text:
A bloody three-day attack on an upscale shopping mall in Kenya ended just after midnight on Monday with government officials announcing they were in control and they believe all hostages have been freed.
At least 62 people were killed in the attack, according to the Kenyan Red Cross. Though the government said on Twitter that it was in charge, few details were provided, and smoke rose from the complex well into the evening.
It was not clear how many hostages, if any, were freed late into the night. But the government said that more than 10 suspects had been arrested for questioning in connection with the attack. Three attackers were confirmed killed.
(Read more: Kenya forces close in on mall attackers: Police chief)
"Our forces are combing the mall floor by floor looking for anyone left behind. We believe all hostages have been released," one tweet from the Kenya Interior Ministry said. That came minutes after the ministry announced, "We're in control of Westgate," which was echoed by an similar tweet by Kenyan police.
Amina Mohamed, the Kenyan foreign minister, told PBS Newshour that two or three Americans and one British citizen, a woman, were among the perpetrators of the attack.
Mohamed told the interviewer that the Americans were between 18 and 19 year old and of Somali or Arab origin and had lived in Minnesota and another place she didn't name.
The British woman, Mohamed said, "I think has done this many times before."


text:
Canadean's Keiyo Co., Ltd. - Company Profile & Financial Analysis contains in depth information and data about the company and its operations. The profile contains a company overview, key facts, major products and services, financial ratios, financial analysis, key employees, company locations and subsidiaries.
Key Findings
This report is a crucial resource for industry executives and anyone looking to access key information about Keiyo Co., Ltd.
The report utilizes a wide range of primary and secondary sources, which are analyzed and presented in a consistent and easily accessible format. Canadean strictly follows a standardized research methodology to ensure high levels of data quality and these characteristics guarantee a unique report.
Identifies crucial company information about Keiyo Co., Ltd. along with major products and services for business intelligence requirements.
Provides key ratios on company's financial performance.
Identifies key employees to assist with key business decisions.
Provides annual and interim financial ratios.
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Key Highlights
Keiyo Co., Ltd. (Keiyo) is an operator of home improvement stores. The company operates a chain of home center stores that sell home improvement products. Its products include DIY materials, screws, hand tools, plants, gardening tools and equipment, healthcare products, detergents, toys, leisure goods daily utensils, cooking sets, interior furnishings and pet products. Keiyo markets its products under the brands of D2 Orginal and Nakayoshi Club. The company operates through its subsidiaries such as Car Life Keiyo Co., Ltd., Hotaka Shopping Center Co., Ltd. and Mobara Shougyokaihatsu Co., Ltd. It operates 185 home center stores across Japan. Keioyo is headquartered in Chiba City, Japan.
Learn how to effectively navigate the market research process to help guide your organization on the journey to success.Download eBook

subset: commoncrawl


text:
NREL Joins Initiative to Boost Power Electronics Energy Efficiency and Job Market
January 27, 2014
Wide bandgap (WBG) technology promises to dramatically increase performance, reduce size and cost, and improve reliability of electronics packaging found in today's computers, data-servers, cell phones, and electric-drive vehicles. In an initiative announced on January 15, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is joining North Carolina State University (NCSU) in the Energy Department's new Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Next Generation Power Electronics to accelerate development and commercialization of WBG technology, as well as reinvigorate the U.S. manufacturing sector.
"WBG-based electronics packaging can help us shrink the size of components while improving performance and reliability, which can potentially lead to less expensive and more energy-efficient components and vehicles. We are pleased to be part of this institute," says Sreekant Narumanchi, section supervisor of NREL's Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Machines team, which focuses on vehicle component research and development (R&D).
NREL will work closely with institute partners to develop thermal management strategies for WBG components for different applications. The institute aims to make WBG technology cost-competitive with current silicon-based components in the next five years.
The institute will bring partners together to share R&D facilities, equipment, and capabilities. Through the collaboration of researchers, designers, manufacturers, and suppliers, the institute hopes to introduce technologies to market faster, as well as train workers for job opportunities in an emerging industry.
As a national leader in vehicle power electronics thermal management and reliability R&D, NREL's research in this area focuses on improved efficiency, reliability, and cost of electric-drive vehicle components, including electric machines, power electronics, battery systems, chargers, and accessories. NREL is the Energy Department's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development.
Funded with $70 million from the Energy Department's Advanced Manufacturing Office and a matching $70 million in non-federal cost share, the institute brings together more than 25 companies, universities, and government organizations. It is part of a planned national network of up to 45 institutes intended to spur innovation and U.S. job growth. The federal government has committed a total of $200 million to these institutes across five agencies (Defense, Energy, Commerce, NASA, and the National Science Foundation).
—Julia Thomas


text:
October 19, 2017
CSA Group has announced that Shawn Paulsen, Manager of Conformity Assessment, CSA Group, has been elected as Vice President of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and Chair of its Conformity Assessment Board (CAB). The election took place the week of October 8, 2017, in Vladivostok, Russia, during the IEC Annual General Meeting.
The IEC is the world's leading organization for the preparation and publication of International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. The IEC CAB is the body responsible for the management and supervision of the IEC's conformity assessment activities, including oversight of the four IEC conformity assessment systems (IECEE, IECEx, IECRE, and IECQ).
The position will be held by Mr. Paulsen for a three-year term, commencing January 1st, 2018. Paulsen is the first Canadian to be elected into this role.
"I am honored to serve the IEC membership as Vice-President and Chair of the IEC CAB," said Mr. Paulsen. "As technology becomes more complex, it is increasingly vital to ensure that products and services meet the requirements of a standard or specification, which is where conformity assessment comes in. I am pleased to have the opportunity to serve as chair of the IEC CAB with its ongoing focus on setting the IEC's conformity assessment policies, monitoring conformity assessment activities, and more."
Mr. Paulsen has a wide breadth of experience in both technical and policy standards work in Canada and internationally. He has served as a member of the IEC Conformity Assessment Board for the last six years, and he has substantial working experience with the IECEE-CB Scheme, sitting as a member on many working groups and with Canadian National IEC committees.
In addition to being elected as IEC Vice-President and Chair of the Conformity Assessment Board, Mr. Paulsen was recently awarded the IEC 1906 Award for his outstanding commitment to international standardization in the area of conformity assessment.
Mr. Paulsen, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick, will continue in his role as Manager of Conformity Assessment at CSA Group while serving as IEC Vice-President and Chair of the CAB.


text:
When Christie Goodman and her two daughters drive past the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, everyone goes silent.
Husband and father Ryan Goodman was killed in a mechanical accident about five years ago while helping to build the center. Seeing the glass and steel building break the Kansas City skyline is difficult for the family.
Although it hasn't been easy, Christie Goodman is trying to change that.
"A memorial would bring closure to my girls or even a sense of pride," she said. "It's a painful place to be. It'd be nice to turn that around for us from a negative to a positive."
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Every year since her husband died on Nov. 10, 2009, Goodman has returned to the Kauffman Center to lay flowers nearby in memory of Ryan. About two years ago, she began searching for a way to create a permanent memorial for her husband.
"Ryan was an organ donor and wanted to be cremated, so there is no grave," Goodman said. "That leaves an empty spot, a place missing to go and pay respects. A memorial felt appropriate."
After several setbacks, and thanks to help from a city councilman, Goodman might finally make the memorial for her husband — and all laborers killed at Kansas City work sites — a reality.
She and Councilman Scott Wagner are moving forward with plans to have a bench built on 16th Street across from the Kauffman Center, between Broadway and Central Street. It would include a plaque and a bronzed hard hat — the same hard hat Ryan was wearing the day he died.
Long road
Goodman did not start with the bench idea when she set out to create a memorial.
She first wanted to create a bronze work from his boots — a "small and subtle memorial" that would be placed at the Kauffman Center. Goodman contacted the Kauffman Center and its architects, Safdie Architects, but plans quickly came to a halt.
Paul Schofer, president and chief executive officer of the Kauffman Center, told The Star in an email that there is a policy prohibiting memorial statues at the center.
"I understand the request was evaluated in this light," Schofer said. "Shortly after the accident occurred in 2009, we sought to honor Mr. Goodman by placing a plaque with his name on a seat in the Muriel Kauffman Theatre."
The Goodman daughters, Tehya, 14, and Makaylee, 13, also placed their handprints on the center's Children's Wall, "to further serve as a permanent reminder to them of the contribution their father made to the project," Schofer said.
Goodman said she was disappointed but determined. She thought about the space around the Kauffman Center and Bartle Hall and how there were few places to sit and enjoy the architecture.
"I thought a bench would not only be a great memorial for Ryan but also a place for people to sit and think," Goodman said. "We go to a new city and appreciate the architecture, but we have to remember that people work and sacrifice to build it. Somebody's daddy died building it."
Goodman soon found that getting a bench built on city property was no small task. It requires an encroachment permit — taking city property and turning it into private property — which brings with it annual license fees and insurance payments.
