text:
Strawberry smoothie with marshmallows
Smoothies – mind-blowing-round treat, it can be made from everything that can be crushed using a blender. Cool savory smoothies from vegetables is perfect for a summer lunch or afternoon snack, in the manner of the famous cold soup gazpacho. Sweet fruit smoothies is a wonderful dessert or diet dinner, full of vitamins and other utilities. You can combine completely different vegetables and fruits, the main criterion and the requirement is that you must taste.
None of the strawberry season can not do without the strawberry smoothies in various embodiments, in various combinations with other fruits – strawberry banana, strawberry kiwi, strawberry and pineapple, berries, meats and many other combinations. This berry has such a delicious aroma that avoid it is simply not possible. Strawberries are juicy, it has a lot of useful fiber and low in calories.
But a simple strawberry smoothie Continue reading
Features and properties of white tea
One day my friends, examining the characteristics of this type of tea, came to the conclusion that it is possible to live almost on one the white tea. White tea — in Chinese the pronunciation of "Bai Cha" 白茶 ) – despite very modest number of varieties are very different and self-sufficient. One kind of Bai cha will give you ease of green tea. Another warm, as warm Oolong and red teas. Third, pressed and villiany few years, will replace Shen-PU-erh.
Of course, we had slightly exaggerated. Puerh, Oolong teas, red teas have their own unique differences. And yet, in our comparison is the truth: different types of white tea are so unlike each other that it is sometimes
difficult to believe in their relationship.
Varieties of white tea
Classics Bai Cha is a type of Bai Hao Yin Zhen (the"Silver needle with white pile"). For the production of this tea is used exclusively Continue reading
Green tea lowers blood
The properties of green tea: lowers blood pressure or increases
People suffering from such diseases as hypertension forced to maintain blood pressure in the help of pharmaceutical drugs. And their frequent reception, as it is known, affects the stomach and gastrointestinal function in General. To avoid possible complications is possible if instead of pills every day to drink tea that lower and normalize blood pressure? But what . Black or green tea lowers blood pressure? And how much should be consumed?
Green tea for hypertension
Scientists still argue about the effects of green tea on BP. Some argue that it is able to reduce it, while others believe that such an assertion is fundamentally wrong. So how this tool affects the cardiovascular system?
Years of research, European scientists have shown that due to contained in this drink is catechin, he is able to gently reduce pressure, eliminate tinnitus and headache, which Continue reading


text:
An article recently popped up in my inbox entitled, "How To Work Only 40 Hours A Week This Year" and it made me want to scream. Why are we so zeroed in on work? Why is there such pressure to work > 40 hours per week?! Your life, identity and purpose should not be solely focused on your career…even if you love what you are doing! You are not 100% defined by your job. Period. The funny thing is though, a majority of us will spend most of our waking hours at our jobs. {Insert sigh} One of the benefits that most full-time employees enjoy is paid time off. If you're like me (and millions of others), that time is short but sweet. I get two weeks of paid vacation. While I'm grateful for that time off, I'll be the first one to tell you that between weddings/bachelorette parties/showers, sickness, and a myriad of other "life" reasons, two weeks off really turns into one week off. I'm sure many of you can relate! In order to actually take a vacation, I have learned to be crafty…and very organized. Below are five tips on how to maximize your limited vacation time.
Five Tips on How to Maximize Your Limited Vacation Time
- Plan, plan, plan ahead. One of my favorite parts of the new year is getting a new planner. I like to start off by marking down all of the holidays my office is closed throughout the year. Next, I write out all of my expected travel for work and days off for weddings/other events I know will be happening. Finally, I take a look at when would be best to use my vacation time. I try to space trips out so that not everything is happening back to back.
- Coincide your vacation with holidays. Use those long weekends! For example, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is coming up on the 16th. You could take Tuesday, the 17th off and extend that trip. Looking ahead for the year, below are some other dates to consider when planning your vacations:
- President's Day is on Monday, February 20th. Take off the 21st for an extended weekend.
- Memorial Day is on Monday, May 29th. Take off the 30th for an extended weekend.
- The 4th of July is on Tuesday. Take off the 3rd for an extended weekend.
- Labor Day is on Monday, September 4th. Take off the 5th for an extended weekend.
- Christmas Day is on Monday, December 25th. Take off the 26th-29th for a long end of the year trip!
- Don't spend all your time getting to your destination (unless it's a road-trip). If you only have an extended weekend but spend a full day traveling, your vacation will feel so short. You will regret not paying a few extra bucks to book the direct flight. If you're up for it, try flying overnight and waking up in your new destination. Don't waste your time in airports! Another thing to consider is a staycation or day trip. I'm from Cleveland and they are SO MANY amazing things to do here that I have never actually done. Spend a weekend purposefully exploring your hometown (or nearby city).
- Bleisure travel is a great option! How many of you go to work conferences or travel for your job but never actually enjoy the city you are in? What a waste! I highly recommend that you tack on a day or two before or after your work related travel.
- Ask for unpaid leave. If your employer is smart, they would rather have you take unpaid leave and go on that vacation of your dreams rather than quit your job. It never hurts to ask…be polite and have a plan!
In conclusion, I hope that you can benefit from these five tips and maximize your limited vacation time in 2017! Remember that you are not fully defined by your career. Use your well-deserved time off effectively and wisely so that even your short amount of vacation days will still allow you to explore that new city, relax on your favorite beach and catch up with your lifelong best friend. Come back well-rested and happy…your employer will thank you!
Question for you: How many vacation days do you receive (if you're a full-time employee)? Do you use them all?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Search results
2019 Ohio Corn Performance Test: Regional Overviews
overview of the early maturity 2019 Ohio Corn Performance Test. Region Entries Grain Yield (Bu/A) ... In 2019, 163 corn hybrids representing 20 commercial brands were evaluated in the Ohio Corn ... production environments. The spring of 2019 was one the wettest on record and resulted in major planting ...
Introduction to Hydroponics
gardening as well as school science teaching programs. If you enjoyed this course, you may like… HCS 3521 ...
Certified Crop Adviser Pre-Exam Training to be held January 8 & 9
The Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Exam Training program, sponsored and delivered by members of the ... OSU Agronomic Crops Team, will be offered at the Shelby County Ag Building, 810-820 Fair Rd, Sidney, ... Ohio 45365 on January 8 th and 9 th beginning at 9:00 a.m. on the 8 th and adjourn by 5:00 p.m. on ...
Plant and Soil Nutrient Management
This meeting is an all encompasing program regarding Plant and Soil Nutrient Managment. Primary, ...
December 2019
activities that may be re-published in your own newsletters or programs. If you have safety-related questions ... or program ideas that you would like to share, please contact Dee Jepsen at email@example.com ...
Ohio AgrAbility in Action: Fitness for Farm Life – One stretch, 3 ways
Laura Akgerman, Disability Services Coordinator, Ohio AgrAbility Project Farmers spend hours every ... one step back Bending at the waist, fold forward with back straight until forehead touches the wall ... elbows or hands (arms straight) on chair Take one step back Bending at the waist, fold forward with back ...
The Silent Killer, Carbon Monoxide
Lisa Pfeifer – OSU Ag Safety and Health Education Coordinator Ohio temperatures have dipped into ... Program or contact Lisa Pfeifer at email@example.com or 614-292-9455. ...
Dressing for Cold Weather
workers it may be tempting to "tough it out" or "work through it". Prolonged exposure to winter ...
How Reliable will this Year's Test Plot Data Be?
Ohio's corn and soybean crops experienced exceptional growing conditions in 2019, including ... record rainfall in May and June followed by drier than normal August and September conditions in many ... resulted in root damage and N loss that led to uneven crop growth and development between and within ...
Assessing the 2019 Production Year Survey- Second Call
The survey is for Ohio crop and livestock/forage producers. Questions relate to crop production, ... prevented plant, livestock forage needs, emergency forage success, economic and human stress concerns. Since ... regional and statewide basis. Results will be used to determine Extension programming and future research ...


text:
The UK's Favourite Beads & Jewellery Making Shop
Out of stock
Check our out free online jewellery making magazine packed with seasonal inspiration, free projects, competitions and so much more! Fab new issue monthly.
Currency conversions are estimated and should be used for informational purposes only.
Service rating : Good quick serviceProduct : Have bought them a few timesWould like you to stock the larger oval ones
Service rating : I would recommend Spoilt Rotten Beads due to their good service and reasonable prices.Product : Good value
Service excellent
Service rating : I always look forward to receiving my orders, they really cheer me upProduct : An amazing design. I loved making it. So versatile
I love Spoilt Rotten Beads! Love what they sell, the price and speedy delivery. I also love their videos, showing how to make fab jewellery, thank you and highly recommended.
These Swarovski Crystal Guardian Angels would make a stunning gift for someone you care for this Christmas
Super quick and super sparkly! Swarovski Crystal Briolette Drop Earrings
Make yourself a Swarosvki Crystal Birthstone Pendant - quick and easy!
Company Registered in England & Wales: 06487707 VAT No: GB 927 9016 06
Designed & Developed by Design Monkey - Cambridge Website Design


text:
The word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe. Deuteronomy 30:11-14
Two weeks ago I asked you to write a one-sentence sermon, what you believed God most wants to say to us in these challenging times.
Thanks to all who responded on Facebook, this page, and via email. Each of your many contributions is a gift; taken together, they provide a wealth of insight and exhortation. Over the next few weeks, I'll highlight different themes that emerge from your words and consider ways we can live by their light.
It's striking that so many of you quoted Scripture. Some of you heard words from the prophets:
Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
And they shall call you, repairers of the breach…restorer of streets to live in.
What does the Lord require of you but to do justice; love kindness; and walk humbly with your God?
Others quoted the teachings of Jesus:
Your are the light of the world.
Be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves.
Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
The words you cited most often are found throughout the Bible and are the pillars of faith:
Be not afraid.
Love one another.
Like our forebears, we wonder how not to be afraid when there is, in fact, so much to fear. But there is no judgment of our fears here; rather a calm assurance that we are not alone. We live, move and have our being within the heart of an all-loving God who knows our fears. Hold steady, God says to us. My grace is sufficient and my love will see you through.
Nor is the call of love simplistic or naive; it is the deepest, most important of biblical truths. Jesus came, like the prophets before him, to show us the breadth and depth of God's love. He came to show us what it looks like to love, especially when it's hard. For those of us drawn to follow Jesus, there is no other way. Even when we fail at love, he is there to forgive and help us carry on.
Consider this: These biblical truths came to you because they dwell within you. You already know what God wants us to remember. You have heard these truths read in church; you may have discussed them in Bible study or read them in a moment of quiet prayer. And when you needed to be reminded of what matters most, through the words you already know, God speaks.
That's one reason why it's so important that we make time to dwell deeply in the words of Scripture, to sit quietly for just a few minutes each day and read from the Bible. It matters that we gather in church to hear the Word and a preacher's best efforts to bring ancient truths to life. We may not be inspired every day or by every sermon. But over time, the sacred stories and teachings become part of us, inform our worldview, and are there when we need them. When we're get discouraged or anxious, these are among the many ways God can reorient us toward faith, hope, and love.
I've just returned from Nuevo Amanecer, a national gathering of Latino congregational leaders. It was among the most uplifting experiences of my summer. We prayed and sang a lot. And we drew deeply from the well of Scripture.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry couldn't attend in person, but he sent a video message. He wanted to share with us a word from the Gospel of John, when Jesus was preparing his disciples for difficult times ahead: "Abide in me," Jesus said, "as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing."
In challenging times, we need to draw from the well and abide in the vine that sustains us. With your help, I'll reflect next on how we live more fully the words we hear. But first we need to hear them. And we can only hear if we listen to the one who speaks in the quiet of our hearts and through the ancient words of sacred texts.


