text:
Zahir Ebrahim
September 28, 2009 | Revised November 02, 2009
Author's Note, Nov. 02, 2009: Pakistanis, apparently, simply cannot perceive that "insurgency" is manufactured – judging by the asinine questions they asked the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her visit to Pakistan last week. Every one of them was simplistic and devoid of any appreciation for the political science behind "imperial mobilization". Ignoring the mercenaries, traitors, and vulgar propagandists at work in Pakistan, many well-meaning Pakistanis are entirely confused. Therefore, this revision draws upon some stark lessons learnt from Iraq to further substantiate the original report. See additional evidence and extensive deconstruction of mythologies in The Pakistan Decapitation Papers.
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[PHBF Report] Dateline Sept. 28 to Nov. 02, 2009, California, United States
Let me begin this very difficult exposition as a Pakistani citizen (my only citizenship, by choice, despite being a legal permanent resident in the United States for almost three decades) with the question Who really killed Benazir Bhutto? [1] I mean who are the prime-movers?
The trigger-pullers are obviously irrelevant and remain faceless. They will surely never be known.
Well, let's read it in Benazir Bhutto's own lucid words which have now been augmented, almost two years later, with the Pakistan's Army Chief of Staff's belated disclosures of September 21, 2009. [2] Why belated? Well, please see these unpublished letters to many Pakistani newspaper editors on their repeatedly perpetuating the fiction of Who Killed Benazir Bhutto in cahoots with the 'hectoring hegemons' and their agents! All traitors and co-opted errand boys. [3]
The American agenda for Pakistan is not a state-secret. Rather, it is only thinly disguised as perpetually fighting the "insurgents" in a lifetime of war, the World War IV. [4] Whereas, in reality, both the "insurgency", and the "counter-insurgency", are entirely designed and fabricated in the USA as part of the evolving tactics of Hegelian Dialectics. They are enacted on the ground by various two-bit errand boys and expert trigger pullers. The already well-known existence of black-ops assassination squads in Pakistan/Afghanistan, known to the local peoples for years as the real prime-movers behind the heinous local terrorist acts, belatedly confirmed by NYT, WP, and NYT, in August 2009. [5] See these two December 2008 reports on the Mumbai terrorist Act as reportedly orchestrated by ALI BABA from his perch in the Hindu Kush. [6] The arrival of the black-ops in the region is not recent, albeit the public disclosures might be.
Starting in the immediate aftermath of 911, and perhaps even earlier, Pakistan may well have become the largest deployment region for the CIA in modern times, both covert (unknown to Pakistani government and secretly working to destabilize Pakistan with false-flag operations), and overt (with Pakistani military's aiding and abetting, in full view of the world, ostensibly fighting the "insurgents", "Bin Laden", "Al-Qaaeda", but in the process mainly "tickling" its own innocent civilians in many a barbaric way). [7]
And since Jundallah got launched to destabilize Iran from Pakistani soil (their "insurgencies"), Baluchistan along with the Pak-Afghan regions have been awash with black-ops, and obviously of course, also with officially recognized US soldiers manning American military bases on Pakistani soil. [8] But these soldiers of freedom were rarely spotted in the streets of major cities before. The following video report of September 08, 2009, therefore portends of ominous whirlwinds imminently engulfing Pakistan: [9]
To put this ominous presence of soldiers of freedom and fortune on Pakistani soil in full black-ops context of NATO and the Western Alliance, of diabolically manufacturing and sustaining the very pretexts out of uniform to enable the in-uniform forces to continue on with their perpetual mission of fighting World War IV, it is sufficient to look at what is transpiring in IRAQ for lessons to wisely apply to one's own predicament in order to avoid a far worse one.
Fast forwarding past all the initial pretenses of Sadaam Husain being responsible for 911, his WMDs about to destroy America, the Mission Accomplished statement of President Bush, and the "oops! intelligence failure" statements by the neo-con's own Iraq Study Group after the raping of Mesopotamia and the DNA of its ancient and proud peoples were fait accompli, etceteras, the biggest reason for not withdrawing the US troops from Iraq is continually stated to be the infernal ongoing INSURGENCY. Iran, Shias, Sunnis, and Al-Qaeeda are variously blamed for the main cause of America's continued military occupation of Iraq; new "troop-surges" are periodically announced amidst some dissenting consternation willy-nilly expressed in its news media and by its politicians to let the American public know that it is not an easy choice to be making. The Iranian strawman has already been amply unraveled elsewhere. [10] However, witness the following familiar statement of former President George W. Bush on the legend of the new Ali Baba [11] of Mesopotamia, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi: [12]
"You know, I hate to predict violence, but I just understand the nature of the killers. This guy, Zarqawi, an al Qaeda associate -- who was in Baghdad, by the way, prior to the removal of Saddam Hussein -- is still at large in Iraq. And as you might remember, part of his operational plan was to sow violence and discord amongst the various groups in Iraq by cold- blooded killing. And we need to help find Zarqawi so that the people of Iraq can have a more bright -- bright future." -- George W. Bush, Press Conference, 1 June 2004
The indefatigable Michel Chossudovsky, citing Bush's afore-quoted statements wrote: "Zarqawi constitutes Washington's justification for the continued military occupation of Iraq, not to mention the brutal siege of densely populated urban areas directed against 'Al Qaeda in Iraq' which is said to be led by Zarqawi." [13]
It is now November 02, 2009 – and the United States is still very much in Iraq. Its own economy is in deep recession, and the free-money printing by the Feds is taking it towards hyperinflation. The world is not only mired in its worst global financial crisis that is seeing the end of Western hegemony in its industrial production capabilities, but is also plagued by a global pandemic, global warming, and an un-ending global war on terror, sinking valuable trillions of dollars which could otherwise have been spent on converting overnight the entire world's six billion population into America's middle class status of the 1960s, while also wiping out much of the developing nations' unbearable debt. That alone would most assuredly have earned the United States the genuine love of the entire world instead of the present shoes thrown at its all powerful president. How remarkably has the world's sole superpower been brought down so pathetically to its knees by the Ali Baba of Iraq that today it cannot even extricate itself from giving a diabolical police-state to its own peoples in the pretext of saving them from the global terrorist! What sort of idiotic "American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives" agenda, and what kind of asinine quest for "Full Spectrum Dominance" is this? [14] Wow Ali Baba, what magical powers you have of not only so successfully entangling the United States in the Iraqi "quagmire" indefinitely, but of being the prime-mover behind the demise of nation-states to usher in the only permissible solution out of these multifaceted global threats – world government! [15]
Focussing on the pertinence at hand however, what does the Ali Baba of Iraq have to do with the following shocking news reports purveyed in titles which are illustrative enough of the key point: "Were British Special Forces Soldiers Planting Bombs in Basra?" September 25, 2005 ; British "Undercover Soldiers" Caught driving Booby Trapped Car "They refused to say what their mission was." September 20, 2005. [16]
Michel Chossudovsky, writing the latter article and displaying his un co-opted integrity, asked the 64-million dollar obvious questions – the same modus operandi being replayed in Pakistan with even more drastic effect, as now the black-ops have been hardened in Iraq on how not to get caught when plenty of patsies can be trivially harvested for the job of "legitimizing Insurgency" [17] – which none appear to be publicly asking in Pakistan:
'The following Reuters report raises some disturbing questions.
Why were undercover British "soldiers" wearing traditional Arab headscarves firing at Iraqi police?
The incident took place just prior to a major religious event in Basra.
The report suggests that the police thought the British soldiers looked "suspicious". What was the nature of their mission?
Occupation forces are supposed to be collaborating with Iraqi authorities. Why did British Forces have to storm the prison using tanks and armoured vehicles to liberate the British undercover agents?
"British forces used up to 10 tanks" supported by helicopters "to smash through the walls of the jail and free the two British servicemen."
Was there concern that the British "soldiers" who were being held by the Iraqi National Guard would be obliged to reveal the nature and objective of their undercover mission?
A report of Al Jazeera TV, which preceded the raid on the prison, suggests that the British undercover soldiers were driving a booby trapped car loaded with ammunition. The Al Jazeera report (see below) also suggests that the riots directed against British military presence were motivated because the British undercover soldiers were planning to explode the booby trapped car in the centre of Basra: ...'
See: Who is behind "Al Qaeda in Iraq"? Pentagon acknowledges fabricating a "Zarqawi Legend", in which the Washington Post of April 10, 2006, in its rare moment of candor – just like the New York Times' ex post facto exposé of April 20, 2008 on the Pentagon using retired Generals as mercenaries for hire to blatantly lie on American television in order to drum public support for the Iraq war [18] – is quoted in full context as follows: [19]
'"The Zarqawi campaign is discussed in several of the internal military documents. "Villainize Zarqawi/leverage xenophobia response," one U.S. military briefing from 2004 stated. It listed three methods: "Media operations," "Special Ops (626)" (a reference to Task Force 626, an elite U.S. military unit assigned primarily to hunt in Iraq for senior officials in Hussein's government) and "PSYOP," the U.S. military term for propaganda work..." (WP. 10 April 2006)
The military's propaganda program, according to the Washington Post, has "largely been aimed at Iraqis, but seems to have spilled over into the U.S. media. One briefing slide about U.S. "strategic communications" in Iraq, prepared for Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top U.S. commander in Iraq, describes the "home audience" as one of six major targets of the American side of the war." (WP, op cit.)
An internal document produced by U.S. military headquarters in Iraq, states that "the Zarqawi PSYOP program is the most successful information campaign to date."'