"I already knew I was going to pay for the bench and donate it, but the added fees made it about impossible to do," she said. "The permits division told me to see if a city official would file a city ordinance to make the bench a part of city property, which would get rid of the fees and insurance."
Goodman emailed Wagner and heard back from him within 10 minutes, she said.
"My own father was an ironworker, so I have a certain understanding of what ironworkers' families face," Wagner said. "That made this especially pertinent to me, along with the fact Mrs. Goodman was having such a difficult time getting it done."
Wagner said he will file an ordinance to maintain the bench as part of the Kansas City Convention Center's grounds. But first, the bench must be approved by the Municipal Art Commission and the Convention & Entertainment Facilities Department and would be viewed as a donation of artwork, he said.
"The bench would be a great way for people to take a moment to understand personal sacrifice," Wagner said. "It's also just a great amenity for an area where many people walk and there are few places to sit."
The art commission and convention facilities department will receive a rendering of the bench, Wagner said, and preliminary talks have been encouraging.
"My goal is to have everything taken care of on our side by the end of summer so Mrs. Goodman can put in the bench by November," Wagner said.
This November will be the fifth anniversary of Ryan's death. If all moves ahead as scheduled, Goodman said, they will have the memorial built by Nov. 10 and will have a small ceremony there that day.
Larger vision
What started out as a memorial for Ryan evolved into a way to honor all the laborers who have sacrificed to build Kansas City when Goodman realized there may be no such memorials in the area.
"This has been a long process," she said. "And the whole time I have been wondering: Why don't we have this already to pay respect for those who have died building this city?"
Since Ryan's death in 2009, more than 50 laborers have died in accidents at work in western Missouri, said Barbara Theriot, the area director for the Kansas City office of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.
"Every April there we hold a Workers' Memorial Day event to pay respect for those lost," Theriot said. "But I don't know of any permanent memorials to workers in our area of the state."
The national AFL-CIO labor organization does not have any memorials in Missouri listed in its collection of workers' memorials throughout the country.
Dick Christopherson, business manager of Ryan's union, Ironworkers Local 10, said he applauded Christie Goodman for wanting to recognize workers who had lost their lives.
"Ryan was a top-shelf ironworker," Christopherson said. "He should be recognized for all he gave to this city. And the fact that Mrs. Goodman wants this memorial to be in remembrance for not just Ryan but all construction workers killed on the job in Kansas City — that's nothing short of incredible."
Goodman's driving force to see the memorial through goes back to her daughters.
"Ryan was very proud of the work he did," she said. "I hope this becomes a place we can sit when we take flowers. I hope we can look around at the buildings and be proud."
To reach Caroline Bauman, call 816-234-4449 or send email to firstname.lastname@example.com.


text: IMF chief pessimistic about growth Christine Lagarde said Tuesday that global economic growth is likely to be weaker than the IMF had previously predicted. Pointing to a slowdown in some advanced economies, the IMF managing director said that emerging economies may also suffer from China's slowdown and a hike in US interest rates. The IMF forecast growth for the global economy of 3.3 per cent for 2015 back in July but Lagarde said in a speech in Indonesia: "Overall, we expect global growth to remain moderate and likely weaker than we anticipated." More market talk: Officially a recession but not "outright" say experts Canada in recession, oil slumps ConocoPhillips lays off 500 workers SHARE


text:
Baked pumpkin french toast
As promised, back to normal recipe posting schedule after sharing my story earlier this week. I got a lot of messages and emails afterwards and I really hope that sharing it will help athletes. It was hard to write and even harder to hit the 'publish' button. To those who took the time to read, share, and get in touch - thank you. This recipe is a similar idea to the quick bread french toast recipe I posted a few months ago, except this time I baked it instead of frying it. Takes a bit longer, but since it is not less 'hands on' time, I think that is OK. The leftovers are pretty awesome (if you have any), and I don't like leftovers... So if I would eat it the next day, you know it is a winner. Lets start with the loaf recipe.
Pumpkin Orange Chocolate loaf
- 1.5 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1.5 tsp pumpkin spice
- Pinch salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- Zest of 1 small orange
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 4 eggs, beaten
- Handful dark mini chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a loaf pan with parchment paper
- Mix almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt and spice in a bowl
- In another bowl, mix eggs, orange zest, pumpkin puree, coconut sugar and almond milk
- Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix. Fold in the chocolate chips
- Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top
- Bake at 325 for 55-60 minutes, until an inserted knife comes out clean
- Let the loaf cool for ~5-10 minutes, then remove from the pan, very carefully pull the parchment paper and let cook on a cooling rack completely before slicing
If Andrew was home, this loaf would have been gone within a few hours. But that is not the case right now and I can't really eat a whole loaf by myself... I guess I could have still shared it, but I decided to try baking it as french toast. I have seen a lot of baked french toast recipes using normal bread, but none using quick bread... My main concern was that it might get soggy, but it did not. It turned out great!
Note that I used half a loaf and a loaf pan slightly wider than that one I baked the loaf in (loaf bakes in a 9x5 pan, french toast baked in a 9x6 pan). You could use the entire loaf, double the rest of the ingredients and bake it in a square cake pan (9x9). Baking time will likely increase.
Baked Pumpkin French Toast
- 1/2 of above loaf
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (Note - this is amazing with eggnog instead of coconut over the holidays...)
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs, beaten
- Preheat the oven to 350
- Cut the loaf into bite size pieces and place in a greased pan
- Mix eggs, coconut milk, pumpkin puree and vanilla, then pour on top of the loaf pieces so everything is evenly covered
- Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes
I served this with 1/2 banana, a bit of maple syrup on top and bacon on the side (not shown). I am actually considering adding bacon pieces to the french toast batter next time...


text:
From Parameters, Spring 1999, pp. 110-26.
As he stepped out of the tiny smoke-filled meeting room, the American battalion commander[1] took a deep breath of the cold February air of the Posavina River Valley. Catching a glimpse of his executive officer's questioning look, the commander grunted, "Brian, I'm not built for this." He was almost out of patience and certainly the most frustrated he had been since crossing the Sava River into Bosnia shortly after New Year's Day 1996, six weeks earlier.
The Bosniac[2] city fathers of Brcko, ousted by force from that key crossroads city in April 1992, sat in a makeshift meeting room in the battalion's base-under-construction. Chain-smoking, shrugging their shoulders, and reminding the US officer that it was they who were ready for peace and not the Bosnian Serbs, the three politicians were ready to leave. At the battalion commander's invitation they had come to the base--purposely being built dead-center in the Zone of Separation to create a safe, neutral territory where Implementation Force (IFOR) soldiers could foster dialogue and keep their eyes on the factions--to speak with their Bosnian Serb counterparts who now controlled the city. It would be the first time the sides had spoken to each other since the war began.
He crunched through the frozen mud a few yards to another plastic and plywood enclosure, his fifth round trip in two hours across the battle-scarred pig farm that was fast becoming McGovern Base. There sat the three Serbs from Brcko, allegedly without permission to "be in the same room" with Bosniacs or Croats. They, too, chain-smoked and claimed to want peace, but they could not make a move without getting permission from their bosses in Pale, the capital of the Republic of Srpska.
The American officer sat down heavily, stared at their faces, uncomprehending. They would not face the other side--was it residual hatred, true bigotry, or just politics? Simply opening a dialogue would bring their town great benefits: nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were looking for any sign of moderation from the Serbs before they would commit substantial aid. The battalion commander had tried to reason with them; one would think a reliable power grid and new windows and heating oil from aid organizations for their hospital might be good incentives for simply discussing face-to-face local peace initiatives. Silently shrugging their shoulders, they pointed in the general direction of Pale, smoked, and drank Army coffee.
The American knew that he was out of patience for today and had exhausted whatever diplomatic finesse an infantry lieutenant colonel could muster, so he switched to light conversation. Leaning forward and smiling at the mayor, he said, "You know, your old office mate from the factory, sitting next door, told me some great stories about you, and the union picnics every May--right up on that hill over there . . . those sounded like great fun." The Serb mayor's eyes brightened. "He told you about that? What else did he say?" The commander related every story he had heard about the days of brotherhood and unity: the plum harvests, the watermelon festivals, service in the former Yugoslav army. The Serb in front of him and the Bosniac next door had, in fact, shared an office in the Brcko textile factory for many years before the war. They had attended high school together and played sports together, back when no one called attention to religion or ethnicity.
The mayor and his assistants joined in, gleefully telling stories about the old days, about the athletic and the romantic prowess of their old friends, foolish incidents, and poignant moments. The US officer listened, smiled, laughed, and asked questions, trying to sustain the first happiness he had seen in any civilians since his arrival. The stories came out fast at first, almost like a stream, a release, nearly too fast for the interpreter. But gradually the noise subsided, and soon it was quiet again in that little room, the three Serbs contemplating what once was. The commander broke the silence and said, "Well, look, I must go back to the other party, and see what their position is about the future of any discussion . . . ," and the city council president cut him off. "Commander, we are making you look very foolish walking back and forth between two locations that are so close. We feel bad about that. We will talk to them ourselves."
