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The Pakistani kaleidoscope and the Swat ceasefire
The debate over the Pakistan government's decision to seek peace with Taliban militants in the Swat valley by promising to introduce sharia law is proving to be like everything else in the Pakistani kaleidoscope – turn it a little bit and you see something else.
Pakistani analyst Ayesha Siddiqa said the peace deal could encourage groups in other parts of the country to copy the example of the Taliban in forcing through changes. "The bottom line is that while conflict might be arrested for the short term in one part of the country, it might escalate in other parts where groups of people acting like the Taliban could impose their will on the rest of the population in the name of changing the judicial, economic or political system," she says. "Ultimately, this could come to redefine Pakistan's identity completely."
But in an article in Dawn, Kunwar Idris defended the decision by arguing that the roots of the campaign for the restoration of sharia are quite different from those fuelling the Taliban insurgency in Pakistan's border areas with Afghanistan. Drawing on his experience as a government adviser in neighbouring Chitral, he says a form of sharia used to work well when Swat was still a princely state. "Pakistan stands much to gain and its allies in the 'war on terror' have little to lose if the Sharia courts bring tranquillity and tourists back to the Swat valley," he writes.
While India has, perhaps predictably, condemned the peace deal — Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram called it a threat to the entire region — what has been more interesting are Indian readings of the U.S. response. Although U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke expressed concern, the U.S. response has been relatively muted.
India's South Asia Intelligence Review worried that the deal appears to have U.S. acquiescence. It suggested Washington would watch closely what happens in Swat for implications on whether the United States too should cut its own deals with some insurgents in Afghanistan, based on what it called a false premise that it is possible to distinguish between "good" and "bad" Taliban.
Retired Indian diplomat M.K. Bhadrakumar saw a different cause for U.S. acquiescence to Pakistani decisions — he argued that Washington basically had no choice since it is so hobbled by the financial crisis and military stalemate in Afghanistan. The United States, he said, had decided it had no option but to work closely with Pakistan, perhaps to the detriment of India. "The message is clear: Washington will be in no mood to antagonize its Pakistani partner and Delhi is expected to keep tensions under check in its relations with Islamabad," he wrote.
Just how closely Washington is working with Islamabad was underscored in this New York Times story saying that the United States has more than 70 military advisers and technical specialists working in Pakistan to help its armed forces battle the Taliban. "It is a much larger and more ambitious effort than either country has acknowledged," the newspaper said. And that was on top of reports, denied by Islamabad, that U.S. predator drones which have been firing missiles into tribal areas on Pakistan's northwest, operate out of an air base on Pakistan.
So is Washington's dependence on Pakistan making it less willing to criticise its policies? Is there method in the madness in the Swat deal that might suggest a way forward in Afghanistan too? Or is what is happening now a sign of the chaos of desperation?
(Reuters photos: Buying food in Mingora, the main town in the Swat valley; and girls back at school)
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Taliban 'receives $6M for Swat ceasefire'
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=866 08§ionid=351020401
No wonder Pakistan needs more loan from IMF! It's Taliban sending Pakistan to IMF to get more. What a pity!
So peace will last as long as $6M lasts ..:-)
No wonder US prefers drone to diplomacy!
Pakistan taken hostage by Taliban!
A rescue package for Taliban, funded by IMF!
"Pakistani Taliban unite against US"
Doesn't sound like ceasefire to me!
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009 /feb/24/pakistani-taliban-unite-against -us/
This is sad,
Its actually like wathcing a train crash in slow motion..
I wonder how Pakistan could make a deal with Taliban without US's approval. The falling empire has more fire power but lacking of money power.
NATO and US can't keep their people employed in thier own country, how they can fight 3000 miles away in a land locked region. I further doubt that Pakistan may brokerage a safe and proud exit deal for US and NATO from Afghanistan. Ofcourse Taliban may get billions of blood money.
If UK c'd negotiate with Ireland & NATO forces can make peace with Iran, Korea & Taliban in Afghanistan, whats the problem with negotiations in Swat.
As for link of
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=866 08§ionid=351020401
I wonder,u dont believe Iran otherwise but for such case, u 'll do it readily.
That amount is collectively for the region to open schools & establish the region. n Also India-supported Taliban (sent by Indian RSS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtriya_S wayamsevak_Sangh)
will not be given peace for sure.
The new leadership in US has now exposed its total incompetence when it comes to foreign relations..especially when dealing with Pakistan, Iran and N.Korea. There is no clear cut strategy, no new ideas of its own to deal with new situations..
while it in some cases continues to simply follow the ideas of bush administration like drone attacks they have no idea on what to do next in some cases like pak taliban deal and Iran.
Swat is far away from the Afghan border and is a wholly internal matter for Pakistan. The groups involved there are not fighting in Afghanistan, neither do they claim to desire so.
If a group is not antagonistic towards the US/West, then they don't care about them. This is why the Tamil Tigers have ravaged Sri Lanka, and nobody in the west took much notice.
@Umair, Ali, Aamir Ali
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/5 91945
"If Pakistan's relatively disciplined and well-trained army can't subdue a couple of thousand Islamist militants in Swat, can Afghanistan's embryonic army ever prevail over its own Taliban?…….."
Gentlemen, my dear Pak friends, it seems as though in true Pak. Military tradition, they have again surrendered and began double talking with enemies and friends alike. I can't blame the Pak Military for at least being consistently inept, incompetant, cowardly, two-faced, surrender prone buffoons.
Umair, your military just surrendered to terrorists, as you so boast about your professional military. They are a bunch of cowards! and good for talking and lack the will to do a very heavy fight.
I don't want to hear your garbage any more, regarding the Indian military, the Indian military would have cleaned up the entire Pakistan in a year or two! and the Taliban in a couple of months.
Thanks for wasting billions of western dollars, fattening your ass, lining your pockets, paying your servants and keeping only enough pressure on terrorists to do the easy fighting, to justify asking for more and more money by the Military in the future.
We are sick of this! No more money to Pakistan, no more support.
It is high time, you guys realize that you just gave up so-called sovereign land to terrorists who behead indiscriminately, burn girls schools and do terrorism.
You guys are buying out terrorists, emboldening them, while they kill more Paks, as they spread like a cancer through out Pakistan, in Zardari's own words, another 2-faced lying leader from Pakistan. Absolutely no "juan" in Pakistan..in Punjabi that means "integrity".
At the right time, it is probably best to confiscate those nukes, it should not be too hard to do that, everyone in Pakistan is up for sale for the right amount of money. Those nukes will be sitting in an American U.S. Base within a decade and given to India as a souvenir, once de-activated.
Find a new place to live, if you don't want to Talibanize yourselves.
Saudi and UAE needs more slaves and terrorists.
@Umair, Ali, Aamir Ali
Lazy guys like you, who should be out organizing large-sign protests on the streets of Peshawar, Lahore and Islamabad, denouncing terroristm, Taliban and Sharia.
Are you ready to live Sharia? Are you ready to roll-back your society 1200 years? Are you ready to give up music, technology, t.v., movie theatres?, clothing, the barbershop, your radio and cell phones?
Honestly ask your self, instead of living in denial and hurling vomit and feces at the rest of the world…look into yourself.
Are you ready to return back to the stone age? even your blood hindu ancestors will look like they were more sophisticated than today's Pakistan, once it falls to Sharia and Talibanization in the not so distant future.
You can still stop it. Attack it head on and fight for your country, or maybe you don't think its worth fighting for against the Taliban.
Even after this lashing I gave you, you guys are still going to return living in denial.
Global Watcher:
I am fine with the reasons sometimes given by Pakistanis that let the people decide what they want. Yes they want Sharia but do they want Sharia from Taliban Let them get their hands chopped, beheaded or whatever they like. Let Pakistanis live in denial and find reasons after the damage is done and say Oh yes we Pakistanis wanted it that way; so smart of us. The problem is this radicalism will affect the region-lessons from the history have not been learnt. If US/Nato are defeated, Pakistan is cooked–Taliban will consider itself the superpower and will like to first control Pakistan. "Good or Bad Taliban" (ridiculous labels for comfort). I am wondering would people in Lahore welcome these "Good Taliban" as guests in Lahore, Islamabad. Sooner or later Taliban is going to rule Pakistan in coalition with other Pakistan parties. The situation is much worse than one can imagine—Just like rear view mirror with sticker: "Objects are nearer than they appear in mirror".
The key words like: Pakistani Army is professional, Tactical withdrawal of the Army, people want Sharia in SWAT, Good and Bad Taliban, This time Pakistan is playing its cards smartly, etc.. are such classical symptoms of denial.
There is no way except to determine to elominate these forces–I hope "big boys from Islamabad" have some real sane plan.
Rajeev i can tell you about 1 clear plan from islamabad..
"Genocide in Baluchistan"
-Unidentified militants on bikes killed 5 in quetta and injured 2 others..Now who would have a motive to indiscreminately kill baluchs ?? with out claiming for responsibility ??
"Taliban abducted and later released the new district coordination officer in Swat and his six bodyguards to secure the release of their three aides on Sunday"
Only Lawyers, Journalists and Human rights activists are left in Pakistan jails!
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?2 11735
Seems like US Air Force controls Pakistan's skys.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/world/ asia/24carrier.html?ref=asia
Taliban on the ground and US in the skys .. Zardari finds China safer .:)
"Pakistan threatened by 'non-state actors\': Zardari"
http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?opti on=com_content&task=view&id=68946&Itemid =1
Report: U.S. Aid Funding the Pakistani Taliban
"At least $6 million has been paid to the Taliban and more is on the way"
"As one of the conditions to ending the fighting in Swat, Taliban chieftain Mullah Fazlullah has demanded the government pay reparations to the Taliban"
"The Taliban .. demanded guarantees regarding the withdrawal of around 10,000 Pakistani army soldiers deployed in the Swat Valley"
On Monday, .. major general Athar Abbas officially announced the end of military operations in the province's volatile Swat Valley"
""The state failed to control foreign elements in Swat," said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas"
" the amount was delivered from a special fund of president Asif Ari Zardari"
"Not only is the United States paying the Pakistani government to abdicate territory to the Taliban, we get to fund the Taliban as well"
"Meanwhile, a shura or tribal council of mujahadeen leaders namely including Baitullah Mehsud, Sirajuddin Haqqani, Moulvi Nazeer and Gul Bahadur formed an alliance and vowed to stop all hostilites against Pakistani security forces"
"Instead they vowed to launch a joint struggle against NATO forces in Afghanistan next month"
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TW SFP/2009/02/report_us_aid_funding_the_pa ki.asp
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Sec urity/?id=3.0.3045993078
"Blast kills 4 US coalition troops, Afghan civilians: Reuters"
.. So far 600 US, 107 Canadian, 144 British soldiers .. 1002 foreign soldiers dead in Afghanistan ..
Taliban internal matter of Pakistan or Non-State matter of Pakistan?
http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2008/10/ 27/1002-foreign-soldiers-killed-in-afgha nistan-since-2001-website-says.html
To put it simply, the US has only two options to deal with the Taliban,
a) Eliminate Taliban & its support structure, permanently
b) Sign fickle peace deals with the Taliban
Both the options have their benefits and risks. It seems the US govt does not have the resolve and the resources to take on the Taliban.
Well, it made me think, what action will the US govt take if terrorists attack the US and the source of the attack is traced back to the Afghan-Pak border?
@Rajeev i can tell you about 1 clear plan from islamabad..
"Genocide in Baluchistan"
-Unidentified militants on bikes killed 5 in quetta and injured 2 others..Now who would have a motive to indiscreminately kill baluchs ?? with out claiming for responsibility ??
– Posted by Anitha
–May be those who control deccan mujahideen.
Rajeev, Myra, Anitha,
I have to be quite honest here. Although I don't like the Taliban, I think that can be to India's advantage, if the situation were correct.
By that I mean, Pakistan gets Talibanized, gets control of the nukes and intends to hold India hostage.
India, U.S. and European allies will have the perfect reason to wipe Pakistan off the map. I for one can tell you, India would not leave one inch unscathed, if terrorists started the aggression first and started playing games.
Just think, how it would fuel panic in the world if terrorists like the Taliban took over a nuclear state?
I guarantee you, Pakistan's days would be numbered. Although this scenario would not come a price to India and its allies, it would ensure that a massive reaction from India and the US allies would ensure a denuclearized Pakistan, albeit a devastated region.
This would be the hall mark opportunity to put Pakistan to the history pages and split up Pakistan into three regions, some going to India, Afghanistan and Iran.
Sometimes to get long term stability you have to be willing to entertain short term pain.
The real enemies of Pakistan are those who have hijacked the ISLAMIC faith for goals of religious conquest. They will bring death and destruction to Pakistan, as most Pakistani's sit by idly and watch their country dissolve.
In order to keep this discussion constructive, do read this piece by Salman Ahmad, the founder of the rock band Junoon:
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfai th/salman_ahmad/2009/02/rescuing_pakista n_from_the_tal.html
He condemns the ceasefire in the Swat valley, but what is more interesting is his appeal for the recognition of the plurality of Pakistani culture, and the vibrancy of its arts and music. This subject of the plurality of cultures and identities is one I am going to keep stressing as I've seen too many comments on earlier posts which have reduced people to a single identity on the basis of nationality or religion. More on this later.
Nikhil, you asked what the United States would do if it is attacked and the source of the attack is traced back to the Af/Pak border. That's a good question to which I don't know the answer. Does anyone else have a view on this?
http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?opti on=com_content&task=view&id=68946&Itemid =1
"We bask in your glory and Pakistan and every Pakistani is proud of success of China."
looks like zardari is behaving as kirdari 😛
I agree with this one "what is happening now a sign of the chaos of desperation"
@So is Washington's dependence on Pakistan making it less willing to criticise its policies?
–Washington DC will not criticize Pakistan unless Pakistan's moves are hurting DC. At this point of time, US strategy is not fully backed up by its payed war ally Pakistan– double dealings are happening and SWAT deal is a defining moment. Thus far Pakistan is a necessary nuisance since her soil is essential for the military tactics of US/NATO; so US is ignoring Pak's moves such as playing silly with Taliban/militants. In that case, some time very soon, US and Pak interests are going to conflict unless US and Pak both are working together and making underhand deals for which we normally think Pak alone is responsible.
@Is there method in the madness in the Swat deal that might suggest a way forward in Afghanistan too? Or is what is happening now a sign of the chaos of desperation?
–I don't see any plan as far as the SWAT situation happened-Taliban has upper hand and Pakistan just cannot flush out Taliban even if it wants. Although I doubt pak wants to get rid of Taliban completely (Good vs bad Taliban explanation is like saying Good vs bad terrorist!), it may not want Taliban to be so openly control Pakistan. Peace deal keeps Taliban on Pak side which could be used later on.
My feeling is that in the ideal world Taliban has no place and should be eliminated for real success of the operation (you do not want BUSH-type mission accomplished of Iraq). I will not put my money that Taliban will be eliminated– even if everyone including Pak gets together. Taliban has shown resilience and has dual face-terrorist and diplomats both. There will be deals with them or other militants to use them, shut them up and compensating them to control their urges until US/NATO exits. After that it will be worse than the situation when US arrived here. Pretty pessimistic picture—but that's how I see it right now. Normally US will not exit but with Dow/Jones hitting lowest in 10yrs and US and global economy of US will force them (Obama is to give "State Of The Economy" address tonight).
It will be prudent to define the goals vis-a-vis allies, resources, strengths and limitations. But for sure Pakistan needs some medication for its attention deficit disorder.
If the US economy recovers soon, then one can expect bold actions in this terrorist haven. If not, there will be a lot of pressure to either make a deal with the Taliban to buy time or go all out. My feeling is that the US will choose the former option. I will not be surprised if they make a deal with Afghan Taliban. Their enemy is not the Taliban. They are after the Al Qaeda. If the Taliban comes forward to do that, then that will be the deal. As it is the US is getting uneasy with Hamid Karzai. So I expect the US to follow the Pakistan example and make a deal with the Taliban. In return, these guys get to run their regions the way they want and the US will go after Al Qaeda only.
This might come as a big relief to Pakistan who can now use this time to resume its acts on its Eastern neighbor. They will have to do this because one should not allow things to settle down for too long. So if the US makes a deal soon, you will see the Kashmir issue erupt to a much larger level than ever before. And one can expect many Mumbai style attacks inside India.
An election is coming soon and this will be the best time to stage an action plan that will strike India at its heart. And the US might not show much sympathy to India this time, looking at its gains first. The BJP might use that attack and the government ineptitude to its advantage during the elections. Or to thwart that, the Congress party might postpone elections and declare emergency. And then a war will definitely start, which will force the US and its allies to come back. And Pakistan will hope that it will force the issue of Kashmir settlement with India.