With that precious lesson in "imperial mobilization" through sustained PSYOP and manufactured "insurgency" learnt from our brethren Muslim nation of Iraq – where, in retrospect, and in moments of reflection through their daily strife and humiliation, its beleaguered people must surely ponder upon what could they have possibly done earlier, before 1990, during the iron-reign of Sadaam Hussein, and throughout those horrible intervening 13 years of Western hegemonic sanctions, to have avoided this new dismal fate altogether – let's return to Pakistan.
The multimodal approaches to destabilizing, and consequently balkanizing Pakistan under the fabled pretext of its own illusive Ali Baba, "Osama Bin Laden", have been so transparent, that today, finally, many a retired con-fession artist are getting in on the act to claim the flag of patriotism. [20] Going for hajj after having eaten 900 mice is the favorite pastime of Pakistani praetorian guards. I am only waiting for any sitting Pakistani General to rise to that occasion, if it's not already too late! [21] But I am afraid it probably is – see here, here, here, here, and here. [22]
The decapitation of Pakistan by Pakistan's finest, wantonly justifying the inglorious 'white man's burden' – the same old 'la mission civilisatrice' under a new name – upon impoverished indigenous shoulders! [23] Even Martin Luther Kings' penetrating description fails to do justice to the scale of calamity in Pakistan: [24]
"The white establishment is skilled in flattering and cultivating emerging leaders. It presses its own image on them and finally, from imitation of manners, dress, and style of living, a deeper strain of corruption develops. This kind of Negro leader acquires the white man's contempt for the ordinary Negro. He is often more at home with the middle-class white than he is among his own people. His language changes, his location changes, his income changes, and ultimately he changes from the representative of the Negro to the white man into the white man's representative to the Negro."
The shameful and criminal dislocation of up to 2.4 million civilians in May of this year was rightly described as "an exodus that is beyond biblical". [25]
Just as from the USSR's point of view in yesteryear, the "insurgency" against them in Afghanistan was foreign inculcated, entirely fabricated in the USA (as we know today but held as a closely guarded secret then), which thus forced the Soviets to apply counter-insurgency measures, and subsequently, an outright invasion of Afghanistan (read Brzezinski's own statements in Saving Pakistan, and watch Brzezinski speak in this video clip devilishly crafting the "insurgency" for the Russians on the Pak-Afghan border); the so called "insurgency" in Pakistan is also calculatingly fabricated, ab initio, in the USA through covert intervention and black-ops. [26] Subsequently, with sufficient "tickling" during the overt counter-insurgency operations, and by astutely harvesting all the cultural cracks and lacunae of the people, the "insurgency" acquires a reactionary life of its own. [27]
That latter stage, as well as on-going black-ops induced wanton acts of terrorism using the pre-"tickled" dupes and patsies as now rapidly transpiring, October 9-12, 2009, NYT, NYT – like the secret and 'officially denied' component of NATO's Operation Gladio in Western Europe of yesteryear which blamed it on the communists to keep an increasingly skeptical public's fear of the then boogieman du jour continually alive – are Machiavellianly projected in the news media, by the native informants, by the fabricated dissent-chiefs, and the Mighty Wurlitzer, as INSURGENCY. [28] And therefore, it is officially argued, an unarguable raison d'être for continuing the barbaric counter-insurgency to implement the writ of the state. This predictably creates a self-sustaining destabilization as both commonsense and political science 101 would inform even an imbecile. The blood-drenched puppetshow so enacted, inevitably affords a compelling pretext to the puppetmasters to justify their own military intervention to "save" the people who are incapable of doing it themselves.
The innocent Pakistan military, not too well-versed in political science or Hegelian Dialectics based Machiavellian state-craft (I presume), in this prelude to NATO forces marching in, is similarly being compelled to take real counter-insurgency measures like the Soviets. Aided and abetted of course by high ranking traitors from within their own ranks, and by their foreign paymasters' militaries (NATO, Blackwater now renamed Xe, and other un-named foreign divisions operating within Pakistan which I call "Jundallah-plusplus" to distinguish them from "Jundallah" which is apparently targeting Iran from Pakistani soil). The simple fact that Pakistan is supplying all the drinking water (bottled by Nestle), and full logistics channel for war-making supplies to NATO in Afghanistan is telling in and of itself. Pakistan is equally responsible for destroying the Afghan society, the Afghan people, and there is no less spilled-blood of innocent Afghani Muslims upon Pakistan's hands over the past 30 years, than upon the United States'.
Pakistani military helped destroy Afghanistan, and they are now helping to destroy Pakistan. No Pakistani civilian I know, including myself, ever authorized the Pakistani military to destroy Afghanistan, or aid the United States in its own hegemonic plans on the Grand Chessboard. Do you know anyone? So from where did they get their mandate? I would rather have clean drinking water in my tap, damn it! What good are the bloody nukes when they become the raison d'être for our very destruction in this manner without ever firing a single missile at the drones that are killing our own peoples?
It gives me no pleasure to repeatedly rehearse this footnote to history. What is not already obvious to the Pakistanis? It must surely still occur to many a reasonable military man serving with genuine zeal and honor in the real pivot of power in Pakistan that the end is drawing near. What are they doing idly watching the battle of their lives from the sidelines – when they are not shooting or displacing their own peoples that is? As quoted from a Dawn newspaper column:
"THIS article poses two questions: on the day after US/Nato forces invade and occupy some of Balochistan and Waziristan, what will we say we should have done, and why aren't we doing it now? Is this far-fetched? ... One hopes that a small group of patriotic officers in Pakistan are also asking themselves what can be done, and why aren't we doing it now." [29]
Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! And that's the tortuous déjà vu reality today. [30]
If one is genuinely confused about who is the enemy, whether it's the Taliban, Al-Qaeeda, Islamism, Militant Islam, unknown foreign fighters, foreign intelligence agencies, India, Israel, American interests, or the United States' globalist oligarchs hell bent on criminally realizing their one-world government agenda by fabricating and harvesting "revolutionary times" across the planet, [31] please spend some time reviewing the book The Pakistan Decapitation Papers available from Project Humanbeingsfirst.org [32] Write to me if you are still uncertain about who is behind "tickling" the so called "insurgents" into existence, and why that is necessary in order to fight the lifetime of World War IV with our blood. After all, "God is on your side"! [33]
[1] Zahir Ebrahim, http://prisonersofthecave.blogspot.com/2007/04/part-1-they-dared-to-knock-on-my-door.html
[2] Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/02/who-killed-benazir-bhutto-herownwords.html
Tehran Times, September 14, 2009 http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/02/who-killed-benazir-bhutto-herownwords.html#Addendum
[3] Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/02/letters-whokilled-benazir-fiction.html
CNN.com April 03, 2003, Ex-CIA director: U.S. faces 'World War IV' by Charles Feldman and Stan Wilson, http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/04/03/sprj.irq.woolsey.world.war/
[5] NYT August 19, 2009 C.I.A. Sought Blackwater's Help to Kill Jihadists http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/us/20intel.html
The Washington Post August 20, 2009 , CIA Hired Firm for Assassin Program http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/19/AR2009081904315_pf.html
NYT August 20, 2009, C.I.A. Said to Use Outsiders to Put Bombs on Drones http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/us/21intel.html
[6] Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/12/international-chorus-of-actors.html
Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/12/ali-baba-in-mumbai-eid2008-reflections.html
[7] AP September 16-17, 2008, CIA chief: Military strikes offer lessons, by Stephen Manning https://web.archive.org/web/20110206064721/http://humanbeingsfirst.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/cacheof-usatoday-sept172008-cia-chief-military-strike-offer-lessons-in-tickling-civilians.pdf
Zahir Ebrahim, http://humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2007/12/saving-pakistan-from-synthetic-terror.html
The Miami Herald, Oct. 02, 2009, Scores of bodies found in Pakistan's Swat valley By Saeed Shah, McClatchy Newspapers https://web.archive.org/web/20120207165311/http://humanbeingsfirst.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/cacheof-miamiherald-oct22009-bodies-found-in-swat-valley.pdf
[8] Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/04/ap-covertwar-imperial-mobilization.html
Los Angeles Times April 13, 2008, Bomb blast in Iran mosque kills 9 http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2008/04/13/bomb_blast_in_iran_mosque_kills_9/
'Bombings are rare in Iran, but insurgencies have been blamed for some deadly bomb attacks in recent years. In February 2007, a car loaded with explosives blew up near a bus carrying members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, killing 11 of them. In 2006, blasts killed nine people in Ahvaz near the Iraq border. Iran alleges that the United States, Israel, and Britain are behind the upsurge in militant activity and says it has intelligence to support the allegation.' -- LA Times, April 13, 2008.
