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The Mitigation approach
The mitigation approach to water damage restoration prevents secondary damage, less intrusive with quick turnaround time and cost-effective.
SteamMaster is the local expert providing superior service in all four main areas of our services. We are a 24/7 emergency response mitigation company. With our 9-bedroom employee housing, SteamMaster crew can respond immediately to any emergency situation whether it is a water damage, fire damage, smoke damage or sewer backup.
We provide several specialty cleaning services from carpet cleaning, hard surface cleaning, and restoration, oriental and area rug cleaning, fine fabric cleaning, leather cleaning and drapery cleaning.
Mold remediation and crawl space repairs are services we are experts at. With almost 40 years as a provider serving the mountain resort communities, you can trust and depend on SteamMaster – We are the Local Experts, with World-Class Solutions. Call us at 970.827.5555 or visit us at SteamMaster.com Please visit our YouTube Channel for numerous work videos
Effective Water Damage Extraction
This video is about Effective Water Damage Extraction in Vail, Breckenridge, Aspen and surrounding mountain communities. SteamMaster has almost 40 years of experience in the Restoration and Cleaning Industry. You can visit our website at http://www.SteamMaster.com or go to the Restoration pages of the website at https://steammaster.com/water-damage-… The immediate response of a Water Damage situation is critical when you can mitigate the situation preventing a larger and more expensive cost with proper water extraction or water removal. Using the proper tools and equipment to extract all or as much water you can.
The immediate response of a Water Damage situation is critical when you can mitigate the situation preventing a larger and more expensive cost. With proper water extraction or water removal and using the right tools and equipment to extract all or as much water you can, helps the drying process better and prevent saturation as well as the need to remove drywall and then face to replace it all.
Mitigating a water damage with proper extraction will also reduce the business or residential disruption. SteamMaster's approach is to prevent these inconveniences and always seek to better our services by doing it right the first time. Water removal in a flooding or broken pipe situation is critical.
We have a live person answering our phones all the time. Our staff is on a rotation based on-call system. Call us at 970.827.5555 24/7/365
Identifying Hidden Water Leak in Your Home
Have you ever wondered how much water is wasted in most homes? The statistics will actually shock you. The average family wastes more than 11 gallons of clean water every year and this is through leaks alone. Yes, 11,000 gallons wasted through leaks and not laundry, shower, flushing or cleaning of utensils in the kitchen.
As a homeowner, you probably are very busy working in an office and looking for new business opportunities in order to increase your income. This is not bad at the end of the day, you need to buy stuff – electronics, clothes, vacation, a home, and investments. This is not an excuse to assume that everything is ok. It is important to try and find out if there are any hidden leaks and water damage in the crawl space, mechanical room, behind the sink, in the bathroom and under the sink.
Here is how to identify hidden water leaks in your home.
Improper insulation and poor construction cause ice dam in homes that subsequently is the silent cause of water intrusion in homes causing mold behind walls and structures. SteamMaster uses Infrared Thermal Imaging Cameras to detect these leaks.
In the Bathroom
Bathrooms are very important rooms as they provide the much-needed space and privacy to take a shower each morning and probably in the evening too. Have you ever encountered a musty smell when you step in the bathroom? This is actually a sign that you have a leak. Damaged walls, stains or warping are clear signs of leaking in the bathroom. The smell of old accumulated water and stains on the ceiling especially for the lower floor are clear signs of leaks in your bathroom.
According to experts, bathroom leaks occur as a result of damage to pipes passing through the walls. They may also occur due to a crack in the bathroom faucet or the bathtub itself.
In the crawl space
A damp crawl space has been found to support the growth of mold. It also causes dry rot in posts, beams, sills and floor joists. When wood begins to rot, it loses its strength which means it will compromise the floors, walls and ceilings. If you want to identify leaks in the crawl space, use a screwdriver. Probe the framing especially discolored areas.
Other signs of hidden water leaks in the crawl space include condensation, rust on metal, insect infestation especially termites, white chalky substance and flooding.
Behind and under the sink
Just like the bathroom, water leaks under and behind the sink can be detected by the growth of mold and mildew. While it is acceptable for a few to appear, if the growth is dense, then you have a hidden water leak. Old, accumulated water and stained walls beneath the sink is another clear sign of hidden water leak.
To eliminate the consequences brought about by hidden water leaks, it is important to hire a home restoration and flood mitigation expert. They are experienced and qualified to deal with water damage and leaks.
Just be sure to select the best!
SteamMaster provides 24-hour emergency service for water, sewer, fire mitigation services. Please call us at 970.827.5555 for immediate response.
Three Major Causes of Structural Damage
Water is a very powerful force that can cause serious damage to the structure of your home or business. Today we are going to take a deeper look at different types of water damage that can affect your foundation.
Three Major Causes of Structure Damage
If your building or home has had foundation damage, 9 times out of 10 it has been caused through some form of water damage. When water creeps up and gets in and around the foundation of a building, bad things can happen. Water can cause costly damage and can even make your building unsafe to dwell in. Foundation restoration is a long and difficult process but needs to be done in order to insure that your building is safe. Below are three situations where water damage can cause structural damage.
- Soil erosion– Water is one force of nature that you really don't want to ignore. The soil around your foundation was put there for a good reason. This soil helps support the foundation and when it is removed due to water damage, the foundation becomes weaker. This can cause your foundation to sink. Signs of soil erosion include drywall cracks, tilting chimneys and doors that will not properly close.
- Standing water– Standing water if not removed by a sump pump can cause major foundation damage. The longer the water sits the more saturated the ground can be. This can cause your foundation to shift, which will put your building at risk. Proper drainage can also help keep water from standing around the outside of your foundation.
- Hydro-static pressure– This is probably the number one cause of foundation damage, due to water. If you have a leaking basement most of the times this is the cause. When the soil around the foundation becomes infiltrated with water the pressure builds. This pressure can do more than just cause a leak. If hydro-static pressure becomes too much, it can cause foundation failure.
If you believe you are experiencing any of these you can call us for a free evaluation of your situation. Once we complete the evaluation process we are able to provide an estimate typically within 24 hours.
Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration
The aftermath of a fire can be a devastating time for everyone involved. In some instances, people may lose all of their possessions and they will have to start all over again by buying new things to replace their old items. On the other hand, if the fire is contained by the fireman in time, the owners of the home and their families will be left with clean up that will not only take time, but also quite a bit of effort and money. Even though some people may be tempted to take on this job and complete it themselves, they may soon discover that there are numerous financial advantages to hiring the right type of fire damage restoration professionals to complete these tasks.
The professionals that the family may consider contacting first is the smoke and fire damage restoration crew at SteamMaster. When our emergency team comes into the home, they will focus on getting things taken care of quickly in order to minimize the financial loss. One of the most important steps is getting rid of all of the water and other types of debris that's left from the fire and firefighting efforts. This can be accomplished in numerous ways, including using commercial equipment to vacuum up all of the water out of each room that has been affected.
The main step is to ensure that we document, assess and evaluate all damage. Since some items are completely destroyed because of the fire and smoke, they will have to be bagged and discarded. However, there are other items that have been affected that can be salvaged. With a professional team involved, they have the best tools and equipment available to complete these jobs effectively. For example, a professional fire restoration remediation company will have various types of wet cleaning tools, rotary scrubbers, chemical sponges and hot fogging machines that expand into wall cavities. This means we can use these tools to remove all of the smoke that lingers within.
Reporting in the news recently discussing various plant life, shows that they can become highly flammable at certain times of the year. With forest fires being a real threat to our homes and community, it helps to be aware of our experienced professionals. We will come out any season any time of the day or night.
Restoring Your Terrazo Flooring
Terrazzo is a stone that is man-made and created via the use of small pieces of natural stone. In a nutshell, it is a hard surface using stone chips set in epoxy or cement. The name comes from "Terrazza", which is an Italian word that means, "terrace". It began back in the 15th century when Venetian mosaic artists utilized leftover bits of marble for surfacing their own terraces at home. The fact that it is steeped in tradition and history makes terrazzo all the more attractive to many people for their homes or businesses.
Terrazzo floors are really quite resilient, but older terrazzo floors may need general restoration for the purpose of restoring them to their original beauty. Pits and holes in places where chips of stone could have come loose and could require filling. A lackluster surface could require the help of a professional to make it shine again.
Terrazzo's attractive appearance and high level of durability make it an excellent natural stone hard surface for restoration. Generally it contains marble or some other type of natural stone that tends to be capable of maintaining a high shine once polished. Terrazzo can then be maintained by using a penetrative sealer to protect it from discoloration and stains.
Once it has been restored by a professional, maintaining terrazzo in all of its beauty is as simple as regular dry and wet mopping. It is, however, quite susceptible to etching, therefore it's necessary to prevent any acidic spills or, if any occur, to wipe them up immediately. And, often it is difficult to tell whether a stain is actually a stain or a natural part of the floor itself. The best way to find that out is to ask a professional to look at it and make a recommendation.
If you're a business or homeowner in Eagle County who has a terrazzo floor in your home or office, and it's starting to look dull or damaged, then your best bet is to contact certified technicians to re-seal your floor and ensure years of beauty and enjoyment. Don't make the mistake of trying Do-It-Yourself methods on your floor when you need to remove stains or etching. Trust the professionals to extract those stains and preserve the beauty of your terrazzo floor.
Filed under Hard Surface Cleaning, natural stone cleaning


