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Asian Tribune is published by World Institute For Asian Studies|Powered by WIAS Vol. 12 No. 2584
65th Independence Day Celebrations: No bilingual rendering of National Anthem at Trincomalee
Congratulation Sri Lanka – The country will be celebrating tomorrow 4th February, the 65th Independence Day at Trincomalee, the Eastern port city, but the issue of course is about the rendition of the National Anthem – whether the traditional one or bilingual format.
The Independence Day celebrations will commence at 8.30 AM tomorrow with 100 female students from schools in Trincomalee singing the National Anthem.
It was reported on 23 January, that Minister for National Languages and Social Integration, Vasudeva Nanayakkara have proposed to President Mahinda Rajapaksa to rewrite the 'National Anthem' with Sinhala and Tamil verses to be sung particularly at national events.
The National Languages and Social Integration ministry also has proposed that the new national anthem be sung at the forthcoming Independence Day celebrations in Trincomalee.
To clarify Asian Tribune contacted W.D.J. Seniwaratne – Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs and asked whether the National Anthem would be sung in the original form or else in bilingual – i.e. Sinhala and Tamil Languages, in tomorrow's 65th Independent Day Celebrations in Trincomalee?
The Minister W.D.J. Seniwaratne told the Asian Tribune, "The point is this that we are having the National Anthem and it is the National Antherm accepted in the Constitution and that National Anthem will be sung. You can't meddle with the National Anthem, as easily as certain people think. That is the matter that has to be decided very seriously," he said.
Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs said, "Now in practice in our country that in certain functions in North and East, National Anthem is sung in Tamil also, giving the same meaning that is given in the Sinhalese version. That has not been objected to.
Minister W.D.J. Seniwaratne further said, recently I went to a function in the North to open an AGA's office and there the National Anthem was sung in both languages – Sinhala and thereafter in Tamil. That is ok, but as far as the official recognition is concerned there is a traditional National Anthem , that has been in practice and that has been sung for the last about 64 years.
Given below the excerpts of the interview Asian Tribune had with W.D.J. Seniwaratne – Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs:
Asian Tribune: What about the recommendation by the National Languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nananayakkara about the bilingual rendering of the National Anthem?
Minister W.D.J. Seniwaratne: Minister Vasudeva Nananayakkara has made a suggestion and the suggestion has not been referred to any committees so far. Only last week he made that suggestion. He said that will promote ethnic harmony.
Asian Tribune: I wish to endorse the views of Minister because majority of the Tamils - more than 90 % has never sung the National Anthem in their life?
Minister W.D.J. Seniwaratne: That is very bad.
Asian Tribune: Because they say that they did not have a National Anthem in a known language for them to consider singing it.
Minister W.D.J. Seniwaratne: You can't expect that. In India there are so many linguistic groups, but nevertheless there is only one National Anthem. Everybody sing it.
Asian Tribune: But you are going to have this time the Independence Day celebrations in the Eastern Province - a Tamil area?
Minister W.D.J. Seniwaratne: No that is a different thing. Whether we have it in South, East , West or North, we have to sing it in the language the National Anthem, that has been recognized officially? What Minister Vasudeva Nananayakkara has suggested was his personal view. That is not approved.
Asian Tribune: Was Minister Vasudeva Nananayakkara 's suggestion put forward either to the Cabinet or to any other committees for consideration?
Minister W.D.J. Seniwaratne: No… no. He hasn't put forward his proposal to the Cabinet, but he has only made a statement to the press. I wanted to tell you that I think, two National Anthems are not found in any country in the world. When we follow India, it has only one National Anthem.
But National Languages is concerned we have two national Languages – Sinahala and Tamil.
Now that I am the Minister of Public Administration and all the letters that is sent to North and East is sent along with a Tamil version. It is not being sent in Sinhala Language saying that it is the official Language because both languages are official languages – we have recognized legally and constitutionally. So we adhere to that.
According to Sri Lanka : The Untold Story - Chapter 12: Tryst with independence - By K.T.Rajasingham
" On the recommendation of the Sri Lanka Gandharva Sabha, a competition to select a national anthem was conducted in January 1948. Ananda Samarakoon's "Namo Namo Matha" (salutation to the mother) was chosen as the national anthem.
The main theme of the anthem is designed to instill honor and respect to the motherland and create national progress though unity.
The Sinhala and Tamil version of the National Anthem:
The English translation is:
Mother Lanka - we salute Thee!
Plenteous in prosperity, Thou,
Beauteous in grace and love,
Laden with corn and luscious fruits
And fragrant flowers of radiant hue,
Giver of life and all good things,
Our land of joy and victory,
Receive our grateful praise sublime,
Lanka! We worship Thee.
Thou gave us Knowledge and Truth,
Thou art our strength and inward faith,
Our light divine and sentient being,
Breath of life and liberation.
Grant us, bondage free, inspiration.
Inspire us forever.
In wisdom and strength renewed,
Ill will, hatred, strife all ended,
In love enfolded, a mighty nation,
Marching onward, all as one,
Lead us, Mother, to the fullest freedom.
During the early 1950s, there was a controversy about the anthem. A defect was found in the lyrics and the opening words were changed to Sri Lanka Matha - "Apa Sri Lanka" (Our Sri Lanka Mother).
The first rendering of the National Anthem was made on Independence Day on February 4, 1948, by a group of 500 students from Musaeus College, Colombo and it was broadcast over Ceylon Radio.
According to Sri Lanka's Constitution Chapter 1, Clause (7) The National Anthem of the Republic of Sri Lanka shall be "Sri Lanka Matha" the words and music are set out the Third Schedule.
The Sri Lankan national anthem has translated lyrics for each of the country's official languages Sinhala and Tamil. It was actually written in Sinhala, but a Tamil translation is also played on some occasions and mostly played in Tamil Provinces and Tamil schools since 1950.
But in the Seventies singing national anthem was a taboo in the North and East and the Tamils living in these two provinces were compelled to use the LTTE's Tamil Eelam anthem. The Tamil Tigers waged a battle for 30 long years for the bifurcation of Sri Lanka. But after the end of the ethnic conflict it is observed Tamils in the North and East are gradually beginning to give up Tamil Eelam – the Utopian state and considering living in a united country. There is also marked change in the thinking of the leaders of the Tamil National Alliance which was created by late Tiger leaders as proxy.
The Indian National anthem, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. It was first sung 27 December 1911 at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas. The lyrics were rendered into English by Tagore himself.
In the meantime, South Africa's national anthem is unique and in that five of the country's eleven official languages are used in the same anthem (the first stanza is divided between two languages, with each of the remaining three stanzas in a different language).
Apart from God Save the Queen, the New Zealand national anthem is now traditionally sung with the first verse in Maori (Aotearoa) and the second in English (God Defend New Zealand). The tune is the same but the words are not a direct translation of each other.
Another multilingual country, Spain, has no words in its anthem, La Marcha Real, although in 2007 a national competition to write words was launched.
In the meantime, Tamil political leaders and some Western governments have accused Rajapaksa of moving slowly on reconciliation.
"This might reflect the true picture of the government," M.A Sumanthiran, a Tamil legislator, told Reuters. "This will stop Tamils singing the national anthem for ever if they want."
Among the many reasons given by Tamil for taking up arms was the introduction in 1956 of the Sinhala Only Act, which made the language of the majority Sinhalese, people the only official language in Sri Lanka.
That act was aimed at what Sinhalese leaders felt was the disproportionate representation of Tamils in the civil service. Tamils held about a third of government jobs at the time.
Under the constitution now, Sinhala and Tamil enjoy equal status, but in reality there are many government offices where only Sinhala language is spoken.
- Asian Tribune -


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This illustration was used by Michael Jackson in his rehearsals for This Is It tour, you can see it in the movie Michael Jackson This Is it.
But I made it some years before, just as a personal exercise.
A previous version of the image was featured on the first book of Exposé books dedicated to digital art :

subset: commoncrawl


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Helping in new and different ways: including St. Sava in your estate planning or as a beneficiary of your life insurance.
Occasionally St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral has benefitted greatly from bequests from our parishioners through their estate. This can be done by including a simple provision in their will or revocable living trust, depending on what is best to suit their estate planning needs. Also, parishioners have been known to make the church a primary beneficiary of their life insurance policy, when the original purpose for the protection no longer applies—such as to educate children now grown or to provide financial security for a spouse now deceased. Both are simple and easy to do, and we encourage parishioners to consider them as options for helping the church.