The two groups came together. The icy looks and serious expressions broke as they all made fun of the battalion commander--making the powerful American Army officer bounce between their meeting rooms like a pinball--and shared the same low opinion of Army coffee when compared to their own. A few comments about the old days, and then a handshake resolution to meet together the following week if IFOR promised to bring NGO help. The meeting broke, the Serbs disappearing to the north and the Bosniacs to the south. The US commander gathered his staff, which was now reinforced with civil affairs, public affairs, and information operations personnel, and discussed what had just happened, what it meant, and how they would try to capitalize on it.
The afternoon's efforts produced the beginning of resettlement and reconciliation initiatives and a weekly civil-military seminar, well-attended by every aid organization and NGO that could be drawn to the area. For almost seven months, these meetings were the only place in Bosnia where officials from all three factions (local Bosnian Croats were also brought into the process) voluntarily sat together at the same table and discussed implementation of the peace accords.
But that particular February evening in a muddy forward operating base, all the soldiers knew at the time was that they had achieved a small victory. The civil affairs officer asked his commander incredulously, "How did you ever get them in the same room?" The battalion commander replied, "I have no idea. It just happened. I walked into it."
"Walking into it" Is Not a Method
To say that US soldiers are unprepared to be armed diplomats is not accurate. Prior to the year-long deployment to Bosnia, the battalion had undergone challenging peace operations training at US Army Europe's Combat Maneuver Training Center. There its soldiers encountered myriad vexing problems dealing with military and civilian issues. All battalion commanders and higher leaders also received two days of outstanding political-military training that included negotiation techniques and a superb Bosnia primer. Prior to deployment, two of the key points of commanders' intent in brigade and division level orders were to "set the conditions for long-term success" and "facilitate non-military efforts toward infrastructure development, economic growth, and democratic practices."[3] Soldiers expected some interaction with civilians.
What was surprising was the extent to which soldiers and leaders at platoon, company, and battalion level became involved as third-party actors. "Setting the conditions" and "facilitating" as directed in the commander's intent meant soldiers would assume roles as mediators and negotiators, and perform good offices. They soon became deeply immersed in the process of rebuilding relationships among the factions.
While the heaviest involvement was in the first few months of peace implementation, acting as a third party was a sustained role throughout the battalion's deployment. But in-depth preparation of junior leaders in third-party actor skills was very low on the training priority list. Lack of training time, that most precious of resources, coupled with a prevailing attitude among some senior leaders that a third-party role was "out of their lane," put those junior officers and young soldiers at a marked disadvantage when they confronted the reality of their circumstances.
The Bosnian conflict and similar interventions require a special approach to their resolution. A key to enforcing, restoring, or keeping the peace is the rebuilding of relationships. Those soldiers and their junior leaders who patrol between and among sharply divided populations find great value in sensible reconciliation efforts, mending relationships, and any activity that will help avoid a relapse into violence.
It is appropriate that the debate about the extent of the military's role in peace operations should continue, particularly in the implementation of a peace agreement. This article examines one unit's experience during the first year of peacebuilding efforts in Bosnia, linking theories of peacebuilding and effective third-party action to the practice of muddy-boots diplomacy. The analysis concludes that the military's participation as a third-party actor among factions in a conflict is, in fact, key to mission success. The challenges are to recognize the feasibility of such a role and to prepare our armed forces to take it on. We should get to the point where leaders understand this role and no longer acquire experience through on-the-job training. No soldier should have to admit "I'm not built for this."
The New Nature of Conflict
There is little argument that on the eve of the 21st century, the great majority of armed conflicts in the world are intranational. At the beginning of 1996, more than 40 violent ethnopolitical conflicts were under way, at least one in every region of the world.[4] From 1945 to 1987, nine of 14 UN peace operations were interstate, whereas from 1987 through 1997, only six of 24 UN peace operations were even partially interstate.[5] Our challenge is to determine what these numbers mean for the troops on the ground in those operations.
Intranational conflict, which is significantly different from interstate conflict, is embedded in long-standing relationships among people who live in close geographic proximity. They act on deep-seated (often cross-generational) fears, passions, and hatred. In these conflicts, people seek security in and identify with something close to their control, perhaps a region, a religion, or an ethnic alignment, but many times not with their state.[6]
Power is diffused among many groups seeking collective rights along these reforming lines of identity. Among the most challenging conditions for an intervening force is the fact there may be no statist hierarchy, or if there is one, it may exercise little or no control. So-called national governments may lack legitimacy, may not even control their territory, and may descend to gross human rights violations and atrocities in their fight for survival.[7] To prevail, conflicting parties deny basic needs to their adversaries: food, shelter, physical safety, recognition, autonomy, and self esteem.[8]
There is little argument that the United States will continue to intervene selectively in intranational conflicts. The current National Security Strategy cites them as threats to regional and global stability, potentially affecting US interests.[9] What is debated is how, not whether, the US military will participate in peace operations.
Current thinking on the matter, reinforced in military doctrine, supports participation of the armed forces to create an environment in which other organizations do the peacebuilding once there is a peace on which to build. Military units themselves do not get involved in the civilian aspects of peacebuilding, as such involvement has nothing to do with their warfighting skills, erodes their readiness, and is done better by organizations that specialize in humanitarian and developmental work.[10] A counterpoint is that intrastate conflict resolution and peace operations in such an environment require military involvement as a third party for mission success. Therefore, the relevant awareness and skills should be added to the military's warfighting ability.
The reality is that peace operations rarely evolve in a predictable sequential manner, and this has significant consequences for all involved with them. Notwithstanding the theorists and their rhetorical exercises, on the ground there are no sharp divisions among peace enforcement, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding. Conditions and requirements blur the lines between them, sometimes demanding concurrent activities in a single region in all three categories. The warfighter will find a population split between fear of implementation and demand for implementation. All sides in the dispute will need responses from military units committed to the intervention wherever they come in contact with soldiers on the ground.
The Nature of Peacebuilding
In these intrastate conflicts, the traditional diplomatic approach of dealing with recognized military and political hierarchies will not work when power is diffused, when anarchy exists, or when those in power are reprehensible and unrecognized in the eyes of the world community. These circumstances describe a state that is out of control, unable to protect its citizens and from which elements of the population have withdrawn their allegiance.
Current theory and practice for the most part support an approach to these conflicts through an interactive social process to shape needs that have been threatened or denied. The goal is to transform the conflict from violent to peaceful relationships where reconciliation, reconstruction, and economic development can be sustained.[11] This approach is all about rebuilding relationships at the top, middle, and grass-roots levels of leadership within a state.
The Agenda for Peace defines peacebuilding as action to identify and support structures that will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into conflict.[12] Lasting success in such endeavors takes time. Peacebuilding requires progressive rebuilding of relationships at all levels among the parties of these unique conflicts to get things done--resettlement, reconstruction, economic development--and to make improvements that have a chance of lasting. The process of reconciliation is central to rebuilding relationships, and reconciliation between groups fueled by hatred and fear needs a trusted agent, an "outsider."[13] The trusted agent in the reconciliation process is the third-party actor.
The importance of a third-party actor in peacebuilding is widely recognized among the current practitioners of conflict resolution. The special characteristics of internal (intrastate) conflicts make a third party even more valuable in such settings: it takes an outsider to facilitate and mediate among parties with deeply held animosity. During the post-conflict, peace settlement or implementation phase, third-party actors can help the antagonists see each other's needs and interests, and work to have the parties make gradual shifts toward compromise.[14] It is the third-party actors who "climb into the trench" with the former adversaries and do what's required to carry out the terms of a settlement agreement. Third-party actors foster, support, and husband reconciliation through confidence-building, changing perceptions, and building trust among the parties.
Third-party actors come from many different sources, including international organizations such as the UN, regional organizations, humanitarian and development agencies of various states, and nongovernmental organizations. The structure, capabilities, and culture of the US military also give its members unique capabilities to be credible third-party actors in the post-settlement phase of an internal conflict. Yet the overarching desire by the nation's civilian and military leadership to limit military involvement in these unique intrastate conflicts has left the military personnel at lower levels--those doing the patrolling and assigned to the checkpoints--uncertain about engaging in activity that appears to be non-military. The result is often reluctance to assume the role of third-party actor in a peace operation.
There is ample evidence of a credible third-party role for the US military from the Bosnia experience, where military units are dispersed among the warring factions with a mandate to implement the Dayton Peace Agreement in the face of pervasive ethnic hatred. In point of fact, acting as a third party in Bosnia was a key way to carry out the initial military mission. Many of the roles of a third-party actor highlighted by theorists and practitioners came to life and were reinforced for Task Force 3-5, an American battalion serving in and around the volatile city of Brcko.
