that Israel has "an absolute right to live in security, and the people of Israel deserve to be safe from terrorism. That's our absolute priority."
Jerusalem and London cooperate in various areas to "ensure the stability of the entire region," Johnson said, only to return to the thorny issue of settlements. "And of course we must also try to remove obstacles to peace and progress, such as the settlements, which you and I have discussed before."
UK's Johnson, in Ramallah, urges 2-state solution, says Trump brings fresh approach
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Wednesday his government remained committed to a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as he visited the region for talks with leaders from both sides.
"The policy of our government in the UK is absolutely unchanged," Johnson told reporters in Ramallah, standing next to Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki on a podium near a "State of Palestine" seal.
"We remain committed to a two-state solution, to that vision, for the resolution of this conflict. You know, I really think it is possible," he said.
President Donald Trump, in a break from his predecessors, has sent mixed signals about whether the United States still supports a two-state solution.
His election has emboldened Israeli hard-liners who oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, while Netanyahu recently stopped short of endorsing the idea.
First official UK royal visit to Israel 'looks set' for this year
In what would be an historic first formal visit, Buckingham Palace officials say a trip to Israel by a member of the British royal family "looks set to go ahead this year," the UK daily The Times reported Tuesday.
Whitehall sources said that a royal visit had been under discussion for some time and an invitation issued by President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday was likely to be accepted, the London-based paper said. The likelihood of such a visit was first reported by The Times of Israel in November.
"As with all invitations for official overseas travel by members of the royal family, we will act on the advice of the Foreign Office," Buckingham Palace was quoted as saying.
While royals have visited Israel in the past, no representative of the British monarchy has ever come to country on an official "royal tour." The planned official royal visit would thus be the first in the Jewish state's 68-year existence, during which nearly every other country on earth has been visited by a representative of the crown.
David Singer: PLO Humiliated for Denying Free Speech and Elections
Negotiations between Israel and the PLO under the Oslo Accords were always destined to founder since the PLO Charter states that:
Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan are:
(i) An indivisible territorial unit and
(ii) An indivisible part of the Arab homeland
The 1917 Balfour Declaration, the 1922 Mandate for Palestine and everything based on them since then are null and void.
3. Jews do not constitute a single nation with an identity of its own Jordan and Israel's 1994 Peace Treaty rejected these PLO deal-breakers.
Oslo's demise opens the possibility of Jordan and Israel redrawing their existing international boundary to mutually divide the West Bank between their respective States.
President Trump should jump to seal the deal.
Hamas said set to recognize Palestine on 1967 borders, but not Israel
Hamas is reportedly planning to endorse a state of Palestine along the 1967 borders — a move that would be a monumental shift from the group's long-held policy of reclaiming all of historic Palestine — though it won't recognize Israel's legitimacy.
The new policy will be announced in amendments to Hamas's charter that is to be published in April, after the group's political bureau completes its internal elections, the Pan-Arab daily a-Sharq al-Awsat reported Tuesday, citing sources within the Islamist terror group.
The new policy is being crafted in order to engage regional and international partners, such as Egypt, the report said.
The report follows a number of statements by senior Hamas leaders in recent months to the effect that the group will recognize the 1967 borders, but not the State of Israel.
Daniel Pipes: Jordan at the Precipice
Six months ago, Jordan's King Abdullah said that his country was "in dire straits." I just completed a week of intensive travels and discussions throughout the country, and found that no one disagrees with this assessment. Jordan may no longer be hyper-vulnerable and under siege, as it was in decades past, but it does face problems that are likely unprecedented.
Jordan, which was created out of thin air by Winston Churchill in 1921 in order to accommodate British imperial interests, has always led a precarious existence. Particularly dangerous moments came in the 1967, when Pan-Arabist pressures led King Hussein (who ruled from 1952-99) to make war on Israel and lose the West Bank; in 1970, when a Palestinian revolt nearly toppled him; and between 1990 and 1991, when pro-Saddam Hussein sentiments pushed the King to join a hopeless and evil cause.
Today's dangers are manifold.
ISIS lurks in Syria and Iraq, just beyond Jordan's border, and is attractive to a small but real minority of Jordanians. Jordan's once-robust trade with Syria and Iraq has nearly collapsed — and with it, Jordan's lucrative transit role.
In a region that is bountiful in oil and gas, Jordan is one of the very few countries to have almost no petroleum resources. City-dwellers receive water just one day a week, and country-dwellers often even less. Tourism has declined due to the Middle East's notorious volatility, and the king's recent assertion of authority is alienating the people, who are demanding more democracy.
Israeli Experts Claim Iran and North Korea Working On Nuclear Warheads
Iran is using its strategic relationship with North Korea to advance its nuclear weapon program, two Israeli experts of the Begin Sadat Center revealed in a study published Tuesday.