Zardari/ISI/Pak Military – these guys are the experts at selling their mothers. No one can equal them in surrendering and then using wily methods to get out. So I expect them to be working on this plan now.
Myra I respect your attempt to divert attention to give a chance for cooler heads to prevail.
It just seems Pakistan is a danger to the world and India, whether it is stable or unstable. We have depleted our economies, wasted our soldiers and so much much energy trying to correct something, which seems is incorrectable.
Although there are pockets of positive things in Pakistan, those are not enough to convince the world that Pakistan is worth saving. What we would like to see, is an awakening or a revolt against radical Islam. If the everyday Plebescites in Pakistan are lacking in courage or religious or political or moral will, then there is no future for Pakistan.
The Pakistani military is not trained to fight guerilla warfare and don't have the stomach or the will to fight the Taliban any more, as it does not electrify the population. The people of Pakistan however, are many times more electrified when you mention India as a foe.
Pakistan has just backstabbed the world in the war on terror, a terror, which it created, in part to destabilize India. How do you warm the hearts and minds of the Pakistani peoples towards India, when they view any friendship as a sign of fear or weakness? In western countries, being friendly is regarded as a sign of strength, having humility in the U.S. UK or Canada or Australia, is viewed as a mental strength as well.
After my personal journey to seek out answers, I have come to the conclusion that the world is not ever going to be safe with an ustable or a stable Pakistan.
It is a futile attempt, which will bankrupt our already bankrupt economies.
It is serious time the UN, NATO and IMF do the footwork necessary to facilitate disintegration of Pakistan. It is an utter failure to the lack of will by its people to reject Islamicists, who are taking over their country.
India will be antagonized and attacked only so many times before it reacts. Tough diplomacy only seems to buy time until the next planned event of terrorism is thrust upon India.
I for one favour a very proactive approach to the south indian subcontinent for the sake of regional security.
If the people Pakistan and Afghanistan want Sharia, let them have it. If these people are happy lopping off heads, hands and feet, doing public executions, torture, losing their modern way of life, let them have it. If they are happy regressing back to the stone age, let them have it.
We should help these countries regress to the dark ages, if they choose and the people there, have no will to do it for themselves.
We can start by denying them food, money, technology, airplane parts, vehicles, all technology. Give them nothing, let's see how their society survives without the west. Let it become lawless, backward and unstructured. It maybe easier to deal with, once it does.
I have been right in all my blogging, when I said Pakistan is falling apart. While we indulge in Liberalism and pluralities, entertaining a diverse range of opinions on Pakistan, it fails daily as we speak
Myra, Amy, Anitha…..watch out…caliphat is on its way….just kidding…have a laugh with this 2004 Qatar TV clip fromm friday muslim prayers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWGA8i6sc YY
In reality, the US is not as concerned about Pakistan or its behavior, because of its direct control and influence over the military and political leaders in Pakistan who survive with and are hooked on US aid. Pakistan knows well and takes full advantage of this "speacial relationship". The US has no choice but to support Pakistan diplomatically, as they have in the past as a "strategic ally", especially now, to achieve US goal in Afghanistan. At the most perhaps an idle threat, the Generals in Islamabad get a "dress down" as Musharraf claims "The intelligence director told me that[Armitage] said, 'Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age',".
The US diplomatic response will always be as you put it "Hobbled" and "Relatively Muted" regarding Pakistan's involvement in:
(a)Until very recent acknowleding Pakistan operates terror camps (b) supplying Chinese nuclear technology to North Korea in exchange for ICBM technology (c) Nuclear proliferation to Iran and Libya (d) Supporting Al Qaeda (e) Supporting insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir (f) Supporting 9/11 terror attacks killing nearly 3,000.
Infact, under great pressure the references to Pakistan in the offical Kean/Hamilton 9/11 inquiry/report had to be expunged – what a farce!
In many ways the US by blindly supporting the regimes in charge of Pakistani with no accounting or repercussions has created its own problems. The Generals and the people in Pakistan know how to keep Holbrook or future diplomats "hobbled" and "relatively muted" no matter what they do, unless of course the checks stop clearing, in which case the US may find a few more problems in its path such, as the torching of the US military convoy of a 150 trucks to support the GIs in Afghanistan. The US truly has a "special relationship" when it comes to Pakistan Myra.
Global Watcher and Anitha:
If I said otherwise, let me restate: I agree with the view currently offered that Taliban is not India's enemy (I think Anitha said that). But I do not think Taliban can be to India's advantage by any flight of imagination. "Nukes and Taliban"- do not think them togther–a very dangerous & lethal combination. Whether India help herself or the world comes to help-Taliban controlling NUKES in reality is a nightmare. We are already getting densensitized by the word NUKE.
Nikhil and Myra
@Well, it made me think, what action will the US govt take if terrorists attack the US and the source of the attack is traced back to the Afghan-Pak border?
– Posted by Nikhil
-1. US/NATO withdraws and do carpet bombing of the region and use all their fancy bunker buster/cave busters? Leave everyone dead there OR
2. Keep on doing what they have been doing.
3. Get used to the idea like rest of the world and stop crossing continents for such matters.
4th option in theory is:
4. NUKE the area–Af-Pak and Pak (?)
For sure, Gordon Brown will not hesistate to agree with that since 75% of terrorists leads in Britain coming from pak.
Disclaimer: NUKE use by anyone is a bad idea since it kills by >100,000 in one shot.
Rajeev – @"But I do not think Taliban can be to India's advantage by any flight of imagination"
Is taliban usefull to anybody ??
In some frame of thinking..there is some use of taliban to somebody..thats why they still exist..
The advantage i talk of to India with strinking a deal with Taliban or alike islam factions in pakistan is that India can make them not to look towards India and its muslims for what ever reason .
Apparently thats exactly what China did !!!
@Anitha and Rajeev,
Perhaps Islamic Nations are meant to Talibanize. We should quit trying to modernize a people who do not want to modernize or be forward moving. If they choose wanting to be RETROGRADE, let them roll backwards.
We have goto move forward, develop our spritual side, knowledge, imagination, music poetry, science, astronomy, medicine, aerospace, engineering and all matters which we identify with living in the modern world.
With technology comes a great responsibility. If your cultural and spiritual development is stunted, you should be denied technology. As countries Talibanize, deprive them of anything modern, let them regress to the days of the desert, while the rest of the world moves forward.
Ever heard of the term, living well is the best revenge? well. Give it 2 to 4 generations and you will have beyond night and day between western and non-western countries.
As Pakistan Talibanizes, we should confiscate the nukes, and this is the key linch pin in South East Asia, is those Pak Nukes. Deprive the society of all modern technologies and let it regress to the stone age.
We are tired of bearing the burden for those who can't choose whether they want the dark ages or the modern age.
You can't have it both ways, choose one.
[…] After consulting with our Islamabad bureau, reading other news organisations' reports and scouring the web, I have the feeling — familiar to anyone who has reported from that part of the world — that the more you look at this deal, the less you see besides the fact of the deal itself. The devil isn't hiding in the details because there aren't many there. He's playing a bigger political game. […]
Indians have gone ape over peace in Swat and gone into geopolitical fantasy ovedrive, with dreams of Pakistani nukes being confiscated by God knows who!
To calm down and return to the topic, this deal just gives a temporary respite to the people of the region, while the govt/army plots a new strategy, probably based on successful campaigns in Bajaur and Khyber.
I would like to contribute just a little bit
I am pushtoon and was brought up in that area, did my education and know the area and people very well
some of you people are harsh and some of you are not understanding the exact situation I am afraid
you see for many years many people in my area knew that these so called militants are connected to intelligence and that is plain truth
the only question I have and its an important one is that when we all knew that they both are connected (pak army and militants) then how on earth americans are not aware.
That is for sure they are, and so if they are then are they so impotent to be bullied and take for ride from pak army
dont think so, i dont know the right answer myself but am only assuming that they might be the part of this game as well
as far as why militants are there its simple, to keep india in check, to get aid, to have control of afghanistan
we pushtoons are the only one who suffers alot in this all
honestly my heart just burns when i remember my boyhood days which is about 10 years ago, there was nothing like that
punjabis are murderers, they now got alot of blood on their had, u can never trust them and i think america is their real ally
Janan's words confirm my belief. Pakistan has been falling apart due to Punjabi arrogance. East Pakistan separated for the same reason. All the anti-Indian, macho attitude stems from the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan. During partition, it was Punjab where most of the massacres happened on the West side. This arrogance will never disappear. And it will accelerate the disintegration of Pakistan. This is not a wish. It is only a matter of time.
"punjabis are murderers, they now got alot of blood on their had, u can never trust them and i think america is their real ally"
—punjabi's are toddlers compared to the americans, whose history is blood-drenched with the genocide of 90million red indians, hiroshima-nagasaki, vietnam, iraq & now afghanistan, – your evaluation of the situation is spot-on – this taliban game is being scripted in the pentagon, washington & enacted in the pak-afghan region, pakistan was created to be a base & puppet of the western powers.
We, in India, are stuck between 2 situations:
Bangladesh: first mutiny and now mass graves found.
Pakistan: Taliban in Swat & protests on Sarif ban.
@this taliban game is being scripted in the pentagon, washington & enacted in the pak-afghan region, pakistan was created to be a base & puppet of the western powers.
-posted by Anup
@janan: on links of intelligence with milkitants
Anup: Is Pakistan state ignorant of this larger game? Or is it that Pakistan is controlled by select few often implanted by US (fact), so they damn care about regular Pakis–leaving them in a spot to explain all this on the blogs. If what is being said is true, then does it not mean that the real parties should be concerned and work together 1. India. 2. Pakistan 3. Afghanistan
That means relieving Pakistan from the cluthes of West-poor economy, hard to do. Foremost is the will of Pakistan. if they do, rest will follow.
So far, so bad…
Anup and janan:
@this taliban game is being scripted in the pentagon, washington & enacted in the pak-afghan region, pakistan was created to be a base & puppet of the western powers.
-posted by Anup
-If this true, Pak knows the game and select few who control Pak (US implanted) selling the country and damn care about regular Pakis. Means nothing can happen if Pakistan does no will so. Then the real parties should work together and India & Afghanistan are 2 parties. Will happend only when Pak can be relieved from the clutches of the West. poor economy, hard to do.
Janan, you bought up a good point..Its not that US do not know what pakistan is up to…it would be a kinda uneasy marriage between CIA and ISI where both know the other will be a double crosser. US seems to only want to stay in the region as long as possible and pakistan is providing the reason for them to stay there..as long as pakistan keeps braging that US cannot enter pakistan to fight militants, US has a reason to stay there in afghanistan and do nothing but wait for militants to cross over from pakistan and fight.
US will not have much money to run the war in Afghanistan for too long. The economy is sinking. All the stimulus money is dissolving into empty space quickly. Obama will be under immense pressure to steer the country out of trouble. War in a remote location is the last in his priority. Mexico is rumbling with drug war. US military involvement seems inevitable.
Punjabi and Sindhi politicians have begun to clash openly in Pakistan now. Their military will move in soon and take over. Kayani is being pulled back by Washington from taking over. Most probably he will get replaced by someone else who will take over the power through a coup. You will see articles supporting it here.
Obama will be forced to do something very quick in this region. He has only two hands and there are too many leaks on his sinking ship. I won't be surprised if massive aerial attacks happen over the Swat and North West regions of Pakistan by the US. This will help get the troops move in swiftly into those regions after driving the Taliban out of there for a short time. The Taliban will move into main street Pakistan and that will cause more chaos.
India should be very worried and should keep its military on full alert. Attacks will come from Pakistan to draw India into a desperate conflict, a nuclear one if possible.
We are about to enter dangerous times.
Since Pakistan military just surrendered and would prefer spending its time figuring out ways to destabilize India, instead of fighting the Taliban, I think the U.S. should drop leaflets to those citizens in SWAT and tell them all to temporarily leave.
Then the U.S. should undergo a massive, relentless, night and day pounding of SWAT with thermo-baric high yield weapons. These have a very large horizontal spread zone and would be great for Taliban wiping.
Again, let me stress, the residents of SWAT should be given notice to leave before this happens.
Then send in 100,000 troops to secure this area and wipe it squeeky clean of taliban. Tell citizens to return, army leaves.
Don't be ridiculous, Pakistani Army is scripting game of Taliban, the entire screenplay is from Islamabad. Don't you remember, that double speaking Asfaq Kayani's phone or email was tapped by the U.S., and they caught him saying that the Taliban leader was a strategic asset??
Well….you could say that the U.S. just got "Ash-Faq'ed" by Kayani.
Global Watcher et al
"NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan require 70,000 containers of supplies per year,"
"Taliban extracted payments of $1,000 per vehicle at the point of a gun."
"Karachi port authorities made at least $260 per container in assorted port charges,"
"The National Logistics Corporation an ostensibly civilian entity staffed by serving and retired military personnel, and owned by the Pakistani army earns around $1500 per container for moving them to Afghanistan. Between 2002-2008, the NLC made at least $1.15 billion. And the meter is still running."
"Pakistani government collects a fuel tax of the average fuel consumption per container per trip is 1200 litres, which amounts to $460 in taxes per trip."
"The Frontier Constabulary, a paramilitary force, collects a minimum of $150 per container in security charges from truckers,"
"Pakistani military establishment earnings—a rough estimate is around $500 million per year."
"—and is in addition to the $10 billion that the Bush administration gave Pakistan over that period."
!Only around 60 percent of the goods were actually delivered to their recipients, the rest being lost, stolen or destroyed en route.
"Helicopter engines valued at $13 million were also hijacked. Taliban fighters gave Pakistani drivers certificates guaranteeing their trucks were requisitioned, not stolen."
– remember some wise one's mentioning talibanese economy & destroying the crops of poor farmers, rendering those who earn a dignified income as paupers…all this for the 'western anal-eye'stists', they are an insult to intelligence or either a cunning lot.
Global watcher writes: "Again, let me stress, the residents of SWAT should be given notice to leave before this happens."
The problem is, as soon as the leaflets fall, the Taliban will also move out of the Swat valley into the surrounding urban areas of Pakistan. This is what the Taliban did when the US bombed Afghanistan. They moved into Pakistan. Once they are outside the Swat valley, they will take over whatever area they move into. The Pakistani military will surrender again and, the US bombardment would result in enhancing Taliban's spread and hold over Pakistan. The military might switch sides and fight alongside Taliban against the Western aggressor. This is to save their skins in the long run, once the Americans leave (assuming this happens soon).
Bombing Swat valley will accelerate the spread of Taliban in Pakistan. The US needs help from India and Russia to make the offensive productive.
@Don't be ridiculous, Pakistani Army is scripting game of Taliban, the entire screenplay is from Islamabad. Don't you remember, that double speaking Asfaq Kayani's phone or email was tapped by the U.S., and they caught him saying that the Taliban leader was a strategic asset??
Well….you could say that the U.S. just got "Ash-Faq'ed" by Kayani.
– Posted by Global Watcher
– meaning Kayani is letting Pak run over by Taliban? For what greater interest than they already have? All said and done, what you said is a compliment to Kayani. Ofcourse the Pak-Tal links are known but I don;t think Army is inviting Taliban into SWAT and… It is just that army is clueless aganinst unconventional Taliban and making deals to salvaging the situtaion, keeping in mind that Taliban is strategic asset (your point about phone call and common sense too) against India for sure, as indicated by Taliban offer of vlointeering men and amunition in case of war against India. But Pakistan is not in TOTAL CONTROL of Taliban and if Taliban becomes more ambitious, Pak has no way except to deal with them.
BHAKKAR- a gateway to Pakistan for Taliban. The people of BHAKKAR district have elected a chief minister of Punjab and a prime minister of Pakistan in different elections. Although a goup of local leaders sponcer the occasion and personally benefited by this gesture but basically the people of Bhakkar elected these leaders in hope of a better Bhakkar. It's requested to the President, prime minister of Pakistan and chief minister of Punjab to consider upgrading Bhakkar as a divisional head quarter by appointing a commissioner to provide better governance, extra facilities and security in the area. There are news that religious violence and drug smuggling is increased in the area recently.Dera/ Bhakkar road link is already a busy drug traffic route of the world. Bhakkar is a gate way to the Punjab and Sind provinces for NWFP and Afghanistan. Bhakkar has been head quarters of divisional level organization of Thal Development Authority since 1952. TDA was abolish in 1971 on corruption charges against it's high officials. Bhakkar is also a border district to Dera Ismail Khan and a capital city of Thal desert area-spread in six districts in Punjab. Thanking you, Khwaja Aftab Shah,Florida, U.S.A. firstname.lastname@example.com