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How research can help you…
What is Market Research?
Successful businesses have extensive knowledge of their customers and their competitors. Market research is the process of gathering information to determine who you will sell to and why; potential opportunities and challenges for your business; and the general state of the industry you operate in. Market research provides insights in order to make strategic business decisions and avoid and contain risk.
There are two types of market research: primary and secondary. Primary research refers to your own observations, data, surveys and information that you've collected yourself. Secondary research refers to data that someone else has collected, analyzed and published. Square One has access to numerous secondary research sources provided by the Canada Business Network.
Accessing Square One's Research Reports
Square One provides research reports at no cost to Saskatchewan residents looking to start or expand their business. To request reports, please contact our office at 1.888.576.4444 or email email@example.com and provide a brief description of your business idea, where you are located and what kind of information you are looking for.
Census Profiles:
Get data that provides organized information on population characteristics such as location, age, income, education level, and more for Saskatchewan cities, towns and rural municipalities. Census Profiles also include household expenditure information on a variety of common goods.
Industry Profiles:
Receive summaries and statistics that can help you better understand your industry, and study the latest trends and challenges that could impact your sector.
Business Listings:
Access listings for competitors, suppliers or sales for anywhere in Saskatchewan.
Labour and Employment Data:
Find statistics and analysis related to the labour force, employment and income from official Canadian sources.
Canadian Economic Data:
Get the latest information on the current state of the economy.
General Research and Statistics:
Discover resources available through Square One, Statistics Canada and other official libraries.
Links to Research & Statistics
Government of Saskatchewan
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

