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Posts Tagged 'President Obama'
Obama, Zuckerberg meet – Silicon Valley Getting Hot Again!!
By Cecilia Kang
PALO ALTO, Calif. – President Obama and 26-year-old Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, a billionaire college dropout, may seem like an unlikely duo.
But when the two took the stage together Wednesday to talk about the nation's poor fiscal health and plans to cure it, the pairing highlighted the increasing interdependence between the president and Silicon Valley.
Obama was introduced to much of the nation through Facebook and Google's YouTube, companies he says are bright spots in the economy. They produce the kinds of jobs that he believes will maintain the nation's economic edge in the future.
"The administration recognizes that companies like Facebook and so many other tech companies are at the forefront of job creation and hold the key to economic recovery," said Ray Ramsey, president of Silicon Valley trade group TechNet. "The administration also understands they can't take the Valley's support for granted and their actions are showing this."
To understand the importance of high-tech firms and Obama's association with them, it's only necessary to look at the tech-heavy Nasdaq stock index, which on Wednesday hit its highest level since last October.
Meanwhile, Facebook needs to have good relations with Washington regulators and lawmakers. It is under increased scrutiny by federal officials over how its social networking business – where information is the currency for business online – could curtail the privacy of consumers.
As it tries to expand globally – particularly in China – Facebook's ambitions may also rub against a U.S. diplomatic agenda that aims to bring to the rest of the world an ethos that opposes censorship and endorses online activism.
(Washington Post Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Donald E. Graham sits on Facebook's board of directors, and the newspaper and many Post staffers use Facebook for marketing purposes.)
Facebook has promoted Obama's visit as a major honor, a validation of the firm's influence as a communications platform. The White House has boasted that the audience it will reach through Facebook's live video broadcast is comprised largely of middle class, typically younger Americans who would be harder to approach through traditional media.
Even increased government scrutiny of Facebook and other Bay Area firms such as Twitter and Google is unlikely to dampen the mood surrounding Obama's visit here. He'll attend three San Francisco fundraisers to tap into deep pockets of Democratic donors in the Bay Area.
They like his promise to bring mobile high-speed Internet connections to all Americans, and they tend to support him because of their individual political leanings, tech lobbyists and political strategists say. And they want to have more exposure to the president whose administration says Internet privacy rules are needed.
"There has been tremendous support for Obama and in part that's because he understands the Internet and appointed people who have technology expertise. But policy-wise, business leaders approach those policies like libertarians," said Markham Erickson, a tech lobbyist and partner at Holch & Erickson in Washington. "There has been a view among tech companies that you can invent or design around what Washington does."
Some tech lobbyists say privately that they are disappointed that Silicon Valley firms find themselves on the defensive with the Federal Trade Commission on the privacy question. Meanwhile, they believe the bottom-line issues where they want government help, such as patent reform and tax repatriation, aren't being addressed fast enough.
"There is some disappointment on bottom-line tech policies," said one tech lobbyist who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to do so by his tech clients. "The stuff he's accomplished on tech policy so far won't directly impact these Internet firms today and maybe not for years."
Facebook, just seven years old, is responding to the increased government focus on its company by expanding its lobbying operations. Still small by K Street standards, the company's Dupont Circle office grew from one person three years ago to 10 today, and it has hired outside lawyers as consultants. A source familiar with the company's thinking said it has plans to grow even more.
There are a number of former high-level White House officials on Facebook's staff: former Obama White House economic adviser Marne Levine heads its policy shop and former Bush administration aide Cathie Martin is also on its policy team.
Facebook wants to enter China and it is facing criticism for its approach to Internet policy abroad. Google and Twitter have actively protested government regimes that require censorship and worked with State Department officials to help dissidents protest and organize against repressive regimes such as in Iran and Egypt. But Facebook has a more nuanced approach, saying it abides by the policies of local governments.
Zuckerberg, who wasn't personally engaged in Obama's 2008 campaign like Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, joins his business contemporaries relatively late. He and Apple CEO Steve Jobs only began to interact more closely with Obama in the past year. In February, both were part of an exclusive presidential dinner with a handful of CEOs, hosted by Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr.
Obama, meanwhile, has nurtured strong high-tech relationships throughout his tenure. Facebook's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, joined Zuckerberg and the president at the town hall. She sits on Obama's council of economic advisors. AOL founder Steve Case heads his Startup America initiative to help small business growth. Eric Schmidt of Google, Cisco CEO John Chambers, and Intel CEO Paul Otellini regularly attend meetings at the White House as economic advisers.
