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"Muslims are the new Ni...rs of America. If you will not fight for yourself, no one will."
This is what the Jewish attorney of a Palestinian client recently told this author. And this was before 9/11. Who will take up the challenge of the new civil rights movement in America?
Masjids are the main organizing unit of Muslims on this continent. In the presence of weak national organizations, Masjids by default may end up performing a role which their founders did not perceive, much like the black churches did in the American Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 60s. But is the Masjid in America ready for it?
The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks ushered in a new era for Masjids in North America whereby mosques became centers where Muslims and non-Muslims met face-to-face in the context of tragedy and solidarity.
Although very few mosques had their structures physically damaged after 9/11, the attacks shook up the Masjids' administration, as security became an immediate concern. In some cases, neighbors and interfaith groups took it upon themselves to take the Masjid out of its isolation. As a result, many mosques opened up to their neighbors, believers in God and brothers in humanity who do not believe in Islam. Their questions forced Masjids to look for Islamic literature and copies of the Quran. Many mosques organized open houses for the first time allocating some budget for these activities. As a result of such events, Muslims felt a level of comfort when others stood in the mosque and supported them as neighbors. This was a new experience for most Masjids.
It remains to be seen whether this openness to interfaith camaraderie is translated into a common agenda and more civic responsibility in the neighborhoods where the mosques are located. The incidents of 9/11 clearly indicate that Masjids can no longer be islands of isolation. They must and can reach out to meet tomorrow's challenges.
As an observer of US policy since September 11, this author is under no illusion that the American war on terrorism is bound to make America a continued target for more terrorism. Violence breads violence. If Israel, after decades of occupation, cannot contain essentially armless Palestinian refugees in their few square miles, America cannot feel safer following the same policies. Which policies are going to be more effective in defeating terrorism? What can the Muslim community in America do to prevent such happenings? If terrorist attacks, God forbid, do happen, then how is the Muslim community here is going to handle it? While these questions are subject of many discussions, this article dwells essentially on what the Muslim community can do to improve itself organizationally.
This author feels that Muslims are not ready to handle such a plausible eventuality. Our Masjids and their resources need to be much more organized than what they are now. That preparation essentially involves professionalism, more openness, greater civic involvement, allocating resources to develop coalitions and alliances throughout society, as well as a higher level of expenditure on the legal defense and physical security of the community. Other important steps are the ongoing training of staff and Masjid leaderships, and most of all, helping our neighbors understand what we are and the difference between us and those who give a bad name to our faith will help us in this regard as well. But let's first see what are the strengths and weaknesses of our community. Refer to Quran about neighbors to help us become a better neighbor and show our neighbors what Islam asks Muslims to treat neighbors as.
Strengths of Masjids in North America
Walk into a Masjid in North America versus one in Cairo or Dhaka and you sense the difference almost immediately.
While the Masjid comes to life for prayers in most Muslim countries, many mosques in North America are full of life and activity beyond prayers. Weekend schools, full-time Islamic schools, adult classes, lectures, visiting non-Muslims, potluck dinners, bookstores, libraries, social gatherings, sisters, volunteers, committees, people accepting Islam, new Muslim classes and handshaking local politicians are among some of the unique features. In fact, in being the center of community life, the Masjid in America is probably closer to the Prophet Mohamed's (peace and blessings be upon him) Masjid in Madinah than most of the mosques in the Muslim world.
After all, the Masjid was never meant to be simply a place of worship with little to no participation by Muslims in it beyond that. The Masjid, in early Islamic times, was the locus of the community. There was a dynamism and activity that today is absent from many of the mosques of the Muslim world. A number of North American Masjids, however, are developing that quality as dictated by necessity.
Another distinctive phenomena in North American Masjids and Islamic centers is the participation of women. While women in North America, like Masjids in Madinah and Makkah come to pray, in many Masjids, they are administrators, teachers, students, chair committee etc.
North American Masjids are also multi-ethnic. According to the Council on American-
Islamic Relations (CAIR)'s 2001 report The Mosque In America: A National Portrait, mosque-goers in North America range from African-Americans (30 percent) to Arabs (25 percent) to South East Asians (two percent) to South Asians, the largest group, (33 percent) to Europeans (two percent). There is clearly multinational diversity which is not found in much of the Muslim world.
The Islamic principle of Shura (mutual consultation), which has long been forgotten in the Muslim world, where authoritarian and despotic regimes run the show, is in full force in North American Masjids. According to the Masjid survey, 59 percent of Masjids make decisions via a consultative council and 28 percent are made by the Imam.
Financially, most Masjids felt satisfied with their budgets as compared to most of the national Muslim organizations. There are probably more than 50 Muslim community centers in America whose annual budgets are higher than almost all the national organizations of Muslims.
Masjids on this continent are a growing phenomena. Even up to the 1960s, we had less than 20 mosques in America. This was followed by a sharp increase in the number of Masjids and Islamic centers established. Today, we have over 1000. This number does not include the thousands of temporary prayer spaces available to Muslims like on university campuses, in hospitals and other workplaces. If these are factored in, there are at least 3,000 places that Muslims use as places of prayer and congregation for Friday.
Challenges our Masjids and Islamic centers face
The Masjid is part of the Muslim Ummah of North America. One question each Masjid needs to ask itself is what it is contributing in terms of human and financial resources for the growth of Islam and its institutions at the North American level. By asking this question, creative solutions to our challenges and needs can be harnessed.
Here are a few things Masjids can do to meet these in our communities.
Thinking for Your Masjid & Planning
Although most Masjids have building expansion plans, very rarely do they develop short-term or long-term plans in view of the challenges Islam and Muslims face in North America based on their assessment of the weaknesses of their own congregations. Thinking for the growth of the Muslim community in its location and at the national level is very important for the proper usage of its resources. On a professional level, we use tools like loud thinking to develop strategic plans. This must also be used for Masjids and Islamic centers in fulfilling the community's needs in all areas, not just in providing a place to pray, a weekend school and other staple Masjid activities.
What is the thinking process in your Masjid? Can you organize a survey of Masjid participants to learn from their input? Can a sister's retreat do a loud thinking session to provide input into your Masjid Shura? Can the graduates of your Sunday schools come up with a list of things they would like their Masjid to do? Can a few social scientists in your Masjid be recruited to provide their input based on a review of your past plans?
You know your Masjid better. You can think creatively about its growth in terms of civic responsibility. Masjids cannot remain islands of isolation. They must become skilled in communications, public relations, the organized redirection of their resources and more.
Your Masjid can acquire information about its own demographics and issues from the CAIR survey. This can be used to compare it with other active Masjids and places of worship to find out how they have been helpful to the people who come to the Masjid and those who don't. If a proper plan is developed based on this information, this can help our Masjids, even if it is not implemented. It will at least have kick-started the thinking process many mosques today are lacking.
Unity for Common Agenda
Do you remember the story about the importance of unity where an old man demonstrated this concept by showing how one stick could be easily be broken but if all sticks are put together, it's difficult to break them? Well, this age-old anecdote can apply to Masjids as well.
Mosques and Islamic centers in every city must unite. It is an Islamic requirement and it is the dictate of our times. If you cannot handle the challenges we are facing alone then it is important to join forces for a common agenda which can rely on united resources. Even if there are only two or three Masjids and Muslim organizations in your city, you need to sit down on a monthly basis and develop your Shura. If you are more than three, you can establish a council of Muslim organizations in your community. In many cities Muslims are doing it. Send us an e-mail and we can provide you with sample by-laws for this task.
Although most Masjids and organizations are not theoretically against unity, they have been unable to work together because of the time factor. Unity does require time allocation, understanding and accommodation. The blessings of God will be with you if you come together for a common cause and the betterment of society.
Limits of Volunteerism & the need for full-time staff in Masjids:
America works nine to five, five days a week. And this is precisely the time when most Masjids are closed and no one is available to answer a query. A majority of Masjids in North America are run by doctors, engineers, computer scientists, and businessmen. They are all very successful in their fields and work in a professional manner. But when it comes to Masjids, it is by and large a volunteer job not in the best of the volunteer tradition. It is about time for Masjids' leadership to recognize the limits of volunteerism the way we practice it. Good usage of the precious time of talented volunteers requires professional management. It is about time Masjids hire full-time staff with good communication skills to deal with situations which require outreach with America.
Budget Beyond Bricks
Most Masjids have no budget for Dawa or public relations. Most do not even have a Dawa committee. This is a serious problem.
Post-9/11, outreach and public relations are very critical for Muslims in America. By setting aside a certain amount of funds beforehand for such activities and planning them accordingly, Masjids and Islamic centers will be better equipped to face the challenges of Dawa and outreach in their neighborhoods and communities. How does your Masjid budget come in to being? Can your general body or Shura adopt a resolution to allocate 30% of the Friday collection for outreach efforts? How are designated funds are handled? Can your Masjid launch a fundraising campaign specifically for outreach purposes? Can the Zakat be reorganized to institutionalize help for the poor and needy? What is the budget for interfaith relations, developing coalitions and building networks with others?
Rethinking community finances is critical since most national organizations can hardly pay the salary of their employees. Issues like the legal and physical defense of Muslim properties, institutions and leadership must be a responsibility of all our organizations, including local ones.
Social services for society
Although almost all Masjids help the poor and needy, institutions for social services with professional staff and dedicated space do not exist in our communities. While there is distribution of Zakat and Sadaqa, there is no sustained allocation to those who need it beyond a short period.
For example, it is estimated that more than ten percent of the prison population is Muslim. When they are released, they don't have the financial resources they need to get off their feet. They lose the brotherhood that fellow believers in prison provided and survive at the mercy of charities who more often than not want them to attend Bible classes and Church. They are literally left to fend for themselves. One of the first places they turn to for help is the local Masjid or Islamic center, which, beyond being able to provide some money, cannot do more in most cases.
As a result, one survey shows that more than 40 percent of these new Muslims whither away from Islam. If there was a system either within or affiliated to our Masjids and Islamic centers, such as halfway houses, it would be easier for them to make a transition to real life with their faith intact. To this author's knowledge, there are not more than one or two halfway houses which are being run by Muslims (our information may not be accurate, so if you know of any more Muslim-run halfway houses, please inform us). This will require us to rethink how Zakat is spent. How are the Masjids of "haves" and "have nots" working together to use Zakat for the rebuilding of a multi-ethnic Muslim community in North America? These social service institutions should be open to people of all faiths.
Outreach programs
Most Masjids do not have an organized outreach program, which would help share Islam with neighbors and society in general. Few of our mosques have a full-time staff. Most of them are closed when America works, that is 9 to 5 on weekdays, because they are run by volunteers who are themselves working at this time. So if an institution, media or an individual in need calls, no one answers them. They'll have to wait till the weekend. When a response from the Masjid does come around though, it's usually too late, as they and the rest of America are involved in their own personal or family pursuits on the weekend. Questions to ask will be: How is Masjids phone response system? How do we welcome visitors? How can our Masjids can be more welcoming? How should we relate to those neighbors who do not care to enter the Masjids themselves?
Women's participation
Although there is a higher level of women's participation in North American Masjids than in Egypt or India, for instance, most attending women are highly educated with professional degrees and their potential is not being fully used for the Masjid and the Islamic agenda on this continent. While teaching in Islamic weekend schools, helping organize the women's section of the mosque during functions and cooking for Masjid-related events are important, Masjids and Islamic centers are not maximizing the potential of these sisters. Women and Jihad continue to be two major points of confusion in America regarding Islam. Let our sisters stand for Islam and deal with both of these issues for men who have so far failed to articulate them. Are women a full part of our community life? Are they part of the Shura process? How many sisters get to present Islam?
Weekend schools
Although our weekend Islamic schools have helped a number of Muslim children retain their Islam at a basic level, they have not prepared the next generation of Muslims to take on leadership of the community. We have produced graduates who know how to read the Quran, memorize some parts of it, try to maintain Muslim character and eat Halal food. But most of these young Muslims are not involved in running a Masjid or Islamic center. Are weekend schools doing their job? Can weekend schools be exciting places whose products are the next generation of our leadership?
Fighting with the fear
It is natural that Muslims are fearful considering that more than 50% have experienced harassment in the aftermath of 9/11 according to a Zogby Survey. Although most Muslims appreciate President Bush's statement in a Washington Islamic Center, the ongoing media treatment of Islam is not helping. Muslims are fearful of the unknown and fear physical and economic harm. Masjids must play a role in helping Muslims cope with these fears by translating them into energy for the community. Action is one sure way of handling fear and anxiety.
Unity and the reorganization of Muslims resources can help deal with the phenomena of fear. The Prophet Mohamed (peace and blessings be upon him) asked that even if you see the end of the world coming and you are planting a tree, you should go ahead and plant it. So the importance of action is critical, even at a time when work seems futile.
Request Imams and teachers to highlight and address the need to rely on the Creator. Allah has said in the Quran, "The mosques of God shall be visited and maintained by such as believe in God and the Last Day, establish regular prayers, and practise regular charity, and fear none (at all) except God. It is they who are expected to be on true guidance" (Surah Tawbah, 9:18). Fearing none but God is what God has asked us to do. Death will not come until its time has come. If its time has come no one on earth can delay it for a second. Allah who feeds birds who don't carry food with them, will feed us as well. Imams and the Masjids' leadership need to comfort and guide Muslims during this difficult time in America. That should be reflected in Khutbahs, Quranic lessons, Sunday schools as well as newsletters.
Relying on Allah should also be reflected by incorporating the following into Muslims' daily remembrance (Zikr): Tawakalto al Allahe la haula wala quwwata illa billahil Alliul Azeem (I put my trust in God. There is no power and strength above that of God, the Great).
Muslims' concerns about physical harm and security need to be dealt with by establishing phone trees for Masjids (link), and developing relationships with the police in the area, human rights groups, civil rights groups, as well as educating people about their rights.
It is also important to remind people that they are not the only one who are fearful. Think of those 30 percent of Americans who say that they have difficulty sleeping in the aftermath of 9/11. Think of Afghans; think of Kashmiris who have one armed Indian soldier for every ten Kashmiris; think of Palestinians whose are facing the might of Israel in the Occupied Land; think of what the people in Argentina are facing.
But one of the sure ways of handling fear is by thinking about how to enhance communication with other minority groups in society. We can learn from the experience of African- and Japanese-Americans in profiling. We can also understand the organizational structures and institutions they have developed for their own concerns. These ultimately led to an improvement in American laws and society in reference to civil and human rights.
I am thankful to Sound Vision for providing this excellent set of suggestions. There are many new challenges for Muslims in America and we cannot solve them without strengthening our masjids by hiring full time staff and organizers in the community


