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Story highlights
Conservative hawks says Obama didn't go far enough
President Obama outlines steps to bolster Iraq against ISIS fighters
CNN military analyst: "It is boots on the ground"
U.S. forces will advise Iraq's military, collect intelligence
Seeking a middle ground between calls for tough military action and none at all, President Barack Obama said Thursday he was sending up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to help the embattled government hold off a lightning advance from the north by Sunni militants.
Obama told White House reporters the goal was to prevent a civil war in Iraq that could destabilize the region, and also prevent creation of a terrorist safe haven in northern Iraq and neighboring Syria from which U.S. enemies could plan and launch attacks against American interests.
At the same time, Obama sought to allay fears of a military escalation that could relaunch the eight-year war he halted by withdrawing U.S. troops in 2011.
"We have had advisers in Iraq through our embassy and we are prepared to send a small number of additional American military advisers – up to 300 – to assess how we can best train, advise and support Iraqi security forces going forward," the President said.
"American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq but we will help Iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the Iraqi people, the region and American interests as well," he added.
Obama also said his strategy meant that "going forward, we will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action if and when we determine that the situation on the ground requires it."
Possible airstrikes
The language signaled possible airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters who have swept toward Baghdad in recent weeks.
Senior administration officials told reporters after Obama's statement that the United States will be sending the advisers to multiple joint command locations in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq.
Several initial teams of about a dozen special forces members from units in the region would begin arriving in Iraq soon, said one of the officials on a White House phone conference conducted on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, several U.S. officials told CNN that the Pentagon proposed sending Green Berets, Army Rangers and Navy SEALs to Iraq as military advisers and to collect intelligence.
The term military adviser evokes memories of the Vietnam War, when the U.S. government used that label for initial American forces sent over in what ended up as a long and costly engagement. U.S. officials acknowledged the American military advisers would likely face danger based on their location.
Boots on the ground
CNN military analyst Rick Francona said the decision amounts to U.S "boots on the ground" in Iraq, no matter how the administration characterizes it.
"This is the first step. This is how you get drawn into these situations," said Francona, adding that the mission must be clearly defined to avoid greater military involvement.
In response to questions from reporters after his statement, Obama rejected criticism that bringing home troops from Iraq three years ago contributed to the current crisis, saying it was Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki who rejected a residual force agreement over the need for a core requirement that would immunize U .S. troops from local prosecution.
Obama also made clear that he blamed al-Maliki for worsening Iraq's deep sectarian divide by failing to include Sunni and Kurdish interests in his policies.
He called on a new Iraqi government recently elected to adopt more inclusive policies, and said he was sending Secretary of State John Kerry to the region to promote such an approach. U.S. sources say Kerry is expected to travel to Iraq soon.
"Unless there is a coming together and elimination of the mistrust and addressing of the sense of isolation of different segments of Iraqi society – unless people are brought together in order to try to bring the country together it's going to be – there is no single military solution," Kerry told reporters on Thursday.
New government
On the White House call, a senior administration official said a main goal of the moves announced by Obama was to allow the constitutional process of setting up a new Iraqi government to occur within the legally required time frame.
The freshly elected Parliament will choose a new prime minister and president, and the Obama administration has signaled the need for a different approach than the sectarian polices of al-Maliki.
To conservative hawks in Congress, Obama's moves didn't go far enough.
"We are deeply concerned that the President continues to make political change in Iraq the prerequisite for greater U.S. military and other actions that could begin reversing the momentum of ISIS and improving the security situation in the country," said a statement by Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, two leading critics of what they consider to be the President's soft foreign policy.
U.S. officials familiar with the Pentagon plan, who spoke to CNN on condition of not being identified, said the teams of military advisers would be placed around Iraq in the headquarters of Iraqi military brigades and tasked with gathering intelligence on ISIS forces, such as their location, numbers and weaponry.
Such information could provide needed intelligence if Obama decides to proceed with airstrikes on ISIS fighters, as requested by Iraq.
Baghdad tense as military seeks to halt ISIS militants' advance
Airstrikes an option
For days, military sources have said ISIS fighters are dispersed and mixed in with local populations, making them difficult to target precisely with airstrikes.
Francona noted that the U.S. special forces would be "in a great position to call in any air strikes" if Obama decided to use that option, too.
On Wednesday, the President met with congressional leaders and later with Kerry on the Iraq crisis, which has prompted GOP criticism of U.S. foreign policy in the hyper- partisan environment of an election year in Washington.
According to a White House statement, Obama went over efforts to "strengthen the capacity of Iraq's security forces to confront the threat" from ISIS fighters, "including options for increased security assistance."
Earlier, spokesman Jay Carney spelled out one limit to any help, saying: "The President hasn't ruled out anything except sending U.S. combat troops into Iraq."
Congressional authorization
While the White House statement emphasized Obama would continue to consult with Congress, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the President "basically just briefed us on the situation in Iraq and indicated he didn't feel he had any need for authority from us for the steps that he might take."
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California agreed with McConnell's assessment, adding she believed congressional authorization for military force in Iraq back in 2001 and 2003 still applied.
A few hours earlier, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said they were working out details on possible U.S. steps that could include airstrikes on ISIS fighters.
The two leaders agreed with senators on a budget subcommittee that the Iraq crisis amounted to a threat to U.S. interests in the region and, down the road, a possible threat to the homeland if northern Iraq and neighboring Syria become a safe haven for al Qaeda-affiliated Islamists.
Kerry: U.S. would communicate with Iran, not work with it, against ISIS
Washington politics
Obama has advocated less unilateral U.S. intervention abroad than his predecessor, GOP President George W. Bush, who led America into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Republicans hoping to win control of the Senate and maintain their House majority in the November election have sought to depict Obama's foreign policy as weak and ineffective. They claim that a U.S. failure to intervene more forcefully on behalf of Syrian opposition forces created an opening for the Sunni militant movement now marching toward Baghdad.
House Speaker John Boehner, who attended the White House meeting with Obama a day earlier, told reporters on Thursday that the Iraq crisis amounted to a broader foreign policy failure by the administration.
"When you look it is not just Iraq," the Ohio Republican said. "It is Libya, it's Egypt, it's Syria. The spread of terrorism has increased exponentially under this President's leadership."
Administration officials blame Iraq's crisis on the failure of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to govern more inclusively over a nation with major sectarian divisions, especially between the Sunni-dominated north and Shia-dominated south.
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said al-Maliki needs to be convinced that his retirement would be in his country's best interest.
"I think that most of us that have followed this are really convinced that the Maliki government, candidly, has got to go if you want any reconciliation," she said this week.
Other Democrats grudgingly supported Obama's announcement.
"To help Iraqis contain the current violence and protect our national security interests, I support President Obama's decision to deploy a very limited number of advisers to Iraq for a non-combat training mission," said a statement Thursday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
He said that "any U.S. role in Iraq must remain sharply limited in scope," arguing that government funds should be for rebuilding infrastructure at home instead of more war in Iraq.
Opinion: Cheney's amazing chutzpah on Iraq
Transcript: Obama's remarks on U.S. response to Iraq crisis
CNN's Ted Barrett, Jim Sciutto and Laura Koran contributed to this report.


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My Anritsu
The MS2665C Portable Spectrum Analyzer
is a synthesized spectrum analyzer covering a wide frequency range from 9 kHz to
21.2 GHz.
It has superior basic performance such
as high C/N ratio, low distortion, and high frequency/level accuracies and is
easy to operate.
It has a Measure function for
evaluation of radio equipment that includes a frequency counter and one-button
evaluation of C/N, adjacent channel power, occupied frequency bandwidth, and
burst average power.
It has a large selection of options
and application software packages.
Reference crystal oscillator
improves accuracy
Narrow resolution bandwidth
30, 100, 300 Hz
High-speed time domain sweep
1.25 μs/div
Trigger/gate circuit
Pre-trigger and post trigger available
AM/FM demodulator
Outputs to loudspeaker or earphone
Centronics interface
GPIB cannot be installed simultaneously
Sweep signal output