subset: commoncrawl


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The Rachel Maddow Show, Transcript 11/12/15
RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST: Good evening, Chris. Thanks, my friend.
And thanks to you at home for joining us this hour.
Presidential debates on Republican side have been kind of a headache
for Republican Party leaders this year. The party tried to take control of
the debate process this year, as compared to how it went in 2012, when
there was just willy-nilly debates all the time and the party had no say.
The party taking control of the process this year has had good points
and bad points. One of the bad points for the party is that it has led the
party`s own candidates to start attacking the party for how they`re handing
the debate issue.
The candidates have also, of course, feuded this year with the debate
moderators. Various campaigns have threatened to revolt over the various
formats in the debate. These formats that have been agreed to by the
Republican Party and the network.
Also, there`s the matter of who`s in them. From debate to debate to
debate, it really has not been clear which candidates would qualify for
either the main stage debate or for this weird innovation we`ve come up
with this year, which is the kids` table debate, the so-called undercard
debate. From debate to debate to debate, it`s never been clear, oftentimes
until the very last second, who gets in and who doesn`t.
But with all of that, with all of the consternation and criticism and
ad hoc suspense of this year`s debate process, there is one way in which
this Republican debate season has been a huge, unqualified success – and
that is the size of the audience. More people are watching this time
around than last time around by a mile.
The debate this week on the Fox Business Channel actually had the
weakest showing of all the debates so far this year, but it still got 13.5
million viewers. That is still nearly double the audience for the highest-
rated primary debate in the whole last election. The least-watched debate
this year is nearly double the most-watched debate from 2012. And the
most-watched debate for 2012 was on network TV. It wasn`t even on cable,
let alone a cable channel that a lot of people don`t have.
So, to the extent the Republicans want attention, to the extent the
Republicans wants an audience for their presidential candidate, boy, have
they got one this time around.
And so, obviously, it must be time to change everything. Members of
the RNC, the National Republican Party, met yesterday morning in Milwaukee
after the Fox Business debate to reportedly discuss changes in the criteria
by which candidates will make the debate or not make the debate. And
according to the conservative magazine, "The National Review," what the RNC
is considering doing now, mid-stream in this remarkable and remarkably
popular debate season, what they`re considering doing is pretty radically
changing the cutoff for which candidates get allowed in to the debate.
So far in the last couple of debates, Republican candidates have
needed an average of at least 2.5 percent in recent national polls in order
to make it on to the main stage. Well, now, according to "The National
Review," the RNC is having discussions about raising that cutoff from 2.5
percent to more like 4 percent or 5 percent.
Well, if that higher threshold would have been in place for this
week`s debate, neither John Kasich nor Rand Paul nor Carly Fiorina would
have made the main stage. Even Jeb Bush – if Jeb Bush had been roughly
half a point lower in his recent national polling average, under the new
cutoff that is reportedly being proposed by the RNC, even Jeb Bush would
have been in danger of getting kicked off the main stage.
At a 4 percent or 5 percent national polling cutoff, which is
reportedly what they are now considering, what the Republican Party is now
pushing for, Jeb Bush would have been really, really close to being shoved
down to the kids` table. Except one of the other things the Republican
Party is reportedly considering is getting rid of the kids` table.
So, the next Democratic debate is this Saturday, in Iowa. The next
Republican debate is not until next month, middle of next month, in Nevada.
But as yet, we have no idea what the criteria will be for Republican
candidates being eligible to get into the next debate. If they pick that 4
or 5 percent cutoff, it`s going to be a much smaller stagefull of main
The Republican Party held this closed-door meeting yesterday about
making the qualifying criteria that much more strict. So far, they`re not
saying what, if anything, was agreed to. And so far, we don`t know if the
campaigns are even going to give the party their blessing to proceed with
this new rather draconian plan.
So, I mean, with the giant Republican candidate field this year,
there are, undoubtedly, some unique challenges in terms of how to do this.
In terms of how to come up with a reasonable debate format. In terms of
how to include everybody and be fair. It is difficult this year. But it`s
also important to remember that there`s always some drama about who gets
into the debates and who doesn`t.
Last night, for example, we showed that incredible footage from 1980.
The Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush debate in 1980 that was supposed to be
just Bush and Reagan debating each other, but Ronald Reagan showed up,
inexplicably, with four other candidates and tried to cram them on to the
stage. There was a big fight about it and there was yelling and there was
the angry cutting off of people`s microphones and storming off the stage.
There`s always a fight about debates, right? There`s always
somebody. There`s always at least one, sometimes two, three, or four
candidates who feel wrongfully excluded from the debate stage. It always
Another example, the 2008 presidential race. In the 2008 Republican
primary, the guy who made the biggest public case that he had been wronged,
that he had been wrongfully excluded from the debates is a congressman you
may not recognize here, but you`ll probably remember his name. His name
was Duncan Hunter. They did let Congressman Duncan Hunter into some of the
early Republican debates in 2008.
But as that primary season ground on and it didn`t seem to be picking
up any extra support, they started not letting him in – and, boy, was he
mad about that.
REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The guy who
actually had some points on the scoreboard, that was myself, was not
allowed to attend the debates, because some knucklehead, arrogant executive
in the corporate media world of ABC and FOX News and some third or fourth
story glass office decided that I was – my campaign was over and the
lights were going to be shut out on my campaign.
So, against that backdrop, ABC and FOX have been asking us when I`m
going to quit. So here`s my answer. I`m not going to quit. I`m going to
continue –
MADDOW: Right after that, Duncan Hunter – he did quit. Less than
two weeks later.
But Duncan Hunter is now sort of barely remembered as a presidential
candidate at all. He`s remembered, instead, just as a long-serving member
of congress, from 1981 to 2008, there was a Republican congressman from
California named Duncan Hunter. The only reason that is ever confusing as
history is because now, today, there is also a Republican congressman from
California named Duncan Hunter, but he`s a totally different person than
the first guy.
When presidential candidate and longtime Congressman Duncan Hunter
finally decided to leave Congress in 2008, he bestowed his congressional
seat on his own son, to whom he had already given his name. And so, now,
it is Duncan Hunter Jr. who has his dad`s old seat in Congress.
And if Duncan Hunter Jr. is famous for anything, he is famous for
REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R), CALIFORNIA: I know that at least 10 ISIS
fighters have been caught coming across the Mexican border in Texas.
There`s nobody –
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS: How do you know that?
HUNTER: Because I`ve asked – because I`ve asked the border patrol,
VAN SUSTEREN: And the border patrol, they just let ISIS members come
across the border?
HUNTER: No, they caught them at the border. Therefore, we know that
ISIS is coming across the border. If they catch five or ten of them, you
know there`s going to be dozens more that did not get caught.
MADDOW: My friend, Greta Van Susteren at FOX. We really are
friends. I`m not just saying that.
I mean, to her credit in that interview, she`s like, wait, wait,
wait, wait, what did you just said? Like, zipping right by there. Ten
ISIS fighters have been captured on the U.S. border? Seriously? We`ve got
10 ISIS guys in custody? What are you talking about?
This is kind of an amazing story, right? It`s kind of a big deal!
Where are we holding them? Are they being interrogated? Will there be a
statement from President Obama?
Will there be a statement from, you know, Baghdadi, the guy who runs
is? I mean, ten ISIS fighters captured on U.S. soil?! Now in American
custody, alive, here?
No! Ha-ha, of course not! Think of how big a deal that would be if
it were true. That`s not – the sort of the Department of Homeland
Security came out immediately and said, yes, right. Ixnay on the Duncan
What he`s talking about is totally not true. But it was interesting.
Duncan hunter, even after the Department of Homeland Security came out and
said, uh-uh, Duncan Hunter insisted that it was true. And the reason he
said it was true and he knew it was true is because he said he had secret
information. He had secret sources that he could not reveal, who told him
it was true.
Now, at the time when this happened, we contacted Congressman
Hunter`s office. And they refused to back down off this unbelievable
claim. They said they heard this earth-shattering information from a,
quote, "high-level source, someone who we have come to know and trust over
the years."
OK, we pushed a little further, asked for any documentation they
might have to support this claim, any evidence they might be able to show
us, so at least we could follow up on this massive national security story.
In response, they sent us a link to this adorable and misspelled blog post
on a right-wing website, which also cited unnamed sources as their
definitive proof that all these is fighters had been arrested crossing the
U.S./Mexico border.
After we pestered Duncan Hunter`s office about it a little bit
further, they blew us off saying that Duncan Hunter would be releasing
additional information about this matter soon, very soon, and that
information would prove his point beyond a reasonable doubt. That was a
little bit more than a year now, that that has happened, a year ago. There
are no ISIS fighters in custody. The border patrol has not been arresting
ISIS fighters coming across the border from Mexico. It never happened.
Congressman Duncan Hunter never apologized. At one point, he even
started giving local media interviews to southern California TV stations,
denouncing the Department of Homeland Security for denying his story!
But that was last year. Serving member of the U.S. House, Duncan
Also last year, there was the Joni Ernst one. During her campaign
for a U.S. Senate seat in Iowa, Republican candidate Joni Ernst insisted
that she, too, had access to secret information which proved something that
you might not otherwise believe.
Here she was speaking with the "Des Moines Register" editorial board.
JONI ERNST (R-IOWA), THEN-SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I do have reason to
believe that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. That was the
intelligence that was operated on. I was not at a level to question that.
So –
REPORTER: Are you now? I mean –
ERNST: Again – I have reason to believe there was weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq.
REPORTER: What is that reason? What makes you –
ERNST: I will tell you, my husband served in Saudi Arabia, on Army
Central Command, sergeant major for a year. And that`s a hot-button topic
in that area.
MADDOW: Hot-button, to say the least. As a candidate for the United
States Senate last year, Joni Ernst insisted that despite what you might
have heard, despite what had been pretty thoroughly investigated, her
inside access to secret intelligence proved to her that there were weapons
of mass destruction in Iraq.
This "I have secret information" thing is one of the weirder ways to
try to get away with a lie as a politician. But it does happen every now
and again. And interestingly, it doesn`t seem to hurt these guys when they
do it.
I mean, Duncan Hunter, the junior, is still comfortable ensconced in
his dad`s seat in Congress. Joni Ernst went on to win the election to the
United States Senate and is now a serving U.S. senator from the state of
Iowa. They put her on the Armed Services Committee and the Homeland
Security Committee where all her secret personal intelligence is presumably
being put to good use.
The question, though, is whether the "I have access to secret
intelligence" lie works not just at a congressional level and not just at a
U.S. Senate level, but whether it works also at the presidential level,
because now we are having a very, very over-the-top test of that in this
area`s presidential race. And that`s next.
MADDOW: So the presidential race has just been ever so slightly
upended by one leading candidate claiming to have personal secret
information that nobody else has about a very big national security issue.
And in real life, the top military adviser to the secretary of defense, a
three-star general, was just suddenly and mysteriously fired tonight in
Washington and nobody saw it coming before it happened. We`ve got both of
those stories, straight ahead.
BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: His relationships go way,
way, way back, you know? 1968 at Patrice Lumumba University, that`s when
Putin first got to know the Ali Khamenei. And also, Mahmoud Abbas. And
all of these relationships are very, very complex.
MADDOW: So it started last month when Republican presidential front-
runner Ben Carson let loose a knowledge bomb on FOX News, in which he said,
oh, my God, Vladimir Putin and the supreme leader of Iran and the guy from
the Palestinian authority, they were kind of college roommates.
And Ben Carson didn`t just accidentally blurt this out once while
playing world leaders names refrigerator poetry on FOX. He said it at
least five times.
CARSON: In the class of 1968 at Patrice Lumumba University in
Moscow, Mahmoud Abbas was one of the members of that class and so was
Khamenei, Ali Khamenei. They were classmates. And that`s when they first
established relationships with a young Vladimir Putin.
MADDOW: Vladimir Putin, Mahmoud Abbas from the Palestinian
Authority, the supreme leader of Iran, they were basically frat brothers.
All at college together in Moscow at the same time, which is either Patrice
Lumumba University or Patrice La Bumba University, depending on which time
he was talking about it.
Really, Ben Carson?
No, no. There`s no evidence outside of Ben Carson that that is true.
But when he kept saying it over and over again, people started to wonder
where he got the information from. And Ben Carson finally got pinned down
on the matter by the Christian Broadcasting Network. He told CBN that he
had some slam-the-door-shut proof for them to shut down all follow-up
He told CBN this, quote, "Dr. Carson would not disclose his sources,
but told CBN he learned about the ties between leaders from advisers." He
said the connection helps to explain what is currently happening around the
world. He told CNB, quote, "That`s what I call wisdom."
Dr. Carson also went on after refusing to name his sources to assure
CBN that there was more secret intelligence where this came from. Quote,
"There`s a lot more information that I`ve gotten that is probably not
appropriate for revelation." That was last month.
Now, in this week`s debate, Ben Carson has done it again. His answer
to a fairly open-ended question on national security got a bunch of
attention for being a little hard-to-follow, a little vague. But there was
one part of that answer which was very, very specific, and has now led to
further revelations of Ben Carson`s secret and mysterious sources of
MODERATOR: Do you support the president`s decision to now put 50
Special Ops forces in Syria and leave 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan?
CARSON: Well, putting the special ops people in there is better than
not having them there. Because they – that`s why they`re called Special
Ops. They`re actually able to guide some of the other things that we`re
doing there. And what we have to recognize is that Putin is trying to
really spread his influence throughout the Middle East.
This is going to be his base. And we have to oppose him there, in an
effective way. We also must recognize that it`s a very complex place. You
know, the Chinese are there, as well as the Russians.
MADDOW: So, Dr. Carson has a soft-spoken, sort of soft-riffic,
monotone way of speaking which sometimes makes it hard to follow what he`s
saying. But the part about the Chinese being in Syria – "We must also
recognize it`s a very complex place, you know, the Chinese are there, as
well as the Russians." The Chinese are in Syria? What is that about?
REPORTER: On that foreign policy thread, some questions have been
raised about your suggestion last night that China is involved in Syria.
Can you clarify that?
CARSON: Well, China has been trying to extend its influence, not
only throughout the Middle East, but throughout Africa and in several
locations, and their interests extends into that region as well. You know,
I have to refer you to some other people to get you the actual data, but
they`ve shown it to me.
MADDOW: They have shown it to you. Who is "they"?
Dr. Carson did make his top staffer available to MSNBC to explain the
TAMRON HALL, MSNBC ANCHOR: You said the country that is not on the
ground in Syria is in Syria. I understand what you`re saying with the
brevity of time, but Dr. Carson said that the Chinese were – are in Syria,
which is not accurate.
ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, CARSON BUSINESS MANAGER (via telephone): Well,
Tamron, from your perspective and what most people know, maybe that is
inaccurate, but from my intelligence and what Dr. Carson`s been told by
people on the ground involved in that area of the world, it has been told
to him many times over and over that the Chinese are there. But as far as
our intelligence and the briefings that Dr. Carson`s been in, and I`ve
certainly been in with him, he`s certainly been told that the Chinese are
MADDOW: "As far as our intelligence."
Republican presidential front-runner Ben Carson and his campaign say
that the source of his claim that the Chinese are operating militarily in
Syria is Dr. Ben Carson`s own secret intelligence that he cannot divulge,
but that he swears is true. And because he is the Republican presidential
front-runner right now, or at least he shares that title with Donald Trump,
the issue of Ben Carson`s secret intelligence ended up getting raised today
with the actual national security adviser to the United States in the
actual White House.
REPORTER: Ben Carson in the debate regarding Syria says that there`s
evidence that the Chinese are involved in Syria. I was wondering if that`s
SUSAN RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: What did he mean by
REPORTER: Well, a little unclear, but it was in the context of the
Russians, the Russians and the Chinese –
RICE: I can`t – I really can`t speak to what he was referring to,
but, you know, unless you`re talking about having a diplomatic presence,
I`m not sure what he was referring to.
REPORTER: Military involvement was the implication.
RICE: I have not seen any evidence of Chinese military involvement
in Syria.
MADDOW: Slightest smile there.
I mean, that said, why would the White House and President Obama and
President Obama`s national security adviser, Susan Rice, have access to the
kind of high-level secret on the ground intelligence that Ben Carson has
access to?
And – so, on the one level, this is kind of funny. I mean, this
sort of thing may happen on both sides of the aisle. I only know of it
happening recently on the Republican side of the aisle, where in the wake
of the Bush/Cheney administration, foreign policy chops have not been
highly developed. It`s not been an in-demand part of the Republican
Party`s wheelhouse.
But getting away with this stuff and it not hurting you in Congress,
Duncan Hunter. And it not hurting you in the Senate, Joni Ernst. And it
maybe not hurting your presidential campaign, Ben Carson, we`ll see. On
one level, that is hilarious.
At another level, it is unnerving, to hear from somebody who might be
the Republican Party`s nominee for president of the United States, at a
time where our country is involved in a whole lot of war. As the war in
Afghanistan steams into its 15th year now, today President Obama bestowed
the nation`s military honor, the Medal of Honor, on the tenth living
recipient of that award who earned the medal while fighting the long, long
U.S. war in Afghanistan.
The U.S. military is also carrying out not just airstrikes, but also
certain levels of ground combat, both in Iraq and in Syria, in a not
imaginary fight against ISIS, that is being waged very far away from Duncan
Hunter`s district or the U.S./Mexico border.
Today, it was front page news across the country, when Kurdish
fighters in Iraq launched one of the biggest military operations yet
against ISIS. This is in northern Iraq. It`s long a key contested supply
line route between the city of Mosul and the Syrian border.
And as the White House continues to expand the U.S. military
involvement in Iraq and Syria and Congress studiously avoid taking any kind
of debate to avoid that military mission, now there`s surprise news tonight
that a very senior U.S. military officer operating at the highest level of
policymaking on defense matters has mysteriously been removed from his
post. This is a three-star general.
He`s the top military assistant to the U.S. defense secretary, Ash
Carter, and he was removed from that position by the defense secretary
after unspecified allegations of misconduct. Defense Secretary Ash Carter
says he has referred the matter to the inspector general of the Defense
Department. The general is not being fired from the army at this point,
but he is being removed fl this high-ranking position as the defense
secretary`s top military adviser.
And although there have been scattered hearsay reports about what
