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Giving to the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation: What Is the Difference?
You can defend and advance civil liberties by donating to either the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or the ACLU Foundation.
ACLU: Gifts to the ACLU allow us the greatest flexibility in our work. While not tax deductible, they advance our extensive litigation, communications and public education programs. They also enable us to advocate and lobby in legislatures at the federal and local level to advance civil liberties. When you make a contribution to the ACLU, you become a "card-carrying" member who takes a stand for civil liberties.
ACLU Foundation: If you prefer to make a tax-deductible gift, we encourage you to support the ACLU Foundation. Gifts to the Foundation support our litigation, communications, advocacy and public education efforts. With a gift of $1,000, you join the ACLU Impact Society, a group of supporters leading the fight for equality and freedom.
Regardless of how you choose to support the work of the American Civil Liberties Union, we're honored to have you as a partner in this critical work.

subset: commoncrawl


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Amsterdam draws closer for Fenerbahçe
Friday, April 12, 2013
Article summary
"We lost this tie in Turkey," sighed S.S. Lazio's Senad Lulić while the final now looms large for Fenerbahçe SK's Dirk Kuyt who said: "People are already starting to ask about tickets."
Article top media content
Article body
Dirk Kuyt says ticket requests are already starting to pour in from friends and family in his native Netherlands after his Fenerbahçe SK side moved one step closer to the UEFA Europa League final in Amsterdam.
Thursday's 1-1 draw at S.S. Lazio secured a 3-1 aggregate win and a first qualification for a European semi-final for Fenerbahçe. Meanwhile, Lazio defender Senad Lulić could not hide his disappointment at going out, but said the damage had been done a week ago in Istanbul rather than in Rome.
Dirk Kuyt, Fenerbahçe forward
It's getting closer and closer and people are already starting to ask about tickets, but that's not the way I think. I think one step at a time. Today it was a very big step because it was a very difficult game for us, but we survived it because of a very good result last week.
When they scored it was very difficult and we knew if we could score a goal, we would make it a lot easier for ourselves and that's what we did, so we're very happy and proud. It's a historic day for Fenerbahçe. It's the first time in the history of this club that we reached the semi-finals, and how better can it be than to do it in a historic city like Rome.
They have had some very good results during the tournament, but when you are 2-0 up, psychologically it's easier just to defend. You see it with bigger teams, for example Bayern München were playing at home a couple of weeks ago against Arsenal and they did the same and made it difficult for themselves.
I think we made it a little bit difficult today, but it's normal. I think it's a mental question, but like I said, we've done our job. It wasn't easy, but we knew from the start it wouldn't be easy and we survived it and it's a proud day for all of us.
Joseph Yobo, Fenerbahçe defender
We're in three tournaments and we've made history today – it's been a great season so far. They forced us to defend because we had a 2-0 lead. They were playing at home so we expected that. We thought that if we could come out of the first half with a 0-0, that was going to help us – but credit to them, I think they forced us to the limit.
I think it helped a little to have our fans in the first leg. It's always difficult when you get to the knockout phase. Whoever you meet, it's always going to be tough.
Libor Kozák, Lazio forward
We're really disappointed because we were so close after our goal. We really wanted to get another. Then they just had one shot on goal and it went in, and that was decisive. Things didn't go our way. I don't think they were any better than us. Maybe we should have calmed things down a bit, but we wanted to attack instead and were really motivated, yet then they scored and that was it.
Now we've got to look ahead. We've got Juventus [on Sunday] and we've got to think of that, think of the league. Further ahead, we've got the final of the Coppa Italia and we've got to keep on fighting.
Federico Marchetti, Lazio goalkeeper
We played a great game and we're disappointed, because we deserved the satisfaction of going through. It's a shame but that's football. I'm sorry but congratulations to Fenerbahçe who have gone through. It's a pity about today because we certainly deserved more, but we move on. It's a blow but we're strong and we'll keep fighting until the end, believing we can win a trophy.
Senad Lulić, Lazio defender
We lost this tie in Turkey. We had a great attitude and we tried all we could today, taking the lead, but we didn't finish them off. We showed character today and we tried all we could, yet it wasn't enough. It wasn't important for me to score. It's annoying that we go out to a side no stronger than us, but we need to look ahead. We lost this game in the first leg, not tonight.


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Meet the ORD BOT. This little guy showed up at Maker Faire Bay Area this year, and is cheaper than most–if not all–other 3D printers out there. It's faster than them, too, according to its makers.
The ORD BOT is a simple 3D printer platform kit that uses an extruder to "print" 3D objects, just like the Cube or the MakerBot. However, unlike the MakerBot, the ORD BOT can only print using one color at a time (for now, anyway). But what it lacks in color it gains in speed: Its print speeds exceed 400mm per second and can reach up to a whopping 1 meter per second. This is considerably faster than the MakerBot's output speed of 33mm per second. The ORD BOT comes with two different print areas with the largest, called the Hadron, being about 200 square milimeters.
Now the ORD BOT isn't for just anyone–it's made with serious makers and DIYers in mind. This platform kit is just that–a platform: You have to provide your own electronics and build the whole thing from scratch (this does make it highly customizable and flexible), but according to a spokesperson at the ORD BOT booth you can order one with the electronics included for about another $200.
There is also a wiki with various recommendations on electronics to use, as well as detailed specs and CAD files pertaining to the platform. The platform will cost you $290 for the smallest one, called the Quantum, and $400 for the Hadron–the platform plus necessary electronics is still several hundreds dollars cheaper than other commercial 3D printers out there.
Right now there are over 120 ORD BOT users, and you can get your own over at Inventables if they get enough pre-orders for another batch by May 31st. Inventables is selling the Hadron and it comes with stepper motors, you provide the rest.
[Photo credit: Buildlog]
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Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 01 Apr 2010 06:15 and updated at 01 Apr 2010 06:15
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Section 8
VIII Yudhishthira said, O lord of Earth, I shall do as thou biddest me.
O foremost of kings, I should be further instructed by thee. Bhishma has ascended to Heaven. The slayer of Madhu has departed for Dwaraka. Vidura and Sanjaya also will accompany thee to the forest. Who else, therefore, than thee will teach me? Those instructions which thou imparted today, desirous of doing good to me, I shall certainly follow, O lord of Earth. Be thou assured of this, O king' Vaisampayana continued, Thus addressed by king Yudhishthira the just, of great intelligence, the royal sage, Dhritarashtra, O chief of the Bharatas, wished to obtain the king's permission about his retirement to the forest. And he said, Cease, O son, great has been my toil' Having said these words, the old king entered the apartments of Gandhari.
Unto that husband of hers who resembled a second Lord of all creatures, while resting on a seat, Gandhari of righteous conduct, conversant with the opportuneness of everything, said these words, the hour being suited to them, Thou hast obtained the permission of that great Rishi, viz, Vyasa himself. When, however, wilt thou go to the forest, with the permission of Yudhishthira' Dhritarashtra said, O Gandhari, I have received the permission of my high-souled sire. With the permission of Yudhishthira next obtained, I shall soon retire into the woods. I desire, however, to give away some wealth capable of following the status of Preta, in respect of all those sons of mine who were addicted to calamitous dice. Verily, I desire to make those gifts, inviting all the people to my mansion Vaisampayana continued, Having said so to Gandhari, Dhritarashtra sent for Yudhishthira. The latter, at his uncle's command, brought all the articles necessary. Many Brahmanas residing in Kuru-jangala, and many Kshatriyas, many Vaisyas, and many Sudras also, came to Dhritarashtra's mansion, with gratified hearts. The old king, coming out of the inner apartments, beheld them all, as also his subjects assembled together.
Beholding all those assembled citizens and inhabitants of the provinces, and his well-wishers also thus gathered together, and the large number of Brahmanas arrived from diverge realms, king Dhritarashtra of great intelligence, O monarch, said these words, Ye all and the Kurus have lived together for many long years, well-wishers of each other, and each employed in doing good to the other. What I shall now say in view of the opportunity that has come, should be accomplished by you all even as disciples accomplish the biddings of their preceptors. I have set my heart upon retiring into the woods, along with Gandhari as my companion. Vyasa has approved of this, as also the son of Kunti. Let me have your permission too. Do not hesitate in this. That goodwill, which has always existed between you and us, is not to be seen, I believe, in other realms between the rulers and the ruled. I am worn out with this load of years on my head. I am destitute of children. Ye sinless ones, I am emaciated with fasts, along with Gandhari.
The kingdom having passed to Yudhishthira, I have enjoyed great happiness. Ye foremost of men, I think that happiness has been greater than what I could expect from Duryodhana's sovereignty. What other refuge can I have, old as I am and destitute of children, save the woods? Ye highly blessed ones, it behoves you to grant me the permission I seek. Hearing these words of his, all these residents of Kurujangala, uttered loud lamentations, O best of the Bharatas, with voices choked with tears. Desirous of telling those grief-stricken people something more, Dhritarashtra of great energy, once more addressed them and said as follows
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My name is Meriam San Antonio, 52 years old from Fairfield, California. I have been married for 19 years and have three teenage children. I was sick for almost 7 months ( starting March 2013) and the doctors couldn't figure out what is wrong with me. My symptoms were being bloated, had edema on my feet and legs, swollen all over, had a "moon face", bruising on my hands, myopathy/neuropathy, aching nerves, bloated stomach (as if I was pregnant), double vision, and lost my ability to walk.
I have been in and out of the ER due to having a congested heart failure, urinary tract infection, colonitis. I suffered from acute depression and tried killing myself. My blood pressure and blood sugar was soaring so high and uncontrolled.
After a series of tests, I was finally diagnosed of having Cushing's syndrome. A surgery was done on August 2013 to removed my pituitary gland at the left side of my brain.. I had to take an early retirement from work and currently on Social Security Disability.
Two years had past and I have recovered. I lost weight, my blood sugar and blood pressure were now on the normal range. It seems after the surgery, everything was back to normal. I can now walk on my own ( without the help of a cane, walker and wheel chair) but had to undergo a knee replacement as I fell many times on my knees due to nerve weakness. I had a rough time and had gone through a lot.
I stopped taking my PTU medication as told by my doctor as I am already "Cushing's free".
But my endocrinologist just informed me that the result of my thyroid test was high. She ordered me to take a "nuclear iodine test" next week. I am so worried that my Cushing's will come back. I do not want to undergo such experience as I was so traumatized by it.
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Philadelphia Feud Erupts Over Federation Embrace of Anti-J Street Film
J Street, the dovish Israel lobby that has struggled for acceptance in the wider Jewish community, is facing its greatest challenge yet. In the coming weeks, the Jewish establishment's most prominent gatekeepers will vote on whether J Street can come under the proverbial communal tent.
The odds of success for J Street's bid to join the Conference of President of Major American Jewish Organizations are not clear. But acceptance in organized Jewry's primary umbrella group for Israel-related issues would constitute an official mainstream stamp of approval for J Street six years after its founding.
Now, a controversy has erupted in one of the nation's largest Jewish communities that highlights the bumpy road the group still faces.
At issue is a March 27 event sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and by the local Hillel, titled "What It Means To Be Pro-Israel." The answer to the question, at least in the eyes of the organizers, is revealed in the event's content: It will feature a screening of a full-length anti-J-Street documentary and a panel made up mainly of critics of the organization.
The upcoming event has sparked an angry debate within the Philadelphia community, the nation's fourth largest, and has brought to the surface accusations against the Jewish federation's leadership and its decision-making process. "Political views on the right are listened to more, because the few people donating large amounts of dollars are on that political side," said Jill Zipin, a community activist who has protested the decision to sponsor the event. "The Jewish federation shouldn't be a tent of one Jewish donor."
Panelists at the event, which will take place on the University of Pennsylvania campus, include Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, a staunch defender of Israel and just as staunch a critic of J Street; Charles Jacobs, who heads the group that produced the anti-J-Street film, and Sara Greenberg, a Harvard University graduate student who has been active in fighting attempts to boycott Israel.
Supporters of J Street have taken issue with the makeup of the panel and, more importantly, with the movie that will be the evening's centerpiece. The J Street Challenge, released earlier this year, is a documentary aimed, according to the film's official synopsis, at "examining and debating J Street's message and its leaders." It does so through clips from speeches of the lobby's leaders and a series of interviews with experts, almost all of them known as leading critics of the group. Speakers in the movie accuse J Street of "dividing the Jewish community," of being "imperialistic" and of manifesting "arrogance" in their views on Middle East peace. The J Street Challenge was produced by Americans for Peace and Tolerance, a not-for-profit organization devoted to fighting Islamic extremism.
In response, J Street issued a statement saying the movie contains "numerous inaccuracies, distortions and outright lies."
Though not shown in commercial screenings, the documentary is being presented to Jewish gatherings, at Jewish community centers and in private screenings sponsored by local groups across the country. It was also presented by an advocacy group on the sidelines of the recent policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to a room packed with AIPAC delegates.
But the Philadelphia federation will be the first Jewish federation in the country to sponsor a screening of the movie, a fact that has drawn more attention to its event.
In a letter to Philadelphia's federation interim CEO, Alex Stoker, Rebecca Kirzner, J Street's regional organizer for the Mid-Atlantic region, protested the event. "There is a difference," she wrote, "between open and honest debate over policy and strategy… and a film designed to defame and personally attack those with different viewpoints."
Community members who were taken by surprise when the program was announced voiced similar complaints.
Three years ago, following a similar controversy over an event in which J Street representatives were scheduled to speak, the Philadelphia Jewish Community Relations Council formed a committee tasked with defining guidelines for pro-Israel events. The group's report was handed to the federation, but leaders ignored the vetting process it recommended when deciding to sponsor the March 27 event. "None of that was followed, zero," said Dan Segal, who was on the committee. "The idea that J Street bashing is appropriate and that the federation will sponsor it is unacceptable to me."
Marc Zucker, a former JCRC chair who was also on the committee, wrote to Stroker: "I worry that each time Federation takes one step forward toward engagement and pluralism, it takes two steps back. This backward-looking, divisive and mean-spirited event is unworthy of Federation's mission."
The federation rejected the criticism of its decision and made clear that the event will go ahead as planned. In a written comment provided to the Forward, Stroker said that while there may be many views on Israeli policies, "as a federation we support the State of Israel and its democratically elected government." Stroker went on to accuse communal groups of making "false accusations" regarding the federation's relations with J Street.
A similar debate took place at Hillel of Greater Philadelphia, which is also sponsoring the event. Members of J Street U complained to the board about not being consulted despite being an official member group of Hillel. "It was very frustrating because we felt we were an integral part of the community and now we are singled out," said Jake Gutman, a Penn senior who is active in J Street U Penn.
Unlike the Philadelphia federation, Hillel leadership expressed some second thoughts about its decision to sponsor the event. "In retrospect, the board regrets that the student voice was not included in the conversation," a statement issued by the group said. Hillel also expressed its concerns about screening the movie, but it concluded that "nonetheless, we believe that as it is planned, the program will serve an important purpose."
J Street's battle in Philadelphia may provide a sense of what the group can expect as it embarks on its bigger endeavor to join the Presidents Conference. Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street's executive director, will make his formal presentation to the Presidents Conference's nominating committee April 10, and at the end of the month all member organizations will vote on whether to admit the group.
Officials with Jewish organizations represented in the Presidents Conference said J Street has been reaching out in recent months to groups to ensure their support, but it is still not clear if it has a majority among the umbrella organization's 51 members.
J Street and the Presidents Conference would not respond to questions on this issue.
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter, @nathanguttman