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Home → Medicine → Oncology
By Clifford Ko, MD, MS, MSHA, FACS
240 pagesCopyright 2012$128.99, Hardcover, Reference
A title in the The Clinics: Surgery Series.
Availability:This title is currently out of stock. We will ship as soon as we receive our stock.
In this issue of Surgical Oncology Clinics of North America, Guest Editor Clifford Ko, MD has assembled the top experts concerning Outcomes Research in Oncology. Topics in this issue will include: Currently Available Quality Initiatives in Surgical Oncology; Variation in Mortality After High Risk Cancer Surgery: Failure to Rescue; Readmission as a Quality Measure Following High Risk Cancer Surgery; Randomized Controlled Trials in Surgical Oncology: Where Do We Stand?; Lymph Node Staging in GI Malignancies; Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Cancer Care; Patient Safety in Surgical Oncology: Perspective from the Operating Room; Value Based Health Care: A Surgical Oncologist Perspective; Monitoring the Delivery of Cancer Care: Commission on Cancer and National Cancer Data Base; Prediction Tools in Surgical Oncology; Collaboration With the Community Cancer Center: Benefit for All; and Evaluating the Appropriateness of Cancer Care in the United States.
By Clifford Ko, MD, MS, MSHA, FACS, Professor, Department of Surgery, Director, UCLA Center for Surgical Outcomes and Quality, Los Angeles, California

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New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft acknowledged Monday that his organization placed too much trust in former tight end Aaron Hernandez, who was charged last month with the murder of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd.
That trust was built early through a letter, in which Hernandez agreed to undergo bi-weekly drug tests during his rookie season to offset concerns about his alleged marijuana use at Florida. Hernandez sent the letter to the Patriots before the 2010 draft.
Breer: Aaron Hernandez fallout
Aaron Hernandez's murder charge absolutely rocked the NFL. What is the aftermath in New England? Albert Breer examines. **More ...**
"I believed him," Kraft said. "... He knew how to push my buttons."
Here's the letter Hernandez sent to Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio in April 2010, per the Boston Herald:
Dear Mr. Caserio:
I am writing in regards to some of the feedback I am receiving from my agents, Florida coaches and other NFL personnel. These sources have indicated that NFL teams have questions about my alleged use of marijuana. I personally answered these questions during the pre-draft process, but understand that NFL teams want to conduct thorough due diligence before making the significant financial investment inherent in a high draft pick. I have no issue with these questions being asked, but thought that it made the most sense to communicate with you directly regarding this issue so you would not have to rely upon second-hand information.
Any information I volunteer to you about my past will be looked at with great skepticism as I am trying to get drafted as high as possible by a NFL team. As such, I thought that the best way to answer your questions and your concerns was to make a very simple proposition. If you draft me as a member of the New England Patriots, I will willfully submit to a bi-weekly drug test throughout my rookie season (8 drug tests during the 2010 regular season). In addition, I will tie any guaranteed portion of my 2010 compensation to these drug tests and reimburse the team a pro-rata amount for any failed drug test. My agents have explained that a direct forfeiture provision in my contract along these lines would violate the CBA rules. However, I have instructed them to be creative in finding a contract structure that would work or in the worst case scenario, I would donate the pro-rata portion of my guaranteed money to the team's choice of charities. My point is simple -- if I fail a drug test, I do not deserve that portion of the money.
I realize that this offer is somewhat unorthodox, but it is also the only way I could think of to let you know how serious I am about reaching my potential in the NFL. My coaches have told you that nobody on our Florida team worked harder than me in terms of workouts, practices or games. You have your own evaluation as to the type of impact I can have on your offense. The only X-factor, according to the reports I have heard, is concerns about my use of recreational drugs. To address that concern, I am literally putting my money where my mouth is and taking the financial risk away from the team and putting it directly on my back where it belongs.
In closing, I ask you to trust me when I say you have absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to me and the use of recreational drugs. I have set very high goals for myself in the NFL, and am focused 100% on achieving those goals. So, test me all you want during my rookie year ... all of the results will be negative while I am having an overwhelmingly positive impact on the field.
Good luck with your preparations for the NFL Draft and feel free to contact me at my agency (Athletes First/David Dunn) with any questions.
Aaron Hernandez
University of Florida