Lt. Col. (ret.) Dr. Refael Ofek and Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Dany Shoham say that Iran is circumventing the restrictions on its nuclear program under the nuclear agreement with the P5+1 countries by collaborating with North Korea on missile development and modifying missiles for nuclear weapons.
They also work together on programs meant to upgrade gas centrifuges for uranium enrichment, the Israeli experts claim."This kind of strategic, military-technological collaboration is more than merely plausible. It is entirely possible, indeed likely, that such a collaboration is already underway," the two Israeli experts wrote.
The pair also noted the two countries have developed almost identical ballistic missiles which can carry nuclear warheads..
"Iran's Shahab-3 missile is a variant of North Korea's Nodong-1. The warhead on the Shahab-3 was redesigned to carry a nuclear warhead in the mid-2000s by Kamran Daneshjoo, a top Iranian scientist," Ofek and Shoham wrote.
Israeli ministers said unwilling to attend Buenos Aires bombing commemoration
Argentina is poised to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a terror attack against the Israeli embassy in Argentina, but no Israeli ministers have shown willingness to attend, a Channel 2 news reporter said Wednesday.
Udi Segal, the station's veteran diplomatic correspondent, tweeted that while official events next week will be attended by bereaved families and Argentina's vice president, Israel has so far failed to provide an official cabinet representative.
On March 17, 1992, a suicide bomber killed 29 and wounded hundreds in front of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, in what still is the deadliest attack on an Israeli diplomatic mission. A group with ties to Iran and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah took responsibility for the bombing.
At an event in Israel commemorating the bombing on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was the source of the vast majority of Israel's security concerns.
In First, Arab Israeli Leaders Back National Volunteer Program
Top Arab Israeli politicians have given their backing to a nationwide volunteer program for recent Arab Israeli high school graduates — an age when most Jewish and Druze Israeli youth are drafted into the Israeli military.
The leader of the Arab Joint List faction, MK Ayman Odeh, and fellow Joint List lawmakers Masud Ganaim and Jamal Zahalka announced last week their support for a volunteer program for army-age youth, which would be administered by local governments in Arab towns, The Times of Israel reported.
The program was developed by two groups that promote Arab-Jewish coexistence: the Abraham Fund, an Israeli non-profit working to promote Arab-Jewish coexistence, and the Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation. Yad Hanadiv, a Jerusalem-based charity run the Rothschild family, has provided funding.
A pilot of the program launched last year and is now being run with 160 participants in six Arab towns: Rahat, Hura, Segev Shalom, Qalanswa, Kfar Qassem, and Eloud. The first three are Bedouin towns, where some youth also volunteer to serve in the military.
The Abraham Fund plans to ask Israel's Welfare Ministry to take over funding of the program once it extends to ten towns.
Israel's security wall: A model for America?
Palestinian Christian persecution in West Bank
'Israel arrests Palestinian Hezbollah suspect who planned kidnapping, terror attacks'
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced on Thursday the arrest of a suspected Palestinian Hezbollah operative who was allegedly instructed to carry out terror attacks against Israelis as well as kidnap Israeli civilians.
The suspect, Yusef Yasser Suylam, a 23-year-old based in the Palestinian West Bank town of Qalqiliya, was recently arrested in a joint Shin Bet, Israel Police and IDF operation. Following his arrest, the Shin Bet interrogated Suylam and discovered that Hezbollah had recruited him through social media, luring the young man to join their ranks through a Facebook profile the Shi'ite terror organization regularly uses to track potential recruits.
Suylam was instructed to carry out several tasks on behalf of Hezbollah. He was sent to spy on IDF bases in order to gather information about their location and activities. In the same manner, Sulyam was sent to stake out security crossings and different sites in Jerusalem. He was also tasked with founding a terror cell whose purpose was to carry out a kidnapping attack.
Underground Gaza wall construction expedited
Construction work on the underground wall designed to prevent tunnel breaches into Israeli territory from Gaza is being expedited.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 foreign workers are expected to be recruited to help build the underground barrier.
The information was made public by Defense Ministry Director-General Udi Adam in his meeting with officials from towns near the Gaza border to update them on the status of the project.
According to Adam, technological work to be undertaken by two Israeli companies is also set to begin soon. He added that the companies will create jobs for residents of the region and that there are already some from the area currently working on the project.
The barrier, for which more than three billion shekels were allocated for its construction, is expected to be completed in two years.
The possibility to open the Erez crossing to increase the number of workers from Gaza for the purpose of working the region's fields was also brought up during the conversation.
Jordan says 'Muezzin Bill' is discriminatory, violates peace treaty
Jordan on Wednesday said an Israeli bill limiting the use of loudspeakers by Muslim mosques was "discriminatory" and "violates Israel's obligations under international human rights" as well as various charters and international conventions.
Lawmakers gave an initial okay to the controversial bill during a stormy vote on the measure in the Knesset earlier in the day. It still must pass two further readings to become law.
Jordanian Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Al Momani said the legislation was particularly unacceptable in East Jerusalem, where the Jordanian-run Waqf manages the Islamic holy sites.