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Saturday, 27 April 2013 09:10 AM EDT
BAGHDAD — As clashes this week raise fears of a destabilizing new eruption of sectarian fighting in Iraq, a shadowy militant group linked to the top fugitive from Saddam Hussein's regime could stand to gain by attracting new Sunni Muslim support.
The Army of the Men of the Naqshabandi Order depicts itself as a nationalist force defending Iraq's Sunni minority from Shiite rule and as an alternative to the extremist version of Islam championed by al-Qaida.
The Naqshabandi Army boasted online that it contributed to the wave of violence that followed a government crackdown Tuesday on a Sunni protest site in the town of Hawija. The deadly clash there prompted assaults by Sunni gunmen in a string of towns and cities, mainly in the north. The violence has claimed more than 170 lives.
In a posting on its website, the group urged its fighters to prepare to storm Baghdad to confront "with an iron fist . . . the enemies of Arabism and Islam" — a reference to the Shiite-led government that many Sunnis believe is too closely allied with neighboring Shiite powerhouse Iran. While it says foreign diplomats are not its target, it warned that those who ally themselves with the government can expect no mercy.
It's not just propaganda, say officials and analysts.
"The intelligence we have clearly indicates — beyond any doubt — that the Naqshabandi Army is involved in the recent clashes" in the north of the country, said Shiite lawmaker Hakim al-Zamili, who sits on parliament's security and defense committee.
He told The Associated Press that the group is thought to have a cache of small and medium-sized arms, and is continuing to carry out attacks against army positions. "They are intensifying efforts to recruit more people and gather more weapons," he said.
The group, believed to be made up largely of former officers and other former members of Saddam's regime, occasionally claims responsibility for attacks on government security forces. Estimates of its size range from 1,000 to five times that.
It takes its name from the Naqshabandi order of Sufism, Islam's mystical movement, which counts many followers in northern Iraq. The militant group touts its Sufi credentials, though it is unclear how many in its ranks are adherents to the spiritual order. But the Sufi claim helps differentiate it in the eyes of the Sunni public from al-Qaida in Iraq, whose radical version of Islam usually vilifies Sufis.
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a former Saddam deputy who is the highest member of his inner circle still on the run, is believed to have a significant role in the Naqshabandi Army, which proudly touts Saddam-era symbols on its website.
Al-Douri was named as the head of a new insurgent coalition in 2007 called the Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation, in which the Naqshabandi Army is the main component. Al-Douri was the "king of clubs" in the deck of playing cards issued to help U.S. troops identify key members of Saddam's regime, but he disappeared with the regime's fall in 2003. He had not been seen in public until last year, when a man purporting to be him turned up in an online video wearing a Saddam-era military uniform and railing against Iraq's Shiite-led government.
Another video of him aired in January to rally Sunni protesters demonstrating against the government, promising them the support of "all the national and Islamic forces . . . until (their) legitimate demands are achieved."
Sunnis formed the backbone of the insurgency after Saddam's fall. But they also were key to the downturn in violence after tribal leaders turned against al-Qaida in Iraq, angered over its killing of civilians.
The Naqshabandi Army is maneuvering to present itself as the Sunnis' champion.
Tuesday's bloodshed followed four months of largely peaceful protests staged by Iraq's Sunni minority against the government. They complain of discrimination and political marginalization under the Shiite-led government.
An organizer of protests in the western city of Fallujah, in the country's Sunni heartland, said fighters from the group had contacted the protesters months ago offering to protect their rallies. But the protesters turned them down, wanting to maintain their movement's peaceful image, said the organizer, who spoke on condition he be identified only by his nickname Abu Ahmed for fear of government reprisals.
But after the Hawija crackdown, the Naqshabandi Army renewed its offer of protection, and the protesters accepted, he said.
The group "told us that they are different from al-Qaida and they do not kill their fellow Sunnis. They said that their goal is to defend Sunnis and to fight pro-Iran Iraqis," he said. "Our protesters now need real armed protection."
The group this week took credit for several attacks in the post-Hawija unrest, including a mortar attack on security forces and the destruction of an army vehicle near Suleiman Beg, a small town north of Baghdad that was seized by gunmen Thursday. Security forces retook control of the town after the gunmen withdrew Friday.
It was also behind deadly clashes this week in the key northern city of Mosul, Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. Saad Maan Ibrahim said. The group is "trying to recruit more people and expand its operations to other Sunni provinces by taking advantage of current sectarian tensions," he said.
Michael Knights, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, described the group as patient and strategically focused with a fairly stringent recruitment process that draws heavily on former members of Saddam's elite Republican Guard.
"The big bang — a resurgence of Sunni militancy in Iraq — is exactly what JRTN has been trying to foment," he said, using the abbreviation of the group's full name in Arabic. "JRTN didn't create the conditions, but it's the organization that's best equipped to exploit it."
In January, uniformed members of the Naqshabandi Army appeared in an online video urging Iraqis to continue with the anti-government protests that began in December in many Sunni areas.
The U.S. Treasury Department froze the group's assets in 2009 after it carried out raids against U.S. and coalition forces using armor-penetrating grenades, rockets, and roadside bombs. Among the attacks was a strike on a coalition convoy in Hawija in August of that year.
The department said the group intends to overthrow the Iraqi government and reinstate rule by the Saddam-era Baath Party.
Iraqi analyst Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie predicted that the Naqshabandi Army as well as al-Qaida's Iraq arm will gain support following the Hawija crackdown.
"It's a dangerous situation," he said. "We have two paths — to get a compromise solution, or to head to a new civil war."
Some Sunnis appear willing to turn to it if the sectarian violence spirals.
"We are against any outlawed armed groups," said Mohammed Youssef, a Mosul shop owner. "We do not want any Shiite-Sunni fighting, but if the Shiite armed groups move aggressively against Sunnis, then we will all support the Naqshabandi Army. It is different from al-Qaida."
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One week after declaring they will build an in-game memorial to the ships lost at the colossal Battle of B-R5RB, Eve Online publisher has decided to go whole hog and erect a monument, in real life, to all EVE Online players. Anyone who is an active player on March 1 will get his or her name engraved on it.
Sure, that's a hell of a shrewd come-on to get you to sign up for EVE between now and then, but after years of covering this, I might try it, just to get "OWEN GOOD" on some hunk of granite in Reykjavik, Iceland. Why not. There's an Antarctic glacier named for my great-grandfather, and it's probably going to melt in my lifetime.
Where the hell was I? Oh yeah, CCP, the game's maker, has commissioned the monument to "serve as a physical manifestation of the respect and appreciation the company has for the millions of EVE Online players." Reykjavik also is home to CCP.
At the monument (that's an artist's rendering), a web-based application will help visitors find names on its surface, and a laptop will be buried underneath the monument. Its hard drive will contain "videos, messages wishes and more from the players and the development staff," to serve as a time capsule.
CCP is fast-tracking this sucker, too. The monument is set to be unveiled on April 30, before the annual EVE gathering Fanfest. The dedication ceremony will be livestreamed and it will be attended by city dignitaries.
The monument itself is a sculpture by Sigurður Guðmundsson, with assistance from EVE art directors Börkur Eiríksson and Ásgeir Jón Ásgeirsson. It's titled "Worlds Within a World," and it will stand more than 5 meters (16 feet) tall. The figure on the left is a dark aluminum structure engraved with a quote from the EVE Universe; on the right is a dark granite structure where all the names will be engraved. In between is a polished stainless steel surface to reflect the features of both.
There's a ton more about the monument and its purpose at the link below.
Update: Yes, deceased EVE players ("Vile Rat," aka Sean Smith, a U.S. diplomat killed in the 2012 attack at Benghazi, Libya, being most notable among them) will be included on the monument. "We've requested that CEOs of in game corporations submit tickets to remember those who have passed," a CCP representative told Kotaku.
Worlds Within a World: The EVE Universe Monument [EVE Online]