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aaaand we're back
"Donbot, I beg you, I can't make this week's loan payment. Look into your hard drive, and open your mercy file!"
"File not found."
— Futurama
Okay, so it looks like I got this thing back up, though there's a file missing, uh, the settings are all still the default — there's still much to be done.
Derek, from the U.S.S. Mariner labs
"Innovation without inquietude"
55 Responses to "aaaand we're back"
Harry Teasley on
March 11th, 2005 4:34 pm
I like the name preceding the comment, too. I'd favor having the date on the same line, instead of taking an entire line to itself, separating the author and text that much. But things aren't done, and being a UI designer, I recognize I'm annoyingly nit-picky about things.
John D. on
March 11th, 2005 7:52 pm
I used to agree that one should read all the previous comments before posting, but lately there have been so many previous comments (sometimes approaching a hundred)–as one person after another must say what's on his/her mind–that it's difficult to read every comment before posting.
So occasionally we will see something–such as a posting of an observation that's already been observed (and posted)–that seems out of place .
Let's roll with the punch, and realize that we've brought it on ourselves.
David J Corcoran on
March 11th, 2005 8:56 pm
This quote from ESPNs game wrap reminds me of this thread:
"Hargrove was elated by Putz's performance, particularly the 6-foot-5, 245-pound right-hander's fastball.
"He has a really nasty sinker," Hargrove said of Putz's fastball. "I was not aware it was that good. That's what spring training is for, to get a chance to see what people have got.""
David J Corcoran on
March 11th, 2005 9:09 pm
And I just double-ridiculous forgot that a sinker is a fastball. No commenting for me for 24 hours.
DMZ on
March 11th, 2005 9:09 pm
I'd favor having the date on the same line, instead of taking an entire line to itself, separating the author and text that much.
I've been tinkering with this today. May be a while before I figure out how to pull that off, it's harder than it initially would appear to be.
Also on the Donbot line: the thing that cracks me up about it is that the voice is so perfect making that stupid computer error sound like it's a portent of doom. He might have said "Abort, Retry, Fail?" and I'd have laughed almost as hard.