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- The Brothers Comatose are an acoustic quintet whose music blends bluegrass and folk, so naturally I'm smitten. "Morning Time" features vocals from The Gramblers' Nicki Bluhm, whose voice pairs perfectly with singer Ben Morrison's, and the lyrics seem especially relevant to me at this house-hunting stage in my life with Mr. Q.
- At EAD, a horizon blue ranch inspiration shoot.
- Glam engagement party invites from Lia Griffith.
- Beautiful Hawaiian portraits from Magnolia Rouge.
- Style Me Pretty features a sweet Texas wedding.
- January desktops: Flipsnack, Front Door, Lily and Val.
- 2016 reading challenges from Modern Mrs. Darcy and Popsugar.
- Have you joined Emma Watson's new feminist book club yet?
- 20 reminders for the New Year, from Sunday Chapters:
"Life literally never goes as planned, so don't waste your time fretting about the future. Life is never going to work out how you planned and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you will start greeting the unexpected with open arms. Let the unknown, the unplanned and the possibility of change excite you. Let the future take you to places you never knew."
- Last year I got my first Stitch Fix, rounded up winter Pinspiration, and joined the PMT Style Challenge.
- Two years ago, I picked my favorite styles from the Golden Globes along with hair and makeup, and continued to work through Lara Casey's goal setting series by reflecting on what didn't work in 2013.
- Three years ago, Sunday Social was all about blogging. I picked my favorite Golden Globes looks, collected ideas for bridal portraits, and shared my January blog loves.
- Four years ago I rounded up side braid hairstyles.
What are your plans for this week? Have you made any
resolutions or chosen any mantras for the New Year?
Fellow bloggers, I'd love it if you shared a link to your


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It's time for another episode of Rate the Privacy Threat. In our most recent installment, we looked at the click tracking in iTunes (new downloads now include a privacy warning before enabling the feature). Today's issue is a new Mozilla Firefox feature that will allow sites to specify a "pingback" URL that will be hit after the user clicks on an outbound link from the site.
To understand what this feature will do and why Web site creators are asking for it, it's necessary to look at how sites currently track how many people follow outbound links. Many sites (including some weblogs) like to keep track of which links people are clicking on. The way this is implemented currently is that they direct all links to a script that acts as a "clickthrough tracker." The actual URL to follow is passed as a parameter to the script, which logs the clickthrough and then sends the user on their way. As the blog entry describing the Firefox feature points out, there are some problems with this approach. Number one on the list is that you have to wait for the clickthrough script to process your request before you get to see the content you really wanted to see. If that script is bogging down, you can wait to see your content even if the link's destination is on your LAN. The second problem is that if you don't want your clickthrough tracked, you have to copy the link location, cut the URL out of it, and then paste it into your browser.
The Firefox approach is to add an attribute to the
a tag named
ping. After you click on a link, Firefox will load the new page, and then send the link URL to the ping URL that's specified. From a performance standpoint, this is a win because you don't have to wait for the ping before you can see the content you were looking for in the first place. There's also a privacy advantage. Routing around today's clickthrough processor is a painful process that requires manual intervention. It sure seems to me like it would be easy to write a Firefox extension that would turn pings off, assuming the Firefox people don't include such a setting in the browser when it's released.
Clickthrough tracking is here to stay. Standardizing it and putting it under the control of the user seems like a win to me.


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Advocate Moshe Kahn
The founder of the firm, Adv. Moshe Kahn has more than twenty years of expertise as a business lawyer providing legal counseling and representation to local and foreign companies, including leading multinationals operating in Israel, in a wide range of industries and in various matters including: complex commercial, M&A and cross-border transactions, as well as real estate transactions, investments in hi-tech companies, and representation of clients in commercial litigation and arbitration proceedings.
Mr. Kahn is a member of both Israel and New York Bars.
Mr. Kahn's vast experience in business law has seen his appointment to a number of Boards of Directors of companies in various industries and as a member of the expert team at Think Excellence Ltd., a company providing multi-disciplinary assessments for investors.
Mr. Kahn served as a member of the Israel Bar Association's Corporate and Capital Markets committee, and served as deputy chairman of the Israel Bar Association's Hi-Tech committee and the Real-Estate committee from 2004 to 2007. He is the founder and editor of the website Business Law, providing industry information and analysis for clients and colleagues.
He also founded the Center for Mediation of Conflicts between Lawyers, of the Israel Bar Association's National Mediation Institution.
Mr. Kahn's legal career began in the law offices of Gornitzky & Co, and M. Seligman & Co in Israel, and at Rosenman & Colin (currently known as Katten Muchin Rosenman) in New York.
Mr. Kahn manages an internet forum on corporate law on the Lawforums website.
Mr. Kahn has an LL.B degree from Bar Ilan University in Israel, and is fluent in both Hebrew and English.
Advocate Uri Milshtein
Mr. Milshtein specializes in areas of commercial law, such as corporate, business and labor law. Among other things, Mr. Milshtein advises clients on domestic and cross border commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, venture financing, start-ups and founders agreements. Mr. Milshtein also provides clients with ongoing advice regarding various regulatory matters and labor law.
Samuel Haddad, Adv.
Mr. Samuel Haddad holds an LL.B degree from Ono Academic College in Kiriyat Ono.
Sagi Aharon, Adv.
Mr. Sagi Aharon holds an LL.B and a B.A Degree in communications from the College of Management Academic Studies, and an LL.M degree from Tel-Aviv University.
Daniel Riboy, Adv.
Mr. Daniel Riboy holds an LL.B degree from Ono Academic College in Kiriyat Ono.
Mr. Riboy is also engaged in providing legal opinions involving all his areas of expertise.
Rotem Eran, Adv.
Ms. Rotem Eran holds an LL.B and B.A (Management), as well as an MBA, all from Tel-Aviv University.


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Megabite in the Community
Giving back to the communities we are located in is a principle at the core of our company. Megabite Pizza sponsors all kinds of community initiatives from the arts, sports, cultural activities and events and community groups.
We are able to help in a number of different ways, from sponsorship to marketing to special rates on group orders.
If you would like to have Megabite Pizza participate in your event, please send us your proposal at least six weeks in advance. Apply here!
We attempt to honour all requests, but we receive a large number of proposals and so can not participate in every opportunity.


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This substantial portrait image is of the highly respected teacher, Dolpo Pa Sherab Gyeltsen (1292 -1361), a head of Jonang Monastery in the 14th century, an offshoot or sub-sect of the Sakya Order. He was an influential and controversial teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. He systemised Buddha-nature and Yogacara-Madhyamaka thought in a teaching known as shentong. Conventionally, he is known simply as Dolpopa.
The image is of solid, unfired moulded clay and decorated with polychrome. The lama, of ample girth, is dressed in red robes of traditional Tibetan style and a red monk's hat. His face, hands and the one visible foot are painted in gold.
Quite probably, this image would have been one of dozens made of patriarchs of the Sakya school. The representation is in a 15th century style but it is likely that the image was made in the 19th century and would have been stored along with others in a monastery.
The image is in fine condition. There is minor flaking to the polychrome here and there and a minor crack to the head. There are no significant chips or losses. Images of Dolpopa are relatively rare.
Lipton, B., & N.D. Ragnubs, Treasures of Tibetan Art: Collections of the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art,Oxford University Press, 1996.
Reynolds, V., Tibet: A Lost World: The Newark Museum Collection of Tibetan Art and Ethnology, The American Federation of Arts, 1978.


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Last night Dee and I went to see Spider-Man 3. Wow. All I can say is wow. It was spectacularly disappointing. They just tried to do too much. Three villains is way too many. Plus, it spent time dealing with the whole Peter-Harry-MJ-Gwen Stacey plot line. All told, we spent the entire time jumping between about seventeen different stories and never really got to explore any of them. On top of all of that, we were forced to sit through a bad rip-off of Saturday Night Fever when Peter Parker first contracts the Venom symbiote. It may have been one of the worst movie sequences I have been forced to sit through.
The final battle between Spider-Man and the bad guys is even disappointing. It feels like the writers backed themselves into a corner and wrote a quick fight scene where Spider-Man gets lucky enough to win (sort of). Great work, guys. After two solid, entertaining movies, you turned out this piece of crap and let us all down.


text: BS in Math/ MS in Computer Science This dual five-year program will allow students to complete a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Master of Science in Computer Science. This program will help graduates gain understanding of the mathematical foundations of computer science and also technical skills required for mathematical problem solving. It will also help future mathematicians to apply technical skills to test theory and computer scientists to apply mathematical tools to formulate practical problems. This program will prepare graduates to pursue careers in different fields including software and hardware industry, finance industry, mathematical and scientific research, higher education. See application information. Courses that fulfill both College Core Options and Major Requirements Course Number Course Name Credits MTH 231 Calculus I 4 CS 201 Computer Science I 4 PHY 101 General Physics I 4 PHY 102 General Physics II 4 Departmental Courses required for the Program Course Number Course Name Credits MTH 232 Calculus II 4 MTH 233 Calculus III 4 MTH 236 Introduction to Proof 3 MTH 250 Linear Algebra 3 MTH 310 Discrete Mathematics 3 MTH 421 Abstract Algebra I 3 MTH 432 Probability and Statistics I 3 MTH 406 or 410 or 411 or 415 Introduction to Topology or Advanced Calculus or Vector Analysis or Complex Variables 3 MTH ___ Elective 3 MTH 461 Capstone Seminar 3 Total required Math credits beyond core 32 Computer Science Courses required for the Program Course Number Course Name Credits CS 202 Computer Science II 4 CS 600 Data Structures 3 CS 610 Computer Architecture 3 CS 620 Database Systems 3 CS 630 Programming Languages 3 CS 650 Design of Operating Systems 3 CS ___ Electives (5 courses) 15 CS 780 and CS 784 or CS 980 and CS 981 Software Project Development: Design and Software Project Development: Implementation or Thesis Preparation Seminar and Thesis 6 Total required Math credits beyond core 40


text: Hey, As I continue to enjoy my 5122 I'm still looking at a possible pickup upgrade. Yes I know, everyones says TVJones Classic's. But here's a thought. Has anyone used a split coil setup on a 5120 or 5122 with the humbuckers that come stock on the guitar? Wonder how that would sound. Anyone have any ideas?