[9] Russia Today September 08, 2009, 'Contractors in Pakistan: are troops next?' Interview with Wayne Madsen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=182Pa8zKTuQ
[10] Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/03/warningamerica-nuking-iran-imminent.html
Project Humanbeingsfirst Press Release http://pressreleases-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/05/pr-full-spectrum-alliances-may152008.html
[11] Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/12/ali-baba-in-mumbai-eid2008-reflections.html
[12] Global Research, June 11, 2004, Historical Origins of the Islamic State (ISIS): Who is Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi? By Michel Chossudovsky https://www.globalresearch.ca/who-is-abu-musab-al-zarqawi/201
[13] Global Research, April 18, 2006, Origins of the Islamic State (ISIS): Who is behind "Al Qaeda in Iraq"? Pentagon acknowledges fabricating a "Zarqawi Legend" By Michel Chossudovsky https://www.globalresearch.ca/who-is-behind-al-qaeda-in-iraq-pentagon-acknowledges-fabricating-a-zarqawi-legend/2275
[14] Zahir Ebrahim, Prisoners of the Cave, 2003, Chapter 1 http://prisonersofthecave.blogspot.com/2007/04/chapter-1.html
[15] Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/12/responseto-ft-gideon-rachman-worldgov.html
Project Humanbeingsfirst's Tutorial: The Hegelian Dialectics of Deception – Today's Focus: Anatomy of Modern Lies, Senseless Warfare, Merchants of Death
[16] Global Research, September 25, 2005 Were British Special Forces Soldiers Planting Bombs in Basra? Suspicions Strengthened by Earlier Reports, by Michael Keefer http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=KEE20050925&articleId=994
Global Research, September 20, 2005 British "Undercover Soldiers" Caught driving Booby Trapped Car "They refused to say what their mission was." by Michel Chossudovsky http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20050920&articleId=972
[17] Project Humanbeingsfirst Press Release http://pressreleases-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/09/pr-whats-to-be-done-pakistan-sept222008.html
[18] NYT, Sunday, April 20, 2008, Message Machine: Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon's Hidden Hand - A PENTAGON CAMPAIGN Retired officers have been used to shape terrorism coverage from inside the TV and radio networks. By DAVID BARSTOW http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/us/20generals.html
See its pertinent deconstruction in Zahir Ebrahim, 'Bin Laden': Key enabler of "imperial mobilization" and nuclear attack on Iran-Pakistan
See Project Humanbeingsfirst's A Note on the Mighty Wurlitzer
[19] Global Research, April 18, 2006 Who is behind "Al Qaeda in Iraq"? Pentagon acknowledges fabricating a "Zarqawi Legend" by Michel Chossudovsky https://www.globalresearch.ca/who-is-behind-al-qaeda-in-iraq-pentagon-acknowledges-fabricating-a-zarqawi-legend/2275
[20] Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/04/binladen-keyenabler-nuclearattack.html
Press TV September 14, 2009 Ex-Intel officer discloses US plans for Pakistan, exclusive interview of Pakistan's former ISI Chief General Hamid Gul to Press TV https://web.archive.org/web/20090922214026/http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=106141§ionid=351020401
'US officials "want to go for Pakistan's nuclear assets. They are inching close to those nuclear assets day by day," he added. When asked about Washington's long-term goal in Pakistan, the former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) said that the United States wants to keep the country destabilized.' -- Press TV Sept. 14, 2009.
This is the same General Gul turning on his own patrons after he had fully assisted them in "giving to the USSR its Vietnam war" from Pakistani soil. An African proverb says: you need a very long spoon to sip with the devil.
Tehran Times September 14, 2009, Blackwater involved in Bhutto and Hariri hits: former Pakistani army chief https://web.archive.org/web/20090922190015/http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=203224
'TEHRAN - Pakistan's former chief of army staff, General Mirza Aslam Beg (ret.), has said the U.S. private security company Blackwater was directly involved in the assassinations of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.' -- Tehran Times Sept. 14, 2009
Why was this General muted when all the specious reports were being so boisterously promulgated by the Mighty Wurlitzer's propaganda machinery both in the West and in Pakistan's own newspapers? See the many Letters to Editors on Perpetuating the Fiction of who killed Benazir Bhutto by Zahir Ebrahim,
[21] Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2007/12/re-imagining-pakistans-defenses.html
[22] UK Telegraph September 27, 2009 US threatens to escalate operations inside Pakistan http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/6237185/US-threatens-to-escalate-operations-inside-Pakistan.html
The News, Friday, September 25, 2009 More drone strikes possible in Pakistan (dead link) http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=24694
Antiwar.com September 24, 2009 US Mulls Increasing Drone Strikes in Pakistan - Will Pakistan Escalation Come With Afghan Escalation? by Jason Ditz, http://news.antiwar.com/2009/09/24/us-mulls-increasing-drone-strikes-in-pakistan/
Antiwar.com September 27, 2009 US Threatening to Attack Major Pakistani City of Quetta - Will US Drone Strikes Move From Rural Pakistan to Baloch Capital? by Jason Ditz http://news.antiwar.com/2009/09/27/us-threatening-to-attack-major-pakistani-city-of-quetta/
Uruknet.info September 24, 2009 U.S., NATO Poised For Most Massive War In Afghanistan's History, By Rick Rozoff writing for Stop NATO http://uruknet.com/index.php?p=m58262&hd=&size=1&l=e
Thaindian News October 5, 2009 US pullout from Afghanistan would be 'disastrous': Musharraf, http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/south-asia/us-pullout-from-afghanistan-would-be-disastrous-musharraf_100256418.html
[Added] Zahir Ebrahim, White Man's Burden, http://humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/p/white-mans-burden.html
The Grand Chessboard by Zbigniew Brzezinski, 1996, http://www.takeoverworld.info/Grand_Chessboard.pdf
[24] A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King (Jr.), pg. 307, http://books.google.com/books?id=k8uPHtrU8BsC&pg=PA307
[Added] Zahir Ebrahim, The Niggers of Pakistan, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2011/09/the-niggers-of-pakistan-by-zahir-ebrahim.html
[25] Project Humanbeingsfirst Press Release http://pressreleases-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2009/05/pr-statement-on-pakistan-may262009.html
UK Independent, Sunday, 31 May 2009, In Pakistan, an exodus that is beyond biblical - Locals sell all they have to help millions displaced by battles with the Taliban By Andrew Buncombe http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/in-pakistan-an-exodus-that-is-beyond-biblical-1693513.html ;
[Attribution Corrected] Photo Rashid Iqbal/EPA, source UK Guardian, Monday, 11 May 2009, caption: People flee Pakistan's restive Swat valley after a curfew was temporarily lifted to allow people to leave the intensifying conflict https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2009/may/11/pakistan-taliban?picture=347192312
[Attribution Corrected] Photo Rashid Iqbal/EPA, source UK Guardian, Monday, 11 May 2009, caption: People flee Pakistan's restive Swat valley after a curfew was temporarily lifted to allow people to leave the intensifying conflict https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2009/may/11/pakistan-taliban?picture=347192312
[26] Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2007/12/saving-pakistan-from-synthetic-terror.html
Video clip of Zbigniew Brzezinski, PBS http://sites.google.com/site/humanbeingsfirst/download-pdf/god_is_on_your_side.wmv
[27] BBC News, Islamabad, October 02, 2009 Pakistan in video beating probe By Syed Shoaib Hasan, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8287264.stm
AP, Video appears to show Pakistan army abuses https://web.archive.org/web/20130616072236/http://humanbeingsfirst.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/cacheof-ap-video-appears-to-show-pakistan-army-abuses-oct022009.pdf
Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2007/12/islamofascism-zionofascism-judeofascism.html
Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2009/04/pak-geniuses-or-native-informants.html
[28] NYT October 9, 2009 Latest Pakistan Bombing Seen as Warning to Government http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/world/asia/10pstan.html
NYT October 12, 2009 Car Bomb Kills at Least 41 in Restive Region of Pakistan http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/world/asia/13pstan.html
Article: NATO's secret armies linked to terrorism? 2004, by Daniele Ganser https://web.archive.org/web/20041217113942/http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/GAN412A.html ;
Book: NATO's Secret Armies. Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe, 2004 by Daniele Ganser http://www.amazon.co.uk/NATOs-Secret-Armies-Operation-Contemporary/dp/0714685003 , free PDF available online ;
Video: BBC Documentary Timewatch, 3 episodes, aired on BBC Ch 2, June 1992, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXavNe81XdQ
[Added] Analysis: Operation Gladio Yesterday and Worldwide Terrorism Today – Identifying the Enemy By Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2014/01/operation-gladio-and-terrorism-today.html ; Imperial Surrogates and 'Terror Central' in Operation Gladio Redux By Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2014/02/imperial-surrogates-operation-gladio.html
Zahir Ebrahim, https://web.archive.org/web/20100120081517/http://humanbeingsfirst.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/letter-to-hamid-mir-geo-tv-may152009-stupid-or-shill.pdf
Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/12/letter-paul-craig-roberts-rebuttal.html
[Added] Zahir Ebrahim, Masters of Dissent and The Dying Songbird, http://humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/p/dying-songbird.html
[Added] Zahir Ebrahiim, Gatekeepers From Left to Right - Response to Chris Hedges' amalgam of half-truths 'A Decade After 9/11: We Are What We Loathe', http://humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/p/gatekeepers-from-left-to-right.html
[29] Cited in Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2009/03/day-after-dawn-mar212009.html
[30] Epilogue in The Pakistan Decapitation Papers, echoing the immortal words of Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775, http://www.law.ou.edu/ushistory/henry.shtml
[31] Zahir Ebrahim, http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2008/12/responseto-ft-gideon-rachman-worldgov.html
[32] Zahir Ebrahim, The Pakistan Decapitation Papers http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2009/10/foreword-pakistan-decapitation-papers.html
[33] Video clip of Zbigniew Brzezinski, PBS https://sites.google.com/site/humanbeingsfirst/download-pdf/god_is_on_your_side.wmv
[Added] Text Brzezinski's "God is on your side", http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2014/02/imperial-surrogates-operation-gladio.html#Zbigniew-Brzezinski
Short URL Decapitation: http://tinyurl.com/decapitation-of-pakistan
Source URL Decapitation: http://humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2009/10/decapitation-of-pakistan.html
Print URL Decapitation: http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2009/09/decapitation-of-pakistan.html
Source PDF: https://sites.google.com/site/humanbeingsfirst/download-pdf/insurgency-vs-counter-insurgency-decapitation-of-pakistan-by-its-own-military-zahir-ebrahim.pdf
Also see Insurgency vs Counter-Insurgency: http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2010/10/insurgency-vs-counter-insurgency.html
The author, an ordinary researcher and writer on contemporary geopolitics, a minor justice activist, grew up in Pakistan, studied EECS at MIT, engineered for a while in high-tech Silicon Valley ( http://tinyurl.com/zahir-patents ), and retired early to pursue other responsible interests. His maiden 2003 book was rejected by numerous publishers and can be read on the web at http://PrisonersoftheCave.org. He may be reached at http://Humanbeingsfirst.org. Verbatim reproduction license at http://humanbeingsfirst.org/#Copyright.