subset: commoncrawl


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Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Atlas Sound for Dazed and Confused
Posted by Gary Card at 20:12 No comments:
'Atlas Sound' Creature for Dazed and Confused,
This was a costume I made for Robbie Spencer and Daniel Sannwald for Dazed's 'Where the wild things are' issue. You can't see much of it because we wanted to keep it a little mysterious. We shot it in an 'industrial metal' club in Islington that looked like a torture chamber, it was actually pretty creepy. Atlas Sound was very reluctant to wear the costume (looking at it now i can kinda see why) but he was a good sport and finally gave in after I explained that I'd been up all night making the bloody thing. He even insisted he pay me for my trouble. It was a very odd afternoon.
Posted by Gary Card at 19:51 2 comments:
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Wax Heads.
These were shot by Jacob Sutton for Exit Magazine a couple of years ago, they've been shouting at me from my prop cupboard for ages, thought they were worth another look. They are actually shirts dipped in wax and molded into heads, if you look closely you can see the buttons.
Posted by Gary Card at 08:39 4 comments:
Topsy Turvy concept models.
I've been pretty slow this year with the blogging, so to ease me into the year I'm posting a few things I've been meaning to show you for a while. First up are some 'Comme De Garcons' sketch model proposals I made for the 'Topsy Turvy' Shirt campaign last year.
I'm no 'still life' photographer but I hope these pictures give an idea of the feeling I was trying to capture. As with all my favourite things they're a bit sad and weird, vastly different to the poppy end result.
Posted by Gary Card at 08:11 No comments:
Friday, 8 January 2010
JUMP! Jacob Sutton and me.
Jacob Sutton is one of my favourite people to work with, we've made some great stuff together. If you don't know his photography already check his newly redesigned website at www.jacobsutton.com. He's also recently caught the blog bug, check his new blog at jacobsutton.tumblr.com. Here's something we did as an experiment a couple of months ago.
Styling by John Colver, special thanks to Dave White and Georgina Bacchus.
Posted by Gary Card at 09:28 3 comments:
Thursday, 7 January 2010
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In an uncharacteristic move, however, I've recently taken to making my own crunchy fried snacks at home. Yes, I am still not fond of using and discarding all that oil. Yes, I still dislike the eau de grease that lingers in my kitchen and on me after the event.
But the rewards of taking things into my own hands are wonderful; it means I can bring my very own crunchy fried snack ideas into fruition. Take today's post subject as an example. I can't get these vegan and gluten-free jalapeno rosemary potato fritters at my local takeaway, but I can sure make them at home. And ain't that grand?
|vegan, gluten-free jalapeno rosemary potato fritters.
jalapeno rosemary potato fritters (makes 12 fritters, serves 2 as a snack)
2 medium potatoes (approx. 300g or 2/3 pound)
1 - 2 fresh jalapeno chillies (may be substituted with other types of chilli pepper)
1 sprig rosemary
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup rice flour
oil, for frying
Prepping the ingredients...
Peel and shred the potatoes. Lightly rinse in cold water, then squeeze out excess water (but keep in mind that a little moisture is fine, and can actually help adherence when coating with rice flour) and set aside in a bowl.
Slice chillies lengthwise. Discard the seeds if you like it mild. Chop the chillies into thin strips.
Strip rosemary leaves from the sprig. You may leave them whole or roughly chop them.
Mince the garlic.
Toss together shredded potatoes, chilli, rosemary leaves, garlic, vinegar and sea salt.
Mix in rice flour and continue tossing until well combined.
Now the frying!
Prepare a pan or skillet for frying. Pour in enough oil (I used macadamia oil, but any oil with a high smoke point will do) to fill it up to between 2 - 3 cm, or 1 inch, and let it heat up over a high flame for a minute.
For each potato fritter, drop a heaped tablespoon of mixture into the oil and slightly loosen and flatten it to a more uniform thickness. The bottom of the fritter will cook faster, so turn it over once halfway through.
Fry until the fritter takes on a crispy golden appearance and starts to brown a little at the edges on both sides. I fried my fritters one at a time, but if you have a large skillet and deft hands, you could probably do a few at a time.
Drain your jalapeno rosemary potato fritters on paper towels, then serve on a plate while they're hot and crunchy. Enjoy these little bundles of joy with an extra sprinkle of salt and perhaps some freshly ground black pepper. Throw in a dollop of sour cream or yoghurt for good measure. Oh... and you know what else will go with this? A cold beer. Oh yes. Now that would be very nice indeed.
|a stack of rosemary jalapeno potato fritters, anyone?
Click here to read the rest of the post!


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A workshop on trends and prospects for international sourcing of ICT services was organised by the OECD in co-operation with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) of Egypt under the auspices of the Egyption Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. It took place just prior to, and at the same venue as, the 4th meeting of the Internet Governance Forum.
Date: Saturday, 14 November 2009
Venue: Maritim Jolie Ville Golf & Resort Hotel
The aims of the workshop were to examine recent trends in international sourcing in view of the crisis. It was designed to provide an overview of recent development, the needs of the IT services demand side, challenges on the suppluy side, and to draw out lessons for strategy and policy. The workshop was structured around the following themes:
Final programme: click here
For more information, please contact:
Graham Vickery
graham.vickery @oecd.org
Mariam Abd Al Hamid Semeda
workshop-inquiries @itida.gov.eg
For more information on OECD events at the 2009 Internet Governance Forum, please see here.
Related Documents


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Why spend a fortune on an on-camera softscreen diffuser? (OK, 9 dollars are hardly a fortune, yet…). This guest post by Huy Hoang shows you how to build one for just a few cents. (Mental note: make a DIY manual on how to reduce the cost of a Nikon D2X by the same ratio). Huy is a member of DIYPhotography.net's instructibles group – check it out. The idea is similar to the one explained on the speed light mounted softbox article, but takes half the time and can be used on a built in flash.
Hold on!! Why would you want a softscreen in the first place? I can think of two reasons: number one – the build in flash is soooooo small, it is a very hard light source. And 2 – it can not be bounced. However – you can get more out of it. Just to get your appetite going, here is what you'll get when you are done
And now to the main dish of this article:
Well, if you are interested enough to read this post, I assume you know
what a diffuser is so no need to introduce its purpose. It's just
another version.
The idea is very simple, the image speaks for itself: a cloth-hanger-wire frame with a screen cut out from vacuum bag.
Bend the wire, hang the screen – While cleaning my closet, I found the cloth hanger is pretty strong, so
I bend it to fit into the flash hot shoe, basically just a few trial
and errors. There are many wire sizes, some are too big and some are too
small. You will know which one is the right one. I had 3 sizes of wire
but only one made sense to me right away.
How you want it to cover the flash is up to you. I bent it into two
arms so I can hang the diffusing material in front of the flash.
Important: try to bend the wire along the side of the
flash hot shoe. Because the wire's plastic coat will eventually come
off, you don't want to short-circuit the pins on the hot shoe base. In
my case, the inner pins are lower than the surrounding, I just had to
make sure the wire is straight and not curve down to touch the inner
pins when I slide it in.
Canon (D)SLR: on the Rebel XT, I found a tiny switch
on the right edge of the hot shoe to detect external flash. If I slide
my diffuser frame in, the built-in flash won't fire. I had to bend the
frame around the switch, it's less sturdy but good enough
(unfortunately, I returned the camera without taking a picture of the
modified diffuser frame to show here).
My Nikon D40 doesn't have any switch around the edge of hot shoe so there is no problem.
I tried different materials, keeping in mind that I need something that
diffuses the light evenly, blocks least light, and is durable. Printing
paper blocks too much light, while with tissue paper, you will need to
bring a whole box for replacement.
The material I'm using is from a vacuum bag. Because the air has to
flow through it, its transparency is somewhat equivalent to tissue
paper, but it is super durable (much better than printing paper).
I folded a flap on the screen and tape it so that it's attached to the
frame and the whole thing can fold flat in my bag. You might want to
tape something reflective to the frame to save some light and prevent
you from being blinded by the bounced flash.
Well, it's a small idea, nothing much to talk about.
Sample photos for comparison and thoughts – As requested, I took two quick shots of a kitchen, mainly because the
flash is on top of my camera so I want something that has space below
it to see the shadow (the microwave oven and handlebar of the pan).
Notice that the photo taken with diffuser is darker because part of the
light was blocked by the diffuser although my D40 use TTL built-in
flash. But it's not a big deal, it can be easily adjusted using
software. The far right photo has been adjusted from the middle one
using Level tool in GIMP. Also, I love the warm tone more than the flat
After two weeks of carrying the diffuser in my backpack (folded flat),
sometimes it came out of the backpack with the soft screen completely
crumpled, and the tape I used to hold it to the frame fell off.
However, the material (vacuum bag) is so durable that I just straighten
it and back to good again. I had another DIY soft screen before using
normal printing paper and it couldn't withstand 4 times of coming in
and out of the same backpack.
Image 1 – no soft screen – notice the sharp edges on the knife's shadow and on the microwave shadow:
Image 2 – soft screen on – note how the knife shadow is almost gone, and the microwave shadow is nicely blurred.
Image 3 – brightness adjusted in GIMP.
More on material – I just had a look at different vacuum bags in my house and realize that
not all vacuum bags are ideal, so I should clarify on the one I used.
On the left is the genuine bag purchased at Menard. On the right is the
cheap bag at Dollar store. Looking at the vertical space in the middle
of each bag, you can see that the Rubbermaid bag is almost twice as
transparent as the genuine one (obviously it's thinner). So, even
though the Rubbermaid bag is not good for vacuum machine, it's ideal
for a soft screen.
I also tested a tissue paper I found left after dinner. I took two
shots: one with Rubbermaid vacuum bag, one with the tissue paper, and I
couldn't tell the difference between them. The tissue paper is pretty
strong too (it's from a big roll in the kitchen), but not as strong as
the vacuum bag and is thicker.
Another option is to use silk – it is cheap, strong and has great opacity.


text:
Galaxy Kustoms Merch
- Handbags & Accessories
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- Galaxy Kustoms Merch
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To view the video click below:
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Canadian Supplier Mail Opening - March 31/22
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text:
Make your mark in Broadcasting and Digital Media. Sinclair Broadcast Group and Sinclair Digital Solutions are dedicated to making Sinclair a communications powerhouse! We are the largest and most diversified television broadcasting company in the country. Sinclair owns and operates, programs or provides services to more television stations than anyone and has affiliations with all the major networks.
Sinclair Digital group is focused on bringing the most engaging content to web, mobile and over-the-top broadcasting to audiences all over the country! Our success is the result of extraordinary employees and an exemplary management team who believe in a vision and are dedicated ensuring a great future for our employees. Whether you are an industry veteran or a just starting out, you can find it at Sinclair! We are advancing the world of Broadcasting and we want YOU to join our winning team!