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With nearly 30% of Northern Europe's annual container imports and exports passing through the Port of Rotterdam, the region is unsurprisingly a major focal point for manufacturers and retailers in European supply chain operations.
Menlo Logistics, the global logistics and supply chain management unit of Con-way Inc. is now looking to develop its business at the 8,500 square meter facility still further.
According to, Tony Gunn, Menlo's Managing Director in Europe, 57% of all Asian and American sourced products have a European Distribution Center (EDC) located in the Netherlands.
"And a significant proportion of these are in the Rotterdam region," he said. Part of the reason for this high concentration is the flexibility that the location allows dynamic supply chains."
Menlo has had a presence in Rotterdam since the company began its European operations in January, 2003.
Evan Armstrong, president of Stoughton, WI-based Armstrong & Associates, said that Menlo is among the key global 3PLs providing extensive IT capabilities, over 5,000 employees and provide service to 90% or more of the world's Gross Domestic Product.
While Menlo's current Rotterdam-based shippers reside predominantly within the high tech sector, the logistics capabilities of its personnel and suitability of the warehouse are also geared to handling life sciences, lifestyle and e-commerce product, said UPS spokesmen.
Indeed with key nodes in that transport network such as Schiphol, Brussels, Aachen and Dusseldorf all within a two-hour drive (and Frankfurt just four), the hubs of the major freight integrators are all less than an hour away.
"Menlo's Rotterdam base ensures the physical dimension of supply chain flexibility," said Gunn. "Operations within the facility also mirror this crucial adaptability."


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I used to go to the Cat Show every year when I was fostering cats for TVAR (Tri-Valley Animal Rescue) and later Safe Cat, which spun off from TVAR. Cat fosters felt that TVAR was too dog-centric and wanted to form a cat-centric rescue group.
I stopped fostering three years ago and kept three cats that were not adoptable and one that came back from adoption. I gave up my other foster cats to fosters who were better at getting them adopted. The last Cat Show I attended with Safe Cat was in November 2010. I bought a Christmas-themed T-Shirt and Sweat Shirt at that show, but I wear them all year round.
I finished up my weekend teaching responsibilities for University of Phoenix on Sunday morning and drove down to the Alameda County Fairgrounds a little past noon. I expected to see the Safe Cat booth near the entrance of the building, which is where we were when I took foster cats to the shows. The ticket taker at the entrance told me the adoption booths were moved to the back.
I walked all the way to the other end of the large exhibit hall to the Cat Rescue booths in the back. I didn't recognize the person at the Safe Cat table. She had four cats, including a 7 month old Siamese. I was surprised he was still available. Email Safe Cat at email@example.com if you are interested in adopting him or any of our other adoptable cats.
The Safe-Cat booth was next to Maddie's Fund booth. Maddie's Fund was founded by PeopleSoft founder, Dave Duffield, in honor of his dog, Maddie. I didn't know they added cats to their rescue efforts.
The volunteer for Maddie's Fund noticed my TVAR shirt and said they were allied with TVAR to provide cat rescue. With the addition of the Maddie's Fund cat group, TVAR should become more cat-oriented again.
I walked back through the breeders' area to look at the different cat breeds. Some, like the hairless Sphynx, are strange looking, but the big, fluffy Maine Coons and cats with funny ears, like the curls and folds, are cute.
Cat shows are not like dog shows. Dogs trot around a ring and stand at attention like little soldiers. Dogs love to perform, but cats are "examined" by the judges for conformance to the standard. The judge handles the cat on a table and picks up the cat like a floppy toy. The cat just has to go along with it. My cats wouldn't.
My cats also wouldn't run an obstacle course like the Agility course at the front of the building. Dogs jump over barriers and run through hoop tunnels and weave in and out of fence poles, but CATS! How do you train a cat to do that?
I saw a crowd gathering around the Agility cage just before 2 pm. A woman was trying to entice her cat with a string toy to go over a jump. The cat was not interested. He preferred jumping on the fishnet sides of the enclosure to look at the spectators.
A Japanese Bobtail, Zoom, was next up. Zoom was the star of the Agility course. I don't know if Japanese Bobtail cats can "look into your soul," as the card from the breeder, Megan Antijunti at Hoofnpaws claims, but Zoom was very quick, very smart, very cute, and very friendly. He really did zoom around the track and accomplished all of the stunts with only a little coaxing from Megan.
I like looking at the different breeds of cats to see all the varieties, but with so many cats available for adoption at local shelters, even purebreds, unless you really want a specific breed and can't find one from a shelter or rescue group, please consider adopting a needy cat first.


text:
EL CAJON, Calif., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's San Diego Division were able to uncover a scam carried out by employees at the Department of Motor Vehicles office in El Cajon, Calif.
For at least three years, DMV employees sold California driver's licenses for cash to people that were funneled their way via the owner of a local driving school. For $500 to $2,500, students of the school, which frequently catered to Middle Eastern immigrants, could obtain a license without ever even taking the driver's test.
"One guy flew in from Dallas, took a cab to the DMV office, paid for his license, and flew back to Dallas a few hours later," said Special Agent Mike Peters. "It was so blatant that our surveillance showed the driving school operator brokering multiple deals in the DMV parking lot."
"They had gotten away with it for so long," added Special Agent Kim George "that they were extremely confident and had no plans to stop. They would leave work with $500 in cash in their pocket. That could be one day a week or two. They were doing very well."
Thirty defendants have been charged and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and identification document fraud. Jeffrey Bednarek, a DMV examiner who conducted driving tests, is set to be sentenced in April.
"We hope this case sends a message. This type of corruption will not be tolerated," Peters said.