Those leaders bring expertise and money to economic initiatives. Intel, Microsoft and IBM have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to science education programs. They also widen Obama's campaign network with big donations and lucrative events.
He will attend an exclusive fundraising dinner at the home of Marc Benioff, chief executive of Salesforce.com, a cloud computing company that provides business software applications on-demand. That firm on Wednesday saw its stock rise 8 percent.
American Held in Pakistan Worked With C.I.A.
WASHINGTON – The American arrested in Pakistan after shooting two men at a crowded traffic stop was part of a covert, C.I.A.-led team collecting intelligence and conducting surveillance on militant groups deep inside the country, according to American government officials.
Raymond A. Davis, center, was escorted to court by a Pakistani security official in Lahore on Jan. 28.
Working from a safe house in the eastern city of Lahore, the detained American contractor, Raymond A. Davis, a retired Special Forces soldier, carried out scouting and other reconnaissance missions as a security officer for the Central Intelligence Agency case officers and technical experts doing the operations, the officials said.
Mr. Davis's arrest and detention last month, which came after what American officials have described as a botched robbery attempt, have inadvertently pulled back the curtain on a web of covert American operations inside Pakistan, part of a secret war run by the C.I.A.
The episode has exacerbated already frayed relations between the American intelligence agency and its Pakistani counterpart, created a political dilemma for the weak, pro-American Pakistani government, and further threatened the stability of the country, which has the world's fastest growing nuclear arsenal.
Without describing Mr. Davis's mission or intelligence affiliation, President Obama last week made a public plea for his release. Meanwhile, there have been a flurry of private phone calls to Pakistan from Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A. director, and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all intended to persuade the Pakistanis to release the secret operative.
Mr. Davis has worked for years as a C.I.A. contractor, including time at Blackwater Worldwide, the private security firm (now called Xe) that Pakistanis have long viewed as symbolizing a culture of American gun-slinging overseas.
The New York Times had agreed to temporarily withhold information about Mr. Davis's ties to the agency at the request of the Obama administration, which argued that disclosure of his specific job would put his life at risk. Several foreign news organizations have disclosed some aspects of Mr. Davis's work with the C.I.A.
On Monday, American officials lifted their request to withhold publication. George Little, a C.I.A. spokesman, declined to comment specifically on the Davis matter, but said in a statement: "Our security personnel around the world act in a support role providing security for American officials. They do not conduct foreign intelligence collection or covert operations."
Since the United States is not at war in Pakistan, the American military is largely restricted from operating in the country. So the Central Intelligence Agency has taken on an expanded role, operating armed drones that kill militants inside the country and running covert operations, sometimes without the knowledge of the Pakistanis.
Several American and Pakistani officials said that the C.I.A. team with which Mr. Davis worked in Lahore was tasked with tracking the movements of various Pakistani militant groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, a particularly violent group that Pakistan uses as a proxy force against India but that the United States considers a threat to allied troops in Afghanistan. For the Pakistanis, such spying inside their country is an extremely delicate issue, particularly since Lashkar has longstanding ties to Pakistan's intelligence service, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI.
Still, American and Pakistani officials use Lahore as a base of operations to investigate the militant groups and their madrasas in the surrounding area.
The officials gave various accounts of the makeup of the covert team and of Mr. Davis, who at the time of his arrest was carrying a Glock pistol, a long-range wireless set, a small telescope and a headlamp. An American and a Pakistani official said in interviews that operatives from the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command had been assigned to the group to help with the surveillance missions. Other American officials, however, said that no military personnel were involved with the team.
Special operations troops routinely work with the C.I.A. in Pakistan. Among other things, they helped the agency pinpoint the location of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy Taliban commander who was arrested in January 2010 in Karachi.
Even before the arrest of Mr. Davis, his C.I.A. affiliation was known to Pakistani authorities, who keep close tabs on the movements of Americans. His visa, presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late 2009, describes his job as a "regional affairs officer," a common job description for officials working with the agency.
According to that application, Mr. Davis carried an American diplomatic passport and was listed as "administrative and technical staff," a category that typically grants diplomatic immunity to its holder.
American officials said that with Pakistan's government trying to clamp down on the increasing flow of Central Intelligence Agency officers and contractors trying to gain entry to Pakistan, more of these operatives have been granted "cover" as embassy employees and given diplomatic passports.
As Mr. Davis is held in a jail cell in Lahore – the subject of an international dispute at the highest levels – new details are emerging of what happened in a dramatic daytime scene on the streets of central Lahore, a sprawling city, on Jan. 27.