The new bill violated the peace treaty between the two nations by infringing upon the Waqf's rights in regulating worship in the city, he said.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to push forward with the legislation, saying "All Israeli citizens — Jews, Muslims and Christians alike — have a right to sleep in peace. We will move forward with the legislation, as is the practice in many nations around the world."
Israel arrests female Hamas MP in West Bank raid
Israeli soldiers arrested a Hamas parliamentarian from a village outside Hebron early Thursday morning, the Shin Bet security service said.
Samira Halayka was picked up by the Israel Defense Forces from her home in al-Shuyukh, northeast of Hebron, as part of a series of overnight raids across the West Bank,
Four other alleged Hamas members were also arrested early Thursday morning, three of them in Tulkarem and one in Rafat, the IDF said.
Halayka is the latest high-ranking Hamas official to be picked up by the army in recent days. On Monday, two other Hamas members of the Palestinian parliament — Anwar Zabun and Khaled Tafesh — were arrested, along with Ghassan Hermas, a professor at al-Quds University in nearby Abu Dis.
Report: US Marines Arrive in Syria Outside De Facto ISIS Capital
A detachment of U.S Marines arrived in Syria outside the ISIS de-facto capital of Raqqa, a U.S. defense official confirmed Wednesday to Fox News.
The Pentagon is not publically confirming the move, citing operational security.
The recent deployment is expected to be discussed Thursday when the head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Joe Votel, the top U.S. general responsible for American forces in the Middle East, appears before Congress to testify on the ISIS fight.
Votel had hinted that more troops would be headed to Syria along with artillary when he spoke to reporters while traveling in the region late last month.
The U.S. is authorized to have up to 500 troops in Syria. Before the Marines arrived, roughly 300 U.S. special operations personnel were supporting local Syrian forces there.
Iran setting up shell shipping companies to export weapons and illicit goods
Nearly half of all shipping docks in Iran are operated by the regime's military, and it is using shell companies to smuggle weapons and other illicit goods, according to a new report.
A total of 90 docks have been taken over by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which is using them to circumvent sanctions and fund terrorist activities in the Middle East and beyond, according to the anti-regime People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
"Based on the direct order of the current supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, no authority is allowed to oversee the activities of the IRGC at border areas, be it on the ground, sea or air, and it can import anything in any quantity without paying any customs fee," PMOI officials said in a statement provided to Fox News. "The IRGC uses these docks for its unlawful activities."
The PMOI adds that in order to fund its activities, the Revolutionary Guard engages in smuggling oil, gas, chemical products, cigarettes, narcotics, alcohol, mobile phones, pharmaceuticals, hygiene material and energy drugs and supplements.
The importing and exporting of these illicit goods has allowed the IRGC to net $12 billion annually, the group estimates.
UK Banks Afraid of Doing Business with Iran Due to Lack of Anti-Fraud Measures
British banks are refraining from doing business with Iranian counterparts despite the lifting of legal limits on such deals because the Iranian banks "aren't up to the same anti-money-laundering and financial fraud standards," The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The Journal article focuses on the Iranian-owned Bank Sepah International PLC, which handled more than 2,000 monthly transactions and had a $1.5 billion balance sheet before sanctions were imposed. But more than a year after sanctions were lifted, the bank "still hasn't processed a single commercial transaction, other than paying 28 employees and some vendors, because it is still effectively frozen out of the financial system, especially in the U.K., by big banks unwilling to risk dealing with Iranian entities," the Journal reported.
"On paper, there may be banks removed from sanctions, but the geopolitical environment suggests this is not a done deal," said Juan Zarate, a former Treasury Department official and leading expert on financial sanctions. "Western institutions feel it is very risky."
Despite efforts by former Secretary of State John Kerry to encourage European banks to do business with Iranian financial institutions, most have hesitated.
Iran arrests two Catholics in new wave of brutality against Christians
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested two Christians – a mother and her son – in late February as part of a brutal crackdown on Catholicism in the country's West Azerbaijan Province.
The family's bibles and literature on Christian theology were also seized during the draconian raid, according to a March 5 report on the website of the Iranian Christian News Agency, Mohabat.
"The arrest of two newly Christian converts – Anousheh Rezabakhsh and Soheil Zargarzadeh (mother and son, respectively) – in Urmia, a northern city in Iran, is very sad and concerning, especially as they both are dealing with health issues. It's been more than two weeks that Iranian authorities have not provided any news on them," Eliot Assoudeh, an Iranian-American academic at University of Nevada, told Fox News on Wednesday.
He said Christianity is the fastest-growing religion in Iran, and many Christian converts "have to risk their lives attending underground churches."
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.


text:
Midday Sunday reports out of Washington DC indicate that "negotiations" on resolving the fiscal cliff have broken down. This presages a major stock market drop in all worldwide markets starting in about five hours when Far East markets open around 7pm Eastern time.