text:
Bat Ye'or is the world's foremost authority on dhimmitude and Eurabia. She is the author of Islam and Dhimmitude – Where Civilizations Collide. Her recent study, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, came out in a Hebrew version in 2008, while her next book will soon be published by an Italian publisher.
In 2009, historian Bat Ye'or answered my questions about the OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference), Eurabia, Gert Wilders' fight, the European Union's policy, President Obama's diplomacy.
That article was published by FrontPageMag on April 13th, 2009.
Part of that article was published in French by Guysen International News in 2009 and on that blog in 2010.
A special thank to JB
Interview de Bat Ye'or sur le califat et l'Etat islamique/ISIS
Interview de Bat Ye'or sur les « migrants », l'Union européenne et Eurabia
Interview de Bat Ye'or sur les « migrants », l'Union européenne et Eurabia
Bat Ye'or, welcome to FrontPage Interview. It is an honor to speak with you. Let's begin Eurabia. Is there a difference between the American and French versions?
Bat Ye'or: Yes, the French version is shorter. I rewrote the book in French while I was staying at hospital with my daughter who had been operated for cancer. I was absolutely exhausted and finally collapsed: I just could not work any longer.
Fortunately, on his side, the French publisher wanted an abridged version. I cut out the parts concerning international and American politics and added some information about how the European Union (EU) and its bodies work, which is not included in the American edition as it wouldn't have interested an American public.
Remechmber that Eurabia was written primarily for an American, non-European audience, based on an article published in a French Jewish journal Observatoire du monde juif and which I didn't know where to submit as it had become so long. Fortunately my friend
Trigano took it.
It was another friend,
Andrew Bostom, an
American, who – after reading a translation on my site – insisted I make a book
of it.
He even found me an American literary agent.
I was flabbergasted by the success of the Eurabia article, which took off like a rocket on the Internet and spread in several languages at an incredible speed.
I never thought to publish it in Europe – still less in
– as I am pretty well boycotted as an author in European politically correct
circles, and especially by the French. Israel
Referring to the Hebrew edition, is there a difference with the American and French versions?
Bat Ye'or: Yes, it was published in 2008 and the publisher had asked me for an updated version with the last events.
Bat Ye'or: Very well, to my great surprise! First of all, it was the Israeli publisher who approached me -- a rarity, as I usually have great difficulty finding a publisher. I didn't take his request seriously. It seemed so unreal, as I was preoccupied with my daughter and her illness at the time, and with my book Islam and Dhimmitude in the
while my conference agenda was full with lectures in languages I'm not
comfortable in English and Italian. After the publication of the article and
the book Eurabia, I was invited to United States to
participate in conferences, give interviews and even to go on TV. Israel
I was surprised at the success of Eurabia as for me it was not a political theme but an historical research on the source and mechanism of a fundamental and irreversible change in
coupled with the contemporary expression of dhimmitude, my research theme since
thirty years. I had even suggested to some friends, who I would consider more
competent than me and with more time that they write the book. I would have
supplied them with all my documentation. But they refused, so I took in on
myself in spite of all. I never thought it would provoke such scandal.
Dutch Parliamentarian and Fitna's director Geert Wilders was invited to a debate on freedom of speech which was to follow a Fitna screening at the House of Lords, on January 29. Lord Ahmed of
Rotherham and Muslim leaders opposed
that screening. The screening was postponed.
Geert Wilders was denied entry to the UK
at on February 12[i]:
British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith alleged Wilder's views "would threaten
community security and therefore the public security". Despite
the absence of Geert Wilders, its movie was screened in a meeting in a building
which is part of the British Parliament. Foreign Secretary David
Miliband judged Fitna as a "hateful film" although he had never viewed
it. His Dutch counterpart, Maxime Verhagen, insisted that Wilders be allowed as
a Dutch MP to travel freely in the European Union (EU). Dutch and British media
protested against the violation of freedom of speech… Heathrow Airport
Bat Ye'or: There are three main aspects[ii] to this issue.
First, Geert Wilders didn't violate Dutch and European laws in exercising his freedom of opinion. His movie, Fitna, which David Miliband vilified without having seen it -- that's the limit! -- reproduces the Islamists' own scenes and 'statements.
Second, forbidding entry to a European MP for his opinions contravenes the European law and is an affront to the Dutch people. It is grave, the EU is trying to cement a crumbling unity.
Concerning the alleged motive - incitement to hatred which would threaten public security-, the British government wasn't as punctilious during the Euro-Palestinian Kristallnach where shouts were heard of "Death to the Jews!", "Death to
", "Flee, you cowards, Kuffar
("miscreant" in Arabic)." Israel
Third, this event reveals the extent of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC influence over
Great Britain, and generally on the entire
political, media and cultural Europe.
What is also troubling is the circumstance in which the decision was taken to cancel the showing and the debate. I mean, when Lord Nazir Ahmed met with the Government Chief Whip of the House of Lords and Leader of the House of Lords, representatives from the Muslim Council of Britain, British Muslim Forum and other representatives from the British Muslim community on January 23. Lord Ahmed had said he was "appalled" a knighthood was given to Salman Rushdie, "a man who has not only been abusive to Muslims, but also to Christians". He welcomed Wilders's ban as "a victory for the Muslim community". Is that banning a defeat for democracy?[iii]
Bat Ye'or: Yes, of course! But one is forgetting that Eurabia is no longer
and that we'll always go in the direction of a more sharia-conform society.
This change, so marked in ,
is the fruit of ten years of Blairism. Britain
On June 30, 2008, the Dutch Prosecutor had declared that Geert Wilders's speeches on Muslims didn't justify any legal proceedings as they were inscribed in the context of "a public debate". On January 21, 2009, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, referred to by plaintiffs, ordered the Prosecutor to bring proceedings against Wilders for "hate and discrimination" and in the "general interest": "Muslim believers were insulted by Geert Wilders's comparing Islam with Nazism". On February 3, Geert Wilders said he will appeal to the Supreme Court…
Bat Ye'or: The Koran has very insulting and violent verses against Jews, Christians and Pagans -- to whom Christians are often assimilated (mushrikûn). You can't pretend to ignore them as that would imply assent and the Judeo-Christian West's acceptance of them as justified and correct.
If we admit our nature is satanic, we legitimize the war led against us and the dhimmitude which aims to remove our capacity to cause harm, through our subjection and vulnerability. By doing so, we too accept that one religion – Islam – is superior to all others, with its right to decree Good and Evil, and its divine election for world governance.
It is therefore imperative not to conceal those assertions, and necessary to denounce them, for silence implies consent.
In addition, if Muslims feel insulted by Geert Wilders's remarks, they should admit that Jews, Christians and other non-Muslims feel the same by religious texts which criminalize them and doom them all to Hell.
But, they don't admit so, because the Koran, unlike the Bible, is uncreated, consubstantial with the divine nature, and therefore cannot include errors. Its judgments are without appeal, not subject to any criticism and as true as Allah. In other words, we should not feel insulted by the denunciation of our demoniac nature, for it is the Truth itself. We should admit it, rather, and improve ourselves by conversion.
Geert Wilders's action is inserted in a religious and political debate that a majority of Europeans asks for and is refused by their governments and the EU. These Europeans feel their own governments betray and fight them, whereas elected to be the guardians of their values and freedoms. It is a very serious situation, particularly now in this recessionary period, and could lead to excesses.
Geert Wilders has become the transformed herald of that widespread discontent. Pilgrim of Law and Freedom, sentenced to death by a law foreign to Europeans and which appalls the human conscience, Geert Wilders goes from one country to another, unarmed, alone, courageously facing up to governments influenced by the OIC's occult power to tell people : "Wake up, it's five to midnight!"
But when you learn of the disproportionate reaction to his message in an atmosphere of witch-hunts against freethinkers and intellectuals, in the shameful Euro-Palestinian Kristallnacht sweeping across
with impunity, shouting hate and death, it is in fact one to midnight.
Geert Wilders has toured in the
for a showing of his movie. Did you
meet him? United
Bat Ye'or: Yes, as luck would have it, our paths crossed, at
. I didn't know
he was there, and I had been invited to lecture at New York .
My husband and I dined with him and his companions. I admire his courage and
his devotion to Columbia University Europe's basic freedoms
against the irresistible Eurabian tide, represented especially by the Left –
though not only. Wilders does not stand-alone; there are many Muslims and
apostates at the forefront of this struggle and who risk their lives with
remarkable abnegation.
I hope that someday a book will come out on this struggle and these friends of freedom, of respect for the human being, for democracy, and that Europeans will acknowledge their debt to those who have come from other parts and freely chosen to offer the best of themselves. I'm thinking especially of the Anglican canon and writer
Patrick Sookhdeo , a
good friend, whose books are fiercely criticized, in spite of the quality of
the information he provides and of the arguments he puts forward; or Sam Salomon with his
impeccable scholarship, or Mohammed Sifaoui, and so many others.
Senator Jon Kyl decided to screen Fitna in the Capitol. Muslim Congressman Keith Ellison protested against that screening. He said "it is inappropriate to use the United States Capitol as a venue for the condemnation of an entire religion." That same day, Senator John Kerry was to hold a hearing entitled, "Engaging with Muslim Communities around the World". Wilders proposed a European First Amendment…
Bat Ye'or: The trouble is that one just has to face up to the fact that there are negative opinions in Muslim writings on Jews, Christians and other non-Muslims. And it is pertinent, for they determine the aggressive policies and behavior of Muslim peoples. If we want to achieve peace, we cannot hide these uncomfortable aspects: they must be exposed and discussed. If Muslims don't want to hear about it or discuss the issues, that's their problem; but they cannot stop Westerners getting to know these writings that concern them all too directly, and to act accordingly.
The EU condemned the "disproportionate Israeli response" to Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians. What do you think of that unanimous position against the Cast Lead Operation targeting an Islamist terrorist organization?
Bat Ye'or: The Israeli defensive reply to continuing attacks from the Gaza Strip revealed a wide phenomenon, of unequal amplitude, totalitarian by its extent, coherence and coordination by the EU institutions.
Are you speaking of the pro-Hamas demonstrations?
Bat Ye'or: Not only the demonstrations, political speeches, biased information, academic boycott, hostility towards Jewish pupils, -- Palestinianized Europe revealed with an extraordinary cohesion and uniformity its repulsion for
a democracy that defends its citizens and territory against the assaults of
jihadist terrorism. Israel
This movement is part of the EU-OIC network -- States, international organizations, universities, media, books, NGOs, all denying the causes of terrorism --, which infuses dhimmitude through their numerous capillaries through all pores of the EU.
Dhimmitude is the future of
Europe, which only functions in
that perspective.
During the Cast Lead Operation, thousands of people participated in pro-Hamas rallies all over the
US, Canada, Europe,
etc. You compare those hateful demonstrations with Kristnallnacht. Why?
Bat Ye'or: It was the same hatred, the same violence. The "commandos", mainly Muslims, were well surrounded by leftist Europeans and politicians. They sported the Palestinian killers' kuffieh, symbol of Europe's destruction, just as the Nazi symbols were worn, rallying signs of a policy intent on the destruction of Judaism and which covered
in ashes.
Bat Ye'or: The OIC is a transnational organization which gathers 57 Muslim states or with a majority of Muslims, and 1.3 billion Muslims.
It's unique in its conception and goals: like the Caliphate, it unites political, religious and legislative powers.
It aims at unifying the world Oumma by taking its roots in the Koranic and Sunna values and teachings.
We could say that the OIC is the antithesis of the EU which promotes the separation of politics and religion, secular law, secular political life and international relations. Like the EU, the OIC includes many institutions, among them an International Islamic Court of Justice and a Permanent Commission of Human Rights[iv] based on the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (1990).
These institutions and all the OIC organs have to comply with Islamic values and Sharia injunctions.
The emergence of the Caliphate explains
's tougher stance. The
current Islamist government of Turkey ,
a country which, for almost five centuries, had been the seat of the Caliphate,
is to get a prominent role in the universal Oumma leadership. Turkey
The OIC wants "blasphemy" or "defamation of religion" as well as "Islamophobia" to be condemned by international organizations, and to prevent any critical discussion of Islam[v]. Why? What are the consequences of that privileged status?
Bat Ye'or: The OIC aims to impose laws and penalties punishing Islamophobia on the UN and Western which Turkish Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan assimilates to a crime against humanity.
Refusing entry in the GB to Geert Wilders expresses Prime Minister Gordon Brown support to the OIC's claims.
Islamophobia is not limited by critical discussion of Islam as a religion, but it also includes all the aspects of Muslim immigration in
Europe, laws
on asylum, the status of migrants, their political, religious, social and
religious rights, as well as security and anti-terrorist measures in the West.
The OIC having granted itself a right of guardianship and protection over all immigrant Muslim communities, its power of interference on laws, politics, secondary and university education, research programs, and generally speaking on European lives, is huge and multiform.
It has to be emphasized that the EU governments which promoted a peace based on multiculturalism and multilateralism, welcome very favorably the OIC interferences in all those fields.
It seems difficult to define blasphemy in concrete terms. Does it concern divinity? Faith? The conglomerate of religious beliefs and superstitions stratified by centuries, or the resulting laws?
We also could judge blasphemous the Muslim depreciation of the Bible, assimilated to gossip without any sacred aspect and falsifying the Islamic truth. That's Geert Wilders' opinion. Geert Wilders underlines for that reason how difficult is the traditionalist Muslim integration in Judeo-Christian societies.
Due to the religious indifference in the West, the notion of blasphemy has become obsolete.
But, it seems that the OIC pressures to impose it again in the international organizations and in daily life of Europeans have brought us back to the Middle-Ages.
What is the link between demanding respect for Islam, which is included in blasphemy, and dhimmitude?
Bat Ye'or: That demand is one of the pillars of dhimmitude.
It inspired a great number of Islamic laws with no equivalence in Christendom. Those laws were intended to establish the supremacy of Islam in the dhimmis' slightest daily behavior.
The irreligious
Europe can imagine living in the 21st
century; it evolves in fact in the static strategic conception UE/OIC dating 8th
century: jihad (dar al-harb).
On January 14, representatives of the 24 States' Parliaments of the OIC condemned in
( )
the Cast Lead Israeli Operation in the Gaza Strip and demanded an immediate
cease-fire[vi]… Turkey
Bat Ye'or: More than the fight against Islamophobia, the fight against
shares a central place in
the OIC policy. Israel
Besides, article 21 of its Charter (March, 2008) plans the relocation of its headquarters from Djeddah to al-Qods, name given to
by Arab colonization[vii]. Jerusalem
In that perspective, al-Qods was named as the capital of Arab culture in 2009.
The OIC is entirely dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood spirit. It supports not only Hamas, but also all Muslim insurgency groups considered as forms of resistance and liberation against "occupation, humiliation and oppression" on the Palestinian pattern.
It supports the Muslims' fight in the South Philippines, in the "occupied" Kashmir, in the South Thailand, as well as the Muslim minorities' interests in the
Myanmar Republic,
in India, in Western Thrace
( Greece) and the Muslim's
ones in the Balkans, in the Caucasus, China,
Kosovo, " Palestine", the Muslim Turkish people
in Cyprus, of [viii]
against "the Armenian aggression". Azerbaijan
Faithful to the jihadist interpretation of international relations, OIC can only qualify the
existence and its defensive war as an aggression[ix]. Israel
Besides, western media used words "Israeli aggression against
The 8th Islamic Conference of Ministers of Information issued the "Rabat Declaration" which stressed a common Islamic action in the media[x]. We must keep in mind the Islamic Mass Media Charter (
Jakarta, 1980) which
is very different from the Declaration of Duties and Rights of Journalists ( , 1971). The "Rabat
Declaration" condemned Munich 's
"arbitrary limitations to prevent journalists from informing about massacres
and demolitions"[xi]. Israel
Bat Ye'or: At The Mecca Summit (December, 2005), OIC issued recommendations, among them several concerning media and development of a media strategy including an intellectual and humanist narrative to which international journalists would be associated[xii].
A committee composed of VIPs stayed up to define goals and topics of that campaign. It proposed to condemn expressions like "war against terrorism", "Islamic terrorism", and advocated drawing the attention of the international community to the dangers posed by Zionism, neo-conservatism, and radical Christian evangelism, as well as Jewish, Hindu and secular extremism, in the context of international affairs and terrorism. The committee pushed the notion that terrorism derives from poverty humiliation and despair.
Another tactic consisted in convincing Western public opinion that military means would never win over terrorism – that is war -, and only "dialogue", that is multilateralism and its concessions to dhimmitude treaties would restore peace.
Those OIC and its organs' media themes, such as ISESCO (Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), are propitiatorily recited by western politicians and journalists – in a nutshell, there is a perfect symbiosis between OIC and some EU official trends, especially those attached to the countless Dialogues, Forums and Alliances which make up the UE/OIC co-governance network.
In 2006, the UE was elaborating a "lexicon" for EU politicians and officials' communication on terrorism and Islam. For instance, "Islamic terrorism" would be banned. Instead, "terrorists who abusively invoke Islam" would be used[xiii]. In 2008, British government renamed Islamic terrorism as "anti Islamic activities"[xiv] and the Bush administration was working on a "lexicon" in order not "to legitimize" and not "to offense moderate Muslims"[xv]. The OIC edicted a convention on "Combating International Terrorism"[xvi]…
