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Editor's Note:
The new Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Abdullah, was hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at a breakfast reception on Friday, December 11, 2015. The U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Joseph Westphal was among the speakers at the event who welcomed Prince Abdullah. He said he was a "man of the world, very experienced, very level headed, good businessman, highly respected in his own country. An important voice for his country here but also an important voice for us in his country." Prince Abdullah was introduced by Chamber President Tom Donahue who mentioned the inaugural session of the "CEO Dialogue" in Riyadh on January 24, 2016. Donahue said, "Through this private sector dialogue we are going to help implement the economic vision of the 21st Century strategic partnership laid out by his majesty [King Salman] during his meeting with President Obama." The U.S. Chamber event was organized in association with the Saudi Chambers of Commerce, the Committee for International Trade (CIT) and the Saudi-US Trade Group (SUSTG). Eng. Omar Bahlaiwa, CIT Secretary General, commented on the relationship with the U.S. Chamber, "I see an institutional, sustainable relationship between the two private sectors and the bodies of the U.S. Chamber and the Council of Saudi Chambers."
Today we are pleased to provide our transcript of the event along with audio clips from the speakers.
US-Saudi Arabia – Partnership for the 21st Century
Welcoming the New Saudi Ambassador
Washington, DC
December 11, 2015
US Chamber of Commerce
Council of Saudi Chambers
Committee for International Trade
Saudi-US Trade Group
- Welcoming Remarks – Khush Choksy, Vice President, Middle East Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Engineer Omar Bahlaiwa, Secretary General, Committee for International Trade, Council of Saudi Chambers
- Introduction of Ambassador Westphal – Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs, US Chamber of Commerce
- Featured Remarks – Joseph Westphal, US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Introduction of Abdullah Al Saud – Thomas Donahue, President & CEO, US Chamber of Commerce
- Keynote Remarks – Abdullah Al Saud, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States
[KHUSH CHOKSY] Good morning everyone. My name is Khush Choksy.
I'm the U.S. Chamber's Vice President for the Middle East and Turkey. His Excellency Ambassador Abdullah al Saud, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States; Ambassador Joseph Westphal, the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Deputy Governor of SAGIA, the investment promotion agency; Omar Bahlaiwa, the Secretary General of our partner, the Council of Saudi Chambers; Ambassador Charles Rifkin, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs; our company representatives and in particular companies that are members of the U.S. Chamber's U.S.-Saudi Business program.
I would also like to acknowledge the support of our President and CEO Tom Donahue and Myron Brilliant, the Executive VP and head of international affairs, on our efforts to further the bilateral commercial relationship.
Subsequent to His Majesty's visit to Washington in September the U.S. Chamber and the Council of Saudi Chambers with support and in close cooperation with the government of Saudi Arabia and our own government have launched a number of programs to enhance the bilateral commercial relationship.
Over the course of just the last three weeks we have held a number of workshops in the health care arena in Saudi Arabia, the most recent being this Monday where my team was in Saudi Arabia.
We have a number of speakers this morning and it is my pleasure to introduce Mr. Omar Bahlaiwa, the Secretary General of the Committee of International Trade of the Council of Saudi Chambers.
We look forward to hearing your remarks, Omar.
Opening Remarks – Mr. Khush Choksy, Vice President, Middle East Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Engineer Omar Bahlaiwa, Secretary General, Committee for International Trade, Council of Saudi Chambers
Committee for International Trade (CIT) Secretary General Omar Bahlaiwa. (SUSTG Photo)
[OMAR BAHLAIWA] [Greeting in Arabic] Your royal highnesses, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. It's my pleasure to be here. I really appreciate the hospitality of the U.S. Chamber.
I see an institutional, sustainable relationship between the two private sectors and the bodies of the U.S. Chamber and the Council of Saudi Chambers. From here I think this is a beginning for a long lasting relationship in the private sector. Hopefully we'll see higher bilateral trade, higher investments, and higher people-to-people communications, especially since we have in your custody one hundred thousand plus Saudi students who will be your future ambassadors to Saudi Arabia.
Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy your breakfast. I cannot wait to listen to His Highness Prince Abdullah's remarks today.
Thank you very much.
[MYRON BRILLIANT] Okay, if I can get your attention. Hopefully you've all had a chance to enjoy your breakfast. Kush Choksy did a great job of recognizing many of the people in this room. We're very proud of the government officials on both, well from Saudi Arabia as well as from the United States who are here with us today.
There are many distinguished people who have served in government with us here today, but one person he did not recognize was himself. So I just want to begin by giving Khush Choksy and his team a great deal of encouragement, support, and acknowledgment because today the Middle East program of the U.S. Chamber is the fastest growing part of the international division despite the uncertainty in the region. I give Khush and his team all the credit in the world for the work they've done to promote our relationship with this important region in the world. So Khush, congratulations.
I will say there's a guy sitting at the head table with white hair who's had some role in this also and he'll have a chance to get up here in a minute. I think his name is Tom Donahue and he's my boss, and I'm grateful for the support he's also provided not only for our work across the board, around the world but also for our work and our support of increasing commercial ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
I was sitting next to Charlie Rifkin, the Assistant Secretary of State who served as Ambassador to Paris, and it reminds me and all of us of the tragedy that unfolded in Paris a few weeks back that no matter where we are in the world we have to be concerned about terrorism and about the export of that. So it's very important that as we think about the world we live in today, the uncertainty of the global economy, the uncertainty around terrorism that we remind ourselves that it's important that we get closer to our friends, that we work even harder with our friendship, and we have a great relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
The Chamber has a long-standing record of engagement with Saudi Arabia, and our efforts to date have been important, but our future commitment is even greater. You'll hear Tom Donahue talk about a new dialogue that we are developing between our two countries, a CEO dialogue, that I think will serve to enhance and strengthen and reaffirm the importance of the commercial relationship between the two countries.
As we all know the geostrategic importance of this relationship at a time where the world is suffering and struggling and where there is uncertainty in the Middle East, in particular, this relationship is of paramount importance. And as we look to strengthen economic ties at a time where there's great uncertainty around energy prices we want to make sure we're doing everything we can to advance this commercial relationship. So whether it's energy, whether it's defense, whether it's in education – Ambassador Abdullah al-Saud was talking about the one hundred and twenty thousand students that study here in the United States from his country.
So whether we are talking about those issues or the issue of health care where the Chamber recently conducted two forums, one on biopharmaceuticals and a recent health care forum just this past week to emphasize the great depth and potential of this commercial relationship, we stand committed to expand ties.
Now, we have two great ambassadors working to improve the relationship. Tom in a moment will introduce the Saudi Ambassador. Both these ambassadors I believe are in the building for the first time. But both have a very long, distinguished career, and I'm here to introduce Ambassador Westphal.
He was first on the ground in March of 2014. His career spans more than forty years of service in higher education and government including in the great state of Oklahoma as a professor.
He has served recently as Undersecretary of the Army and its chief management officer from 2009 to 2014. I think it's safe to say the President picked someone with quite a diverse background to emphasize the importance of a broad relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. But in his role before he became Ambassador he managed a force of more than one million soldiers and several hundred thousand civilians so he has a great depth of experience.
We're delighted he is serving as our Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and we're delighted to begin working with him. He does have a connection to the man sitting next to him, Tom Donahue. They both went to Adelphi University, and so there's something good there as well. Please give him a big warm, U.S. Chamber appreciation as we welcome Ambassador Joseph Westphal up to the stage. We're very delighted to have you here.
Introduction of Ambassador Westphal – Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs, US Chamber of Commerce and Featured Remarks – Joseph Westphal, US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Joseph Westphal (SUSTG Photo)
[AMBASSADOR JOSEPH WESTPHAL] Thank you, Myron. You ARE brilliant.
Well thank you all very much. Tom, thanks for hosting this event today. I thought it was a great idea to do a pre-meeting and then have a more robust meeting to follow up on the conversations that began with the visit of King Salman to President Obama and to initiate this sort of large plan which we've been working very diligently back in Saudi Arabia with our partners in the government at all levels.
I want to first just acknowledge – there's tons of people that I could say hello to. I came in, I only saw a few old friends, but two that I want to acknowledge is my predecessor, Ambassador Jim Smith. Thank you for your service, big shoes to fill. You did a great job, Jim.
And an old friend from the Pentagon, our former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Winnefield – take a bow – and I mention him because we had regular daily meetings of the top leadership of the department and he brought, I thought, a lot of common sense and a lot of good ideas.
We tended to agree on a lot of the premises that we worked from, he and I, and I think that that kind of approach is what we need today as we deal with the complexity of the issues in our region.
We are of course focused at a time when the terrorism picture is front and center in all the news media. I'm sure your families and my family and others are constantly questioning not only what we're doing on not only our strategy or policy – why are we not doing this, why are we doing this – but they're also questioning even our involvement and engagement. So I think – and part of our mission over the next few years, and it is going to take time — is to really gain some very much needed stronger understanding on every aspect – cultural, religious, educational – a greater understanding of our two communities.
We do some polling in Saudi Arabia and we get polling from other places and the one thing that's pretty stark is one is that there is very little understanding between our two societies. On the average if you talk to Americans in middle America they would know very little about Saudi Arabia, about its history, its culture, its people, et cetera. What they know about Saudi Arabia is on CNN.
Similarly, I think for them their experience, particularly the younger generation, you have to remember grew up with the Iraq War and that's their memory of our engagement. And the memory that they have is of our military being present. And so yeah, we have scholarships, ways of connecting. We try to do more in that regard, but that's also a one-way street. That's them coming here, that's not necessarily us going there.
Where we have the strongest connection is in this room. It's in our commercial trade relationship that is very strong and enduring. And we track, by the way, we track statistically how U.S. investment is doing in the Kingdom despite all the situations around us: Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Da'esh, you name it, and it continues to grow. Albeit it's not growing at some of the same rates it was growing years ago. Now, you can't take credit for that, Jim, but it is growing a little slower but it is growing. It is not coming down.
In other words we don't find that American businesses are reluctant to invest, are reluctant to develop joint partnerships. Probably the most difficult piece and the one thing that I've got my mission now working on very aggressively is to identify the roadblocks that would move this relationship even more – it would move this relationship to a quicker and a higher level than it's been today.
There are impediments and they are occasional, but they are impediments that get in the way as they get advertised across industry. Whether it's impediments to getting a visa. Whether it's impediments to building a relationship with a Saudi counterpart. Whether it's impediments in tax issues, you name it, whatever it may be the bureaucracy of Saudi Arabia is big and it is cumbersome.