Stock market futures were already down significantly after the market close Friday, following a sharp Friday afternoon selloff.
Monday is not a stock market holiday. American stock markets are open between 9:30 am and 1:00 pm tomorrow. This may be a fun day to sit at home and watch the action. Expect lots of loss-taking because institutional investors like hedge funds and mutual funds will want to protect their gains (or cut their losses) as much as possible. This is a form of "window dressing" as fund managers try to protect their annual and quarterly results. To a lesser extent, there may be tax-driven selling as tomorrow is the last day in 2012 in which one can sell and realize taxable events (gains in 2012, to capture a presumably lower rate since rates are expected to rise sharply starting January 1st; taking losses is also advantageous as a writeoff against any realized gains).
We may see a manic panic rush to the exits as people covering the trading desks for others still on vacation get panicked calls from higher-ups to dump stocks, bonds, possibly any asset class. One notable asset class exception may be derivatives and exchange-traded funds which attempt to move inversely to the market. Holders in those funds -- or others which fled stocks in anticipation of a fiscal cliff crisis actually occurring -- may be partying well in advance of the ball being dropped tomorrow.


text:
Hearing the words "Tacos de Canasta", or better, having them yelled in your ear while speeding down a six-lane thoroughfare will inevitably result in spontaneous braking and veering, and this time proved to be no exception. Luckily I had sped out in front of the cluster of traffic from the last stoplight and so I had plenty of time to hit the brakes, cross three lanes of traffic and pull a U-turn before the oncoming cars were able to mow us down. I then had just enough time to cross the other three lanes and swerve into Stevo's Pizza and Ribs.
I pulled up next to Stevo's excellent Volkswagen bug complete with mohawk. Stevo's, for those of you that don't know, is a pizza joint on South Havana that among other things will deliver food from other restaurants (for a fee) and also will pay you $100 for you and friend to eat a pizza that doesn't look like it would be that hard to eat.
It wasn't Stevo and his pizzas that we were her for, however, but the tacos that were advertised on large banners outside. In fact we were not even greeted by Stevo (or the Stevo employee at the register), nor were we addressed in English. I'm not sure if we had the look of tacos in our eyes (we did) but it was a man behind a second register who adressed us-- in Spanish.
He immediately saw the confused look I wore (I always wear this look) and began to explain the half- American pizza, half-Mexican taco concept, which it turns out was not so much a concept as it was a necessity. In order to survive in this restaurant-killing economy, Stevo started sharing his restaurant space with our affable host who runs an entirely separate operation he calls El Costeño. "Even the Gabachos," he told us in Spanish with a smile as he nodded toward the man I am calling Stevo, "Need help these days."
And for the brief time we were in Stevo's it did seem like El Costeño was doing more than its share to keep Steveo's afloat. Not a single customer came in for ribs or pizzas, while several filed in and out with Mexican food in hand. The fact that the TV was even tuned in to a Spanish news station may be an indication that Stevo and his ribs are being overshadowed by the Mexican crowd.
This of course, in my mind, is what makes our country so great--not that an immigrant entrepreneur can outdo his American counterpart--but that one restaurant has survived only through uniting two different cuisines and cultures. What can be more American than that?
But back to those tacos. Tacos de canasta (basket tacos) are a type of steamed taco not unlike another favorite of mine, al vapor; but unlike tacos al vapor which are oft-filled with steamed and shredded beef, tacos de canasta are known for their variety of fillings. Tacos de canasta are a very typical street food in Mexico City (hence the yelling from my wife) that I've never seen before in Denver (hence the swerving and sudden U-turn). They are usually sold from a plastic-and-towel-lined basket on the back of a bike, and are uniquely suited for this portable vending because they can be cooked at home and then continue to steam (and stay hot) in the basket. The result is a fall-apart soft tortilla, usually glistening with the oil and grease of its flavorful fillings. It can be a nice break from its heavier taco counterparts, and because they are prepared quite often I imagine in someone's home, they have a comforting homemade taste to them.
I've always assumed that this taco originated in the DF, whose crowded city streets seem made for tacos slung out of the back of bicycles. Actually, to be perfectly honest I've never thought about where tacos de canasta might be from until eating at El Costeño. Our host that day shared with us a plethora of unsolicited (yet interesting and useful) information about these tacos. Apparently they originated and still primarily come from a small town about an hour outside of Mexico City, San Vicente Xiloxochitla (say it: Chi-lo-chi-tla). He told us how thousands of tacos are meticulously prepared in this mountain town every night with vendors travelling as far as the capital city every day to hawk their goods at strategically placed, pre-determined regions of the city (that is, everywhere). And while he is actually a costeño, or coastal man, from Acapulco, he insisted that this was true. In fact he told us he fights about this with customers on a regular basis who come in with the idea that this taco was born in their native Mexico City. "Look it up on the internet", he told me, over and over.