Third-Party Actors in Flak Jackets: Grunt Diplomacy at Work
Brcko is a fair and representative example of the Bosnian challenge. It is home to all three entities; it has a key location astride the Republic of Srpska corridor;[15] and large numbers of displaced persons of each ethnic group were seeking resettlement there during the period described. To this day, it is a highly contentious sector.
Forty days after the signing of the Peace Agreement, combined arms Task Force 3-5 (TF 3-5), a reinforced heavy US infantry battalion of 1100 soldiers, arrived in sector. Initially, there were no NGOs operating consistently in the Serb area of Brcko, and only a few NGOs doing absentee work (sustaining the flow of relief supplies to safe areas) in the Bosniac and Croat villages on the opposite side of this region's now silent front line.
Brcko was thought by the NGO community to be too dangerous for direct contact in December 1995, and it was. The factions were still at war; there was simply no fighting under way. Trenches were still occupied. The few tanks and artillery pieces stood poised and ready. All border crossings were mined and overwatched by armed troops or police. The civilian population huddled in the few coffee bars away from the front lines, depressed and untrusting. It was under these conditions--from operational necessity--that the soldiers and leaders of TF 3-5 applied themselves in a variety of roles as third-party actors.
Confidence Building
The greatest levels of success in peacebuilding activities are directly associated with the durability and comprehensiveness of the confidence-building measures put into place during the initial phase of a peace agreement. Third parties can help a society make the transition from war to peace by ending violence and civil strife and setting the conditions for reemergence of civil society.[16] Introduction of a capable, professional, and disciplined armed force is a de facto confidence-building measure, for despite the existence of any peace agreement on paper, the basic human need of physical security will still be in doubt.
The opposing armed entities in Brcko were postured for renewed conflict, but the arrival of the IFOR task force, with massive combat power, discouraged any resumption of hostilities. As small units occupied key terrain throughout the sector, the entity military units were coaxed out of their trenches and eventually out of the Zone of Separation.[17]
TF 3-5 was directed to supervise each faction in the simultaneous clearing of mines on key roads that crossed those old front lines. During the first mine-clearing operation, the local Serb commander whispered to the battalion's operations officer as they stood on a cleared road linking the two battle lines, "You must put someone here--they will attack tonight." At the same time, one kilometer to the south, a Bosniac officer was saying the same thing to the battalion commander. Of course, no one attacked; weeks passed without incident. Buoyed by IFOR's presence, patrols, and frequent "work coordination meetings" held by the task force's company commanders, the armies returned to their barracks ahead of the implementation schedule.
The confidence built among uniformed personnel gradually extended to civilians. At every NATO outpost, gradually at first, then in greater numbers and frequency, groups of civilians began to move about and test the limits of the peaceful conditions. They began coming into the Zone of Separation to see houses and land they had not seen in four years. The local police chiefs and the task force commander brokered agreements for family visitation across boundaries because true freedom of movement was not yet a reality. Small successes in these early efforts increased confidence and eventually set the stage for the initial effort to move displaced civilians back to their original homes, the first such effort in Bosnia.
Performing Good Offices
"Good offices," defined as the carrying out of specific requests, such as presenting one side's message to the other, is a mediating activity by a third party.[18] In a postwar environment, where phone lines, power lines, and postal links are still severed, performing good offices naturally falls to the first credible third party on the ground. Federation and Serb sides wanted to talk, at the local and grass-roots level, and soldiers were the conduit. On patrols and over strong coffee, sergeants, lieutenants, and captains listened and talked to the local civilians, gradually identified the informal and formal leaders, and determined the perceived needs of the people.
What started out as basic intelligence and information gathering became opportunities for good offices. A farmer on one side of the line wanted to know how his old neighbor across the minefield was--would the soldiers deliver his message? Then came the queries about the power lines, the phone lines, and the mail that had stacked up over the years.
After shuttling between police forces and getting to know them well, the next step was a joint meeting of area police chiefs, sponsored by the US brigade commander. Then there was a meeting between postal employees from both sides of the line, followed by one between local electrical engineers and the representative of an NGO with the expertise to help. Every one of these initiatives began with good offices performed by soldiers. Every one of these initiatives was also another step on the road to reconciliation and normalcy and contributed to the rebuilding of relationships.
A quasi-mediator is not neutral; he has his own interests and point of view. He must be able to facilitate, negotiate, arbitrate, and manage multiple relationships between members and groups within his organization and between other parties. When he is negotiating, he is an advocate for his side. When he is mediating, he is managing and sustaining dialogue (facilitating), while influencing the agenda and format for talks, and formulating proposals for discussion. When he arbitrates, he makes decisions.[19] Quasi-mediator best defines the most dominant third-party role played by the leadership of TF 3-5.
Good offices created opportunities to meet. By the time these opportunities arose, the task force's soldiers were the most trusted agents in the Brcko sector. They had proven their impartiality through evenhanded enforcement of all aspects of the peace agreement, and raised the population's confidence that conditions were improving. It naturally followed that someone in battle dress uniform with an American flag on his right sleeve would facilitate the desired meetings.
Other considerations included the fact that the only meeting sites considered safe by all sides were IFOR checkpoints and bases in the middle of the Zone of Separation, and the fact that the military was pushing to open as many channels of dialogue as it could. "If they're talkin', they ain't fightin,'" was a popular saying. Perhaps most important, during the first four months of the implementation there was simply no one else in the international community available to do it. By the fifth month personnel from the International Police Task Force (IPTF)[20] had taken over the increasingly important joint police meetings, and by the eighth month the chair of the task force's civil-military seminars was passed to UN Civil Affairs. In the beginning, however, there were only soldiers.[21]
A quasi-mediator role, though not stated as such, was clearly dictated for IFOR in carrying out the military aspects established for each high-level, regional joint military commission, and the TF 3-5 commander and his company commanders shaped the supporting agendas for military work coordination meetings at lower levels. The mandate for this was clear, and the effort helped develop close professional relationships with the local military leadership. It was simply the way to get things done on the military side and keep the factions on the schedule established by the Dayton Peace Agreement Military Annex.
The task force commander, however, quickly found himself in the role of quasi-mediator between civilian parties as well. NGOs began arriving in sector as the physical security situation improved, but no significant reconstruction could begin until the NGOs had assessed the requirements. When materials were available to begin reconstruction, the task force commander concluded that the best way to prevent local violence was to have the materials distributed equally among the Serb, Bosniac, and Croat communities.
The goal was to help the NGOs start projects without inciting violence. Success would bring more NGOs to the area and create activity that would give the local populace confidence that conditions were indeed moving toward full implementation of the peace agreement. To accomplish those goals, the task force commander had to take control of the agenda and guide the discussion of the weekly civil-military seminars.
He started building the agenda at each weekly seminar to lead the parties in the desired direction. First, he asked each mayor to determine the number of houses that needed reconstruction, prioritized by village. At the next meeting, the commander put those village names and the number of houses on a chart for all present to see, and gauged reaction. The Serbs were agitated about the number of houses targeted for reconstruction by Bosniacs on the Serb side of the Zone of Separation. The Bosniacs felt they should get all the materials because they had the highest number of destroyed houses, and the Croats wanted anything they could get. Listening to their concerns, the commander planned for the following week's seminar.[22]
The seminars were gaining popularity among the NGOs, UN, and IFOR staff. On the morning of this seminar crucial to reconstruction, the makeshift meeting room at TF 3-5's base was packed with more than 70 people, fewer than a dozen in uniform. The commander presented the agenda, and explained to the mayors, through a participatory chain of reasoning, that an equal sharing of materials would rebuild 120 houses--40 Serb, 40 Bosniac, and 40 Croat. The Serbs relaxed when they saw the first reconstruction target village was not in a contentious area. The Croats sighed in relief, as they were getting more than they expected. But the Bosniacs balked at not receiving a fair share relative to need. The commander stood firm on the agreements he had hammered out earlier in informal meetings with all three groups, and opposition soon dissolved. The mayors shook hands, and the meeting gave way (amid applause) to an NGO planning session. The first reconstruction effort in Bosnia had begun.
True to the role of quasi-mediator, the task force commander's actions in these meetings were driven by his interests and point of view. When Bosniacs decided unilaterally to increase the movement of people across the Inter-Entity Boundary Line,[23] and begin a massive and unregulated reconstruction effort in the Serb portion of the Zone of Separation, the Serbs countered with their own unregulated reconstruction effort, resulting in the establishment of what the task force called a "biological front line." The weapons were building materials, and the objective of both sides was mass resettlement of ethnic groups without regard to property ownership.
After informal bilateral efforts did not have the desired effect, the commander exposed the activities of each party at the weekly meeting and declared the Zone of Separation "closed" to factions. No reconstruction or resettlement of any kind would take place in the Brcko sector until the issues of ownership and building permits were sorted out. This was technically a responsibility of a joint personal property commission established by the peace agreement, but the commission was not yet capable of participating. The commander had to take action to avoid violent confrontations in the resettlement areas.