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Last week, I kicked off the new Advise the Advisor series on WhiteHouse.gov and asked for your ideas, comments and questions about how American innovation is affecting your communities and what we can do to remove obstacles to innovation.
Since then, thousands of you submitted comments and ideas over the course of the week. A team of people here at the White House reviewed every single submission.
We'll post a more comprehensive analysis of your feedback in the coming days, but in the meantime, I want to highlight and respond to a couple of the common themes that we found in reading your feedback.
Education is the Key to Innovation
Many of you told me that one of the biggest obstacles to innovation is lack of high-quality education.
Tony from Wisconsin said:
Education is the key to innovation and manufacturing superiority. We must prepare all age groups…for the challenges this year and this decade.
Tony, the President couldn't agree with you more. In fact, President Obama spoke about this earlier this week at Parkville Middle School outside of Baltimore. In his FY2012 Budget proposal, the President has called for critical investments in our children's future – like training 100,000 new math and science teachers over the next ten years, expanding the Race to the Top education reform initiative, and making college more affordable for America's students and families by helping 9 million students through the Pell grant program and permanently extending the American Opportunity Tax Credit that provides up to $10,000 of tuition tax credits over four years.
We Need High-Speed Internet
Many of you, particularly those living in rural areas, told me that the lack of affordable access to high-speed Internet was slowing the pace of innovation in your community.
James from Maryland said:
The single greatest thing we can do is connect rural America to the rest of the world via high speed Internet to allow the flow of information, and new business structures to grow 60 and 70 years ago it was roads and bridges that were the vital infrastructure, today it is that connection to information, a simple dial up makes it impossible or at least extremely difficult to find out basic information.
James is right, access to high-speed Internet is critical in the 21st century. Last week, President Obama launched the National Wireless Initiative – a plan to expand wireless coverage to 98% of Americans so that small businesses can sell their products anywhere in the world and individuals can access the information and ideas they need to compete in the 21st century economy. As part of this initiative, the Administration will invest in research and development of emerging wireless technologies and applications so our nation stays at the cutting edge of internet technology. And we will establish a national wireless network for our public safety agencies.
All told, by more effectively utilizing spectrum, the President's wireless initiative will make these investments while also reduce the budget deficit by nearly $10 billion. Check out the White House White Board video with Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors to learn more about it.
Government Can Be an Obstacle to Innovation
Another common theme was that government itself can be an obstacle to innovation. Many respondents felt that too much government regulation stifled businesses and innovators and that the patent process and intellectual property laws are broken.
Gene from California said:
The largest obstacle to continued innovation is not a secret; it is government intrusion into every aspect of American business. Startup companies are limited to those who have lots of capital to pay for legal advice. The average person cannot start a business on his own today. There are just too many regulations to get a loan. Too many hoops to get a license to operate that business and too much paper work to continue to employ workers.
In his State of the Union Address, the President called for a government-wide review of regulations to find and fix those regulations that place unnecessary burdens on businesses. Indeed, in his Budget, the President put forward a set of common sense reforms to our patent system that will make it easier for innovators to move ideas to market and foster growth.
But there are some commonsense measures that are necessary to protect the health, wellbeing and safety of the American people. So while we work to eliminate those regulations that unnecessarily stand in the way of America's entrepreneurs and job creators, we have to enforce safeguards like the Clean Air Act that protects the air we breathe, quality standards that ensure that our food is safe to eat, and guidelines that guarantee our water is safe to drink.
Enthusiasm for Clean Energy Innovation
Many of you told me that clean energy innovation and energy efficiency was already shaping your communities.
Julie from Iowa said:
I live in Iowa. Recently I had to drive from Sioux City to Cedar Rapids. It's been about 5 years since I've made the trip. While cruising down the interstate I was amazed at how the landscape had changed. Windmills - hundreds of windmills. It was almost majestic. I also noted all the semi's cruising down the highway with windmill parts.
President Obama is committed to helping to jumpstart a new clean energy economy here in the United State because the nation that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century. The President's FY2012 Budget proposal calls for America to produce 80% of our electricity from clean energy sources by 2035 and increases investments in renewable energy research and development. Meeting that target will position the United States as a global leader in developing and manufacturing cutting-edge clean energy technologies. It will ensure continued growth in the renewable energy sector, building on the progress made in recent years. And it will spur innovation and investment in our nation's energy infrastructure, catalyzing economic growth and creating American jobs.
You can learn more about the investments we're making in clean energy and energy efficiency here.
Obstacles to Innovation
I also heard a lot about some of the obstacles to innovation that many people see in their own communities, and that's great feedback as we think about our policies to promote innovation going forward.
Ron from Illinois said:
Innovation does not affect my community because it doesn't exist here. The reason it does not exist is strictly because of the obstacles. While decisions made in Washington may sound good or look good on paper, it has no bearing on my community.
Ron – that's fair concern. I know that especially during these tough economic times, it can be difficult to see progress.
The President's plan to win the future by out-innovating, out-educating and out-building the rest of the world will bring innovation to parts of the country that can sometimes be left behind – whether that's bringing high speed wireless to 98% of the country and bringing high speed rail 80% of Americans, or helping industries of the future like clean energy get a foothold in rural America.
We're working to lay the groundwork for economic growth and innovation by rebuilding America's infrastructure to ensure that America is the best place to do business in the world, reforming our education system to ensure that today's students are well equipped for the jobs of tomorrow, and streamlining regulations to remove burdens on job creation. But government can't do it alone. We need businesses to step up and invest in America as well. In his speech at the Chamber of Commerce last week, the President spoke to business leaders about our shared responsibility to rebuild the American economy, calling on the business community to make investments in America that will pay dividends for both the American economy and their bottom lines.
I've passed along a portion of the ideas we received to Gene Sperling and his colleagues at the National Economic Council for further review and in the days and weeks ahead I hope to review even more of your feedback and incorporate the best ideas into my own advice to President Obama. We're also planning for the next round of Advise the Advisor -- stay tuned for more on that.