I didn't search hard enough to get to the bottom of the debate, but I did verify what he told us about the first Sunday in December, where the Feria de Tacos de Canasta is held to celebrate the 80-year history this taco shares with San Vicente, where at least 50 percent of the people earn a living by selling this taco. At last year's feria, they gave away 100 thousand tacos to eight thousand people. And while the Feria de Tacos is now on near top of my bucket list, the only thing that I was wondering about after he was done talking to us was how well this costeño made tacos de canasta.
The guaje seed is sort of like a lima bean, and in my taco de mole added some interesting texture, but any flavor was lost in the intense and wonderful mole. The guaje was not bad, but one thing I love about tacos de canasta is the fact that they are baby-food soft, so anything that messes with that has to go.
The chorizo and papa that I tried next was equally as good. This classic blend of creamed potato mash with chunks of spicy chorizo sausage was faithfully executed and full of flavor.
My favorite had to be the taco de chicarron. Its no secret that fried pig skin is a favorite of mine, but all soft and oily with what I think was epazote-- it was divine. If Stevo would fill that pizza box with these tacos I wouldn't need a friend to get that hundred bucks.
It turns out that this costeño makes a fantastic taco de canasta. Each taco was brilliant, even one made with nothing more than refried beans, which I loved as an example of a taco at its pure, simple best.
My afternoon at El Costeño reinforced another of life's valuable lessons: reckless driving and spontaneity often reaps tasty rewards. I highly recommend a trip over to Aurora to sample these well-made and true-to-the-original versions of a Mexico City (and San Vicente Xiloxochitla) classic in this born-of-necessity pizza, rib and taco joint. And speaking of the bad economy, after you get warmed up on five tacos, that pizza-eating contest looks like easy money.


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Your morning roundup for June 19, the day some sexy finally came out of the Vancouver riots (it starts at 0:45 of this video), and the day we all wish a Happy Father's Day to the appropriate person in our lives.
What we watched: In what could be seen as a major victory for gingers globally, undefeated Mexican Saul "Canelo" Alvarez redhead-stepchilded Ryan Rhodes in a super-welterweight title bout in Canelo's hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico. It was totally lopsided. Rhodes, a Brit, barely put up a fight in the fight. The towel got thrown, but ref was already stopping the manhandling a minute into the final round.
Had it gone to the cards, Rhodes wouldn't have won a round (probably). The only interesting angles to emerge from the HBO telecast were listening to Roy Jones try to piece together coherent thought just weeks after he was brutalized in Russia, and trying to figure out what kind of spectator scrapping distracted the attention of most attendees away from the ring during the eighth and ninth rounds.
The highlight came in the super-featherweight undercard when Adrien Broner of "Team Trouble" trapped Jason "the American Boy" Litzau against the ropes with 15 seconds left in the first round. There, he proceeded to land no fewer than 13 head shots in 12 seconds until ginger referee — coincidence? — Chris Thrasher intervened.
On the plus side, boxing fans have a pretty damn good youngster to watch potentially develop into a great one.
What we're watching: The final round of the U.S. Open, of course. Not that it'll likely be exciting. Hell, Rory McIlroy added a pair of strokes to his lead to end yesterday's play eight strokes ahead of what some would call his closest "competition."
After setting the all-time 54-hole tourney record, the 22-year-old noted, "No lead is big enough. You can't get complacent. You need to keep going. Obviously having a big lead can come with its own pressure. I felt very comfortable out there today."
These words, collectively, are cliches. And these words are central-scripting for exactly what you're supposed to say. But these words come from the mouth of a kid who blew a four-stroke lead at the Masters within the past three months. So these words also explain why, on a slooooow sports day, it's worth checking out links coverage if only to make sure dude doesn't painfully morph into the loveable loser. But he won't. Because he can't. Can he? Of course not. Right?
"This is a serious, serious injury": University of Nevada WR Brandon Wimberly is unlikely to ever play again after being shot Saturday morning in a players-vs.-other group scuffle in Reno.
While the injuries aren't life-threatening, they are being characterized as "life-changing." The incoming junior isn't expected to play football again.
"It's an extensive injury," said Nevada football coach Chris Ault, adding that Wimberly likely will be in the hospital for at least a week. "Another centimeter and the doctor said he might not have made it to the hospital." [Reno Gazette-Journal]
This could have been a serious, serious injury: "The White Sox needed a shock to their system after losing three consecutive games. Seeing pitcher John Danks take a line drive off his head wasn't what they had in mind.
Danks fortunately was able to laugh off one of the most frightening and bizarre scenes of the season, and the Sox responded with a much-needed 6-2 victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night." [Chicago Sun-Times]
Talkin' 'bout the dissolution of a relationship. Not adultery: Allen Iverson's wife Tawanna filed for divorce. Again. However, the probably-to-be-ex Mrs. Iverson maintained her husband had never cheated on her, that it's a matter of just growing apart [TMZ]. In relatively related news, Shaquille O'Neal's ex-wife says she was offered a Wilt Chamberneezy sex tape [Also TMZ].