First September 28, 2009 | Revised November 02, 2009 4835
Links fixed, references [Added] to Footnotes to sync with Case Study: Insurgency vs Counter-Insurgency, April 17, 2016
Links fixed, Swat photo attribution corrected, March 03, 2018 1:00 pm
The Decapitation of Pakistan by its own Military! By Zahir Ebrahim


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NAZARETH, Israel (AP) — Israeli Arab activist Rasool Saada is crisscrossing the country to encourage fellow Arab citizens to vote in Jan. 22 parliamentary elections, convinced they can make a difference. Numerically, he's right. Historically, it hasn't worked out that way.
Arabs make up about a fifth of Israel's population, but their voter turnout has been much lower than that of the Jewish majority. Many Arabs are disillusioned with politics, feeling alienated as a minority in a Jewish state and dissatisfied with their own squabbling, ineffective representatives.
On the Jewish side, suspicion over the loyalty and ultimate goals of Israeli Arabs, always in the background, has grown in recent years with the deadlock in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking and more overt identification with the Palestinians by Israeli Arab leaders.
"It's a daily identity crisis living as an Arab in Israel, because your Palestinian identity is your core," said Saada, 23, the only Arab in his law school class at Israel's Bar-Ilan University. "Many throw their hands up and don't want to participate in politics, but because we're a minority, we need to have our voices heard."
Israeli Arabs hold citizenship rights that, in contrast to their Palestinian brethren in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, give them access to Israeli social services and the right to vote. They tend to be poorer and less educated than Israeli Jews and often suffer discrimination in the job and housing markets.
"We're second-class citizens, and Israeli politicians will only talk to us behind closed doors," said Bashaer Fahoum-Jayoussi, a lawyer in Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel. "For us, integration isn't an option, it's mandatory. We speak Hebrew, we live with Israeli flags everywhere. But on the other end, they never extend a hand," she said.
The disillusionment works both ways.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main coalition partner, Yisrael Beitenu, made a strong showing in 2009 elections with a message that questioned the loyalty of Israeli Arabs.
In 2010, Arab lawmaker Hanin Zoabi, whose campaign posters are plastered all over Nazareth, infuriated many Israelis when she joined pro-Palestinian activists on an international flotilla that tried to break through Israel's naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Israel considered the flotilla a dangerous propaganda exercise. Zoabi was nearly assaulted in parliament and subsequently stripped of some parliamentary privileges.
On Wednesday, an Israeli elections committee voted to disqualify her from running in the January election. The decision to ban Zoabi could be appealed to the Supreme Court, which has overturned similar attempts to ban Arab candidates and parties in the past.
In 2010, Amir Makhoul, a leading community activist, pleaded guilty to handing sensitive information to the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah. He was sentenced to nine years in prison. Another lawmaker, Azmi Bishara, fled the country five years ago to avoid facing espionage charges.
Four years of deadlock in Mideast peace efforts and last month's conflict with Palestinian militants in Gaza have added to mutual mistrust.
Jamal Zahalka, an Arab lawmaker who has served in parliament since 2003, said the atmosphere there has grown considerably more hostile.
"We're trying to encourage Arabs to vote because it's important, but you can't blame them when they see how little power we have in parliament," he said. "Not only do (Jewish lawmakers) refuse to hear us, but they also want to ban us from running." A motion to ban the Arab parties is on the table again, as it is before every election, and it is likely to be rejected as in the past.
In this combustible atmosphere, many Israeli Arabs are expected to stay home on election day. A recent survey by the Abraham Fund Initiatives, an advocacy group that promotes coexistence, found that about half of Israeli Arab voters are expected to cast ballots, compared to about 70 percent of Jewish voters.
A study released this week illustrated the gaps that Arabs have long complained about. The College of Management Academic Studies found that native-born Israeli Jews earn 41 percent higher wages than their Arab counterparts in high-paying professions. The gap widens to a 64 percent difference after 10 years in the workplace.
Many Arabs are also frustrated by infighting among Arab politicians.
In theory, the Arab population could deliver enough seats in the 120-member parliament to influence the makeup of a coalition government. But Arab parties have been divided by ideological differences and personal rivalries, leaving them on the margins of Israeli politics. In the outgoing parliament, Arab parties held just 11 of the 120 seats.
Hoping to reverse this trend, a Bedouin Arab politician, Atef Krinawi, has founded what he calls the first "pro-Israel" Arab political party.
Krinawi says too many Arab politicians focus on the conflict with the Palestinians to the detriment of domestic issues like poverty and crime. He also believes Arabs should serve in in the Israeli military, a recommendation that most Arabs reject.
Although many surveys indicate that civic issues eclipse the Palestinian issue as main concerns among Arabs, Krinawi's party isn't finding much traction.
"If you want to change the system, yes, you must learn to play the game from within," said Jasmine Abusif, a student at the College of Management Academic Studies. "But you can't separate the Palestinian issue. You're tied to it and you're stuck in the middle."
The conflict between Israel's Jews and Arabs goes back to the country's establishment in 1948. At the time, hundreds of thousands of Arabs either fled or were driven out of the country, leaving properties and relatives behind. For the first 18 years of Israel's existence, Arabs lived under martial law that included curfews and travel permits.
Many Arab Israelis mark 2000, when police killed 13 Israeli Arabs during riots that broke out following the eruption of a Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza, as a turning point. Many say the state failed to properly investigate the riot and take action against the police officers responsible.
"After that, we really started questioning how exactly we fit into this state," said Marie Totry, a professor at Tel Aviv University.

subset: commoncrawl


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Neighborhood Alcohol & HIV Prevention in South African Townships (Philani)
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00996528
Recruitment Status : Active, not recruiting
First Posted : October 16, 2009
Last Update Posted : February 17, 2020
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Fetal Alcohol Syndrome HIV Nutrition Disorders
|Behavioral: Philani Intervention Program
|Phase 2
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|1239 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|Single (Outcomes Assessor)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Neighborhood Alcohol & HIV Prevention in South African Townships (Philani)
|Study Start Date :
|September 2007
|Estimated Primary Completion Date :
|September 2025
|Estimated Study Completion Date :
|September 2025
|Experimental: Philani Intervention Program
Behavioral: Philani Intervention Program
Offered to pregnant women / mothers through mentor mothers, i.e. mothers in community who are selected because they are doing well. They are trained to conduct home visits, 2 times a months through pregnancy. After childbirth, visits are spaced depending on the perceived need. If the baby is thriving and mother is coping well with health risks, mentor mother will visit once a month.
No Intervention: Standard Care
No intervention during study. Referral to clinic-based health care that is delivered by the province. Offered intervention at end of study, i.e. after 18 months.
- HIV-related transmission acts [ Time Frame: 18 months ]Maternal HIV transmission acts
- Baby's health status [ Time Frame: 18 months ]Children's behavioral and cognitive adjustment and school achievement
- Maternal adherence to HIV-related and general health routines [ Time Frame: 18 months ]Maternal alcohol use on the AUDIT
- Mental health [ Time Frame: 18 months ]Maternal Depression on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)
- Social support [ Time Frame: 18 months ]Children's peer relationships at seven and a half years
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Pregnant woman and their children
- Age 18 or older
- Informed consent
Exclusion Criteria:
- Psychosis, neurological damage, inability to communicate with interviewer
- Inability to give consent
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00996528
|South Africa
|Philani Child Health and Nutrition Project, Khayelitsha
|Cape Town, South Africa
|Principal Investigator:
|Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus, PhD
|Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, UCLA
Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):
|Responsible Party:
|Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus, Professor, Semel Institute and the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
Federal Identifier # AA017104
|First Posted:
|October 16, 2009 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|February 17, 2020
|Last Verified:
|February 2020
|Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
|Plan to Share IPD:
|Plan Description:
|Data up to the eighth year post birth is being shared with researcher from other institutions.
fetal alcohol syndrome
alcohol abuse
Maternal alcohol use
low birth weight babies and low-weight children
mentor mother
behavioral intervention
South Africa
HIV-related transmission behaviors
HIV Seronegativity
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Fetal Diseases
Alcohol-Induced Disorders
Alcohol-Related Disorders
Nutrition Disorders
Pregnancy Complications
Substance-Related Disorders
Chemically-Induced Disorders
Anti-Infective Agents, Local
Anti-Infective Agents
Central Nervous System Depressants
Physiological Effects of Drugs


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Kerry Katona would love to open a rehab centre to help women get off drugs and get their lives back on track.