We have our own bureaucracy, but that bureaucracy can stymie things from time to time. So we've been working a lot to try to do this. And they realize this. The new government realizes that they've got to be more nimble, quicker, more responsive.
They came here last December with the King, they came here because, and proposed this tremendous plan, because they are absolutely convinced that we provide the best opportunity for technology, for innovation, for creativity.
We have the best supply chain, we have the best labor force, we do the best quality of work, we stand by our work, and we're there for the lifetime.
We have the strongest small and medium sized business contingent in the world, so whatever it is that's needed all of you can find places to get it. They know that, and they know that they can't get that anywhere else in the world.
They could buy a few things from France. They could buy a few things from Germany, Russia, in other countries. But at the end of the day their best choice is this country.
So we agree with that, we think they are also good partners with us. We think we can build great relationships there, and if we can build an economy that really does help to educate their workforce, improve their educational quality, improve their health care, not just to grow it in the big cities but to develop a health care system that is nationwide for them.
They have huge shortages of housing. So anything to do with infrastructure and real estate and real estate development is something that they're going to benefit from.
Obviously the big industries of mining and oil and gas are tremendous opportunities to continue to do a lot of investment.
So my mission is focused on looking at ways in which we can reduce the complexity of doing business. Now, when Ambassador Jubeir – excuse me, he was already foreign minister. Foreign Minister Jubeir, when we came to the meeting, we met early on he and I, and he presented the first draft of this plan, the U.S.-Saudi strategic plan for the 21st Century. And he laid it our there talking about tourism, bringing American universities into the Kingdom such as has been done in other Gulf countries, building two Disneylands in the Kingdom, advancing tourism. Very, very grandiose plan, and for all of us very welcome ideas.
One of the first questions I asked, I was pretty frank. I said okay, well a lot of this is going to come head to head with certain cultural issues that Americans and Europeans and others will have. The separation of women, the inability of women to move about freely. In our business sectors women lead giant enterprises. Some of the biggest corporations are lead by women. The idea that you're going to have a workforce where you separate the women. The women are in one room and the men are in another and they can't interact, and women can't drive and the women can't go to this restaurant.
Those are things that you're going to have not just in the business sector, you're going to have them in tourism, you're certainly going to have them in education.
And if you want American students to come and study in Saudi Arabia, which we would like, which we think is a good idea, you can't segregate them. We have dealt with the issue of segregation and we have put that behind us and we can't advance it in other places where it's not appropriate.
So I'm not telling you how to do this or what you have to do, but I'm just saying those are the obstacles that you as a country are going to face. And Minister Jubeir agreed. He's well-versed in our society. He's a good friend and someone I can talk to frankly as is my new colleague Ambassador Abdullah, and I want to say a few words about him before I leave. I want to leave the good part until the end.
So I think I would urge you, and I would urge the Chamber and Tom Donahue and the leadership here who have incredible experience, to not shy away from those issues, to not shy away from confronting those things that from a cultural and a business standpoint are going to create problems for our industry.
We have, as you know in our mission we have a – I may have one of the best teams of any embassy in the region right now. Some of it was luck because you have a bidding process that some of us don't have a lot to say about, but we are very, very fortunate to have a top-notch team at literally every level.
So for the management of the embassy, the economic sections or political sections, our political-military section, our defense attache, our foreign commercial service, our treasury attache, our agricultural attache. We are doing extremely well with the people we have. Very experienced, very seasoned, and a very good bench in all those sections.
So we are energized and prepared to help you do what you need to do, to help you build those relationships, to connect you with Saudi companies, to help you advance whatever you need to advance in terms of ideas, thoughts, put meetings together, put conferences together.
We're also working very hard, and this is where I'm going to be seeking more of the advice of His Excellency the Ambassador, we're seeking to really strengthen their bench.
The Saudi government is very hierarchical, and so most people here who want to come to Saudi Arabia regardless of rank or serial number, the first thing they say to me is they want to meet with the King.
Well the King is a head of state, and in my view most people aren't at that level to meet with a head of state. We don't go to President Obama and ask him to do every meeting for the U.S. government.
But the reason for that is that most people realize unless you meet with the top person you can't get a decision and you can't have the impact. Well I think you can. I think there are very good people in the second or third tier.
We need to engage with them more. We need to empower them more by engaging with them. So when you come don't hesitate to meet. We'll advise you who they are.
You can seek the Ambassador's advice as to the quality of these people, but there are terrific people that are at the second or third tier who are knowledgeable, highly educated, well-versed in their area, and they're the ones that we need to be engaging and empowering because that's what's going to break down the bureaucratic problems that we sometimes face when people tell us we can't make a decision on this until it goes to the top level.
So work with our folks, be sure to connect with those sectors, and we hope that we can be a meaningful resource for you throughout all this.
And finally let me just say that Saudi Arabia is the largest user in the world, perhaps, of social media and technologically it's very advanced. That poses both an advantage and a challenge, and for us it's both.
So we're trying to also manage the way we move social media in the Kingdom, and I don't know to what extent your companies are engaged in any of that, but I think that's something to pay attention to. It's a very quick and easy way to advance ideas among the population. I'm learning to use it more and more. I was always very afraid of it in the Pentagon. I don't have Twitter. I don't have Facebook, but I actually do because it's run by the Embassy and they do Twitter, but it's very conservative and I never read it.
So I don't even have an account where I can go in and read it, they have to like provide it to me. And part of it is we're all worried about the cyber piece, and cyber is an area by the way that they're very interested in, seriously interested in, so any of you who have capabilities in that area if you want to work on it. But be aware of the power of social media and to the extent that it can help you in your business ventures there I certainly would encourage you to do it.
And so I'll end by saying that we are also very fortunate to have an outstanding person to be our friend and representative from the Kingdom here in the United States, Prince Abdullah bin Turki. I got to know him pretty well in Riyadh. We spent some time together.
He's a – if he invites you to dinner I absolutely think you should accept. He's a three star chef. He'll serve you only organic foods. You'll be safe. He's a man of the world, very experienced, very level headed, good businessman, highly respected in his own country. An important voice for his country here but also an important voice for us in his country.
One of the first things I did is I brought him into the U.S. Embassy and introduced him to all of our sections. We had a session with him to basically tell him how we operate and extended our invitation that if any time he needed any support whatsoever from us that we were ready to extend ourselves to him and to his embassy staff.
So you're getting a great man to represent the Kingdom here. I'm very pleased that he was chosen and I look forward very much to working with him and with all of you.
Thank you very much.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donahue (SUSTG Photo)
[TOM DONAHUE] Well thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador. We're going to be doing a lot of Mr. Ambasadors today. You know we have them all over the place, but we're very pleased to have you here and as you just indicated excited about the potential of a new Ambassador from the Kingdom.
As I'm sure most of you know I'm Tom Donahue. I run the Chamber, well at least I pretend to. We've got an extraordinary group of people here that carry on our work here and around the world every day, and you saw Myron Brilliant. I spend a good deal of my time continually pressing Myron forward. He's a great talent and has built a global system for us I think that's second to none, and one of the reasons is that he worked very hard to build a team who you see operating here and we appreciate all of them.
I would also mention that H.P. Goldfield who was a member of our board has been involved with the Saudi Kingdom and the leadership for many, many years and he's an extraordinary advisor to us. I always tell Myron I keep H.P. around because I want to get another point of view.
So thank you all for being here today.
You know, it was 70 years ago when the U.S. President and the Saudi King met for the first time. In an American warship in the aftermath of World War II, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and King Saud built a remarkable rapport that helped establish one of the most enduring friendships that existed between nations then and today.
Though there have been some challenges and disagreements along the way that friendship has spanned five Saudi Kings and twelve U.S. Presidents, and an unbelievable part of our global history. But just because the relationship is long-standing and deeply rooted doesn't mean that we can't take concrete steps to further strengthen it.
In fact, our partnership must evolve to meet the challenges and the changes that we face all across the globe. We've always believed that the economic relationship underpins our strategic relationship here and around the globe, and as regional and geopolitical circumstances shift and grow more dire, I would say, it's more important than ever before to foster these strong and stable economies.
Deeper economic engagement between our nations can help accomplish that goal. Our leaders recognize the need to strengthen our economic ties and have made this a part of their strategic vision for the 21st Century in both countries.
And by the way I would say in this building, the Chamber has set a very aggressive set of objectives for the expansion of our relationship with the Kingdom because of its value on its own and because of the ability to move out from Saudi Arabia to expand our economic relationships in a broader way.
I had the honor to meet His Majesty Salman during his visit in September and hearing his thoughts on the path forward. His engagement with U.S. business leaders was especially encouraging and it helped pave the way, I think, for U.S. and Saudi private sector partners to play a leading role in the future of this economic partnership and ultimately that's why all of us are here today.
We have a solid foundation for building a better, stronger commercial partnership. That's a fact.
Saudi Arabia is the tenth largest goods trading partner with the United States and its eighth largest supplier as a goods importer. U.S. foreign direct investment in Saudi Arabia is 10 billion dollars, but there is a potential for much, much more, especially as the Kingdom takes major steps to diversify its economy.
U.S. companies have long enjoyed mutually beneficial commercial relationships in the well-established energy and security areas. Now clearly we want to expand our investment and our engagement into health care information, communications technology, minerals and mining, renewable energy, and other sectors that support a competitive and innovative economy.
U.S. companies can help make growing Saudi companies more competitive, foster innovation in the Kingdom's knowledge-based sectors and help new small and medium sized enterprise blossom.
Mr. Ambassador your points about the strength of America's small and medium sized companies is very significant.
We want some of America's fastest growing new economy companies and their CEOs to join us as a partner with Saudi Arabian companies to create competitive platforms for growth.
We also support Saudi Arabia's efforts to develop a talented pool of young professionals. There are currently over ninety thousand Saudi students studying at American universities through scholarships provided by the Saudi government. We commend this investment and we see these well-educated students as a resource for American companies doing business with Saudi Arabia and doing business across the region.