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Etsy Find: Silverware Picture Holders
Old hotel silver is one of those things we find tons of for cheap in antique stores, but unless we're organizing a wedding or a similarly huge sit-down dinner event, there's not always a lot we imagine being able to do with it. Not so Etsy seller monkeysalwayslook.
She creates these one-of-a-kind picture and note holders out of the old silverware, bending the tines and affixing magnets to keep the scraps in place. Her custom process is pretty neat as well - she'll send you pictures of the silverware to choose from before creating the piece.


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Additional motivation was that for prolongation of the agreement Moscow offered Baku far less for rent than it paid before. According to some Russian military experts, the Gabala Radar Station lost its former strategic importance, and over time, its efficiency was reducing, devices were wearing out and breaking down, and it was very costly to replace them that it would have been better to transfer the functions of Gabala radar to a new station in the North Caucasus (Armavir) construction of which has practically already been completed.
Apparently, the Russian government has taken into account both "wavering" position of Azerbaijan, and the opinion of Russian military experts, and stoped using the radar. The Russian Federation sent a corresponding note to the Azerbaijan side, according to which on December 10th, 2012 operation of the station was stopped and respectively, the agreement signed ten years ago was declared expired.
We cannot say that Russia was not interested in Gabala. It was Moscow's interest that led to a visit to Azerbaijan of the Vice Premier of the Russian Government (curator of the defense sector) Dmitry Rogozin that took place on August 15-16th, 2012, when he met with President Ilham Aliyev. Although, the meeting was confidential, according to leaked information the parties could not agree on the price of the lease.
Azerbaijani political analysts believe that the delay in deciding the fate of the Gabala Radar Station was due to bargaining between Putin and Aliyev, but the role of money in this matter was only formal. The main thing is that both parties have used this military facility to resolve foreign policy issues. Ilham Aliyev's interest was to force Russia to make a positive step in resolving the Karabakh conflict, and Vladimir Putin sought to use the Gabala Radar Station as a trump card in case Azerbaijan was to really threaten Russia's ally Armenia with a war.
What will happen next? Will the Gabala factor worsen the Azerbaijan-Russia relations? Expert opinions vary. Some believe that this will not worsen the relations, while others, on the contrary, claim that the events surrounding the Gabala radar indicate problems between the two countries, that in the future are likely to multiply. Azerbaijan is leaning more and more toward the West and its cooperation with NATO is deepening. Symptoms of "cooling" of relations between Baku and Moscow are already visible - instead of President Ilham Aliyev the CIS summit in Ashgabat, held on December 5 was attended by Prime Minister Artur Rasi-zade.
The Gabala Radar Station is a complex military facility, operation of which requires a lot of experience and expertise. It is a fact that Baku can not use that facility. They will have to find a new tenant for the station, naturally, among countries - members of NATO. So who will it be - the United States or Turkey?
In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush to jointly use the Gabala station instead of deploying the U.S. radar in the Czech Republic. The U.S. almost agreed to use the radar together with Russia, but later declined. The same fate befell the initiative of Moscow that was put forward by Russia at the Lisbon Summit in 2010 to make the Gabala station a part of the joint missile defence system.
Turkey is not interested in using the Gabala station as the outdated and also expensive facility would be an unnecessary burden on its economy. This assumption is confirmed by the results of the meeting of President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, held September 11, 2012 in the town of Gabala, near the military facility. Apparently, during the negotiations Turkey refused the Azerbaijan offer to operate the radar. Obviously, even if foreign tenants are found they cannot, for obvious reasons, fully operate the Russian-made radar and neither will they be able to use it against Russia, as a remote control of anti-missile system is in Moscow.
In the end, it seems, after some time, when Russia takes out special equipment of the station, a question of using this object in the non-military, peaceful purposes will be definitely put on the agenda. In favour of this version speaks the fact that development of tourism and agricultural infrastructure is planned in the Gabala region. There is already a project for cultivation of 52 hectares of the area which is now occupied by the station. As for the building itself, it can accommodate a research institution, or it may become a tourist attraction.
Problem Four: Supply of Russian weapons to Armenia
Another problem in the Azerbaijan-Russia relations is supply of Russian arms to Armenia. By assumption of Azerbaijani experts, at the meeting of Ilham Aliyev and Dmitry Rogozin the issue of the purchase of the Russian arms and supply of Ukrainian arms to Armenia was also discussed. Interestingly, the visit of Russian Deputy Prime Minister was preceded by a scandal regarding military relations between Kiev and Yerevan: as it turns out, Ukraine, that assures Azerbaijan of its friendship (because of future import of Caspian oil and gas) secretly from Baku supplied the BUK missile system to Armenia. But this is nothing compared to the fact that Russia also supplies weapons to Armenia both to equip the Armenian army, and for the 102nd military base in Gyumri. (At present, the Russian base is equipped with Russian anti-aircraft system "S-300" and fighters "MIG-29." Number of personnel of the military base is 5000 soldiers).
The Gyumri military base confirms the presence of Russia in the South Caucasus, which is a dangerous factor for Azerbaijan. Therefore, sensitivity of Baku to the issue of arms supply to its neighbour is quite obvious: Armenia is its enemy and military adversary, and at the same time - the strategic partner of Russia. Let us suppose that Azerbaijan declared war to Armenia. In this case, presumably, the personnel of the 102nd base and weapons will be used against Azerbaijan. All the more that Armenia and Russia are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Charter of which states that in case of declaration of war by a third country to one of its members (take for example Azerbaijan - Armenia) all others (and first of all Russia ) must come to the aid of the victim (Armenia) (against Azerbaijan).
Interesting is the question of equipping of the Gyumri military base. At present, according to Azerbaijani sources, Russia carries out provision of the said military facility with manpower, weapons and other ammunition through the territory of Asia and Iran - due to blockage of the Transcaucasian transport communications passing through the territory of Georgia (the Abkhazian section of the Georgian railway). That is very expensive for Russia. In addition, the transit of military cargo through the territory of foreign countries increases the risk factor. That is why Russia would benefit from restoration of the railway movement on the Abkhazian section, which was discussed by official Tbilisi as one of the key factors in improving the Georgian-Russian relations and the settlement of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict.
Problem five: Azerbaijan in the context of Russia-Iran relations
If we look at the map of the Caucasus and the Caspian region, we note that Azerbaijan is "wedged" between Russia and Iran. The fact is that in spite of the "cooling" of the recent relations between Moscow and Tehran, the relationship still remains close. On the international arena Russia permanently defends Iranian nuclear projects, Russia is a member of the transport corridor "North-South" in which Iran also is actively involved, positions of Russia and Iran also coincide in the matter of definition of the status of the Caspian Sea. While Azerbaijan has its problems with Iran, namely, the issue of Azeri-language provinces of Iran. In addition, the position of Baku is different from those of Moscow and Iran on the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan clearly does not like military manoeuvres of the West against Iran in the Caspian Sea. As Baku is concerned that in case of beginning of military actions by the West against Iran Russia will try to use its land and sea territory.
Of course, we should not think that there are just problems in the Russian-Azerbaijani relations solution of which are not expected in the short term. On the contrary, in recent years, after some attempts and bilateral efforts, a number of inter-state disputes were successfully resolved. For example, the question of delimitation and demarcation of the state border, the problem of the legal status of inhabitants of the Russian enclaves in Azerbaijan – Khrakhuba and Uryanuba decision on which had been delayed for years. Also, it should be noted that against the backdrop of the above issues, trade and economic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan are developing very rapidly. In 2011 trade turnover between the countries amounted to almost three billion dollars, which is a significant increase compared to the previous period.
On the basis of the above, we can make a brief summary and some conclusions:
So far Russia's foreign policy toward Azerbaijan has encountered some problems, Moscow has no conceptual understanding of relations with this country, which is a significant barrier in the relations of the two neighbouring countries. Clearly, these challenges have a permanent character;
The most difficult problem is the Karabakh conflict, during the process of settlement of which Moscow resorts to a double standard. Accordingly, if Russia does not change its policy towards Armenia, does not reduce its solidarity with this country, distrust of Azerbaijan towards Moscow will not be neutralized;
It is possible that Russia could use "Iranian lever" against Azerbaijan – to turn a blind eye to "mistakes" made by Tehran in the sphere of protection of the rights of Azerbaijan, and in the discussion of the problems of the Caspian Sea, to counterbalance the position of Baku act in tandem with Iran;
In turn, Azerbaijan has the potential to successfully use the confrontation between Russia and the West, and on this background implement its interests. It is a fact that there is a very strong Armenian lobby in the U.S., at the same time, the West needs Azerbaijan's energy resources, and if Baku once again reaches out to Moscow, thus Aliyev will show the West alternative. But if Russia will continue strategic cooperation with Armenia, Azerbaijan may refuse mediation of Russia and move fully to the West.