text:
UK supermajor BP has been given approval by Canadian regulators to prepare for the drilling of its first wildcat off Nova Scotia.
The approval from the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board allows the drilling rig chartered by BP, the semi-submersible Seadrill West Aquarius, to enter Nova Scotian waters.
The company is permitted to begin preparatory activities aboard the West Aquarius, which may include the mobilisation of additional supplies and equipment to the rig.
However, the authorisation given so far does not allow BP to start drilling the exploration well.
Upstream previously reported drilling could begin as early as mid-April.
BP told Upstream this week it does not have an estimate of timing from the regulator, but the company is "hopeful" drilling will commence this month.
The drilling programme could involve a second exploration well, depending on results of the first probe, with each likely to take about 120 days to drill.
Hess is partnering BP in the planned drilling campaign.


text:
"Arne Duncan: Why can't we be more like South Korea"..Washington Post
This is part of: "the problem"….. And so let me briefly list a few of the differences:
- South Korea views their children; and education in general, as part of their national economic development plan, therefore;
- They see their children as an important part of the natural resource and development of the nation. The education of large numbers of students in our nation is not important to the nation. (there is no matching passionate urge to educate them)
- There is no organized plan in South Korea to grow and maintain a huge prison, correctional, social service treatment economy by creating a class of second class educational students; who because of a zip code are doomed from childhood to enter those social service/punishment/correctional industries.
- The interest of the adult educational professionals doesn't trump the interest of the students.
- Educators in South Korea enter the field as a life-time experience; there are no 2 year "drive by", "let me experiment on the poor kids", teachers, therefore;
- The South Korean society views the field of education as a professional career worthy of respect; and therefore has more respect for educators and their work.
- South Korea (are you surprised) has missed out the "reform era" that has so not helped U.S. children. Their educational system is a very traditional: Discipline yourself, apply yourself, study hard, and then study harder.
- Everyone: adults and students are subject to a lot of standardized and non-standardized assessments.
- The South Korean educational system has in essence a national "common core" of high standards.
- The South Koreans (in case no one has noticed) live in a very racially homogenized society; therefore the teachers who look very much like the students; have the same expectations for the students that they have for themselves; they have not created (as we have here) an artificial: "achievement gap"; because it would not make any sense.
I could go on but these are the most fundamental differences.