To support all of these efforts the U.S. Chamber established the U.S.-Saudi business program. Its broad objective is to enhance and deepen the bilateral commercial and investment relationships between our countries.
We've forged a close and productive relationship with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, especially during his time as the U.S. Ambassador to the United States, and he lived right down the hill from me – it was sort of a different neighborhood – but it was the best thing. We had all the formal meetings but the best thing to do was to go over to the residence, have a glass of tomato juice, and talk about the problems of the world. We're very pleased that he is now their Foreign Minister.
We're working closely with key partners including the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority and the Ministry of Commerce. In the last three weeks we've held two forums in the Kingdom focusing on the health care sector.
One with deputy governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority and almost twenty Saudi government officials from numerous agencies, and we're working hand in hand with the Saudi business community.
In 2014 we signed a memorandum of understanding with the Council of Saudi Chambers joining together our countries' biggest business associations, and that has been very productive.
Today I'm pleased to mention several ways to enhance this private sector partnership. We're going to continue our important work in the health sector and other industries that are essential to the Saudi Kingdom and together with the Council of Saudi Chambers we'll launch the U.S.-Saudi Arabian CEO Dialogue in Riyadh next month. Gee, it's next month.
I kept saying it's three months away – it's here. Through this private sector dialogue we are going to help implement the economic vision of the 21st Century strategic partnership laid out by his majesty during his meeting with President Obama. Our goal is to strengthen our trade and investment ties, expand our commercial relationships, and increase our collaboration in knowledge-based sectors.
We will provide opportunities for participants to exchange ideas, to build mutual trust and understanding, and to reach a common goal on key trade, regulatory, and investment issues.
We will pursue practical, tangible outcomes and provide concrete, constructive recommendations to lead us at the highest levels of both governments. Our two organizations are strongly committed to this effort and we believe it has the potential to achieve unsurpassed results. We have a solid foundation to build on, willing partners, and the right forums, mechanisms, and engagement, and there's a lot of room to move and grow.
As we plan for the official launch in Riyadh on January 24th we hope that CEOs and senior executives from all the companies represented here will support this dialogue as well as the Global Competitiveness Forum which will be hosted by Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority the following day.
So if you happen to be in town please come by. We'd very much like you to be engaged. With your support this dialogue will help our nations realize the untapped potential for new partnerships and increased cooperation. It can help fuel stronger growth, shared prosperity, and greater stability, and ultimately it can support and advance our strategic ties at a critical time for both of our counties in the region and around the world.
Now about an hour and something ago I had an opportunity to meet Saudi Arabia's new Ambassador to the United States, Abdullah al-Saud.
We had a great meeting. We had all sorts of things that our team had told us we were supposed to talk about. I'm not sure we talked about most of them.
First I found out he is an unbelievable cook. He proved it too, by the way. He said just watch. Come to dinner. But what I found in just a few minutes of free flow conversation, a modest man with extraordinary background in business. We have a common interest in supply chain management having dealt with it throughout our careers and we have found out that we're neighbors just down the street.
After all of that you can imagine that it is with a special good feeling that I am introducing you to him today. On behalf of the American business community I'd like to welcome you, Mr. Ambassador.
As I said when I first met him, welcome to the Chamber and you better be here a lot more often. We have already arranged for him to come to spend half a day and then have lunch with our senior staff. I want you, Mr. Ambassador, to know how this places works because I want you to use it to help us be successful, and we're going to try and do that.
His current focus of course is diplomacy, but he has a very strong business background. I'll let you get up in a minute. The Ambassador served as the Chairman of the Saudi-Italian Development Company. I suspect that's part of the place where he learned how to cook. He was previously the first governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority.
He understands robust bilateral commercial relationships. He's a valued friend and partner to the Chamber, will be in a strong and vocal but gently vocal voice for Saudi Arabia. Mr. Ambassador, we're honored to have you come.
When you come for lunch and a meeting we'll welcome you and provide some modest repass. When we come and visit you I want to find out if you're really going to cook the dinner.
Thank you very much.
Introduction of Abdullah Al Saud – Thomas Donahue, President & CEO, US Chamber of Commerce and Keynote Remarks – Abdullah Al Saud, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States
Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States Abdullah Al Saud
[AMBASSADOR ABDULLAH AL-SAUD] Thank you Mr. Donahue and your colleagues. I am very honored to be here. I am pleased to meet you.
When I got the invitation I of course immediately accepted because I didn't know who was invited. My colleague said that this is a breakfast invitation on this date. I said okay because I thought there'd be free food. And then they said you have to talk. I said well to whom? Then I realized it was the great U.S. Chambers of Commerce. I heard also from my colleagues about the great work they've been doing with them, the Ministry, the Committee for International Trade, Saudi Chambers of Commerce, from Omar, Adel and their colleagues.
And this is very close to really my background which is actually, and I'm glad you have great Americans making mistakes and don't know enough about some of my background.
I wish I was a three star chef but I actually had a small dining club and it was free for people invited so they all of course liked the food. So I got this reputation. I actually like cooking – doesn't mean I'm a very good cook.
Anyways, don't spread this. Like other reputations I've had it's like when I graduated from the U.K. and in the mainstream universities – I went to red brick university not the classical universities – they give you a degree which is called honors degree.
It's actually just like any B.A. or B.S.E. but when I went home people confused this and thought this was with honors results, the top. I actually got what is called in England, they have first, the grading, first two one, two two, a third and then fail, or ordinary degree, whatever.
But the British used to call this grade a two two, not really brilliant people two one and one, a gentleman's degree. And when I graduated, I hope as a gentleman, certainly not as an engineer – I passed some exams.
But at home they kept talking, and this goes back in the 70s which is really ancient for us, although recent for most people, and we were quite backward and more unaware of all these things, and everybody in the family was saying Abdullah got honors. As if it's really, you know 100 percent or whatever. I don't know the American system.
So I had this reputation also, and I've been living off this forever. [Laughter]
The other one is about business. Maybe because I was actually a failure in business that I know a lot about business, what not to do. But whatever it is I'm so happy that these two great people, Mr. Donahue and my senior colleague Joe Westphal think like this about me or it is said like this about me. And I hope that I can actually contribute to this effort.
I've always been in areas where I interacted with a lot of foreign investors. My career was in Jubail and Yanbu the infrastructure program for the huge basic industries, petrochemicals and refineries with some other activities of course.
I then moved at the end of my public service career to establish SAGIA where it was actually a very new way of looking at how to prepare the economy, how to create an environment, because contrary to what you would think Saudi Arabia did not have investors come.
They actually worked very hard on inviting them and they came as joint ventures, technology managers, partners in many things, and it was this big involvement of a lot of companies, many of you are from those, and particularly in the oil economy were based on the fact that the Saudi leadership wanted to build very quickly when they had the financial ability.
We never had much money in the country before and did not believe that all these reserves were accumulated so quickly, particularly in the late 70s and actually to the credit of the Saudi leaders and the society and the management of it, they really did as much as possible to modernize very quickly. And this was not very easy because there were a lot of people in the country that did not want to develop so quickly and there was quite a lot of resistance.
Saudi Arabia is one of the few third world countries where actually the modern reforms came from the top with a lot of resistance. I don't want to take too long to explain about Saudi Arabia because of the time limit.
I was thinking if I wanted to answer all or explain or rebut a lot of the points raised by all the speakers, if I speak long enough I might get lunch. [Laughter]
A lot of Americans know Saudi Arabia. We've had all types of Americans for 80 years. I was in the Congress and I was leading some committee and a very beautiful young lady came quietly and was whispering in my ear and I said I love this job.
And then she said I'd like to tell you I'm an Aramco baby. Her parents had worked in Saudi Arabia and I don't know if it was her grandparents or so but she obviously was born in Saudi Arabia and then came here and she gave me her card.
I go to a government department and the lady at the reception tells me that she was also born in Saudi Arabia and her parents work in Aramco since those days, and then continuously.
I was telling our great host earlier on that I remember at the time in the boom of the 70s there were small groups or individuals even, businessmen from the United States, there was a man with his son who were doing great service in our country.
This is what really you would like to see. There was a period of big construction in the 70s where companies here were hundreds of millions only, not billions. We used to give jobs where the project was bigger than the value of that company on the New York Stock Exchange.
As for Asian companies the profit alone was bigger than the value of those private companies or trading houses alone. And the reality changed of course with the new economy.
I really could talk a lot about these things that are interesting for you but maybe at another occasion.
I would like to explain the changes. One thing for sure. We have a new administration and it's very much oriented towards very quickly evolving into a lot of things that are extremely important for economic and business activities.
We have a great team, and I was very impressed I was invited, and that shows the way they are working to sit on the economic affairs and development council which is the highest authority in decision making.
The speed with which they dealt with things. Their thinking is very different. The hiring of senior government officials. The highest authority in the land is the Council of Ministers. They go after professional people.
No more big names, experienced bureaucrats, or successful businessmen. They go for people who have been managing and doing the real work in business.
And I've seen a lot of things that are extremely encouraging. One thing for sure there is no limit to how much you can do for business interaction. And for data availability for meetings, for having serious business-like discussions, practical programs rather than all the fanfare of big sounding conferences and all these slogans and all of this.
This is the most important thing is what Mr. Donahue and his people have been doing, what our businessmen have been doing, and I told him earlier on that he should consider our Embassy as a division within the Chamber to just tell us what we should do.
I would like to say how lucky I am to serve in a country that is represented by your faces and by your experiences and by your companies. It was quite a shock to me to have been chosen.
I am so lucky to have a head of state who's action-oriented, a great team under him. I have a minister who knows Washington so well. All I have to do is just relax and say okay, what do you want me to do.
And then I have a great partner in this work, Joe Westphal, whom you can't help but fall in love with the first time you see him and his charm and his spirit is actually what American has always been about.
This is why a lot of people came and still keep coming to the United States, because of its people. And then of course to see Mr. Donahue speak about things and I liked it very much the way he was thinking. He was thinking like a statesman, speaking like a businessman.
So I am very happy, and all I need to know is what time is breakfast every day. [Laughter]
Thank you so much.
READ MORE on this topic:


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The first trailer for the sequel to Dead island, Dead Island: Riptide is here people. Enjoy.
Yay!!! Am i the only on excited for this game? >_<
lol me either when they showed the first one i thought that was gonna be the best game ever. the trailer wasn't even the same as the video game! and im bettin part two is the same..
Kind of in the same vein as the first trailer for the first one. Loved the first game. Can't wait for this one.

subset: commoncrawl


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Welcome to Mister Vélo Vintage steel bikes. On this website you will find old racing bikes that have been treated with a lot of attention and care. All bikes are restored and fitted with new parts. So old school bikes in recycled jackets which can last for years again. Besides racing bikes we sell randonneur and sports bikes and do projects like single speed bikes. Furthermore we like to work on behalf of our customers.
A lot of bikes have already found a new owner but there are new ones on stock almost every week. Keep an eye on this website or follow us on Facebook or Instagram.
Interested in one of these vintage steel bikes? Please send an email to mistervelo and ask for the possibilities.


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Welcome to Geriatrics Services at Mayo Clinic Health System – Franciscan Healthcare in La Crosse
As one of the few geriatric medicine departments in the Midwest, and the only one in the tri-state region, we are honored to extend our expertise to the La Crosse area's elderly population and their primary health care providers.
Specializing in helping older adults live healthy, productive lives
Whether you or a loved one is elderly and dealing with complex health care needs, dementia, frailty, or simply having trouble with a new transition of life, you can turn to our Geriatrics team to provide you with the help you need. Our purpose is to help improve an elderly patient's function, independence, well being, comfort and quality of life. In Geriatrics, we assist our patients with achieving their objectives as they age. If that's not possible, we can help patients and their families develop new goals that can be achieved in a dignified and respectful manner.
Dedicated to serving your needs
Our Geriatrics team is made up of highly trained professionals and other related staff throughout Mayo Clinic Health system. As part of Mayo Clinic Health System, we have the ability to utilize the expertise and resources at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Our services
We offer a broad range of comprehensive geriatric assessments. With the elderly population, there is a strong and complex interdependency of multiple medical, nutritional, psychological, spiritual and social issues that are important in overall health and care of the patients.
Some of the patients we see include those with:
Our Geriatrics team tailors a plan of care to meet your needs from diagnosis to end-of-life issues.
Educational Services and Research
The Department of Geriatrics offers valuable community and professional educational opportunities that can assist you or a loved one with the transitions of aging.
We offer several community programs including:
The professional programs offered by the Department of Geriatrics include:
Related Programs:
Contact us
To learn more about the Department of Geriatrics, make an appointment or for directions to our location, call 608-392-9872 or toll free at 800-362-5454 ext. 6252.


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Leonard Nimoy, known more familiarly to fans around the world as half-Vulcan logician Mr. Spock, died at home in Bel-Air at age 83 on Friday.
While former cast mates and famous fans shared their memories of the actor, director, writer and artist through social media, many just wanted one more minute with Nimoy through his most famous work on screen.
Here are a few of Nimoy's career highlights, both performing and revealing the back story behind those performances.
"Bonanza" episode "The Ape" (1960)
This western series' run on NBC was long, but Nimoy's time was short. He appeared in the show's second season as a gambler looking to avenge the murder of his call girl ladyfriend Sherry at the hands of a man described as looking like "an ape."
"The Twilight Zone" episode "A Quality of Mercy" (1961)
Much like his future Enterprise shipmate, William Shatner, Nimoy starred in an episode of the much respected anthology series created by Rod Serling. In the episode, written by Serling himself, Nimoy played a U.S. Army soldier ordered by his lieutenant to attack a cave of sick and wounded Japanese soldiers during the final days of World War II. Nimoy appeared in the episode alongside Dean Stockwell, who would go on to star in the science-fiction series "Quantum Leap."
"The Man From U.N.C.L.E." (1964)
Shatner and Nimoy's parallel career paths fully crossed two years before "Star Trek" for the NBC secret agent drama "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." In the episode, Shatner played a former engineer turned pest control business owner trying to convince Russian spies that he knew the secret of a special nerve gas formula, the fictional "Project Strigas," as part of a con game on the part of U.N.C.L.E. While their first ever scene together featured Shatner drunkenly throwing his arm around Nimoy's shoulders, their final scene had Nimoy pointing a gun at him.
"Star Trek" (1966)
Of course, it was Nimoy's role as the logical half-Vulcan space traveler Spock that turned him from a day player into a full-fledged star. But despite the importance and everlasting influence of the role, Nimoy wasn't always at ease with his "Star Trek" legacy. In 1975, years after the show's premature cancellation, he wrote a book, "I Am Not Spock," that wrestled with his identity as an actor. But the big-screen revival of the character helped turn the actor's opinion around.
In 1982, he hosted this TV special in which he discussed the origins of the role that would reshape his career.
As the highly logical and goodhearted Spock, Nimoy stood out as a great contrast to the passionate and hammy Shatner. But though everyone seems to have a great Shatner impression, it was Nimoy who delivered some great, quotable lines, not the least of which was "Live long and prosper."
Looking back on the role 34 years later, Nimoy told the Archive of American Television that one of his all-time career highlights was finding out that he'd been nominated for an Emmy for the show's first season. How did Nimoy, who played the always cool, calm and collected Spock, react to the news? He cried.
"Mission: Impossible" (1969)
Following the cancellation of "Star Trek" in 1969, Nimoy immediately found work in the ensemble cast of the CBS spy series "Mission: Impossible," replacing Martin Landau. Nimoy played "The Great Paris," a master of makeup and disguise, as demonstrated in the Season 5 episode "Butterfly," in which he played a Japanese man, who spends part of the episode in traditional Kabuki garb.
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978)
One year before "Star Trek" made its much-heralded debut on the big screen, Nimoy broke out of the TV guest star ghetto with a prominent role in director Philip Kaufman's well-received remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Playing off the cold, emotionless vibe he grew famous for with Spock, Nimoy portrayed a San Francisco doctor who may or may not be a very different kind of cold, emotionless alien.
"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979)
In 2012, Nimoy talked to Hero Complex about the origins of the big-screen revival of "Star Trek" and how the first film failed to capture the magic of the series. He also revealed the origins of Spock's famous "live long and prosper" hand gesture. Stay through to the end to see Nimoy's impression of Shatner's oddball line reading from the end of "Star Trek II."
"Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" (1984)
After Spock's "death" at the end of "Star Trek II," the actor returned behind the camera for his first feature film directing job, made easier by the fact that Spock wasn't on screen for most of the film. The film was a success and Nimoy was allowed to direct the next film in the "Star Trek" series, "The Voyage Home," which had crossover appeal and huge box office.
"Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989)
Though Shatner's directing debut on the fifth "Star Trek" film was widely derided, it did give audiences the bizarre thrill of seeing Spock deliver the famed Vulcan nerve pinch to a horse, of all things.
"Mind Meld" (2001)
Not everyone in the "Star Trek" cast has fond memories of Shatner — ask Walter Koenig, for instance — but Shatner and Nimoy have always been friendly. They made frequent convention appearances together and in 2001 sat down to record this video which featured the two reminiscing about their lives together in make-believe space.
"The Big Bang Theory" (2012)
Nimoy also performed Spock in a variety of other capacities, including an animated series, computer games and even a cameo on the CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" in which he voiced a small Spock doll on Sheldon's desk.
College of Fine Arts Convocation Address (2012)
He also embraced his role as a respected elder to a new generation with great relish, as can be seen in this graduation speech he delivered at Boston University, where he received an honorary doctorate of humane letters.
— Patrick Kevin Day
Follow us on Twitter | @LATHeroComplex
Obituary: Leonard Nimoy dies at 83; 'Star Trek's' transcendent alien Mr. Spock
Leonard Nimoy in search of human life forms through photography
Watch Leonard Nimoy's best William Shatner impression
Leonard Nimoy: 'Star Trek' fans can be scary
When Spock met Hendrix: 'Trek' icon Leonard Nimoy's cosmic moment
Sherlock Spock? Why, yes. It's elementary, my dear Vulcan.
Spock vs. Spock: Nimoy, Quinto spar in car ad
James Marsters' influence for 'Buffy' vampire Spike? Mr. Spock