Bat Ye'or: The problem was that the OIC and the West did not have the same definition of terrorism. The jihadists who attack in
Israel, Jammu
and Kashmir, Armenia
and elsewhere, are called "resistance fighters against the occupation" in the
pure jihad tradition that requires the expansion of the .
The West has ceded yet again to the IOC demands, whose purpose is to outlaw
criticism of Islam. Land of Islam
What are the effects of the OIC resolutions upon the EU?
Bat Ye'or: The EU and the OIC cooperate at all levels and in all fields[xvii].
That policy is in line with the European strategy to promote an international order based on multilateralism, international organizations and first of all the United Nations.
The OIC and its clients or allies, in particular the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM[xviii]), set up majorities in international organizations, so we can say we are coming into the era of the worldwide power of the Caliphate, a success which Europe may proudly claim, as it has largely contribute to it.
In February 19, 2009, Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, "expressed serious concerns about the application of the Sharia Law concerning family and inheritance matters to Muslim Greek citizens in
, by Muftis appointed by the
Greek state". "Given the issues of incompatibility of this practice with
European and international human rights standards, it is necessary to overhaul
this practice and strengthen the substantive review and control by domestic
courts of the Muftis' judicial decisions", Hammarberg said[xix]… Thrace
Bat Ye'or: I agree with Hammarberg, but with the spread of the Muslim population across
Europe and the reinforcement of the
OIC's power, it is clear that we are heading towards an Islamization of
European law and culture. The OIC is asking to take all necessary
measures to respect the rights and the cultural identity of Greek Muslims, and
this includes religious laws and the sharia. Greece
Muslim "Bridges TV" founder Muzzammil Hassan beheaded his wife, Aasiya Z. Hassan. He is suspected to have committed an honor killing[xx]. Dozens of women are murdered in honor killings every year in Sharia-ruled
that is contrary to the Russian constitution. In her recent remarkable in-depth
study Chechnya Phyllis Chesler
distinguishes honor killings from
domestic violence[xxii].
How do you explain so many people are reluctant to correctly qualify honor
killings in West? Is it because of ignorance?
Bat Ye'or: No, it is self-censorship.
Since he took his oath as "Barack Hussein Obama" in January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama has revealed his personal links to Islam[xxiii]. In his inaugural address, he defined
as "a nation of Christians and Muslims,
Jews and Hindus - and non-believers.", which downgraded American
Jews, and was spiritually and historically untrue[xxiv]. America
President Obama's first call was to talk to Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas[xxv]. His first interview was given to al-Arabiya[xxvi]. He declared he hoped to restore "respect and partnership" that had prevailed 20 or 30 years ago. On February 1st, he "expressed his staunch confidence in the ability of the
and the OIC to work together in a spirit of peace and friendship for the sake
of building a more secure world over the next four years"[xxvii]. He insists on a respectful dialogue with US [xxviii]. Iran
President Obama decided that the
should join
the planning of the UN's Durban II "anti-racism" Conference[xxix]. In February, 2009, the US decided not to take part in that
UN-led conference[xxx]. The Obama
administration is seeking a seat on the biased U.N. Human Rights Council. US
President Obama is surrounded by pro-Oslo process[xxxi] officials, such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. He has also appointed leaders known for their anti-Israel bias: Samantha Power[xxxii] a senior foreign policy advisor, and George Mitchell[xxxiii] as his Special Envoy for the
What do you think of all those troubling facts?
Bat Ye'or: President Obama and all his team share the European illusions that complacency, tributes, smiles and concessions to terrorist gangs will maintain the peace.
Everyone wants peace, but we have to know how far we can go without founding ourselves enslaved to dhimmitude. Dhimmitude means peace and security but in submission.
We must learn to appreciate the freedoms that we have taken for granted and that we are on the verge of losing.
[i] http://www.geertwilders.nl/
Fitna, Marh 27, 2008, http://www.ajm.ch/wordpress/?p=1028
Spencer interviews Geert Wilders, Part I, October 5, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/022975.php
Spencer interviews Geert Wilders, Part 2, October 6, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/022985.php
Spencer interviews Geert Wilders, Part 3, October 8, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023016.php
Spencer interviews Geert Wilders, Part 4, October 11, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023061.php
Spencer interviews Geert Wilders, Part 5, October 14, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023091.php
Spencer interviews Geert Wilders, Part 6, October 21, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023183.php
Fitzgerald: Geert Wilders, right-wing politician, April 2, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/020538.php
Jamie Glazov,
In Defense of Wilders, January 22, 2009,
Man of the Year: Geert Wilders, January 2, 2009, http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=566CA4DC-243C-4A02-8789-D9BE634E9698
Geert Wilders, February 13, 2009, http://news.parliament.uk/2009/02/geert-wilders/
Philip Johnston, Whatever happened to free speech?, February 12, 2009, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/4604985/Whatever-happened-to-free-speech.html
The House of Lords Speech: What Wilders Would Have Said If the UK Allowed Free Speech, February 13, 2009, http://www.internationalfreepresssociety.org/2009/02/the-house-of-lords-speech-what-wilders%e2%80%99-would-have-said-if-the-uk-allowed-free-speech/
The International Free Press Society, An Open Letter to the Government of the UK, February 12, 2009, http://www.internationalfreepresssociety.org/2009/02/an-open-letter-to-the-government-of-the-uk/
Joan Clements, Geert Wilders to sue Jacqui Smith over decision to deport controversial film-maker, February 13, 2009, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/4612257/Geert-Wilders-to-sue-Jacqui-Smith-over-decision-to-deport-controversial-film-maker.html
Isabel Oakeshott, Home secretary Jacqui Smith scared of walking London alone, January 20, 2008, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3216678.ece
Nervous street walking, January 20, 2008, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article3216612.ece
Robert Spencer,
Double standard: LePen is welcome in Britain, Wilders is not, February 14,
2009, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/024840.php
Fitna, Marh 27, 2008, http://www.ajm.ch/wordpress/?p=1028
Spencer interviews Geert Wilders, Part I, October 5, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/022975.php
Spencer interviews Geert Wilders, Part 2, October 6, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/022985.php
Spencer interviews Geert Wilders, Part 3, October 8, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023016.php
Spencer interviews Geert Wilders, Part 4, October 11, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023061.php
Spencer interviews Geert Wilders, Part 5, October 14, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023091.php
Spencer interviews Geert Wilders, Part 6, October 21, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023183.php
Fitzgerald: Geert Wilders, right-wing politician, April 2, 2008, http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/020538.php
Man of the Year: Geert Wilders, January 2, 2009, http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=566CA4DC-243C-4A02-8789-D9BE634E9698
Geert Wilders, February 13, 2009, http://news.parliament.uk/2009/02/geert-wilders/
Philip Johnston, Whatever happened to free speech?, February 12, 2009, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/4604985/Whatever-happened-to-free-speech.html
The House of Lords Speech: What Wilders Would Have Said If the UK Allowed Free Speech, February 13, 2009, http://www.internationalfreepresssociety.org/2009/02/the-house-of-lords-speech-what-wilders%e2%80%99-would-have-said-if-the-uk-allowed-free-speech/
The International Free Press Society, An Open Letter to the Government of the UK, February 12, 2009, http://www.internationalfreepresssociety.org/2009/02/an-open-letter-to-the-government-of-the-uk/
Joan Clements, Geert Wilders to sue Jacqui Smith over decision to deport controversial film-maker, February 13, 2009, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/4612257/Geert-Wilders-to-sue-Jacqui-Smith-over-decision-to-deport-controversial-film-maker.html
Isabel Oakeshott, Home secretary Jacqui Smith scared of walking London alone, January 20, 2008, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3216678.ece
Nervous street walking, January 20, 2008, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article3216612.ece
[ii] Bat Ye'or, Geert Wilders and the Fight for
Europe, Does
defending Western values constitute "inciting hatred"?, February
16, 2009, http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZGVhOWZlNjk4N2E0NDk1NDgwYWRhNzlhMTdmNWZlNjI=
[iii] Douglas Murray, Government bans Dutch MP Geert Wilders from entering
after Muslim leaders threaten to organise mob protest, February 11, 2009, http://conservativehome.blogs.com/centreright/2009/02/government-bans.html Britain
Nick Britten, Lord Ahmed admits sending text message while driving just before fatal crash, December 2, 2008, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/3539830/Lord-Ahmed-admits-sending-text-message-while-driving-just-before-fatal-crash.html
APP, British Parliament Calls Off Screening Of Controversial Film, January 23, 2009, http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65842&Itemid=2
Thomas Landen, Muslims in the Lords, January 26, 2009, http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3765
[iv] First Informal Consultative Meeting On The Establishment Of The OIC Human Rights Commission Is Held In Jeddah, February 15, 2009, http://www.oic-oci.org/topic_detail.asp?t_id=1889&x_key=
[v] Janet Levy, The Erosion of Free Speech, July 4, 2008,
Patrick Goodenough, Muslim Leaders Want UN to Outlaw 'Defamation', February 21, 2006, http://www.cnsnews.com/ForeignBureaus/Archive/200602/FOR20060221b.html
According to the ACLJ (American Center for Law & Justice), 92.421 people signed its petition opposing the OIC, https://www.aclj.org/petition/Default.aspx?AC=DNE0807017&SC=3359
ECLJ (European Center for Law & Justice, http://www.eclj.org/index.html), "Combating Defamation of Religions" Submission to the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, June 2008,
ECLJ (European Center for Law & Justice, http://www.eclj.org/index.html), "Combating Defamation of Religions" Submission to the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, June 2008,
Bob Unruh, U.N. scheme to make Christians criminals, Sharia-following Islamic nations demanding anti-'defamation' law, July 10, 2008, http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=69163
[vi] OIC issues declaration condemning Israeli violence in
, January
16, 2009,
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=164238 Gaza
[vii] http://www.oic-oci.org/is11/english/Charter-en.pdf
[viii] Message of H.E Secretary General to the opening ceremony of the year "
– capital of Islamic
culture-2009, February 19, 2009, http://www.oic-oci.org/topic_detail.asp?t_id=1925&x_key= Baku
[ix] The OIC Secretary General welcomes the resolution adopted by the UN human rights council condemning Israel`s agression and human rights violations in Gaza, January 13, 2009, http://www.oic-oci.org/topic_detail.asp?t_id=1799&x_key=
[x] Ouverture à Rabat des travaux de la réunion préparatoire à la 8ème session de la Conférence islamique des Ministres de l'Information, January 25, 2009, http://www.oic-oci.org/topic_detail.asp?t_id=1827&x_key=information
8th Session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers to be held in Rabat, January 21, 2009, http://www.oic-oci.org/topic_detail.asp?t_id=1819&x_key=
AFP, Maroc: les ministres de l'Information des pays islamiques incités à la modernité, January 27, 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hwp_z2qlJBIiysUzPjkQwzCmmH8Q
AFP, Maroc : appel islamique pour réaliser « l'unité du peuple palestinien », January 28, 2009, http://www.la-croix.com/afp.static/pages/090128190438.xgww1mo7.htm
Richard Landes, Mideast Journalism's Public Secret and the News We Get, November 11, 2007, http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/mideast_journalisms_public_sec/?print=1
AFP, Maroc: les ministres de l'Information des pays islamiques incités à la modernité, January 27, 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hwp_z2qlJBIiysUzPjkQwzCmmH8Q
AFP, Maroc : appel islamique pour réaliser « l'unité du peuple palestinien », January 28, 2009, http://www.la-croix.com/afp.static/pages/090128190438.xgww1mo7.htm
Richard Landes, Mideast Journalism's Public Secret and the News We Get, November 11, 2007, http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/mideast_journalisms_public_sec/?print=1
[xi] Déclaration des devoirs et des droits des journalistes,
1971, Munich
Islamic Mass Media Charter, 1980, http://www.media-accountability.org/library/Islamic_Media_code.doc
Islamic Mass Media Charter, 1980, http://www.media-accountability.org/library/Islamic_Media_code.doc
[xii] Final Communiqué of the Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference "Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century, Solidarity In Action, http://www.oic-oci.org/ex-summit/english/fc-exsumm-en.htm
[xiii] Reuters, EU language review shuns 'Islamic terrorism', Officials working on a 'lexicon' for communications about terrorism, Islam, April 11, 2006
[xiv] James Slack, Government renames Islamic terrorism as 'anti-Islamic activity' to woo Muslims, January 17, 2008, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-508901/Government-renames-Islamic-terrorism-anti-Islamic-activity-woo-Muslims.html
[xv] 'Jihadist" booted from
government lexicon, Bush
administration targets language in war on terrorism,
April 24, 2008, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12263326/%20EU%20language%20review%20shuns U.S.
[xvi] http://www.oicun.org/articles/55/1/OIC-Convention-on-Combating-International-Terrorism/1.html
[xvii] A delegation from the European Parliament visits OIC Headquarters, February 23, 2009, http://www.oic-oci.org/topic_detail.asp?t_id=1921&x_key=
[xviii] http://www.nam.gov.za/
"More and strenuous efforts are needed to protect minority rights" says
Commissioner Hammarberg, Press release - 125(2009), https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1409421 Greece
Report by Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, following his visit to Greece on 8-10 December 2008, Issue reviewed: Human rights of minorities,
February 19, 2009, https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1409353&Site=CommDH&BackColorInternet=FEC65B&BackColorIntranet=FEC65B&BackColorLogged=FFC679 Strasbourg
Chesler, Beheaded in Buffalo: The
Honor Killing of Aasiya Z. Hassan, February
14, 2009, http://pajamasmedia.com/phyllischesler/2009/02/14/be-headed-in-buffalo-the-honor-killing-of-asiya-z-hassan/
[xxi] AP, Chechen leader imposes strict brand of Islam, February 28, 2009, http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/28/europe/EU-Russia-Ruling-Chechnya.php
Chesler, Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic ?, Middle
East Quarterly, Spring 2009, pp. 61-69, http://www.meforum.org/article/2067
Daniel Pipes, Obama, the Middle East
and Islam - An Initial Assessment, Front Page Magazine, February 3, 2009,
[xxiv] President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address, January 21, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/inaugural-address/
Charles Krauthammer, Outreach, Yes. Apology, No. We've Never Been Islam's Enemy, The
Post, January 30, 2009, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/29/AR2009012903444.html
Sébastien Castellion, Obama touche terre et perd ses ailes dans l'impact, 9 février 2009, http://www.menapress.com/article.php?sid=2332
Sébastien Castellion, Obama touche terre et perd ses ailes dans l'impact, 9 février 2009, http://www.menapress.com/article.php?sid=2332
Laurent Murawiec, Les aventures de Bobo au pays des merveilles, February
12, 2009, http://www.menapress.com/article.php?sid=2336
[xxvi] President gives first interview since taking office to Arab TV, Obama tells Al Arabiya peace talks should resume, Transcript, January 27, 2009, http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/01/27/65087.html
L'interview du président Obama à
la chaîne Al Arabiya
; Entretien accordé le 26 janvier à Hisham Melhem, 3 février 2009,
Le président Obama sur
la chaîne Al-Arabiya: les Etats-Unis sont déterminés
à relancer le dossier israélo-palestinien et améliorer les relations avec le
monde musulman, January 27, 2009, http://www.voanews.com/french/2009-01-27-voa5.cfm
L'interview du président Obama à
Le président Obama sur
[xxvii] OIC Secretary General receives a letter from US President Obama;
to boost relations with OIC, February 1st,
2009, http://www.oic-oci.org/topic_detail.asp?t_id=1836&x_key= Washington
An Invitation to a New Partnership from the organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to President Barack Obama, January 21, 2009, http://www.oic-oci.org/topic_detail.asp?t_id=1818&x_key=
[xxviii] Foreign policy, 21 janvier 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/foreign_policy
Pourquoi l'Iran qualifie de tactique l'ouverture d'Obama, February 10, 2009, http://www.iran-resist.org/article5154.html
Iran/Etats-Unis – Détente verbale entre Ahmadinejad et Obama, 10 février 2009,
Iran : les mollahs cherchent à piéger Obama dans le dialogue, February 13, 2009, http://www.iran-resist.org/article5160.html
Pourquoi l'Iran qualifie de tactique l'ouverture d'Obama, February 10, 2009, http://www.iran-resist.org/article5154.html
Iran/Etats-Unis – Détente verbale entre Ahmadinejad et Obama, 10 février 2009,
Iran : les mollahs cherchent à piéger Obama dans le dialogue, February 13, 2009, http://www.iran-resist.org/article5160.html
[xxix] Gérard Fellous and Richard Prasquier, Droits humains fragilisés, Le Monde, December 18, 2008, http://www.desinfos.com/spip.php?page=article&id_article=11984
Source : Blaise Lempen, ATS-Genève, Négociations tendues autour de "Durban II", January 23, 2009, http://www.prochoix.org/cgi/blog/index.php/2009/01/24/2127-negociations-tendues-autour-de-durban-ii
Anne Bayefsky, Obama Administration Ignores Israeli and Canadian Pleas Lends Credibility to Durban For First Time, 17 février 2009, http://www.eyeontheun.org/durban.asp?p=737
Gerald Steinberg,
Obama´s high-risk engagement at the Durban Review Conference, 16 février
2009, http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/obama_s_high_risk_engagement_at_the_durban_review_conference
Source : Blaise Lempen, ATS-Genève, Négociations tendues autour de "Durban II", January 23, 2009, http://www.prochoix.org/cgi/blog/index.php/2009/01/24/2127-negociations-tendues-autour-de-durban-ii
Anne Bayefsky, Obama Administration Ignores Israeli and Canadian Pleas Lends Credibility to Durban For First Time, 17 février 2009, http://www.eyeontheun.org/durban.asp?p=737
OIC Secretary General Welcomes the US Administration's Decision to Participate in the preparatory meeting of the Durban II Review Conference, February 21, 2009, http://www.oic-oci.org/topic_detail.asp?t_id=1912&x_key=
will not take part in
UN racism conference, February 28, 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5igwyTqycoPZMf0U4WrEv6wKCIbAQ AFP, US
Véronique Chemla, Mythes et réalités du «processus de paix» : le roc
des refus palestiniens, January 10, 2008,
Joel Fishman
and Ephraïm Karsh, La guerre d'Oslo. Ed. de Passy, 2005
[xxxii] Samantha Power, Anna Lindh Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy,
Hilary Leila Krieger, Appointment of Power angers some Jews, The
Post, February
5, 2009,
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304700825&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Jerusalem
Hilary Leila Krieger, Appointment of Power angers some Jews, The
Daniel Pipes, George Mitchell's Return to Middle East Diplomacy,
January 25; 2009, http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2009/01/george-mitchells-return-to-middle-east.html
Articles sur ce blog concernant :
Articles in English
Cet article est republié le 12 septembre 2012, jour d'élection législative aux Pays-Bas.