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- I thought of toss - for all the things I want to toss out.
- I thought of organize, trying to encourage myself to find a place for it all - but that seemed too much like work.
- I thought of focus, clarify narrow - but I have too much variety in the things I need to re-think - it doesn't feel like time to close in yet.
- I thought of tranquility and serenity because of the way I want to feel once it's all done. But I am far from done and it doesn't seem like the right time for that yet.
|"You don't have to sort of enhance reality. There is nothing stranger than truth." Annie Leibovitz
|It's a new beginning


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Development of communication programs to promote Oracle's products & services.
Integrate advertising into the marketing campaigns. Assist with planning and management of pan-geography corporate and local campaign media plans. Plan, manage and implement corporate and local campaign advertising creative. Manage standard / moderately complex advertising campaigns and arrange sign off with country / regional management. Anticipate problems when dealing with relatively complex projects, propose and develop business driven solutions to overcome them. Integrate all advertising across the communications mix. Maintain and communicate brand advertising guidelines. Provide support to others managing partner advertising. Develop and manage brand communications audit. Measure advertising effectiveness.
Duties and tasks are standard with some variation. Completes own role largely independently within defined policies and procedures. 2 years relevant experience. A proven track record in advertising across geography, two years experience, within a reputable global agency or major industry company.
Oracle is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans status or any other characteristic protected by law.
Oracle Corporate Communications is looking for a passionate and driven Project Manager, Social Media with proven expertise creating, writing, and managing exciting business and trend-centric social media campaigns and content for the B2B technology sector. As the Project Manager, Social Media, you will generate new social media ideas and execute line of business campaigns and corporate content across initiatives (Developer, Applications, Cloud, ERP, CX, HCM, etc.)
We're looking for that unique mix of creative and analytical with strong project management and compelling copywriting experience. The right candidate will be both comfortable and confident writing and producing technology content, as well as masterful at executing on global social media strategy, campaigns, contests, and event coverage across geographies and lines of business.
The ideal candidate has a deep understanding of global social media platforms, measurement, and an understanding the sales and marketing funnel and how social media can expand the reach of content, attract visitors to owned web properties.
Creative skills and passions like photography, design, and video skills would be an added bonus!
Roles & Responsibilities:
Collaborate with advertising, PR, content team, and other key stakeholders across lines of business to plan and manage content and promotions via social media. Make sure efforts are coordinated and consistent with Tier 1 initiatives and messaging.
Analyze data and know how to use it to make informed decisions. Constantly test new strategies, new content and campaign ideas to improve content marketing and brand building efforts. This may include positioning content for Twitter, sourcing images and graphics to accompany Facebook and Twitter posts, taking and curating photos and videos for visual platforms like Instagram, and developing post copy.
May also include overseeing campaigns in Sports Marketing and Employee Advocacy; including content development, publishing, gamification strategies, and measuring program performance.
Preferred Qualifications Include:
* 2-3 years in social or digital media, preferred with experience in B2B technology.
* Excellent writing skills and attention to detail.
* Proactive thinker and doer.
* Experience working on social media campaigns and content development.
* Able to develop insights from data to bring creative vision and new ideas.
* Understanding of social media tools and defining metrics for success. Possesses knowledge and experience in the tenets of traditional marketing.
* Exhibits the ability to jump from the creative side of marketing to analytical side, able to demonstrate why their ideas are analytically sound.
* Knowledge and understanding of Social Media platforms, their respective participants (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.) and how each platform can be deployed in different scenarios.
* Exceeds at building and maintaining sales relationships, online and off.
* Is a Team player with the confidence to take the lead and guide other employees, when necessary.
* Bachelor's Degree.
* Master's Degree appreciated.
* The salary listed in the header is an estimate based on salary data for similar jobs in the same area. Salary or compensation data found in the job description is accurate.
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For about the last year my week has consisted of taking us to the chiropractor twice a week. At first it was just Caroline, then we added Hannah, and in a surprise move to us all, Rachel decided to go. After the first of the year we added Sarah and myself. We are blessed with a chiropractor who is a Christian, who is kind, compassionate, and always looking for ways to help us.
I know we have all had those Murphy's law types of days and that's how things were going for me today. Sarah's shoes were lost, and things just kept happening that caused us to get out of the house 10 minutes later than we needed. Traffic went well and we were only 7 minutes late for our chiropractor appointment. At our chiropractor's office that isn't really a problem because it all evens out because of how he sees patients. He has a system reminiscent of an ice cream parlor. When you walk in the door you sign in, then you proceed to the waiting area and take a number and then wait your turn. When it's your turn you go into the cubicle that has no door and he adjusts you. Afterwards you go and stand on a vibrating table thingy (I still don't know it's proper name) and then you're done. Since this February the girls (Hannah, Rachel, and Caroline) have also been doing a Light and Sound therapy after their adjustments which takes about 20 minutes. So in all we are usually there from 1 hour to an hour and a half.
That's how things go on a good day. Today was not a good day. When we walk in the door the office manager informs me that we aren't on the books for today. This puzzles me because just last week I set up repeating appointments so that I didn't have to worry about it anymore. Apparently either the guy who set it up or the program has a glitch. We go ahead and get our number (we take one number for all of us because he sees us as a group and that's what he told us to do) and take a seat. Mr. Murphy is visiting the chiropractor today as well. He has 2 of 4 employees out and is also covering for his partner who is out of town. Needless to say, things are taking a little longer than normal.
When it's our turn we do what we always do and pile into the cubicle sans Rachel. She stays in her wheelchair right outside the doorway. If you are unaware, Rachel has had to use a wheelchair exclusively since February. Sarah pops up on the table first, always eager to get her adjustment. Then Caroline goes. In the last few months she has multiple sublexations and partial dislocations that he has to work on. Monday she had 9 ribs out. He works on her and she goes off to Light and Sound. Next it's Rachel's turn and I wheel her into the cubicle. She talks to him about what's going on and then gets on the table. When she's done getting an adjustment I wheel her back out and she waits nearby so that when I'm finished I can take her to Light and Sound. She has injured her left shoulder and has a possible torn rotator cuff which makes using her wheelchair difficult.
While I'm laying on the table and he is adjusting my back I hear someone being very loud saying, "It's none of your business!!" repeatedly. A look of confusion goes across my face and he tells me not to worry about it that he's happy Caroline is angry with this man. I'm at a total loss. Thoughts are flying through my head and I can't understand who she would be this angry at (I've never heard her this angry) and why. As I sit up so he can do another adjustment he tells me that a man said something about Rachel. Then it becomes clear. You can say anything to Caroline, but don't mess with the girl's family!
By the time I get out of the cubicle Caroline is in the bathroom upset. Since the bathroom door is in the waiting room I restrain myself from knocking on the door to see if she's OK. Instead I went to the desk to fix the appointment issue. When Caroline came out she looked as if she was ready to cry. I talked to her and got the rundown of what had happened. She had gone into the soundproof room for Light and Sound but her headphone battery was dead, so she came to the desk for another one. While waiting for the office manager to finish up with another patient she overheard this man and woman talking quite loudly (they were about 15 feet from her and about 10 from Rachel). At first they were complaining about how we only had one number. We aren't worried about that because we're only doing what the doctor told us. But then they moved onto Rachel. The man started saying that we didn't have a handicap sticker on our van (has he been stalking us or something?) and there were proper procedures to go through and since we didn't have a sticker on our van, Rachel wasn't really disabled and shouldn't have a wheelchair. Because ya know, you aren't disabled unless you have a sticker. Yes, he seriously said that loud enough for everyone there to hear it. The doctor told me he was happy that Caroline was giving him a piece of her mind because he does/says this type of thing to patients all of the time.
After I talked to Caroline about what had happened I went over to the man and tapped him on the shoulder and asked to speak to him. Now at this point I didn't know he had actually put his hands on her during their conversation. Apparently he thought he was playing "Little Bunny Foo Foo" and bopped her on the head. Not cool. Like I said, I didn't know about this then; she was too upset and didn't think to tell me. I'm calling that God's providence! He lies repeatedly about what he said, changing his story every time. I tell him he owes my daughter an apology and he gives the best non-apology apology I've heard in a long time. He then tries to touch her again, and she promptly knocks his hand away and tells him not to touch her. After this we leave and go home. Rachel and Caroline were so stressed they couldn't even do their Light and Sound treatment.
I don't know about you, but when I see someone in a wheelchair the first thing I think about usually isn't whether or not they have a sticker on their van. I don't ask them to prove their disability to me. I don't question whether or not I think they are disabled enough to have a sticker on their van. But apparently many people have nothing better to do than challenge people on their disability or hidden illness. I have a friend who has a sticker and has Lyme disease. Someone keyed her van for parking in a handicapped spot, with a sticker. We don't have a sticker- yet. But we also don't park in handicapped slots. Sometimes this causes us problems like trying to get Rachel back in the van because a car is parked too close to us. That's not their fault, I don't get angry at them, we just work out a solution so we can get her back in the van.
I want to be clear that we don't think confronting people is the right thing to do all of the time. But there are times it is necessary, this was one of those times. People act as if anger is always wrong, but it isn't. Scripture says, "Be angry and sin not." Eph 4:26 There are certain things we need to be angry about and bullying someone is one of those things.
I know this is long, and thank you for sticking with me. There are so many crazy things happening in this world today. They are all really just a symptom of a lost and dying world. In our family we have a #1 rule- and it's pretty simple- "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." That covers just about everything. Instead of judging whether that person is disabled enough, stop and think about the hidden things you may not see. There are a myriad of hidden illness out there. Show the same love, compassion, and empathy you would want someone to show you. And to quote another Bible verse, "encourage one another and build each other up"! I don't think we can go wrong in doing either of these.


text: Your choice for laboratory glassware and scientific equipment should always be made with value in mind. The Graduated Cylinders offered here, along with over 750,000 other pieces of laboratory glassware we have available to you have been selected by Lab Depot as high value lab supplies. As such, full warranties on our Graduated Cylinders and all of these other laboratory supplies listed on this website provide you with complete protection.