that might be about, at this point, at least at this point in unofficial
terms, we have no idea. And we are left with this gaping and sort of
unnerving chasm between the level of seriousness in our politics about
national security matters and the serious of the national security
challenges that our country is waging in day-to-day sort of way.
Joining us now is Courtney Kube, NBC News national security producer.
Courtney, thank you for being here tonight. Nice to have you here.
COURTNEY KUBE, NBC NEWS NATIONAL SECURITY PRODUCER: Thank you for
having me.
MADDOW: There`s this breaking news out of the Pentagon about the
defense secretary and the firing of his senior military assistant, who`s a
lieutenant general. Do we know yet what happened there?
KUBE: We don`t – so far, a senior defense official tells us that
there were some allegations of some sort of inappropriate personal
relationship engaged in by Lieutenant General Ron Lewis. General Lewis is
well-known around the Pentagon. He actually was the head of army public
affairs until just earlier this year.
So, the Pentagon press corps had a lot of interaction with him. We
know him very well. He`s also known – he`s very well respected. He
skyrocketed up from a colonel in `06 to a three-star in literally a matter
of months, in just over a year.
MADDOW: Wow.
KUBE: Yes. And, of course, there`s no set amount of time that an
officer would go, you know, is promoted through the ranks. But to go from
a colonel to a three-star in such a short amount of time is remarkable.
So, he`s very well respected. I can tell you as someone who`s known
him for some time, it`s very surprising news to hear this. And as you
mentioned, you know, he`s still going to be working in the Pentagon. He`s
been assigned to the vice chief of staff of the army, General Allen, while
the Department of Defense inspector a general conducts an investigation to
look into these allegations.
It all just came to light in the last 48 hours. Secretary Carter
just found out about it Tuesday night.
MADDOW: That was going to be my follow-up question to you. This
isn`t something that has been brewing for a while about which there were
sort of rumors and we were expecting something to happen. This really did
just come up very quickly out of nowhere?
KUBE: No. There are rampant rumors throughout the Pentagon about
all things. And I can tell you, as a member of the Pentagon press corps,
we were very surprised to hear this, this evening.
MADDOW: Courtney, on the situation in northern Iraq right now, the
area around Mt. Sinjar is the site of renewed and as far as we can tell,
very large-scale fighting between Iraqi Kurdish fighters and ISIS. How big
of an engagement is that and do we expect any involvement there?
KUBE: The U.S. has already been involved. The whole operation began
with U.S. coalition primarily U.S. airstrikes that really pounded in and
around Sinjar overnight, as about 7,500 Kurdish special forces, Peshmerga,
and some Yazidi fighters descended on the town to try to take it back.
It`s all about this critical supply route that flows between Raqqa in
Syria and into Mosul. Sinjar literally lies right in between those two
cities. And ISIS is able to bring weapons, fighters, money, oil, illicit
oil. They were able to bring it back and forth, and use Sinjar as this hub
or this stopping point in between.
So, of course, it`s within the coalition and the Iraqi security
forces, the Peshmerga, the Kurds, especially, it`s in their best interests
to take back this city. Sinjar came to light about a year ago, where there
was this huge humanitarian crisis, where there were reports of thousands of
Yazidis who had been chased up the Sinjar Mountain by ISIS and it`s what
got the U.S. involved in air strikes there in Iraq.
MADDOW: Courtney Kube, NBC News national security producer – thank
you for helping us understand that, Courtney. It`s good to have you here.
KUBE: Thank you.
MADDOW: Thank you.
It is remarkable when you contrast the level of complexity and our
sort of expectations of the quality of the discourse around national
security and our politics. And the national security challenges that we`ve
got – their complexity, the rapidity with which they arrive, their
unpredictable nature. If there could be a better balance between what
we`re facing and how we face it, we would be much better off as a country.
All right. We have a guest tonight that is really, truly plucked
from the headlines. She did not set out to become a face of the Interwebs
right now, but there she is. She is going to tell us her story here live
tonight. Sort of cannot wait for this.
Please stay with us.
MADDOW: A quick update tonight on the last governor`s race that will
take place in the country this year. It`s the runoff election for the
governor`s race next weekend in Louisiana. Two new polls out today show
Republican Senator David Vitter way behind in that race. One of the polls
is by a firm called Market Research. We couldn`t validate their
methodology. They show David Vitter trailing by 14 points for what that`s
But there`s another poll out from the University of New Orleans.
They`re showing their work and their bottom-line result is that David
Vitter is trailing Democratic state lawmaker John Bel Edwards by 22 points.
This is a red state, but the Republican candidate`s behind by 22 points.
And look at this. Look at his numbers specifically with African-
American voters in Louisiana. David Vitter is behind among black voters in
his state 90-5. That is not a typo.
And that comes as David Vitter has been making an appeal to black
voters in his state. He made a stop yesterday at Southern University,
which is an historically black college in Baton Rouge. Senator Vitter was
asked while he was there about a controversial campaign ad he`s run this
year, in which he accuses his Democratic opponent of wanting to release
dangerous thugs from prison into Louisiana.
Here`s how that went.
MODERATOR: When you hear the word thug, we hear the word (AUDIO
DELETED). Do you understand by your administration, by your campaign
releasing that commercial that is highly offensive to African-Americans?
SEN. DAVID VITTER (R), LOUISIANA: I absolutely stand by it because I
don`t think it should be offensive. (INAUDIBLE) Why don`t you read what
the word means, because there`s no racial connotation at all?
MADDOW: David Vitter yesterday at Southern University telling the
African-American audience there that they should go read the dictionary.
Did I mention he`s losing the black vote in his state, 90-5?
Early voting has already started in Louisiana and this is a deep,
deep red state, but you know what? Anything`s possible.
MADDOW: OK. You have seen this Vine online. Tell me you have seen
this Vine.
This is a Donald Trump rally this week in Illinois and that is a
young woman in the background of this Donald Trump rally who was staging a
most unexpected and possibly quite brilliant form of political protest, at
a Donald Trump rally, and it has sort of captured the Internet.
That young woman who pulled that off this week, who has become sort
of anonymously famous for having done so. As a result, she`s actually
going to be here tonight. She`s my guest tonight for "The Interview." I
cannot wait to talk to her. That`s coming up.
Stay with us.
MADDOW: OK. This is something we don`t usually do, but I think it
is worth doing. So, this is a story of two things happening at once. One
of the things that`s happening is that Donald Trump, for months, has been
the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president. Now, he`s
the front-runner alongside Ben Carson. But for months, he was the stand-
alone front-runner by a mile.
And, I think it is inarguable to say that his campaign has been
remarkably racially charged. He wants to build a wall around the country.
He has embellished the usual anti-immigration Republican policy rhetoric
with his own repeated ad hominem characterizations of what Americans should
think about Mexicans in particular.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They`re bringing drugs,
they`re bringing crime, they`re rapists and some I assume are good people.
Some are good and some are rapists and some are killers. If you look
at the statistics of people coming – I didn`t say about Mexican – I say
the illegal immigrants. You look at the statistics on rape, on crime, on
everything coming in illegally into this country, they`re mind boggling.
Somebody`s doing the raping, Don. I mean, you know, it`s – I mean,
somebody`s doing – women being raped, well, who`s doing the raping?
MADDOW: That`s not all, but that has kind of been the tone of Mr.
Trump`s campaign. And that kind of tone has, I think, led to some real
ugliness around his campaign and his campaign events, including some
incidents involving his own supporters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are very rude. It`s not about you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s not about –
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of my country. Get out –
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not – I`m a U.S. citizen, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, whatever. No, Univision, no, it`s not
about you –
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s not about you. It`s about the United
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
MADDOW: So, OK, I said there are two things going on here. That`s
one thing that`s going on. That is the front running Republican
presidential campaign this year.
Mr. Trump has been more or less steadily leading in the polls with
that kind of a campaign since around the Fourth of July. So that`s one
thing going on. And now, here`s a totally different thing that has also
been going on. This is something that you never hear talked about on cable
news, you`ve never heard me talk about it before, but bear with me here, I
promise it pays off.
A couple of years ago, a fairly well-known professor of poetry,
professor from Pomona College, started publishing some sort of experimental
new work in literary magazines. I don`t know exactly how that world works,
but from what I understand, it`s not that unusual.
That an established poet will publish individual new poems here and
there in various outlets before they publish a whole new book of poems.
And when Claudia Rankine started doing that, when she started publishing
her new work here and there a couple of years ago, it made a splash. It
was kind of a literary sensation.
She is an established artist, she`s an established poet, but she was
doing something sort of experimental that was having a big effect. It was
really smacking people hard. It was getting a lot of attention and
ultimately, a lot of praise. And the subject of this new work that she had
started publishing was race. It was everyday experiences of racism in the
United States.
And by the time Claudia Rankine was ready to publish those poems as a
book, University of Massachusetts poetry professor Jill McDonough, who`s a
good friend of mine, who I talked to about this, I asked her about what the
impact was of that book and how big a deal Claudia Rankine`s book,
"Citizen", was in the poetry and the literary world. Jill`s
characterization, to me, was that Claudia Rankine`s new book, "Citizen,"
when it was due to come out, it was the most highly anticipated book of
American poetry in years. And there is an easy way to check this,
interestingly enough, but there`s also a pretty good chance this was the
best-selling book of new American poetry also in years.
So, in that world, it`s a big deal. And so that book, this book,
"Citizen" by Claudia Rankine, it came out in October of last year and has
this haunting image on the cover, a disembodied black hoodie, just the
And the book really is a sensation. It`s a finalist for the National
Book Award. It wins the National Book Critic Circle Award in Poetry. So,
I told you these two stories would come together.
Here is where they come together. A few days ago, President Obama
Donald Trump held one of his rallies in Springfield, Illinois. It was a
fairly typical Donald Trump presidential rally, even down to the point
where there was a fairly typical Donald Trump rally protest in the crowd.
TRUMP: But, you know, what`s going to happen is Mexico is going to
pay for the wall. I will tell you right now, they`re going to pay for the
wall, because they`ve been doing a number on us. Their leaders are much
smarter, much more cunning than our leaders. Our leaders don`t have a
clue. They do not have a clue. And they`re really far more cunning –
TRUMP: Get out of here!
MADDOW: So, that happened fairly early on at this fairly typical
Donald Trump rally in Springfield, Illinois, on Monday.
But people watching this event at home, people watching the feed of
this event started to notice something else that was a little bit unusual
about this event. There was a tight little group of people sitting right
behind Donald Trump on stage, who were not necessarily reacting like all
the other excited Donald Trump fans at the event.
And then people watching started to notice this one very poised young
woman, who was calmly reading, flipping pages in a book that she was
reading, right behind Mr. Trump as he continued with his speech.
Who is this woman? What`s going on here?
Some Donald Trump fans, at one point, interceded with her, and there
was an interaction or two, that didn`t look all that pleasant. They
ultimately roped in another person sitting near them to start complaining
about this young woman. But she stuck with it. Sometimes watching what
Donald Trump was doing, but mostly reading, mostly reading, right behind
And by this point, people had had started to notice online, and
Donald Trump`s speech goes on and on and on, and she`s starting to become
Internet legend, as the Donald Trump page turner.
And then the Donald Trump rally in Illinois, it ends, and the Donald
Trump supporters leap to their feet and they`re clapping and waving their
political signs. And then she`s still there, too, but she`s waving that
book. She`s waving Claudia Rankine`s book of poems. She`s waving that
book about how racism works now in everyday ways in our country.
And now, from that not quite a protest, just that unbowable presence,
that young woman has become kind of a literary touchstone for these two
stories coming together, these worlds colliding. And not just worlds
colliding accidentally, but this young woman, bringing about that collision
herself, quietly, on purpose, in a way that drove people absolutely nuts.
Who is she?
Well, she joins us now for "The Interview." The young woman who was
captured on camera behind Mr. Trump reading Claudia Rankine`s book,
"Citizen," Johari Osayi Idusuyi.
Ms. Idusuyi, thank you very much for being here. It`s real pleasure
to have you here.
JOHARI OSAYI IDUSUYI, HELD UP "CITIZEN" BOOK AT TRUMP EVENT: Hi.
MADDOW: Hi.
IDUSUYI: It`s good to hear your voice.
MADDOW: Thank you. It`s nice to see you and –
IDUSUYI: I wish I could see your beautiful –
MADDOW: I should tell you, we have a little bit of a delay because
of the satellite feed, which is often awkward, but just tell me the story
of how this happened. How did you end up at a Donald Trump campaign event,
especially sitting right behind him?
IDUSUYI: My friend left the day before, Gabby Chavez, said she had
some extra tickets and tickets. And her friend bailed on her so she had
six extra tickets, so it was the two of us. I was like – well, I guess
I`m not doing anything else.
And I looked at it as an opportunity. I mean, it is a presidential
candidate. And he is a well respected businessman, so why not? Why not
go? Why not experience something that`s free in my hometown, if I have
nothing else to do.
And if I leave, at least I have a good story out of it, you know? I
did come – we did come, my friends came with an open mind. We were – we
had low expectations, but we still wanted to see maybe the media is just
blowing him out of proportion, may he was something valid, something of
substance and that`s how I ended up there.
MADDOW: In terms of the book you were seen so visibly reading there.
Was that intentional? Did you bring it as an intentional object? Did you
mean to have Claudia Rankine`s book there and is that what you put together
there in a conscious way?
IDUSUYI: It was a book – I saw Claudia Rankine about two weeks ago
in Chicago at an event, I think, it was at the museum of – Contemporary
Art Museum. And it was called "Citizens" and it was her reading her poetry
and other artists talking about what it means to be citizen and an
American, how the experience differs for each person. And that was a
powerful event. That`s how I got the book. I had read her poetry online
and saw her videos on YouTube.
But someone had an extra copy and I wanted the signature. I got the
book from there. And I was reading it. I – we got there two hours before
the event started, and I decided that I want some books to read, you know,
to pass the time. I just want to stay in my seat. And that was one of the
books that I brought.
And I was actually reading it before the cameras, before the event
started. So it was actually something that I brought to pass the time,
before Donald came on.
MADDOW: And when you had that interaction that we`ve shown tonight,
between the people who were nearby you who seemed confrontational or
annoyed with you or something. What was going on there? And how did you
feel about that?
IDUSUYI: I feel like they felt like I was disrespectful for reading
during the rally. But there was a shifting point that you showed with the
protesters and the supporters.
And there`s an aggression. I don`t know if everyone saw it, but
there was a small aggression of a young woman who was a protester. She was
16 years old. And a man took off her favorite Obama hat and threw it out
in the crowd which was cheering.
And me and my three friends were disgusted, because, yes, protesters
have every right to protest. If they`re going to be escorted out, let them
be escorted out, but they don`t have to be disrespected. Not by you.
And to kind of, like, explain that, the kind of get out of here, was
like – I mean, Bernie Sanders invited the Black Lives Matter protesters on
stage. And if you`re going to – if that`s your opponent and you`re trying
to make a point and you`re trying to make me someone who`s trying to have
an open mind gain vote, that`s not one way to do it.
So, I was more disgusted by his supporters and how it just kind of he
let it happen and kind of egged it on. Because also, there was an incident
in Florida where his supporters were violently – his protesters, I`m
sorry, were violently dragged out of one of his rallies. And Incidents
like that are bullying and they`re not needed and they shouldn`t be
So, I was 30 minutes into the speech and I was like, OK, I came here
because I wanted to see, I wanted to see this man and I wanted to try to
have an open opinion about him. And after I saw those incidents, I felt
uninterested. And I didn`t feel like this is what I`m looking for and I
felt disappointed.
MADDOW: Johari –
IDUSUYI: Disappointed a little bit in – yes, yes.
MADDOW: Johari Osayi Idusuyi, I do see your willingness to – I`m
sorry, with the delay, it`s very awkward. I was going to tell you your
willingness to show that feeling even when other people tried to interrupt
you out of it received a lot of attention because of its boldness, and
hearing from you what was going on there and why you did it and how it
worked for you is very helpful to understand what you`re doing.
So, I want to thank you for being here with us tonight. Thank you
for being willing to talk with us about it.
IDUSUYI: Thank you so much. I can`t wait to see your face on TV.
MADDOW: Thank you. You look great. It`s great to have you here,
trust me.
All right. We`ll be right back. Stay with us.
MADDOW: This was you in the 1962.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Who is that
handsome young guy with the dark hair?
MADDOW: Controversy. That was from our First in the South
Democratic Candidates Forum last Friday in South Carolina. You might
remember I asked Bernie Sanders about this photo which he described and I
described as being from his day as a student activist at the University of
Chicago in the 1960s.
Tonight, there`s mystery about whether the person in that photo
actually is Bernie Sanders. "Time" magazine spoke with four alumni from
the University of Chicago who said the guy in the photo is actually another
organizer named Bruce Rappaport. They say Bernie was there and he was
involved in the activism at that time, but they think the University of
Chicago has misidentified the man in that photo.
The university`s photo archives does caption the man in that photo as
Bernie Sanders. They do now say they`re reviewing it. A spokesman for the
Bernie Sanders campaign tells us tonight, quote, "The university archives
has identified it as a picture of Bernie for 50 years or so now. The photo
sure looks a lot like Bernie, in fact, Bernie thinks it`s Bernie. If the
university changes its mind after half a century and decides that somehow
someone back when the photo was taken misidentified a student in one photo
in its archives collection, then we will live with that."
Controversy. Stick a pin in that one. We will eventually sort that
one out together. Watch this space.
That does it for us tonight. Now it`s time for "THE LAST WORD WITH
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Dinesh Ravi (Attakathi Dinesh) is a Tamil film actor, who has appeared in leading roles. He made his breakthrough playing the lead role in Attakathi (2012) portraying the role of Dinakaran. Dinesh completed his high school at the Dhanalakshmi Higher Secondary School in Washermenpet, Chennai. After graduating from college, he tried his luck in cine field from 2010. After playing minor roles in Aadukalam and Mouna Guru, Dinesh made a breakthrough appearing in Attakathi (2012). The film performed well commercially and also won positive reviews. "Dinesh has come out with easily one of this year's most confident and assured performances."
After cameo appearances in Ethir Neechal and Pannaiyarum Padminiyum, he was seen in a lead role again in Cuckoo produced by Fox Star Studios. His performance as a visually challenged man was praised by critics. The Times of India felt that he was "superbly natural as Tamizh". He was next seen in Thirudan Police directed by debutant Caarthick Raju. His first 2015 release was Tamizhuku En Ondrai Azhuthavum. His next film Visaranai running successfully. Dinesh's future projects include Vaaraayo Vennilaave, Ulkuthu and Oru Naal Koothu.
copyright © www.cinebilla.com All rights reserved.