subset: commoncrawl


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ROXBURY, NJ - Roxbury High School soccer players Ashleigh Sarafin, Bethany Sansone and Samantha Geraci have signed letters of intent to attend and play the sport at college.
Sarafin will be attending Siena College in upstate New York, Sansone will be attending New Haven University in Connecticut and Geraci will be going to Kutztown University.
"It's another great day to be Gael," said Roxbury High School Athletic Director Stuart Mason.
Sarafin and Sansone talked about experiences they had playing soccer and the friends they made along the way.
"Playing soccer for Roxbury High School was probably one of the greatest experiences I've had so far in life," said Safafin. "Growing up playing this sport has taught me so much and has given me forever, best friends. I'm thankful to (Roxbury High School Girls Soccer Coach) Justin Renna for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to play on Varsity my freshman year. It was scary and exciting at the same time."
She said she played with a number of talented teammates throughout the years. "We have had tremendous chemistry and have been very successful as a team," Sarafin said. "In the four years, we've won 61 games, three Morris County Championships, one State Sectional Title and one NJAC Conference Championship."
Sarafin leaves Roxbury having scored 48 goals (fourth all-time for Roxbury), 31 assists (third all-time) and 127 total points (sixth overall)."
Sansone echoed Sarafin's sentiments saying, "Roxbury High School soccer was truly an unforgettable experience. Getting the chance to play for my school, in front of my peers, and with my best friends is a feeling I will never forget. The game of soccer has taught me so much about perseverance, leadership, competitiveness, camaraderie, team building and so much more."
She said she felt "really fortunate" to have been coached by Renna. "He always pushed me hard to be competitive, tough as nails, to work my butt off and encouraged me to play at high levels all the time," said Sansone. "He also pushed me out of my comfort zone and to play roles that I wasn't always accustomed to. Whether my team needed a defensive midfielder, aerial ball winner, creative link up, an attacker or a motivational leader I was glad to take on the challenge. Playing with my teammates will forever be a long-lasting memory."
Some of those memories shared by Sarafin included "all the morning practices, team room jams, bus rides, county breakfasts, and state dinners. They are all over and high school soccer is just a memory now."
Renna reflected on both girls' soccer careers in Roxbury.
"Ashleigh was a 4-year varsity player ... During her time at RHS, she played a major part in our attack as a forward who had the ability to create goals for herself and others, often in our programs' biggest games," he said. "Ashleigh grew as both a player and leader in our program en route to becoming one of our program's all-time assist leaders and goal scorers. She will miss her both as a leader on the field and in the team room but we wish her continued success at Siena this fall."
As for Sansone, Renna also had kind words. "Bethany was a 3-year player for RHS and during her time, she served as one of our main players in the center of the midfield," he said. "Bethany's versatility to play both defending and attacking center midfield allowed us to adjust with great flexibility and success. Her ability to playmaker from anywhere in the midfield always made her a scoring threat. We will miss Bethany's leadership too both on the field and in the team room. We wish her continued success at the University of New Haven."
Geraci signed her letter of intent with Kutztown University's Division 2 Women's soccer program on Thursday at Driven Fitness and Performance in Succasunna.