text:
Pillow Talk (1959)
Directed by Michael Gordon
Genres - Comedy, Romance | Sub-Genres - Romantic Comedy, Comedy of Errors, Sex Comedy | Run Time - 105 min. | Countries - United States | MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
The fabulously successful Pillow Talk was essentially Shop Around the Corner for the 1950s. Playboy composer Rock Hudson and interior-decorator Doris Day are obliged to share a telephone party line. Naturally, their calls overlap at the least opportune times, and just as naturally, this leads to Hudson and Day despising each other without ever having met in person. In a cute but convenient coincidence, Doris' boy friend is Tony Randall, who also happens to be Hudson's best pal. Thus Hudson gets a glimpse at Day, and it's love at first sight. To avoid revealing that he's her telephone rival, Hudson poses as a wealthy Texan and turns the charm on Day. But when he starts pitching woo, Day instantly recognizes all the "make-out" lines Hudson has used on the phone with his other conquests. She gets even by decorating Hudson's apartment in a hideous manner. But Hudson loves her all the same; he "kidnaps" her, carrying her through the streets in her nightgown in full view of everyone, including a laughing cop who refuses to intervene. He praises her horrifying interior decoration job effusively, and at this point Day can't help but give in to his marriage proposal. A bit too arch and cute for modern tastes at times, Pillow Talk is still one of the best of the frothy Doris Day-Rock Hudson vehicles; it made a fortune at the box office and garnered five Oscar nominations.
telephone, assumed-identity, love-at-first-sight, suitor, battle-of-the-sexes, love, romance, gigolo, single
High Artistic Quality, High Production Values