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The World Bank brokered 1960 Indus Water Treaty, celebrated as a success story of water-sharing conflict resolution having withstood 3 wars, is basically a water-partitioning agreement with substantial protocols for addressing disputes and disagreements arising out of water-sharing. The technical density and the nature of division of waters, aggravated by the political conflict between India and Pakistan has subjected the treaty to substantial wear and tear. With the treaty having no embedded capability of handling variability arising from environmental degradation, uncertain weather patterns and changing climatic conditions, there is a case for reviewing and upgrading it into a more co-operative water management framework necessary for increasing the viability of irrigation and sustainable management of the river system.
Indus Water Treaty: Best Deal of the Times?
Experts describe the Indus Water Treaty, signed after long and tortuous discussions, as the best deal of the times reflecting the political compulsions and water management philosophy of the times. It allocated 3 western rivers to Pakistan and 3 eastern ones to India while permitting non-consumptive access to India to the western rivers with maximum 3.6 million acre feet storage for limited agriculture, hydro-power generation and transport. Under it about 80% waters are allocated to Pakistan and 20% to India in what many in India feel is an unfair settlement somehow accepted by the negotiators. On the other hand, Pakistan feels that India has got too much water considering that the territory that went to India historically used only 10% of water. According to officials in Indian Ministry of Water Resources, the treaty provides for a potential of 1.4 million hectares to be irrigated and 19000 MW hydro-power to be generated through run-of-river projects. However only 8 lakh hectares have been irrigated and only 3000 MW hydro-power is being generated annually. India wants to maximise the water potential under the treaty specially in the background of dissatisfaction in Jammu & Kashmir that the treaty restrictions hamper its developmental potential. In fact in 2003 the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly passed an unanimous resolution demanding a review of the treaty, while in April 2016 they demanded compensation for lost hydro-power potential. But Indian efforts at utilizing the water potential under the treaty only fuels Pakistan's lower riparian insecurity with Pakistan continuously having technical disagreements in India's planned power projects. While the Baglihar power plant conflict could be settled in 2007 only under arbitration by a Neutral Expert, the Kishenganga project dispute is under reference of an arbitration court.
Differences & Disputes inherent in Nature & Structure of Indus Water treaty
Experts agree that it is the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty limiting the use of western rivers by India that is the main cause of the conflict with differences arising both from the highly technical nature of the treaty as well as the nature of division of waters under the treaty. The various technical conditions and restrictions under the treaty relating to different engineering structures and features like crest levels of spillways, location of intake for turbines, pondage levels, limits to artificially raising water levels in operational pools, etc lend themselves to different interpretations and approaches resulting in technical disagreements over the meaning and applications of treaty criteria. While Indian engineers approach is to primarily focus on techno-economic viability of the projects to get best benefits under the provisions of the treaty, Pakistani engineers tend to focus primarily on the provisions and restrictions treating the techno-economic viability as secondary. With these two basically different approaches, there is little scope for mutually acceptable modifications in the planned projects.
Differences also arise due to the very nature of the division of waters which has created an adversarial situation in relation to Indian use of the western rivers through technical restrictions and specifications meant to safeguard Pakistan's interests. Pakistan feels that Indian structures upstream on the western rivers will reduce water flow downstream or enable India to release stored waters and flood its territory. Pakistan thus frames the problem partly in terms of water security and partly in terms of national security. India's stated position that its capacity to reduce water flow downstream is limited while it cannot flood Pakistan without first flooding itself has failed to assuage Pakistan's lower riparian anxiety. That the treaty does not specify the maximum number of projects or the height of dams or total hydro-power capacity or that India is bound to send all technical data regarding the planned projects in advance to Pakistan only adds to the complexity of the issue. The upshot is that while India tries to make maximum use of its entitlements under the treaty, Pakistan tends to exercise the virtual veto power the treaty gives it stringently rather than in an accomodating manner. It must however be mentioned that water experts in track II discussions have often expressed the worry that while a single project has no capacity to reduce water flows downstream, the cumulative impact of a number of projects could affect water flow downstream. Indian water expert late Ramaswamy Iyer had expressed the view in some of his writings that since a cumulative impact study of projects in the Ganges basin is being done, a similar one could be done in the Indus basin with experts from both sides.
Treaty lacks Social and Ecological Perspective on River System
By virtue of its techno-engineering approach, the treaty has ignored the organic nature of water and its relationships with people and livelihoods resulting in inequitable sharing and insufficient conservation of the precious resource. By treating the river system as mere volumes of water contained in channels, the treaty has ignored the implications of interconnections between the river's natural flow and other elements of the ecosystem like lakes, under-ground acquifer, wetlands, marshes and mangrooves. The treaty does not say anything about maintaining a minimum environmental flow for purpose of maintenance of delta ecosystems downstream. The view that any water that goes into the sea is waste ignores the need for sufficient fresh water to reach the delta to maintain a healthy balance between fresh and saline water and to safeguard the estuarine-mangroove ecosytem. In a very real sense, the treaty does lack a sense of social and ecological sensitivity. However in the words of late Ramasway Iyer ' the treaty is a product of the times which has largely served as a moderating factor in the hydro-politics of the two countries curbing their worst impulses'
Need to Re-imagine the Indus River
Based on analysis of drivers of conflict in the basin like riparian position, basin dependence, media framing, adversarial institutional structures and processes, relative military and economic strengths, experts opine that while India is precariously balanced between conflict and co-operation, Pakistan is definitely skewed towards conflict. They say that the absence of open conflict in the basin is not necessarily an indicator of presence of co-operation but of negative peace. Under conditions of negative peace both countries are taking water decisions in the background of imperfect and insufficient knowledge about the intentions and capabilities of each other with terribly sub-optimal results. Both countries are adopting the precautionary principle of assuming the worst possible scenario perceiving the other as a threat and taking even more stringent measures. Experts again opine that the sustainability of the treaty requires both technical and social ingenuity. While technical ingenuity exists, there is lack of social capital in an atmosphere of mistrust, lack of deep listening, lack of search for common grounds across differences and perceived riparian vulnerability by Pakistan.
New Compact for Indus System Management:
The increasing unsustainability of irrigated agriculture, the need to harness hydro-power in Jammu & Kashmir in quest for clean energy, and climate change with its predicted impact in terms of glacial melt and changing precipitation patterns are strong push factors for a review of the IWT. If division of waters is a flawed water management concept and practice, then handling and harnessing the variability in water flow has been recognised as the crux of sustainable river management approach. Further if climate change is about intensification of variability and unpredictability of water flow, then the IWT with its emphasis on neat average flows and statistical predictability of water availability will not be able to handle conflicts arising out of hydraulic volatility.
The techno-engineering approach of maximum water extractions from the river has been increasingly challenged by ecologists who have demonstrated that fluvial regimes are complex geo-morphological, chemical and biological processes in motion with a natural flow regime which regulates various ecological processes. Arguing that rivers are integral components of complex ecological systems forming an intricate part of the cultural, economic and social lives of communities, they have said that reducing rivers to the waters that they carry is a sadly instrumentalist view of the river system. They have advocated that the steel and concrete engineering approaches must give way to a entirely new spectrum of management in which the embedded ecological and social contexts of the river system must be acknowledged.
Pluralistic Narratives Needed:
A renewed compact for the Indus river system requires effective de-centering of the techno-engineering approach based on the expertise of water engineers, and harnessing instead the expertise and experiences of a whole lot of social constituencies across the basin. This will involve a co-operative dialogue between different river-based communities on either side of the border like fishermen, irrigation-dependent farmers, river ecologists, water historians, sociologists, water experts, agriculture economists, etc. These plural narratives will impart the new Indus compact with the much needed social and ecological perspective which will have the potential to transform the hydro-politics of the basin into a mutually beneficial co-operation. That will work in favour of a more prudent management of the basin's rapidly depleting water resources, and help address issues of environmental degradation and climate change challenges.
While it goes without saying that any negotiation on reviewing the IWT will be utterly contingent on significant improvements in bilateral relations, it must be emphasized that certain changes in attitudes, approaches and perspectives could prod both countries towards a more constructive and co-operative spirit in the operations of the treaty. There is a need to reframe the water crisis in the basin as one of relative water scarcity instead of absolute water scarcity which will limit economic development and affect national security. Because 75% of Pakistan's water originates in India and because 95% of its agriculture depends on Indus waters, Pakistan has framed the water crisis in a framework of national security with the discourse strongly marked with existential threat. But the very fact that over 90% water drawls are used in agriculture where its efficiency is less than 40% is a clear indication that water scarcity in the basin is more institutional and can be tackled through appropriate engineering and institutional reforms.
Need for Counter Securitizing Narrative:
Along with a more pluralistic narrative, there is also a need to centre-stage a counter water securitising narrative through a focus on better water management both from the supply and demand side. Desecuritisation of water scarcity requires that strong sentiments of water nationalism and food nationalism need to be toned down and the water crisis should be framed within a poor water governance matrix in both basin countries. In this context, both countries have to take steps like focussing more on open communications on water data and working out mechanisms for mutual assistance during extreme events and disasters. The media, specially in Pakistan, should be encouraged not to sensationalize the water scarcity issue as an existential threat, but to focus the debate on better water management, innovative agricultural practices, environmental degradation, inter-provincial water-related conflicts, etc. At the official level, confidence building measures such as thickening of track II diplomacy, softening of borders, and actively enabling exchange of scholars and water experts will be of immense use in diluting the atmosphere of mistrust. There is also a need to strengthen integrated multi-disciplinary approach in decision-making over India's hydro-power projects rather than leaving it to engineers alone because hydro-power projects on the western rivers fall in the realm of foreign policy. At the field level efforts should be made to leverage the close historic and cultural ties between farmers in Indian and Pakistan parts of Punjab for sharing water management experiences. That the Punjab Water Council of Pakistan, a forum of farmers, have already expressed the need to talk to Indian farmers on the issue of water is an indication that stakeholders on either side of the border are ready to take a more integrated view of the river system.
In conclusion I would like to say that co-operative institutional mechanisms like Joint Data Centres, Regional Environmental Monitoring Centres and platforms like Joint Working Groups for sharing of experiences on technology use, policy and institutional structures will go a long way in paving the ground for a more beneficial management of the river system. That the arbitration verdicts both in the Baglihar and Kishenganga power projects have chosen to adopt an interpretative approach towards the technical provisions of the treaty in attempts to inform its operations with contemporary international law principles of environment protection and sustainable development points to the direction in which future development in the basin should move. While the 2007 Baglihar award upheld India's right to use state of art technology for building the dam, the 2013 partial award in case of Kishenganga has upheld the need for minimum environmental flows downstream to Pakistan. In the longer term both countries have to explore every political and cultural opportunity to move towards a joint and holistic management of the river system aimed at sustainable development in the basin and building capacity to face climate change challenges.