Tiki Barber, semi-reformed nihilist: Tiki Barber will say, on HBO Tuesday night, that he was depressed when he retired from the NFL. Now, he's on "a fucking mission of redemption." Oh, good.
Told by [Armen] Keteyian that some folks at NBC viewed Barber as "entitled" and "a little too cool for school," Barber said, "I would be interested to hear someone say that to my face." [PFT]
An offer from the boob-showcasing Ukuleke Girl: I traded emails with Sarah K. of New Zealand ukulele boob fame yesterday. She shared the fact you did, in fact, help her win the $10K prize in that commercial contest. She continued that she hopes you enjoyed the encore video and asked if you had "any requests"? She's been invited to comment here, so we'll see how that goes.
Plutocratic gamesmanship:: If you're interested in watching the President play golf with white and orange dudes, here's some raw video of just that. [AP]
Nashville Predator's agent is not a strong speller: Shea Weber won something called a "medil" at the World Championships in 2007 and 2009 and the Olympics in 2010. Congrats! [On the Forecheck] (H/T Dirk H.)
We are all Dave McKenna CXXXV: Here's your daily link to Dave McKenna's brilliant "Cranky Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder," which we'll be posting until Mike Shanahan helps Kitty Kelley ink the most damning unauthorized biography of her career.
It's as if Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. was reanimated, taught to depend on a handbook of cutesy pop-culture writing gimmicks and kidnapped all over again after refusing to pay his bills: About a dozen tipsters have sent word that some site called Grantland is down this morning. Worked for me, though, not that I had any inclination to read about Jimmy Kimmel's dad, nor will I ever, even if it's a free pass out of Hell.
Where's Goldie Hawn when inner-city athletes need her?: If high-school football was a game played on an 80-yard field, Lehman High School in the Bronx would totally rule. Because that's what it has. After a $5 million renovation. Says alum Mario Romain, "There was an error somewhere in the planning. For someone to correct it, I guess it would be a little mud on somebody's face." [CBS New York]
Could there be a baseball brain-cancer cluster?: Earlier this week, a doctor wondered via op/ed whether Gary Carter's malignant brain-tumor diagnosis was sign of a cluster among similarly aged baseball men or just a tragic coincidence.
He is at least the eighth major leaguer who played or coached in or around 1980 to be diagnosed with brain cancer. Besides Carter, the list of contemporaries includes Bobby Murcer, Dick Howser, John Vukovich, Ken Brett, Johnny Oates, Dan Quisenberry and Tug McGraw. [Chicago Tribune]
(Top video H/T Negativo)


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jLauncher is a new jailbreak tweak that aims to replace the app switcher and allow users to get the most out of multitasking according to the developer—John Corbett.
In iOS, when you double-click on the Home button, the app switcher or the multitasking bar appears at the bottom, showing the most recently used apps. You can swipe the bar to the left to see more apps, swipe the multitasking bar from left to the right to see the audio playback controls along with the orientation lock and swipe again from the left to the right to see the volume control and the AirPlay button.
jLauncher replaces this with all the controls in one screen with a translucent background along with the brightness control and date & time so you don't have to waste time scrolling.
You can invoke jLauncher using an Activator action. We like the way jLauncher slides in from the edges. The jailbreak tweak has a native look and feel to it, so it doesn't feel out of place compared to the other app switcher alternatives.
One downside of the jailbreak tweak is that, it doesn't currently allow you to kill an app from the list of recently used apps, so you will still need the iOS app switcher until the developer includes the functionality in jLauncher.
The jailbreak tweak doesn't provide any configuration options in the Settings app, all you need to do is configure the Activator action to start using it.
You can check out the video walkthrough of jLauncher below and let us know what you think:
jLauncher is available on Cydia for $1.99. It requires iOS 5 or higher.
If you're looking for app switcher alternatives, check out Multifl0w, MissionBoard Pro, Dash, Aero, Switchy before buying jLauncher.


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something else - ebony (03/11/17 20:14:18)
"Ebony, when ground into fine dust (for example, during sawing), results in a flammable and toxic powder which can float about in air for several days. Due to the high toxicity of ebony in powdered form, its use in construction work requires government certification in several South Asian countries."
Somebody please tell me that if the bloody thing is heavy enough to sink in water, how its dust can float in the air for days?
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(The Root) — In 2012 the nation's first African-American president, Barack Obama, proved to be the ultimate comeback kid. After being vilified by his Republican opposition, the president won a surprisingly decisive re-election. A rainbow coalition of Asian Americans, Hispanics, white progressives and independents joined forces with a solid African-American constituency to deliver a victory.
Democrats gained seats in both houses of Congress — shrinking the Republican stronghold to which the Tea Party rise had given birth. America summarily rejected xenophobic attacks on immigrants, race-baiting of the black president and flawed economic theory that tax cuts for the wealthy trickle down to the poor.