Closing the Zone of Separation brought these issues to the attention of the international community, and TF 3-5 sponsored the first joint personal property commission in Bosnia. Fortunately, the reservoir of good faith that had accumulated carried all sides through this difficult period; weekly meetings continued as scheduled, and channels of communications remained open.
Some things cannot be brought to the meeting table, and the negotiating maxim that declares more work is done "away from the table" is quite accurate. Even after the task force began weekly civil-military seminars, the commander would still meet once a week with the civilian leaders of each local faction. Until the International Police Task Force arrived in sufficient numbers, a similar meeting was held with each police chief. In these meetings, the commander heard the true feelings of the local leaders, tested their limits, passed messages, and determined a strategy for the next civil-military seminar that would keep things moving.
Adjusting Perceptions and Building Trust
Providing good offices and acting as a quasi-mediator help to resolve disputes through sustained dialogue. Frequent contact can also help rebuild relationships. Key in the reconstruction of relationships is changing the perceptions one side has of the other, and the simple renewal of trust between the two.
The greatest success in changing perceptions and building trust occurred when the soldiers of the task force fostered grass-roots level contact. The first such contact was when the unit sponsored meetings for the return of remains. Again, the commander initially pursued this activity only because of its military benefit, specifically as a way to minimize the propensity for civil unrest in the sector. He had been accosted by organizations of families of those missing in action on both sides, demanding a full accounting of their relatives. The task force base was offered as a meeting place for representatives of the organizations from both sides, and the commander offered to facilitate the first meeting.
The common bond of searching for missing sons made these meetings cordial, and there was plenty of informal discussion before and after the meetings. Unfortunately, both sides brought local political officials with them, who were distrustful and sought reciprocity for every agreement. The commander and civil affairs officer broke through red tape just to get the discussions going. The result was a group of Serb parents going into a Bosniac-occupied village to recover remains, during which they shared experiences and described their current situations. Similar initiatives of this type included the task force surgeon's meeting with physicians and a meeting of local artists from both sides.
The military learned quickly that the greatest incentive for grass-roots contact is economic. Near one of the task force's checkpoints, the US brigade carved out and cleared a piece of land for roadside merchants that became known as the Arizona Market. Overnight, it acquired a reputation as the best four acres in the American sector for changing perceptions. There, Bosniacs, Croats, and Serbs mingled, shopped, bought and sold sugar, plum brandy, music, and livestock, and interacted with each other as though there had never been a war. It became a magnet for what can perhaps best be described as cross-boundary tailgate parties, and was a superb environment to begin rebuilding relationships and trust.
Another indirect role the military played as a third-party actor in this area was as an employer of local people at McGovern Base. Each day a busload of 35 Serb workers would arrive at the gate of the 1100-soldier encampment, at the same time as a busload of a near equal number arrived from the Federation. Together, they got in line, received their security badges, and spent almost 10 hours together working side-by-side in different areas of the base.
As the base was being built, the task force commander found the contractor assigned to the base was recruiting only Bosniac workers; going into Serb Brcko was considered "too dangerous." The commander convinced him to hire a balanced work force, protecting his recruiting effort in Brcko. The resultant mixed work force succeeded in changing the perceptions of area civilians. Work parties were mixed, they were recognized and rewarded together, and individuals were fired on the spot if their behavior was at all questionable. Work at the base was coveted by civilians on both sides; it was the closest thing to the pre-war relationship so many sought to restore.
Pitfalls, Limitations, and Drawbacks
Ironically, the strengths of the military are also a source of its inherent drawbacks when assuming the role of third-party actor. The credibility of the force to participate in peace operations is its warfighting capability. There is, however, a feeling within the military community that peace operations are not what the organization exists for and that participation in them will erode combat readiness. Once into the operation, some military leaders, particularly those in the combat arms, become third-party actors only out of necessity and under duress. Some believe that such a role is outside their range of competence and responsibility or best left to psychological operations and civil affairs units.[24]
Another potential problem may arise even before deployment: the nature of the role established for the military in the implementation agreement. Much of it is a matter of timing, based on questions such as who will arrive first and what must be accomplished. Unreasonable timelines and expectations can adversely affect the military's ability to act as a third party. A military annex to a settlement, one that has been developed more or less independent of the civilian annex, puts civilian and military efforts alike at a disadvantage before either arrives in the conflict area. "Expectation overload" within the local population--the desire for speedy implementation--will be difficult to counter unless military and civilian plans complement each other. If such expectations are left unfulfilled or unmodified, they can adversely affect the peacekeepers' work.
This is precisely what happened throughout the area assigned to Multi-National Division North, including the Brcko sector. The military implementation plan, with realistic timelines and expectations, was completed ahead of schedule. The civilian implementation plan, which included freedom of movement and resettlement, made no early progress. The patience of Brcko's citizens quickly waned, resulting in great potential for explosive civil unrest. It was for this reason, actual operational necessity, that TF 3-5 assumed a leading third-party role. Some would refer to the expanded third-party role as mission creep, while others would call it mission evolution; for the unit on the ground, however, it was the mission.
When implementing a peace process after a cease-fire, the "No Winner" factor is in effect: absolute impartiality is the key to success. Parties will watch closely for any reason, real or perceived, to question the fairness of implementation. The banner of impartiality must be displayed through thoughtful action by soldiers at all levels. The nation's flag worn on the sleeve of the uniform immediately causes bias and prejudgment. A particular burden for US units at the time was the "Equip and Train" program, an independent US effort to assist the Federation military through private sources. The distinction was lost on Serbs in and out of uniform; what they perceived was the US Army in Bosnia training their Bosniac and Croat adversaries.
There is also a danger of allowing dependency to develop within the local population. People can get very comfortable with someone else making the effort; over time, problems and reasons for inaction can and will be transferred to those third parties. People develop trust in credible mediators and depend on their reliability. Soldiers acting as quasi-mediators must get the parties to shift their trust from individual mediators to the process. This can happen only through a combined and coordinated effort at all levels by the organizations and agencies charged with the implementation.
Dependency is also dangerous because it can stifle the initiative of local entities to help themselves, or slow the assumption of leadership duties by the appropriate local or international organizations. This is a significant problem in establishing the rule of law. Soldiers with automatic weapons and armored vehicles become a tempting resource for dealing with civil complaints. While recognizing that the rule of law involves a wide range of institutions, including an independent judiciary and a penal system, the military must insist that trustworthy local law enforcement organizations assume that role as soon as possible. Establishing the rule of law can take time, and in the initial phases of implementation the military may be the only law. In this, as in other activities, the military will have to balance its operational needs to fill voids while preventing the emergence of dependency.
Finally, being overly concerned about taking casualties could lead to a "bunker mentality." Units affected with this malaise will sacrifice the information gathering that can take place only when they are out, on foot, in direct contact with all parties in sector. Intelligence gathering as a process (and the information gathered) flow up the organizational structure; this vital requirement cannot be met without direct daily contact with the local people. A bunker mentality also sacrifices the opportunity to engage leaders from all sides, which could eventually deprive the intervention force of credibility, essentially rendering those "in the bunker" ineffective as third-party actors. At the extreme, the military could become mere spectators to peacebuilding efforts.
The nature of intrastate conflicts and the requirements for lasting success require an open-minded approach to the roles and limits of military participation in peacebuilding. Initial implementation missions may place US units in some of the most contentious areas of the post-conflict environment. The tactics, techniques, and procedures of implementation operations--patrolling, monitoring, and engaging entity security forces on compliance issues--place the soldier at the grass-roots and middle-range leadership level of all the parties in conflict. Several aspects of the experiences of TF 3-5 suggest the kinds of work needed to keep the Army abreast of requirements emerging from intervention operations.
. The first relates to early and continuous association of military and civilian organizations in the development of the peace settlement so that provisions important to each are understood and complemented by the other. Implementation will always be civilian-led, but this is not practicable on the ground at the outset. No civilian organization exists with the planning and execution capability of the military. No other organization has the pragmatic flexibility to incorporate the variety of non-state actors required for this type of conflict resolution. We need to find ways to accommodate the requirements of military and civilians when developing strategy and the associated planning of such operations.
. Second, the mission in Bosnia continues to show the role of the military as valuable third-party actors and as catalysts for the reconciliation process. The US military in Brcko was the key player in issues of resettlement and reconstruction. So although they stumbled into them, soldiers and leaders grew into their roles as third-party actors. Soldiers built confidence in the region and were approached for good offices based on trust developed over time. This trust and confidence moved them to greatly expanded roles as quasi-mediators.
Initiatives as third-party actors arose from requirements to prevent violence and protect the force. They were fueled and reinforced by small victories, discrete steps forward in the process of reconciliation and the rebuilding of relationships. The task force organizational structure supported unity of effort among other third parties. This led to a comfortable working relationship and a functional interdependency between the unit and nongovernmental organizations in the area.