Kerry Katona wants to open her own rehab centre.
The 32-year-old reality star wants to use her past experiences of drug use and bipolar disorder to help troubled women in similar situations and is planning to set up a facility to help people beat their problems.
Kerry exclusively told BANG Showbiz: ''I would love to set up a reborn centre, that's what I want to call it, for women who can just find themselves again. For people who are on medication and try helping them get off it. It will be an exercise-based facility that's for women who can sit there and discuss their problems and come away for a week. Like a retreat. I'd love to do that, but I haven't got the money!''
Kerry credits her own boot camp experience for helping her kick her cocaine habit and says she had her first ''natural high'' after a vigorous workout.
She enthused: ''Exercise save my life. I went to boot camp and coming off my medication it was like coming out of a coma and the fog being lifted and going on, 'Oh my god, what's been going on?' I had my first natural high.''
The Atomic Kitten singer has put down her experiences in a ''brutally honest'' autobiography, 'Still Standing', and thinks it can help women overcome their problems, because she has suffered from every kind of issue possible.
Asked whether her autobiography had more of a message than the likes of Tulisa or Cheryl Cole's, Kerry said: ''I think mine's completely and utterly honest, there's no lies in there, it's just brutally honest. There's definitely a message in there, there's people with mental illness who I'd like to read it and addictions and people who are through bankruptcy or money troubles or going through divorce, I've done it all.
''Even one of those things to go through on its own is heart wrenching and you think, 'I can't take this any more'. You can, and you will get through it and there is light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully this book will help.''


text:
The watermark in the lower right corner of the image will not appear on the final print.
Bw Prague Charles Bridge 06 Canvas Print
Bw Prague Charles Bridge 06 by Yuriy Shevchuk - 16.000" x 6.375"
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Bw Prague Charles Bridge 06 canvas print by Yuriy Shevchuk. Bring your artwork to life with the texture and depth of a stretched canvas print. Your image gets printed onto one of our premium canvases and then stretched on a wooden frame of 1.5" x 1.5" stretcher bars (gallery wrap) or 5/8" x 5/8" stretcher bars (museum wrap). Your canvas print will be delivered to you "ready to hang" with pre-attached hanging wire, mounting hooks, and nails.
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Gorgeous. L.
So Beautiful! Congrats on your sale! :)
Wonderful work!
Congratulations on your sale!
Congratulations on your sale!
Congratulation on sale announcement and great.
Congrats on your sale!
Hi Yuriy...Congratulations on your image and your sale...Cheers Bob fv
Congratulations on your sale Yuriy!! Stunning street scene!!!
Congratulations on your sale!
Wow, lovely! Congrats!
Great work!
Another wonderful creation. Congrats Yuriy!
Beautiful work!
Beautiful! Congrats on your sale.
Congrats on your sale!
Whoa! Am I looking at a picture or a drawing? You're just that good=]
Amazing work, the mood is fantastic! It brings back memories of the time I spent in Prague :) v/f
Congrat! very good!
Congratulations on your sale, Yuriy ! Excellent ... !
Yuriy, great work of art...
Such beautiful work!
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Bring your artwork to life with the texture and depth of a stretched canvas print. Your image gets printed on one of our premium canvases and then stretched on a wooden frame of 1.5" x 1.5" stretcher bars (gallery wrap) or 5/8" x 5/8" stretcher bars (museum wrap). All stretched canvases ship within 3 - 4 business days and arrive "ready to hang" with pre-attached hanging wire, mounting hooks, and nails.
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giclee on watercolour paper by my original watercolour 15 x 38 cm www.shevchukart.com
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Born in 1961 in Kiev, Ukraine, Yuri Shevchuk attended the Kiev Art School and later the prestigious Kiev Architectural Academy. Yuriy has adopted the practice of recording his own experiences in his artworks: his three passions, painting, jazz and historical cars have become the focus of his paintings. Since 1993 Shevchuk has been living in the city of Prague, which he depicts in many of his paintings and also where he exhibits his work widely. He has been described as an accomplished master, full of artistic and intellectual energy. Bewitched with jazz music he skillfully and rapidly sketches the cool and charming figures of musicians in action, showing the positive mood of jazz and the stunning spiritual intensity of this bright...
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text:
Social media reaction began pouring in response to the fatal shooting of Christina Grimmie, a former contestant on NBC's "The Voice."
Grimmie, 22, was shot while she was signing autographs after a concert in Orlando Friday night.
Police identified the shooter as 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl from St. Petersburg, Florida. They are still investigating a motive.
NBC's "The Voice" tweeted out condolences following the news.
"There are no words. We lost a beautiful soul with an amazing voice. Our hearts go out to the friends, fans and family of @TheRealGrimmie."
Coach Adam Levine posted a photo of the two on Instagram, saying "I'm sad, shocked and confused. We love you so much Grimmie. We are all praying hard that you can pull through this...this just isn't fair."
Fellow coach Blake Shelton took to Twitter, saying he was "stunned and disgusted and heartbroken that we lost that sweet little girl…Keeping @TheRealGrimmie family in my heart and mind."
Singer Demi Lovato also sent out her thoughts to Grimmie's family and friends.
Nick Jonas called the news "terrible" in a tweet Saturday morning, saying he was "Praying for Christina and her family."
Grimmie competed on season 6 of "The Voice." She finished in third place.
Police originally stated the suspect was 21 years old. This story corrects suspect's age to 27.


text:
It was likely a must-win match for the Houston Dynamo. It would have gone a long way toward improving their playoff chances.
But despite putting together one of their best performances of the year, the Dynamo's poor finishing undid them on Sunday night as they fell 2-1 to the San Jose Earthquakes. And it all seemed very familiar.
"If you want a definition of our season, just watch a tape of this game," said defender Eddie Robinson. "I don't know that you can play any better and come away with zero points. Over the course of a season, you expect to have a game like this, but for us, we have probably had eight or ten this season."
Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear echoed the frustration of his players after the game.
"I'm shocked we didn't come out with anything from this game," he said.
Houston created 16 official shots, but only six of those opportunities were put on goal. They had three point-blank headers, all of which completely missed the target.
"We had chances galore, and that bit us hard in the rear tonight, not scoring goals," said Kinnear. "If you don't score goals, it all goes for nothing. And that's what we got out of the game, nothing."
Forward Cam Weaver was particularly hard on himself after the game for the team's poor finishing after filling in at forward for Brian Ching, who was only available off the bench due to the calf injury he suffered last week. Weaver had three good looks that he should have buried.
"I should have had a few, and I feel as if I let the team down," said Weaver. "As a striker, when you get those chances, you have to put them away. It's really tough to swallow."
While Houston will rue its missed opportunities in front of goal, the defense gave up two goals on the only two dangerous chances on the night. On the first, Geovanni ran free with no player stopping his run. On the second, a quick counterattack found Houston out of shape and scrambling to recover as Geovanni scored the winner.
"It's been the story of the season that we are too easy to break down and we give up goals at critical moments," said goalkeeper Pat Onstad, who wore the captain's armband for the first time in his Dynamo career.
With the loss, Houston is not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. However, a six-point swing, especially at home, against the team currently sitting in the final playoff spot may have put the final nail in the coffin in Houston's playoff hopes.
Dwain Capodice is a contributor to MLSsoccer.com. Questions or Comments can be sent via email to firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
ALEX Toys Craft 6in. x 6in. Origami Paper – Bugs
by ALEX Toys
Please check your favorite toy retailer for availability. Prices may vary.
Buy Online:
Product Description
Learn Origami with easy to follow instructions for simple origami creations! 18 sheets of origami squares printed with beautiful gradient patterns and blends for adorable results.
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text:
The AXIS Outdoor Vandal Fusion Dome housing protects the AXIS 213 PTZ Network Camera in outdoor environments, as well as indoor conditions that may be humid, cold or dusty. The housing provides NEMA 4X for water ingress and up to IP66 class protection from dust and water ingress. With a heater and a blower, the housing enables the camera to operate in temperatures ranging from –6°F to 105°F (-20°C to +40°C).
The housing ships with a smoked dome, which allows for discreet surveillance. Its lower semi-sphere is constructed of .11" polycarbonate. The housing ships with a wall-mounting bracket that can be replaced with a variety of mounting options, all of which provide protective passage for all necessary cabling.


text:
The following navigation utilizes arrow, enter, escape, and space bar key commands. Left and right arrows move through main tier links and expand / close menus in sub tiers. Up and Down arrows will open main tier menus and toggle through sub tier links. Enter and space open menus and escape closes them as well. Tab will move on to the next part of the site rather than go through menu items.
College is becoming more expensive each year. The best way to avoid a hefty debt after graduation is to take advantage of free and cheap options for paying for college before seeking out student loans to help fill any remaining gaps. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) helps students find scholarships and grants. Plus there are a lot of private organizations offering tuition assistance.
College award letters are arriving, and one available option for financial aid may be the work study program. Students who want to find additional sources of income for their tuition should consider this option.
A work-study program offers students part-time employment in exchange for financial aid. Different programs have different rules, but the bottom line is that it helps students defray the cost of college by giving them work. The part-time jobs often are in line with the student's coursework.
There are two main types of work-study programs. First is the federal type, wherein the student must first apply through the FAFSA and indicate interest in the work-study program. Students who are given the opportunity will have to interview for the job. The position can be on or off campus, and may even involve community service.