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Gilpin County Arts Association
- 117 Eureka St., Central City, CO 80427
- (303) 582-5952
- firstname.lastname@example.com
- http://www.gilpinarts.org
Exhibiting some of the best artists from the Rocky Mountain region. Located in historic Washington Hall on Eureka Street, across from the Central City Opera House, the 5 room gallery is comprised of 3,600 square feet of renovated, modern display space. Open to the public during the summer and early fall months, with two annual exhibitions.
- Hours: Hours vary by location See website for more details
- Miles to airport: 60.5
- Miles to CCC: 37.5
- Motor Coach Parking:
AB Variation:


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The financial markets continued to improve over the past few weeks with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 reaching and surpassing two key milestones. The Dow eclipsed the 12,000 threshold and the S&P climbed over the 1300 level for the first time in two and a half years. Both milestones are viewed by market watchers as important barometers, not only of the health of Wall Street but consumer sentiment on Main Street.
Steady improvement in the financial markets is putting the Great Recession even farther behind us. It means that retirement accounts for millions of Americans have erased much of the losses inflicted by the sharp downturns of 2008 and early 2009. Two years ago next month the Dow stood at 6,547 and the S&P at 676. Since then, they've nearly doubled in value. It's an encouraging signal that the economic recovery is gaining traction, albeit slower than most of us would like.
So what about the real estate market? In general, the nation's housing market remains fragile. While there has been improvements in many communities since the depths of the recession, including here in the Denver Metro area, the market overall continues to be challenged by high unemployment rates and the shadow inventory of additional homes that could fall into short sales or foreclosures.
While acknowledging all of the economic headwinds, Rick Newman, chief business correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, wrote this week that the stage could be set for a solid recovery in the housing market this year. "A buzzer won't go off when it happens, but 2011 could be the year that the housing bust officially ends," he said.
Nationwide, prices have fallen by about 30 percent since the peak in 2006, and Moody's Analytics thinks they could fall another 5 percent or so in 2011. "But improvements in the overall economy will lift the housing market sooner or later, with many buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines finally deciding to take the plunge," Newman writes. "In a few markets, that already appears to be happening."
U.S. News says home buyers are tiptoeing back into the market, amid an increasing number of signs that the fifth year of the housing bust might be the last. "Economists are watching closely for an inflection point at which the housing market turns upward for good. But for buyers planning to live in a home for years, precise timing matters less because they also need to take into account the direction of interest rates and their own personal need for housing," Newman said.
"With flippers and speculators largely out of business, most buyers simply want to know that the home they buy won't plunge in value once they own it. In many U.S. cities, that now looks to be the case," he adds.
U.S. News points to four reasons that home buyers may be feeling more confident that it's safe to step off the sidelines:
- In some markets, homes are now undervalued. According to the Case-Shiller home-price index, overall prices nationwide have fallen 30.3 percent since peaking in 2006. Moody's, for instance, says that homes are undervalued in many cities, based on the ratio of home prices to median income.
- Affordability is excellent. Falling prices, plus falling interest rates, have made homes more affordable than they've been in decades. The National Association of Realtors' affordability index, which goes back to 1970, is at the highest level it's ever been. The typical family today needs to spend just 13 percent of its monthly income to pay the mortgage on a median-priced home, compared with nearly 25 percent at the peak of the housing bubble.
- Economic factors that affect housing are improving. Most economists believe the recession is over for good, with the risk of a double-dip fading rapidly. Consumers are spending again, and the economy is growing. Big companies have lots of cash and are in a good position to hire once business picks up. A rally in the financial markets is helping many Americans recover some of the wealth they've lost through falling home values. Those trends all support increased higher demand for homes.
- The government will continue to support housing. There will likely be continued political debate over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the troubled housing agencies now operating under government control. But despite some calls for a private system to finance housing, it's likely the government will remain a key player in the mortgage market until at least 2013, after the next presidential election. And once policymakers figure out how to replace Fannie and Freddie, it will probably happen slowly, so as not to upset the housing recovery.
While it's still too early to tell for sure where the market is in the recovery, anecdotal reports from our field offices tell us that things are gradually moving in the right direction. Buyers are easing back into the housing market in many Colorado communities. As the spring approaches, and with it the buying season, it will be interesting to see how this translates into sales. Stay tuned!
Below is a market-by-market report from local offices:
Boulder: Feedback from agents in the office indicates an increased pace of business. Many agents are working with at least one active buyer and have a scheduled or upcoming listing appointment. While showings remained flat the total number of parties looking at houses has increased over the past two weeks. Listings are up 5% over the previous two week period and agents report information gathering by potential listing clients is increasing.
Colorado Springs: Listings have been steady at best, with a lot of sellers waiting until Spring, showing no urgency to move at this time. Showings have been increasing with the past week being the best showing week since last November. Sales have slowed even with the showing activity as buyers are still hoping interest rates will go lower.
Denver Central: According to agents, activity is definitely picking up. Numbers have also picked up but need to remember there were two holidays in there, January 3rd and January 17th. It is anticipated that numbers should be up a little the first two weeks of the month.
Devonshire: The end of January is here & it looks like an interesting year is shaping up. There has been a very nice jump in showings on the office properties since mid-month & sellers are feeling much more optimistic about the activity level in the community. Interest rates have bumped up slightly but just enough to remind both sellers & buyers that these historic rates may not be around forever. There is a very nice increase in buyer activity at open houses & with showings. With increasing listing inventory, buyers are having many more homes to choose from. Looks like this Spring will be better than last year & everyone is feeling good about that. The upper end is seeing an increase in sales yet but the activity will generate sales very soon. 2011 brings optimism.
Evergreen: There were a total of twelve new listings go on the market in January. Listing inventory has started to increase as both new sellers as well as past sellers are beginning to put homes on the market. Seven listings went under contract & six buyers have been put under contract in January. Showing activity is improving as new buyers are coming into the market following the holidays with 199 showings during the month, nearly double the number of showings in December.
Larimer County: BRRRRRRRRRR! It may be cold outside, but the market continues to gain steam & momentum toward Spring. Buyers seem to be emerging from hibernation & pent-up demand that we've been hearing about seems to be kicking in. Combined with seasonally low sale inventory, we've seen some competing offers for homes in the popular price ranges (under $280,000). Investors are also scouring the inventory for great deals as the demand for rentals increases. Rental inventory is moving quickly which will likely push rental rates higher. This appears to be a trend that will have some legs as financing for new purchase homes is still primarily dominated by the first time homebuyers with good credit & some down payment money saved up. Move-up buyers with equity & good credit are also taking advantage of some tremendous deals in the $300,000 to $500,000 range. Those without good credit or recent foreclosures on their record still need homes to live in & the rental market is where they'll end up. If you're thinking about selling – now may be a good time to get your home on the market to take advantage of the low inventory & improving demand.
Longmont: it is nice to see the showings on listings up by 16% week over week. The price point of homes being shown is predominately in the mid-price-range for the Longmont market. It is good to have this mid-level buyer activity. The market is still very active with HUD homes, short sales and bank owned properties. Investors have entered the market in a large way. They are looking for great deals and they are coming with cash. A bright note is that appraisals seem to be more realistic on current contracts. The overall market is one of confidence. Now is the time to buy.
Parker: The trend from last week continues! Although the number of showings has decreased slightly, there are new offers on the office listings which seems to indicate that buyers are getting more serious! Energy priced listings are still seeing multiple offers and the sellers are taking advantage to sell for top dollar! Now is the time to get your home on the market.
Southeast Metro: The first month of the new year started strong in the SE Metro office. There were an average of 600 showings every week in January and the average number of showings before selling dropped to 17 as compared to last year's average of 24. Agents closed nearly 100 properties in January and put under contract 132 homes. The luxury market is also experiencing an up tick in activity. Open house activity is strong and the office set a record for the most open house traffic over one weekend in January with 55 potential buyers visiting one home for sale! It is an important time for sellers to evaluate the listing price of their homes and to adjust their list price accordingly.
Southwest Metro: There is a continued increase in showings. Agents are very busy with buyers looking to buy. The office mortgage rep had a great January & is continuing to stay busy. The interesting fact is that sellers are wanting to list their properties but are looking for a full service company. They realize that in this market they do need to have all the bells & whistles that CB provides. The $300,000 & below market is doing very well and there has been a slight slowdown in the upper end listings. Buyers are all over looking for starter homes as well as to move up. There seems to be a tremendous amount of activity in the office & everyone is very happy to see it. Open houses have been very good as well as floor calls.
Denver West: Agents are very busy with buyers, showing property in all price ranges. New listings at all price points have increased. Although the market conditions indicate seller's should be flexible when receiving an offer, not all of them are so. Some are holding firm and the buyer is accepting their counter offer.
Conifer: There was one new listing for the month of January. Inventory has stabilized as fewer homes are being withdrawn and both new and past sellers are beginning to put homes back on the market. Five buyers were put under contract in January. Showing activity has improved almost 50% over December with 86 showings this month compared to 58 for all of December.
Loveland: The price point on homes being shown is still predominately at the lower level. First time buyers are seeing the benefit of owning vs renting. With interest rates holding at a very attractive level more buyers are seeing this is the time to act. Buyers are facing a long & sometimes not so friendly process when obtaining a loan. Lots of documentation is needed and it may even have to be supplied more than once. My advice, please don't let the frustration with the process hold you from purchasing your dream home.