To be truly effective third-party actors, the military should seek assistance from other third parties. They should bring the largest nongovernmental and private volunteer organizations into the planning process as early as possible, and provide liaison representatives, if not coequal planners, throughout the initial implementation phase until leadership can safely be handed over. Serving as a third-party actor is an operational necessity for the military in peace operations.
. Third, the Army should take a close look at its doctrine in conjunction with lessons learned from operations in the Balkans. Institutional fear of distraction from warfighting is denying the force necessary doctrine, guidelines, and techniques that could be applied in training to make implementation forces more effective.
Although the US Army Europe training model was appropriate, current doctrine in joint and service publications avoids, and by lack of inclusion discourages, the role of third-party actor for units implementing peace. And while doctrine is primarily a guide for leaders, there is still inconsistent interpretation of requirements and lessons learned about the utility of the military as third-party actors. Some commanders will use doctrine as a constraint rather than as a point of departure. This outcome will have a telling effect on the ground: there is a general difference of opinion at varying levels of command as to which third-party activities constitute operational necessity and which are considered outside operational limits.
Doctrine is slow to develop. Institutional gaps are bridged by nondoctrinal publications such as the Joint Task Force Commander's Handbook, white papers from Europe's Combat Maneuver Training Center, the rewriting of the heavy task force field manual to include stability operations, and the efforts of the US Army Peacekeeping Institute. But we need to do more. Additional predeployment resources should be directed to training leaders from company to brigade level in successful techniques for executing third-party roles.
. Fourth, the military should make no apologies for or degrade its warfighting capabilities or force protection efforts. Both are inherent in command responsibility and are hallmarks of a credible force. One can negotiate quite well in a helmet and flak jacket, but one cannot be effective from inside a bunker. The bunker mentality must be avoided. One way to do so is to validate the mission of third-party actor as an appropriate behavior for soldiers committed to certain kinds of peace support operations.
Soldiers secure the peace in this environment and set the conditions for other organizations and agencies to build on it. But we are not tapping our full potential. The military should seize the role of third-party actor, understand that the role is key to success in accomplishing its objectives, and embed it in the guidance, mission, and intent of the initial phases of peace operations at all levels of command.
1. The author commanded the unit whose experience is described in this paper. The nucleus of the unit was the 3d Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, a Germany-based mechanized infantry battalion of the 1st Armored Division. For duty in Bosnia, the battalion was organized with three infantry companies, one tank company, and a variety of combat support and service support attachments. This organization was designated Task Force 3-5. After eight months, the unit was reorganized, redeploying the tank company to Germany and accepting an airborne military police company. Throughout the paper, the terms task force and battalion are interchangeable.
2. Bosniac is a term used to describe a citizen of the former Republic of Yugoslavia who supports a united Bosnia-Herzegovina and who prefers not to be labeled by his or her religion--Islam. This article refers to the parties in conflict as Serbs, Croats, and Bosniacs vice Christians, Catholics, and Muslims. Bosniak is another accepted spelling of the term.
3. Task Force 3-5 OPLAN 96-09 (Black Knight Endeavor), Headquarters, 3-5 CAV, 15 December 1995.
4. Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall, eds., Managing Global Chaos: Sources of and Responses to International Conflict (Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1996), p. 54.
5. Ibid., p. 184.
6. John Paul Lederach, Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1997), pp. 9-10. See also P. H. Liotta and Anna Simons, "Thicker than Water? Kin, Religion, and Conflict in the Balkans," Parameters, 28 (Winter 1998-99), 11-27.
7. Ibid., p. 10.
8. William I. Zartman and J. Lewis Rasmussen, eds., Peacemaking in International Conflict: Methods and Techniques (Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1997), p. 195.
9. William J. Clinton, A National Security Strategy for a New Century: National Security Strategy of the United States, May 1997 (Washington: The White House, 1997).
10. Crocker, Hampson, and Aall, p. 563.
11. Zartman and Rasmussen, p. 41.
12. Boutros Boutros Ghali, An Agenda for Peace (New York: United Nations, 1995), p. 46.
13. Lederach, pp. 40-47.
14. Joint Task Force Commander's Handbook for Peace Operations (Ft. Monroe, Va.: Joint Warfighting Center, June 1997), p. IV-25.
15. The corridor is a narrow strip of land, five kilometers wide, controlled by Bosnian Serbs, between the Sava River and the intrastate boundary with the Federation of Bosniacs and Croats. The corridor was once home to approximately 65,000 Bosniacs and Croats, displaced by force in the spring of 1992. The corridor is seen as strategic for the Bosnian Serbs, as it links the eastern and western halves of their republic and gives them unconstrained access to the border with Serbia proper. The city of Brcko sits astride the corridor at the narrowest point, and sovereignty of the area and the city was left undecided in the Dayton Peace Agreement, pending a later arbitration.
16. Fen Osler Hampson, Nurturing Peace: Why Peace Settlements Succeed or Fail (Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1996), pp. 9-10.
17. The Zone of Separation is a special area, measured and marked by IFOR troops, two kilometers north and two kilometers south of the final battle line when the last cease fire was declared in Bosnia. It is a 4km-wide strip of land, subject to specific standards of demilitarization and exclusion in Annex 1-A of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
18. Cameron Hume, Ending Mozambique's War: The Role of Mediation and Good Offices (Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1994), p. 25.
19. Thomas R. Colosi, On and Off the Record: Colosi on Negotiation (Dubuque, Ia.: Kendall/Hunt, 1993), p. 26; and Hume, p. 26.
20. IPTF personnel were unarmed, UN-sponsored law enforcement professionals from a variety of nations. Their primary role was to monitor faction police activity and educate faction police on proper law enforcement practices.
21. Multi-National Division North had a very capable Political Advisor, with a small administrative support cell. This individual had responsibility for the entire division area, and dedicated as much effort as possible to assist the TF 3-5 commander. Though UN Civil Affairs established a permanent office in Brcko in April 1996, it, too, was a small office (one individual and one interpreter). TF 3-5 was the only organization resourced and staffed to affect civil implementation for the first six to eight months of the intervention.
22. Every week the TF 3-5 commander conducted very tough "away from the table" bilateral discussions with each local faction leader. These discussions set the stage for the moderate success "at the meeting table." Each party wanted assurances that its concerns were accounted for in any decision. The commander, as civil-military seminar chairman, could give credible assurances and gain consent from all for a workable outcome.
23. Also known as the IEBL, it is the physical boundary line between the Federation and the Republic of Srpska. It is in the middle of the Zone of Separation.
24. Crocker, Hampson, and Aall, 328.
Lieutenant Colonel Tony Cucolo is the Director of the Combined Arms and Tactics Directorate at the US Army Infantry School, Ft. Benning, Georgia. He has held a variety of command and staff positions in heavy divisions in the United States and Germany. He has also had assignments in the Pentagon and at Headquarters, US Army Europe. His most recent field assignment was as Commander, 3d Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, a Germany-based heavy infantry battalion assigned to NATO, with whom he deployed to Bosnia for 11 months in support of the initial efforts of the Implementation Force. Lieutenant Colonel Cucolo is a 1998 graduate of the US Army War College.
Reviewed 10 March 1999. Please send comments or corrections to email@example.com


text:
Edit/Update Android application in Java/Eclips
Budjetti $30-250 USD
I need some programer who can edit/update code for my android application in Java.
It is quiz application for Latvian driving rules.
You can test free version here: [url removed, login to view]
In app there is database with questions in XML format and pictures. You can choose learning mode, where you can choose what ever categories you want and whatever question count and know wrong answers right away.. or exam mode where there is predefined count of questions and you only know if you were right in the end.. there is also statistics.. and thats almost it..
So it is a working application, old programmer dont have time for me anymore, and i need some changes:
1. There was written that after installing app it downloads pictures from server. If i remember right it was because of some old android versions doesn't allow to install something right to SD card... If its ok and it will work on most devices i would like to change that, so pictures and database is included into the app.
2. It must be possible for me to change XML DB without writing any additional java code, because i have some other databases..
3. There must ne two versions: free application with AdMob ads + fullscreen ads(i dont know does AdMob have fullscreen ads) who show up once every 5 min and its possible to remove them only after some seconds. And there must be paid version same as free but without ads.
4. Old XML had Category/Topics/Questions and wrong and right answers... new DB have some changes.. on some questions there is only one (right) answer, and application must take 4 wrong answers automatically from other question right answers in same topic.
5. Now there is language change option.. but i need to create separate apps.. one for each language, because i have DB in many languages and want separate apps because descriptions etc. It must be possible to change application menu items in some xml file or something, so its easy to do without programming.
6. I want to add one menu item.. with videos.. there will be about 10 M4V (MP4) videos.. user can choose one of them and watch.. there is pause, play stop, and rewind buttons.. and it would be good if app remembers position.
7. app needs to remember position also in tests (learning and exam modes) in case someone calls or something (because in my app there was problems with that)
8. In learning mode there is help button.. when you press it help from xml shows up.. but if there is no help in xml i want that it shows right answer.