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Spain's illicit economy—all that is unaccounted for because it's illegal or unreported—is worth an unseemly 20% of the country's GDP, according to a new report by Spain's Foundation for Financial Studies (FEF). That's higher than every other country in the European Union except Italy, with 21%.
Illicit activity, while technically illegal, doesn't necessarily mean drug-related or violent. Much of Spain's unreported business is due to labor law and tax circumvention, which varies widely from industry to industry. Some sectors are relatively clean, like Spain's financial industry, where the rate of illegal activity is believed to hover below 10%; others are ridden with messy, unreported business, like the country's construction industry—Spain's most flagrant offender—whose rate clocks in at 35%.
The effects of such a massive, underground economy are substantial—for example, more than a million Spaniards are believed to be employed by the country's unreported economy, and thus, unemployed by the country's official economy. Spain's unemployment has ballooned since the onset of the euro zone crisis, but many of those reportedly unemployed may simply be earning their money informally. As much as $26 billion dollars in taxes are also being withheld from tax authorities—money that the government especially needs now amidst an acute financial squeeze. But what's perhaps most detrimental about the country's enormous illicit economy is its ability to skew Spain's economic data, president of FEF Juan Carlos Ureta explained.
It looks like we have more unemployment than we do, and more fiscal deficit than we do, and this lessens foreign confidence.
Spain's unemployment rate, which hovers just below 30%, is an eyesore, no doubt. And the country's inability to forecast and control its deficits has forced it to create an independent fiscal authority to monitor the government's finances. But the upside is the country can improve its economic outlook by merely coercing some of its illicit economy back into the public sphere.
Among the report's many suggestions for chipping away at the country's informal economy is lowering Spain's high personal and company tax rates, which discourage official activity. It also advocates the creation of "mini-jobs," which employ workers for up to 40 hours a week for up to $520 a month and are meant to incentivize those working in Spain's underground economy to gradually shift into its official one.
While neither of the measures will fix Spain's wounded economy entirely, one thing is certain: an illicit economy worth 20% of the country's GDP isn't just unhealthy—it's unsustainable.


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Physical Exams
DOT Physical Mandate
Beginning May 21, 2014, according to federal mandate, certified medical examiners (i.e. the medical professionals performing DOT physicals) must be registered with the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (NRCME). The mission of the NRCME is: to improve highway safety by producing trained certified medical examiners who can effectively determine if a commercial motor vehicle driver's health meets Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration standards.
PCOLI Medical Providers are certified to perform these exams.
DOT Exams for CDL Holders
Our clinicians are extremely knowledgeable regarding the highly regulated commercial driving industry, and can be your partner in maintaining DOT compliance. We assure that only physically capable drivers pass their exams.
Overview of DOT Exam:
The DOT physical is an evaluation of the body and its functions similar in content to an annual physical. It includes a medical history and lifestyle review.
DOT Exam Requirements
The Department of Transportation requires all Commercial Drivers License (CDL) holders to receive periodic physical examinations, entitled "Department of Transportation Medical Examination," to ensure the ability of the driver to safely operate a commercial vehicle. The US Department of Transportation sets the following guidelines:
- CDL holders (Drivers) must have 20/40 correctable vision in each eye. Glasses or contact lenses are permitted.
- Drivers cannot be a diabetic on needle-injected insulin; diabetes controlled through a diet or oral medication is permitted.
- A driver's blood pressure must be under 160/100. Prescription medication to control blood pressure is permitted.
- Use of a Schedule 1 drug, amphetamine, narcotic or any other habit forming drug is not permitted.
- If a driver has a current diagnosis of cardiac insufficiency, collapse, congestive cardiac failure or any other cardiovascular disease, he/she will be required to provide the Medical Examiner with a stress test (performed within the last 12 months) along with a release from the driver's physician stating that he/she can drive a commercial motor vehicle without restrictions.
The Department of Transportation also requires clearance for drivers that have been diagnosed with the following conditions: sleep apnea, recent back injury, recent major surgery, a current hernia, or have had recent workers' compensation claims.
DOT Drug Screening
CDL Drivers are also required to take random drug screens to maintain their license. The required procedure tests for the following: Marijuana, Cocaine, Amphetamines, Opiates, PCP, Barbiturates, Benzodiazepine, Methadone, Propoxyphene, Alcohol (Urine Test)


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Rules for Voting
• Each person may vote for a maximum of three people per category where a voter's first choice is given three points the second choice two points, and the third choice one point.
• Voting will be made public. One can vote by simply posting and assigning points on the category threads.
• Logically, you also are not allowed to vote for yourself.
• Voting begins a day after nominations, August 17th, and ends on August 27th, and will be announced on the main site.
The Nominees (in no particular order):
- Kierisa12
- The Weird Shipper
- Silversong
- ButlerXArtemis
- Meova


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Colorado Startup Making App To Cure Sedentary Habits
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - There is a silent killer stalking the nation.
It's a health epidemic that has nothing to do with diet or smoking, yet everyone does it every day and it is taking years off of lives in some cases. The culprit is sitting, and experts say that being sedentary eight hours a day can be as dangerous as smoking cigarettes.
The "cure" is simple: walking. The CDC reports that frequent breaks from sedentary activity can lower health risks, such as obesity and cardiovascular disease, associated with sitting.
A new Fort Collins startup company called SmartMove is working to develop new technology to help people break free of sitting around too much by getting them up and moving.
Standing in front of a flat-screen television, to which his smartphone is connected in the Rocky Mountain Innosphere, Gene Berry goes from walking to standing to sitting.
As he moves, a small person on the television imitates his movements, reflecting his actions. When Berry sits, the small man on the screen sits. When Berry walks, the small man on the screen walks.
The significance of the small figure is a first-of-its-kind breakthrough in smartphone technology, Berry said. Berry, chief financial officer with SmartMove, has helped develop a new shoe insole that has the ability to accurately track a person's movements throughout the day.
The USB rechargeable insole, which can go in any shoe, is equipped with two sensors that can tell if a person is sitting, standing, walking, running, climbing stairs or cycling.
Data collected from the insole is transferred to an application on an iPhone that will tell users how much of their day has been spent sitting versus standing, walking or running. The app also will provide calories burned and the number of steps taken.
"We know that the best accuracy comes from the foot. ... Nothing is 100 percent accurate," he said, but the SmartMove insoles are expected to be more accurate than current wristbands or waistbands on the market that offer similar smartphone tracking.
Perhaps one of the most useful and innovative tools of the insole and app is that it will send users a text alert if they have been sedentary for too long, telling them it is time to get up and move around for a bit.
Potential also exists to connect the app to personal calendars so it can be more intuitive to a person's schedule and other apps such as MapMyFitness.
In modern society, most people go from bed to sitting at a table to sitting in a car to sitting at a desk and then to sitting in a car to sitting on a couch and back to bed. For some, there may be a bit of walking, jogging or exercise mixed in, but the culture of sitting has seeped into society.
According to a 2008 Vanderbilt University study of 6,300 people published in the Journal of Epidemiology, 55 percent, or more than seven hours, of waking time is spent sitting. The result is someone is 94 percent more likely to die from a sedentary lifestyle.
A recent study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, states that "prolonged sitting time has emerged as a risk factor for various negative health outcomes." Sitting too much can cause chronic disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity and death, according to the study.
With such research in mind, SmartMove is taking the insoles and app a step further with a "coach" feature.
SmartMove Chief Operations Officer Maureen Weber said one of the most exciting aspects of the new product is a subscription-based trainer for users.
Berry said typically a fitness "coach" on a smartphone app will regurgitate data back to the user. SmartMove is trying to make that data more detailed and personal so users receive feedback that correlates with their strengths.
"We are trying to get to a more emotional response because we know to get a behavioral change, it is going to be emotional," Berry said.
Unlike most other fitness apps, SmartMove's coach will start by asking the user a number of questions via text message to make it feel more conversational. The questions range from goals to personal strengths.
SmartMove's technology came out of technology founded at the University of Colorado. Now the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, is helping fund the project with a $1 million grant. SmartMove is working with CSU's Health and Exercise Science's Assistant Professor Ray Browning and CSU doctoral candidate and graduate research assistant Chrissy Schaefer.
Schaefer has been working on the coaching aspect of the app and said that they are attempting to create a "virtual relationship" by tailoring feedback for each individual user.
In its commercialization phase, the company is looking to sell the insoles for around $149 with the free app. Currently, the app is only for iPhones, but they are working on an Android app.
SmartMove is seeking people to take part in beta tests this summer to evaluate the insoles' accuracy and impact.
- By DAVID YOUNG, The Coloradoan
(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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We don't get much Iditarod coverage around these parts, so thank you to tipster Brandon for sending this along. Anna and Kristy Berington are Wisconsin natives living in Alaska. Above all else, they are trailblazing dog racers. As you read this they are probably mushing their way through the Alaskan wilderness, making them not only the first set of twins to run the Iditarod, but the first sisters to ever do so.
Kristy has been participating in the race for several years now, but this is Anna's first run in the race that is usually male-dominated.
As a result, some onlookers were quick to dismiss Kristy when she began racing, Anna said.
"A lot of people kind of get the feeling that she's just a pretty face. That she doesn't know what she's doing, that kind of thing," Anna said. "But she's definitely proven that she is a dog musher."
Kristy Berington finished 39th in the 2010 Iditarod and 29th in 2011. She placed ninth in this year's Yukon Quest, a 1,000-mile race that's often considered a more punishing journey than the Iditarod[.]
Prior to Anna entering the race this year, the twins often discussed pulling Parent trap-style pranks, subbing in for each other and winning the whole thing. Says former mortuary owner and current dog-musher "apprentice," Scott Janssen "[w]hen the twins each braid their hair and dress in matching gear, they're mirror images."
In fact, the twins are so identical that they fooled their own mother.
"Our mom didn't even know she was having twins until Anna was born," said Kristy Berington, who is five minutes older than her sister and fellow sled dog racer. "She never even got an ultrasound and our heartbeats were completely identical."
The Iditarod!
Iditarod's sister act: Twins to hit the trail [Anchorage Daily News]