The second type is the non-federal work-study program. Most colleges have such a program in place. It's only a matter of finding out if your field has listings for such positions. Both federal and non-federal programs are available for students—whether part-time or full-time.
For federally funded work-study programs, the student must be able to show proof of financial need. Fill out the FAFSA form thoroughly as it will be the basis for determining your eligibility. Since FAFSA is involved, you will have to renew your application for the program each year. On the other hand, non-federal work-study programs aren't always need-based. Financial need is not always a factor. Eligibility may vary depending on the institution.
As mentioned earlier, most positions available are on-campus, preferably related to the student's field of study or course. In case the job is off-campus, it will usually be a job with a civic organization or related institution. On-campus jobs are a lot easier, as employers know and understand the student's schedule, and will be a lot more forgiving when it comes to attendance.
For a federal work-study program, the student's total work hours cannot exceed the amount of the financial award. This doesn't apply to non-federal work-study programs. In both cases, though, employers are informed of the student's school schedule and will therefore have to assign shifts according to the student's class hours. Average work hours are ten to fifteen hours per week.
Usually, a working student will receive the minimum salary at least. However, this may vary depending on the program, the institution, and the position. In some programs, students will receive a fraction of their salary and the rest goes to paying for school expenses directly. It is best to discuss with the program advisor or manager to fully understand what it entails.
This content originally appeared on igrad.com. Student Choice has partnered with iGrad to offer you the best modern financial education tools and resources available so you can make informed decisions about college financing options and your personal finances. Take advantage of this FREE resource by clicking below.
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Police have caught a man who they say committed at least a dozen sexual assaults in four states over the last decade. 39-year-old Aaron H. Thomas, who's being called the "East Coast Rapist," was arrested on Friday in New Haven, Connecticut and charged with first-degree sexual assault, burglary, and risk of injury to a minor, the New York Times reports.
The rapist's earliest known crime is the gunpoint attack of a woman riding her bicycle in Maryland in 1997. After the rape of two teenage trick-or-treaters on Halloween 2009 in Virginia, authorities recovered DNA evidence that linked the same person to a dozen attacks in Fairfax and Leesburg, Virginia, Cranston, Rhode Island, and New Haven. Altogether, Thomas is suspected of 17 assaults and it's believe that he could be linked to even more.
Last month, the F.B.I. posted billboards about the East Coast Rapist in eight states and issued alerts on social media sites. Someone close to Thomas called with information after the case was publicized. Thomas worked as a long-haul trucker and has stayed with his son's mother in New Haven for the past four years.
Thomas was caught after going to court on an unrelated larceny charge. According to the Hartford Courant, police watched him outside the courthouse, then picked up one of his cigarette butts for DNA testing.
On Saturday, Thomas tried to hang himself in his cell. He was taken to the hospital and is now back in jail, with bail set at $1 million. A police spokesman said they've been hunting for the serial rapist for years and, "We are proud of our investigation and hope the arrest of Aaron Thomas brings some closure to our victims and our communities."
Man Is Arrested In String Of Rapes On The East Coast [NYT]
"East Coast Rapist" Suspect Tries To Commit Suicide [The Harford Courant]


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New Sculpture Looks Beyond Three Dimensions
Main Content
The Penn State Department of Mathematics will host an open house of its extensively renovated McAllister Building, featuring a dedication ceremony for a unique sculpture with deep mathematical significance on 21 October 2005 at the Penn State University Park campus. The event will begin at 3:30 p.m. with a ceremony to dedicate the "Octacube" sculpture in the first-floor atrium of McAllister Building, followed by an opportunity for participants to explore the renovated building until 5:00 p.m. No good rendering of any 4-dimensional object existed anywhere in the world before the Octacube, either in solid or virtual form, according to Adrian Ocneanu , the Penn State professor of mathematics who designed the sculpture.
In addition to the events on 21 October, the mathematics department will host a mathematical talk on 20 October at 4:00 p.m. and a talk for the general public on 26 October at 6:00 p.m. All three events will take place in the atrium near the sculpture, will feature 4-dimensional movies, and will be open to the public at no charge.
The sculpture is a gift from Jill Grashof Anderson , a mathematics alumna of Penn State as a memorial for her husband, Kermit C. Anderson , also a Penn State mathematics graduate, who was killed in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on 11 September 2001. The dedication ceremony for the sculpture will include an explanation of its mathematical meaning by its designer, Adrian Ocneanu , professor of mathematics. Ocneanu is a mathematics researcher who works on models of Quantum Field Theory based on symmetry. He designed the sculpture as a research and teaching tool related to his research. The stainless-steel Octacube is a striking object of visual art and also a mental portal to the fourth dimension, a teaching tool, and a research object bringing together many branches of mathematics and physics connected to the structure of symmetry.
The sculpture, which measures about six feet in every direction, presents the three-dimensional "shadow" of a four-dimensional solid object. "Although mathematicians can work with a fourth dimension abstractly by adding a fourth coordinate to the three that we use to describe a point in space, a fourth spatial dimension is difficult to visualize," Ocneanu explains. "The sculpture was designed with a new method which captures four dimensional symmetry better than anything done before." The Octacube was produced by the staff of the Engineering Services Shop, managed by Jerry Anderson . "It is rare that we get a chance to produce something so extraordinary for people to enjoy," Jerry Anderson says. "The Octacube demonstrates the high level of skill and craftsmanship of the Penn State people who transformed it from a design to an object, including Janet Page , James Kustenborder , Ronald Weaver , Brian Bennett , Dennis Praskovich , Thomas Coakley , Thomas Rimmey and Lee Brooks ." Jill Grashof Anderson says she hopes the sculpture will encourage students, faculty, administrators, alumnae, and friends to ponder and appreciate the world of mathematics. "I also hope that all who view the sculpture will begin to grasp the sobering fact that everyone is vulnerable to something terrible happening to them and that we all must learn to live one day at a time, making the very best of what has been given to us." She adds, "It would be great if everyone who views the Octacube walks away with the feeling that being kind to others is a good way to live."
More information about the Octacube sculpture is available below.
Jill Grashof Anderson can be reached via Suzanne Grieb at email@example.com or 814-863-4683.
Adrian Ocneanu: 814-865-4061, firstname.lastname@example.com
Jerry Anderson: 814-865-4963, firstname.lastname@example.com
New Sculpture Looks Beyond Three Dimensions
13 October 2005— Artistic works traditionally carry significance beyond their physical beauty, but a new sculpture in the McAllister Building headquarters of the Penn State Department of Mathematics may carry that tradition to its limits. The stainless-steel work, a striking object of visual art, also is a mental portal to the fourth dimension, a teaching tool, a memorial to a graduate of the math department, and a reminder of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. The sculpture itself measures about six feet in every direction and is mounted on a granite base about three feet high in order to bring its center approximately to eye level.
The sculpture, designed by Adrian Ocneanu , professor of mathematics at Penn State, presents a three-dimensional "shadow" of a four-dimensional solid object. Ocneanu's research involves mathematical models for quantum field theory based on symmetry. One aspect of his work is modeling regular solids, both mathematically and physically. In the three-dimensional world, there are five regular solids--tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron--whose faces are composed of triangles, squares, or pentagons. In four dimensions, there are six regular solids, which can be built based on the symmetries of the three-dimensional solids. Unfortunately, humans cannot process information in four dimensions directly because we don't see the universe that way. Although mathematicians can work with a fourth dimension abstractly by adding a fourth coordinate to the three that we use to describe a point in space, a fourth spatial dimension is difficult to visualize. For that, we need models. "Four-dimensional models are useful for thinking about and finding new relationships and phenomena," says Ocneanu. "The process is actually quite simple--think in one dimension less." To explain this concept, he points to a map. While the Earth is a three-dimensional object, its surface can be represented on a flat two-dimensional map.
Ocneanu's sculpture similarly maps the four-dimensional solid into a space perceptible to the human observer. His process, radial stereography, presents a new way of making this projection. He explains the process by analogy to mapping a globe of the Earth onto a flat surface. "We place a light bulb at the north pole of the Earth and we project onto a sheet of paper placed underneath it," he says. "The southern hemisphere, away from the north pole, will remain quite small, while the northern hemisphere, near the projection pole, will become very big and north pole itself will be sent toward infinity." The technique can be used to make a two-dimensional projection of a cube by first mapping the cube radially onto the surface of a globe. Ocneanu explains, "The edges of our cube become circles on the map, just like straight highways are slightly curved on maps of the Earth. Its angles, however, remain true in this projection, so the map retains the key aspects of the symmetry of the original cube, unlike a photograph of a cube."
When the same technique is applied to project a four-dimensional solid into three dimensions, the inner part of the projection--equivalent to the south pole on the map--has smaller, undistorted faces, while the outer part extends toward infinity. Linear edges of the solid become circles in the projection. However, the projection is conformal, which means that the angles between faces and the way that the faces meet at corners are uniform throughout the projection. The retention of these key characteristics makes the sculpture a powerful teaching tool in addition to a powerful aesthetic object. "When I saw the actual sculpture, I had quite a shock," says Ocneanu. "I never imagined the play of light on the surfaces. There are subtle optical effects that you can feel but can't quite put your finger on." The sculpture has significance in several areas of mathematics related to the study of symmetry, and it can represent structures that are fundamental to many branches of mathematics and physics.
"The sculpture is a new way to represent a classical mathematical object," says Nigel Higson , head of the Penn State Department of Mathematics. "For professionals the sculpture is very rich in meaning, but it also has an aesthetic appeal that anyone can appreciate. In addition, it helps to start conversations about abstract mathematical concepts--something that is generally hard to do with anyone other than another expert."