By the American account, Mr. Davis was driving alone in an impoverished area rarely visited by foreigners, and stopped his car at a crowded intersection. Two Pakistani men brandishing weapons hopped off motorcycles and approached. Mr. Davis killed them with the Glock, an act American officials insisted was in self-defense against armed robbers.
But on Sunday, the text of the Lahore Police Department's crime report was published in English by a prominent daily newspaper, The Daily Times, and it offered a somewhat different account.
It is based in part on the version of events Mr. Davis gave Pakistani authorities, and it seems to raise doubts about his claim that the shootings were in self-defense.
According to that report, Mr. Davis told the police that after shooting the two men, he stepped out of the car to take photographs of one of them, then called the United States Consulate in Lahore for help.
But the report also said that the victims were shot several times in the back, a detail that some Pakistani officials say proves the killings were murder. By this account, Mr. Davis fired at the men through his windshield, then stepped out of the car and continued firing. The report said that Mr. Davis then got back in his car and "managed to escape," but that the police gave chase and "overpowered" him at a traffic circle a short distance away.
In a bizarre twist that has further infuriated the Pakistanis, a third man was killed when an unmarked Toyota Land Cruiser, racing to Mr. Davis's rescue, drove the wrong way down a one-way street and ran over a motorcyclist. As the Land Cruiser drove "recklessly" back to the consulate, the report said, items fell out of the vehicle, including 100 bullets, a black mask and a piece of cloth with the American flag.
Pakistani officials have demanded that the Americans in the S.U.V. be turned over to local authorities, but American officials say they have already left the country.
Mr. Davis and the other Americans were heavily armed and carried sophisticated equipment, the report said.
The Pakistani Foreign Office, generally considered to work under the guidance of the ISI, has declined to grant Mr. Davis what it calls the "blanket immunity" from prosecution that diplomats enjoy. In a setback for Washington, the Lahore High Court last week gave the Pakistani government until March 14 to decide on Mr. Davis's immunity.
The pro-American government led by President Asif Ali Zardari, fearful for its survival in the face of a surge of anti-American sentiment, has resisted strenuous pressure from the Obama administration to release Mr. Davis to the United States. Some militant and religious groups have demanded that Mr. Davis be tried in the Pakistani courts and hanged.
Relations between the two spy agencies were tense even before the episode on the streets of Lahore. In December, the C.I.A.'s top clandestine officer in Pakistan hurriedly left the country after his identity was revealed. Some inside the agency believe that ISI operatives were behind the disclosure – retribution for the head of the ISI, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, being named in a New York City lawsuit filed in connection with the 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, in which members of his agency are believed to have played a role. ISI officials denied that was the case.
One senior Pakistani official close to the ISI said Pakistani spies were particularly infuriated over the Davis episode because it was such a public spectacle. Besides the three Pakistanis who were killed, the widow of one of the victims committed suicide by swallowing rat poison.
Moreover, the official said, the case was embarrassing for the ISI for its flagrancy, revealing how much freedom American spies have to roam around the country.
"We all know the spy-versus-spy games, we all know it works in the shadows," the official said, "but you don't get caught, and you don't get caught committing murders."
Mr. Davis, burly at 36, appears to have arrived in Pakistan in late 2009 or early 2010. American officials said he operated as part of the Central Intelligence Agency's Global Response Staff in various parts of the country, including Lahore and Peshawar.
Documents released by Pakistan's Foreign Office showed that Mr. Davis was paid $200,000 a year, including travel expenses and insurance.
He is a native of rural southwest Virginia, described by those who know him as an unlikely figure to be at the center of international intrigue.
He grew up in Big Stone Gap, a small town named after the gap in the mountains where the Powell River emerges.
The youngest of three children, Mr. Davis enlisted in the military after graduating from Powell Valley High School in 1993.
"I guess about any man's dream is to serve his country," his sister Michelle Wade said.
Shrugging off the portrait of him as an international spy comfortable with a Glock, Ms. Wade said: "He would always walk away from a fight. That's just who he is."
His high school friends remember him as good-natured, athletic, respectful. He was also a protector, they said, the type who stood up for the underdog.
"Friends with everyone, just a salt of the earth person," said Jennifer Boring, who graduated from high school with Mr. Davis.
Mr. Davis served in the infantry in Europe – including a short tour as a peacekeeper in Macedonia – before joining the Third Special Forces Group in 1998, where he remained until he left the Army in 2003. The Army Special Forces – known as the Green Berets – are an elite group trained in weapons and foreign languages and cultures.