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Company Name: Continental Resources, Inc.
Continental Resources is an oil & gas exploration and production company. The company's activities are mostly located in Montana, North Dakota and Oklahoma. The company's primary focus is the exploration and production of oil.
Ticker Symbol: CLR (New York Stock Exchange)
Company Website: www.contres.com
Social Media: Continental Resources LinkedIn
Headquarters: Oklahoma City, OK


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Renault Sport Formula One Team team-mates Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen drove a measured Emirates Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka today. The team opted for a one-stop tyre strategy for the 53-lap race, with both Jolyon and Kevin fighting in the middle of the pack throughout and taking the chequered flag in P12 and P14 respectively. Jolyon gained four and Kevin three places from their starting positions.
Kevin Magnussen, #20, R.S.16-04: Started P17, finished P14
"I started the race on hard tyres against others around me on the softs and mediums – it was always going to be tough today. We can't be completely satisfied with today's race after scoring points in the last two races but we will work hard to get back into point-scoring position in the coming races. The next round is in the USA and it's a pretty cool track to drive so I look forward to being there next."
Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.16-05: Started P16, finished P12
"Tenth last week, twelfth this week, but this week everyone finished the race! We had a lot of luck last week and I think today was actually a stronger performance. We beat everyone that we could this afternoon. I'm pleased with how we went, the strategy, the pace, performance… Everything was good."
Fred Vasseur, Team Principal
"It was a good weekend for us in terms of performance, with our best Free Practice 3 to date where we were in the top ten. Qualifying, however, was a bit disappointing. Of course Jolyon got into Q2, but I think that we could have done better overall on Saturday afternoon. Our race pace was similar again to what we had seen in FP3; we fought with Williams in terms of pace until the end of the race and we were in front of McLaren and Toro Rosso. Today's race confirmed that we have gone a step forward in pure performance, despite a tricky qualifying session on Saturday. Overall the weekend has been encouraging and both drivers did a solid job in the race with a strategy that worked well for the team."


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Jet2 expands Bradford training base
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The expansion comes as the firm sees increased demand
21 Jul 2016
Jet2.com boss Philip Meeson is confident that demand for its flights and package holidays will continue to grow, and in order to meet this demand the Leeds headquartered airline has expanded its Bradford training base.
A fourth flight simulator has been added at Jet2.com's training centre on Bradford's Euroway trading estate to cope with the growth; more planes are on order and extra pilots, engineers and other staff have been recruited.
The business now has more than 900 staff, works with 2,700 hotels and serves 379 resorts.
In the year to March 31, Jet2.com's parent company. Dart Group reported that revenues grew by 12 per cent to £1.4 billion with pre-tax profits soaring by 82 per cent to £104.2 million through strong trading in both the leisure travel business and the Fowler Welch distribution and logistics operations.
Revenues in the Jet2.com flights and Jet2holidays package holiday operations grew by 15 per cent to £1.26 billion, reflecting increased yields from both the flight-only and package holidays business and a 22 per cent increase in package holiday customers to 1.22 million. Jet2,com, based at Leeds Bradford Airport, achieved an average load factor of 92.5 per cent alongside an increase in average net ticket yield of 14 per cent.
It is also adding an eighth operating base at Birmingham Airport to meet strong demand in the Midlands.
Capital expenditure rose from £76.4 million to £213.5million, including buying three used Boeing aircraft, boosting the current fleet to 63, along with pre-delivery payments for 27 new Boeing aircraft to be delivered between September this year and April 2018.
Philip Meeson said: "The current financial year has started well in both our leisure travel and distribution businesses.
"We have a resilient leisure travel business. Our strategy is to grow both our flight-only and package holidays products."


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The National Weather Service is forecasting warm and dry days from today through Tuesday with low temperatures around 70 and high temperatures close to 90 degrees. Read more
Today's e-Edition
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- Proposed Killeen annexations would increase police, fire calls, report says
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Carroll, James. An American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War that Came Between Us. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996). 280 pp, $15.00.
The book is a National Book Award Winner.
A first glance at the title of this book might suggest its use to demonstrate to students the impact of the tragedy of Vietnam upon the interrelationships of typical American families, but this is no such family. The father, Joseph, and mother Mary Morrisey Carroll, could be seen as having achieved the American Dream. Joseph, the son of a janitor on the South Side of Chicago, becomes the youngest general in the Air Force and, finally, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, advisor to Presidents, and a figure of influence in all of the corridors of power. His son, the author, grew up in a family of privilege, closely meshed with the FBI, the Defense Department, and the Roman Catholic hierarchy. It was a world of flags with stars on the limousines, and Marine guards snapping rifle salutes. The author was moved to finally decide on the Catholic priesthood, not by whim, but by the kind urging of Pope John XXIII during a private family audience. His literary mentor was to be Allen Tate.
This author of House of War: The Pentagon and the Disastrous Rise of American Power,1, a 600 page history of the Pentagon, has written this very personal book to reveal generational devastation in a family living deep within three great houses of power--the FBI, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Pentagon during the time of Cold War, McCarthyism, and the tragic insertion of American power into Southeast Asia.
James Carroll as a boy dreamed of the Air Force as a career. He later served seven years as a radical Catholic priest deeply involved in antiwar protest only to ultimately leave the priesthood, marry, raise children, and become a major literary figure in our world writing poetry, novels, and consummately crafted history. He is currently a regular columnist for the Boston Globe. The focus of this book is his relationship with his father, his inability to sustain it, and his regret over his inability at the time to see the tragic ambiguity of his father's roles-- complicity in wanton, cruel destruction of innocent humans, and yet heroic opponent of that very destruction.
This is a book worthy of being read by any professor, instructor, or teacher of world history to probe the institutional depths of what modern international power is and the very personal, human, family roots of sweeping international events. It is not a book to assign to high school AP students, for while its sweep is global, it would assume too much background. It might be considered as part of a project for a competent college student, and it should be on the book lists for graduate students dealing with 20th and 21st century warfare.
In the 1920's, the South Side of Chicago was controlled by Mayor Edward Kelly's political machine, and the father of Joseph owed his job as janitor to that machine. It was also with the support of this Irish Catholic citadel that Joseph spent from 1922 until 1934 in the archdiocesan seminary on track for the priesthood, an achievement of great moment which would mark a family's crucial elevation from working to professional class.
This was not to be. Joseph, overwhelmed by his "unworthiness" to be a priest, becomes captivated by the redheaded Mary Morrisey, who had quit high school to become a telephone operator and had then risen to supervisor. Joseph later described himself as an Irish Jansenist who believed humans, in particular himself, incapable of doing good.
Until their marriage in 1938, Joseph worked the stockyards during the day and attended Loyola Law School, a blue collar night school, until graduating with his law degree in 1940. In the midst of the Depression, he was thankful to accept an appointment to the FBI. Here he achieved swift success and became a favorite of J. Edgar Hoover, who in 1947 recommended him to Stuart Symington who needed a fresh, proven intelligence professional with no military past to appoint as the Brigadier General to take charge of the new Air Force Office of Strategic Intelligence. By the time of the Vietnam War, Joseph was a major figure in the military and political leadership of Washington, DC.
James grew up the second of four sons. The eldest, Joseph Jr., contracted polio in 1947, and, in spite of confinement to to a wheel chair, he emerges as the family's academic. The third son, Dennis, becomes the long-haired political radical and draft dodger, while the youngest, Kevin, becomes an FBI agent charged with pursuing draft dodgers.
James Carroll first dreamed of being an Air Force pilot. He lived in a world of Air Force limos, sergeant chauffeurs, limo doors being opened, and snapped salutes. His model of a B-52 he treasured as a symbol of the power of the just.
Later, with the constant urging of both of his parents, he was lead to consider the priesthood. His ambivalence ended with the encouraging hand of Pope John XXIII on his shoulder, and he entered seminary to be ordained a Paulist priest in 1969. For Mary, his mother, this fulfilled the greatest dream of any Irish Catholic mother from the South Side of Chicago. For the General, it was a critical event which might atone for his lifelong unworthiness.
Two things happened during James' clerical education. He was radicalized by the writings of theologian Hans Kung, and he was introduced to the world of poetry in a summer program in which his mentor was the Catholic poet, Allen Tate.
As the Civil Rights movement flourished, an original distaste for Martin Luther King, Jr. was gradually transmuted into deep admiration. His father, privy to intelligence information gathered on King, some false and some petty and sexual, was to respond to James' probing inquiries only with a sharp, "Charlatan!", and a refusal to discuss him further.
James' radicalization then proceeded so swiftly that when he delivered his first sermon, to the horror of his father and mother and the gathered generals, he ended with a condemnation of napalm and an upraised, defiant fist. From that point, the break between the two men became permanent.
It was only many years later, after the General has retired under pressure and regressed into depression, senility and, a totally isolating Alzheimer's that James discovered what his father's true role had been. As the fiercely loyal assistant to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in his battle to tear Pentagon power from the generals, who wished to prolong the war, and even escalate to using the nuclear option; General Joseph Carroll had been crucial. As early as 1963, he was sending memos to LBJ that the war could not be won; in August of 1967 he used his DIA figures to prove the blanket bombings had utterly failed. Finally, a year and a half after McNamara left DOD, the General's unflinching testimony before Fulbright's Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, and his refusal to back Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird's fabrication of a threat of a Soviet "first-strike move" lead to his immediate forced retirement the same month. This was failure, further proof of unworthiness, and provoked his immediate decline. He was never coherent enough in his senility for the son to apologize, and to restore a warm relationship.
Within the limits of space, this review can not do justice to the detailed chronicle of military and religious power, of horrifying bombings, of bureaucratic duplicity, and victimization which this book contains. The Vietnamese and American soldiers were victims; but, so too, both a father and a son. This war left us with a legacy of violence which haunts and moves the world to this day. The reader is able to explore the intricate subtleties of analysis, emotion, and realism created by this master craftsman. It is a poignant book, a beautiful book, and a relentless examination of the worlds of power. No simple statement that there are two sides to every story; it is, instead, a moving, complex description of the web of complicity within which all of us are caught.
Jack Betterly
1 Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
|Home | List Journal Issues | Table of Contents
|© 2007 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois


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As each year of motherhood passes I find myself more grateful than ever that my non-denominational god has blessed me with a daughter (a girly girl, no less) who doesn't like sport. I'd even go so far as to say she hates it.
And right now, as Victoria (where I live) is being deluged, my gratitude is verging on fervour. Wet is an understatement. Soaking is probably more appropriate a term for the kind of rain we are experiencing at the moment. And as I drive by miserable parents crowding under umbrellas, bracing the cold and knee deep in mud at local football fields, I can't help but feel smug. I send up a non-denominational prayer to my non-denominational god for delivering to me a child who prefers more genteel activities that are generally conducted indoors.
At the beginning of her second year at school I asked my daughter what activities she'd like to do outside of school. 'Nothing with balls, Mummy,' was her response. To my great relief.
Balls and I have had a stand-offish relationship all my life. We have never really gotten along. After a series of awkward mishandlings, and by mutual agreement, we decided it best to leave each other alone when I reached puberty. So I was hardly torn apart by the news that Little Miss didn't want to run about chasing them for fun.
There are a multitude of benefits to this arrangement. Aside from the obvious aid to my personal comfort, my washing machine doesn't get clogged with mud, I don't have to spend money on expensive uniforms and boots, and I get to relax on a chair indoors while Little Miss does drama or whatever and indulge in my favourite pastime.
My iPad.
Yes, shamefully I must admit, I am one of those despicable 'device' mum's. You know the ones. Disinterested, self-absorbed. Occasionally glancing up to give Little Miss an encouraging nod and mouth 'Yes, I'm watching' before returning to my inane and pointless tweeting, facebooking and writing smug blog posts about how damned first world lucky I am.
In fact, now when selecting activities I unconsciously steer Little Miss toward activities that lend themselves to an indulgent hour of social media intercourse. Classes where talking between parents is prohibited as it distracts from the little ones concentration. Or even better (and here's a discovery for you) classes that start after 5pm, because they are the ones dads are roped into and dads simply can't be bothered wasting their time on friendly idle chit chat with strangers. They prefer to sit and stare at their shoes. Or walk around examining the walls for imperfections. (I've learned a lot about anti-social behaviour by watching dads).
All round, it's a most suitable situation for a couple of ball-hating, sport averse females. The only down side is Little Miss's somewhat tense relationship with her PE teacher. She can't meet this sport fanatics expectations, no matter how hard she tries. At first it upset her (she is a goody two shoes like her mum was before her). She desperately wanted this lady's approval. But more recently she's become philosophical and got it into perspective.
'I think when Mrs X sees a ball, she goes mad.'
Good point. She is a sports nut after all. And everyone knows mad people aren't sane, right? So there's no point trying to please them, because they're just not rational, yes? Yes. It's a logic I have to applaud, especially when I'm benefiting so well from it.


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The Jacksonville Jaguars swore that Chad Henne would be their starting quarterback this season even after drafting Blake Bortles with the No.3 overall pick in the draft.
They gave no indication they were willing to deviate from that plan despite Bortles' strong play during the preseason. After Friday night's 13-12 loss to the Detroit Lions, they once again announced their intention to stick to the plan.
Chad Henne will start the Jaguars season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 7.
Bortles was 10-of-16 passing for 158 yards and a touchdown Friday night against the Lions. That pushes his preseason totals to 28-of-44 for 435 yards and a touchdown, or a passer rating of 103.9.
Nevertheless, head coach Gus Bradley said after the game that Henne will start the opener, per Ryan O'Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
Henne was 9-of-14 passing for 70 yards against the Lions. For the preseason, Henne is 25-of-38 for 230 yards and one touchdown, good for a 90.9 passer rating.
The Jaguars had committed to Henne playing all season with Bortles being a spectator from the bench. But with Bortles' performances this preseason, there will be a loud contingent wanting to turn to the rookie if Henne struggles out of the gate this year.


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PACOIMA, Calif. (KTLA) — A driver in a stolen U-Haul led the LAPD on a wild pursuit through the north San Fernando Valley Wednesday night.
Sky5 was overhead after officers spotted the truck, from Arizona, speeding on the 5 Freeway and the 14 Freeway.
The suspect refused to stop, got off the freeway and led police on a chase until he bailed out of the moving truck near Kagel Canyon and Laurel Canyon in Pacoima.
He then ran into a condo complex, where officers chased him down and took him into custody.
It turned out that the back of the U-Haul truck was completely empty, police said.


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Search Result for "bundy ranch"
Sister of Bundy Ranch Standoff Defendant Wrongfully Sentenced: Todd Engel "Was Not The One In A Law Enforcement Uniform" Committing Crimes
Todd was the one on the bridge begging for help from the ones in a law enforcement uniform. The same ones who testified under oath that he was "helpful."
Ammon Bundy Calls On Bundy Ranch Jurors: Would Your Verdicts Stand If You Had Been Given All The Information?
Bundy is calling on jurors and asking them in light of the fact the prosecution kept evidence from them in their determining the guilt of a couple of defendants, would their verdict remain the same had they been allowed to see that evidence?
Petition Calls On DOJ To Fire Bundy Ranch Prosecutor & Bring Charges Against Him
A demotion of Mr. Mhyre is not enough. He must be held criminally responsible for his violations of the law and the rights of those he was seeking to prosecute in Nevada.
Bundy Attorney Who Argued For Client's Release Faces Disbarment Hearing – Law Violating Prosecutor In Bundy Ranch Case Keeps Job
If this doesn't show you how crooked the federal judicial system is, nothing will. Ammon Bundy's attorney in the Oregon Malheur Wildlife Refuge case, Marcus Mumford, had criminal charges filed against him after he was tased and tackled by federal marshalls for simply arguing for his client's release in court. Listen
Bundy Ranch Prosecutor Steven Myhre Gets a Demotion – But That's Just Not Good Enough!
This is a start, but it's just not good enough, Mr. Sessions! On Wednesday, it was made official by the Department of Justice that Bundy Ranch standoff prosecutor Steven Myhre was demoted to his previous position as First Assistant US attorney. That's right, he was demoted for his violations of
Unsealed Documents Expose How Prosecution Attempted Rig Bundy Ranch Trials
I reported on Saturday that the prosecution in the Bundy Ranch standoff trials has appealed to Judge Gloria Navarro to retry Cliven Bundy, his two sons and Ryan Payne despite the fact that she ruled a mistrial based on prosecutor Steven Myhre's "willful" violation of the law in holding back
Bundy Ranch Prosecutors Appeal For Retrial After They Violated Federal Law
Yep, Brady violator and US Attorney Steven Myhre, who has prosecuted several Bundy trials and retrials yielding virtually nothing, has decided to appeal to Judge Gloria Navarro for retrial of the defendants even though he violated their constitutional rights by not disclosing exculpatory evidence in the trial. Navarro declared a
Leaked Video Shows BLM's Failure To Follow Sheriff's Command Concerning Long Guns At Bundy Ranch
While we wait to see what the next step in the Bundy Ranch standoff trials will be, following the judge's ruling a mistrial, leaked video has surfaced that clearly demonstrates that the agents of the Bureau of Land Management did not want to follow the commands of Sheriff Joe Lombardo
US Attorney Prosecuting Bundy Ranch Case Has History of Brady Violations
Just prior to Christmas, Judge Gloria Navarro declared a mistrial in the latest round of the Bundy Ranch standoff trials. She did so because of multiple Brady violations by the prosecution, led by US Attorney Steven Myhre. Mhyre and his team failed to turn over several exculpatory items to defense
Judge Declares Mistrial In Bundy Ranch Case Due To Multiple Brady Violations By Prosecution
After sealed hearings took place in Nevada in the Bundy Ranch standoff trials, Judge Gloria Navarro declared a mistrial due to multiple Brady violations by the prosecution, but will this mean there won't be a retrial? Probably not. Navarro blasted the prosecution for their lawless behavior in not turning over