text:
What a terrific week! This was a busy one for me (still is), but it's turning out to be a fantastic one for shooting. I think most of you have met Kristie and Ric before... But here they are in their day after/bridal shoot. These sessions work so much better than on the actual day because the couple is much more relaxed about their wearing formals, not having to worry about timelines, worrying if they're going to slip on the vow front, etc. It's just a casual time to be together and take some really great photos. OH! And looks who else made a return appearance; DUDLEY!!!!! Soooo sweet!!!
And thanks Heather for doing another show-stopping job on another beautiful subject. I think we can call Kristie a Paper Dolls "All-Star" now, can't we?!? So pretty :-)
Hair and Makeup - hues by Heather: http://www.huesbyheather.com


text:
Whispering Creek Pack
Before 2003 (at least as far back as February 2002), the local pack's Ulfric and Lupa were Vincent and Roxie Morgan; Vincent owned some tech company, Roxie was a nurse who had opened the Morgan Shifter Clinic in Bridgeport. The Lupinar grounds were on Wavecrest Island, Dr. Viola Montege was the Vargamor for the pack, and Ezekiel Kincaid had been granted honorary pack-member status in February of 2002. Due to strife between the Chicago were-wolves and vampires (as created clandestinely by then-MotC Ezra), pack-tied Lukoi were not allowed into the Crimson District from January until March of 2002.
Editor's Note: At some point between IC April 2002 and IC April 2003, Vincent and Roxie left. IC details surrounding their leaving are vague as of this writing
Doctor Raphael Maestroangelo was the Whispering Creek Lukoi Ulfric (along with his Lupa, Tessa) from mid-May 2003 to mid-May 2004. He re-opened the Morgan Shifter Clinic in Bridgeport, established diplomatic ties with the vampires, were-rats, were-leopards, independent shifters, Chicago political offices, and local businesses, as well as taking in wandering fae at the Clinic. Known more for relying on mundane diplomatic and leadership skills instead of preternatural tricks.
Damian Reynolds came from New York, where a little digging will reveal that he was briefly part of a pack, but left of his own free will. He became Lukoi Ulfric following Dr.Raphael Maestroangelo (in what was intended to be a peaceful change of guard, but Mr.Reynolds had other plans), from mid-May 2004 to Mid-July 2004, until usurped by Oren.
Spirit Rock Pack
Oren McCrickard was Whispering Creek Lukoi Ulfric after Damian Reynolds, starting Mid-July 2004. Around late winter of 2005, Cain Jensen (Freki under Oren) broke off from the Whispering Creek pack and formed a separate Spirit Rock Lukoi pack in Chicago, declaring this new pack the 'primary pack' in Mid-March 2005.
With the split, the new Spirit Rock pack cut a deal with the Starved Rock State Park rangers, setting up their Lupinar grounds in one of the many valleys of the Utica park. Andrew Bonnor remained on Wavecrest Island, overseeing the Whispering Creek's Lupinar grounds. Although Wavecrest Island continued seeing its share of tourists, it was thought best to leave someone to keep an eye on the Lupinar grounds directly.
In mid-August of 2005, Ulfric Cain Jensen died, leaving the Ulfric office to Raphael again. With the unexplained vanishing of Oren, Sanura Sinclair assumed Ulfric (possibly due to being Mr. McCrickard's murderer) for the Whispering Creek pack in early September of 2005.
Spirit Rock Pack usurps Whispering Creek Pack
In January of 2006, Dr.Maestroangelo was hit by a double-punch of being accused of killing Ulfric Sanura of the Whispering Creek pack (in early November of 2005, leading to the end of the Whispering Creek pack in Chicago, leaving only the Spirit Rock pack) as well as the Morgan Clinic being engulfed in flames. Along with his new Lupa (Mr. Austin Roberts) and two higher-ups, he vanished off into the snow to track down the culprits.
After Raphael's second departure, the office of Spirit Rock Ulfric was taken up by Professor Peter Smith (a respected member of the University's Preternatural Science dept. His claim to fame came from a series of documentaries he did for Discovery Network. The launch of his career came from a close encounter with Champ, the lake monster of Lake Champlain) in Feb 2006, previously from the Thundering Water Clan in northeast Pennsylvania.
In February of 2007, Mr.Smith's absence was filled-in by ex-officer John Glass (Honorable Discharge from the United States Army. Rank: Sergent. MOS Demolitions & Ordinance. Galveston TX Police Department, Bomb Squad and SWAT member. Rank: Lieutenant. Served 2002 to 2005. Chicago IL Police Department, RPIT from 2005 to 2006). Almost three months later, in late April, Mr.Glass left town. Rumours about as to why he left and where he left to abound, but the werewolf ballet dancer Ivy St.Claire and the Turkish vampire club-owner Ember (believed by some to be part of a relationship with Mr.Glass) left at around the same time for equally mysterious reasons.
Around the time of Mr.Glass's departure, Mr. Mason West arrived in town from Las Vegas. With no-one claiming the office of Ulfric, he took it upon himself in mid-July of 2007. At first glance a man of very little financial means, rumors of a vampire or Vegas patron were occasionally whispered. Mr. West was semi-peaceably usurped by Ms. Gabrielle Watson (Gang member with no legitimate profession) in early October, then Ms. Watson by Mr. Yiska Onacoma (restaurantier and new owner of the Wyld Hunt) in early November of 2007.
In April of 2008, Ms. Watson returned to Chicago after her brief visit to Europe, took up management of the Blues Bayou, and began to associate with Mr. West in Mr. Onacoma's absence. Rumors conflict, concerning if the two were making plans to seize control of the Spirit Rock Pack, or were making plans to create a branch-off splinter pack, or were merely covering for Mr. Onacoma in his absence. On August 13th of 2008, Mr. Onacoma was killed (along with Chance Bishop) when the Wyld Hunt exploded in flames. Under a week later, Mr. West declared himself as the Spirit Rock Ulfric for a second time, lending credence to the seizing rumors.
In November of 2008, then-Ulfric Mr Mason West left town to head to Australia, along with the Spirit Rock Vargamore Mr Elijah Banks. Since the Spirit Rock Lupa, Mrs Gabrielle DeCarmillo, left around the same time, the Spirit Rock Geri, Ms Lupe Connolly, ended up as de-facto leader until Agent Darius Caine (preternatural adviser for the FBI, moved to Illinois from Louisiana with Ms Dakoda Justice when Mr. West left town) was uncontested in his claim on March of 2009. The summer of 2009 was marked by a string of murders committed by Mr. Eric Jameson. In late July of that year, Darius attempted a sting operation to apprehend and/or kill Mr. Jameson, resulting instead in the death of Agent Caine, leaving the office of Ulfric vacant (and prompting Ms Justice to leave town in mourning).
Within a day or two of Agent Caine's death, Ms Amy Bright laid claim to the Spirit Rock Pack. Within a day of that claim, Mrs Gabrielle DeCarmillo disputed it and laid her own claim until a more suitable (in her eyes) leader could be found. Before August of 2009, such a leader was to be found in Mr. Monty Harris (a stoneworker by trade).
In June 2010, Monty Harris had to leave the city for personal reasons, and Jacob Kramer (jazz & blues singer) claimed the position of Ulfric for the Pack within Chicago city limits. He secured the pack a home within the city limits, and put into positions those he felt worthy, including a Geri, a Eranthe and a Bolverk.
In December 2010, Robert Moye travelled to Chicago with the remains of his pack from New Mexico to seek refuge, and added their numbers to the Spirit Rock Pack. A month later, Mr. Kramer was found dead in Lincoln Park, his men-at-arms speaking of vampire involvement. Robert Moye claimed the position of Ulfric for the Spirit Rock Clan, putting into position a Geri and a Hati. He welcomed Monty Harris back to the pack, stating that all wolves were welcome to begin his reign with a clean slate. He had to leave the city abruptly in May 2011, leaving the pack with MaryJane Faulkaiesen. She was Ulfric until Robert Moye returned in November 2011. After a brief discussion, it was agreed that she would step down to hand it back to him.