9. All questions that pictures have JPG images.. but now i have some questions with M4V (mp4) videos.. when question shows up video must play in loop until next question.
10. it must work on most android devices (phones, tablets)
(I will give all necessary pictures etc if needed)
I will send source code with XML DB and sample videos before i will choose the winner, so you can decide accept or not.
That same app with almost all those changes is available on Apple Appstore here: [url removed, login to view]
I want almost same for android. You can make some changes, suggestions, etc.
In the end i want working app with source code
thank you
17 freelanceria on tarjonnut keskimäärin %project_bid_stats_avg_sub_26% %project_currencyDetails_sign_sub_27% tähän työhön
I am android expert and can do it quickly as worked on very similar app. Please message me if interested. Regards, Krish
Dear sir After reading your project Edit/Update Android application in Java/Eclips details,we are interested in this project and would like to bid on this project. we take care of our every client personally and has al Lisää
Ready to start [login to view URL] send the source code & DB details [login to view URL] award us for this project. Thanks, Blue Genie Team
Hi, I am ready to work with your project with full experience and skill.
Hi, I am interested. see my android app at [login to view URL] thanks narendra
Hi, Hope you are doing great!! "I can start right away." Thanks for your time and consideration. For more details, please see your private message box. Regards, Niti
Dear jakadels, Your job description is detail. I understand what do you mean. Please look your message box. Sincerely.
An ISO 9001:2006 certified company, We can fulfill your requirement because we are professional worker, we work for our client satisfaction. for more detail please check private message board. Thanks.
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Respected Sir!!!! I've read you requirements and i'm ready to work with u... although we're new to freelancer but we've worked a lot in local markets.. so all i want is u to trust me.. and i wont let it down... for Lisää
4+ years of java j2ee experience interested in working with the project


text:
The Royale Hayat Hospital was established in 2006 and quickly became known as the standard of excellence for women and children healthcare in Kuwait.
Our Group had a vision to develop a healthcare institute that would blend quality medical care with luxurious hospitality services with a focus on Women & Child Health Services. The Royale Hayat Hospital was established in 2006 and quickly became known as the standard of excellence for women and children healthcare in Kuwait. In 2009, given our rapid growth in both medical expertise and customer care, we decided to expand our medical services to include multi-specialties that we felt would best serve our customers and benefit overall health services in Kuwait, such as our new Obesity Surgery Center.
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text:
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When rock star Kimberly Perry of the Band Perry visited New York City's Fragments a few weeks ago looking for accessories to wear to some high-profile events, showroom and store staffers had no idea that one of her choices would show up on her neck at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. On Sunday Feb. 12 in Los Angeles, Perry sang with bandmate Reid Perry and music legend Glen Campbell, and wore a 14k rose gold Dove necklace from Kismet, among other pieces. The necklace drew rave reviews from fans who tweeted @thebandperry inquiries about the piece—to which she replied (to 146,261 followers) that they could find it at Fragments in New York City.
When Fragments realized she was wearing their piece, they immediately started their own social networking on Facebook and Twitter (@FragmentsJewel). For the Turkish jewelry designer Kismet—whom Fragments started representing only three weeks ago—and the retailer, Perry's purchase marks a boon in sales: By the end of day on Monday, Fragments' store on Prince Street in SoHo had already taken consumer orders for 20 pieces.
Dove necklace in 14k yellow, rose, or white gold; $880. Kismet at Fragments


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ISLAMABAD - Reiterating his resolve to eradicate terrorism from the society, Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif has said that they would never allow terrorists to return back.
He said this while addressing the troops on the front lines, busy in operation Zarb-i-Azb, on Eid day and stayed overnight at Miranshah Camp.
According to the statement released by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Gen Sharif said, "Now that their command and communication infrastructure has been disrupted, we will never allow them to return".
He expressed satisfaction over the progress in the ongoing military operation in North Wazirstan and said that the terrorists will never be allowed to return.
The Army Chief also offered Eid prayers in Miramshah, the capital of North Waziristan. On arrival, Operation Commander briefed the COAS on the operation progress.
Gen Raheel expressed his complete satisfaction over the achievements and progress of the operation.
Gen Sharif addressed the troops engaged in the military operation and advised them to stay focused on speedy and skillful conduct of operation against terrorists.
"We will not step back from eradicating the menace of terrorism from the country", Gen Sharif said.
He also paid rich tribute to the martyrs and the wounded while fighting for the defence of the country.
The COAS appreciated the high state of morale, courage and determination of the armed forces in execution of the operation.
He vowed that they would not stop short of eradicating this menace of terrorism from across the country. He also emphasized that only with sustained focus of the entire nation, they could jointly accomplish the objective of a terror-free Pakistan.
Gen Sharif also visited the IDPs camps to spend some time with the IDPs.
While addressing on the occasion, the COAS assured them of the wholehearted support of the Army and the nation in providing them not only relief but in executing an ultimate resettlement plan for them.
Acknowledging the cooperation and sacrifices rendered by the brave tribal brethren in fight against terrorists, the COAS reiterated, "Together we will bring peace, development and prosperity to this region."
He also appreciated the troops and all other agencies involved in the IDP affairs for their hard work. He hoped that with an improved coordination between all stakeholders involved at various levels, relief work would further improve better resource mobilization and distribution mechanism.


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BettrLife helps users formulate grocery shopping lists (left) and outline plans for upcoming meals.
BettrLife on Monday officially introduced its new health and wellness application to the world.
The app, produced by a team based in Clive, Iowa, promotes wellness by focusing on what people put into their body. It aims to help users with tasks like grocery shopping, meal planning, meal logging and fitness, and its public beta is now available for free download in the App Store and the Android Market.
BettrLife offers tools to help users with:
- Shopping lists: The app allows users to scan products into lists using their smartphone's barcode-recognition capabilities. The app allows for interactive sharing of lists amongst family members and aims to minimize data entry by tracking users' purchasing habits and automatically suggesting items they may need. BettrLife also learns shopping patterns on a per-store basis and streamlines users' shopping by reorganizing their lists when they check into a store.
- Meal planning: BettrLife offers access to hundreds of thousands of recipes from the internet while also enabling users to add their own recipes. From that master list of recipes, users can add meals to their weekly meal planner. From there, ingredients can be added to their shopping lists with the touch of a button.
- Food inventory: As users check out at any store, the items they mark as purchased are moved to their pantry. BettrLife keeps track of when users buy certain products and how often they replenish those items. Over time, BettrLife automates the process of putting items that may need replenishing on the shopping list.
BettrLife is customizable, allowing users to create profiles specifying allergies, food preferences and ingredients they want to avoid and giving users access to detailed information to enable better-informed dietary decisions.
In addition to the consumer-centric interface, BettrLife offers an advisor portal designed to make the application useful for companies in the health care industry.
Formation and change of direction
BettrLife was established under the name BuyerCompass in 2010 by Don Schoen (far left) and Davin Hills (near left), the company's current CEO and CTO, respectively. Before that, Schoen served for more than a decade as the CEO of MediNotes, an electronic medical records company that was acquired in 2009. Schoen's experiences in that field helped plant the seed for what would become BettrLife.
"I wanted to provide a proactive avenue for those with foreseeable medical needs or even those in perfect health, simply looking to sustain it," Schoen said in a release. "You can't trade in your body for a new one, so taking care of its current state should be top priority."
BuyerCompass began an electronic grocery coupon app, but the company soon went in a different direction based on feedback from some of Schoen's contacts in the health care world.
"Health care providers were like, 'If we had a way to … promote healthy living and then have a way for us to monitor how our patients or users are actually using the system and be able to communicate with them on ways of improving their health, this would be a fantastic tool for us,' " said John Jackovin, BettrLife's director or marketing and operations.
So BettrLife has worked to provide such a tool.
"We started to really pivot and say, 'OK, instead of just a grocery app, we're going to focus on health and wellness,' which is where the change to the name BettrLife came about, as well as incorporating much more than just grocery shopping into the application itself."
That array of capabilities is how BettrLife intends to distinguish itself from the competition, Jackovin said. BettrLife currently has a team of eight people — six full-time and two part-time — working toward that goal. As of a Feb. 17 SEC Filing, the startup had raised $200,000 in outside funds.
Jackovin acknowledges BettrLife faces competition from the likes of Lose It! (weight-loss), MyFitnessPal (fitness), Grocery iQ (grocery shopping) and Fooducate (nutrition), but he emphasizes the importance of the all-encompassing approach BettrLife takes.
"They're very niche," Jackovin said of other health and wellness apps. "They all cover kind of one, maybe two areas. What we've done is we've developed something that really focuses on a more holistic approach, which is, 'Hey, let's take a look at your exercise, let's take a look at the meals that you plan, let's take a look at the products you buy really as a component of overall health."
For more on BettrLife, see the introductory video below.
Credits: Screenshots from BettrLife in App Store. Photos of Schoen and Hills from linkedin.com. Video from WithAnF on YouTube.