text:
Asia's first Legoland theme park opened to packed crowds in southern Malaysia yesterday, with its cluster of attractions expected to transform the sleepy region into a thriving tourist hub.
An eager crowd of 10,000 people visited the 76-acre theme park in Johor state – across a narrow waterway from Singapore – which features a variety of rides and thousands of models built from Lego.
The visitors were greeted by costumed characters as confetti and balloons were launched into the air amid a special performance by a marching brass band from Denmark.
Back in 2011 earthmovers flattened a vast expanse of oil palm-covered hills to make way for the 31-hectare theme park, one of the main attractions of a new city and economic zone called Iskandar Malaysia.
Malaysia launched the economic hub as part of a five-year, 200 billion-ringgit spending plan to transform Johor's economy.
European visitor attractions operator Merlin Entertainments, whose stable includes Madame Tussauds, the London Eye and SEA LIFE, is the operator of Legoland Malaysia.
The theme park is the sixth of its kind in the world after those in Denmark, Britain, California, Florida and Germany.
Legoland Malaysia is divided into seven sections, including Lego Kingdom, Lego City and Lego Technic.
Most rides are for children under the age of 12, but the theme park also has a variety of attractions for the whole family such as the 4D Lego Studios and Miniland – which features recreated Asian landmarks like Cambodia's Angkor Wat and the Petronas Towers, the world's tallest twin towers.
John Jakobsen, managing director of Legoland Parks for Merlin Entertainments, expects the new park to be a "great success" owing to its proximity to Singapore, which attracted 13.2 million tourists last year.
"It's incredible to see Asia's first Legoland Park come to life," he said.
It is targeting as many as two million visitors a year from markets across Asia including India, China and Hong Kong as it rolls out new attractions.
Malaysia hopes to draw 36 million tourists arrivals by 2020. Last year 25 million tourists visited Malaysia, generating 58 million ringgit in earnings.