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Subject: I have found a CD that I think you would enjoy
|Front 242
Back Catalogue
Genres: Alternative Rock, World Music, Pop, Rock, Metal
BackcatalogueThis title is manufactured "on demand" when ordered from Amazon.com, using recordable media as authorized by the rights holder. Powered by CreateSpace, this on-demand program makes thousands of titles availab... more »
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BackcatalogueThis title is manufactured "on demand" when ordered from Amazon.com, using recordable media as authorized by the rights holder. Powered by CreateSpace, this on-demand program makes thousands of titles available that were previously unavailable. For reissued products, packaging may differ from original artwork. Amazon.com?s standard return policy will apply.
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Featuring older material
Jay M | Dublin, Ireland | 01/18/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As the album title indicates this collection features material right from when the band first started out. Throughout it you can trace their development in sound, though the material itself only covers a brief moment of time in Front 242's career, from 1981 to 1985.It is very much a good buy. Fans of Front 242 should get this as it features material from various early albums and EP's by the group, which some may have missed. Sounding much more basic than their later works, the songs on here are early dance songs and electro tracks. It shows the group honing their sound and working on sounds. For those that are not as into their later hard dance works such as 'Up Evil' or 'Off' then this maybe a better bet.The best songs on here are 'U-Men', the instrumental 'Kampfbereit', the almost hip-hop-ish, breakbeat 'Take One', 'Lovely Day' and the swooping 'Don't Crash'."
I'll always return to my first love!
tiger_lux | Nippon | 03/08/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a great complilation album. I personally prefer Front 242's early work to the later, dance-oriented stuff. The only tracks I don't care for are the 2 live ones at the end. This album has completely withstood the test of time. I've had it for almost 10 years now, and I had the original vinyl records before that. Groups like Prodigy or Chemical Brothers I'll like for a few years, and then grow sick of them and toss them, always returning to this amazing album and my other favorite Front 242 record, Offical Version. The more I listen, the more I love it, and the more there is to hear. Headhunter and Welcome to Paradise are cool dance tunes, but they are a little forced, and pop-ish in comparison."
Excellent early material but BEWARE of what you're getting.
M. J. Kulengosky | NYC Metro Area Landfill | 06/30/2009
(1 out of 5 stars)
"this is a great album. showcases much of 242's earlier material but, i should've looked more closely at amazon's item description. apparently they're making CDR copies on-demand of 'out of print' titles. so, yes, it's a CDR (for 12 dollars). doesn't come with the original artwork, only a bad, digital print of the original artwork and a terribly abbreviated version of it at that.
i was hoping to replace my cassette copy of this release with the a factory manufactured CD but am extremely disappointed with the CDR copy i received. i could've illegally downloaded the tracks and burned my own CDR if that's what i was after.


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Two months back I figured I had too much of time on my hands and mind (a little too much for my own good :P) – so I set my fears and hesitation aside and decided to join the gym.
I had earlier enquired at a couple of reasonably reputed gyms and received calls informing me of some good offers. I have always had this misconception that the gym is meant for models or body builders – before I could develop cold feet I headed to the gyms to check them out. My experience as a newbie "gymmer":
I opted for one of the better known gyms even though it is a few kms from my place. Its reputation aside, I found the gym clean, the trainers and staff courteous, the equipment was not intimidating and last but not the least – there was a massage and sauna as well. Yipppeee :)!!! Had fun shopping for gym gear, I seriously never know there were so many varieties of sneakers and branded track pants and sweats.
The first couple of days was exciting – I was taken through a circuit training where I got to try all the equipment and test my strength/ speed. And then came the fitness test where I had to go through a cardio workout followed by strength and finally floor exercises. Quite manageable for beginners. This was followed by me getting my card – Strength and weights workout for Day 1 and Cardio for Day 2.
The workouts seemed a little intense initially – my muscles were protesting loudly at the exertion but I gradually fell into a pace which was comfortable. Having finished one phase of workouts I am due to start the next cycle which my trainer has promised will be a lot more rigorous and tough. Hmmm.. Bring it on I say :P!!
Just a word – there are various forms of exercise and physical activity which are just as or even more beneficial. It is merely that my terms of reference is the gym.
FACTS about working out in the gym:
1. ANYONE can start working out in a gym.
By anyone I mean your age, shape, sex, height, weight, fitness levels are NOT a constraint. I was in fact amazed at the number of middle aged ladies and elderly gentlemen working out very regularly. I see very generously built people striding on the treadmill and pulling weights with equal confidence as the slim guys and girls in trendy gym gear! Fitness levels vary with individuals but that is precisely why you have the certified trainers who assess your capability before assigning any workout to you.
2. Most good gyms focus on FITNESS – for everyone
Bodybuilding or making you size zero are just a couple of options but the primary focus is assessing your current fitness level and enhancing it. But if you have a specific goal of getting a six pack or just weight loss, they are happy to oblige you and customize your regimen. But to reiterate, a good gym focusses on the overall fitness first – the rest comes later.
3. You can workout even if you have a medical condition (unless very severe, in which case you wouldn't venture near the gym in the first place :))
I have noticed the trainers taking special care with elderly people or with members who have had injuries resulting in back or knee problems. Ensure you inform the counsellors or senior trainers regarding the problems (pains, hypertension, hormonal problems, diabetes, etc) so that the workouts can be suitably modified and your workouts carefully monitored.
3. Feeling sick? Slight flu or headache? Yes, you can workout
The first time I had a throat infection and was on antibiotics I called my trainer and told him I was on meds and therefore would not make it. Surprisingly I was told that it was OK to have a light workout unless you have fever or severe body ache. I actually felt better after doing light to moderate cardio despite my antibiotics. But do take care if you have a bad bout of flu or something equally infectious – you could end up infecting the entire floor, especially since it is a closed air conditioned environment.
4. Stressed out? Feel you cannot handle the additional pressure of going to the gym? HIT the GYM!
I joined the gym to tone my body but believe me it is also THE BEST WAY TO DESTRESS! This was a definite bonus since I very soon realized that I was a lot more calmer and relaxed after a workout. Problems didnt seem to matter too much and the best part is that for the duration of the workout, you mind stops thinking. You are so focussed on what you are doing and the breathing and the counts, you wouldn't even notice if someone went starkers next to you :P..
5. Feeling tired, low on energy and depressed? Get a high by working out!
The idea of working out in the evening after work can be tiring and leave you feeling all drained out – there are many times a nice dinner and TV has seemed more appealing. But if you can overcome the lethargy and spend even half an hour in the gym, it is guaranteed to not just elevate your energy level, but your mood as well. There is a very sound medical explanation for this but let me not get into that at this point 🙂
Want to share some DOs and DONTs as well as some tips which are handy in the gym – will save it for my next post..
Till then.. keep working out 🙂


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My husband made these oh so cute caricatures of our family (to use in our emails and make stickers) and I simply love it !! It puts a smile on my face every time I see it. It is so perfectly like us!
Yes, we are CUTE!!
The site is www.vistaprint.ca and once there you create your design in the caricature section.
I am sure you will have fun! And it is for free!


text: Blackhatters and SEO experts alike, i need some friendly advice if you will ! I have a site selling nothing but a very niche product and a 10 spoke linkwheel using various high PR properties ie wordpress blogger squidoo etc. The link wheel properties have been backlinked alot using SB over the past year but all are either still N/A or PR 1 at best and hardly ever crawled. Im sure this is because i do not post fresh content often enough so that is what im now going to concentrate on :whoo: The reason i have not posted lots of fresh original content on the link wheel web 2.0s often is because there is just so much you can say or write about this particular niche, and i think thats where i am going wrong! To help explain properly lets say my niche is water slides and all i sell is water slides. I have been posting content on the web 2.0s regarding water slides and linking back to my main site, i am now outa new content for water slides and spinning never seems to work well enough for me so i dont post new fresh content often enough. My question is, should i concentrate on just water? and not water slides? or find new content regarding other water fun related stuff like water guns and water balloons and post that to the web 2.0s ? You see my understanding of a link wheel is that the spokes must be related to the main to give related juice and therefore cred in googles eyes but how far can i spread that relationship. I surely cant just post about any random subject and expect google to rank my web 2.0s, can i ? Any help would be greatly appreciated :batman:


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The writers whose names regularly grace the bylines of articles in FMG's publications have forged bonds with readers beyond the page. Trusted for their insight, expertise and skill, the caliber of writers featured is unrivaled. Readers have shared they view the likes of John Taffin, Mike "Duke" Venturino, Massad Ayoob and others as "family." Get better acquainted with the FMG family as we share the story behind the byline in this new column.
Check Back For More Bio's On Our Writers.


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The following video and instructions will show you how to setup email notifications for Facebook Lead Ads using LeadSync.me. While Facebook doesn't offer email notifications with form details included, you can use our tool to immediately respond to new Facebook leads.
Facebook Lead Ads Email Notifications Setup Instructions
Below is an outline of what's covered in the video above. Follow these steps to start receiving email notification:
- Sign up to LeadSync.me with your Facebook account.
- Click on Connections and Add Connection
- Select "Email" from the connections drop down box, then add your email details and name your connection, then click Update connection.
- Go back into the Lists area and click on the Add Facebook Lead Form button
- Select your Page from the drop down, then wait for LeadSync.me to access your Page.
- Once your Page forms have loaded, select them from the second drop down, then select the email connection you want your leads to be sent to.
- Hit Update Notifications and you're done!
- Set the From Email address so if whoever you're sending notifications to "replies to" email leads, you'll get the emails (instead of us!).
Using the basic version of LeadSync you'll receive unlimited email notifications from one page and one form.
There are a couple of limitations to the basic version of our Facebook Lead ads email notifications tool:
- You need to be a page administrator, so if you only have Page Advertiser access, you won't be able to add a form.
- The notification email will come from "email@example.com". If you need to customise this, you can do so with a paid agency account. You can set the reply to email address as indicated above.
- We offer CRM integrations if you need to get your leads into your customer management system. See our home page for current integrations.
If there's an integration you require, let us know.