text: The 2018 Can-AM Maverick X3 Turbo with 120HP is a great platform with the addition of an ECU Flash. Coming from the factory, this car is no different minus the fuel pump and intercooler than the Can-Am X3 RS with 172bhp. ECU Tuning is done by altering the parameters to maximize output while keeping a safe and reliable vehicle. VR Tuned offers the best and most efficient ECU flash over all the competition. Our flashing is done via the diagnostic port as our video below explains. This allows you to flash between your stock and a tuned file. The flashing software gives you the convenience to easily flash your Can-Am and update files if necessary. Our flashing takes roughly 3 minutes compared to the competition's device which takes almost 20 mins! As tested on our Mustang Dyno in Arizona on a warm 106F day with 91 octane, the wheel horsepower gains are quiet incredible. This car gained 25 horsepower to the rear wheels! On the graph, you can see how the car runs stock with its air fuel ratio and boost. The AFR runs a bit lean till midway through the run then richins out. Stock boost is just above 9psi of boost. With the VR Tuned ECU Flash, we dial in the AFR nice and safe just around 12.0. Boost pressure is raised 3.2psi and the fueling is adjusted accordingly. These tests were done on a completely stock vehicle. Adding such parts as a cat bypass pipe, muffler, intake, or blow off valve will not require a retune. To further performance, the Can-Am X3 120HP version would greatly benefit from a clutch tune as well. ORDER ONLINE HERE Horsepower Gains Stock 120bhp | 108rwhp Tuned 148bhp | 133rwhp What does the ECU Flash do? Race Start – You can start in any gear without pressing the brake pedal. New performance fuel curve New performance ignition timing (32 deg at wot) Raised limp mode rpm to 6k (4k stock) Removed speed limiters Adjusted torque limiters Lower fan temp 185F (203F is stock) Boost correction for those that ride in different elevations Note: You must increase preload on wastegate by 3 full turns from the stock orientation. What are the benefits of VR Tuned? #1 priority is our customer service to you! Our tuning is used worldwide. Basic bolt-on performance parts will not require a retune of your ECU. Other efficiency parts such as colder spark plugs, boost tubes, or diverter valves are not required but can help performance. The ECU will adapt to these changes. We can tune cars worldwide including JDM, EU, Australian, and USA cars for different types of octane or environments. We do not lock, "pot", or keep control of your ECU. If you decide to take it to another tuner for an upgrade, all flashing ability is retained. How to Flash Your ECU? Order our OBDII Flash cable to be able to flash between a stock and your tuned file. It also features a Diagnostic tool. See Instructions Here We can bench flash your ECU. To bench flash the ECU, you must remove it from your vehicle and send it to us. Once we receive the ECU, we will prepare the tune file and then overnight it back to you for reinstallation. We do not solder or modify the ECU board at all. All ECU tuning is done via bungy probes that have a needle tip to provide an electrical connection. Bring your vehicle or ECU to our Arizona facility where we can do the ECU Upgrade here. Fitment: 2018 Can-Am Maverick X3 Turbo 120HP For reference this is a Bosch ME17.8.5 ECU. Notes: We believe in giving you the best file the first time! Stage files are GIMMICKS. There is no need to have a different tune for your exhaust or boost pipes. In fact, as we discovered, there is no difference in these other Stage files when analyzing the code! Our tune will work for any bolt-on upgrade you do such as exhaust, downpipe, diverter valve, intake, boost hoses. The only time you need to do a file upgrade is if you change fuel components, turbo size, or engine internals. We have spent countless hours logging, dyno testing, and comparing to our our competition to make sure you have the ultimate in performance. Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3… Call it what you want, its Stage All! Related Images: [See image gallery at www.vividracing.com] Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment.