text:
!! History Commons Alert, Exciting News
Ahmed Ben Bella, a former president of Algeria, reportedly holds a secret meeting at his Switzerland home attended by "major figures in some of the world's most violent groups." People attending the meeting include the Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman (known as the "Blind Sheikh"); Youssef Nada, head of the Al Taqwa Bank and a major Muslim Brotherhood figure; and Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, a leading Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim scholar. US government sources believe Ben Bella, who is allegedly linked to violent Sudanese and Libyan groups, called the meeting to discuss ways to spread Muslim fundamentalism into the West. [Buffalo News, 7/6/1993] Shortly after 9/11, a document called "The Project" written in 1982 will be found in Nada's house. It outlines a secret Muslim Brotherhood plan to infiltrate and defeat Western countries (see December 1982).
Entity Tags: Youssef Nada, Muslim Brotherhood, Omar Abdul-Rahman, Ahmed Ben Bella, Al Taqwa Bank, Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah
Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline
Francois Genoud (left) and Ahmad Huber, a.k.a. Albert Huber (right). [Source: Seuil, AIJAC]Leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood found the Al Taqwa Bank. This bank will later be accused of being the largest financial supporter of al-Qaeda, Hamas, the GIA in Algeria, and other organizations officially designated by the US as groups that sponsor terrorism. For instance, the Treasury Department will later claim that $60 million in funding for Hamas will pass through Al Taqwa in 1997. The bank is mostly based on both sides of the border between Swizterland and Italy, but important branches are established in Liechtenstein and the Bahamas as offshore tax havens. [US Department of the Treasury, 8/29/2002] Newsweek will explain, "Al Taqwa, which means 'Fear of God,' was launched… by leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, a secret society devoted to the creation of a worldwide Islamic government. The Brotherhood wanted to create a financial institution in which devout Muslims could invest their money. It would operate under strict Islamic law, which prohibits banks from charging interest. But investigators believe the convoluted structure of Al Taqwa made it easy to use as a money-laundering mechanism.… The [central] operation consisted of four men working at computers in a small apartment in Lugano, Switzerland. Lugano, which sits near the Italian border, is a kind of Alpine Tijuana, well known as a haven for tax evaders and money launderers." [Newsweek, 3/18/2002] Reportedly, in 1995, Italian investigators will tell a Swiss prosecutor that Al Taqwa and related entities comprise "the most important financial structure of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic terrorist organizations." [Salon, 3/15/2002] Six members of the bin Laden family are among the original contributors to the Bahamas branch. [Wall Street Journal, 12/17/2001] A number of the bank's leaders have ties to Nazism or fascism. For instance, when board chairman Youssef Nada was a young man, he allegedly worked with both the armed branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and Nazi Germany military intelligence. Ahmad Huber, a Swiss convert to Islam previously known as Albert Huber, is both a director of the bank and an open neo-Nazi. He proudly displays portraits of Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden next to each other in his house. [Washington Post, 4/29/2002; Asia Times, 11/8/2002] According to a reporter who will interview him in 1995, Huber's office is adorned with portraits of Hitler, Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler, and Islamic militants. [Boston Herald, 11/8/2001] Huber will spend decades attempting to forge links between the neo-Nazi movement and the radical Muslim movement, speaking to and networking with both groups. He will be quoted around 2001 saying that the al-Qaeda leaders he met in January 2001 are "very discreet, well-educated, and very intelligent people."(see Late January 2001). [Financial Times, 11/8/2001; Playboy, 2/1/2002] The founder of Al Taqwa appears to be Francois Genoud, who will die in 1996. Genoud is a Swiss lawyer who funded the Nazis and served as a Nazi agent during World War II. After the war, he funded the secret Odessa organization, which enabled many notorious Nazi fugitives to escape to safe havens in South America and elsewhere. Authorities believe that Genoud uses Al Taqwa to fund international militants like Carlos the Jackal and bin Laden. He also paid for the legal expenses of ex-Nazis such as Klaus Barbie and Adolf Eichmann. Many Muslim radicals and neo-Nazis share a strong hatred for Jews and the United States. [San Francisco Chronicle, 3/12/2002] Al Taqwa will be shut down shortly after 9/11 for its support of al-Qaeda, Hamas, and other groups officially designated as terrorist organizations (see November 7, 2001).
Entity Tags: Al Taqwa Bank, Muslim Brotherhood
Artist's sketch of Said Ramadan. [Source: Wall Street Journal]In 1988, the Al Taqwa Bank is founded in Switzerland, and it quickly becomes one of the major funders for radical Islamic groups, including al-Qaeda (see 1988). The Al Taqwa Bank is closely associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, and one of its key founders, Said Ramadan, is one of the Muslim Brotherhood's top leaders, and also the son-in-law of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Ramadan helped Saudi Arabia found the Muslim World League in 1962; the charity will go on to fund al-Qaeda and many other radical groups. But there is strong evidence that Ramadan also was a long-time CIA asset. [Dreyfuss, 2005, pp. 136] Declassified Swiss documents reveal that in the 1960s, the Swiss government considered him to be, "among other things, an intelligence agent of the British and the Americans." The Wall Street Journal will report in 2005, "Historical evidence suggests Mr. Ramadan worked with the CIA." For instance, he traveled on a Jordanian diplomatic passport given to him by the CIA, "his expenditures are financed by the American side," and he worked closely with CIA supported propaganda fronts. [Mother Jones, 1/1/2006] The Egyptian government apparently also believed Ramadan worked with the US, and that he may have had a role in a plot against Egyptian President Abddul Nasser in the 1960s. Ramadan even met with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Oval Office in 1953. [Dreyfuss, 2005, pp. 135-138] Ramadan will die in 1995 at the age of 69. It is not known how long his ties to the CIA and possibly other intelligence agencies lasted. Journalist Robert Dreyfuss will later comment: "It's no exaggeration to say that Ramadan is the ideological grandfather of Osama bin Laden. But Ramadan, the Muslim Brotherhood, and their Islamist allies might never have been able to plant the seeds that sprouted into al-Qaeda had they not been treated as US allies during the Cold War and had they not received both overt and covert support from Washington." [Mother Jones, 1/1/2006]
Entity Tags: Al Taqwa Bank, Muslim Brotherhood, Said Ramadan, Central Intelligence Agency
Ahmed Idris Nasreddin. [Source: NBC News]A 1995 Italian intelligence report alleges the Switzerland-based Al Taqwa Bank is funding radical groups in Algeria, Tunisia, and Sudan, and is a major backer of Hamas, but Swiss authorities are slow to investigate. [Salon, 3/15/2002; Forward, 10/17/2003] The Italians are interested in Al Taqwa because of its connection to a radical Italian mosque, the Islamic Cultural Institute in Milan, which Al Taqwa founder and director Ahmed Idris Nasreddin helped create and finance in the early 1990s. The mosque is close to Al Taqwa's headquarters in Lugano, a town on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It is also connected to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and extremists fighting in Bosnia (see Late 1993-1994) and European investigators increasingly suspect that the Milan mosque is an important general recruiting and supply center for al-Qaeda and other radical militant groups. [Newsweek, 3/18/2002] Reportedly, the Italians tell a Swiss prosecutor that Al Taqwa "comprises the most important financial structure of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic terrorist organizations." Italian intelligence also finds links between Al Taqwa and the Milan mosque through Nasreddin. Additionally, two other top officials in the mosque are Al Taqwa shareholders. [Salon, 3/15/2002; Forward, 10/17/2003] Italian officials get the impression that Swiss officials are loathe to look into Al Taqwa. In 1997, the Italians convince a Swiss prosecutor to start questioning Al Taqwa officials. But reportedly, an Al Taqwa lawyer is able to make phone calls to influential people and have the investigation stopped. [Salon, 3/15/2002]
Entity Tags: Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Cultural Institute, Hamas, Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, Al Taqwa Bank, Al-Qaeda, Italy, Switzerland
Egyptian diplomat Alaa al-Din Nazmi is shot and killed as he is returning to his house in Geneva, Switzerland. While he is officially said to be negotiating with the World Trade Organization on economic matters, the Independent will later report, "Political sources suggested that Nazmi was working under diplomatic cover, and that his real job was to track down members of Egyptian Islamist armed groups in Europe who have sworn to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak's regime. Nazmi's murderers [say] as much two days later," when they take credit for the killing, using an alias for Islamic Jihad. [Independent, 12/6/1995] Swiss authorities seem uninterested in vigorously pursuing political connections to the murder, which is never solved. However, it will later be reported, "According to various sources close to the investigation, the Egyptian diplomat had been handling several sensitive files relating precisely to the financial resources of the Muslim Brotherhood, of which $200 to $500 was managed by various financial organizations" in Switzerland. The diplomat had played a major part in an attempt to recover these funds. He was focusing on the Al Taqwa Bank on the Swiss-Italian border, known to be a major bank for the Muslim Brotherhood. [Labeviere, 1999, pp. 63-68] A few months earlier, Nazmi apparently had been in secret discussions with the Egyptian militant Talaat Fouad Qassem, who was then abducted by the CIA and executed in Egypt (see September 13, 1995). So Nazmi's assassination is seen as revenge for the death of Qassem. [Labeviere, 1999, pp. 70-71]
Entity Tags: Alaa al-Din Nazmi, Al Taqwa Bank, Islamic Jihad, Muslim Brotherhood, Talaat Fouad Qassem
The Al Taqwa Bank had offices in this building in Lugano, Italy, on the border with Switzerland. [Source: Keystone]Newsweek will later claim that US investigators "on bin Laden's trail" had known about the Al Taqwa Bank in Switzerland and its support for al-Qaeda "for years. But the group's mazelike structure made it hard to track, and the Feds considered it a low priority." A senior Treasury official later will tell Congress that US investigators learned in 1997 that Hamas had transferred $60 million into accounts at the Al Taqwa Bank. Also in 1997, US investigators learn the names of many Al Taqwa shareholders. Many of them turn out to be rich and powerful Arabs, including members of the bin Laden family and members of the Kuwaiti royal family (see 1997-December 1999). Newsweek later will claim that, "The US took a harder look at Al Taqwa after the [1998 US] embassy bombings (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998). Sources say US intelligence tracked telephone contacts between Al Taqwa and members of bin Laden's inner circle. Al-Qaeda operatives would call Al Taqwa representatives in the Bahamas as they moved around the world. Still, the network's complex structure made it difficult to prove how money changed hands, and the investigation stalled. Under US pressure, the Bahamian government revoked Al Taqwa's license [in the spring of 2001]. Treasury officials say the network continued to do business anyway." [Newsweek, 3/18/2002] The US will declare Al Taqwa a terrorist financier two months after 9/11 (see November 7, 2001).
Entity Tags: Hamas, US Department of the Treasury, Al Taqwa Bank, US Congress, Al-Qaeda
Yousuf Abdullah Al-Qaradawi. [Source: Zuma Press/ Newscom]In December 1999, the FBI apparently discovers a list of shareholders in the Al Taqwa Bank that reflects holdings in the bank at that time. The list is later confirmed as authentic by both US and Al Taqwa officials. It contains over 700 names. Youssef Nada, the president of Al Taqwa, will claim that the FBI knew the essential contents of the list in 1997, the same year they learned of other ties between the bank and officially designated terrorist groups (see 1997-September 11, 2001). [Salon, 3/15/2002] Names on the list include: Yousuf Abdullah Al-Qaradawi, the grand mufti of the United Arab Emirates, and five members of his family. Qaradawi is said to be a high-ranking member of the Muslim Brotherhood and has made statements supporting suicide bombings against Israel (see 1986-October 1999). Huta and Iman bin Laden, sisters of Osama bin Laden. Salon notes that the presence of their names on the list "undermin[es] the bin Laden family's claim that it separated itself from [Osama's] terrorist pursuits after he was expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1994." Other bin Laden family members. For instance, Ghalib Mohammad Binladin, a brother of Osama, sues Al Taqwa in 1999 for failing to pay him a claim (the suit is thrown out of court.) [Newsweek, 11/7/2001] Unnamed members of Hamas, which the US declared a terrorist group in 1995. Members of Kuwait's royal family. Hassan el-Banna, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. (A man with this name founded the Muslim Brotherhood but died in 1949; this may be one of his descendants.) Other names on the list are said to be connected to organizations linked to al-Qaeda. Swiss officials later will admit that they were aware of reports connecting Al Taqwa to terrorist groups, but will claim they never had enough evidence to obtain a search warrant. However, no effective action is taken against the bank or anyone on the list. [Salon, 3/15/2002] The Al Taqwa Bank is said to have amassed $229 million in capital by 1997. In 1995, one of the bank's directors said that oil-rich Saudi families "are very active" in using the bank. The bank will be shut down after 9/11, when US officials will charge it with funding al-Qaeda and other US-designated terrorist groups (see November 7, 2001). [Boston Herald, 11/8/2001]
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, Iman bin Laden, Hassan el-Banna, Hamas, Al Taqwa Bank, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ghalib Mohammad Binladin, Huta bin Laden, Yousuf Abdullah Al-Qaradawi
The Islamic Cultural Institute in Milan, Italy. [Source: Public domain]By late 1998, US and Italian intelligence are already aware of the importance of a mosque in Milan, Italy, called the Islamic Cultural Institute. After 9/11, the Treasury Department will call the mosque "the main al-Qaeda station house in Europe. It is used to facilitate the movement of weapons, men and money across the world." Additionally, they are aware that Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, a founder and director of Al Taqwa Bank, is also a founder and financier of the mosque. The mosque is also less than 50 miles away from Al Taqwa's headquarters on the Swiss border.(see 1995-1997). [Newsweek, 3/18/2002] US officials will later say that al-Qaeda operatives involved in the 1998 US embassy bombings stayed at the Milan mosque. This causes US and Italian intelligence to watch the mosque more closely, and it also causes the US to look closer at Al Taqwa Bank (see 1997-September 11, 2001). [Newsweek, 3/18/2002] One member of the al-Qaeda cell in Milan lives in Hamburg with 9/11 plotter Ramzi bin al-Shibh for most of 1998 (see December 1997-November 1998). In 2000, Abderazek Mahdjoub, the head of the Milan cell, lives in Hamburg, attends the Al-Quds mosque that the Hamburg al-Qaeda cell attends, and has ties with some of the 9/11 hijackers (see 2000). Al-Qaeda operatives involved in the failed millennium bombing plot in Jordan also stay at the Milan mosque (see November 30, 1999). The Jordanian government later will claim that Al Taqwa helped fund these millennium bombers. [Newsweek, 3/18/2002; Newsweek, 4/12/2004] Starting in late 2000, Italian intelligence, wiretapping people associated with the Milan mosque and/or the Milan al-Qaeda cell, record conversations suggesting foreknowledge of the 9/11 plot (see August 12, 2000; January 24, 2001). This information is shared with the US in early 2001 (see March 2001). Additional evidence will come out after 9/11 suggesting some people in Milan had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks (see September 4, 2001; September 7, 2001). Given the closeness of the Al Taqwa Bank to the mosque, especially through Nasreddin, this raises the possibility of Al Taqwa involvement and knowledge of specific al-Qaeda plots, including the 9/11 attacks, though there is no known evidence of such direct ties except for the attempted millennium bombing mentioned above.
Entity Tags: Islamic Cultural Institute, Abderazek Mahdjoub, Italy, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, US Department of the Treasury, Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, Al-Qaeda, Al Taqwa Bank
A list of Al Taqwa Bank shareholders as of December 1999 includes Khaldoun Dia Eddine, who is also president of the Committee to Aid Refugees of Bosnia-Herzegovina. [Salon, 3/15/2002] He is said to work closely with Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, one of the top Al Taqwa figures. In 1999, it is alleged that Eddine was also the head of the Gulf Office, an Al Taqwa subsidiary that the Italian government investigated in 1994 for its ties with the GIA, an Algerian militant group connected to al-Qaeda. Eddine also works for Mercy International, a Muslim charity with numerous ties to al-Qaeda and also alleged ties to the CIA (see 1989 and After). By 1999, Eddine is managing the Mercy International office in Tirana, Albania, and is said to be managing "one of the principal channels for weapons delivery for the Kosovo Liberation Army, with the financial and logistic support of the Muslim World League." [Labeviere, 1999] There is no indication that Eddine is ever later arrested or charged with any crime.
Entity Tags: Mercy International, Al Taqwa Bank, Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, Committee to Aid Refugees of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Groupe Islamique Armé, Muslim World League, Khaldoun Dia Eddine, Kosovo Liberation Army
Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, Kosovar Albanian Struggle