Obama's success seems to be a full repudiation of Jim Crow-style politics. The nation's demographic shifts — first revealed in 2010 census data — outlined the writing on the wall, spelling an end to the Republicans' Southern strategy.
The change that so many progressives had hoped for in 2008 may first have appeared stymied by the visceral obstinacy from Republicans that Obama endured during his first term. The president's inclination to compromise with Republicans left many a liberal fearing that he'd fail to be the transformative figure they had believed in.
But it appears that those fears were unfounded. Promises made were promises kept: The nation was rescued from the brink of economic collapse, programs to assist the unemployed and impoverished were expanded, health care reform was signed, "Don't ask, don't tell" was repealed, the war in Iraq was ended and Obama even became the first sitting president to express support for same-sex marriage equality.
The American people got the memo.
Beyond retaining the Oval Office, Democrats saw a wave of liberal ideals embraced at the ballot box. Colorado and Washington state voted to decriminalize recreational use of marijuana — joining several states that already allow regulated medical usage. Same-sex marriage won popular-vote victories for the first time at the state level, and national polls showed that a majority of Americans agree with the president on that issue.
During the presidential campaign, the fate of the Affordable Care Act under a potential Romney administration remained in doubt. Now "Obamacare" paves the way for universal health care coverage — a key tenet of Democratic philosophy for more than half a century.
Yes, it appears to be the dawning of a Democratic age — a shift from the dominance of neoconservative ideology that has dominated American political thought since the Reagan era.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's declaration that his No. 1 priority was to make Obama a one-term president fell on deaf ears. Increasingly, younger, browner voters are choosing the Democratic message: Women's reproductive rights are not negotiable; minority rights are not debatable.
So what's next for the Democratic Party? Although long-term demographic shifts clearly favor Democrats, the Republican establishment maintains its regional dominance in the Deep South and parts of the Midwest. Strategic attacks on organized labor in Wisconsin and Michigan — America's industrial heartland — prove that the GOP remains emboldened.
Dismantling workers' rights empowers corporate tycoons, takes bargaining power away from the working and middle classes and undermines an egalitarian society — making the American dream an elusive dream indeed. But this strategy also has electoral implications. As membership decreases, unions become financially strained — less able to promote their message or support progressive candidates.
And it doesn't stop there. The GOP's efforts to systematically disenfranchise African-American and Hispanic voters through new voter-ID laws may have been thwarted by Attorney General Eric Holder's Justice Department in 2012, but some Republicans are now scheming to change the Electoral College setup in several states ahead of the 2016 contest.
One battle is over, but the war continues.
And Democrats, though excited about the possibility of a resilient Hillary Clinton or a popular Joe Biden continuing Obama's legacy, must face the hard truth that both of those candidates are older, wealthy and white. Just as Republicans must change with the times, so must Democrats.
There is no African-American or Hispanic Democrat in the U.S. Senate. There are no prominent Asian-American leaders within the Democratic Caucus. And Republicans actually have more minority governors currently serving than Democrats do.
The excitement of Obama's presidency provides a thin veil over the underlying problem of a lack of diversity within the nation's progressive party. Democratic leaders must reflect the coalition that put them there: black, brown, white, gay and straight. President Obama may have rewritten the rules, but the Democratic Party will need to make fundamental changes in order to remain credible and representative in the post-Obama era.
For the times, they are a changin'.
Edward Wyckoff Williams is a contributing editor at The Root. He is a columnist and political analyst, appearing on Al-Jazeera, MSNBC, CBS Washington and national syndicated radio. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
Edward Wyckoff Williams is a contributing editor at The Root. He is a columnist and political analyst, appearing on Al-Jazeera, MSNBC, ABC, CBS Washington and national syndicated radio. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.


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BATTLECROSS Ready To Hit The Road w/ KILLSWITCH ENGAGE & TRIVIUM In The States In MAY 2014
February 27, 2014
– February 27th, 2014 –
Tour with Protest the Hero kicks off this Saturday in Buffalo, NY – Band added to Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals in Germany!
BATTLECROSS, who just returned home from a very successful tour in Europe (the band's first) playing with Killswitch Engage, Trivium, and Miss May I, are set to hit the road in the States this weekend on the US tour featuring Protest the Hero, The Safety Fire, Intervals, and Night Verses. The first date of the tour is in Buffalo, NY on Saturday, March 1 and wraps up in Amityville, NY on April 6.
The band comments; "We just had an amazing run with Killswitch Engage and Trivium in Europe and we're stoked to be with them yet again in the US! We're going to have a blast with our fans and hopefully make some new ones!"
The touring doesn't stop here though, as BATTLECROSS will be playing dates with Killswitch Engage and Trivium as well as making a stop at the infamous New England Metal & Hardcore Festival. Check out all the dates for the Protest the Hero tour as well as solo dates, NEMF, and dates with Killswitch Engage and Trivium below.