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Fuel efficiency is rising as a design trend and a primary goal for manufacturers of mobile hydraulic equipment, particularly construction equipment such as excavators, skid steers, and backhoes. Along with electrohydraulics advances that are delivering unprecedented levels of controllability, optimizing new systems for energy efficiency is becoming a major design priority and focus.
According to Dr. Kim Stelson, director at the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP), a soon-to-be-released Department of Energy study highlights energy use for fluid power applications. The study shows that between 2.3 percent and 3.1 percent of total energy use in the US is transmitted by fluid power, with an average efficiency of 21 percent. But the study also identifies two large components that dominate fluid power energy use in the US: mobile hydraulics and industrial pneumatics.
"What this reveals is that there is a large amount of energy being transmitted inefficiently, so by adopting best-practices and new technology development, that number can be lowered significantly. One percent of energy usage in the US translates roughly to $20 billion per year in imported crude oil," Stelson told us. "We're talking about an impact from greater fluid power efficiency that could be tens of billions of dollars per year, just from existing applications and not including technologies such as hydraulic hybrids and wind power."
New Cat wheel loader technology
The recent introduction of the Cat 966K XE wheel loaders by Caterpillar underscores how new mobile hydraulic applications are implementing technology that combines the simplicity of advanced electrohydraulic controls with a focus on reducing fuel consumption.
These new wheel loaders offer an advanced power train and have been engineered to deliver superior performance and fuel efficiency while simplifying the operator interface and machine control. By using a hydraulic pump and motor (variator unit), the Cat's continuously variable transmission allows for a smooth and continuous gear ratio change between engine speed and machine speed.
"A key design trend is to give the operator the most efficient way to effectively do the job. We are focusing on the power train and how to integrate the hydraulic system and the efficient transmission of power. We have a finite amount of power coming out of the engine, so we want to utilize that power as efficiently as we can," Karl Weiss, worldwide product manager for the medium wheel loader group of Caterpillar's Earthmoving Division, told us. "One of our strengths is the ability to optimize the machine balance through component and systems integration. We build most of our own componentry and power train systems, so we do not have the challenge of integrating an engine from one supplier, a transmission from another, and a hydraulic system from another, and getting them to communicate through our own electronics."


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A variety of activities have been scheduled at Hope College for Friday, Dec. 1, in conjunction with World AIDS Day to help build awareness on campus of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The events will begin with the college's chapel service at 10:30 a.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel. The featured speaker will be senior Will Nettleton of Battle Creek, who is leader of the college's chapter of "Acting on AIDS" and will discuss the religious aspects of HIV/AIDS.
Some 1,250 stakes featuring photographs of HIV-affected children will be placed in the college's Pine Grove as part of the nationwide "Lives are at Stake" initiative coordinated by "Acting on AIDS," which has chapters at Christian colleges across the country and is a program of the World Vision Christian relief and development organization. Through "Lives at Stake," members of the participating campus communities are encouraged to take one of the photographs, read the accompanying story of the child, and then pray for the child. Hope is one of more than 80 Christian colleges participating in the "Lives are at Stake" program this year.
The Hope chapter of "Acting on AIDS" is also raising funds to support HIV testing and counseling in the village of Shikokho in western Kenya. The connection to Shikokho began through 2005 Hope graduate Dawn Flandermeyer, a second-year medical student at George Washington University. Flandermeyer spent eight weeks this past summer working in the village at the Shikokho Medical Center, which is a mission of the Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church of Washington, D.C. Noting that no one in the village of 1,500 had been tested for HIV/AIDS, she began a voluntary counseling and testing program that started with 53 people this summer.
The fundraiser seeks to continue and expand the effort initiated by Flandermeyer. Among other activities, "Acting on AIDS" members will be working at Cold Stone Creamery at 5 W. Eighth St. on Friday, Dec. 1, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with a portion of the proceeds they earn supporting the Shikokho project.
Additional information about the fundraiser, and about HIV/AIDS, will be available during the chapel service and at information booths at campus locations including the Pine Grove and immediately outside the Cook and Phelps dining halls.
According to UNAIDS, which is the joint United Nations program on HIV/AIDS, an estimated 38.6 million people worldwide were living with HIV at the end of 2005. UNAIDS also estimates that 4.1 million became newly infected with HIV and 2.8 million lost their lives to AIDS that year. UNAIDS describes Africa as the global epicenter of the AIDS pandemic, with sub-Saharan Africa being most affected.


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Thursday, February 18, 2010
Mark McNairy Sweatpants
12 comments:
sweatpants and blazer... no go.ReplyDelete
Dmitriy- Lighten up brother.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 18, 2010 at 6:45 PM
I don't know how I feel about this....ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 18, 2010 at 6:53 PM
In a couple years you'll agree how ridiculous this is.ReplyDelete
James- I'm not sure any amount of time is going to convince me that a gray pair of sweatpants is ever a bad look. I am not recommending you wear them with a blazer or whatever, I am just endorsing a comfortable classic...especially a pair as well-made and tailored as Mark's.ReplyDelete
Personally, sweatpants are kinda' like flatbrims. If the douches didn't wear them I'd be down. But Mort pulls the look off well, as he should, he's in the industry.ReplyDelete
I don't even own a pair of sweatpants, and I'm not even trying to sound like I'm this wear a blazer every day kinda guy, I'm not, I love hoodies, and t's, in their occasion, and Jeans, ahh jeans... those are my sweatpants.. and if I hit up the gym, I wear shorts...ReplyDelete
other than a photo studio in a blogger's apt, where would you ever wear this combo?ReplyDelete
Podein- I wasn't recommending this exact outfit, just reiterating that classic grey sweatpants are boss.ReplyDelete
Have seen this look over the years, many years...just go hang out in the Mid-Atlantic...squash courts...gents coming and going to their matches. Some pull it off, some don't...ReplyDelete
Doggie, I know you aren't the type to publicly burn blogging bridges, but there's no way you think Mort is stylish. You couldn't.ReplyDelete
these comments are hilariousReplyDelete


text:
- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 04:51 06:05 12:13 15:37 18:16 19:29
Syrian opposition fighters captured the northeastern city of Raqqa on Monday and crowds toppled a statue of President Bashar Al Assad's father, opposition sources and residents said.
The fall of Raqqa on the Euphrates River would be a significant development in the two-year-old revolt against Assad. The rebels do not claim to hold any other provincial capitals.
Rebel fighters said loyalist forces were still dug in at the provincial airport 60 km (40 miles) from Raqqa and they remained a threat. A resident said that a Syrian military intelligence compound in the town was not in rebel hands but was surrounded by anti-Assad fighters.
On Monday the civil war burst into neighbouring Iraq, where officials reported that gunmen had killed at least 40 Syrian soldiers and government employees as they headed home after fleeing a Syrian rebel advance last week.
Around 65 Syrian soldiers and officials had handed themselves over to Iraqi authorities on Friday after rebels seized the Syrian side of the border crossing at the Syrian frontier town of Yaarabiya.
Iraqi authorities were taking them to another border crossing further south in Iraq's stronghold, Anbar province, when gunmen ambushed their convoy, a senior Iraqi official told Reuters. No group has claimed responsibility.
"The incident took place in Akashat when the convoy carrying the Syrian soldiers and employees was on its way to the al-Waleed border crossing," a senior Iraqi official told Reuters.
"Gunmen set up an ambush and killed 40 of them, plus some Iraqi soldiers who were protecting the convoy."
A member of Anbar's provincial council, Hikmat Suleiman Ayade, put the number of people killed at 61, including 14 Iraqis who were protecting the convoy.
The ambush inside Iraq illustrates how Syria's conflict has the potential to spill over its borders and drag in neighbours.
Iraq's Anbar province is experiencing renewed demonstrations by Sunnis against the government of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki over what they see as the marginalisation of their minority and misuse of terrorism laws against them.
Maliki boycotted Assad and pulled the Iraqi ambassador from Damascus before the Syrian revolt erupted in March 2011 for what he described as Syrian support for Sunni extremists and foreign jihadists responsible for deadly attacks on civilians.
Threats to regional stability
But the Iranian-backed Iraqi premier has not sided with other Arab states backing the Sunni-led uprising in Syria, saying that the upheaval threatened regional stability.
At the United Nations on Monday, Israel warned that it could not "stand idle" as the Syrian conflict spilled over borders. Israel's UN ambassador complained to the 15-member Security Council about shells from Syria landing in Israel.
Syria's rebels are mostly Sunnis fighting to topple Assad's government, dominated by Alawites that has controlled Syria since the 1960s.
Some 70,000 people have been killed in Syria and nearly a million have fled the country, the United Nations says.
In what could be a new danger for the millions of Syrians who have fled their homes but remain inside the country, rebels pushed into Raqqa, a city known as the "hotel" of the country after thousands of displaced families fled there.
Some residents of the northeastern city, home to half a million people, had pleaded with rebels not to enter Raqqa, fearing that Assad's war planes, artillery and missiles could target residential areas.
"The fear now is that the regime will hit Scud missiles indiscriminately at Raqqa to punish the population," said Nawaf Al Ali, the Raqqa representative in the Syrian National Coalition, an umbrella of the main opposition groups.
Video footage taken by opposition activists showed youths climbing on the Hafez Al Assad statue in Raqqa's central square and tying a rope around its head.
"A crowd of hundreds braved the fighting and marched on the main square and took down the statue," said one of the residents, himself a refugee from the city of Deir Al Zor.
One video showed rebels guarding the city's museum, housed in a French colonial era palace, which, along with the city's horseshoe shaped wall, give a glimpse of Raqqa's past.
Raqqa, founded by Alexander the Great, once acted as a Byzantine front line against Persia. It was designated by Al Mansour, the founder of the Abbasid empire, as the second Arab capital after Baghdad.
It has long been in decline. A water crisis before the revolt resulted in the internal displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from Raqqa and the rest of Syria's east and prompted the United Nations to send food aid to the region.
Assad's father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for 30 years, used a carrot and stick approach to build alliances between the ruling hierarchy and tribes in Raqqa and the neighbouring province of Deir Al Zor. These alliances have broken down.
No guarantee
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said the Islamist Jabhat al-Nusra and other rebel groups launched the offensive on Saturday and large parts of Raqqa were now under rebel control.
Video footage posted on the Internet by rebel groups showed an abandoned prison in what they said was the centre of the city, 100 miles (160 km) east of Aleppo.
The Syrian National Council, a large bloc within the umbrella Syrian National Coalition, said the capture of Raqqa would prove "a decisive victory in the struggle for the downfall of the criminal Assad regime and to salvage Syria from the ugliest epoch in its history".
Events in Raqqa were not confirmed by independent media, which are restricted in their access to combat zones.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.