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Well you're just across the street
Looks a mile to my feet
I wanna go to you
Funny how I'm nervous still
I've always been the easy kill
I guess I always will
Could it be that everything goes 'round by chance? (chance chance)
Or only one way that it was always meant to be? (be)
You kill me you always know the perfect thing to say (hey hey hey hey)
I know what I should do but I just can't walk away
I can picture your face well from the bar in my hotel
I wish i'd go to you
I pick up, put down the phone
Like your favorite heatmieser song goes
It's just like being alone
Oh God, please don't tell me this has been in vain (vain vain)
I need answers for what all the waiting I've done means (means)
You kill me you've got some nerve
but can't face your mistakes (hey hey hey hey)
I know what I should do, but i just can't turn away...away...away
So go on love:
leave while there's still hope for escape
Ya gotta take what you can these days
There's so much ahead and
So much regret
I know what you wanna say
I know it, but can't help feeling differently
I loved you and I should have said it
but tell me: just what has it ever meant?
I can't help it baby, this is who I am (am am)
Im sorry but I can't just go turn off how i feel (feel)
You kill me, you build me up
But just to watch me break (hey hey hey hey)
I know what i should do, but I just can't walk away


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* NSA bugged offices, spied on internal networks -magazine
* U.S. agency "accessed documents, read emails" (Adds U.S. spokesman had no comment, paragraph 5)
BERLIN, June 29 (Reuters) - The United States has bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, according to secret documents cited in a German magazine on Saturday, the latest in a series of exposures of alleged U.S. spy programmes.
Der Spiegel quoted from a September 2010 "top secret" U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) document that it said fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden had taken with him, and the weekly's journalists had seen in part.
The document outlines how the NSA bugged offices and spied on EU internal computer networks in Washington and at the United Nations, not only listening to conversations and phone calls but also gaining access to documents and emails.
The document explicitly called the EU a "target".
A spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence had no comment on the Der Spiegel story.
Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said that if the report was correct, it would have a "severe impact" on relations between the EU and the United States.
"On behalf of the European Parliament, I demand full clarification and require further information speedily from the U.S. authorities with regard to these allegations," he said in an emailed statement.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told Der Spiegel: "If these reports are true, it's disgusting.
"The United States would be better off monitoring its secret services rather than its allies. We must get a guarantee from the very highest level now that this stops immediately."
Snowden's disclosures in foreign media about U.S. surveillance programmes have ignited a political furore in the United States and abroad over the balance between privacy rights and national security.
According to Der Spiegel, the NSA also targeted telecommunications at the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, home to the European Council, the collective of EU national governments.
Without citing sources, the magazine reported that more than five years ago security officers at the EU had noticed several missed calls and traced them to NSA offices within the NATO compound in Brussels.
Each EU member state has rooms in Justus Lipsius with phone and internet connections, which ministers can use.
Snowden, a U.S. citizen, fled the United States to Hong Kong in May, a few weeks before the publication in the Guardian and the Washington Post of details he provided about secret U.S. government surveillance of internet and phone traffic.
Snowden, 30, has been holed up in a Moscow airport transit area since last weekend. The leftist government of Ecuador is reviewing his request for asylum. (Reporting by Annika Breidthardt and Ben Deighton in Brussels; Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria in Washington; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Eric Beech)


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Florida Man Overcomes Fear of Spiders By Tattooing Spider on His Face
Eric Ortiz doesn't like spiders. Which is why he got this black widow spider tattoo on his cheek, just below his eyeline, in December: So he can overcome spider that which spider he fears most spider spiiiiiiider SPIDER.
Ortiz' bold statement—he posted this pic on Facebook with the exclamation "Now I will give everybody something to look at!!!!!"—came to light this week when he reported to Volusia County Court in Central Florida to account for driving on a revoked license again, and was kind enough to grant an interview to a reporter from the Daytona Beach News-Journal:
"Everybody fears spiders," Ortiz said. "That's why I got it. Just to, like, make me know, that that's what I fear, but not to fear it. You know what I'm saying?"...
Ortiz's particular method of dealing with arachnophobia gets attention.
"Everybody looks at it like, "Damn spider" 'cause if you're going around your house, you know what I'm saying, you see those spiders, you're going to jump, you're going to jump, so putting one on my face, I say you know what, I'm going to see what people think."
What do people think?
"Some people say 'Why did you get it? You're never going to get a job," Ortiz said. "Some people say "It's cool, man. The tattoo on the face, I would never get it but that one came out cool.'"
His girlfriend wasn't too happy, though.
"She was mad at me," he said.
Ortiz' online status currently lists him as "single."


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John Brennan's Spooky Swearing-In
President Obama's choice to be Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) was approved by the Senate on a vote of 63-34, with thirteen Republicans voting to confirm him. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) created quite a stir with his 13-hour filibuster against the Brennan nomination. Not until he received written assurances from Attorney General Eric Holder that U.S. citizens would not be targeted for killing by drones on U.S. soil would the doughty Kentuckian stand down. Good for him.
John Brennan then proceeded to take the Oath of Office, as administered by Vice President Joe Biden. Director Brennan then did something no other officer has done, something that occasioned its own measure of controversy. Brennan was sworn in on an original copy of the Constitution. It was a very august occasion, to be sure, but it was also a mysterious one.
For the man who will be America's spymaster, it was an odd move for him to stir up trouble. If spies are said to be "spooks," our top spy's action was, well, "spooky."
Civil libertarians left and right were quick to point out that the 1787 Constitution did not include a Bill of Rights. Critics were right to be vigilant , especially when our spymaster has been so intimately associated with choosing targets for drone attacks. The Fifth Amendment says "no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." That guarantee should certainly apply to Americans here at home. Similarly, the Fourth Amendment's safeguards against unreasonable searches and seizures need to be underscored.
But there was little notice of the fact that the First Amendment provides for No Establishment of Religion. This was conspicuously not a part of the Constitution that Brennan chose to swear to uphold.
The Constitution of 1787 did not afford that guarantee, but it did give all Americans protection from religious tests for office. Thus, even without a Bill of Rights, Article VI, Sec. 3 provides that: "...no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."
As a result, Brennan's opponents on Capitol Hill scrupulously avoided questioning him about his religion. That was as it should be. We have consistently opposed such religious tests when applied to men and women of our faith.
Still, John Brennan fueled rumors when he defended jihad as a legitimate expression of Islam. He has spoken of "our Saudi partners." If they are our partners, then he should have been asked why the Crown Prince Abdullah refused Vice President Al Gore's personal request in 1998 for U.S. access to al Qaeda's financial chief, Madani al Tayyib. According to the official 9/11 Commission Report, "U.S. never gained this access" to the man who might have unraveled the plot against the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.
Here's something else very spooky about the Brennan Oath: How can you take an oath on the Constitution to defend the Constitution? Normally, one takes an oath with his hand on a Bible, or a Koran, on some other Scripture one holds sacred. Taking an oath to defend the Constitution by putting your hand on the Constitution is a skyhook. It is supported by nothing else. It neatly avoids the central question: Is this a valid oath? Can we rely on a person who creates such a stir by the simple act of taking an oath of office?
John Brennan speaks eloquently of "the Majesty of the Hajj." This is the pilgrimage taken by devout Muslims to Mecca. It is a pilgrimage in which no non-Muslim is allowed to take part.
Paging Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) During a series of judicial confirmation hearings nearly a decade ago, Schumer pursued Catholic and Evangelical nominees of President Bush. He wasn't subjecting them to a religious test forbidden by the Constitution, he averred. He was simply probing the nominees' "deeply held personal convictions" which he said might disqualify them from sitting as federal judges.
Where was this constitutional watchdog during the Brennan hearings? The watchdog didn't bark. If any Catholic nominee had spoken of the Majesty of a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, where millions of Catholics believe the Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared, if any Evangelical nominee had spoken of his feeling of spiritual renewal from attending the Washington, D.C. "Stand in the Gap" revival of Promise Keepers in 1997, we might have expected Sen. Schumer to be grilling those candidates under oath about "deeply held personal convictions."
Not this time. Schumer joined other normally alert liberals in confirming Brennan. No wonder Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor of terrorists, took alarm at the Brennan choice:
Making John Brennan the director of the Central Intelligence Agency is the most monumental mismatch of man and mission that I can imagine. The point of having our intelligence agencies is to make sure that we have a coherent, accurate idea of the threats that confront the United States. Unfortunately, Mr. Brennan's career, and certainly the signature that he has put on the national security component of the Obama administration has been to blind the United States to the threats against us.
McCarthy has written Willful Blindness, The Grand Jihad, and Spring Fever: The Illusion of Islamic Democracy to alert Americans to the dangers we face.
What binding force can this Brennan oath have, anyway? Although millions of us would agree with James Madison and George Washington that Providence guided our drafting and peaceful adoption of the Constitution, few of us would contend that the document itself--whether the 1787 original version, or the 1791 version with the Bill of Rights included -- is Holy Writ.
George Washington warned us about the loss of faith that can undermine a republic: "Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths?"
George Washington knew something about oaths. He took the first presidential oath to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States" with his hand firmly placed on the Bible. In front of a cloud of witnesses in New York City, he kissed the Bible.
This strange episode gives us no sense of security. Can we trust our property, our reputation, our lives to such a man and such a spooky oath?
Ken Blackwell and Bob Morrison are senior fellows at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C.