On December 5, 1999, a Jordanian raid discovers 71 vats of bomb making chemicals in this residence. [Source: Judith Miller]Jordanian officials successfully uncover an al-Qaeda plot to blow up the Radisson Hotel in Amman, Jordan, and other sites on January 1, 2000. [PBS Frontline, 10/3/2002] The Jordanian government intercepts a call between al-Qaeda leader Abu Zubaida and a suspected Jordanian terrorist named Abu Hoshar. Zubaida says, "The training is over." [New York Times, 1/15/2001] Zubaida also says, "The grooms are ready for the big wedding." [Seattle Times, 6/23/2002] This call reflects an extremely poor code system, because the FBI had already determined in the wake of the 1998 US embassy bombings that "wedding" was the al-Qaeda code word for bomb. [Miller, Stone, and Mitchell, 2002, pp. 214] Furthermore, it appears al-Qaeda fails to later change the system, because the code-name for the 9/11 attack is also "The Big Wedding." [Chicago Tribune, 9/5/2002] Jordan arrests Hoshar while he's still on the phone talking to Zubaida. In the next few days, 27 other suspects are charged. A Jordanian military court will initially convict 22 of them for participating in planned attacks, sentencing six of them to death, although there will be numerous appeals (see April 2000 and After). In addition to bombing the Radisson Hotel around the start of the millennium, the plan calls for suicide bombings on two border crossings with Israel and a Christian baptism site. Further attacks in Jordan are planned for later. The plotters had already stockpiled the equivalent of 16 tons of TNT, enough to flatten "entire neighborhoods." [New York Times, 1/15/2001] Key alleged plotters include: Raed Hijazi, a US citizen who is part of a Boston al-Qaeda cell (see June 1995-Early 1999). He will be arrested and convicted in late 2000 (see September 2000 and October 2000). [New York Times, 1/15/2001] Khalid Deek, who is also a US citizen and part of an Anaheim, California al-Qaeda cell. He will be arrested in Pakistan and deported to Jordan, but strangely he will released without going to trial. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He will later be a notorious figure in the Iraq war starting in 2003. [Washington Post, 10/3/2004] Luai Sakra. The Washington Post will later say he "played a role" in the plot, though he is never charged for it. Sakra apparently is a CIA informant before 9/11, perhaps starting in 2000 (see 2000). [Washington Post, 2/20/2006] The Jordanian government will also later claim that the Al Taqwa Bank in Switzerland helped finance the network of operatives who planned the attack. The bank will be shut down shortly after 9/11 (see November 7, 2001). [Newsweek, 4/12/2004]
Entity Tags: Raed Hijazi, Abu Zubaida, Al-Qaeda, Al Taqwa Bank, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Khalil Deek, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Abu Hoshar, Jordan, Luai Sakra
Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline
Intelligence Newsletter reports that a number of Osama bin Laden-owed businesses in Sudan are still operating and still controlled by bin Laden. The report specifically mentions Wadi al-Aqiq, El-Hijra Construction and Development, Taba Investment Company, and the Al-Shamal Islamic Bank. Bin Laden's control of all these businesses were revealed in detail to US intelligence by al-Qaeda informant Jamal al-Fadl several years earlier (see December 1996-January 1997). The report notes that both Mahfouz Walad Al-Walid and his cousin-in-law Mohamedou Ould Slahi, both known al-Qaeda leaders, were reportedly employed in recent years by the El-Hijra company. The report further notes that money for bin Laden "pours into accounts at branch offices of Al Taqwa [Bank] in Malta," Switzerland, and the Bahamas. Businesses and charities supporting bin Laden "are thriving around the world without any real curb on their operations" because "some US and European agencies hunting him seem to lack zeal" in stopping him. "To be sure, if journalists can track down bin Laden's friends without too much trouble it can be imagined that law enforcement and intelligence agencies have long found the same connections. Recent anti-terrorism history has shown that when the authorities really want to crack down on an organization they cut off its financial and logistic roots. So why are bin Laden's backers prospering when the world's most powerful anti-terrorist organizations are chasing him?" [Intelligence Newsletter, 3/16/2000]
Entity Tags: Mahfouz Walad Al-Walid, Al-Qaeda, Al Taqwa Bank, Al-Shamal Islamic Bank, Jamal al-Fadl, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Wadi al-Aqiq, El-Hijra Construction and Development, Osama bin Laden, Taba Investment Company
In a January 2002 letter to Swiss authorities, a senior Treasury Department official will claim that the Al Taqwa Bank in Switzerland had set up a highly secretive line of credit for al-Qaeda, and that it is still in use in October 2000. (Apparently its status is unknown after this time.) It states that Al Taqwa "appeared to be providing a clandestine line of credit for a close associate of bin Laden.… This bin Laden lieutenant had a line of credit with a Middle East financial institution that drew on an identical account number at Bank Al Taqwa. Unlike other accounts—even accounts of private banking customers—this account was blocked by the computer system and special privileges were required to access it." The letter calls the circumstances surrounding the account "highly unusual" and suggests that they were created "to conceal the association of the bin Laden organization with Bank Al Taqwa." Another document reveals that the account was originally set up for Mamdouh Mahmoud Salim, an al-Qaeda leader who was arrested in Germany in late 1998 (see September 16, 1998). It is believed that other al-Qaeda figures continued to access the account after Salim's arrest. [US Department of the Treasury, 8/29/2002; Newsweek, 4/12/2004] The US will declare Al Taqwa Bank a terrorist financier in November 2001 (see November 7, 2001).
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, US Department of the Treasury, Al Taqwa Bank, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim
Four members of the American delegation to the "First Conference on Jerusalem" (from right to left): Ahmed Yusef, Abdurrahman Alamoudi, Yaser Bushnaq, and Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad. [Source: Minaret of Freedom Institute] (click image to enlarge)Hundreds of the world's most extreme Islamic militants attend an unprecedented conference in Beirut, Lebanon called "The First Conference on Jerusalem." Participants include leaders of al-Qaeda, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and militants from Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Algeria, Sudan, Qatar, and Yemen. The conference is held with the purpose of uniting militant groups for holy war against Israel and the US. The participants create a new organization called "the Jerusalem Project," with the goal of winning total Muslim control over Jerusalem. The participants produce a document which calls for a boycott on US and Israeli products and states, "The only decisive option to achieve this strategy [to regain Jerusalem] is the option of jihad [holy war] in all its forms and resistance… America today is a second Israel." [Jerusalem Post, 6/22/2001; Fox News, 5/17/2002] At least four of the attendees come from the US. One of them, Abdurahman Alamoudi, is a prominent lobbyist in the US for Muslim causes. Yet there is no indication Alamoudi faces any investigation in the US after attending this conference. In fact, in June 2001, Alamoudi will apparently take part in a meeting with Vice President Cheney at the White House for a briefing on the Bush administration's domestic and foreign policies of interest to the American Muslim community. [Jerusalem Post, 6/22/2001; St. Petersburg Times, 3/11/2003; Minaret of Freedom Institute, 2/8/2005] Another participant in the conference is Ahmad Huber, a director of the Al Taqwa Bank, which will be shut down in the months after 9/11 for suspected terrorism ties. Huber is known for his connections to both neo-Nazi and radical Muslim groups (see 1988). After 9/11, Huber will claim that he met some al-Qaeda leaders in this conference and will praise them for being "very discreet, well-educated, and very intelligent people." [Financial Times, 11/8/2001; Playboy, 2/1/2002] Huber says that in the five years before 9/11, the bin Laden family sponsors Al Taqwa's attendance at several international Muslim conferences, possibily including this one. He nonetheless claims the family is estranged from Osama bin Laden. [Le Monde (Paris), 5/3/2002] It has not been reported if Alamoudi met with Huber or any al-Qaeda leaders while at the conference. Alamoudi will later be sentenced to 23 years in prison in the US for illegal dealings with Libya (see October 15, 2004).
Entity Tags: Richard ("Dick") Cheney, Jerusalem Project, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Air Cess, Ahmad Huber, Al Taqwa Bank, Ariana Airlines, Abdurahman Alamoudi, Hamas, Bin Laden Family
The charters of the Bahamas branch of the Al Taqwa Bank and the related Akida Bank are revoked. Al Taqwa's headquarters in Switzerland will be shut down after 9/11 following accusations that it helped fund al-Qaeda and other Islamist militant groups (see November 7, 2001). [Randal, 2005, pp. 225] The US Treasury Department will later state that the Bahamas branch of "Al Taqwa and Akida Bank are not functional banking institutions in the conventional sense. They are shell companies lacking a physical presence and sharing the same address in the Bahamas where they were licensed." [US Department of the Treasury, 8/29/2002] Press reports at the time say the closure is the result of Jordanian, French, and US intelligence reports indicating al-Qaeda money coming from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates had been channeled through Al Taqwa. [Forward, 10/17/2003] Journalist Jonathan Randal will later note that US intelligence on Al Taqwa was solid enough before 9/11 to lead to this closure. "Egyptian, US, and other Western specialists had long suspected this well-known Muslim Brotherhood bank had ties to al-Qaeda as well as to radical Algerian, Egyptian, and Palestinian Islamist groups. One persistent rumor suggested Osama had been bugged telephoning the bank in Nassau, [Bahamas,] in 1996 to discuss rearranging his finances at the time of his departure from Khartoum, [Sudan.]" [Randal, 2005, pp. 225]
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, Akida Bank, Al Taqwa Bank
In January 2002, the US Treasury Department will send a letter to Swiss authorities stating that Youssef Nada and Ali bin Mussalim, two leaders of the Al Taqwa Bank in Switzerland, provided "indirect investment services for al-Qaeda, investing funds for bin Laden, and making cash deliveries on request to the al-Qaeda organization." Furthermore, the letter will claim that such assistance continued until "late September 2001," and that Mussalim carries a Saudi diplomatic passport. Mussalim had been known for controversial financial dealings since the early 1980s, when US prosecutors accused him of taking part in attempts to corner the world silver market. In 1994 he was an intermediary in a multi-billion dollar deal between the Saudi and French governments. He will die of cancer in June 2004, one month after reports of the US Treasury letter first publicly emerged. The Financial Times will call Al-Qaeda Will Conquer, the 2005 book which will be the first to reveal documentation of these claims about Mussalim, "uncomfortable reading for the Saudi government." [Newsweek, 4/12/2004; Financial Times, 4/27/2005] For many years up to and past 9/11, he held Saudi ministerial status as an "advisor at the Royal Court" and was a close confidant of Saudi King Fahd. The Los Angeles Times will comment, "One is left wondering how the Sept. 11 commission could report that 'we have found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded [al-Qaeda].'" [Los Angeles Times, 6/26/2005] The US will declare the Al Taqwa Bank a terrorist financier in November 2001 (see November 7, 2001).
Entity Tags: US Department of the Treasury, Youssef Nada, Ali bin Mussalim, Al-Qaeda, Al Taqwa Bank, Osama bin Laden, Switzerland
Italian police raid Youssef Nada's villa in Lugano, Italy. [Source: Keystone]The US and other countries announce the closure of the Al Taqwa Bank and the Al Barakaat financial network. President Bush says, "Al Taqwa and Al Barakaat raise funds for al-Qaeda. They manage, invest and distribute those funds." US officials claim that both entities skimmed a part of the fees charged on each financial transaction it conducted and paid it to al-Qaeda. This would provide al-Qaeda with tens of millions of dollars annually. Additionally, Al Taqwa would provide investment advice and transfer cash for al-Qaeda. Al Taqwa is based in Switzerland while Al Barakaat is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Over 100 nations are said to be cooperating with efforts to block the funds of these two groups. [New York Times, 11/8/2001] Swiss authorities raid Al Taqwa-related businesses and the homes of bank leaders Youssef Nada, Ali Himmat, and Ahmad Huber, but no arrests are made. In January 2002, Nada will announce that the Al Taqwa Bank is shutting down, due to bad publicity after the raids. He will maintain that he and his organization are completely innocent. [Newsweek, 11/7/2001; Reuters, 1/10/2002] Days after 9/11, Huber called the 9/11 attacks "counterterror against American-Israeli terror," the World Trade Center a "the Twin Towers of the godless," and the Pentagon "a symbol of Satan," yet he will claim to have no ties to the attackers. [Playboy, 2/1/2002; Newsweek, 3/18/2002] In searching Nada's house, Swiss authorities discover a document entitled "The Project," which is a strategic plan for the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate and defeat Western countries (see December 1982). By late 2002, both the US and UN will declare Al Taqwa Bank, Nada, and Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, another founder and director of the bank, supporters of terrorism. All of their accounts will be declared frozen worldwide. [US Department of the Treasury, 8/29/2002] However, while Al Taqwa itself will be shut down, later reports will indicate that other financial entities operated by the directors will continue to operate freely (see June-October 2005).
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, US Department of the Treasury, Muslim Brotherhood, Ali Himmat, Al Taqwa Bank, George W. Bush, Youssef Nada, Ahmad Huber, Al Barakaat
US Customs Agents carry out boxes of evidence from SAAR network businesses on March 20, 2002. [Source: Mike Theiler/ Getty Images]Scores of federal agents raid 14 entities in a cluster of more than 100 homes, charities, think tanks, and businesses in Herndon, Virginia, a town just outside of Washington with a large Muslim population. No arrests are made and no organizations are shut down, but over 500 boxes of files and computer files are confiscated, filling seven trucks. This group of interlocking entities is widely known as the SAAR network (it is also sometimes called the Safa Group). SAAR stands for Sulaiman Abdul Aziz al-Rajhi, a Saudi banker and billionaire who largely funded the group beginning in the early 1980s (see July 29, 1983). He is said to be close to the Saudi ruling family and is on the Golden Chain, a list of early al-Qaeda supporters (see 1988-1989). [New York Times, 3/21/2002; Farah, 2004, pp. 152; Wall Street Journal, 6/21/2004] The name and address of Salah al-Rajhi, Suleiman's brother, was discovered in 1998 in the telephone book of Wadih El-Hage (see September 15, 1998). El-Hage was bin Laden's personal secretary and was convicted of a role in the 1998 US embassy bombings. [New York Times, 3/25/2002] The raids are said to be primarily led by David Kane, a Customs agent working with a Customs investigation started just after 9/11 code-named Operation Greenquest. Many of the organizations are located at an office building at 555 Grove Street in Herndon. Kane writes in an affidavit for the raid that many organizations based there are "paper organizations" which "dissolve and are replaced by other organizations under the control of the same group of individuals." [New York Times, 3/21/2002; Wall Street Journal, 6/21/2004] Investigators appear to be primarily interested in the connections between the SAAR network and the Al Taqwa Bank, a Swiss bank closed after 9/11 on suspicions of funding al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups (see November 7, 2001). They are also interested in connections between both SAAR and Al Taqwa and the Muslim Brotherhood (see December 1982). According to author Douglas Farah, "US officials [later say] they had tracked about $20 million from [SAAR] entities flowing through Nada's Bank al Taqwa, but said the total could be much higher. The ties between Nada and [SAAR] leaders were many and long-standing, as were their ties to other [Muslim] Brotherhood leaders.… For a time, Suleiman Abdel Aziz al-Rajhi, the SAAR Foundation founder, worked for Nada" at Al Taqwa's Liechtenstein branch. [New York Times, 3/25/2002; Farah, 2004, pp. 154-155] Organizations and individuals targeted by the raid include: Yaqub Mirza. He is the director of virtually all of the organizations targeted in the raid. The Wall Street Journal claims, "US officials privately say Mr. Mirza and his associates also have connections to al-Qaeda and to other entities officially listed by the US as sponsors of terrorism." [Wall Street Journal, 4/18/2002; Wall Street Journal, 12/6/2002] The SAAR Foundation or the Safa Trust, an umbrella group for the SAAR network. The SAAR Foundation had recently disbanded and reformed as the Safa Trust. [New York Times, 3/21/2002; Wall Street Journal, 3/22/2002; Washington Post, 10/7/2002] Hisham Al-Talib, who served as an officer of the SAAR Foundation and Safa Trust, had previously been an officer of firms run by Youssef Nada. Nada is one of the main owners of the Al Taqwa Bank. [Wall Street Journal, 3/22/2002] Mar-Jac Poultry Inc., an Islamic chicken processor with operations in rural Georgia. [Wall Street Journal, 6/21/2004] Jamal Barzinji. An officer of Mar-Jac and other organizations targeted in the raid, he had previously been involved with Nada's companies. [Wall Street Journal, 3/22/2002] The International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO). [New York Times, 3/21/2002] The Muslim World League. It is considered to be a parent organization for the IIRO. [New York Times, 3/21/2002] International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIRT). The IIRT had been under investigation since at least 1998. [New York Times, 3/21/2002] Tarik Hamdi, an employee at IIRT. His home is also raided. He carried a battery for a satellite phone to Afghanistan in early 1998, and the battery was used for Osama bin Laden's phone (see May 28, 1998). [New York Times, 3/21/2002] Abdurahman Alamoudi, a top Muslim lobbyist who formerly worked for one of the SAAR organizations. His nearby home is raided. The search yields a memo on large transactions involving Hamas, operations against the Israelis, and the notation "Met Mousa Abu Marzouk in Jordan." Marzouk is a Hamas leader believed to be involved in fundraising for Hamas in the US for many years (see July 5, 1995-May 1997). Alamoudi is alleged to be a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. [Wall Street Journal, 6/21/2004] Samir Salah, an Egyptian-born president of the Piedmont Trading Corporation, which is part of the SAAR network. He is also a former director and treasurer of the Al Taqwa Bank's important Bahamas branch. Additionally, he was a founder of a Bosnian charity reportedly connected to a plot to blow up the US embassy in Bosnia. [New York Times, 3/25/2002] Ibrahim Hassabella. He is a shareholder of the SAAR Foundation and also a former secretary of the Al Taqwa Bank. [New York Times, 3/25/2002] Investigators will later find that much of SAAR's money seemed to disappear into offshore bank accounts. For instance, in 1998, SAAR claimed to have moved $9 million to a charity based in the tax haven of the Isle of Man, but investigators will find no evidence the charity existed. One US official involved in the probe will say of SAAR, "Looking at their finances is like looking into a black hole." [Washington Post, 10/7/2002] In 2003, it will be reported that US investigators are looking into reports that the director of the SAAR foundation for most of the 1990s stayed in the same hotel as three of the 9/11 hijackers the night before the 9/11 attacks (see September 10, 2001). Some US investigators had looked into the SAAR network in the mid-1990s, but the FBI blocked the investigation's progress (see 1995-1998).