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University of Utah biologists invented a chemical-free, hairdryer-like device — the LouseBuster — and conducted a study showing it eradicates head lice infestations on children by exterminating the eggs or "nits" and killing enough lice to prevent them from reproducing. The study — published in the journal Pediatrics — "shows our invention has considerable promise for curing head lice," says Dale Clayton, a University of Utah biology professor who led the research and co-invented the machine. It is particularly effective because it kills louse eggs, which chemical treatments have never done very well," he says. "It also kills hatched lice well enough to eliminate entire infestations. It works in one 30-minute treatment. The chemical treatments require multiple applications one to two weeks apart. "The LouseBuster now is in early stages of commercial development by a University of Utah spinoff company, Larada Sciences, for which Clayton is chief scientific officer. Patents are pending on the LouseBuster technology, which Clayton hopes will be on the market within two years for use in schools and clinics.
"Each year, millions of children are infested with head lice, a condition known as pediculosis, which is responsible for tens of millions of lost school days," the study's authors write. "Head lice have evolved resistance to many of the currently used pediculicides [insecticide shampoos]. … Hot air is an effective, safe treatment and one to which lice are unlikely to evolve resistance." The device blows warm air through a flexible hose, which has a rake-like hand piece on the end. It apparently kills lice and nits by drying them out, not by heating them. Clayton urges parents not to use hair dryers to try to kill head lice. "We don't want kids getting burned by parents who think it's the heat" that kills lice, he says. "This thing is actually cooler than a hair dryer, but requires twice as much air flow, and the special hand piece is critical because, unless you expose the roots of the hair, it doesn't work. And it's difficult to do that with a regular comb." "The cool thing about the machine is, it works — unlike many other treatments that haven't been rigorously tested," Clayton says. "It came out of basic research, completely unplanned." Clayton's research focuses on birds and the lice that infest them. But when he moved to the University of Utah in 1996, he couldn't keep lice alive on laboratory birds because Utah's air was too dry. He had to humidify bird rooms to keep lice alive.
About the same time, his two children — Mimi and Roger, now 13 and 15, respectively — got head lice, "and we wondered if there was a way to kill head lice by drying them out," Clayton says. "We started trying different methods of desiccation using hot air like conventional hair dryers, but those didn't work well." In the new study, the researchers tested six ways of applying hot air to children's lice-infested scalps. The tests were conducted during 2001-2005 on 169 infested children who were solicited for the study by flyers distributed in dozens of Salt Lake Valley schools. The study was approved by the university's Institutional Review Board, which reviews research involving human subjects. Parents and children signed consent forms. Children were excluded from the study if they had used other head lice treatments within the previous two weeks. Clayton dispatched his students in pairs to the homes of infested children to test the various methods. After completion of each treatment trial, each participant was paid $10 and given conventional treatments for lice.
Some 94 percent of the children were girls, who are more likely to have bad infestations because their hair is longer and they have more head-to-head contact on the playground, Clayton says. Before treatment, the researchers combed one side of each child's head to remove all visible lice and nits, which were placed in an incubator. Then, the entire scalp was treated with one of the six methods being tested. After treatment, the other side of the scalp was combed for the same amount of time as the first side, with removed lice and nits also placed in an incubator. The researchers used a dissecting microscope to count the number of live and dead lice from each side of the scalp. They re-examined them up to 18 hours later to make sure all were dead. Nits were incubated for two weeks to see how many hatched.
"Effectiveness of the different treatment methods was assessed by comparing the percentage of dead lice and non-hatching eggs on the pre- and post-treatment sides of the scalp," the researchers explain. The researchers measured the temperature and volume of hot air in each method and kept track of any discomfort. No household cleaning measures were taken because they are not considered essential; head lice cannot survive more than 24 hours off a host's head. Each of the six treatment methods took 30 to 35 minutes and used air at about 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Here are the treatments, from least to most effective:
— Air hoses from two bonnet-style hair dryers fed air into one bonnet. This method killed only 10 percent of hatched lice but 89 percent of eggs.
— A handheld blow dryer was used to apply diffuse heating. Each child's hair was divided into ten sections using hair clips, and the base of each section was heated three minutes while the dryer was moved to ensure even heating. This method killed only 21 percent of lice but 97 percent of eggs.
— A handheld blow dryer was used to apply directed heating. Hair clips were used to divide each child's hair into 20 sections. The dryer was held still for 30 seconds to heat one side of each section, then held still another 30 seconds to heat the other side. This method killed 55 percent of lice and 98 percent of eggs.
— A hose was attached to a wall-mounted blow dryer like those in public restrooms. The dryer was put on a table, and the hose used to treat hair divided into 20 sections. The method's larger air volume killed 62 percent of lice and 97 percent of eggs.
— With the hair divided into 14 to 20 sections, a LouseBuster without a hand piece was used to treat each section with diffuse heat for 60 seconds. Air speed was similar to the wall dryer. This technique killed 76 percent of lice and 94 percent of eggs.
— Aplastic hand piece with 10 coarse teeth (not like fine-toothed nit combs) was attached to the end of the LouseBuster hose and raked through hair while hot air blew the opposite direction. All areas of the scalp were raked and exposed to hot air for at least 30 seconds. The LouseBuster with the handpiece killed 80 percent of hatched lice — a larger proportion than any of the other five methods — and 98 percent of louse eggs.
The 80 percent kill rate was high enough to prevent remaining lice from breeding — possibly due to stress or sterilization — so "virtually all subjects were cured of head lice when examined one week following treatment with the LouseBuster," the scientists write. Children and their parents reported none of the treatments had adverse effects. Kids reported less discomfort from the LouseBuster than from any other method. Clayton estimates it cost $500,000 to develop and test the LouseBuster, with funding from the Utah Centers of Excellence program, University of Utah, Primary Children's Medical Center Foundation and the National Pediculosis Association.
Each year, 6 million to 12 million Americans are infested with head lice, making children miss 12 million to 24 million school days, the researchers say. "Although head lice do not produce an illness per se, they are physically and psychologically unpleasant for the child and an exasperating problem for parents and school authorities," the scientists write. Treatments have been chemical shampoos, louse combs and home remedies. Annual U.S. sales of anti-louse shampoos exceed $160 million, yet the shampoos are not very effective at killing nits, requiring repeat treatment. Many parents dislike using insecticide shampoos on children, and lice rapidly are evolving resistance to chemicals. Louse combs are used to remove the eggs or nits, an effective procedure, but one that requires many hours over several days. "Most parents do not have the time or patience to comb out all the lice and eggs," Clayton and colleagues write. Some parents resort to home remedies such as bug spray, mayonnaise or kerosene. "These remedies can harm the child and there is little hard evidence that they are effective," the researchers say. Some of the scientists' relatives got infested during the study. Clayton's kids, Mimi and Roger, volunteered to be infested with lice and then were treated successfully. "They like to shock their friends by telling them they served as guinea pigs in their dad's research," Clayton says. "I'm waiting for the authorities to show up. They haven't yet."
Science Daily
November 21, 2006
Original web page at Science Daily


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Vol. LXV, No. 50
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Brooks-Katzenback. Jacquelyn Brooks, daughter of Barbara Brooks of Kendall Park and the late James Brooks, to Mark Katzenback, son of Robert and Darlene Katzenback of Monmouth Junction. The wedding took place at St. Pauls Church in Princeton on July 30, 2011. Father Michael McClane officiated.
The bride is a graduate of Princeton High School and Rider University. She received a degree in Elementary Education and American Studies. She is currently a fourth grade teacher in South Brunswick.
The groom is a graduate of South Brunswick High School and Lycoming College, where he received a degree in Elementary Education and Psychology. He is currently a third grade teacher in South Brunswick.
The couple spent their honeymoon in Hawaii and currently reside in Franklin Park.
Mueller-Strasburger. Rebekah Ann Mueller, daughter of The Rev. Fred D. Mueller of Millstone, N.J., and Mrs. Barbara Whitman Mueller, of Fayette, Maine, to Justin Kidder Strasburger, the son of The Rev. and Mrs. Frank C. Strasburger, of Brunswick, Maine and formerly of Princeton. The couple was married at the Swedenborg Chapel in Cambridge, Mass., on May 28, 2011, with both of their fathers officiating.
The bride is a graduate of Bowdoin College, Class of 2007. She currently works in the Alumni Affairs and Development Office at Harvard University as a liaison with international Harvard clubs and shared interest groups.
Mr. Strasburger also graduated from Bowdoin College, Class of 2007. He currently is director of the Worcester office of Bottom Line, a nonprofit organization that helps disadvantaged students get into college, graduate, and find employment.
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After a splashy introduction nearly a year-and-a-half ago, Intel's Thunderbolt interface has had a slow trek to PCs. Finally, however, Intel-based motherboards are appearing with this highly anticipated input/output interface onboard. And various options are here or are coming soon that will give you some choice in how you to implement Thunderbolt to maximum advantage.
Intel began developing Thunderbolt back in 2009, but the technology has evolved dramatically since its conception at Intel Labs and its formal introduction last year.
Today's Thunderbolt can deliver up to 10 gigabits per second across Thunderbolt's two channels. You can split bandwidth across up to seven devices, since Thunderbolt–like FireWire 800 before it–supports daisy-chaining. Thunderbolt also supports both the PCI Express (PCIe) and DisplayPort protocols.
Seagate GoFlex Thunderbolt Adapter
This $100 add-on works with any Seagate portable GoFlex hard drive. Used with a $50 Thunderbolt cable, the adapter lets you retrofit the GoFlex drive to move data faster. Seagate sells a $190 adapter for its external desktop drives, too.
Asus P8Z77-V Premium
The first Intel-certified motherboard to carry a Thunderbolt connector is Asus's P8Z77-V Premium.
Introduced last year and available on Apple MacBook Pro laptops, Thunderbolt supports transfer speeds that can reach 10 gbps–more than twice as fast as USB 3.0. And you can daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt drives together for more speed.
Western Digital MyBook Thunderbolt Duo
WD's Thunderbolt MyBook Duo brings a 4TB (for $600) or 6TB (for $700) dual-drive configuration to your desktop for lightning-fast data transfer speeds.
The Duo supports RAID 0 data striping; RAID 1 mirroring; and an array of directly accessible independent drives.
Drobo Mini
Compact and powerful, the $650 (without drives) Drobo Mini accommodates four 2.5-inch drives, and has a USB 3.0 port, too.
Components are readily accessible and snap into place easily; and BeyondRAID technology offers users single- or dual-drive redundancy.
Buffalo Technology MiniStation Thunderbolt HD-PATU3
Buffalo Technology's $240 MiniStation Thunderbolt HD-PATU3 packs 1TB of storage in a compact, portable chassis.
The HD-PATU3 is the first Thunderbolt drive to come configured with both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt ports on board. Even better: Both of the needed cables are included in the package. However, the Thunderbolt version of this product is preformatted to work only with Macs.