text: Cape Town - A national minimum wage set at a meaningful level will significantly reduce poverty and inequality and give a welcome boost to South Africa's GDP, new research shows. Applied Development Research Solutions (ADRS) – a company that does economic modelling and research – recently published a working paper to consider the effects on the economy should a national minimum wage be implemented. In the study a particular economic model was used that captures the interactions between macroeconomic performance in South Africa with poverty and income distribution at a household level to see what effect a national minimum wage would have on household income, consumption and GDP growth.Government, trade unions and the private sector have been at the negotiating table about the national minimum wage since 2014. A number of sector-specific minimum wages are already in place, but many workers are left out. The discussions have stalled on numerous occasions over disagreements on the amount that would make a meaningful impact on the lives of lowest paid workers, while the private sector argues it would lead to significant job losses. The working paper, authored by Asghar Adelzadeh and Cynthia Alvillar from ADRS, shows that the implementation of a national minimum wage will directly increase the income of millions of workers. A national minimum wage set at a minimal amount is expected to benefit at least 4.26 million workers.Conversely, a relatively small number of workers (1 600) could lose their jobs as a result of a national minimum wage. For the purposes of the study, the researchers developed five economic scenarios to find out what the effect of a national minimum wage set at various levels would be on the lives of workers. The five scenarios are: 1. the business-as-usual scenario where the status quo prevails and there's no national minimum wage; 2. the minimal scenario where a relatively low minimum wage is added to the business-as-usual scenario. It sets a national minimum wage at the lowest sectoral determination for 2015, which amounts to R2 250. 3. the index 40%-scenario where a national minimum wage is added to the business-as-usual scenario by indexing the minimum wage to the median wage. This would automatically increase the minimum wage to keep pace with the typical worker's wage, linking it to the overall conditions in the labour market. Annual wage gains are in line with overall demand for labour in the market. In this scenario the national minimum wage is indexed to 40% of the inflation-adjusted average real wage for full-time workers in 2015, which amounts to R3 467. 4. The index 45%-scenario by indexing the minimum wage to 45% of the inflation-adjusted average of full-time workers. 5. The maximal scenario – where the researchers looked at what would happen if a relatively high national minimum wage is added to the economy, which begins at R6 000 per month for full-time workers. In the four scenarios where a national minimum wage were implemented, the researchers predicted that the average of the real wage rate would increase by 8.5% in the minimal scenario, by 21% in the index-40% scenario; by 38% in index-45% scenario; and by 36% in the maximal scenario. The introduction of a national minimum wage will especially increase wages at the bottom of the distribution, mainly in the primary and service sectors. According to the research the implementation of a national minimum wage would: - lead to significant increases in real household gross income; - boost real household income, which in turn will have a positive effect on household expenditure (demand) on goods and services; - lead to economic growth – in the scenarios using the indexing approach GDP could increase by 2.1% while increasing by 4.1% in the maximal scenario; - lead to job losses in especially the building construction and engineering sectors, wholesale, retail, trade, catering and accommodation services; and - decrease poverty and reduce earnings inequality. The authors note that although a national minimum wage could increase the annual unemployment by 0.2% the effects are small. "The small negative effects on employment in few economic sectors neither threaten macroeconomic balance nor hinder economic growth," the authors pointed out. "That seems an acceptable trade-off for a policy with significant positive contributions to household real disposable income, poverty alleviation, income equality and economic growth."


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Four killed in Rivers as cultists invade community
Four persons have been feared killed after rampaging cultists attacked Okwale community, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The armed cultists, it was gathered, attacked Okwale community in what sources have described as a reprisal attack.
It is unclear if the four persons killed were cultists but the attack has forced many residents out of the community.
A source in the community told DAILY POST that, "The gunmen came on Tuesday morning heavily armed. Some of them did not cover their faces and they just started shooting any how.
"It was when they left that we saw that four people were killed. Bullet even touched some people.
"The shooting was so much that the armed boys left unchallenged."
Friday Nkee, a former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly who hails from the community described the incident as "unfortunate".
The Rivers State Police Command is yet to react to the latest attack by cultists.


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Fox Sports personality Erin Andrews is sick and tire of death threats on Twitter.
Andrews gained national fame in 2008 after we all saw her naked after some pervert secretly video taped her walking around her hotel room naked.
Andrews called for policing on Twitter on Monday Morning. She provided this tweet directed towards her on twitter: "@hyuncmartinez. "@ErinAndrews You make eye contact with me and I will ch-p you apart. You are just a bad thing."
Here are some more of the offensive tweets from the same person:
""@ErinAndrews Do not make me mention about your family you psycho!!!"
"@ErinAndrews So, now how will you face me tonight b*tch?"
"@ErinAndrews You do not tweet me anymore before I will k--l you."
@hyuncmartinez tweeted Sunday "You will never find out who I am so stop trying."
News flash to Erin Andrews, you can call the police. You can also just delete your Twitter account. Just saying...


text: We all know how sexy and glamorous high heel look, but only women know how harmful can be wearing them, especially if you have to wear them the whole day. Looking stylish and modern is the dream of any woman, and now it is possible even if you don't wear sexy pumps. Flats are the best shoes ever existing...Read more →


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Did you know:
You can refill an 8 oz. glass of water approximately 15,000 times for the same cost as a six pack of soda pop. And, water has no sugar or caffeine.
The amount of water is constant and recycled throughout time; actually, it is possible to drink water that was part of the dinosaur era.
Ninety-seven percent of the earth's water is saltwater in oceans and seas. Of the 3% percent that is freshwater, only 1% percent is available for drinking -- the remaining 2% is frozen in the polar ice caps.
People need about 2.5 quarts of water a day (from drinking or eating) to maintain good health.
A person can live without water for approximately one week, depending upon the conditions.
While usage varies from community to community and person to person, on average, Americans use 183 gallons of water a day for cooking, washing, flushing, and watering purposes. The average family turns on the tap between 70 and 100 times daily.
Water makes up almost sixty six percent of the human body, and seventy percent of the brain.
Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, O degrees Celsius.
Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 100 degrees Celsius.
Water is unusual in that the solid form, ice, is less dense than the liquid form, which is why ice floats.
One ear of corn is 80% water.
Americans drink more than 1 billion glasses of water per day.
Seventy five percent of a living tree is water
About water
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Here's a summary of what went on in the energy markets last week:
Electricity peak prices moved modestly last week (see pages 1 and 3).For the report click here. It is also located on NEI's Financial Center webpage.
Total electricity consumption for 2007 is projected to average 10.7 billion kilowatthours per day, 2.1 percent above last year's consumption (EIA STEO, see pages 2 and 5).
Gas prices at the Henry Hub rose from $6.55/MMBtu to $6.81/MMBtu. Colder weather is considered the cause for increasing gas prices for the week (EIA, see pages 1 and 3). A new report from EIA stated that U.S. natural gas proved reserves increased 3 percent in 2006, rising to over 211 trillion cubic feet, the highest level since 1976.
Estimated nuclear plant availability remained at 83 percent last week with three more reactors beginning refueling outages. FitzPatrick was down briefly due to algae accumulating at the plant's cooling water intake (see pages 2 and 4).
Uranium spot prices rose to $93 and $90/lb U3O8 according to TradeTech and UxConsulting. TradeTech noted that the majority of sellers expect spot uranium prices to strengthen over the next few months and are very hesitant to commit to sales at this time (see pages 1 and 3).
Crude oil prices continued to increase to $89.23/barrel last week. WTI prices are projected to increase from an average of $66.02 per barrel in 2006 to $71.36 per barrel in 2007 and to nearly $80 per barrel in 2008. Slower U.S. economic growth of 1.9 percent, projected for both 2007 and 2008, compared with 2.9 percent in 2006, may be a mitigating factor for even higher crude prices. (EIA STEO, see pages 1 and 3).


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Green groups have slammed a new report by the International Energy Association (IEA), which set out a set of "golden rules" that could help the world's fledgling shale gas industry triple the supply of unconventional natural gases to 1.6 trillion cubic metres per year by 2035.
The IEA launched a new report today to help shale gas companies address key environmental concerns about the controversial extraction process known as hydraulic fracturing or "fracking".
However, WWF and Friends of the Earth, warned that a boom in shale gas would prevent countries from reaching the globally agreed goal of limiting the temperature rise to 2°C.
They also highlighted a paragraph in the report predicting an increase in shale gas supply could derail efforts to develop other forms of low-carbon energy, including renewables.
A number of countries including the UK are seeking to expand their supply of shale gas, emulating the success of exploration in North America, where shale supplied 23 per cent of total gas production in 2010.
While the UK's reserves are nowhere near the size of America's, it is still estimated to have 200 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in Lancashire alone. But a report by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research last year warned burning a fifth of this would use up 15 per cent of the UK's carbon budgets to 2050.
Many green groups are also concerned that the process of fracking can contaminate water, while injecting wastewater in deep disposal wells has caused earthquakes.
The IEA's rules require gas companies to measure and disclose any environmental impacts such as on water quality, as well as restricting venting and flaring to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
If these rules were adopted, the IEA predicts the industry could triple its supply by 2035, allowing gas to overtake coal as the second most important fuel in the energy mix.
IEA chief economist Fatih Birol said adopting the rules could push up the price of energy by seven per cent, but it would also earn the industry a "social licence" to operate.
"If this new industry is to prosper, it needs to earn and maintain its social licence to operate," he said. "This comes with a financial cost, but in our estimation the additional costs are likely to be limited."
By contrast, in a case where the rules were not adopted, a lack of public acceptance would allow unconventional gas production to rise only slightly above current levels by 2035.
Significantly, the report warned this scenario would push up carbon emissions by 1.3 per cent compared to a "golden rule" scenario, as gas would be replaced by heavy emitting coal.
However, in both cases emissions would be well above the trajectory required to reach the globally agreed goal of limiting the temperature rise to 2°C, meaning shale could only play one part in reducing global temperature rises.
WWF criticised the IEA's report for promoting shale gas while at the same time acknowledging that it would fail to reduce the impacts of climate change.
"A golden age for gas is clearly very far from a golden age for the planet. Buried in the depths of this report is the bombshell that a global dash for unconventional gas will condemn us to warming of at least 3.5°C," said Keith Allott, head of climate change at WWF-UK.
"Those who claim that shale gas is some sort of wonder fuel that can tackle climate change are seriously misleading the public – the reality is that it is a dangerous distraction from energy efficiency and clean renewable energy.
Friends of the Earth's energy campaigner Tony Bosworth also urged governments to focus their efforts on growing renewable supplies.
"Drilling for shale and other unconventional gas would put the world on course for catastrophic climate change – incomprehensible when we have clean energy solutions at our fingertips like wind and solar power," he said.
Source : Business Green