Entity Tags: Operation Greenquest, Muslim World League, Muslim Brotherhood, SAAR Foundation, Samir Salah, Sulaiman Abdul Aziz al-Rajhi, Mousa Abu Marzouk, US Customs Service, Tarik Hamdi, Jamal Barzinji, International Institute for Islamic Thought, International Islamic Relief Organization, Abdurahman Alamoudi, Al Taqwa Bank, Mar-Jac Poultry Inc., David Kane, Hisham Al-Talib, Hamas, Yacub Mirza, Ibrahim Hassabella
9/11 victims' relatives add nearly 50 defendants to their $1 trillion lawsuit against mostly Saudi citizens and organizations (see August 15, 2002). The suit alleges the defendants knowingly provided money and other aid to terrorists, which enabled the 9/11 attacks and other attacks to occur. There are now a total of 186 defendants named in the suit. [Wall Street Journal, 11/22/2002; Los Angeles Times, 11/23/2002] Newly-named defendants include: Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef. The suit claims he was engaged in payoffs to al-Qaeda. Additionally, as interior minister he controls the activities of numerous Islamic charities said to help finance al-Qaeda. (His name will later be dismissed from the suit because of diplomatic immunity (see November 14, 2003-September 28, 2005).) [Wall Street Journal, 11/22/2002; Los Angeles Times, 11/23/2002] Minister of Defense and Aviation Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. The suit claims he also was engaged in payoffs to al-Qaeda. (His name will later be dismissed from the suit because of diplomatic immunity (see November 14, 2003-September 28, 2005).) [Wall Street Journal, 11/22/2002] The Saudi American Bank, that nation's second largest financial institution. The suit alleges that this bank, partly owned and managed by Citibank, financed development projects in Sudan benefiting bin Laden in the early 1990s when he was living there. (This bank will later be dismissed from the suit (see November 14, 2003-September 28, 2005).) [Wall Street Journal, 11/22/2002] Bank Al Taqwa, for raising, managing, investing, and distributing funds for al-Qaeda. [Los Angeles Times, 11/23/2002] Mohamed Jamal Khalifa, bin Laden's brother-in-law. [Third Amended Complaint. Thomas E. Burnett, Sr., et al. v. Al Baraka Investment and Development Corporation, et al., 11/22/2002 ] Yassin al-Qadi. [Third Amended Complaint. Thomas E. Burnett, Sr., et al. v. Al Baraka Investment and Development Corporation, et al., 11/22/2002 ] Saleh Kamel and the Dallah al-Baraka Group. [Third Amended Complaint. Thomas E. Burnett, Sr., et al. v. Al Baraka Investment and Development Corporation, et al., 11/22/2002 ] Individual members of the bin Laden family, including Bakr bin Laden, Tarek bin Laden, Omar bin Laden, Abdullah Awad bin Laden, and Yeslam Binladin. The suit claims that in the early 1990s, Tarek bin Laden was the general supervisor of the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), a Saudi charity suspected of terrorist ties (see October 12, 2001). [Third Amended Complaint. Thomas E. Burnett, Sr., et al. v. Al Baraka Investment and Development Corporation, et al., 11/22/2002 ]
Entity Tags: Saleh Abdullah Kamel, Saudi American Bank, Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Yeslam Binladin, Yassin al-Qadi, Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Abdullah Awad bin Laden, Al Taqwa Bank, Al-Qaeda, Bakr Mohammed bin Laden, Dallah Al-Baraka, Omar bin Laden, Tarek bin Laden
Yaqub Mirza. [Source: Publicity photo, via Byrd Business Review]Soliman Biheiri, the former head of BMI Inc., a New Jersey-based investment firm with ties to many suspected terrorism financiers (see 1986-October 1999), had left the US immediately after a raid of the SAAR network in March 2002 (see March 20, 2002). On this day, he returns to the US and is immediately arrested and interviewed by Customs agent David Kane. Biheiri tells Kane that he has longstanding ties to leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical Muslim group banned in Egypt. Agents are able to search his laptop computer, and discover ties with Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk. He is also connected to two principals of the banned Al Taqwa Bank (see November 7, 2001), Youssef Nada and Ghaleb Himmat, when their addresses are discovered on his computer as well. Agents say there are "other indications" of connections between Al Taqwa and Biheiri's company BMI, including financial transactions. [Forward, 10/17/2003; Wall Street Journal, 6/21/2004; Associated Press, 10/12/2004] An e-mail is also discovered showing Biheiri was involved in Saudi multimillionaire Yassin al-Qadi's financial dealings with Yaqub Mirza, the director of the raided SAAR network. The US froze al-Qadi's assets in late 2001 (see October 12, 2001). [Wall Street Journal, 9/15/2003] Biheiri will be convicted of immigration fraud in October 2003. He will be convicted again in 2004 for lying to Kane about his ties to Marzouk during his interview. [Wall Street Journal, 6/21/2004; Associated Press, 10/12/2004]
Entity Tags: Soliman Biheiri, Muslim Brotherhood, Yassin al-Qadi, David Kane, Youssef Nada, Ghaleb Himmat, Al Taqwa Bank, BMI Inc., Mousa Abu Marzouk
A United Nations report criticizes Switzerland for failing to prevent support from reaching al-Qaeda and the Taliban. UN observers claim there is weapons smuggling passing through Switzerland to Afghanistan. The report further claims that the leaders of the banned Al Taqwa Bank (see November 7, 2001) are continuing to do business with new and renamed financial entities. They continue to maintain commercial interests and properties in Italy and Switzerland, despite being on US and UN blacklists. Switzerland is also failing to enforce travel bans. For instance, Al Taqwa leader Youssef Nada was able to travel through Switzerland to Liechtenstein and back in January 2003. [Swissinfo, 12/16/2003] Salon noted in 2002 that, for many years, Al Taqwa has benefited from political connections in Switzerland. Al Taqwa directors have ties to some European far right wing politicians such as French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, and even neo-Nazi groups (see 1988). [San Francisco Chronicle, 3/12/2002; Salon, 3/15/2002] Newsweek will later report that in 2004, the UN will not convince its members to plug loopholes in the sanctions against Al Taqwa related entities. Instead, the UN Security Council will abolish its own monitoring group. [Newsweek, 3/3/2004; Newsweek, 12/24/2004] In late 2004, the Washington Post will report that although Al Taqwa "was supposedly shut down, US and European officials say they still find Nada moving funds under new corporate names." [Washington Post, 9/11/2004] Additional reports of entities connected to Al Taqwa directors continuing to do business will appear in 2005 (see June-October 2005).
Entity Tags: Switzerland, Taliban, Youssef Nada, Al-Qaeda, United Nations, Al Taqwa Bank
The 9/11 Commission releases a report on terrorism financing. Its conclusions generally stand in complete contrast to a great body of material reported by the mainstream media, before and after this report. For instance, while the report does mention some terrorism-supporting organizations in great detail, such as the Global Relief Foundation or Al Barakaat, many seemingly important organizations are not mentioned a single time in either this report or the 9/11 Commission Final Report. The Commission fails to ever mention: BMI, Inc., Ptech, Al Taqwa Bank, Holy Land Foundation, InfoCom, International Islamic Relief Organization, Muslim World League, Muwafaq (Blessed Relief) Foundation, Quranic Literacy Institute, and the SAAR network or any entity within it. Additionally, important efforts to track terrorist financing such as Vulgar Betrayal and Operation Greenquest are not mentioned a single time. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 61; 9/11 Commission, 8/21/2004, pp. 134-5 ] Some select quotes from the report: "While the drug trade was an important source of income for the Taliban before 9/11, it did not serve the same purpose for al-Qaeda. Although there is some fragmentary reporting alleging that bin Laden may have been an investor, or even had an operational role, in drug trafficking before 9/11, this intelligence cannot be substantiated and the sourcing is probably suspect." Additionally, there is "no evidence of [al-Qaeda] drug funding after 9/11." [9/11 Commission, 8/21/2004, pp. 22-23 ] "[C]ontrary to some public reports, we have not seen substantial evidence that al-Qaeda shares a fund-raising infrastructure in the United States with Hamas, Hezbollah, or Palestinian Islamic Jihad." [9/11 Commission, 8/21/2004, pp. 24 ] "The United States is not, and has not been, a substantial source of al-Qaeda funding, but some funds raised in the United States may have made their way to al-Qaeda and its affiliated groups. A murky US network of jihadist (holy war) supporters has plainly provided funds to foreign mujaheddin with al-Qaeda links. Still, there is little hard evidence of substantial funds from the United States actually going to al-Qaeda. A CIA expert on al-Qaeda financing believes that any money coming out of the United States for al-Qaeda is 'minuscule.'" [9/11 Commission, 8/21/2004, pp. 24 ] The notion "that bin Laden was a financier with a fortune of several hundred million dollars" is an "urban legend." "[S]ome within the government continued to cite the $300 million figure well after 9/11, and the general public still [incorrectly] gives credence to the notion of a 'multimillionaire bin Laden.'" [9/11 Commission, 8/21/2004, pp. 20, 34 ] (A few months after this report, it will be reported that in 2000 over $250 million passed through a bank account jointly controlled by bin Laden and another man (see 2000).) "To date, the US government has not been able to determine the origin of the money used for the 9/11 attacks.… Ultimately the question of the origin of the funds is of little practical significance." [9/11 Commission, 8/21/2004, pp. 144 ] "The US intelligence community has attacked the problem [of terrorist funding] with imagination and vigor" since 9/11. [New York Times, 8/22/2004] According to the New York Times, the report "largely exonerate[s] the Saudi government and its senior officials of long-standing accusations that they were involved in financing al-Qaeda terrorists." [New York Times, 8/22/2004] Author Douglas Farah comments on the Commission's report, "The biggest hole is the complete lack of attention to the role the Muslim Brotherhood has played in the financing of al-Qaeda and other radical Islamist groups. While the ties are extensive on a personal level, they also pervade the financial structure of al-Qaeda.… According to sources who provided classified briefing to the Commission staff, most of the information that was provided was ignored.… [T]he Commission staff simply did not include any information that was at odds with the official line of different agencies." [Farah, 8/27/2004]
Entity Tags: Muwafaq Foundation, Vulgar Betrayal, Operation Greenquest, Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabia, Quranic Literacy Institute, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Muslim World League, SAAR Foundation, Muslim Brotherhood, Ptech Inc., InfoCom Corporation, Al-Qaeda, Al Taqwa Bank, 9/11 Commission, BMI Inc., Al Barakaat, Central Intelligence Agency, Douglas Farah, Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, International Islamic Relief Organization, Global Relief Foundation, Hamas
The headquarters of Nasco, the Nigerian company owned by Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, are actually located on Ahmed Nasreddin Road. [Source: NBC News]News reports indicate Al Taqwa bankers are able to conduct business globally with few restrictions, despite being on global terrorist financier lists (see November 7, 2001). For instance, Al Taqwa director Ahmed Idris Nasreddin is running a conglomerate in Nigeria that makes a range of goods such as breakfast cereal and beauty products. An MSNBC investigation shows a clear and easily discovered paper trail connecting Nasreddin to the Nigeria companies, and a Nigerian government spokesman says, "He is well known. He is actually the major shareholder" in the conglomerate. But Nigerian officials claim the US has never raised objections or asked Nigeria to take action. In 2003, news reports tied Nasreddin to a prominent hotel in Milan, Italy. Financial records indicate he still owns the hotel. [MSNBC, 6/30/2005] Author Douglas Farah notes that the Geneva, Switzerland, branch of the International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) has two Al Taqwa figures as directors. Youssef al Qardawi was a major Al Taqwa investor, and Ghaleb Himmat was a director in the bank. Both are officially designated terrorist financiers. The IICO also operated as part of the SAAR network, which was raided in March 2002 (see March 20, 2002). The IICO's vice president is Saleh Ibn Abdul Rahman Hussayen, who was a SAAR network official and also stayed in the same hotel as three of the 9/11 hijackers the night before the attacks (see September 10, 2001). Farah comments that these examples show "how ineffective and toothless the international sanctions regime has become. Those on the UN [terrorist financier] list continue to operate freely, presiding over businesses and charities that give them continued access to millions of dollars. The organizations that hire them are not penalized and, in the end, neither are the individuals." [Farah, 11/7/2005]
Entity Tags: Ghaleb Himmat, Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, Yousuf Abdullah Al-Qaradawi, Al Taqwa Bank, Douglas Farah, Saleh Ibn Abdul Rahman Hussayen
Youssef Nada's office in Lugano, Italy. [Source: Keystone]It is announced that Swiss prosecutors have suspended a three-year investigation into Al Taqwa Bank. The US and UN formally designated Al Taqwa and its founder Youssef Nada as terrorist financiers in November 2001 (see November 7, 2001). The suspension of the Swiss probe has no effect on those designations. Nada is self-acknowledged leader of the militant Muslim Brotherhood movement, but claims no ties to terrorism. [Newsweek, 6/22/2005] Swiss investigators say that the Bahamas government failed to share information about the important Al Taqwa branch based in that country. They claim that was the decisive factor in not bringing a case. Additionally, Al Taqwa's Swiss financial records were all shipped to Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi government has not been cooperative in getting them back. [Swissinfo, 6/2/2005]
Entity Tags: Al Taqwa Bank, Saudi Arabia, Bahamas, Switzerland
Youssef Nada in 2007. [Source: PBS]Egypt freezes the assets of dozens of top Muslim Brotherhood figures and then announces that 40 of them will stand trial in Egypt's military court. The Associated Press notes this court is "known for its swift trials and no right of appeal." Figures targeted include most of the top leaders of the Al Taqwa Bank in Switzerland, the Muslim Brotherhood bank banned by the US for its alleged ties to al-Qaeda. About five of those to be tried in absentia are tied to the bank, including bank directors Youssef Nada and Ghaleb Himmat. [Agence France-Presse, 1/24/2007; Associated Press, 2/6/2007; Ikhwanweb, 2/8/2007] The Muslim Brotherhood has been officially banned in Egypt for decades but it has generally been tolerated by the government. Muslim Brotherhood members became the largest opposition bloc in the Egyptian parliament after winning 88 of the 454 seats in the 2005 legislative elections by running as independents. [Associated Press, 2/6/2007]
Entity Tags: Ghaleb Himmat, Egypt, Al Taqwa Bank, Muslim Brotherhood, Youssef Nada
Ahmed Idris Nasreddin is quietly removed from the US and UN terrorist financier lists. Neither the US nor the UN publicly announces the decision or explains why his name is no longer on an updated list of financiers. Nasreddin, a 78-year old businessman based in Italy and Switzerland, was formally listed in 2002 due to his ties with the banned Al Taqwa Bank (see November 7, 2001). That bank was considered one of the top funders for al-Qaeda and other militant groups until it was banned in late 2001. When asked by the Los Angeles Times about the delisting, the Treasury Department says the original listing was appropriate but Nasreddin was delisted because he submitted signed statements certifying he had terminated all business relationships with Al Taqwa and related entities and individuals. Former State Department official Victor Comras complains: "They seem to be saying that he was a bad guy but that he has renounced being a bad guy. If that's the criteria, wow, a lot of people will try to get off the list. All they have to do is say, We're not doing it anymore." [Los Angeles Times, 11/28/2007]
Entity Tags: Al Taqwa Bank, Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, Victor Comras, US Department of the Treasury, United Nations
Receive weekly email updates summarizing what contributors have added to the History Commons database
Developing and maintaining this site is very labor intensive. If you find it useful, please give us a hand and donate what you can.Donate Now
If you would like to help us with this effort, please contact us. We need help with programming (Java, JDO, mysql, and xml), design, networking, and publicity. If you want to contribute information to this site, click the register link at the top of the page, and start contributing.Contact Us
Except where otherwise noted,
the textual content of each timeline is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike


text:
What I am saying is that YES, you can teach writing! There is a roadmap to follow so you will end up at the correct destination. I like to think of it as a garden. The farmer will organize his garden into neat rows and columns, just like you will do for your child.
How will you do this? With the tools from The Writing Garden. The reason that you should use these tools is because they have 17 years of teacher & student experience behind them. They have been used over and over again and have produced excellent harvests of writing.
These excellent harvests come from a full understanding and the right amount of practice with the writing process and the 6 traits of writing.
Stay tuned -- a FREE DVD sample will appear in this Blog very, very soon! :)
See you soon!


text:
This thread has now been closed to direct all further updates about this release onto the corresponding Stable release announcement:
Release Blog post: https://releases.xamarin.com/alpha-preview-cycle-6-service-release-0
This is a small bugfix release. It addresses a first handful of the more severe or commonly reported issues from the Xamarin 4, Cycle 6 Feature Release. See the Release Blog post for details.
An additional Service Release is tentatively planned for Alpha release within the next few weeks. It will include fixes for several other regressions introduced by the Cycle 6 Feature Release.
As mentioned on the Release Blog post, there is one especially widely reported regression for which a fix is not yet included in the Alpha version of Cycle 6 Service Release 0. This issue is under active investigation for a possible fix in a later build of Service Release 0:
.suo file or
.vs folder in the solution directory.
If you find any new issues in this release compared to the current Stable versions or the previous "Xamarin 3" versions that you would like the Xamarin team to investigate, please do file a quick bug report, and then feel free to add a note on this thread with the bug number. Thanks!
To save time be sure to check the lists of known issues in the release notes (linked below) before filing a bug.
You can view the complete list of new bug reports against the Xamarin 4 ("Cycle 6") Stable versions, excluding the issues fixed in Service Release 0 using the following Bugzilla query:
Xamarin 4 "Cycle 6" Bug List, excluding issues now fixed in Service Release 0
This list only includes bugs for which a fix has not yet been released as of "Service Release 0." Fixes for issues on this list already marked "FIXED" have not yet been released, but will be included in a future Service Release.
You can install this new Alpha version or switch back to the current Stable version by changing updater channels.
You can downgrade back to the previous Xamarin 3 Stable versions by manually reinstalling each old package. See the "Get the latest stable version of Xamarin 3" section on your account page: https://store.xamarin.com/account/my/subscription/downloads#xamarin3. If you have any trouble downloading the previous versions from that link, would like to install an older set of versions, or simply would prefer an email with all the installer links you need, feel free to contact
[email protected].
Release Blog post: https://releases.xamarin.com/alpha-preview-cycle-6-service-release-0
See the first entry in the release blog and "Xamarin Release Cycles" for more information about "cycles," "service releases," and "feature based releases."
(These are the same as for the initial Cycle 6 Feature Release.)
[XamarinVS] The Cycle 6 builds of XamarinVS now require Visual Studio 2012 or higher. Following along with the end of Mainstream Support for Visual Studio 2010 by Microsoft, Cycle 6 is not compatible with VS 2010.
[iOS] The Cycle 6 builds now require Xcode 7 or higher. For example, attempting to build an iOS app for device using Xcode 6.4 will now fail with "Native linking failed, undefined symbol: ___divdc3".
[Xamarin Studio] [XamarinVS] [iOS] [Android] [Xamarin.Mac] Support for OS X 10.9 Mavericks has been deprecated. The Cycle 6 builds now require OS X 10.10 Yosemite.
EDIT Nov 30: Make a small formatting change.
Excuse me @BrendanZagaeski , do you know if Xamarin support via email is in pause mode this week or somehow? I'm asking because I sent an email about an issue I'm having on monday (23th November, 2015) morning and not a reply yet.
Thanks in advance
Apologies for the slight delay. The volume of emails to the Support Team has been significantly higher this week (as is often the case after a large feature release like Xamarin 4). The Support Team has been tackling cases as quickly as possible. It looks like your email has just recently (about 1 hour ago) now received a first reply.
As a side note in case it might be helpful, if you send any future support emails to one of the product-specific addresses listed on your account page ("Business & Enterprise Support"), you will receive an automatic confirmation once the Support Team receives the email.
Service release 0 seemed to fix all the issues I was having with locked files and build hangs. For several hours no problems. I switched build configs to release built and made an apk. After that and switching back to debug it was like I reverted to stable. Locked files, builds hanging, and even VS locking on startup mid while projects loaded.
Service release 0 does not fix any issue i have, and created a new issue where after a few hours it can not connect anymore to the mac, aven after a full reboot. I downgraded.
locked files and build hangs
Service Release 0 includes only 1 patch aimed at hangs or locked files (from the Release Blog post):
36190 – Fixed an error "Could not write lines to file "obj\Debug\MyLib.csproj.FileListAbsolute.txt"" when building moderately large PCL projects as part of an iOS or Android app.
Locked files other than
*.csproj.FileListAbsolute.txt files would in theory not be affected by Service Release 0. (Note also that the patch for Bug 36190 simply changes the errors about those particular locked
.txt files to warnings and allows the build to continue.)
Just filed new bug # 36405: "Xamarin.iOS 9.2 (Xam4) cannot produce 64 bit ActionExtensions". (It doesn't look like this has been filed yet. Used to work pre-Xamarin 4 update; works fine on my older, not-yet-updated machine...)
This thread has now been closed to direct all further updates about this release onto the corresponding Stable release announcement:


text:
Technical Paper
Application of Hydraulic Body Mounts to Reduce the Freeway Hop Shake of Pickup Trucks
When pickup trucks are driven on concrete paved freeways, freeway hop shake is a major complaint. Freeway hop shake occurs when the vehicle passes over the concrete joints of the freeway which impose in-phase harmonic road inputs. These road inputs excite vehicle modes that degrade ride comfort. The worst shake level occurs when the vehicle speed is such that the road input excites the vehicle 1st bending mode and/or the rear wheel hop mode. The hop and bending mode are very close in frequency. This phenomenon is called freeway hop shake. Automotive manufacturers are searching for ways to mitigate freeway hop shake. There are several ways to reduce the shake amplitude. This paper documents a new approach using hydraulic body mounts to reduce the shake. A full vehicle analytical model was used to determine the root cause of the freeway hop shake.


text:
Advocacy Task Forces
The CFMS Government Affairs and Advocacy portfolio strikes task forces on emergent topics in healthcare, in order to best represent medical student voice, values, and ideas on these topics.
Please find below a list of current and active task forces within our portfolio.
Rapid Response Team
Criminal Justice Reform Task Force
Homelessness Task Force
Pharmacare Task Force
National Seniors Strategy Task Force
For More Information:
Helen Teklemariam, Director of Government Affairs
Canadian Federation of Medical Students
[email protected]


text:
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Gameweek 27 Preview
3 comments:
- JT said...
Good to see a new post on your blog Chris :-)
RVP (c) over Walcott is what my instinct says, despite everything pointing to Walcott. Your captaincy rankings make me feel a lot better about it!
- February 20, 2013 at 2:02 AM
- stooshermadness said...
Thanks Chris, love these posts. Like JT, I am leaning to RvP but strongly considering Walcott for the (c).
The bigger issue for me is 3 L'pool/Swan (Agger/Michu/Sturridge)with a blank and 3 other potential sitters - Shaw (still a yellow "i"), Wilkinson (probably dependent on Wilson's fitness) and Marveaux (starts only if Gouffran is still out). I had planned to drop Agger for sure for perhaps Santon or M.Dawson (or Walker). Was thinking 1 more move (and 4 point hit) might be useful to insure I have 11. Your numbers here suggest Lukaku or Tevez might be worth a shout for Sturridge but both come with the risk of not necessarily being nailed on. Wonder if others think a Sturridge swap-out is worth the 4 point hit. I tend to think Tevez will still come good over the rest of the season and sooner or later Clarke must realize what a beast Lukaku is. I've only taken 2 point hits all season, so I am leaning to 'small ball' again but I am chasing a 60 point lead in my minileague . . . any opinions out there ?
- February 20, 2013 at 1:02 PM
- Snorre said...
Why no Sissoko or Giroud in the individual rankings?
- February 20, 2013 at 9:41 PM


text:
Basil Black Jacket
€95.00 €89.95
Basil Black Jacket, Down padded jacket with seam details, water proof zips, contrast fabric panels, concealed hood, pockets and signature metal badge.
Mens Outerwear - Jackets
DISCLAIMER: Please note that these size charts are intended to be used as a guide only. Although we do our best to achieve consistency, some styles may vary in size. There may also be sizing variances between styles that are manufactured from different fabric due to the individual properties of the fabric.