In other BATTLECROSS news, the band has just been confirmed to perform at both Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals taking place in Germany this June.
June 5-8, 2014 Rock am Ring – www.rock-am-ring.com
June 6-9, 2014 Rock im Park – www.rock-im-park.com
BATTLECROSS' latest album, "War of Will," debuted at #134 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, #118 on the top current albums chart, #2 on the heatseeker chart, #15 on the current hard music chart, #16 on the hard music overall chart, and #32 on the independent albums chart. It didn't stop here though, as the band also debuted in Canada's Soundscan charts coming in at #178 Top 200 Current and #25 Hard Music Charts while also landing on the iTunes charts for release date at #103 Top 200, #10 on Rock, and #2 on Metal! This marks the band's first ever Billboard chart debut! "War of Will" also peaked at #3 on the US iTunes metal chart on the day of release.
Check out the video for "Never Coming Back" from the album "War of Will." The Roy Warner directed clip can be seen HERE.
"WAR OF WILL" is out now on Metal Blade Records. GET IT HERE: Amazon
Tour w/ Protest the Hero, The Safety Fire, Intervals, Night Verses
03/01 Buffalo, NY Waiting Room
03/02 Cincinnati, OH Bogarts
03/03 Grand Rapids, MI The Stache at The Intersection
03/04 Des Moines, IA Wooly's
03/05 Burnsville, MN The Garage
03/06 La Crosse, WI Warehouse w/ Night Verses ONLY
03/07 Milwaukee, WI The Eagles Hall
03/08 Joliet, IL Mojoes
03/09 Lincoln, NE Bourbon Theatre
03/10 Ft. Collins, CO Aggie Theatre
03/11 Grand Junction, CO Mesa Theater and Club
03/12 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
03/14 Spokane, WA The Hop
03/15 Boise, ID Knitting Factory
03/16 Reno, NV Knitting Factory
03/17 Sacramento, CA Assembly
03/18 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
03/19 Tucson, AZ 191 Toole
03/21 Lubbock, TX Jake's Backroom
03/22 Austin, TX Red 7
03/23 Little Rock, AR Juanita's
03/24 Baton Rouge, LA The Varsity Theatre
03/26 St. Petersburg, FL State Theatre
03/27 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
03/28 Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbits
03/29 Wilmington, NC Ziggy's By The Sea
03/30 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
04/01 Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall
04/02 Washington, DC The Rock and Roll Hotel
04/03 Hartford, CT Webster Theater
04/04 Rochester, NY Montage Music Hall
04/05 Cambridge, MA The Middle East Downstairs
04/06 Amityville, NY Revolution
End Tour
04/19 Worcester, MA The Palladium New England Metal and Hardcore Festival
04/30 Clifton, NJ Dingbatz
05/01 Huntington, NY Paramount w/ Killswitch Engage, Into Another, My Ticket Home
05/02 Poughkeepsie, NY The Loft w/ Beyond Dishonor, Soulstyce
05/03 Wilmington, DE Mojo 13 w/ Beyond Dishonor
05/04 Reading, PA Reverb w/ Killswitch Engage, Into Another, My Ticket Home
Tour w/ Killswitch Engage and Nothing More
05/15 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live w/ Trivium
05/17 London, ON London Music Hall w/ Trivium
05/18 Buffalo, NY The Town Ballroom
05/20 Birmingham, AL Iron City w/ Trivium
05/22 Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall w/ Trivium
Headline dates
05/23 Kokomo, IN Centerstage Bar and Grill
05/24 St. Louis, MO FUBAR
05/25 Merriam, KS Aftershock
Dates w/ Killswitch Engage and Nothing More
05/27 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater
05/28 Grand Junction, CO Mesa Theater


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Last year, BMW showed that if it did want to make a plug-in hybrid, it'd make a damn sexy one. Now, the company has announced its intent to bring the car, which can be charged using a normal power socket in two and a half hours, to the masses in 2013.
Of course, since the car is still three years away the company has yet to put a price on it. That, and BMW will be trying to enter a market — the hybrid sportscar market — that has been teased by the likes of the Tesla and the Volt. Then again, the BMW name alone will probably bring enthusiasts flocking to the vehicle, which goes zero to 60 in under five seconds.
One thing we hope isn't final, though, is the name: Vision EfficientDynamics. Yep, spelled just like that. We ignored it when it was still a concept, but it doesn't seem to play well as a real product. That, and what's up with that paint job? We like the first iteration of the car best — take a trip down memory lane in the gallery below.
Via Fast Company


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Meluka and castors - it's how we roll!
But if for some reason you don't want to roll with us we have a fixed leg alternative which is simple and sturdy (60mm Dia. x 100mm High) available in white and natural timber – its not a castor but its still very Meluka.
If ordering online please also make contact with us if you would like this fixed leg alternative.