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The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Dessa Rodeffer, The Quill
Meet Your Neighbor Jacob Sholl, an eighth grade student at La Harpe Junior High.
Jacob is the son of Larry and Joanna Sholl of Terre Haute, and brother to Annie Sholl, and step brother to Lari and Buffy Sholl.
Jacob's grandparents are the late Frank and Analu Jones, and Jan Jones, Ruth Sholl, and the late Donald Sholl.
Jacob plays all sports in junior high, including baseball, basketball, and track. His favorite class in 8th grade is social studies, and his favorite sport is track.
His best friends are the 6 guys he has been playing school and non school sports with since first grade.
He has no clue where he wants to go to college, or what he wants to be when he grows up, but definitely will be going to college. "I kind of come from a family with lots of teachers, (Grandpa, 2 Grandmas, Mom, 4 Aunts, 3 Uncles are teachers) so I might as well plan on the college thing" Jacob said.
Jacob has set some lofty goals this year in track, and hopes to not only make it to the state track meet, but to win the hurdles. He also wants to dunk a basketball in high school.
His most memorable time in junior high so far has been going to state in track last year and medaling in all of his events.
His favorite family memory that is still fresh in his mind is going to Arkansas last summer to his Uncle Jeff's lake house.
He likes to spend his spare time playing his Xbox, eating, hanging with friends, eating some more, and watching TV. His favorite television shows are "The Office" and "House".
He is looking forward to attending Illini West High School next year and making new friends, and is eager to play sports at IW. He will miss the cafeteria and the cooks at La Harpe, especially grilled cheese day.
Being a teacher's kid at school is ok with him, but he said he can't get away with too much because she always finds out everything!
If he could change something about his life, he would like to put his house on wheels and move it to La Harpe so he could hang out with people other than his family, even though he is proud of his very large and strangely unique extended family.
Claim to fame:..When Jacob was born, he was an already an uncle to his dad's grandchildren.


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A waterside airport with a long history. A mayor who wanted to close part of the airport and turn it into a park and other developments. Leading up to yesterday's election, it sounded depressingly like Chicago's Meigs Field.
But this time the outcome was much different. No bulldozers will be ripping up the runway at St. Petersburg, Florida's Albert Whitted Airport. Thanks to the hard work of local airport advocates and AOPA, aircraft will be landing at SPG in perpetuity. By a three-to-one margin, St. Petersburg voters rejected a proposal to close the airport and turn half of it into parkland. And the overwhelming nature of the victory prompted Mayor Rick Baker to abandon his "compromise" proposal to close one runway and sell some land for development.
"The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is pleased that the voters of St. Petersburg have finally put to rest the threat to this vital airport," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "AOPA is absolutely committed to saving airports. Just as we fought for Meigs Field, AOPA will battle to stop any local government from destroying a vibrant, taxpayer-supported airport. And we'll do more than just issue a press release. We have, and we will, commit significant resources to the fight."
For Albert Whitted, AOPA spent more than $100,000 and put "boots on the ground" to help local airport supporters win the election battle to preserve the airport.
Bill Dunn, AOPA vice president of airports, was the association's "field general." He made frequent trips to St. Petersburg in the weeks before the election, meeting with city officials to explain the benefits and importance of keeping the airport open. He also met with the airport support groups to determine how AOPA could best help their cause, was AOPA's spokesman to the local media, and was there to talk to the voters on election day and be part of the victory celebrations.
The association hired a local political consultant to develop a sound strategy and follow it through to Election Day. AOPA commissioned scientific polling to determine the most effective messages with the voters. Based on that research, AOPA ran ads in local newspapers, placed television ads targeted to the most likely voters in St. Petersburg, and sent direct mail [see mailer 1 and mailer 2] to registered voters.
AOPA Airport Support Network volunteer Jack Tunstill was in many ways the face of the issue. He would give three or more speeches a day to civic groups, and was a major spokesman for the airport in the media. A local flight instructor, Tunstill spoke with authority on the value of the airport to the community.
Ruth Varn, who was awarded AOPA's Sharples Award in 1986 for her airport activism the last time the airport was threatened, headed the Albert Whitted Advisory Committee and the Albert Whitted Political Action Committee. The groups' many educational and advocacy efforts included advertising in the St. Petersburg Times and political signs around town telling voters how they should vote on the multiple ballot issues affecting the airport.
The Albert Whitted Preservation Society held an air show at the airport to help promote it to the community and conducted "support Albert Whitted" demonstrations. Some 1,600 volunteers were involved with the two groups.
"We lived and breathed this issue for the last 30 days," said Boyer. "Any national organization that truly wants to make a difference has to be willing to make this kind of commitment to the issue.
"AOPA's commitment and the voters' choice should send a strong message to politicians everywhere," said Boyer. "Airports are important and we will fight to keep them."
The 400,000 members of AOPA make up the world's largest civil aviation organization. AOPA is committed to ensuring the continued viability, growth, and development of aviation and airports in the United States. These airports are a vital and critical component of a national transportation system.


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|Project by dgreen50
|posted 06-27-2014 11:19 PM
|2344 views
|19 times favorited
|6 comments
6 comments so far
#1 posted 06-28-2014 05:28 AM
I like it. It's classy!
#2 posted 06-28-2014 09:31 AM
Nicely done…have a cup for me.
-- Dave - NH
#3 posted 06-28-2014 11:33 AM
Cool idea! Very neatly displays the offerings.
#4 posted 06-28-2014 01:49 PM
Very well done. I made similar design by trial and error prototype, but your wood combination is much better. I goofed and made the lay back angle too far, and the base too narrow. Tipped backward when top row of cups were inserted. Not hard to fix, started using it, and never did the next one. I used maple and sapele scraps. Holds 15 cups. It was fun to make in little time.
Again, well done. Far better looking better than the commercial products.
-- Al H. - small shop, small projects...
#5 posted 06-28-2014 08:28 PM
Very nice looking. I have never tried that type of coffee or maker. Since I live in Hawaii and love the coffee's they grow here, I wonder if they make coffee for those machines.
-- Larry in Hawaii,
#6 posted 06-28-2014 09:36 PM
I can buy Hawaiian coffee K cups here in Delaware… Long ways from you… No doubt K cup is more expensive per serving than other brew types, it does offer greater variety serving to serving and always fresh when served.
-- Al H. - small shop, small projects...
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One stock that might be an intriguing choice for investors right now is Citizens Financial Group, Inc. CFG. This is because this security in the Financial – Savings and Loan space is seeing solid earnings estimate revision activity, and is in great company from a Zacks Industry Rank perspective.
This is important because, often times, a rising tide will lift all boats in an industry, as there can be broad trends taking place in a segment that are boosting securities across the board. This is arguably taking place in the Financial – Investment Bankspace as it currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 69 out of more than 250 industries, suggesting it is well-positioned from this perspective, especially when compared to other segments out there.
Meanwhile, Citizens Financial is actually looking pretty good on its own too. The firm has seen solid earnings estimate revision activity over the past month, suggesting analysts are becoming a bit more bullish on the firm's prospects in both the short and long term.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Price and Consensus
In fact, over the past month, while current quarter estimates have risen from 50 cents per share to 51 cents per share, current year estimates have risen from $2.28 per share to $2.32 per share. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which is also a favorable signal.You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
So, if you are looking for a decent pick in a strong industry, consider Citizens Financial. Not only is its industry currently in the top third, but it is seeing solid estimate revisions as of late, suggesting it could be a very interesting choice for investors seeking a name in this great industry segment.
Sell These Stocks. Now.
Just released, today's 220 Zacks Rank #5 Strong Sells demand urgent attention. If any are lurking in your portfolio or Watch List, they should be removed immediately. These are sinister companies because many appear to be sound investments. However, from 1988 through 2016, stocks from our Strong Sell list have actually performed 6X worse than the S&P 500. See today's Zacks ""Strong Sells"" absolutely free >>.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research


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In Home Boarding
Our in home boarding service provides a casual and comfortable home setting for you dog. With all the comforts, noises and cooking aromas of a family setting, this atmosphere gives your dog a calm reassurance of well being, while you enjoy your trip out of town. We have a large secure backyard and keep a careful watch on everyone. Whether it be a 1 night stay or 2 month long adventure, we would delight in having your dog stay with us and treat them like family.
To ensure a comfortable stay, space is limited. Feel free to call and ask about our rates.


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Love in the Delhi Metro
The train towards HUDA City Centre was rolling into the platform, and I hurried to reach the last coach, which I was usually found to be less crowded than the others. I made it comfortably, and waited for the doors to open. At this time there were fewer people boarding the train, and I hoped to have a comfortable ride for a change. The doors started opening, and that is when I first saw him.


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MagazineMar 26, 2015
Two days ago a Germanwings airplane was reported missing over the French Alps.
Mere hours later it was reported as crashed into those Alps. There was very little hope for the 150 people on board.
The big question was What happened? Did something mechanical fail, did the pilots make an error? The data recordings found on the black box gave us a quick and very disturbing answer.
As it turns out the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, had locked himself in the cockpit when the pilot went for a toilet break, and steered the plane, carrying amongst others 16 students and two teachers from a school in Germany, straight into a mountain side.
Some would call it suicide, but we'll just call it murder.
A coach transporting family members and relatives of the victims is escorted by French Gendarmes as they arrive in Seyne-les-Alpes near to the crash site of an Airbus A320 in the French Alps JEAN-PAUL PELISSIER/REUTERS


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Parental Guidance2012
Parental Guidance (2012)
Parental Guidance Photos
Movie Info
Watch it now
People Who Like this movie also like
as Diane Decker
as Artie Decker
as Alice
as Phil
as Barker
as Turner
as Harper
News & Interviews for Parental Guidance
Critic Reviews for Parental Guidance
All Critics (91) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (75) | DVD (1)
This grating family comedy resembles a sitcom in its flat lighting, patronizing music cues, and frames supplying little visual information apart from the actors' mugging faces.
One of those intergenerational embarrassment comedies in the Meet the Fockers line, where children can enjoy seeing grown-ups looking ridiculous.
An extended "in my day" joke intended to convey the superiority of old people over a lot of supposedly contemporary behavior that doesn't actually exist in real life.
After a while it seems to run out of jokes, maybe to make room for all the crying and hug-it-out family redemption in the last half hour.
I can't deny I did feel fonder of my own family afterward, mostly because I know none of them would ever make me sit through Parental Guidance.
It's hard to know who exactly "Parental Guidance" was made for.
Audience Reviews for Parental Guidance
There's some to love, and a lot to dislike about this Billy Crystal-Bette Midler paired comedy. In the positive category we have our two leads, who are comedy legends and all around funny people. The characters deal with really intense problems that stem from a wide variety of issues, and not all of them have easy solutions. That's not a regular staple of modern comedy films, which are happy to create a tidy ending for its schmucks. What many people take issue with is this unrealistic, privileged view of middle class Americans that paints children as spoiled misanthropes, and adults as their enablers. Artie's voice doesn't seem like Crystal's, because everyone knows that the future means embracing technology, and all its benefits. In this reality older people know best and younger people don't know anything. If its depiction of people wasn't so skewed, perhaps the few laughs it actually generated would be better appreciated.
Super Reviewer
Wasn't quite the suck-fest I pictured, but believe me, my expectations were way down for this one. Found this quite watchable (once, anyhow, wouldn't watch it again). Decent cast lift it a bit too.
Super Reviewer
Decent, funny comedy, but nothing really special. Billy Crystal was very funny. The philosophy of old school vs, new school parenting had some good laughs, etc. But, it was just really average over all. Pleasant, but not memorable.
Super Reviewer
Parental Guidance Quotes
|Artie Decker:
|I don't feel welcome here.
|Diane Decker:
|After your kids grow up, your husband is the one who stays.
|Artie Decker:
|Don't call me grandpa, Call me Artie
|Artie Decker:
|Don't call me grandpa, Call me Artie.
|Can I call you Fartie
|Can I call you Fartie?
|Artie Decker:
|I taught them how to shave! Show 'em your legs Boys!