text:
|with Ellen on The Ramblas (Boulevard)
Jacqueline is a former world class diver, Ellen a former world class synchro swimmer and me - definitely not a former world class pool swimmer! I just tag along and open doors for these amazing ladies!
We've had some great conversations about next steps. Now to put them into action.
The day began being reminded that love is something we all have in common around the world. We are far more alike than we are different. I discreetly captured this picture which quickly took my mind to my love at home, to our need for love in our lives and thankfulness for God's love that surrounds us.
That was Friday.
This morning, David was off to a prison to do some ministry through basketball, and I slept in! Later Ellen showed me the Medieval part of the city. Everything is decorated for Christmas and in one square we came upon row after row of booths selling Nativity scenes, complete with buildings for the whole countryside. There was a large Nativity in the government square with a wonderful interpretation for a seaside city. I was told that Barcelona is known for its Nativity's and if you're going to put up one thing for Christmas, that's what it should be.
From Roman columns unearthed within the past few decades to stunning cathedrals, it's a beautiful city. Tonight we are headed to the Olympic ('92) village and park areas and then I insisted on taking them out to eat. As young married missionaries, that's a luxury they don't often get.
|The Cathedral of Barcelona
|The Cathedral of Barcelona
|Courtyard of The Cathedral of Barcelona
|The Cathedral of Barcelona
|Roman columns from 1st Century
|In the government square
|In the government square
|The "Sailor's" Church


text:
If you have mild or moderate obstructive sleep apnea, it is highly possible for your sleep physician to recommend using a sleep apnea appliance during sleep. This appliance is one of the most popular methods of treatment for mild levels of the condition.
However, what most doctors do not tell you is the discomfort caused by these appliances. In a lot of cases, these discomforts are the very reason why the use of this method of treatment is prematurely ended before the prescribed duration.
This is alarming, due to the fact of the risks that can come out of the sleeping condition. If the treatments are prematurely stopped, then more people are going to suffer from the sleeping disorder's complications.
What Is A Sleep Apnea Appliance?
This appliance is actually a dental mouthpiece. It is custom made by the dentist to securely fit in your mouth. The appliance is similar to the mouthpiece worn by boxers and athletes. The only difference is it is not designed to protect your teeth.
Here are the functions of this special mouthpiece:
1. Prevents the soft tissue on the rear of the mouth from obstructing the airway.
2. Prevents the tongue from obstructing the airway.
In these ways, the appliance has proven to be one of the most effective methods of treating the condition.
Side Effects Of The Appliance
If ask any boxer or athlete, wearing a mouthpiece is difficult and will take a lot of getting use to. Just imagine wearing a mouthpiece at least 8 hours every night.
Here are the side effects:
1. Discomfort
- The extra weight and unnatural feeling caused by this device will initially cause discomfort
- In most cases, you will not be able to sleep comfortably or not sleep at all, due to this device
2. Jaw Strain
- Wearing this appliance can cause stress or strain on the jaw
3. Jaw Pain
- The strain on the jaw can cause pain upon waking up in the morning
4. Excessive Production Of Saliva
- The device causes an unnatural stimulation of the saliva glands
- This results in the excessive production of saliva
5. Tooth Pain
- The pressing weight and stress put on the teeth while wearing this appliance will cause toot pain
If you plan on purchasing this appliance, you might want to think of the side effects it can cause. Wearing a sleep apnea appliance is not as easy as you might think.
To receive a FREE e-course on 7 proven sleep apnea treatments (that don't use CPAP), please click here.


text:
A few hours before I started to write this post, the death of Pierre Boulez made the headlines. A controversial person, if I trust my Twitter timeline. Was he the chief representative of contemporary classical music? Of French contemporary classical music? A polemic person and a conductor with too much political influence? As a matter of fact, I am not sure that these questions matter. Music matters.
Composer and conductor
A 123 days have gone by since. Boulez is one of those figures that keep intriguing me. I was aware that Boulez was a demanding conductor, but initially I did not know him as a composer. I realized this when a friend of mine complained that she had to study a piano score written by Boulez. The prospect of decrypting that score did not exactly make her happy. A few months later I got stuck at an airport in South America and read by chance an interview with Boulez. I contacted my friend at once and asked for guidance. What piece should I know?
A fast Wifi connection let me download "Le Marteau sans maître" (The Hammer Without Master) on the spot. Written by Boulez, conducted by Boulez and performed by the Ensemble InterContemporain, founded by Boulez. Boulez3, if you like. Since I had plenty of time to kill, I listened to that piece several times. Dissonance? Sure. Seemingly arbitrary notes? Oh, yes. Chaos? Oh, no! It all makes sense… after some time and after a small intellectual effort. That's the trouble with some of the contemporary classical compositions: They appeal more to the brain than to the heart!
Music unexplained
"Le Marteau sans maître", written between 1953 and 1955, is based on texts by the French surrealist poet René Char. The piece is a set of nine pieces for voice and instruments, not unlike Sir Birtwistle's song cycle "Bogenstrich". The vocal parts are partly sung, partly spoken. The instrumental parts are performed by a small ensemble composed of a flute, a viola, a guitar, a vibraphone and percussion.
Apparently Boulez was unwilling or unable to explain the structure underlying his composition. That's why I am not going to try to second-guess the composer. The music speaks for itself. And either it speaks to you – your brain or your heart – or it doesn't. I wouldn't say I like the piece. But I find it very, very interesting!
Maths, music and physics
Boulez was born in 1925. He was excelling in music, physics and maths. He studied music during World War II at the Conservatoire de Paris, and became a student of Olivier Messiaen after the war. His musical style was a development of serialism*, a composition technique championed by the German composer Arnold Schönberg and later by Messiaen.
Paul Griffiths, the biographer for Oxford Music Online, explains that in piano works from the years 1951/52, "Boulez achieved a definitive conjunction of the methods of his predecessors, creating and transcending a 'total serial' style in which every musical aspect—pitch, duration, loudness, and attack—is organized according to serial rules." He founded a new musical language and "Le Marteau sans Maître" is the first and best known composition of Boulez expressed in that new language.
© Charles Thibo


text:
Friday, February 26, 1999 Published at 15:17 GMT
World: Europe
Church denies funding Kurd rebels
Many Greeks sympathise with the Kurds
By Religious Affairs Reporter Jane Little
The Greek Orthodox Church has reacted angrily to remarks attributed to the Kurdish rebel leader, Abdullah Ocalan, that it funded the Kurdish separatist group, the PKK.
He said the church had only supplied food as humanitarian aid to Kurdish refugees.
Earlier this week, a Turkish prosecutor interrogating the Kurdish leader told the semi-offical Anatolia news agency in Turkey that Mr Ocalan had acknowledged receiving money from the church.
It is a provocative and embarassing revelation for the Greek Government and the church, which has been quick to deny any connections with the PKK.
Individual donations more likely
Observers say it is highly unlikely that the rich and influential state-sponsored church, which officially claims the allegiance of 98% of Greece's population, would give funds to the PKK.
But it is highly possible that individual priests had encouraged donations for the rebel movement.
Many Greek Orthodox believers sympathise with the Kurds and the church has traditional nationalist leanings.
Archbishop Christodoulos has himself upset politicians by denouncing Turks as "barbarians" and has called on Greeks to "liberate Constantinople" in reference to the historic heart of orthodoxy, now present-day Istanbul.
The church will be under considerable pressure to distance itself from Mr Ocalan's reported remarks, which is likely increase tension between Greece and Turkey.


text:
Audio for Worship Training Resources
Are you a sound tech? Or are you involved in audio decisions at your church? Here are a couple helpful resources to assist you in your role!
Jump to navigation
Welcome! From projection screens to professions of faith, from sacraments to song selections this is where worship teams and planners can connect with others about all aspects of worship.
Here you'll find resources posted by individuals, churches, and ministries. Add comments, give a 'thumbs up', or post your own. Can't find something? Use the chat box to let us know.
Are you a sound tech? Or are you involved in audio decisions at your church? Here are a couple helpful resources to assist you in your role!
Check out this helpful sound technology training video. After all, some of the most important people in the sanctuary or worship center are those operating the sound and video technology!
Do you stream or podcast your worship service? Do you watch other services to get inspiration and be exposed to new ideas? Keep reading to find out more details, including what is legal.
In this touching video, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities recite Psalm 139.
Screen Projection in the church and optimum readability.
Does your church website have a welcome video? I read this Church Juice blog entry and was intrigued by the idea. It seems that, if the video is well done, this could be a very effective tool for your church.
If you're wondering whether projected technology is all it can be in your congregation's worship, maybe it's time to rethink your approach.


text:
Monday, August 20, 2012
Butter London Wallis - ABC Challenge "U"
24 comments:
I was certain this would be your "W" challenge choice! Haha can't wait to see what you come up with for that day. Wallis is a unique polish, that's for sure. Not my style but looks great on others!ReplyDelete
I like Wallis AND Trenddsetter! lol great choice, I love this post! Oh boy i know what you mean about the middle finger, mine always breaks. ALWAYS! only that one too. gah!ReplyDeleteReplies
Why is that about the middle finger? Is it cuz it's longer than the rest? I can never get it the right shape either. Do you have Trendsetter? If so, post it for me:)Delete
This is gorgeous!! I love ugly-pretty colors like this. I recently sold this on my last blog sale because I was going through an "i-hate-butter-london" phase because the polishes always chip on my but now I'm regretting it because it really is such a lovely color.ReplyDeleteReplies
Yep, ugly-pretty is a perfect way to describe it!Delete
I love Wallis! It was the first Butter London nail polish I bought. :) I also love Trendsetter, haha. I guess I love weird greenish colored polishes.ReplyDeleteReplies
I would love to see your swatch of Trendsetter...perhaps you could change my mind!!!Delete
Wallis is such a unique color! I don't know how often I would wear this, but it is interesting lol!ReplyDeleteReplies
Yes, I think I'll wear it again in the Fall....it's sortof a Fall color??Delete
I don't think I would call it ugly but unique is definitely a good word for it! I still go back and forth on this one. It does look lovely on you!ReplyDelete
Hahaha!! I've been trying to put an "ugly" spin on my U, too! Whoa. Just googled Trendsetter. That's bad. That's a good place to draw the line. Btw, there's a new Illamasqua that looks rather awful, too, on account of the rubbery texture, I think. It looks like fake melted cheese. :p I think Wallis looks pretty cool, especially in your photo; it's kind of the color of absinthe. I totally want to go out and find the ugliest color I can (on the cheap, lol) and wear that. :DReplyDeleteReplies
Eww, I'll have to google that Illamasqua color. Good luck finding that ugly polish you are looking for:)Delete
Wallis is probably my all-time favorite Butter London color. It's the first one I ever bought. I love antique gold/bronzes like this.ReplyDeleteReplies
Really? Cool - I knew some people would like it!Delete
haha you broke your two FU fingernails!! and dbl LOL for the "Ugly" as your challenge letter haha =)) oh you gave me some laughs this morning =)))ReplyDelete
I kinda like the shimmer in Wallis, it makes it look interesting. But I'm with you, I will never ever wear Trendsetter! bleeeh... looks like a day-old vomit!!
Definitely a pretty-ugly polish, but sometimes these polishes make great bases for glitter toppers too, because it sends it into truly unique category! Sorry about your nail :-(ReplyDeleteReplies
Ahh, I never think of adding a glitter to Wallis....that should be interesting:)Delete
I tried this on at Nordstrom yesterday and seriously almost bought it. I love colors like this! But instead I got Dodgy Barnett, Trustafarian, and Bluey.ReplyDeleteReplies
I don't have a Nordstrom near me...so you can actually try them right in the store? That's pretty cool.Delete
Yeah, I can't do the baby-poop polishes!ReplyDeleteReplies
LOL, and baby-poop this is!Delete


text:
Protecting animals in communities
Animals play a vital role in communities worldwide – and we move the world every day to protect them
Support our work to stop dogs suffering needlessly
If disaster were to strike today, would you have a plan to save yourself and your pet ?
See how communities and governments can stop strays being culled
Taking action that counts
We find the most effective ways to protect animals in communities – and then we act. So we help governments to manage dog populations humanely and to vaccinate against rabies, instead of culling dogs. We share advice on responsible pet ownership. We prevent working animals being overworked and abused. We do whatever is necessary to protect animals in communities worldwide, including at home here in New Zealand.