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Walton's Music has been at the forefront of Irish traditional music since the company was founded by Martin Walton in 1922.
Their Publications, Bodhráns and Tin Whistles are renowned worldwide for their superb quality, and durability, giving many years of pleasure and satisfaction.
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Ledecky, Lochte claim another title at nationals
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Katie Ledecky took on the most grueling challenge of her swimming career and won three times.
This week might be only the warm-up.
The Maryland swimmer pulled away in the women's 1,500-meter freestyle final Saturday, winning in 15 minutes, 47.15 seconds, posting the fourth fastest time in world history and shattering the one of the oldest long-course championship records in the American book.
Janet Evans set the previous mark in March 1988 when she finished in 15:52.10. Twenty-five years, two months, three days later, Ledecky cut that time by nearly 5 full seconds to win another U.S. national title and give herself a chance to become the first American woman to swim the four longest freestyle events at a world championship.
"I'm very happy with that time and it's a good way to finish the meet," Ledecky said.
It can't get much better.
Ledecky competed in four races at the IUPUI Natatorium, winning national championships in the three longest events — the 400, 800 and 1,500 free — in astoundingly easy fashion.
She beat Sutton, one of her 2012 Olympic teammates, by 0.83 seconds in the 800 free Tuesday. Ledecky is the reigning Olympic gold medalist in that event.
She coated to another easy win, 2½ seconds over Sutton in the 400 free Friday. Ledecky's time of 4:04.05 was a personal best and the third best in the world this year.
Then Saturday, she was under world-record pace for the first 600. Though she faded over the final 900, she still broke Evans' mark and produced the world's fastest time of the year just one day after Jazmin Carlin of Britain went 15:47.26. Ledecky was so far ahead when the race ended, she had time to look at the scoreboard, pump her fist and still watch the rest of the field trying to reach the wall. Chloe Sutton was second in 16:07.75, an astounding victory margin of 20.6 seconds.
The only minor blemish on an otherwise perfect week was Wednesday's second-place finish in the 200 free, finishing behind America's other teenage star, Missy Franklin, and ahead of another Olympic gold medalist, Shannon Vreeland.
What will Ledecky do for an encore?
Perhaps compete in the 200, 400, 800 and 1,500 free at Barcelona next month. The last American woman to try anything close was Shirley Babashoff, who competed in the 200, 400 and 800 at the 1975 worlds and the 1976 Olympics. The 1,500 was only added to the women's competition in 2001, and no American has tried to do all four on the world stage.
Now it's up to Ledecky and her coach, Bruce Gemmell, to decide.
"Mainly, it's just the schedule, making sure it's manageable," Ledecky said.
Ledecky's strong showing was just one chapter of a remarkable night that included record-breaking chases and incredible comebacks.
Natalie Coughlin, the 30-year-old three-time Olympian, barely won the 50 free title over a rising star nearly half her age. Coughlin finished in 24.97 seconds. Sixteen-year-old Simone Manuel was second in 25.01 seconds, breaking the national age group record for the second time in one day — a record Franklin had held.
"My start was not as good as it could be and because I knew that it wasn't as strong of a start, instead of doing 10 kicks, I only did eight," she said. "I was hoping to be faster, but I get to go to worlds, so that's good."
The winners of each event automatically qualify for the world championships next month.
Nathan Adrian started the week by winning the 100 free and ended it by taking the men's 50 free title in a race that featured five Olympians including American record-holder Cullen Jones. Adrian won in 21.47 seconds, tying Garrett Weber-Gale's long-course championship record and posting the world's best time of the year. Anthony Ervin (21.70) and Josh Schneider (21.87) were second and third with times that also cracked the world's top 10.
"It felt great," Adrian said. "I'm happy to go my best time because that's what it's all about. I hadn't done a best time in the 50 since '09."
The night's other feature attraction was Ryan Lochte, the world record-holder in the 200 individual medley. He was just 0.12 seconds off that pace after 150 meters but faded over the final 50 and settled for his third win of the week in 1:55.44. Conor Dwyer finished second in 1:57.74.
Lochte, the Florida resident, expected more.
"I'm kind of bummed with my performance at this meet," Lochte said after telling the crowd he doesn't watch the clock. "I know I'm capable of going a lot faster than that, but that's been the story of this meet for me. I've been going out and holding on for dear life."
With Franklin pulling out of the women's 200 IM, Caitlin Leverenz captured her first title of the week in 2:10.13. Elizabeth Beisel was second in 2:12.11 with Melanie Margalis was third in 2:12.34.
And Connor Jaeger pulled off a sweep of the men's longest distance events by winning the 800 free in U.S. Open record time of 7:47.27. Michael McBroom finished second in 7:14.13 — a time that would have been good enough to break the U.S. Open mark. They finished one-two in the 1,500 on Tuesday, too.