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- Awareness Week 2016 - Is it coeliac disease?
Awareness Week 2016 - Is it coeliac disease?
What's Awareness Week all about?
Awareness Week, which took place from 9-15 May 2016, was this year's big push to improve diagnosis and to empower more people to ask themselves 'Is it coeliac disease?' With a staggering half a million people in the UK currently undiagnosed, we built on the success of last year's Is it coeliac disease? campaign for 2016, highlighting the most commonly reported symptoms of the condition, including anaemia, with a range of initiatives. People all over the UK, both Members and non-Members alike, joined in to spread the word.
Is it coeliac disease?
There are a range of symptoms including constant mouth ulcers, crippling fatigue, stomach pain, regular bouts of diarrhoea, anaemia and weight loss. If you suffer from these or other unexplained symptoms, take the assessment and see if you are at risk of coeliac disease.
What went on
Social media takeover
We extended our reach online more than ever before, thanks to our successful Thunderclap campaign and symptoms selfies flooding social media to spread the word about diagnosis.
Take a symptoms selfie
We asked our Members to get involved with Awareness Week and post their symptom selfies and we've loved seeing them! The lucky winners were Carly Round and Jessica Rachel, check out their selfies below.
Thank you to all who got in touch and shared your photos with special thanks to Carly and Jessica who each won a copy of Phil Vickery's latest cookbook, 'Essential Gluten-free.'
Our Thunderclap reached over a million people
Thanks to all of our wonderful Members and supporters, we reached over a million people with our Thunderclap campaign on Monday 9 May. We more than trebled our original target and were supported by the high-profile likes of Morrisons, the Food Standards Agency, Phil Vickery and our patron Caroline Quentin. We're so grateful to everyone who helped make the campaign such a runaway success. Find out more here.
Pop up event
Throughout Awareness Week, we pitched up at Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester for our pop up event. As well as talking about the symptoms of coeliac disease and handing out leaflets, we offered on the spot testing to those at risk.
If you missed us in Manchester, then don't worry, we are holding several pop up events throughout the summer. The next one is in Glasgow from 6-10 June.
Awareness Week in the media
Getting the diagnosis message out there through the media is a core part of Awareness Week. From delicious gluten-free recipe collections to a serious look at the symptoms undiagnosed people may be suffering with, take a look at some of our Awareness Week press coverage here.
National Coeliac UK Leafleting Day
It's all about spreading the word, which is why we took to the streets to raise awareness with National Leafleting Day on 14 May. We were thrilled to have the support of Marks & Spencer, offering up its stores as locations across the country.
Find out more on our diagnosis campaign
Visit our campaign page to find out more on our diagnosis campaign.


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There's a family of tailorbirds that have nested in our backyard this year. After several months they seem to be warming up to my presence. They no longer are on edge even when they spot me watching them.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Backyard Birds - Common Tailorbird
327 - Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius)
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Spectre, the Deep Firmware Threat
Born before silicon-level security was deemed necessary, speculative execution is now something Intel and other leading companies are wrestling with
For years, CPU architectures have used predictive actions to speed up the pipeline with respect to how they handle memory. To gain speed in throughput, a processor loads data into as many as four levels of cache. Cache is closer to the processor, reducing memory fetch time. When it comes to speed of access the hard disk drive ranks lowest on the memory hierarchy.
Speculative execution is similar in that it, according to Apple, "improves speed by operating on multiple instructions at once—possibly in a different order than when they entered the CPU."[1] This predictive, or speculative, behavior has led to a security flaw that makes nearly every processor in cloud servers, personal computers, smartphones, or tablets vulnerable to a hack. Of course, if you have an isolated processor, you have few worries, but cloud servers have a multitude of third-party software running on them. Given the growing number of multi-party entanglements, operating systems and web browsers are affected, and engineers have been working on patches for Windows, iOS, and Linux.
There are two potential security flaws that exploit speculative execution, and they are Spectre and Meltdown. Both have been a secret, discussed only on a need-to-know basis among major hardware, cloud, and software companies since around mid-2017. Apple, Intel, AMD, Arm, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and higher-ups working with the Linux kernel knew and were preparing patches.
Why did this happen? There's still a need for speed, and the door is closing on Moore's Law. Improvements in performance while reducing cost and increasing power efficiency aren't coming as quickly as chip designers butt up against the laws of physics. How did this happen? Security needs to start at the physical layer, in the silicon. The speculative execution technique was introduced and became a standard before security was considered necessary at the silicon level.
Humankind is making incredible forays forward into technology, yet just behind it, hackers are creating unnecessary roadblocks based on petty greed (ransomware), ego (viruses that accomplish nothing), and revenge (DoS attacks). The good news is that there was about a seven-month lead before outsiders put the pieces together. Clues came from open source Linux patches and some email list discussions shortly before the intended reveal/release date. The press revealed the hack a week prior to the anticipated date. Apparently, enough had been revealed such that hackers could piece it together, and the media felt that the public needed to know. Regardless, IT personnel worldwide are working hard to apply firmware updates and patches before the flaw can be exploited.
Lynnette Reese is Editor-in-Chief, Embedded Intel Solutions and Embedded Systems Engineering, and has been working in various roles as an electrical engineer for over two decades. She is interested in open source software and hardware, the maker movement, and in increasing the number of women working in STEM so she has a greater chance of talking about something other than football at the water cooler.
[1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208394