text:
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text:
Sentinels in the Mist
MARGAUX, FRANCE: Winter-bare trees emerge from the morning mist along a canal on the grounds of Chateau Margaux. Margaux is one of four original Premier Grand Cru classé wines according to the famous 1855 Bordeaux Classification. The estate is located in the commune of Margaux on the left bank of the Garonne estuary in the Médoc region, in the department of Gironde.
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text:
Pearls Dental Clinic
Dr. Eileen Jang - General DentistDr. Ryan Lau - General Dentist
Dr. Jennifer Kaarsemaker- General Dentist
7002-109 Street Edmonton, Ab.Edmonton, T6H 3C1 Canada(780)433-8228
Below you will find a wide array of interesting and educational links that we feel will benefit your understanding and knowledge of your dental health.
If you have a suggestion for a link that you feel would be of interest, please feel free to email it to us so we can share it with all of our patients.Dental AssociationsAcademy of General DentistryAmerican Dental AssociationDental Procedures and TopicsAir Abrasion
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Canker SoreComposites/BondingCrownsDigital X-rayExtractionsFlap SurgeryFlossingFlourideGum DiseaseImpacted TeethImplantsTMJLasersOral CancerPlaqueScaling and Root PlaningSealantsSensitive TeethTooth Decay


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For the second time this year, Wal-Mart announced that it will tighten its monitoring of factories in Bangladesh.
The company said Tuesday it will list all 279 factories it sources from in Bangladesh and will publicly release the safety inspection information on each one. Wal-Mart also said that it will post a list of all factories that fail inspections on its website.
"Transparency is vital to make progress in improving factory conditions," said Rajan Kamalanathan, vice president of ethical sourcing for Wal-Mart. "By disclosing this information, government, workers, non-governmental agencies, and companies can benefit from this work."
The move comes in the wake of a deadly collapse of a factory building in Bangladesh that killed 1,127. Global companies that source goods from Bangladesh have been under immense pressure in the weeks since the accident.
Related: U.S. companies drag their feet on Bangladesh factory safety
At least 11 brands and stores have signed on to fund a five-year, legally binding agreement that would improve factory conditions in Bangladesh. Wal-Mart wasn't among those companies.
The nation's largest retailer has faced a lot of heat to clean up its act since November, when a factory in Bangladesh making goods for the retailer caught fire and killed 112 workers. The company said at the time that the factory was not authorized to produce goods for it.
The fire prompted Wal-Mart to toughen its safety standards in January. The retailer began implementing a "zero tolerance" policy in March for any supplier who subcontracts work to factories without its knowledge. It required factories that produced its goods to pass audits, as well as undergo an electrical and building safety assessment.
But critics at the time slammed the company, saying that while the changes were a step in the right direction, none of the inspection results were made public so there was no way of knowing if it was living up to its word.
Related: The high cost of cheap clothes
Wednesday's announcement marks a shift for the company towards more transparency.
The latest announcement doesn't address one point of contention from labor advocates -- the use of independent auditors. Wal-Mart says it will hire engineers and trained professionals to perform safety inspections at its own costs. However, many labor experts say that there is a conflict of interest when a company hires its own auditors.
Labor rights consultant Abdulrauf Shaikh, who conducted audits at factories in Pakistan, pointed out that inspectors don't always report everything they find in factories in order to stay in a company's good graces and avoid disappointing companies who hire them.
"The certification bodies were passing factories through inspections, getting their fees and ignoring whatever I found," he said.


text:
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text:
This Union Nurse and Outspoken Progressive Could Become Iowa's Next Governor
Cathy Glasson is running an insurgent campaign on a platform of Medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage and ending "right to work" laws.
Theo Anderson
Don't miss the special, extra-length issue of In These Times devoted entirely to the subject of socialism in America today. This special issue is available now. Order your copy today for just $5.00, shipping included.
DES MOINES, IOWA — Hugh Espey, executive director of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI), is wearing gray sweats and a hoodie and has the sleeves-rolled-up mix of grit and weariness of a man who's been doing social justice work in Iowa since the 1970s. He pounds the table as he talks about how the Democrats have talked a great game for decades, but done little. "I am sick and tired," he says, "of being sick and tired of being fucked over by bullshit promises on the campaign trail."
This election cycle, Espey thinks things will be different. "That right there," he says, jabbing a finger toward a photograph in a photocopied article on the wall of CCI's offices. "That right there is a movement candidate."
The candidate is Cathy Glasson, an intensive care nurse and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) local president who's running for the Democratic nomination for governor.
The GOP's aggressively antilabor agenda has inspired CCI to set up a PAC and take its first plunge into state-level politics, working on behalf of Glasson. She fits the 43-year-old community organizing group's vision of movement politics: Her candidacy emerged from her role as president of SEIU Local 199, which represents healthcare and education workers in 20 bargaining units across the state. And she foregrounds issues that her six Democratic opponents shy away from: Big Ag's role in Iowa's water pollution problems, for example, and the need for single-payer, universal healthcare.
In These Times spoke with Glasson in the library of a cavernous Methodist church in Des Moines, where she was attending a training for a Planned Parenthood day of action at the state Capitol. "As a nurse, working in the healthcare field for decades, I've seen firsthand and I know: Private, for-profit insurance companies will always put profits over people," she says. "Every single time."
In addition to CCI and its national parent organization, People's Action, Glasson is endorsed by Our Revolution, several chapters of Democratic Socialists of America, and National Nurses United, all of which are turning out volunteers on her behalf. She has about 800 volunteers statewide. SEIU locals, as well as the national organization, are investing heavily in the campaign, having contributed about $1.8 million as of February.
Iowa's incumbent governor, Kim Reynolds, is a Republican, and the GOP controls both chambers of the legislature. Republican dominance has been a trainwreck for unions in Iowa. Last year, the state passed a law that gutted collective bargaining rights for public-sector workers. It has been a so-called right-to-work state since 1947. Repealing both laws is at the top of Glasson's agenda, along with a $15 minimum wage.
"A third of our families can't pay their bills each month," Glasson says. "And it's because our wages are so low. There's no health justice, there's no racial justice, there's no environmental justice without economic justice, honestly. So we have to raise wages."
Polling last fall showed that about two-thirds of respondents had never heard of Glasson. But her campaign is in a good place by other metrics.
At the Democratic caucus in February, she won about half the precincts that expressed a candidate preference. That strong showing was important because, if no candidate gets at least 35 percent of the vote in the June 5 primary — a likelihood given the crowded field — delegates to the Democratic Party state convention on June 16 will choose the nominee.
Glasson believes that, win or lose, her campaign presents a huge opportunity to influence the national political conversation in 2020.
"There's absolutely no reason this base of progressive activists we've built shouldn't be calling out presidential candidates on where they stand," she says. "On Medicare for all, what's your plan? And what are you going to do about giving workers a voice on the job through unions?"
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Stung by ongoing criticism and evidence that some of its hosts discriminated against non-white guests, Airbnb this month began asking users to pledge to treat everyone equally.
A lot have refused.
The so-called "community commitment" has been presented to Airbnb hosts and users since Nov. 1 and asks them to make a simple promise: to "treat everyone —regardless of race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or age — with respect, and without judgment or bias."
Anyone declining to click the accept button has had their ability to host and book suspended and was given the option of canceling their account.
On Thursday, at an event held to launch a new trip-booking service, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky was asked how many of its users had declined the commitment.
"I don't even know the number off the top of my head, but it was a lot," he told the BBC.
The company's commitment came about after studies and anecdotes suggested race played a part in whether some Airbnb bookings were accepted.
One study, by the Harvard School of Business, concluded would-be guests with names that are "distinctly African-American" are 16 percent less likely to have booking requests accepted than identical requests from guests with "distinctively white" names.
The study uncovered that discrimination is just as likely from large landlords as small ones but was most likely from hosts who have never had an African-American guest before. So while only a subset of Airbnb hosts was believed to discriminate, the platform itself allowed this to happen by showing a photo and name of a would-be guest when they asked about a booking.
The study lent support to claims of discrimination made by users, some of whom posted screenshots on social media with the hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack.
#AirbnbWhileBlack made a fake profile as a white guy and was accepted immediately. pic.twitter.com/miUWG3OvQV— G. Sel (@_GSelden) May 4, 2016
One user, Quirtina Crittenden, detailed to NPR earlier this year how she faced problems booking accommodation, but how they disappeared when she changed her profile picture to a nondescript photograph of a city.
In response to these studies and claims, Airbnb commissioned a report on racism on the platform that concluded there had been "too many unacceptable instances of people being discriminated against on the Airbnb platform because of who they are or what they look like."
As a result, Airbnb was said to be doubling down on its efforts to fight the problem. November's community commitment has been perhaps the most visible product of those efforts to date.
Airbnb did not respond to a request for more information about how many people had declined to accept the commitment.


text:
INDIANAPOLIS --The 2013 year was a difficult and frustrating one individually for linebacker Von Miller. Away from the field, there were legal woes and a six-game substance-abuse suspension to start the season. On it, there was a torn anterior cruciate ligament to end his season in Week 16.
Undoubtedly, the events did not help his on-field play, and the consistency of his 2012 season, in which he set a Broncos record, was hard to find. The task now is to ensure that as he recovers from the torn ACL, the off-field issues within his control are not repeated.
"I think that he has grown up a lot," said Executive Vice President of Football Operations/General Manager John Elway. 'I think he did a good job to adjusting, even though it affected him during the year.
"He's done a tremendous job of doing the right things and everything he's supposed to be doing. So hopefully he can continue to do that, because we'd love Von to be back to the Von we know he can be."
The highest NFL draft pick in Broncos history earned that status for a reason: his talent at a premium position. The Broncos would prefer not to imagine a defense without the two-time Pro Bowler, and he remains a pillar of the team's foundation.
"He's got to put last year behind him, and hopefully he learned his lesson from last year," Elway said.
The optimism about Miller remains, although it's tempered by the reality of the last 12 months.
"Your hope is that there's a maturation and a growth, and an improvement. That's what you hope for, really, on any player year-to-year," said Head Coach John Fox. "So we have a lot of resources, we have a lot of people working very hard, whether it's medically, spiritually, whatever, in that building.
"As a coach, you're looking for growth in people, and that's what you do. You find the best human talent that you can and motivate them to do better. That's really what we do -- and that's in every area, because all of it can bite you, from suspensions to whatever."
Fox believes that Miller has bought into what the club expects of him.
"You kind of always get that sense with him. He's a good kid," Fox said. "But sometimes, in the past, some of those things have popped up. That's why you hope that it helps and it moves forward."
The recovery of Miller's knee, which he injured against the Houston Texans on Dec. 22, is less in Miller's control than the off-field issues. The timetable for a typical recovery from that injury means that he could still be dealing with rehabilitation as training camp begins, but the progress appears to positive so far -- "from what I can hear," Elway said.
"Then going through treatment and everything, he's been doing good," Elway said.
The Broncos hope they can say the same of Miller this fall, both in his recovery and personal growth.


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Fundamentals of Claims Management
Washington's workers' compensation rules are complex. Whether you are new to workers' compensation or would like to refresh your claims knowledge, you'll find tools in this presentation to help navigate this sometimes frustrating system. Please join us as we identify what claims are, what you can do about claims and your rights as an employer.
Date: Dec 20, 2023
Start Time: 10:00 am
End Time: 11:00 am
Location: Webinar