The subject of the projection is a regular 4-dimensional solid of intermediate complexity, which Ocneanu calls an "octacube." It has 24 vertices, 96 edges, and 96 triangular faces, which enclose 24 three-dimensional "rooms." Windows cut in faces allow the viewer to see within the structure, the same way that a window in a cubic room opens to the inside of the cube. Physically, the sculpture is a giant puzzle of 96 triangular pieces cut from stainless steel and bent into spherical shape. Ocneanu attributes the success of the project to the machinists and welders of Penn State's Engineering Services Shop , managed by Jerry Anderson . "It turned out much better than I could have imagined," Ocneanu says. "It's very hard to make 12 steel sheets meet perfectly--and conformally--at each of the 23 vertices, with no trace of welding left. The people who built it are really world-class experts and perfectionists--artists in steel."
The sculpture was sponsored by Jill Grashof Anderson, a 1965 graduate of the mathematics department, who provided funds for its development and construction. It is dedicated to the memory of her husband, Kermit Anderson --also a 1965 mathematics graduate--who was killed in the World Trade Center terrorist attack on 11 September 2001. She also has sponsored a scholarship in his memory. "I hope that the sculpture will encourage students, faculty, administrators, alumnae, and friends to ponder and appreciate the wonderful world of mathematics," says Anderson. "I also hope that all who view the sculpture will begin to grasp the sobering fact that everyone is vulnerable to something terrible happening to them and that we all must learn to live one day at a time, making the very best of what has been given to us. It would be great if everyone who views the Octacube walks away with the feeling that being kind to others is a good way to live."
Facts About the Octacube Sculpture
Written by Adrian Ocneanu, October 2005
Click here to download a PDF of this article.
The sculpture is on public display in the lobby of the Mathematics Department in the McAllister building, between the HUB and the Old Main in the central part of the Pennsylvania State University campus.
The sculpture represents a three dimensional map of the surface of a four dimensional regular solid. Adrian Ocneanu developed and copyrighted the map, called windowed radial stereographic projection. The projection is the first good method for representing four dimensional solids as it shows the 2d walls of the 3d rooms, not only their 1d scaffolding. The edge and corner angles between walls and are all equal, preserving the 4d symmetry of the model.
The Earth is 3-dimensional and we can make a map of its surface on a 2 dimensional sheet of paper. In a similar way in one dimension higher, the sculpture represents a map in our 3-dimensional space of the surface of a 4-dimensional body. On a map of the Earth the countries are 2d polygons, in the sculpture they are 3d rooms, so the sculpture is similar to an apartment building. Windows are cut into the walls before the projection, making the inner rooms of the sculpture visible.
On a map of the 3d Earth the angles between roads are maintained, while the scale of the map varies in order to stretch the surface of the sphere on a sheet - a map with these properties is called conformal in mathematics. A good conformal map is the stereographic projection, in which a light bulb is placed at the north pole and the shadow of the globe surface is taken on a sheet underneath the south pole. The southern hemisphere remains small in the middle of the map while the northern hemisphere, close to the projection pole, becomes big and surrounds the center of the map. If the initial object is not spherical, it is first radially projected on the surface of a sphere surrounding it, with a light bulb placed in the center of the sphere.
The surface of the 4-dimensional solid represented by the sculpture is first projected radially on a sphere and then stereographically in our 3d world which plays the role of a flat map. The stereographic projection is conformal in any dimension, and explains why the angles between walls and at the corners are constant throughout the sculpture. The inner part of the sculpture, image of the southern hemisphere, is small while the outer part imaging the northern hemisphere near the projection pole is large. A vertex of the octacube is actually located on the projection pole, so the walls surrounding it are cut half way to the pole and their large shadows give the outer legs of the sculpture extending toward infinity.
As a consequence of the symmetry preserved in the sculpture, the reflection in the flat faces of the front of the sculpture matches the parts behind, thus giving the stainless steel the feeling of transparency.
The sculpture is titled "Octacube" as its 24 vertices consist of the 16 vertices of the 4 dimensional cube, also known as hypercube or tesseract, together with the centers of its 8 rooms, which form the vertices of the 4d octahedron.
Adrian Ocneanu wrote the software which gave the cutting instructions for 1/8" stainless steel sheets to the machines in the Penn State Engineering Shop. The machinists then worked for almost a year to bend into spherical shapes and weld the 96 triangular pieces which meet in a giant puzzle, 12 at each of the 23 vertices of the sculpture - the 24th vertex is at infinity. The sculpture measures 6 x 6 x 6 ft and weighs 1200 lbs.
The sculpture is a gift from Jill Anderson in memory of her husband Kermit killed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, "Lest we forget."
Mathematical structures
The sculpture was chosen because it encodes more mathematical structures in different branches of mathematics and physics than any other 4 dimensional object. It starts as a map of the 3d surface of the 4th of the 6 four dimensional regular solids, called the octacube, which has 24 vertices, 96 edges, 96 triangular faces and 24 octahedral 3d rooms.
As the angles between any two walls are 120º, and the walls are spherical or flat, the rooms of the sculpture could be in principle realized as soap bubbles, and are described mathematically as minimal surfaces.
The vertices of the sculpture are the centers of the 24 spheres which can surround a sphere in 4 dimensions, in a very tight pattern possible only in dimensions 2,4, 8 and 24. Five of these spheres intersect the sculpture base on circles which are engraved in the granite surface of the base. Sphere packings are important in number theory and cryptography.
The nodes and mid 3d rooms of the sculpture encode the rotational symmetries of a usual cube. Each point V encodes a rotation of angle alpha around the axis OV with the length OV equal to the tangent of alpha/4. The vertices vertices of a cube are divided according to parity into 2 tetrahedra. Rotations of the cube which send each of these tetrahedra into itself encode the vertices of the octacube. Rotations of the cube which switch the two tetrahedra encode the mid rooms of the octacube.
The vertices of the sculpture encode also a crystallographic structure called a root system of type D4 which describes how to build a higher dimensional symmetry group from 24 two dimensional components located at the vertices of the sculpture, in a branch of mathematics called Lie groups and algebras. Vertices are arranged 6 on each of the 12 circles and 4 lines of the sculpture, with each segment of a circle or line representing an angle of 60º of a circle in 4d, and with vertices not on the same circle being perpendicular to each other. Using in addition to the 24 vertices of the sculpture also part or all of the 24 mid room points, one obtains the same way the crystallographic root systems of type B4, C4 and F4.
Finally the symmetry structure called inversion in the unit sphere between the inner half and the outer half of the sculpture can be used to explain the relation between spin 1/2 and spin 1 structures in mathematical physics.


text: Motorola is giving away 5 R2 Droid 2 phones to selected winners who retweets a specified message relating to the contest. Contest ends this Tuesday, October 19th, so make sure to tweet your chance to win! And if you haven't yet done so. make sure to follow Galactic Hunter on Facebook and Twitter!


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Tooling Article
Dual-Die Cushions for Deep Draw
Deep drawing sheetmetal for exhaust systems requires a wide range of forming
The application also required one adjustment to the cushion that would simultaneously, and in proportion, change the air tonnage and the hydraulic tonnage. And, the company wanted a "down" command that could be used to set pins or to drop the cushion during die changeovers.
The Cushion Solution
Factory Pipe's die-cushion supplier, Dayton Die Cushions, Eden Prairie, MN, provided a die cushion to meet all of those needs. It achieved synchronization by directing the hydraulic oil through a double gear-headed drive that forces equal volumes of oil for each cushion. Valves placed between the two heads allow synchronization or dissociation between the oil and the air of the two sides. By splitting these two sides, Factory Pipe can operate the cushions with individual tonnage or stroke. And by splitting and dumping one hydraulic cylinder to a tank and the air cushion to atmosphere, the press also can run in single-cushion mode.
The wide tonnage range required normally would be limited when using hydraulic valves—with the typical pressure drop/control ratio ranging from 4:1 to 5:1. For example, if the valve maximum pressure drop is 2000 psi, its minimum reliably controllable range is 400 to 500 psi. This was all the more true in Factory Pipe's application, since the additional requirement of a single adjustment for pneumatic and hydraulic pressure demanded an air-piloted pressure-relief valve for tonnage control. Static friction would typically become very noticeable in a 20:1 pilot circuit running in the low end of its range. To prevent this, Dayton Die Cushion dropped the hydraulics altogether on the downstroke and instead just uses air pressure. The high degree of air compressibility brings ability to reach a very light tonnage. Hydraulics still control upward movement of the cushions through valving and pressure-compensated flow controls. This wide adjustability allows the press, with its new cushion, to form a wide range of workpiece thicknesses using the same clamping apparatus. A precision air regulator allows simple addition or subtraction of pressure as needed to adjust for variations in the properties of supplier-delivered materials, drawing fluids or surface treatments.
Jumping Through Installation Hoops
Installation challenges proved formidable. The required system stiffness excluded the use of hoses; yet, hard plumbing from the bottom of the cushions to
|Die-cushion installation challenges proved formidable on the press at Factory Pipe. Through the drilling of holes in the press bed and other measures, crews were able to install hard plumbing as the use of hoses was not an option.