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Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Piece
Too late for show notes. We're going to wing this sucker and I'll come back to clean it up in the morning.
Around the 29-minute mark, Shawn makes a joke about how topical it feels to have "a Shawn in the bushes," and we note that by the time the episode actually came out that would likely make no sense to our listeners.
Indeed, it is a reference to a well-circulated story about former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer — who no longer works in the government at this point, having lost his job in the 15 weeks between when we recorded this episode and when we published it.
You should also check out our new Patreon -- you can find it here, and among other things backers can get a monthly, exclusive video podcast DELIVERED ON VHS.
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This isn't quite breaking news...it was announced earlier this month, but we just found out now courtesy of an Alert OMW Reader.
Long-time FOX Sports Ohio senior vice president/general manager Steve Liverani is leaving the Northeast Ohio regional sports network, and will take the same post running FOX Sports Florida and sister network Sun Sports.
Quoting an FS Ohio press release:
Under Liverani's leadership, FOX Sports Ohio has enjoyed tremendous success, expanding its local and regional programming beyond its extensive coverage of professional teams and creating added value for advertisers, affiliates, team partners and viewers.
Liverani was instrumental in securing long-term rights agreements with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cincinnati Reds, along with Xavier University and the University of Cincinnati. These key programming agreements, along with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Cincinnati Bengals and two high school football "Game of the Week" packages, have established FOX Sports Ohio as the premier regional sports network in Ohio.
Liverani will continue to run FOX Sports Ohio until his replacement is found.
Liverani started running the operations and production departments at what was then known as SportsChannel Ohio back in 1994.
Of course, back that long ago, the network that became FOX Sports Net Ohio was the local cable rightsholder of the Cleveland Indians, a key sports franchise which branched out on its own with SportsTime Ohio in 2006.
Since then, FSN/FS Ohio held onto the Cavaliers, becoming the primary home of the local NBA team...with all but a handful of games airing only on the sports network. FS Ohio simulcasts a small number of games on Raycom Media MyNetwork TV affiliate WUAB/43 "My 43".
FOX Sports Ohio has also beefed up its local ancilliary programming, including new regular shows covering the area's local sports teams. That's production FSN Ohio basically didn't do before STO came into being...
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Liverani Moves On
Posted by Ohio Media Watch at 6:16 PM
Labels: cleveland, sports, television
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Heated words during a 2-point game and an off-the-court altercation involving several basketball players for Lake Worth and Forest Hill high schools led to the arrest of at least two players, school officials confirmed Wednesday.
The two players, members of the Lake Worth Trojans squad, are to be reprimanded and possibly face suspension or dismissal from the team if they are found at fault in a melee that broke out in a parking lot at Forest Hill High School following the Trojans` 58-56 loss to the Forest Hill Falcons Tuesday night.
The teams are engaged in a fierce rivalry.
``I understand it was a pretty rough fight,`` said Lake Worth High School Principal Dave Cantley. He said several players and other students not on either team participated in the scuffle.
A few of the Forest Hill players involved were treated at a hospital for minor injuries that included cuts and ``a badly bruised jaw,`` Cantley said.
``One youth was struck by a garbage can,`` he said.
Police confirmed the arrest of two students on charges of simple battery and disorderly conduct, but were unable to disclose details of the incident Wednesday night and names of those involved.
Cantley said he and Forest Hill High School Principal Joe Picklesimer, who could not be reached for comment, had launched an investigation to determine how the incident started. He said they had few details.
Trojans basketball coach Dan Ross said the fight occurred about an hour after the game had been played in the school gym.
Police were called to break up the fight, he said.
A Lake Worth High School player who requested anonymity said the scuffle began when several teammates jumped a Forest Hill High School player in the parking lot after the game. The Trojan teammates pounced on the player because he had angered them during the game, the player said.


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Say hello to our newest Funky Lady, Scat Sweetie!!! This eager beaver rookie Sure makes a Bang in her rookie debut!! Unlike my other ladies, this one comes equipped with her own camerwoman!! Enjoy as she lets rip in three explosive clips!! This is one messy girl!! Enjoy as she plays with her poop a little as it comes out in her first clip, then she squats over the bowl to make a nice log pileup in the middle scene. In the finale enjoy as she has a little accident rushing to the toilet!! When you see the explosion out her ass you will understand her whoopsie!!! Three great clips from this Scat rookie. Or should I say Scat Sweetie!! Be on the lookout for more from these two!!
Length: 6:25s Resolution: 1920x1080Download Format: mp4File Size: 231 MB


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Water and air
Um Nader suffers from arthritic pains. She contacted us to thank us for the Christian programs because they are like water and air to her and a spiritual breath as she cannot go to church because of her illness.
Hope for Tomorrow for Leila!
When Leila was still a child, she was raped by her brother. This was only the beginning and she was subjected to abuse by many other family members, which resulted for her in an addiction to sex. Because she'd always had a problem with her leg, she thought that her chances to get married were very slim. She had become completely addicted to sex without seeing a way out of this bondage and more than once she thought of taking her own life. After having watched our program of Hope for Tomorrow, she contacted us and we talked with her about the Lord Jesus and assured her of the fact that He is willing to accept her. Leila prayed to God and asked Him to help her in the situation. Please pray for Leila and the many men and women who respond to Hope for Tomorrow.
If you would like to watch one episode with English subtitles, go to Hope for Tomorrow episode
Worth the cost …
Mohamed is from Algeria. This is his story: "Some time ago I had feelings of comfort when I learned about Jesus and his teachings. I browsed on the internet and read a lot about paradise and I learned that there won't be physical bodies there and that it's not about sex and the luxuries of this world. That totally convinced me to follow Jesus. My friends left me because of this, but I can see that my new life in Christ is worth the cost and sacrifices."


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Edison Chen Weight, Height, Age, Measurements, Net Worth
Edison Chen Weight, Height, Age, Measurements, Net Worth
Edison Chen Weight: 150 lbs (68 kg)
Edison Chen Height: 5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
Edison Chen Shoe Size/Feet Size: 9 (US)
Edison Chen Star Sign: Libra
Edison Chen Net Worth: $45 Million
Edison Chen Hair Color: Dark Brown
Edison Chen Eye Color: Dark Brown
Date Of Birth: 7 October 1980
Birth Place: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Birth Name: Chen Xing Hua
Nicknames: Eddie, Illkid
Nationality: Hong Konger, Canadian
-87.5% Chinese
-12.5% Portuguese
Parents: Edward Chen
Siblings: Tricia Chan Kin Fei, Olivia Chen
Edison Koon-hei Chen is a Hong Kong film actor, musician, producer, entrepreneur, and fashion designer. Chen is also the founder of CLOT Inc., and the CEO of Clot Media Division Limited. He was born on October 7, 1980 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as Chen Xing Hua.


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Kuryu-ri Hotels
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Kuryu-ri overviewKuryu-ri is an inviting destination that has something for everyone. Kuryu-ri might not have many well-known attractions, but you don't need to travel far to find places worth a visit like Hyundai Motors Ulsan Factory and Dongchun Gymnasium. You won't want to miss sights in the surrounding area like Daewangam Park and Jangsaengpo Whale Museum.
Where to stay in Kuryu-riWhether traveling for business or leisure, Kuryu-ri can comfortably accommodate all visitors. You can shop as many as 403 deals for Kuryu-ri accommodations on Hotels.com, some with discounts of up to 53%. Our room prices start at 11 USD per night and below are the number of hotels by star rating in Kuryu-ri as well as in the surrounding area:
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How to get to Kuryu-riFly into Ulsan (USN), 5.7 mi (9.2 km) from central Kuryu-ri. Pohang (KPO) is the next closest major airport, 26.3 mi (42.3 km) away.
What to see around Kuryu-riHere are some recommended places to see in the surrounding area:
- • Hyundai Motors Ulsan Factory (5.9 mi/9.5 km from the city center)
- • Dongchun Gymnasium (6.6 mi/10.6 km from the city center)
- • Daewangam Park (7.9 mi/12.7 km from the city center)
- • Jangsaengpo Whale Museum (8.1 mi/13.1 km from the city center)


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Former British prime minister Harold Macmillan once began a speech by telling a joke using the allegorical tale of Adam and Eve at the moment they were sent out of the Garden of Eden:
"Don't worry," Adam says. "We are just living in an age of transition."
That line echoes, in a light way, what Americans have been saying in a more serious way since Sept. 11:
Everything has changed.
The pivotal event of 2001 was a bitter apple-bite into an uncertain future. And despite the best efforts of pundits to peer into a crystal ball, the question remains:
Changed to what?
Transitions, like trains, are easier to ride when one knows where they are heading. Otherwise, it's better to peer into the past for guiding examples.
Sept. 11 is not the first time Americans felt a loss of their special Eden - that national feeling of invincibility, freedom, and innocence. Southerners felt vulnerable after the Civil War. All Americans saw a threat after Pearl Harbor and after the Soviets were first into space. (See related story, page 10.)
In the '50s, another shock arrived when a national spotlight fell on racism. Many white Americans, like the mythical Eve, had to admit they had long been deluded into eating from the racist tree. As activists began to fulfill the ideal of equality, pop culture helped, too. Consider, for example, these lyrics from the show "South Pacific," in which Lt. Joe Cable regrets what people may think if he marries his love, the Polynesian girl Liat:
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear
You've got to be taught
From year to year
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
By the late '60s, the nation had turned a corner as the goal to end racism seemed a possibility.
For baby-boomers, the loss of Eden came in Vietnam. They saw a noble cause go awry in a jungle war, even as their leaders lied to them. But they reclaimed their nation's purity in fresh ways. Again, lyrics, such as these from "Woodstock," helped set a new tune:
We are stardust, we are golden
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.
Americans have a knack for dissolving the appearance of evil with the solvent of goodness and virtue.
In 1991, the "evil empire" of the Soviet Union - as Ronald Reagan so sharply proclaimed it - finally crumbled because America had stood for the principles behind freedom. Communism collapsed under the weight of its weightless lies. It was a system that simply didn't work, even without being called evil.
Today, nearly four months into the post-Sept. 11 "transition," Americans have been asked by another president to join the fight against "evil doers." Those seem like words from a movie or book, like Darth Vader or Lord Voldemort. Such words attach harmful actions to a person, leading to a simplistic response that eliminating a person labeled evil is all that's needed.
But more needs to be done than capture Osama bin Laden. America has shown it can rejuvenate itself after a threat to its homeland or principles, becoming stronger and safer while also helping others.
Liberating Afghanistan was only a first step. It affirmed that no nation deserves to be hijacked by violent leaders to be used as a base for killing innocent people abroad. Now the US and its allies are feeding the Afghans and helping form a democracy.
But wait. Are these actions done out of goodwill or US self-interest? Is the US only trying to prevent further terrorism on itself, or is it also sowing ideals abroad that have sustained it for 225 years?
In all the reactions to Sept. 11, the question must be asked whether Americans just want to rebuild their cocoon or weave a larger safety net for the world with broader acts of virtue.
Is going out to drive and shop "just like normal" the way to beat the fear-mongering terrorists? Or would it be better to sacrifice oil consumption and reduce US dependency on Saudi Arabians, many of whom are taught fanatical Islam? Or should the US somehow persuade Saudi royalty to embrace a Turkey- or Jordan-style Islamic democracy?
To be obsessed with "evil" may only push the US into becoming just another gated country, instead of reaching out in universal ways.
A nation founded on ideals knows that the answer to the dark arts of terrorism is to turn a light on what that nation stands for, and can act on.
Then it will know that Sept. 11 did change everything - for the better.