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Best live performance?
Someone posted a clip with Foster the People (few days ago) and claimed it was the best live performance ever.
Well, it was a great performance indeed, but there is something better. An extended version of "Dead Disco" by Metric (live in Montreal 2006), for example. You can find it on the official DVD, Live at Metropolis.
This is absolutely mindblowing. MINDBLOWING. And a bit insane.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_4FZN4mGI8
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0JyGmc9pPI
(the uploader split it in two parts)
If you watch it, please watch the whole thing (around 15 minutes total). Also I recommend you to use the headphones (you'll understand why ;)). This is definitely one of the most intense live performance I've ever seen.
Now, your turn.
im obviously not going to watch any links from someone who thinks foster the people are good
obviouslycat_race this'd this
What part of...
"...it was a great performance indeed" you don't understand?
And if you're not going to watch any links from me, fine. Probably you entered here by mistake...
nah, definitely entered a thread about best live performances
definitely saw someone mention foster the people.
I have spent a lot - a LOT - of time shitting on Foster The People.
They are tremendously boring, their lyrics are lifeless and uninspired, and their music one-dimensional. AND, there's a burger place up the street from me that's owned by Marc Foster's uncle, and those burgers are WRETCHED.
That video of Foster The People doing "Pumped Up Kicks" that deep-blue is talking about is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Not the best - but the best I've seen all year.
Probably not the best EVER, but
this video of The Fall playing Garden in 1984 is pretty spectacular, and contains an added bonus of Mark E Smith threatening the lighting engineer midway through:Oissin_ this'd this
it doesn't count unless you were there because it's not live
the answer is boredoms at mangum atp (as always)
yes it is live
not quite the same on youtoob is it. Especially that one, you definitely had to be there
Joanna Newsom
at End of the Road is pretty slammin'
Not sure it's the best ever
But I came across this clip today of UK hip hop group Gunshot performing live with the guitarist of Napalm Death. It's pretty dope.
I'm not a huge fan of Genesis
But this clip of them doing The Musical Box on Belgian TV is one of my favourite things on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W35wtfcByIY
As is this video of Van der Graaf Generator (who I am a huge fan of) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDmhP6YiN6s
You know that At The Drive-In performance on Jools Holland that someone always posts?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTpQtcxX_bA This is so much better.Comaboy this'd this
- heartworms this'd this
(actually live, no clips)
Any footage that involves Sigur Rós playing Popplagið
Because it's the most powerful live song of ALL TIME.
Stop Making Sense
Easilydidyousayhand this'd this
I posted up there but its actually this
Memories from my childhood
J Geils Band - no shit. Real badass in the hippie era.
Original Stooges - of course
MC5 - ditto
Ike & Tina Turner Revue
Ziggy Stardust
Electric Eel Shock - groovy little Asia-billies (yeah, they were short)
Ramones in '76
Flamin' Groovies in '70 - before they UK'd themselves
Pink Floyd - Echoes [live at Pompeii] is one of my favourites. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGwPSPIhohk


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Bill's Bible Basics: An Introduction
Copyright 1994 - 2018 Bill's Bible Basics
Authored By :
Bill Kochman
Published On :
June 20, 2003
Last Updated :
February 19, 2017
Welcome to the Bill's Bible Basics website! This website is dedicated to presenting thought-provoking, Scripture-based perspectives regarding Bible prophecy and many other topics which are related to the Holy Scriptures and our Christian walk of faith. The Bill's Bible Basics website has been online since September 9, 2014, and is an updated version of the Endtime Prophecy Net website, which first went online in May of 1997. Prior to that time, the website took the form of "The Treasure Trove BBS" -- which later became known as the "Armageddon Christian BBS" -- which began in 1993-1994, and which was a PC-ANSI based Bulletin Board Service. The Bill's Bible Basics ministry was founded by Christian writer and evangelist Bill Kochman, who since 1997 has gone by the online alias/nom de plume of "The WordWeaver". He has been actively involved in Christian outreach of one form or another -- street witnessing, foreign missionary fields, house-to-house ministry, online evangelism -- since 1971.
Through this online ministry, it is my heartfelt desire to not only feed BBB visitors with the sincere milk of God's Word, but also with the meat of God's Word as well. This site is dedicated to the serious student of God's Word who is willing to invest the time in reading lengthy, in-depth articles and series which explore different aspects and doctrines of our faith. Many, many hours and years of hard work and research have gone into writing the commentaries which you will find on this website. If you are in the habit of skimming over material, you will mostly likely miss a lot of important points and information, and may not fully and completely grasp what is being shared in a particular article. If you are only interested in light fare -- such as a lot of cute images, witty Christian sayings and music -- you won't find it here. To reiterate, this site is dedicated to those Christians who possess a serious desire to delve into the deeper things of God's Word and endeavor to understand them.
In the majority of articles and series which are found on this website, I have done my best to magnify the Lord's Words above my own. After all, as King David wrote, the Lord has magnified His Word above His very Name. As Christian writers, we should do the same:
"I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."
Psalms 138:2, KJV
Wherever possible, I have inserted Scriptures to support my views, so that you the reader can see why I believe and teach the things that I do. In fact, I believe so much in the power of quoting the Scriptures, that it may very well be that, collectively-speaking, perhaps half of the total content of all of my articles combined are solid Scripture. Hopefully, this point alone will give you a good idea of how important I believe it is to make sure that I am leading my readers to the Lord and to His Word, and not just to myself, or to my human understanding of Biblical matters. God's Word is indeed powerful; no human word can compare to it; for as the Apostle Paul wrote:
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Hebrews 4:12, KJV
My Disclaimer
Please note that everything that you read in the articles and series which are available on this website -- aside from the central message of Salvation through faith in the atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ -- is subject to change. The reason for this is quite simple. I -- Bill Kochman -- am an imperfect human. I do not understand -- and have never claimed to understand -- everything that is contained in God's Holy Word, the Bible.
Similar to other honest Christians, I recognize that I am in a constant state of spiritual growth. As such, I embrace what I refer to as an "evolving theology". What this means is that as my understanding of God's Word continues to expand, through diligent study of the Scriptures, the doctrines and beliefs which I embrace must adapt to any new truths which the Lord may choose to reveal to me.
As a result, it is quite possible that you may find certain ideas and beliefs expressed in some of my older articles, which differ to some degree -- and perhaps entirely -- from beliefs that are expressed in newer articles. Do not let this confuse you. Simply accept the newer information as my current theological position regarding any given issue. As my time and health permit, I will eventually update all older articles and series, so that they are in harmony with the newer ones, God willing.
To avoid confusion in this regard, all of my articles and series display both a "Published On" date, as well as a "Last Updated" date. This way, you can know when I first authored an article, as well as when I last updated it. Thus, if you come across a situation where I say something in one article, but then seem to be saying something differently in another article regarding the same topic, simply look at the "Last Updated" date of both articles, and accept the information in the newer of the two, as my last publicly stated position regarding that particular issue. Furthermore, throughout this website, I provide links to two separate lists. One list contains all of my new or updated articles, while the other contains the bulk of my articles which have not received an update in a very long time, and which are more likely to contain views which I no longer embrace.
KJV Bible Verse Lists
In addition to my articles and series, I invite you to visit the "
King James Version Bible Verse Lists
" page where you will find over 570 KJV topical Bible verse lists which I have personally compiled over the past fourteen plus years. These Bible verse lists in fact represent the very core of everything that I share and teach on this website. They are the foundation of my articles and series.
Online King James Bible
For your convenience, I also offer an online, large-print edition of the
King James Version of the Bible
Christian Poetry Section:
For those of you who may be poetically-inclined, you will also be happy to know that in recent years, I have also become quite the avid poet, having authored 524 poems of various lengths as of February 9, 2018. These poems are presented in graphic form
in my poetry section
, and are accompanied by Bible studies which link to related BBB articles and KJV Bible Verse Lists on this website.
BBB Website History:
For a more in-depth look at the history of this online ministry, you may also want to read the two-part article entitled "
The Internet: Our Final Frontier; Your Last Chance?
". It describes how I began this online ministry about twenty-three years ago when I first set up a Hermes II, Macintosh-based BBS, or Bulletin Board Service.
Mobile-Friendly Status:
During the early part of 2017, I invested a considerable amount of time and energy in creating an AMP-compliant version of the Bill's Bible Basics website. This version of the website is specifically designed for mobile device users, although it works just as great for desktop computer users as well, of which I happen to be one. To learn more about it, please visit the
BBB AMP Compliance
web page. Thank you!
Your Privacy and Security:
You will be happy to know that both your privacy and your security are very well protected here on Bill's Bible Basics. To learn more about it, please visit the
BBB Privacy Policy
web page. Thank you!
With those thoughts, I will bring the BBB website's introduction to a conclusion. May God truly bless you richly as you delve into the wonders of His magnificent Word, which you will find here.
Your fellowservant,
Bill Kochman
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