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Some countries are not very fussy about the airplanes and the airlines they allow into their skies—a fact proven by today's horrific crash in Pakistan, which reportedly killed up to 127 people. The wreck also reinforces the point that travelers can be playing a form of Russian roulette if they book flights on obscure airlines in countries beyond the oversight of either American or European regulators.
The Boeing 737-200 that crashed on approach to Islamabad was at least 25 years old—one of the oldest in the air. Moreover, it was reportedly bought by Bhoja Air from another airline that no longer wanted the expense of trying to keep it airworthy.
Bhoja Air, in its current manifestation, has been in operation only since March of this year, and the fatal flight from Karachi to Islamabad was apparently its first on that route. So here you have all the classic elements of a doomed flight: decrepit airplane, unfamiliar route, and a crew who pressed on despite being warned of severe thunderstorms on the approach to Islamabad.
These used to be more familiar characteristics of air disasters than they are today. In well-regulated safety regimes—combining airplanes with state-of-the-art navigation aids, skilled air crews, and equally able air-traffic controllers—a severe storm should not endanger any flight. Hundreds of landings are made around the world every day in similar conditions, and if the storm is a real threat the flights are diverted.
Approach and landing, too, have always been critical to the safety of a flight—and have, therefore, been the focus of significant technical advances to make them safer.
It's a tragedy that 127 people have had to die to make the point, once again, that the safety of air travel depends on the integrity of the political and professional cultures of the country where you board the plane.
Unfortunately, many parts of the world fall outside the oversight of the two most dependable safety nets. In the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration bans airlines if it thinks they pose a safety hazard, but can only prohibit them from using U.S. airports. In Europe, a comparable body bans whole counties as well as airlines in its comprehensive black list (recently updated.) Most of the airlines banned from using European air space are from Africa and Asia.
And in Asia, the problem can sometimes be the reverse of the Bhoja Air problem. Instead of clapped-out jets, you can find airlines flying brand-new models with flashy livery and smart flight attendants—but no reputable infrastructure behind them. Indonesia, for example, is under watch by both the FAA and Europe, with most of its airlines banned from Europe, including Lion Air where, in the last eight months, four pilots have been arrested on drug charges.


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Keeping NATO's door open
Speech by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the Croatia Summit
Mr President,
Prime Minister,
Ladies and gentlemen,
This conference takes place in a magnificent historic city, which still bears the memory of recent conflict. But today is an excellent opportunity to look to the future, not to the past. And I am convinced that the key to a better future is a strong, open, and united Europe.
This is the Europe that NATO has always strived for. And for over six decades, keeping the door of our Alliance open for new members has helped make that vision a reality.
Looking back, it's easy to forget the uncertainty after the end of the Cold War. In Central and Eastern Europe, the old order had been swept away. And a tremendous sense of freedom inspired people across our continent.
But this freedom was fragile. The new democracies were weak. Their economies lacked investment. And a return to authoritarianism was possible. To be enduring, freedom needed an anchor. And that anchor was NATO.
Because NATO meant security. And gaining security would allow these new democracies to focus on building freedom, democracy, prosperity, and the rule of law.
At the time, NATO Allies faced an historic opportunity. To unify Europe. To keep our continent free, strong and democratic. And to build a true European peace.
We seized the moment. And we created a virtuous circle. The prospect of membership motivated aspirants to adopt important reforms. Those reforms allowed them to become Allies. And as the Alliance grew, security grew and spread.
Today, the path to stability and security in South-East Europe is the same as it was for the former members of the Warsaw Pact twenty years ago.
On this journey, there are no shortcuts. NATO's door will not open automatically simply because you stand in front of it. Countries that aspire to membership must demonstrate political commitment. A track record of reform and responsibility. And a new resolve to settle old disputes. In this region, there is still some way to go and work to be done.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, all immovable defence property must be registered as state property before further progress can be made.
For the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia¹, an invitation to NATO membership will be extended as soon as the issue over its name has been resolved.
And in Montenegro, more reforms are needed in the security and defence sectors, as well as greater reform efforts to fight against organized crime.
Serbia has an important role to play in South-East Europe. Its future clearly lies in greater cooperation with its neighbours. But also greater cooperation with the European Union, and with NATO.
Finally, Belgrade and Pristina must settle their differences. I encourage both of them to make full use of the European Union-facilitated dialogue.
We must look forward if we are to move forward. It is my strong hope that we will eventually see this whole region integrated into the Euro-Atlantic family of nations. And NATO is here to help.
When Croatia joined NATO in 2009, its Ambassador to the United States said, and I quote "We are determined to take our share of responsibility for global peace and stability in places such as Afghanistan, but also in other parts of the world." And Croatia has done just that. Our host country has set a strong example.
And so has that Croatian ambassador. She is Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. Last year she left Washington to join NATO Headquarters in Brussels as the Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy. And like her country, she is a valued and valuable member of our team.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Across our continent, NATO and its Open Door have succeeded in promoting security and stability. But there is still work to do.
NATO is here to assist partner countries. And to embrace those that wish to move from partnership to membership. That applies to countries here in this region. And also to countries further afield – particularly Georgia, who Allies have agreed will become a NATO member.
But in all countries, real change must begin with the people. We must choose to break away from the past. And to stay on the path of reform and reconciliation.
Together, we can turn an important page in history. And we can look forward with hope and confidence. To a shared future. And to a Europe that is whole, free and at peace.
Thank you.
- Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.
- Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.


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Having struggled against the oppression of first the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union, Georgians have become to believe that the Georgian Orthodox Church is the only institution capable of preserving and protecting the Georgian Nation. The church was successful in maintaining its status and influence throughout decades of occupation, but since its liberation from the Soviet Union in 1989, the church has become not only free, but also excessively active, enjoying the support and unquestionable trust of at least 90% of the Georgian population. The majority of devoted Georgian Christians, including priests, have not withheld themselves from making homophobic statements, as well as actions. On 17th May 2013, Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, saw extremely violent actions against LGBTQ supporters on the streets of the city.
On the international day against homophobia, Identoba, a Georgian LGBTQ rights supporting organization, in collaboration with other organizations, as well as independent supporters, planned an event on the central Rustaveli Avenue. The original plan was to have all the supporters stand in front of the former parliament building from 1 PM – 1:30 PM in a silent demonstration, showing the importance of protecting the human rights of the LGBTQ community. On the evening prior to the event, the current Patriarch of Georgia, Ilia the Second, made a statement, condemning the planned event, claiming that homosexuality is a sin and its spread should be avoided. In response to his statement, more than 10,000 people gathered in front of the former Parliament building at midnight and spent all night there, following the orders of the priests that led this anti-LGBTQ demonstration. On the morning of 17th May, approximately 2,000 policemen received the order to surround the anti-LGBTQ demonstration in order to avoid a possible clash, as the LGBTQ-support demonstration was continuing as planned.
As I reached Rustaveli Avenue through the underground system (the only way of getting there, as anti-LGBTQ demonstrators had blocked all the other surrounding streets), the police escorted me to Liberty Square, which lies at the very beginning of the Rustaveli Avenue, not far from the former Parliament building. As the anti-LGBTQ demonstrators had taken over the grounds surrounding the former Parliament building, the location of the LGBTQ-support demonstration was promptly changed toPushkin Square, right next to Liberty Square.
At around 12:50 PM, as I was standing in the middle of Pushkin Square in a group of 7 people, (5 of whom were not Georgian), all thelegal observers as well as local journalists started running towards the police cordon on Rustaveli Avenue, blocking the way for anti-LGBTQ demonstrators, so that they could not approach Pushkin square. I was surprised and slightly scared by the fact that only about 50 of us LGBTQ supporters were left at the square. I soon saw an aggravated crowd of 10,000 Georgians, eager to "protect Christianity," running in our direction. Priests swearing; several of them carrying stools that they later used to hit mini-buses that were carrying LGBTQ-supporters out of the spot; men in traditional Georgian dressscreaming, running towards Pushkin Square chanting the Lord's prayers, occasionally interrupted to curse at the LGBTQ-supporters; older women running with nettle plants in their hands that they wanted to beat us with; all 10,000 people, in religious ecstasy, with one aim – to protect Christianity from perversion by murdering LGBTQ-supporters. Continue reading "LGBTQ RIGHTS AND CHRISTIANITY IN GEORGIA"