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Welcome to the Sideline Sisters blog, where we share essential tips, tricks, and tools we've found for growing a successful Network Marketing business.
This weekend my fiance and I watched our first baseball game of the 2017 season, and as I sat there I couldn't help but think about how much joy this sport has brought to my life. Growing up my dad played high school and college baseball, he then coached high school and legion ball. While he coached I kept book and helped maintain the fields. We watched baseball all the time! Then I met my fiance and he grew up playing baseball and knows more about baseball than I can believe. Now, he and I are season ticket holders of our local minor league baseball team. We go to every home game and each game brings back great memories. It's the sounds, the environment and the people I get to share it with that bring me joy.
This particular game however, started to cause me some frustrations. We've been to this stadium before and it's a lot larger than the one at home. This night also happened to be a Star Wars themed night and there were a lot of people in attendance. I found myself in lines and away from family longer than I wished; and while sitting I found myself watching people walk by more than the game itself. I started getting really frustrated that I wasn't able to focus on something that brought me so much joy. I had to work at being intentional with my focus and keep my joy, the game and my family, at the forefront of my thoughts. When the game ended and we left the stadium I still had a great time and enjoyed quality time with family.
The reason I chose to tell you this story is because it's a great example of how quickly and easily our joy can disappear. You see, our joy is what keeps us moving. It keeps us putting one foot in front of the other, it gets us up in the morning and it's our joy that helps create our dreams. This is not to say that with these distractions our joy is gone forever, but it's important to understand what is robbing our joy so we can determine how to stop it from happening. I'm sure that you can look back on your week and pick out one or two things that have distracted you from your joy. Was it the 10 minutes of gossip at work? How about the kids running around screaming and hitting each other? Whatever your distraction was did you realize it was a distraction? What were your feelings during that time? If you are anything like me I am guessing that you got pretty frustrated and/or you felt disappointed.
Today though, I want to give you permission to have those feelings. I also want to give you encouragement to be intentional about the thoughts and actions you have and take each and every day. Remember that what you do today should take you closer to your joy and your dreams.


text: Ayman al-Zawahiri has given warnings to the US in a number of video messages [AFP] In December 2001, al-Zawahiri's wife and several children were reported to have been killed by American bombing in Afghanistan, but the al-Qaeda leader managed to escape the US dragnet and went on the run. Al-Zawahiri was born in 1951. In the 1960s he joined Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the Arab world's oldest Islamist group. He was tried, along with many others, for links to the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat. He served a three-year jail term for illegal arms possession, but was acquitted of the main charges. Death sentence In 1985, al-Zawahiri left Egypt for Pakistan, where he worked as a doctor treating fighters wounded in battles against Soviet forces occupying neighbouring Afghanistan. He took over in 1993 the leadership of Jihad, Egypt's second largest Islamic armed group. A military court in Egypt sentenced al-Zawahiri to death in absentia in 1999 for militant activities. He joined forces with bin Laden in 1998, and was indicted in connection with the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. A Cairo-based lawyer, Montasser al-Zayat, said: "Ayman is for bin Laden like the brain to the body." Messages In a 2003 audiotape, al-Zawahiri urged Muslims to strike at the embassies and commercial interests of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Norway and half a dozen Middle East states he called subjects of US and Israel.Since then, al-Zawahiri has made numerous statements in videos and audiotapes. In February 2005, al-Zawahiri condemned the American concept of freedom in a taped speech broadcast by Aljazeera. The audiotape message said the freedom sought by millions in the Islamic world was "not the freedom to destroy others ... it is not the freedom that allows [America] to support oppressive regimes".Al-Zawahari has also used taped messages to condemn Tony Blair, former British prime minister, as well as Queen Elizabeth II and England as "the severest enemies of Islam". "Bush, do you know where I am? I am among the Muslim masses"Ayman al-ZawahiriAl-Qaeda leader In January 2006, Al Jazeera aired a video in which al-Zawahiri made his first appearance since a US air strike that targeted him in Pakistan. The air strike reportedly killed four al-Qaeda members. But al-Zawahiri said the raid killed "innocents" as 13 other villagers were also killed in the strike. He referred to George Bush, former US president, as "a curse on your own nation," and asked, "Bush, do you know where I am? I am among the Muslim masses."In November 2008, Zawahiri warned Barack Obama, the then president-elect, against sending more troops to Afghanistan and following the policies of his predecessor, Bush. He reiterated his warnings to the US president in September 2009, saying that Obama's administration would be defeated at the hands of Muslims. SOURCE: Aljazeera + Agencies


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Want a cool, refreshing cocktail? Try this Coconut Pineapple Mojito Recipe with Lime Essential Oil. It's like a skinny version of a Pina Colada.
Want a cool, refreshing cocktail? Try this Coconut Pineapple Mojito Recipe with Lime Essential Oil. It's like a skinny version of a Pina Colada with the fresh taste of mint.
Mojitos are one of my favorite cocktails. It's light, refreshing and perfect for a hot sunny day, yet sometimes I could do without the effervescent club soda.
Pina coladas are another favorite, but my stomach usually gets upset with the heaviness of the sugar and coconut cream. This Coconut Pineapple Mojito Recipe combines my two favorite cocktails for a lighter alternative made without added sugar and club soda.
You Can Make This Coconut Pineapple Mojito Without Alcohol Too!
My husband just returned from a trip to Nicaragua with the most delicious rum, and we had fun putting this mojito recipe to the test. You could even make a non-alcoholic version of this cocktail. Just omit the rum and you've got a light, sweet drink to enjoy anytime.
Try These Appetizers With You Coconut Pineapple Mojito;
It's delicious with a light appetizer like this homemade hummus with ghee or this gluten free lemon and garlic shrimp.
p.s. Looking for tips to start cooking with essential oils? Check out my free email course In the Kitchen with Essential Oils.
Did you try this Coconut Pineapple Mojito? Don't forget to rate the recipe and comment below to let me know how it went. You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see what other fun things I'm getting up to.
- 15-20 fresh mint leaves remove stems
- 1 1/2 cups coconut water
- 3/4 cup organic pineapple juice
- 4 oz. rum
- 1-2 tsp raw honey optional if you prefer a sweeter cocktail
- 6 drops lime essential oil where to buy HERE or juice of 1-2 fresh limes
- 1 cup ice cubes
- Split mint leaves into 2 glasses. Use muddler to crush the mint.
- Add ice cubes to each glass.
- In a cocktail shaker, add coconut water, pineapple juice, rum, Lime essential oil (or lime juice) and raw honey (if you prefer a sweeter cocktail – I find the pineapple juice sweetens this recipe enough for me).
- Shake well and pour mixture into each glass.
- Garnish with a lime wedge.
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FREE real food guide
Eat healthier in just 7 days with my real food guide and email course. You'll learn how easy it is to go gluten-free and still enjoy the foods that you love.


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Liverpool are reportedly to move in for Arsenal's Jack Wilshere for free in the summer if the England international fails to sign a new Arsenal contract, according to a report in The Sun.
The British tabloid claim that the England midfielder is currently locked in talks with Arsenal over renewing his contract that expires in the summer, and the North London club are set to offer him a new deal that would seem him earn less than his current £90,000-a-week wage.
The newspaper report that Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is a huge fan of Wilshere and that the Merseyside will make a move for Wilshere if he becomes a free agent as Klopp sees him as the ideal replacement for Emre Can.
Can, according to the report, is not expected to sign a new contract with Liverpool that would see him remain at Anfield beyond the summer, with Serie A champions Juventus keen on signing the Germany international.
Arsenal however, are expected to offer Wilshere a deal which will see him paid on appearances and performances due to his injury record, but Liverpool would be willing to match his current £90,000-a-week deal to secure his signature.
The strongly in-form 26-year-old midfielder has registered 26 appearances for Arsenal this season, netting two goals as well as notching five assists.
Wilshere will be a good move for Liverpool if they can get the midfielder on a free transfer. Klopp worked wonders with ex-Arsenal Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and if the German boss could help his former team-mate fulfill some of his potential, then his side would be better for his arrival.
Liverpool look set to lose Can this coming summer, so signing a replacement for free would be a smart piece of business for the club.
However, Wilshere doesn't seem likely set to leave Arsenal despite the reported shortage of wages that would see him miss out on his current £90,000-a-week wage, it's hard to imagine Wilshere choosing to leave the club.
He has always looked like having his heart fixed with Arsenal, and it wouldn't be a surprise if the 26-year-old opted to take a huge cut to his wages in order to make that dream come true.


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Octavio Ocampo is a Mexican surrealist artist who paints illusions in which a scene is set up to create the shapes and outlines of a face. Each of Ocampo's illusion paintings has a sense of duality. Was his intention to create a portrait of the celebrity or to create a scene that revealed the face during the painting process? It is clear that the illusion is meant to be there, but why? Does the artist simply enjoy creating his illusion paintings or is there a deeper meaning to the visual trickery?
Many of Octavio Ocampo's paintings have a Christian, religious air to them. He has created several illusion portraits of Jesus Christ and Mary, depicting these religious figures in ways that other artists do not. His fascination with religion isn't limited to Christianity; Ocampo has also painted illusions of Buddha and Shiva. Other famous faces to find their way into Ocampo's paintings are Einstein, Don Quixote and John Lennon. To see more of Ocampo's paintings, visit the artist's online gallery.