Factory Pipe agreed to cut four small 3-in. holes through the back of the press-bed wall, directly adjacent to the bottom of the cushion base plate and a from the edges of the wall web, to avoid the creation of stress-concentration points. The base plate was appropriately cross-drilled to create what amounts to a simple manifold. Accurately locating the cushions' base-plate holes relative to the press-bed wall holes required a new to plumb. Here, a pipe with no threads, socket or flanges was used to connect through the press wall. The pipe was not given axial alignment, only radial alignment. The cushion-base holes and press-wall manifold were counter-drilled with seal-finish surfaces and a high-pressure heavy-walled tube with a radial seal on both ends was inserted. This tube could float as much as 1⁄8 in. axially and still seal. And due to equal pressure at each end of the tube, no net forces are exacted on the tube.
This design ultimately resulted in reduction of under-press plumbing to a 5-in-long, 2¼-in.-dia. tube, easily accessible from outside of the press wall.
Dayton Die also arranged for the "down" command without employing a hydraulic pump, even though considerable force is needed to break the hydraulic check valves in the piston-regeneration circuit. The cushion design takes advantage of two cushions, each with an air-over-oil surge tank. One tank is held pressurized at 100 psi while the other drops to atmospheric pressure. Pressurized oil flows through valve lines to the top, or rod-side, of the hydraulic cylinder. The bottom, or blindside, is directed to the atmospheric tank. Thus a simple ball valve allows for relatively fine manual control of the "down" function. MF
Information for this article provided by Dayton Die Cushions, Eden Prairie, MN; Tel. 952/937-0702, daytondiecushions.com.
See also: Dayton Die Cushions
Related Enterprise Zones: Presses, Tool & Die


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IPad Alternatives: Guy Gear
The concept of a tablet device is by no means a new idea in the world of consumer electronics — and especially not for Apple. In fact, as early as 1989, the Cupertino, California-based tech powerhouse began development of its first tablet, known as the Newton. However, this initial tablet attempt on the part of Apple Inc., like similar tablet forays by many competitors, was never really adopted by the marketplace, and went down in history as a complete tech flop.
Despite this seemingly clear lesson, Apple has once again declared its support for the tablet computing form factor as the future of casual computing. Apple has made the right bet with the iPad.
Built with the overwhelming success of the iPhone fresh in mind, the iPad is positioned to offer men a better user experience than their smartphone, while still retaining most of the same functionality they currently care about. Also, the iPad is a cheaper, more intuitive device than most laptops. Optimized for web browsing, entertainment and online communication, the iPad definitely is packed with potential, but that doesn't mean it's perfect.
The iPad's lack of Flash support and inability to multitask are two glaring holes that seriously undermine the device's ability to replace the laptop experience. They also happen to be areas that tablets from competitors appear to support, making the case that the iPad may not be the best device to meet every guy's needs.
In that spirit we present five other rumored or released iPad alternatives that every guy should review before blindly picking up Apple's latest offering.


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A top United Nations official and a number of advocacy groups for AIDS patients charged yesterday that Bush administration policy had led to a shortage of condoms in Uganda, increasing the risk of infection for many people, particularly married women and adolescents.
But the charges were disputed by the Ugandan government and an official of President Bush's emergency plan for AIDS relief, known as Pepfar. The plan emphasizes a policy known as ABC, which stands for abstinence, be faithful and use condoms.
The dispute comes less than a week after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a public-private partnership based in Geneva, suspended $201 million in grants to Uganda because of government mismanagement.
In a telephone conference with reporters, the critics said that Uganda needed 120 to 150 million condoms a year and that this year's supply of fewer than 30 million condoms, distributed at health clinics, had been exhausted. Privately purchased condoms have more than tripled in price in Uganda, to 54 cents for a package of three, from 16 cents, making them unaffordable for many Ugandans, the critics said.
Jodi Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Health and Gender Equity in Washington, D.C., said that "there has been a dangerous and profound shift in U.S. donor policy from comprehensive prevention, education and provision of condoms to focus on abstinence only." The shift denies information and technologies to people at greatest risk of H.I.V., she said.
Condoms have become difficult to find in cities, even for a price, and are unavailable in many rural areas, the critics said, and some men have begun using garbage bags as condom substitutes to prevent H.I.V. infection.
Ambassador Stephen Lewis, the United Nations secretary general's special envoy for H.I.V./AIDS in Africa since 2001, and the former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, said that "there is no question that the condom crisis in Uganda is being driven and exacerbated by Pepfar and by the extreme policies that the administration in the United States is now pursuing."
Mr. Lewis said the emphasis on abstinence in the administration's program, even more than the issue of condom distribution, is a "distortion of the preventive apparatus and is resulting in great damage and undoubtedly will cause significant numbers of infections which should never have occurred."
The Ugandan government is providing condoms mainly to prostitutes and truck drivers, the two groups who are considered at highest risk.
But, Mr. Lewis said, "How do you save married women, who have no choice?"
Referring to the fact that Uganda had been praised in the past for its AIDS prevention programs, Mr. Lewis said it was "the ultimate irony that the country and the political leadership most dramatically associated with the decline in prevalence rates" seems to be de-emphasizing the use of condoms.
He said he had not discussed the condom issue directly with representatives of the Pepfar program.
Ms. Jacobson said that last October Uganda issued a nationwide recall of the Ugandan brand of condoms, contending that they were of poor quality, causing a shortage. The government also levied new taxes on imported condoms.
Beatrice Were of ActionAid in Uganda and the Health Rights Action Group, however, said that tests performed on the condoms in the United States found them safe and effective. She said religious groups in Uganda have used the initial claims to undermine confidence in condoms and contribute to misinformation about their effectiveness.
But Dr. Mark Dybul, the deputy coordinator of Pepfar and its chief medical officer, said in a telephone interview that American officials in Uganda told him yesterday that there was no shortage of condoms there, but that there could be one if the country does not receive current orders.
The Bush administration has supported the purchase of 15 to 20 million condoms that are in a warehouse in Uganda awaiting further testing "to tide them over" if there is a shortage, Dr. Dybul said.
"The Ugandans know how to handle their epidemic" and "developed the ABC program as their response to the epidemic," he said.
Uganda sent condoms for independent testing and found them faulty, Dr. Dybul said. The testing is an appropriate public health measure that any country would demand to prevent infections through faulty condoms, he said.
Mike Mukula, the state minister for health in Uganda, told The Daily Monitor newspaper in Kampala that the country had enough condoms. "We just procured 65 million condoms about two months ago and another 80 million are on the way," he said.
Mr. Mukula also contradicted the critics' estimate of Uganda's condom needs, saying the country uses about 5 million condoms a month and that with a well-stocked store there is no cause for concern about a shortage.


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|Programme website
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|Click to view projects and partners
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|No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)
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Florham Park, New Jersey, March 1, 2013 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) welcomed today's 30-count indictment against two individuals in a series of firebombings, arsons, and bias related incidents targeting synagogues in Bergen County, New Jersey, calling the indictment "an important message that anti-Semitic attacks on the community are unacceptable."
The indictments, announced this afternoon by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, were the culmination of an extensive investigation by multiple New Jersey police departments and were the first charges to be brought under New Jersey's Anti-Terrorism Act, which was signed into law in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"We commend the efforts of the Bergen County Prosecutor's office and New Jersey law enforcement for making these cases a priority and for pursuing terrorism and hate crime charges against the alleged perpetrators. Throughout this entire process, Prosecutor John Molinelli has devoted himself tirelessly to bringing the accused perpetrators of these anti-Semitic attacks to justice," said Ross Pearlson, ADL New Jersey Regional Board Chair, and Jeffrey Salkin, ADL New Jersey Regional Director. "The indictments send an important message that anti-Semitic attacks on the community are unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
Anthony M. Graziano of Lodi, NJ, and Aakash A. Dalal of New Brunswick, NJ, were indicted on multiple counts in connection with a series of synagogue bias attacks in December 2011 and January 2012, including first-degree attempted murder and first-degree terrorism charges, each carrying a 30-year to life penalty, in addition to three counts each of first-degree bias intimidation.
Graziano and Dalal were charged with the attempted murder of a rabbi and members of his family in the attempted firebombing of Temple Beth El Rutherford synagogue, as well as the January 3 arson and firebombing of the Temple K'Hal Adath Jesrun of Paramus, and the attempted arson of the Jewish Community Center of Paramus on January 7. They also face bias intimidation charges in connection with incidents at Temple Beth El Hackensack on December 20.
ADL worked with the community and law enforcement immediately following the synagogue attacks to deter future hate-fueled acts. The League encouraged increased police patrols near synagogues and Jewish community buildings and urged Jewish community institutions to consider preventative security measures.
The investigation was conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, Rutherford Police Department, Paramus Police Department, the Hackensack Police Department, the Maywood Police Department the New Jersey State Attorney General's office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Newark Field Office.


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It's finally official – the studio is complete. The building itself was finished back around the end of April – but it's taken a few more months to get everything dialed in… including the addition of redwood siding – stained with a vinegar/steel wool solution that turned it an exiting shade of black.
When I told David, my contractor, that I wanted to paint the wood on the shade structure and the fascia an "interesting brownish black" color (to match the wood siding), he commented that in his book neither brown nor black were colors that one would typically call "interesting" – though now that everything is dialed in I think I've gotten him to agree with me that black can be not only interesting, but exciting as well.
Now that the space is done is things really start to play out… I'm triple stacked with deadlines right now and there is a LOT starting to happen. Though stresses aside, it is pretty awesome to be working inside this summer now that the weather is scorching hot.