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Old Photographs
Image Description: A photograph of the night sky. At the bottom is the black silhouette of a ridge with a tree. The rest of the photograph is a field of stars, with a cosmic dust cloud visible across the majority of it.
Image Description: A black and white photograph of a dam lake in a rocky valley. There are two pump towers visible in the foreground. The water level is low enough that there is a clear line of white rock around the edge of the valley, with darker rock above it.
Ever Onward, Ever Forward
Image Description: A large steam engine pulling Union Pacific train cars. There is an American flag on one train car and on a backup diesel locomotive. It is traveling across a grassy field under a clear sky.
The Steel Mass
Image Description: A large steam engine pulling a train painted in yellow Union Pacific colors. There is an American flag on one train car and on a backup diesel locomotive. It is traveling across a grassy field under a clear blue sky.
Untitled 08
Image Description: A black and white photograph of a mountain valley. The botton of the valley is filled with grasses and shrugs with a road and stream running through it. The valley walls are covered in trees. In the distance are snow-covered mountain peaks with white clouds overhead.
What If We Were Kind?
Image Description: A black and white landscape photograph of a valley. A road travels from the bottom left edge through the valley, disappearing around a corner in the center. A winding stream travels alongside the road through the valley. It is sunny with whispy white clouds in the sky. The sky itself is very blue. The bottom of the valley is filled with green grasses, and the sides covered in evergreen trees. In the distance are rocky mountains with snow across their flanks.
A Brief Window of Time
Image Description: A landscape photograph of a valley. A road travels from the bottom left edge through the valley, disappearing around a corner in the center. A winding stream travels alongside the road through the valley. It is sunny with whispy white clouds in the sky. The sky itself is very blue. The bottom of the valley is filled with green grasses, and the sides covered in evergreen trees. In the distance are rocky mountains with snow across their flanks.
Yearnings of Cooler Times
Image Description: A landscape photograph of a valley. A road travels down the center. It is sunny with whispy white clouds in the sky. The sky itself is very blue. The bottom of the valley is filled with green grasses, and the sides covered in evergreen trees. In the distance are rocky mountains with snow across their flanks.
The Light Overcame Us
Image Description: A picture of a landscape at night. The land takes up the bottom third of the photograph. Patchy snow covers the land as it stretches to the snow-covered mountains in the distance. A sign is visible, but not legible, near the right edge. The sky has a few clouds, and hundreds of visible stars. Galactic clouds are somewhat visible. On the left side, on the horizon, the sky glow of a distant town is visible.
God's in His Heaven, All's Right With the World
Image Description: A picture of a night landscape. The bottom quarter of the photograph shows dark, snow-capped mountains. A frozen lake is also vizible, stretching from the bottom left to three-quarters of the way to the right edge. A few building lights are visible at the foot of the mountains in the bottom right. A star-filled sky fills the top three-quarters of the photograph, with several galactic clouds faintly visible. A few clouds are visible in the bottom left of the sky.
Bring Me to the Edge of My World, For I Won't Grow Otherwise
Image Description: A photograph of a frozen lake situated in a valley. In the background, green evergreens are visible. Behind those, stretching into a blue sky, are a snow-covered mountain range. The tops of the mountains are bare rock. One mountain on the left has a distinctly triangular shape.
We Wanted to Say Something Profound, But Were Left With Bromides
Image Description: A photograph of a night sky. At the bottom, the silhuoettes of trees are visible. Behind them, part of the galaxy is visible. Hundreds of stars dot the sky. Behind the trees, though, the white haze of a city's light pollution clouds part of the picture.
When We Smiled, It Was On Stolen Land (BW)
Image Description: A black and white photo of a wide panoramic landscape. In the distance are tall rocky mesas and structures. In the far distance on the right, the Rocky Mountains are visible. Shrubs and trees dot the mesas, along with the canyons below them. The sky is full of fluffy clouds. One cloud on the left is visibly raining.
A Name of Life and Fire
Full Poem: https://medium.com/@wdibble/a-name-of-life-and-fire-d26f3d00bb9a
Image Description: A small stone chapel is in the foreground. It has stained glass windows, and a steeple with a cross at the top. The walls are made of stones of varying sizes. In the far bottom left, a staircase goes up and around the back. It sits on a rock. In the bottom right, green bushes are visible. The sky is a vivid blue, with orangish white clouds throughout. They are stretched across the sky, with a brushstroke-like texture.
Positivity Culture Is A Sham
Full Poem: https://medium.com/@wdibble/positivity-culture-is-a-sham-6eeedc61bcd1
Image Description: A black and white photo of a desert-like landscape. The curve of a road can be seen from the far bottom left of the photo to near the bottom right, with another curve going up the middle and disappearing around a rocky ridge. This rock ridge extends from the left side of the photograph to the middle, tapering off. Beyond that in the distance is another rock ridge, extending from the center off to the right of the frame. Beyond that is a flat landscape where a town is visible several miles away. The horizon line is a landscape of mountains with sheer rock cliffs. The shadows of clouds cover these mountains. The sky is filled with dramatic, fluffy clouds that extend to the horizon, with clear sky visible at the very top of the photo.
Alphabet Soup
For full poem: https://medium.com/@wdibble/alphabet-soup-7f36e99d698e
Image Description: A line of land is visible at the very bottom of the image. The foreground in the left half of photo is dominated by a stylized wind turbine. It appears as a large slender tower with a full circle of turbine blades around the top, forming a nearly complete circle. Fourteen identical wind turbines dot the horizon in the distance behind it, interspersed along the land at the bottom of the photograph. Just to the right of the main turbine are a pair of small birds. The entire foreground is silhouetted. The sky is filled with purple storm clouds that fade to reddish-orange at the horizon. The clouds are blurred with motion across the sky.
Heal Thyself
Full Poem: https://medium.com/@wdibble/heal-thyself-d34ba93e154d
Image Description: The image is of a frozen lake from above. The top half of the photo is taken up by evergreen trees. The tops of evergreen trees ring the bottom of the photo. In the middle of the photo, which forms the bottom half of a circle, a hiker can be seen walking out of view toward the right.
For full poem: https://medium.com/@wdibble/psalms-597bb46c073a
Image description: Image Description: Black and white photo of a snowy field. On the left are a few evergreen trees. A mountain rises from the other end of the field to the right of the photo, out of sight. It is also covered in evergreens. A trail can be seen through the snow towards three people walking away from the camera in the distance. The sky is grey and featureless.
Need to Live, No Solution
Poem at link: https://medium.com/@wdibble/need-to-live-no-solution-7cec04cba43a
The Valley
It's my first day on the new job
I used to teach. Today I'm doing class photos.
Little girls, daughters of the parent volunteers, run in circles around my feet.
I'm smiling but it's a facade.
Yesterday, seventeen people needlessly had their lives uprooted and destroyed.
Today people are telling me it's rude to demand gun control and infringe their rights
Fucking rude.
Today people are telling me it's they're classmates faults for not knowing of the coming hell.
There are too many poems about people being shot but we stand here again.
Every year the reaper thanks the NRA for padding their wallet.
The reaper gets paid a commission of death. They care not that some of the victims haven't known love or niceness, haven't gotten to see their graduation day or get their first job.
The politicians got their wages in private jets and personal gifts. They only pay out in meaningless thoughts and prayers while taking payment from the NRA.
We fund death and ignorance instead of saving lives. Every school shooting is our reward for complacency.
How many souls do we owe to the gun manufacturers? How many souls to the right to take lives at eight hundred fifty feet per second? How many souls to this worship of death machines while our future bleeds out in front of it's locker because we can't bring ourselves to confront the cause?
I go to work scared that something will happen and a shooter will show up.
It doesn't matter if their reason is because this school has a high Latino population or because they're just another angry white man.
Because the reaper doesn't care. They get their pay and we get our heartbreak
Either way we just lose and lose and lose
Don't give me this thoughts and prayers bullshit if you aren't willing to help solve it
Image Description: A rocky mountain valley. A railroad crosses a small steel bridge in the bottom left corner. Most of the plants are either evergreens or scrub-type plants. There's a sliver of a stream or river in the right bottom third. A big rocky mountain comes down to meet a dirt road in the left half of the photo. A blue sky with fluffy clouds takes up the top third.
That Old Specter
You are in pain, Let me help you
I've known you a short time
I feel like I've known you since mammoths walked
I feel like your pain is my pain and the only way to relieve it
Is to grieve and hurt with you
You, my lover, my friend, stranger on the street who let me into your soul
Let me help you shoulder that pain
Nobody can cure the holes in our souls, fill them in with dirt, right away
But together, we can start.
And they might still look like fresh graves in a month or in a decade
But we all deserve help stamping down that dirt, or putting flowers on it
Whatever grieving and help look like, we all deserve love
We all deserve that light
Grieve. Let the feelings happen. It is okay.
Find someone who loves you. Let them comfort you.
If you feel like doing so is a burden, let me tell you, one heavy heart to another
I know how hard it is to reach out
I know that the shadow of depression leeches out your soul
It'll tell you that you are dragging them down
It'll help you put your hand down, it'll breathe your voice for you, it'll move your mouth
And it'll say, for you, "I am fine"
You and I know otherwise. We aren't okay. Fine is a liar.
That old shadow hangs around every word, telling you lies
Your friends don't care
You're alone
You don't deserve help.
It's a liar. It's a specter convincing you that you don't deserve niceness. You do.
You deserve someone sitting next to you
Standing next to you
Messaging you
"You are not alone"
You deserve someone who listens
Who cares
Who is willing to help you shoulder your pain
That old specter will always be with us, taunting us
Haunting us
Let's try to keep them at bay, to help each other weather their assaults
Because you deserve that. You deserve someone who helps you take a break.
You deserve help, and you deserve happiness.
Image Description: A wide valley with snow-capped mountains from one edge of the frame to the other. The top half of the picture is a blue sky with fluffy clouds. The bottom third is a snow-covered frozen lake. There are pine trees along the center of the photo, coming in from both edges and stretching toward the mountains. A lone snowman is near the center of the frame.
Zippers Stretched From One End of the Valley to the Other