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Ray and Cynthia Brown of Burlington announce the engagement of their daughter, Jennifer Renae Brown, to Dr. Craig Matthew Matteo of Graham, son of Michael and Karen Matteo of Charlotte.
The outdoor wedding is at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, on the beach at North Myrtle Beach, S.C. Friends and relatives are invited.
The bride-elect graduated from Southern Alamance High School. She is a CA at Matteo Chiropractic, Mebane.
The groom-elect graduated from South Mecklenberg High School, Charlotte; Appalachian State University, Boone, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology; and the National College of Chiropractic, Chicago, Ill., with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree. He is a doctor of chiropractic at Matteo Chiropractic, Mebane.


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Looking hot has nothing to do with the price tag. That's been the philosophy behind Kensie since the brand hit the scene in the mid-90s: to give young women designer, on-trend styles without breaking the bank. That new idea of putting high fashion runway looks in everyone's hands has made the label a hit among celebrities and fashion-conscious girls alike.
At FramesDirect.com, we carry a little something for everyone. You'll find a broad range of frame shapes to choose from, including oversized ovals, classic aviators, smart rectangles and rounded-edge styles, all in a wide variety of colors, patterns and tints. Each one is made with durable, high-quality materials that will stand up to your adventurous lifestyle. Even better, with Kensie's dedication to value and our slashed prices, you can look glamorous for less. We'll even throw in a carrying case and cleaning cloth with every pair.


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This numbered edition Canvas Print, designed by Z. H. Field, comes with a numbered and signed certificate of authenticity. Ready to hang, this image is printed onto a 450gsm white finish, 100% cotton canvas and stretched over 1.5" deep wood stretcher bars (3/4" for XS). Each print comes with wall hanging hardware.
A barred owl in pen and watercolor on Bristol board.
Brooklyn, United States


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Phase I studies are the foundation for advancing cancer treatment with novel agents and combinations of therapies. Providence Cancer Center is proud to offer our patients highly innovative treatment options, many of which include clinical trials.
Our team of investigators works closely with other leading scientists around the country to develop and initiate trials of novel agents to treat cancer. Through our own investigator-sponsored trials, as well as partnerships with industry sponsors and collaborations with other early-phase institutions around the country, we are often able to offer first-in-human trials of the newest cancer therapies to our patients.
The phase I research program at the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute at Providence Cancer Center is made up of oncologist leaders, phase-I-dedicated nurses, data coordinators and lab assistants. Every person on this exceptional team is passionate about offering breakthrough therapies and the best possible treatment to our patients.
Our panel of trials focuses largely on immunotherapies, but also includes targeted therapies and other innovative agents. We currently offer more than 30 phase I clinical trials in these areas:
New studies are added frequently. For a complete list of all current studies at Providence Cancer Center, including phase I, II and III clinical trials, please visit our website. For more information, call 503-215-2614.


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The annual Alliance Summer Soccer Invitational, one of the premier preseason boys' high school soccer events in Ohio, runs Friday though Sunday.
The event, in its 11th year, has evolved from a field of eight to 21 teams.
Matches will be contested at three different venues. Alliance's Rockhill Soccer Complex will host games on all three days of the event. St. Thomas Aquinas will also be a site for matches Friday and Saturday and the Marlington Soccer Stadium will host matches Saturday and Sunday as well.
All of the teams in the field have a strong tradition in boys' high school soccer.
In addition to Alliance, St. Thomas and Marlington, West Branch will be participating in the event for the first time.
They will be joined by GlenOak and North Canton Hoover from the Federal League and parochial powerhouses Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, Walsh Jesuit and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.
Rounding out the field are Austintown Fitch, Berlin Hiland, Chagrin Falls, Coshocton, Dover, Gates Mills Hawken, Howland, Kidron Central Christian, Medina Highland, Poland, Revere and Stow high schools.
Each team will play six matches over a two-day period. Each match will be 50 minutes with a water break midway through.
The matches at all three venues are free and open to the public. Concessions will be available at each site.


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Candlewood Suites Mount Gilead hotels are provided below. Search for cheap and discount Candlewood Suites hotel rates in Mount Gilead, OH for your upcoming individual or group travel. We list the best Candlewood Suites Mount Gilead venues so you can review the Mount Gilead Candlewood Suites hotel list below to find the perfect place.
Our page will list Mount Gilead, OH lodging that have similar star rating to Candlewood Suites.Booking a group or meeting? Set up a group hotel block in Mount Gilead OH
How should we direct your call?


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Sad Giraffe
>> Monday, August 30, 2010
Another day, another dollar, another packed lunch. Work continues to kick my ass. I know, I know, it's called work for a reason. Nobody bitches about having to go sit on the couch, but good gravy it's just making me so sad. Of course it's not like I really expect it to be cotton candy fun, but I could sure use a break. Well, enough about me, let's look at what I ate!
1. tragically overcooked strip steak, sliced thin
2. smoked gouda
3. the sandwicheriffic Bagel Thins - speaking of Bagel Things, did there used to be something else called Bagel Thins that was most certainly not -these- Bagel Thins? I'll have to think on that for a while. Moving on -
4. tiny pepper stuffed with chive cream cheese
5. some maters
6. asianesque cucumber salad made with Soy Vay Island Teryaki because I am just that clever and also had no sesame oil
7. Maille whole grain mustard, and plenty of it
8. sad giraffe because I didn't have a tiny fork with a plastic representation of a crying baby Jesus which really would have been more appropriate


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Mary K. Hosler
Hello, welcome to the Town of Evans web pages where you will find a wealth of information about the Town of Evans and its departments. If you do not find what you are looking for please contact my office at 549-5787
The Town of Evans is considered a Town of first class, which is determined by the population of the Town.
The Town Board consists of an elected Supervisor and two (2) elected Councilmen.
Office hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and Wednesday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Mary Hosler, Supervisor
Town of Evans
Mary K. Hosler, Supervisor
Mary Holl, Supervisor's Secretary & ADA Officer
Kathy Buckley, part time clerk
Town Hall Business Hours
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8am – 4pm
Wednesday 9am – 5pm
Town Offices
8787 Erie Road
Angola NY 14006
(716) 217-3500


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Scan-Xpress provides 3D scanning services which can be performed in-house or at their clients' premises. They have a number of 3D scanning technologies which they match to each client's specific needs, in an effort to achieve optimum results.
Scan-Xpress uses non contact 3D scanning technologies including:
- ATOS White Light Digitizers
- Z Corporation Laser Scanners
- TRITOP Photogrammetry
Their 3D scanning services are suitable for most objects, regardless of size. Small complex objects such as injection moulded parts can be digitally captured with great accuracy and resolution, while large objects as big as a boat can also be accurately measured within verifiable tolerances.


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|Medical news of Remedium.ru portal is the most update information on pharmaceutical and medical equipment market
The periodical about the pharmaceutical and medical equipment markets
ROSSIYSKIE APTEKI(Russian pharmacies) - specialized periodical edition for pgarmacy professionals
MEDITSINSKY SOVETMedical Council - Scientific Journal for Physicians
Home / News
Russia's Pharmstandard 2009 profit nearly doubles
Russian drugmaker Pharmstandard (PHSTq.L) said on Thursday its net profit nearly doubled last year on higher sales of medicines, especially its popular Arbidol flu drug.
Net profit amounted to 6.85 billion roubles ($233.7 million) in 2009, against 3.50 billion roubles a year earlier, with sales of the Arbidol drug doubling to 5.50 billion roubles and sales of all pharmaceutical products rising by 77 percent.
The London-listed company confirmed earlier reports that sales jumped 68 percent last year to 24.10 billion roubles, 96 percent of which came from sales of pharmaceutical products [nLDE61B0CK].
Higher sales of Arbidol, whose efficacy for treatment of the H1N1 flu was confirmed by Russian scientific institutes, and bigger sales of other drugs increased the company's share in the Russian pharmaceutical market to 4.4 percent from 4.0 percent a year earlier.
Pharmstandard also said that its first quarter 2010 revenue increased by a fourth to 5.73 billion roubles year-on-year, with 98 percent of that in pharmaceutical products. ($1=29.31 ROUBLE)
Source: Reuters


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Some interesting facts we gleaned from The Wall Street Journal's profile of D.G. Yuengling & Son, the Pennsylvania-based brewer that last week announced its plans to buy a former Coors brewing facility in Memphis:
— Dick Yuengling, the company's 67-year-old fifth-generation owner, drives a 2002 Ford Taurus to work and won't spend money on a car wash.
— He also doesn't use email, reuses Styrofoam cups, and only got a cell phone last year. Demand for the beer outside of its13-state footprint is such that there is a website called BringYuenglingtoOhio.com.
— Last year, the company was the only one among the U.S.'s 10 largest beer suppliers to post a double-digit growth rate.
— And perhaps most important, "Yuengling" is German for "young man."
Lessons learned: It pays to spend 181 years growing a company "slowly and methodically." And it also, apparently, pays to be cheap.