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Monday, July 26, 2010
Man Up and Be a Bride
12:15 AM | Posted by Scott | Edit Post
I believe strongly that in order for us husbands to adequately grasp our biblical role in our marriages, we MUST learn first-hand what it means to be a bride. Now let me clarify; I'm not talking about experimentation with cross-dressing! No, I'm not asking you to don a wedding dress. What I am talking about is learning what it means to be the bride of Christ.
Let me remind you what Ephesians says about biblical roles in marriage:
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Ephesians 5:24-25Honest question: which verse did you focus on? Wisdom says you only get to focus on the instructions to you, not the ones to your wife. Got that guys? You wife's submission to you is not your job to work out, it's between your wife and God. Your job is to love your wife as Jesus loves the church. Not so sure about that? Well, let me jump a little further down in that chapter:
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:31-32The first verse is a quote from Genesis. I talked about it in my post on intimacy. But what I want to emphasize is the second verse. Paul is saying, in no uncertain terms, that there is a divine mystery in the husband-wife relationship, and that is that it echoes the relationship between Christ (our Bridegroom) and us as the church (his bride).
I don't know about you, but that wrecks me every time I think about it. Jesus wants to be one with you and me, the same way a husband and wife are one in marriage. Now don't go goofy on me, of course it isn't a sexual relationship we have with Jesus, but the level of intimacy and oneness echoes the sexual relationship in marriage, with the same power and passion.
As a husband, in order to be like Christ to your bride, you simply must endeavor to comprehend what it means to be the bride of Jesus. Knowing this love is the only way you can give this love. This is no easy task. It's a lifelong pursuit that has no endpoint this side of heaven. In fact, Paul tells us a few chapters earlier in Ephesians 3, in his prayer for the church, that we cannot fully know this unknowable love of Christ; our limited human minds simply cannot comprehend the depth of his passion and the height of his desire for us, the length of his zeal and width of his jealousy for us as his bride. Yet, we must pursue the knowledge of our bridegroom's love if we are to lavish that same kind of love on our own earthly brides. Ultimately, knowing this love is how we are to be "filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:19)
I'm going to make a bold statement:
- If you think that the passionate pursuit of the knowledge of the love of Jesus is just a wishy-washy, touchy-feely thing for the women folk; if you refuse to make your role as the intimate and desirable bride of Christ a centerpiece to your life in God, then you will never completely fulfill the role as husband that God intends you to fulfill.
Labels: Man-up Monday, Men, Spiritual Life
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The amazing web site of Shakespeare's Sonnets. Industry and Idleness. Plate 9. The Idle Apprentice betrayed by his whore and taken in a night cellar with his accomplice , by Hogarth.
This is part of the web site of Shakespeare's sonnets
William Hogarth 1697 - 1764.
Industry and Idleness. Plate 9. The Idle Apprentice betrayed by his whore and taken in a night cellar with his Accomplice. 1747.
first achieved fame as an artist through his series of moralistic
engravings, commencing with A
Harlot's Progress
in 1731. This was followed by A
Rake's Progress
in 1735, Marriage
in 1743-5, and Industry
and Idleness in
. Originally the sets of pictures were oil
paintings which
Hogarth subsequently published as engravings. However the
Industry and Idleness series was conceived entirely as a set
of engravings which were not copied from paintings. They were
put on sale for one shilling each, which is equivalent today, (2008),
to about ten pounds sterling (GBP). Evidently Hogarth was
to appeal to a wider audience than the upper class wealthy who were his
usual patrons.
The Industry and Idleness series is rather crudely moralistic, depicting how industry and virtue are rewarded with worldly success, while idleness, corruption and vice is ultimately punished by the gallows. Despite this rather tedious tale, which is not true to life and simplistically misrepresents the apprenticeship system of the time, the engravings are a superb record of both the lower and upper end of London life of the time. The banqueting scene of Plate 8 and the two final crowd scenes of the Tyburn spectacle and the Lord Mayor's Parade are incomparable and show the satirical Hogarth at his very best.
|The scene is set in a cellar known as Bloodbowl House, a notorious den of thieves and in particular the haunt of members of a gang called the Black-boys. It was in Black-boy Alley, leading out of Chick Lane, Smithfield. Evidently a man who was probably drunk has been lured off the street and killed for his posessions, which are being examined by Tom Idle and his accomplice, the one eyed villain of Plate 3. The dead man is being bundled down through a trap door. A woman with a syphilitic nose serves up a tankard of ale. Meanwhile a drunken brawl has erupted in the rear of the room. Tom, being preoccupied with the spoils and unconcerned with the din, fails to notice that his woman is admitting the constables, the first of whom slips a coin into her hand, perhaps as a pledge of a further reward.
Return to Hogarth index
Return to Picture index
Back to Home Page
|Industry and Idleness. Plate 1. The two apprentices.
|Industry and Idleness. Plate 2. The industrious 'prentice performing the duty of a Christian.
|Industry and Idleness. Plate 3. The idle apprentice at play in the churchyard during divine service.
|Industry and Idleness. Plate 4. The Industrious 'prentice a favourite and entrusted by his master.
|Industry and Idleness. Plate 5. The idle 'prentice turned away and sent to sea.
|Industry and Idleness. Plate 6. The industrious 'prentice out of his time and married to his master's daughter.
| Industry
and Idleness. Plate 7. The idle 'prentice returned
from sea and in a garret with a common prostitute.
| Industry
and Idleness. Plate 8. The industrious 'prentice
grown rich and sheriff of London.
|Industry and Idleness. Plate 9. The idle 'prentice betrayed (by his whore) and taken in a night cellar with his accomplice.
|Industry and Idleness. Plate 10. The industrious 'prentice Alderman of London, the idle one brought before him and impeached by his accomplice.
| Industry
and Idleness. Plate 11. The idle 'prentice executed
at Tyburn.
| Industry
and Idleness. Plate 12. The industrious 'prentice
Lord Mayor of London.
Shakespeare's Sonnets:
|Start here with the first sonnet
|Sonnets 1 - 50
|Some links to other sites
|Sonnets 51 - 100
|Sonnets 101 - 154
a global search use all the sonnets as
plain text 1-154
or use the
first line index.
you have enjoyed this web site, please
visit its companion -
Pushkin's Poems
|Map of the site
|Views of London
as it was in 1616.
|London Bridge
As it was in Shakespeare's day, circa 1600.
search for a line or phrase in the sonnets
go to the
sonnets as plain text
and use the browser text search engine.
|Views of London
as it was in 1616.
| London Bridge
As it was in Shakespeare's day, circa 1600.
|To search for a line or phrase in the sonnets
go to the
Sonnets as plain text
and use the browser text search engine.
|Sonnets 1 - 50
|Back to home page
|Sonnets 51 - 100
you have enjoyed this web site, please
visit its companion -
Pushkin's Poems
|Sonnets 101 - 154
|If you wish to comment on this site please refer to details on the home page.
|Copyright ©of this site belongs to Oxquarry Books Ltd
Return to Hogarth index
Return to Picture index
Copyright ©of this site belongs to Oxquarry Books Ltd


text:
Young Guy Takes 3 Raw Bareback Loads From Craigslist Hookups
We've become quite a fan of Sketchy Sex since it went online last year. We've seen lots of crazy hookups featuring hung guys and raw amateur bareback sex. Their newest video which was just released today is as hot as ever. Eli is back this week and he has been watching porn all day which has horned him up beyond belief. He logs in to Craigslist and posts an ad looking for random guys to come over and breed his ass bareback. The roommate was out of town for this session, so Eli has to take all these cocks by himself. He lined up about 10 guys to come fuck his ass and before you know it, the first one arrives. The dude walks in and Eli is already bent over the couch with his ass up in the air, waiting to get fucked. The first guy pulls his pants down and shoves his big cock up that raw ass and begins fucking Eli hard. Before you know it, the next guy is at the door and walks in on them fucking. He just pulls his pants down and starts stroking while he waits for his turn. The first guy shoots his load of cum inside Eli and all over his hairy ass. The third guy arrives while the second guy starts fucking Eli. Before long, Eli has two loads of cum up his ass and the third guy is ready to fuck and breed that sweet hole. By the time all three guys have finished breeding his ass, the hole is a sloppy mess of raw cum. Now that's what I call Sketchy Sex! Fucking hot!
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Click here to download this full length amateur anonymous bareback sex video and hundreds more amateur gay porn videos at Sketchy Sex.