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Amy Richardson, The West Australian: Who couldn't do with a little more inner peace?
Meditation is the art of calming the mind and this quiet practice, which only relatively recently has been embraced by the Western world, has been credited with helping not only to still the mind, but also reduce pain and improve happiness.
Suzanne Bougher learnt meditation 16 years ago to deal with her own stress.
"I noticed a greater ability to stay focused and 'on track' in the middle of busy days where there's a lot of multi-tasking going on," Dr Bougher said.
"And compared with the days before meditating…


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If you have any questions, email me at firstname.lastname@example.com - Jeff Hancock
The photos from the Bib and Tucker Ball are now posted. Thanks everyone for coming to the ball and for having your pictures taken. Let me know if you have any questions. Please share this gallery with your friends. Jeff Hancock - hancockphoto - email@example.com More


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For those cool summer days it's sometimes nice to have a heated pool — but usually pretty expensive too. Looking for a simpler solution [Martin] came up with his own solar pool heater for under $100!
He's copied the basic design of a solar pool heater but managed to do it using fairly cheap parts from the hardware store. It consists of three 100′ lengths of 1/2″ drip irrigation hose, and the way he's connected them is rather ingenious. Using a half inch piece of copper pipe and a blow torch, he was able to squeeze the pipe into one hose end and then the other for a permanent seamless connection. He then coiled the resulting hose into a large circle by interweaving string back and forth to keep its shape.
A 12V utility pump coupled with a timer allows water to sit in the hose under the sun for one hour, at which point it cycles the system for 10 minutes, pumping the warm water into the pool, and refilling itself with cool water from the bottom of the pool. This one is only made for a small above ground pool, but the design could easily be doubled or even tripled for larger pools. You could also throw in a PID temperature controller or even an Arduino to make it even better… but it sounds like it works quite well by itself with a timer.
Combine this with a compost-based hot water system for indoors and you'll really be cutting the expense associated with your hot water needs!


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I admit it.
Although I may appear normal on the surface, I'm no stranger to odd behavior (or so I'm told). Every time I sit down to write a blog post, I struggle with controlling my internal evil twin. The one who wants to launch into a long-winded political diatribe or write a geeky poem about genetic expression or transcription pathways. Maybe link to a current climb of Mount Everest, write a book review, or evangelize about the healing power of yoga.
Anything but food.
Writing recipes is not easy for me. I don't follow recipes, how can I write one? When I cook I just throw stuff together, taste, adjust, add more stuff, taste and on it goes until I have something I like. Or something my guy Fairbanks will eat.
This soup was absolutely delicious. Explaining in a coherent manner how I came up with it won't be easy, but I'm going to give it a try. It was that good.
kitchen sink soup – you could also call this clean out the fridge soup
what you need (whatever you have)
4 shitake mushrooms, washed well and chopped
1/2 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery (and leaves), chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 cup shredded cabbage
6 cherry tomatoes, chopped
8 cups broth (I used a combination of chicken and vegetable broth)
1 cup cooked rice (I used a mix of brown and wild rice)
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
herbs: bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, oregano
* chopped means in small 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes (something like that)
what you do
1. In a large soup pot over low/medium heat, sauté mushrooms in a small amount of olive oil until fragrant. Remove mushrooms and place in a blender. Set aside until later.
2. In the same pot (add 1 or 2 more tablespoons of olive oil if you need to), sauté onions, garlic, celery, carrots and zucchini for about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently to combine flavors.
3. While veggies are sautéing, add 2 to 4 cups of broth to the mushrooms in the blender. Purée well.
4. Pour mushroom/broth purée over veggies and add the rest of the broth to the pot. Add sweet potato, cabbage, tomatoes and rice. Stir, turn heat to low and simmer for at least 2 hours. Season and taste as you go.
This is better the second day and even better the third. You may have to add a little water to it over the next day or so. Adjust according to whatever you have in your fridge. It's kitchen sink soup, it really doesn't matter.
One of my all-time favorite British chefs gave me some tips on seasoning soups. Miles of milescollins.com suggests bay as a base ingredient in cooking. From there, he says hardy herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage and savory go well in mixed vegetable soups. I don't always follow directions well, but when it comes to seasoning, I pay attention to what Miles has to say. He's a master. Thanks, Miles!
Go forth, clean out your fridge and make kitchen sink soup! As another wonderful mentor of mine once said, everything you need, you already have.
Posted in Gluten-Free Recipes, Nutrition Therapy, Super Foods | 19 Comments »


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Provided by: freebsd-manpages_12.2-1_all
aibs — ASUSTeK AI Booster ACPI ATK0110 voltage, temperature and fan sensor
To compile this driver into the kernel, place the following line in your kernel configuration file: device aibs Alternatively, to load the driver as a module at boot time, place the following line in loader.conf(5): aibs_load="YES"
The aibs driver provides support for the voltage, temperature and fan sensors available through the ATK0110 ASOC ACPI device on ASUSTeK motherboards. The number of sensors of each type, as well as the description of each sensor, varies according to the motherboard. The driver supports an arbitrary set of sensors, provides descriptions regarding what each sensor is used for, and reports the current values as well as the supposed range specifications of each sensor's input as defined by the motherboard manufacturer through ACPI. The range specifications are as follows: • Voltage sensors have a lower and an upper range specification. • Temperature sensors have two upper specifications. • Fan sensors may either have only the lower specification, or, depending on the DSDT, one lower and one upper specification. Sensor readings and the range specifications are made available through the sysctl(3) interface, and can be monitored with sysctl(8). For example, on an ASUS V3-P5G965 barebone: > sysctl dev.aibs.0.{volt,temp,fan} dev.aibs.0.volt.0: 1192 850 1600 dev.aibs.0.volt.1: 3312 2970 3630 dev.aibs.0.volt.2: 5017 4500 5500 dev.aibs.0.volt.3: 12302 10200 13800 dev.aibs.0.temp.0: 28.0C 80.0C 95.0C dev.aibs.0.temp.1: 55.0C 60.0C 95.0C dev.aibs.0.fan.0: 878 600 7200 dev.aibs.0.fan.1: 0 700 7200 > sysctl -d dev.aibs.0.{volt,temp,fan} dev.aibs.0.volt: dev.aibs.0.volt.0: Vcore Voltage dev.aibs.0.volt.1: +3.3 Voltage dev.aibs.0.volt.2: +5 Voltage dev.aibs.0.volt.3: +12 Voltage dev.aibs.0.temp: dev.aibs.0.temp.0: CPU Temperature dev.aibs.0.temp.1: MB Temperature dev.aibs.0.fan: dev.aibs.0.fan.0: CPU FAN Speed dev.aibs.0.fan.1: CHASSIS FAN Speed Generally, sensors provided by the aibs driver may also be supported by certain other drivers or utilities that access the ISA / LPC or I2C / SMBus devices directly. The precise collection of aibs sensors is comprised of the sensors specifically utilised in the motherboard design, which may be supported through a combination of one or more physical hardware monitoring chips. The aibs driver, however, provides the following advantages when compared to the native hardware monitoring drivers or other utilities: • Sensor values from aibs are expected to be more reliable. For example, voltage sensors in many hardware monitoring chips can only sense voltage from 0 to 2 or 4 volts, and the excessive voltage is removed by the resistors, which may vary with the motherboard and with the voltage that is being sensed. In aibs, the required resistor factors are provided by the motherboard manufacturer through ACPI; in the native drivers, the resistor factors are encoded into the driver based on the chip manufacturer's recommendations. In essence, sensor values from aibs are very likely to be identical to the readings from the Hardware Monitor screen in the BIOS. • Sensor descriptions from aibs are more likely to match the markings on the motherboard. • Sensor range specifications are supported by aibs. The range specification is reported for each individual sensor as suggested by the motherboard manufacturer. For example, the threshold for the CPU temperature sensor is likely to be significantly higher than that for the chassis temperature sensor. • Support for newer chips in aibs. Newer chips may miss a native driver, but should be supported through aibs regardless.
sysctl(3), acpi(4), sysctl(8)
The aibs driver first appeared in OpenBSD 4.7, DragonFly 2.5, NetBSD 6.0 and FreeBSD 9.0. An earlier version of the driver, acpi_aiboost, first appeared in FreeBSD 7.0 and NetBSD 5.0.
The aibs driver was written for OpenBSD, DragonFly, NetBSD and FreeBSD by Constantine A. Murenin <firstname.lastname@example.com>, Raouf Boutaba Research Group, David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo. An earlier version of the driver, named acpi_aiboost, was written for FreeBSD by Takanori Watanabe.