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Bombardier is cutting 1,700 jobs, including 550 at its Learjet plant in Wichita, the company told employees in an internal memo Tuesday morning.
The layoffs will affect workers across the spectrum and include contractors, union-represented workers and nonrepresented employees, said Bombardier spokeswoman Annie Cossette. She did not have a breakdown for those different sectors.
In Wichita, 200 workers already have departed, after being laid off in December. The Tuesday announcement means 350 more will lose their jobs in the coming weeks.
Bombardier currently employs 3,000 contractors and direct employees in Wichita.
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Bombardier also will proceed with periodic furloughs and temporary layoffs of 300 Wichita employees during the first six months of the year, although some of those affected may be laid off permanently, Cossette said.
In early January, the company told employees in a memo that a total of six weeks of furloughs and temporary layoffs would be implemented in two-week blocks.
The news of permanent layoffs come a day after a disappointing report on 2013 deliveries – a report that clearly showed the market for business jets has not recovered since the recession ended more than four years ago. In particular, the market for the light category business aircraft segment has not rebounded as fast as the company had hoped, despite encouraging signs in the U.S. economy, Cossette said of the cuts in Wichita.
"It's a very challenging market," Cossette said.
The market for medium and large business aircraft has been stronger than the light business jet market, she said.
The remainder of the 1,700 layoffs will be made at Bombardier sites in Montreal, she said.
With delays in two new aircraft programs, Bombardier is working to control costs and preserve cash, the company said. Those new programs require a lot of resources.
The company has announced delays in its new Learjet 85 business jet program, launched in October 2007 in Wichita, and in its new CSeries commercial jet, which is built in Canada.
It announced last week that the CSeries jet won't be ready for service until the second half of 2015, several months later than its previous plan.
The first flight of the composite Learjet 85, expected by the end of 2013, has been delayed, the company said this month.
A flight is now scheduled in the "coming weeks," Cossette said in early January. Entry-into-service is still set for this summer 2014, but that may be revised, she said. Once the flight occurs, the Learjet team will review whether that date will need to be moved, she said. The program has met with other delays since its launch.
On Monday, Bombardier announced that it had delivered 25 percent fewer Wichita-assembled Learjets in 2013 than it did the year before.
It delivered 29 Learjet business jets in 2013, compared to 39 in the previous year.
The decline was due mainly to the transition from the Learjet 40XR and Learjet 45XR to the Learjet 70 and 75, which entered service in the fourth quarter of the year.
In its business aviation division, Bombardier delivered 180 business jets, which includes the Learjet deliveries, compared to 179 in 2012.
It took orders, however, for 305 business aircraft last year, compared to 343 in 2012.
The recovery is taking longer than anticipated, Guy Hachey, Bombardier Aerospace president, said in a statement Monday.


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In Bloom
Gordonia longicarpa
The creamy petals of Gordonia longicarpa with its sunburst golden stamens resemble an oversize camellia. The flowers have a crinkled texture, and can be 3 to 4 inches wide depending on the species. The long, glossy, elliptical leaves have a flush of red in their stalks. G. longicarpa is one of more than 30 species found in the province of Yunnan, China, and the mountains of Malaysia.
Another species, G. lasianthus, known as "Loblolly Bay", is common in the moist bottom-lands from North Carolina to Florida. It is the only species found outside of Asia. Yunnan and the southeastern states share the same latitude and similar climates on opposite sides of the world. There are many plants that grow in Asia with almost identical relatives in eastern North America. Botanists attribute this strange similarity to continental drift and the early history of the planet, when there was but one continent, Pangaea.
In the Botanical Garden, Gordonia longicarpa can reach up to 50 feet. In the Southeast it varies from a shrub to a large tree. Considered a rare plant, Gordonia blooms during the winter months in San Francisco. Another variety, G. chrysnadra, blooms year round in China.
Gordonia longicarpa can be found in the Asia Discovery Garden (Bed 7D) and the Rhododendron Garden (Bed 73.)


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Event is FINISHED
What happens when you combine Arduino, the amazingly simple micro-controller board with Scratch, the ridiculously easy drag-and-drop programming editor? You get awesome!
read more
What you'll do
Arduino from Scratch with Scratch for Arduino
We just can't help the word play
Pre-requisitesNo prior experience necessary. We'll guide you along as you put together the code and circuit. Suitable for anyone 10 years old and older. But if you already know programming, this is not the course for you.
What to bring
- Laptop, preferably with the following free software installed:
You don't need to bring an Arduino as we'll lend you a complete starter kit which comes with a variety of components that you can control with Scratch. You won't get to bring it home, but you can always purchase one from us after the course.
What you'll do
We're going to build a few simple projects together:
- Traffic Light: Learn to control a few LED lights, and make a traffic light pattern or something crazier if you like
- Light Theremin: We'll make music by waving our hands in thin air
- Racing Car: Build a racing car game that's controlled by a knob
If you want to do more, sign up for the follow-up workshop More Arduino from Scratch with Scratch for Arduino where we'll do even more fun projects.
Add to Calendar
Tue Dec 30, 2014
- Venue
- IDA Labs@NDC Level 3
- Tickets
Standard SOLD OUT $35.00
- Venue Address
- 111 Middle Road, Singapore 188969 Singapore
- Directions
IDA Labs@NDC is in the National Design Centre, across the road from the National Library Building. After you enter, work your way to the "Kapok" store at the back of the building and take the elevator behind the store to find us on level 3.
- Organizer
Tinkercademy91 Followers
Want to find more groups and events like this?


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Leo Perlis, for 25 years director of community services for the AFL-CIO, died of a stroke Sunday at the Miami Heart Institute in Miami Beach. He was 74 years old and lived in Bay Harbor Islands.
From 1945 to 1955, Mr. Perlis was director of community services for the Congress of Industrial Organizations. When it merged with the American Federation of Labor, he remained as director until 1980, when he retired, becoming a consultant. He moved to Florida two years later.
In retirement, Mr. Perlis continued to speak out for workers, as well as to the leadership of the labor movement.
In 1984, in an Op-Ed page article in The New York Times, he said that endorsement of presidential candidates in advance of primary elections would not bring the "new era" labor sought. "It will begin," he wrote, "only when labor realizes that demonstrations and pre-primary endorsements are poor substitutes for organizing the unorganized, educating the organized, developing a participatory rather than an adversary approach to business, and greater involvement in community affairs."
Mr. Perlis was born in Russia and came to the United States in 1923, at the age of 11. He graduated from East Side High School in Paterson, N.J., and began his career as a newspaper editor on The Call in Paterson. He became a worker in the silk mills of Paterson and a member of the silk workers' union, a predecessor of the Textile Workers. In 1936, he became active in Labor's Nonpartisan League, a union political action group headed by John L. Lewis.
In 1940, when Lewis endorsed the Republican candidate for president, Wendell L. Willkie, Mr. Perlis resigned from the league, working for the re- election of Franklin D. Roosevelt.


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Six booklets
The exercises are now available on the web and in six booklets (100 pages in total), titled:
"General Introduction"
(an overview of the exercise series),
"Toolkits" (explanation of basic astronomical and mathematical techniques),
"Exercise 1: Measuring the Distance to Supernova 1987A",
"Exercise 2: The Distance to Messier 100 as Determined by Cepheid Variable Stars",
"Exercise 3: Measuring the Distance to the Cat's Eye Nebula" and
"Exercise 4: Measuring a Globular Star Cluster's Distance and Age".
The booklets are sent free-of-charge to high-school teachers on request and may be downloaded as PDF files from the web site. More exercises will follow in the future.
Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com, www.astroex.org
Exercise 1 - Measuring the Distance to Supernova 1987A
Quick Summary
The geometry of
the nearest ring around Supernova 1987A (SN1987A) is introduced. We then define
the scale of the Hubble image of the supernova so that the angular diameter
of the ring and also the inclination of the ring relative to the plane of the
sky can be found. Observations from Earth show how light from the supernova
reached the different parts of the ring. Using light intensity measurements
and the speed of light, the physical dimensions of the ring can be found. Once
both the angular and the physical size of the ring have been determined, we
can determine the distance to SN 1987A itself.
Exercise 2 - The Distance to Messier 100 as Determined By Cepheid Variable Stars
Quick Summary (click here for the complete exercise)
In this exercise
we measure the period and apparent magnitudes of Cepheid variables in the galaxy
M100. The absolute magnitude is derived using the Period-Luminosity relation
and the distance to M100 can then be determined using the distance relation.
Finally we calculate a value for the Hubble constant (using a value for the
recession velocity of M100 observed by other scientists) and estimate the age
of the Universe.
Exercise 3 - Measuring the Distance to the Cat's Eye Nebula
Quick Summary
We measure the
angular expansion velocity of the Cat's Eye Nebula by careful investigation
of two Hubble images taken in 1994 and 1997. With the help of tangential velocity
measurements from an earlier scientific paper, it is possible to determine the
distance to the nebula. We also derive the distance by looking at how much the
radial intensity profiles of prominent features in the two images have changed
between 1994 and 1997.
Exercise 4 - Measuring a Globular Star Cluster's Distance and Age
Quick Summary
We measure blue
(mB) and green (visual, mV) magnitudes of selected stars in the outer regions
of a globular cluster shown on VLT images, convert the (mB-mV) values into stellar
surface temperatures (T) and plot the mV values as a function of the T values
on a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. The cluster's Main Sequence, seen in the plotted
diagram, is compared with a distance-calibrated standard Main Sequence from
the nearby Hyades cluster. The distance to the cluster can be determined by
Main Sequence fitting and using the distance modulus. The cluster's age, which
incidentally places a lower limit on the age of the Universe, can be estimated
from the position of the turn-off point on the Main Sequence.
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