text:
A Fruity, Functional Piano You Can Eat
Fruit is so versatile: You can eat it straight from the store, eat it later, eat it baked in a pie or muffin, or not eat it at all—just let it rot away and feel guilty about wasting food (the fruit flies will console you). You can also use it to make your own Resistor Jeltone: an edible, functional toy piano.
Created by the Brooklyn-based hacker collective NYC Resistor, the Jeltone won the creativity award at this summer's prestigious Jell-O Mold Competition and has been demonstrated at music festivals. (Probably not the same model, though.) It makes a great holiday gift: After the recipient gets bored or realizes they have no musical talent, they can eat their Jeltone and meet some of their daily dietary requirements. For some people that's enough.


text:
LITTLE ROCK — Killing Them Softly
88 Cast: Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, Vincent Curatola, Ray Liotta, Trevor Long, Max Casella, Sam Shepard Director: Andrew Dominik Rating: R, for violence, sexual references, strong language and some drug use Running time: 97 minutes
Killing Them Softly might be a mob story, but the body count is rather low, and the characters spend more of their time talking than shooting.
Actually, that's one of the delights of Australian director Andrew Dominik's (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) new effort, Killing Them Softly. To keep his tale (adapted from the late George V. Higgins' novel Cogan's Trade) from getting stale or predictable, Dominik often deliberately violates the old cinematic rule of "show, don't tell."
Key events happen off-screen as they would in a play. Dominik seems to have more on his mind than simple body counts, even though he has no qualms about showing characters meeting grisly ends.
Instead, Dominik seems more interested in what kinds of people get themselves into lives of crime and how the business affects their behavior. He also explores how the line between legitimate business and scams is not as clear-cut as we or even his characters seem to think.
The line collapses in the fall of 2008 when a pair of bumbling hoods named Frankie (Scoot Mc-Nairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) hold up a mob-backed poker game.
Neither seems like an ideal stickup man. Frankie is so nervous that it's a miracle he can hold up a gun throughout the heist, and Russell's thick Australian accent and fondness for heroin guarantee he'll be caught.
Actually, John "The Squirrel" Amato (Vincent Curatola) set up the caper knowing that the proprietor of the makeshift casino, Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta), would also be the primary suspect during the heist. All the local mobsters know he has done it before, so his days are expectedly numbered.
With the collapse of the legitimate economy looming on every TV and radio, the corporate investors in mob ventures are understandably as nervous as Frankie. They have a sort of fixerhitman named Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) attempt to resolve the crisis caused by the heist, but even in the currently depressed market, he doesn't come cheap. He also offers advice his bosses and their representative Driver (a typically magnificent Richard Jenkins) don't want to hear.
Jackie doesn't want Markie beaten, not because he's merci- ful but because Markie has no useful information on the case. Actually, killing him would be more dignified and would restore order. Jackie also wants an accomplice named Mickey (James Gandolfini) because "The Squirrel" knows what he looks like and will run at the first sight of Jackie's pompadour and goatee.
There wouldn't be much of a movie if restoring balance to the underground economy were easy. Dominik, who also wrote the script, and Higgins come up with some sly but credible complications, and the director also knows that the one thing that keeps Killing Them Softly from becoming My Final Violent Dinner With Andre is to make the characters interesting.
These fellows are hardened criminals, but they're often darkly hilarious and mesmerizing when viewed from the safety of the big screen. Russell's partiality to dogs almost makes a viewer forget that he's a violent, impulsive and chronically unreliable fellow. He's a genial storyteller, but he's too maladroit to make it even as a criminal.
Actually, in Higgins' world, surviving as a criminal is something of an achievement. Gandolfini's Mickey might have once been a brutally effective enforcer, but thanks to Gandolfini's effortless sense of resignation, it's easy to wonder whether Mickey can do anything other than complain and empty liquor bottles.
Pitt's Jackie seems to be the only character in the film who understands the rules of the underworld — he has a moral grounding the nebbishy Driver could never understand. Whereas Driver tries in vain to keep the underworld out of sight, Jackie knows there's no point in pretending it's not there.
Perhaps he and Dominik think it's a sick joke to pretend otherwise.


text:
Redneck States Are Borrowing a Confederate Plan to Protect Their Guns
Have you heard of "gun nullification"? It's all the rage. Seriously, so hot. It's especially popular in these Southern states who've used nullification before to tell the federales to butt the hell out of their business. Back then, nullification protected slavery and Jim Crow. Now, it protects your Smith & Wesson.
Missouri senators endorsed legislation on Tuesday that seeks to nullify U.S. gun restrictions and send federal agents to jail for enforcing such laws, though the measure would likely face a court challenge if it gets approved in the state.
Courts have consistently ruled that states cannot nullify federal laws, but that hasn't stopped Missouri and other states from trying.
Sen. Brian Nieves, the Republican sponsoring the bill, said the legislation would protect law-abiding gun owners from federal encroachments and regulations. Missouri Republicans began pushing for the legislation following President Barack Obama's call last year for increased background checks and a ban on assault weapons.
..."This is primarily purposed to protect liberties of Missourians," said Nieves, of Washington.
Since the time of John Calhoun in South Carolina, nullification doctrine—the fancy-bred, college-educated stepbrother of those mental deficients, the militia and sovereign citizen movements—has held that America's several states have the right to nullify federal laws that infringe on their constitutional liberties. Unless we're talking about the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment rights of minorities in these nullificationist states, in which case their freedom is totally treading on our freedom, dude.
But no matter. Liberty-loving bears of small brain have found a five-syllable word, and it must necessarily lead to their promised land. Kansas and Alaska have already passed gun nullification laws, while Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Missouri have been pushing. Nine states, led by Montana, have passed laws asserting that gunmakers in their states are exempt from federal regulations, and so they can make all the full-auto machine guns and assault weapons they want.
The real fun comes when local politicians and law enforcement officers get in the nullification game: Nearly 250 sheriffs from Oregon to California to Arizona to Minnesota have written open letters defying federal gun laws and threatening to arrest U.S. government officials working in their jurisdictions. One rural Florida sheriff even beat prosecution last fall for releasing (and destroying evidence related to) a suspect who'd illegally held a concealed weapon.
It's fun times in America when libertarians and John Birchers are openly praising law enforcement officers for picking and choosing which laws they'll enforce, you know, to protect the good, law-abiding folk from federal interference. What could go wrong?


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RamJam FM
|Radio Station
RamJam FM
|Reggae, dub, dancehall
|Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City
|David Rodigan
RamJam FM is a radio station exclusive to Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City, meant to replace the now absent Tuff Gong Radio and Massive B Soundsystem 96.9, and thus plays genres from both stations, namely reggae, dub and dancehall without focusing on a specific period of time.
DJ: David Rodigan
- Barrington Levy - "Don't Fuss" (AKA "Sweet Reggae Music") (1979)
- Ini Kamoze - "Out of Jamaica" (2009)
- Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley - "Holiday" (2009)
- The Morwells & Prince Jammy - "Jammin' for Survival" (1979)
- John Holt feat. Sizzla - "Police in Helicopter" (1983)
- Sugar Minott - "Hard Time Pressure" (1978)
- Desmond Dekker - "007 (Shanty Town)" (1967)
- Major Lazer feat. Turbulence - "Anything Goes" (2009)
- Prince Jammy - "Jammy's a Shine" (1979)
- Toots And The Maytals - "54-46 Was My Number" (1970)
- Frankie Paul - "Worries in the Dance" (1983)
- Mr. Vegas - "Mus Come a Road" (2008)
See also
- K-Jah, Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories equivalent.
- K-Jah West, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas equivalent.
- Tuff Gong Radio and Massive B Soundsystem 96.9, Grand Theft Auto IV equivalents.
- The Blue Ark, Grand Theft Auto V equivalent.