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Maulana Masood Azhar, the chief of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad, and his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar, have been identified by Indian security officials as two of the four people who were acting as the handlers for the terrorists who attacked a heavily-guarded air force base in Punjab's Pathankot, 25 km from India's border with Pakistan.
Incidentally, Azhar is also the mastermind behind the IC-814 hijack case. An Indian Airlines Flight en route from Kathmandu in Nepal to New Delhi on 24 December 1999 was hijacked by the terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. The hijackers forced the aircraft to land in Kandahar, Afghanistan and demanded that three militants -- Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Azhar be released from prison. The eight-day crisis ended after the release of the three hardcore militants, including Azhar, in exchange for the freedom of passengers and crew members who were held hostage
Security agencies claimed to have found evidence that the conspiracy was hatched near Lahore, a top government source told PTI.
Also Read: First Take Action Then We'll Talk, Says India To Pakistan
Yesterday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup was cautious in his response to reporters about the fate of the Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan in Islamabad on January 15. He did not rule out India's participation, but he said that New Delhi would keenly observe whether Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif holds good on his promise of "prompt and decisive" action.
Swarup said that Islamabad had eight days to act on actionable intelligence provided by New Delhi before the Indo-Pak talks. "The ball is in Pakistan's court," said Swraup. "The immediate issue is Pakistan's response."
Indian agencies identified Azhar, Rauf, Ashfaq and Kashim, PTI reported. Asked as to what action India wants Pakistan to take against these four, sources told PTI they have to be arrested and handed to New Delhi so that they could be questioned in the ongoing investigation.
Security agencies are also looking for a connection between the strike at the Indian consulate in Afghanistan last week and the Pathankot attacks. Terrorists who attacked the consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif allegedly left a graffiti on the wall written in their own blood stating that they've avenged the death of Afzal Guru, who was hanged in 2013 for planning the 13 December, 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament. Guru had possible links to Jaish-e-Mohammed that intelligence services believe is responsible for the deadly attack on Pathankot.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had recently said there are indications that some of the materials used by the terrorists were made in Pakistan.
Six terrorists, who had sneaked into the country from Indo-Pak border in Pakistan, had attacked Indian Air Force base in Pathankot during the intervening night of January 1 and 2. They were killed during a counter-operation by Indian forces that lasted for about three days in which seven security personnel lost their lives.
An NIA team visited several spots and continued to question several eyewitnesses including senior police officers. There was a possibility that some of the eyewitnesses could be brought to Delhi for some scientific tests including polygraph test (lie detector test).
As it recorded the statements of Superintendent of Police-rank officer Salwinder Singh and two others who were kidnapped by the terrorists, the NIA team visited the border village where the terrorists could have possibly entered and spoke to the villagers and BSF personnel.
A team of NIA, central agency created after Mumbai attack to probe terror-related cases, quizzed Salwinder Singh in Pathankot which showed there were some discrepancies in his statement which was being looked into.
The agency had taken Singh to the places he had visited before he, along with his jeweller friend Rajesh Kumar Verma and cook Madan Gopal, was kidnapped. Singh, who is facing charges of alleged breach of discipline and was transferred recently as Assistant Commandant of 75th battalion of Punjab Armed Police, had claimed that he was returning from a temple at 11 PM when terrorists kidnapped him.
The NIA also recorded the statement of caretaker of the shrine who is believed to have told him that Madan Gopal and Verma had come during day time on December 31 only to return in the evening.
The NIA plans to question Verma and Gopal again as there were some discrepancies in the account of the kidnapping incident that preceded last Saturday's terror attack at Pathankot air force base given by all the three.
(Inputs from PTI)
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We started with a couch. A three-seater sofa. That's the first thing My Director and I owned together. We took a major plunge, moving in together after she graduated from college. My dad and I picked it up from the furniture store in my hometown. When we got back to my parents' house, I called her on the old land line. (Cell phones weren't quite a thing yet in 1999.)
|There's the old couch. in the middle of
our old condo.
Our Empire. I have always referred to our life as that. I haven't shared that on this blog until now. We've built quite the little Empire in the fourteen years since we bought that couch, if I do say so myself. But it all began with that couch, which first sat in our one-bedroom roach motel of a railroad apartment.
It moved everywhere with us over the years. Two apartments, a condo, and our house. We had to get rid of it last year. It was getting pretty beaten up. Had our basement not been wet at the time, we could have stored it down there. That would have been nice. As much as you tell yourself you don't want to become attached to things, this couch was special. It represented the start of our Empire.
Building an Empire is never easy. There are moats to dig, an army to train, serfs and peasants to keep in line, and the occasional rebellion to squash. I'm speaking, metaphorically of course, of obstacles. Money. Health. Career. Children. When we started our Empire, we had dreams. Dreams become plans. Those are often nice to make. But you know what John Lennon said about plans, right? "Life's what happens when you're busy making plans."
|Peanut & Luna on the old couch, Halloween 2008.
I was sitting at my desk at work when my phone rang. It was My Director. Life is funny. You wake up and go through your entire routine like any other day. You're sitting at your desk and a simple phone call shatters your normal. Shatters it so much that you yearn for even a hint of normal, let alone a full return to it. No matter how much you curse the routine at the times when you're stuck in it, deep down you embrace it. You need it. It would be a while until we returned to normal. In fact, it was just recently.
It was an attack so bad she couldn't stand. I left work and met her at her doctor's office. From there we went to the emergency room. An initial diagnosis of vertigo temporarily eased our minds but didn't stop the symptoms over the next days, weeks, and months. Persistent dizziness brought us on a non-stop carousel ride of doctors, neurologists, MRIs, physical therapy, prescriptions, acupuncture, psychotherapy, and yoga. You name it, she tried it.
When the first MRI revealed spots on her brain, we feared the very worst. But it wasn't cancer. We were actually relieved when we heard it might be multiple sclerosis. Could you imagine being so desperate for an answer, a diagnosis? Wanting one so badly that hearing it was MS would be a relief? Three different top New York City neurologists said it wasn't. We still weren't convinced. This all started just before Halloween 2011 and lasted for the better part of the next year.
Still no answers and yet, My Director continued to work. Every day. She didn't take a day off. Dropping Peanut off at daycare. Taking the train into New York. Working a full, stressful day. Taking the bus home, often in traffic. Every day she felt this way. Every day she worried if she could make it to daycare, to work, and home. Soon this would consume us. The dizziness. The not knowing what was causing it. The not knowing when it might come, or end. A wife frustrated at her still-unexplained illness. A husband frustrated by his inability to help.
What do you do when even the doctors don't have an answer? When they can definitely say what it's not, but can't reasonably say what it is? You scrap the plan. And that is when we took a second child off the table. That is when we decided to live our life and enjoy Peanut because tomorrow isn't guaranteed. We had it all figured out, didn't we? Our family, our home, our jobs. She'd take the bigger job with the bigger responsibilities because it came with a bigger salary. Thus we could afford a bigger family. We were so smart. Wrong. We never thought about the bigger anxiety leading to the bigger health problems. And they started the month we were starting to try to have a baby.
Almost seven months into this endless cycle, it was time to make another big decision. My Director was offered a job in our town. It was a lot less responsibility, a lot less stress and yes, a lot less money. After a bit of back and forth for about a week, I came to the conclusion that our decision really was a no-brainer.
"You should take the job," I finally said.
"Why do you say that all of a sudden?" She asked.
"Because Peanut isn't going to notice that we go out to eat less. She's going to notice you're home more."We had been discussing ways to keep Peanut from having to go to after-school care once she started Kindergarten. Here was our solution. My Director, who has never failed at anything in her life, felt she was leaving a job unfinished. She also felt this way after our decision not to have a second, which she said made her feel like she was letting down our family. Neither could have been further from the truth. She was doing these things for her family. More important, she was doing them for herself.
On her last day at that Director's job, the president of the school where she was working walked the six New York City blocks in summer heat from his office to My Director's office. He wanted to say goodbye to her in person, and tell her what an asset she had been in the less than two years she was there. After he left, they told her he had not stepped foot in that building in six years. When I tell you she is an amazing, talented, strong, understanding, impressive woman, I am not making it up. Yet, she married me.
Whenever we don't have an answer to something life throws at us, I always tell her, "We'll figure it out. We always do." It sounds dismissive, but I truly believe that. We've come out on top nearly every time. Job changes, home purchases, moving, having a baby, buying a dog. Whatever it may be, things have a way of working themselves out. The Empire survives. It transforms. It endures. It keeps moving.
About a month after My Director took her new job, I got a promotion. The financial gap created by her new job was suddenly filled, buoyed by Peanut no longer being in daycare. "You see?" I said. "All of that worrying we did, and we're right back where we started." As for My Director's new job, she says she's the happiest she's ever been in her career. That she truly feels she is making an impact on the lives of her students. Money doesn't always buy happiness. Often your rewards are less tangible.
|Look at her go now! Running and everything!
Sometimes things don't work out and you just deal with it. But a lot of times they do. As this school year ended, My Director ran and emceed the honor's night for her school's graduating class. Near the end of the program, the girls she mentored and mothered, bonded with and fought for, surprised her with a speech and a gift, then led the auditorium in a standing ovation for her. She worked miracles for a lot of those girls, and got them all into college. They knew it and recognized her for it.
As I stood in the audience that night applauding her with everyone else, I bent down to Peanut and said, "Everyone's clapping for mommy." When she asked me why I said, "Because she's awesome at her job."
My Director is the strongest person I know. She, and not some silly couch, is the cornerstone of our Empire. We've persevered. We are strong, because she shows us how to be. Because she's awesome at her job.
To read the story behind why I refer to her as "My Director," click HERE.


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Tsedek' Ashkenazic Orthodox Jewish Community – The
Herman and Miriam Tauber Jewish Center.
Magdalenaweg #37,
Willemstad, Curacao
The Ashkenazi Jews of Curacao
In the 1920s and early 1930s Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe came to Curacao . Most of them started their careers as peddlers, but they knew how to get ahead and managed to attain great prosperity. They kept their Jewish identity and formed a close-knit and isolated group. In the 1980s and 1990s the group's size diminished dramatically. Most of the first settlers died of old age and, because of political insecurity and economic decline, many Ashkenazi Jews left the island in the 1980s to settle elsewhere, especially in the United States .
Most of the Ashkenazi Jews of Curacao originate from the former Bessarabia, a border area between Romania and Russia , especially from Novoselitsa and Czernowitz in Bukovina , the main market towns for the surrounding rural areas. A few came from Poland .
From the 1880s onward large numbers of Jews fled Russia , Romania , and other Eastern European countries because of anti-Semitic government policies which were related to an increasing nationalism. Between 1880 and 1993 about four million Eastern European Jews moved westward, primarily to the United States . The Ashkenazi Jews of Curacao were a later part of this migration. Because the United States had restricted the immigration quotas in 1921, 1925 and 1927, the Ashkenazi Jews aimed for various countries in Latin America .
Very few of the Ashkenazi Jews who ended up in Curacao had ever heard of Curacao . Most of them were on their way to other destinations in Latin America . The ships on which they traveled made Curacao a port of call mostly to tank oil, and they stayed on if they learned that the country of their destination was in political turmoil. Moreover, they understood that there was plenty of opportunity in Curacao . Some left after a while, but those who remained sent for relatives. To be a "Landsman" (from the same area) was of great importance. A newcomer was helped by the group; he was either hired as an employee or he received credit.
During the first years the group consisted mainly of young men. There were no potential brides on the island. When one of the men had saved enough money to go back and visit relatives, he would sometimes be given the address of another member of the group in order to deliver presents and good wishes to this "Landsman's" relatives. A few marriages resulted from this. But most of the wives came from Ashkenazi communities in Latin America, such as Aregentina , Colombia , and Venezuela .
The Ashkenazi Jews who came to Curacao arrived with few economic resources, some were artisans but many had some background in retailing and most – coming from Eastern European border areas – were used to dealing with ethnic groups different than themselves. At first the Ashkenazi Jews subsisted by buying goods from Sephardic wholesalers and then peddling them throughout the rural areas of Curacao . In the early years they would carry the goods on their backs, or pay a local boy to carry part of the load, and travel on foot for days. Later some transported goods by using carts – first, without a mule, then with a mule. They called themselves knockers (in Dutch kloppers) after the Yiddish word for the knock on the door when they tried to sell their wares or collect money. Finally they stopped peddling altogether, selling first out of small stores on back streets and then in lager stores on major streets.
With low taxes and little competition during the first two to three decades of Ashkenazi settlement, they were able to prosper – even during the economic depression of the 1930s and although the Ashkenazi Jews came from humble beginnings and started with very little, their businesses often became very profitable. They stopped relying on their Sephardic wholesaler companions and began to import goods directly. As sellers of goods and employers, Ashkenazi Jews became increasingly visible to the general Curacaoan population. As such, some were targets of the May 30th riots in 1969. Afterwards, shaken by the riots, some Ashkenazi Jews left Curacao . The Curacaoan economic recession of the early to mid-1980s that followed the devaluation of the Venezuelan bolivar, led to a further exodus of Ashkenazi Jews from Curacao . Many children had not returned from college to manage businesses, and some of their older parents took the recession as an opportunity to close or sell the businesses and retire, sometimes moving to another country, usually the United States