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Impact crusher made in Liming Heavy Industry adopts quality steels and wear-resistant parts, which makes it superior and reliable. This machine is possess of rotor with large inertia, and its capacity is improved largely. Impact crusher is usually used as secondary crusher in the production line.
Hammer is made of high chrome; liner board is made of wearable materials; Specially designed tooth impact plate; More suitable for crushing hard rock, high efficiency, low consumption; Final products is cubic, discharge opening is adjustable; Make the crushing flow chart simple.
Impact crusher crushes material by striking energy.when it works,the motor drives the rotor rotate at a high speed,on which the blow bar is installed .as soon as the material get into the affecting area of the blow bar,they will be stroke by the blow bar and be thrown to the impact devices around the rotor.the high speed forces the material to rebound from the impact liner to the area where the blow bar effects until they have been crushed to the required size.the clearance between the impact rack and the rotor can be adjusted to change the size and shape of the end product.


text: Hammer is synonymous with horror, after defining the genre in Britain with classics such as Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein and The Mummy, which spawned numerous sequels. However, only 1/3rd of Hammer films were horror! The company tackled other genres, including psychological thrillers, sci-fi, noir and historical epic. Hammer has a back catalogue of nearly […]READ MORE


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Thanks for all the people who have been emailing me about when my next book will be out. I am glad to be able to announce that the next one will be a novel — a geopolitical thriller — entitled, The Twelfth Imam. It releases nationwide on October 19th with a national book tour. It is now available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, as well as your local book and Christian retailer.The Twelfth Imam is the first in an entirely new series — new characters, new threats, and several new questions I've been wrestling with: 1) What if the world waits too long and Iran actually acquires nuclear weapons? 2) What if the Islamic messiah known as the Mahdi or the Twelfth Imam actually comes to earth? What would that look like? What would happen? Would it be consistent with Jesus warning in Matthew 24 that false messiahs will come in the "last days"?
The timing of the new book could be interesting given a story a few days ago by the Voice of America. Excerpts: "Iran's Supreme Leader has reportedly issued a fatwah, or Islamic edict, demanding that people obey him as the earthly 'deputy' of both the Prophet Muhammad and Shi'ism's mysterious 12th Imam. He also accused the U.S. and Britain of sowing division among Muslims and of fomenting the recent mosque bombing in Sistan-Baluchestan. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has created a stir after apparently issuing a religious edict Tuesday claiming ultimate spiritual powers on Earth. Iranian media reported that he told followers that they must 'obey him' as the "representative of the Prophet Muhammad and [Shi'ism's] 12th Imam on Earth…..'"
- Gaza rocket strikes Ashkelon, two mortar shells hit west Negev
- Arab League authorizes Palestinians to engage in direct peace talks with Israel
- Gay Pride Parade held in Jerusalem
- House Republicans Giving Green Light for Israeli Strike on Iran — Congressional resolution introduced by Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas would support "all means necessary to confront and eliminate nuclear threats posed by Iran", including military force.
- Full text of House Resolution 1553


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Titan Series Box Set: On sale 99cents!!
The Titan Series: Military Romance Box Set: (3 novels + 2 novellas) by Cristin Harber
Sexy Alphas in a New Military Romance and Romantic Suspense Series
#1 Amazon Romantic Suspense Bestseller
Top 100 Bestsellers list for USA Today, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo, iTunes, Kobo, and All Romance
The Titan Series, books 1-5: Winters Heat, Garrison's Creed, Westin's Chase, Gambled, & Chased
After putting her life on the line to protect classified intelligence, military psychologist Mia Kensington is on a cross-country road trip from hell with an intrusive save-the-day hero. She'd rather take her chances without the ruggedly handsome, cold-blooded operative who boasts an alpha complex and too many guns.
Colby Winters, an elite member of The Titan Group, has a single objective on his black ops mission: recover a document important to national security. It was supposed to be an easy in-and-out operation. But now, by any means necessary becomes a survival mantra when he faces off with a stunning woman he can't leave behind.
When Titan's safe houses are compromised, Colby stashes Mia at his home, exposing his secret--he's the adoptive father of an orphaned baby girl. Too soon, danger arrives and Mia lands in the hands of a sadistic cartel king with a taste for torture. As hours bleed into fear-drenched days, Colby races across the globe and through a firestorm of bullets to save the woman he can't live without.
Nicola is an injured CIA agent on the run from a failed undercover operation. Her escape plan shatters when she slams into the man who buried her a decade ago. Cash Garrison. Her first and only love. Now, sexier than her best memory and cradling a sniper's rifle, he has questions she can't answer. Why was she alive? And armed?
Cash is an elite member of a black ops organization, The Titan Group. He thought Nicola died his senior year of college and swore off love to focus on a decade of military missions. But when she shows up behind enemy lines, bleeding out and wielding a weapon, his heart and mind are unsure how to proceed.
Titan and the CIA join forces to uncover a mole hidden in a network of international terrorists and homegrown mobsters, teaming Cash and Nicola againWhen disaster strikes, Nicola's hidden past makes her the hunted target and Cash's best kill shot may not be enough to save them.
Jared Westin knows his reputation and likes it. He gets the job done. No emotion. No baggage. That's why his elite ops company, The Titan Group, is better than the best. They complete projects classified as mission impossible.
And then, in walks a woman as tough as she is sexy. His counterpart in every way, should he choose to admit it.
Ousted undercover ATF agent Lilly Chase only answers to "Sugar." Jared is the only man who can see past her leather-and-lipstick demeanor, and that revelation is terrifying. She was fired for helping Titan on a questionable arrest she should've ignored, then partnered with Jared's rival on an assignment in Afghanistan.
Saving Sugar isn't a normal rescue operation. It pits Titan against its rival, Jared against his nemesis. Chasing Sugar's heart isn't a simple task, either. She fights him, fights them, always ready to run. Jared must risk his life to save her--the woman whose bravado and surprising sweetness has given him the one thing he never had. Love.
Brock Gamble's epic fall from the Titan Group labeled him a traitor, then his wife walks out the door. Can the couple survive if the only chance of redemption is a fall further into a world of guns and kidnappings?
Jenny Chase and Asher McIntyre: can two hearts on opposite career paths survive while Asher's enemy seeks to destroy them both?
Buy Links:
Amazon - http://amzn.to/1NwhU2w
iBooks - http://apple.co/1Nw8UPv
Kobo - http://bit.ly/1HLXwPa
We also have a huge iBooks party coming up this week on December 9th. There's going to be loads of free eBooks, and chances to win an iPad Mini, and a $250 gift card to iBooks! The party will be hosted on Cristin's author page: https://www.facebook.com/cristinharberauthor/


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Our planet is at a turning point. The massive global migration underway now from countryside to cities will demand huge investments in energy, water, materials, waste, food distribution, and transportation over the next 25 years. If the right investments are made now, this unique opportunity will be the catalyst for dramatic changes in the built environment and the fight against carbon emissions and climate change.
Join Earth Day on EarthDay.org
The first Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. The passage of the landmark Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and many other groundbreaking environmental laws soon followed. Growing out of the first Earth Day, Earth Day Network (EDN) works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.
But Earth Day Network does not stop there.
All of EDN's activities, whether greening schools or promoting green economic policies at home and abroad, inform and energize populations so they will act to secure a healthy future for themselves and their children. With its partner organizations, EDN provides civic engagement opportunities at the local, state, national and global levels. At every turn, EDN works to broaden the definition of "environment" to include all issues that affect our health, our communities and our environment, such as greening deteriorated schools, creating green jobs and investment, and promoting activism to stop air and water pollution.
Over the last 40 years, EDN has executed successful environmental campaigns on issues ranging climate change and drinking water to voter registration and saving the whale. EDN is a recognized leader in creating civically–oriented innovative programs with partners outside of the environmental movement to tackle new challenges. Our core programs today focus on:
Greening Schools and Promoting Environmental Education
In partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council and The Clinton Foundation, EDN's Green Schools Campaign, aims to green all of America's K-12 schools within a generation. Green schools save money, conserve energy and water, and foster better-performing, healthier students. EDN's Educator's Network, used by over 30,000 teachers and administrators nationwide, provides innovative tools and resources to promote civic participation and to develop a sense of environmental responsibility among students of all ages. Together, EDN's Education and Policy Teams organize federal and state legislative campaigns to green school facilities, improve school food, and enhance environmental education and civic engagement. These include the Healthy Schools Act, No Child Left Inside, the National Civic Education Project, No Idling and the Climate Change Educators' Grant. EDN is also working internationally to promote green schools and improve environmental education.
Accelerating the Global Green Economy
For years, EDN has created dialogues and conferences engaging civil society, corporate, and government leaders on how to transition from a traditional, fossil fuel-based economy to one based on renewable energy, energy efficiency and other sustainable development principles. Our Global Day of Conversation provides local government leaders with an opportunity to engage with their constituents in a dialogue about renewable energy, sustainability and the green economy. The Creating Climate Wealth Conference co-hosted in 2010 with Sir Richard Branson's Carbon War Room and now planned as an annual event, convenes the world's most successful green business leaders. EDN's newest initiative, Women and the Green Economy (WAGE™), is promoting the unique leadership role women bring to advancing green economic and investment policies at the international, national and local levels.
A Billion Acts of Green®
From greening schools to hosting town hall discussions on clean energy investment and green jobs, Earth Day Network leads its network in thousands of Earth Day events and actions worldwide each year. To catalyze global environmental activism, Earth Day Network has chosen A Billion Acts of Green® as the theme for Earth Day 2011. At over 40 million actions to date, A Billion Acts of Green®–the largest environmental service campaign in the world–inspires and rewards simple individual acts and larger organizational initiatives that further the goal of measurably reducing carbon emissions and supporting sustainability. The goal is to register one billion actions in advance of the global Earth Summit in Rio in 2012.


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Powerful, building, climactic trailer music featuring a repeating motif in the piano and strings, backed by epic percussion and powerful brass. This track is intended for action-packed trailers, but regardless of the application this track is sure to give your next project a big energy boost!
Examples of this track used in other projects:
Caught Official Trailer
If you purchased the music and used it in an online project, simply contact me and I'd be happy to include a link directing users to your project's website!
You may also like:
Epic Hybrid Trailer (Epic, Climactic, Powerful – Orchestra)
Epic Cinematic Trailer 3 (Epic, Dramatic, Powerful – Orchestra)
Epic Trailer Short (Epic, Building, Climactic – Orchestra)
YouTube Copyright Claims
YouTube users: to clear any copyright claims on your videos (including monetized videos), simply visit this page, enter your details and video link and copy/paste the contents from your purchased License Certificate into the message box. Claims are removed within 24 – 96 hours. Thanks!
Tried the above tips but still need help removing the claim? Contact me directly!