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Isn't he magnificent? On the trek home to Sherwood park we drove through Elk Island National Park on Highway 16 East Alberta. The Buffalo were roaming on both sides of the divided highway in their free roam fenced environment.. John stopped the truck and off I went to trek through the ditch. The herd was close to the Fence and literally wheeled about very quickly a took off at a run.. It was a relief for me when the Bull halted them before they entered the bush. Then he separated from the herd and walked a distance away. At that point he stood in all his glory and proceeded to size me up and check me out. As you can see here he was curious as to what I was doing.
East Of Edmonton on The Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16 East), Alberta Canada
Canon XSI, Canon 55-400mm
Wood Bison
From Wikipedia
Endangered (IUCN 2.3)
Genus: Bison
Species: B. bison
The Wood Bison, Bison bison athabascae, also called Mountain Bison, Wood Buffalo or Mountain Buffalo, is a distinct northern subspecies or ecotype123456 of the American Bison (often called "buffalo"). Its original range included much of the boreal forest regions of Alaska, Yukon, western Northwest Territories, northeastern British Columbia, northern Alberta, and northwestern Saskatchewan.7 It is included on the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
The Wood Bison differs from the Plains Bison (Bison bison bison), the other surviving North American subspecies/ecotype, in a number of important ways. Most notably, the Wood Bison is heavier, with large males weighing over 900 kilograms (2,000 lb), making it the largest terrestrial animal in North America. The highest point of the Wood Bison is well ahead of its front legs, while the Plains Bison's highest point is directly above the front legs. Wood bison also have larger horn cores, a darker and woollier pelage, and less hair on their forelegs and beard.


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text: Understanding the Faith of Abraham by Ray Vander Laan Abraham and Sarah and Three Strangers The Bible opens with the story of God bringing order out of watery chaos. His amazing creative work accomplished, God entrusted it to the care of our human ancestors, Adam and Eve. He gave them the responsibility to care for it and the freedom to choose how to rule and manage it. From that point on, the biblical story reveals a series of disappointing choices made by God's human partners that resulted in the return of chaos to God's created order. Adam and Eve chose to eat from the one tree God had forbidden. Their oldest son, Cain, murdered his brother, Abel. With each passing generation, humankind became increasingly corrupt and wicked. By the time Noah entered the story, the heart of God was deeply troubled because... every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. — Genesis 6:5 In order to end the evil, God wiped the human race from the face of the earth, sparing only the family of Noah because he was a righteous man who walked with God. But even the cleansing of the Great Flood didn't change things for long. Noah's grandchildren refused to "fill the earth" as God had instructed, preferring to settle together and make a name for themselves by building a city with a great tower — as if to challenge God Himself (Genesis 9:1-11:8). Surprisingly, God did not give up on His human partners! After generations of silence, the story picks up again with Terah, Abraham's father, leaving Ur of the Chaldeans (believed to be near the city of Mosul in northern Iraq) to move his family to Canaan. They did not complete the journey, but settled in Harran, a few miles north of today's Turkish/Syrian border (Genesis 11:27-32). After Terah died, God commanded Abraham to leave his present life — land, community, and even family — and "go to the land I will show you." The offer came with the promise of great blessing — a message of hope and mission not just for Abraham, but for him to be a conduit of God's blessing to all people on earth (Genesis 12:1-3). God was asking Abraham to turn his back on the life he had known and to become His partner in redeeming a world in chaos! In a dramatic reversal of the choices many earlier characters in the biblical story made, Abraham committed himself to do what was right and just in the eyes of the Lord. Responding in faith, he left Harran. From that point on, Abraham would be different; he walked God's path and taught his children to do the same: Then the Lord said... "For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what He has promised him." — Genesis 18:17, Genesis 18:19 Whereas Adam and Eve failed to faithfully obey God, Abraham eagerly demonstrated what a faithful partnership with God looks like. By choosing to be God's partner in restoring shalom to a world in chaos and bringing alienated sinners back into relationship with God, Abraham became a model for all who have come after him. The Jewish writer, Matthew, certainly intended to communicate more than just biological descent when he began Jesus' family tree with Abraham. Although Abraham could never effect the changes in a sinful world that the Messiah did, this Bedouin nomad lived in a way that showed how the world could be when God's people live according to his design. Since everyone who places his or her faith in Jesus is in effect a child of Abraham (Galatians 3:7-9), let's discover more about this faithful partner who lived to be a blessing to everyone he met. The Very Words of God The Lord had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." — Genesis12:1-3


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Write Brent Bozell
This column was reprinted by permission of L. Brent Bozell and Creators
Syndicate. To reprint this or any of his twice weekly syndicated columns, please contact Creators Syndicate at (310) 337-7003 ext. 110
Sex Wars at Penn Stateby L. Brent Bozell IIIOctober
17, 2001
Life at Penn State University is in sad shape, most noticeably the fabled Joe Paterno's team's attempt at playing the game of football. But off the field, matters are even worse. Take a look at this educational institution's sense of sexual morality, assuming it can even be said to have one.
In the fall of 2000, Penn State hosted a gathering with two names - one being Womyn's Concerns, the other being unprintable because it contains a vulgar synonym for the vagina. The event received more than $9,500 in PSU funding. Thus far in 2001, the campus has hosted two more exceptionally distasteful sex-related events. Penn State is really into this stuff, it seems.
The Allentown, Pa. newspaper the Morning Call reported that the attractions at February's Sex Faire, which wasn't university-funded but was held at a PSU dormitory, included one game called Orgasm Bingo, another called Pin the Clitoris on the Vulva, and anatomically correct gingerbread men and women accompanied by an "Eat Me" sign.
Then, earlier this month, that shining star of American liberty, Hustler magazine's Larry Flynt, spoke at Penn State under the auspices of the university's Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment. The center's co-director described Flynt to CNSNews.com as "an exceedingly complex man who can't be easily categorized into black or white." Translation: If you think he's disgusting, you're just not enlightened enough to understand him.
In the account of the Penn State campus paper, some of what Flynt said at PSU dealt with the skin-magazine trade (he accused Hugh Hefner of "very much still living in the '50s," presumably because Playboy is more restrained than Hustler). A lot of it didn't (he called President Bush an "idiot").
But Flynt's remarks, no matter the topic, were sex-related for these simple reasons: Ultimately, he was invited to appear at Penn State only because he is a public figure, and he is a public figure only because he's an accomplished pornographer, and a trailblazer of a breathtakingly crude form of porn at that. If Flynt were an orthodontist, an insurance salesman, or a bartender, no one would be interested in his political blatherings. The Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment certainly wouldn't be.
Penn State would surely tell us that to welcome Flynt is not to fully endorse what he represents, but what this taxpayer-funded institution is doing is to confer credibility on him, and respectability on the profession he champions. It explains why, as CNSNews.com reports, one result of Flynt's appearance may be that university representatives will face a grilling early next year when the state legislature holds appropriations hearings.
It's just another step in pornography's long march through the institutions.
The Comedy Central cable network runs a considerable amount of ultra-raunchy programming, so it's no surprise that the network's first original film, which goes into production early next year, will be called "Porn 'n' Chicken." The movie has a connection to the world of higher learning, since it's based, notes the entertainment web site Zap2it.com, "on the true story of Yale's Porn 'n' Chicken Club...an underground group that gathers weekly to eat fried chicken and watch pornography."
And the other day, a piece in the Sunday Times of London stated that "an estimated one in seven British teenagers are registered to check into the virtual Habbo hotel." And what happens at the Habbo? The teens "simulat[e] adult affairs by checking in...under assumed names...Girls using the site...routinely offer strangers sexual favors, which they describe in lurid detail." The paper added, "Predatory adults appear to use the site to try to contact teenage girls."
Few in the entertainment community have done more in their careers to promote the culture of sexual permissiveness than has the performer Madonna. From the glorification of her erotic lifestyle to the bashing of religion in general and the Catholic Church in particular, she has influenced an entire generation of youngsters to accept the lewd as normal.
There's a body count to quantify the consequences of Madonna's sexual promiscuity, though obviously it must not bother her one bit. The New York Post reports that a new biography of her reveals that she's had eleven abortions.
Ah, consequences. It often seems that there's nothing the makers of modern popular culture would rather do than portray sex, and that there's nothing that would bother them more than to talk about its consequences.
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