It is unclear when Mr. Davis began working for the C.I.A., but American officials said that in recent years he worked for the spy agency as a Blackwater contractor and later founded his own small company, Hyperion Protective Services.
Mr. Davis and his wife have moved frequently, living in Las Vegas, Arizona and Colorado.
One neighbor in Colorado, Gary Sollee, said that Mr. Davis described himself as "former military," adding that "he'd have to leave the country for work pretty often, and when he's gone, he's gone for an extended period of time."
Mr. Davis's sister, Ms. Wade, said she was awaiting her brother's safe return.
"The only thing I'm going to say is I love my brother," she said. "I love my brother, God knows, I love him. I'm just praying for him."
APL Letter to Barrack Obama, The President of USA
His Excellency Barrack H Obama
The President of USA
The United States of America
White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com;
Dear Mr. President Obama,
Re: Conviction of Dr Afia Siddiqui, a female Muslim Pakistani Doctor (PhD)
Association of Pakistani Lawyers a team of Pakistani origin lawyers, Solicitors, Barristers, Judges in UK wrote to you on 5 November 2008 congratulating you on your remarkable, historic victory for change in the United Sates, and in return in the World. In particular we emphasized in our letter that, "America needs to offer hope to the community of nation and revitalize its efforts to jointly consult with the world if it ever desire to come closer to victory on its drive against extremism. No doubt, 9/11 was the most tragic and most condemnable attack on civilization by criminals and proportionate use of force, revival of United Nations role, protecting the sovereignty of independent nations, joint intelligence sharing mechanism and collective wisdom is the key to defeat this menace".
In this light of the above we have a cause to write to you on behalf of the Pakistani & Muslim community on the issue of Dr Afia Siddiqui's Conviction & sentence. APL, an Association of Pakistani origin Solicitors, Barristers, Judges and ex pat members has taken a serious note Dr Afia Siddiqui's sentence on 23 September 2010 for 86 years and her earlier conviction of 3 February 2010 by Jury of 12 men at USA and has declared her treatment inhuman and her trial unfair in USA. Her sentence of 86 years may result in a stumbling block between US-Pak people to people contact and relations between states. APL Chair said that US system of justice is able to dispense justice and Dr Afia Siddiqui needed justice which must be seen to be done and no better but through US courts and at the moment unlike British courts , US judicial system has failed Dr Afia Siddiqui, her family and millions eyeing on the trial across the globe.
APL observed that Dr Afia was kidnapped and kept at Bagram Airfield without the aid of a lawyer, doctor and or consulate access for years and her being a female, Muslim women that has the potential to charge the mood of the public.
USA is already making efforts to bridge the gap between the people of Pakistan and US Administration and Dr. Afia's conviction will wipe out all efforts and this decision seems to have dictated through fears than the facts and law. Dr Afia is demonized as 'Al-Qaeda' lady or in official circles as 'the grey lady of Bagram' without substance of her association or affiliation as Association with Al-Qaeda itself is a criminal offence and that avenue has not been pursued. Under the circumstances she may never get a fair trial from the jury due to 9/11 as in built prejudice against the perpetrators of the 9/11 makes it impossible to allow a fair hearing against anyone who is allegedly portrayed by media or through whisper campaign to be an associate of that outfit no matter how much it is denied. Though, we agree that USA has failed to prove or at least bring it open the limits of her engagements.
APL feels that as has been witnessed in UK that many convictions were overturned by the court of appeal considering it either excessive or unsafe on the narrow interpretation of law, and or due to fear of miscarriage of justice, similarly we feel that common sense will prevail at higher court(s) at appeal where the conviction will be quashed as circumstances of Dr Afia's case are highly contested, and incredible. In principles of law Dr Afia should not have been at Bagram at first place, where she was detained as prisoner no.650 and there was no record, mention and or trial at a place of her kidnapping and or arrest (Karachi), and or place of her first detention (Ghazni) and there are allegation(s) of torture. Now either the public knows the half truth in this case and or the US authorities are concealing material facts from the court(s) in relation to Dr Afia Siddiqui which calls for a greater insight and or enquiry.
APL feel that Dr. Afia's conviction of 3 February 2010 and her sentence of 23 September is a decision of a court of law of first instance which on the face of it and in principle must be respected, but we all have disagreements / reservations on rational reasons with the judgments as is in any society, and that's why we have appeal system. Lack of concrete evidence (DNA / fingerprints) linking her with the Weapon, and her mysterious whereabouts and accounts of arrest and allegations of torture and unlawful confinement without access to his lawyers, doctors, and consulate staff all call for a fair appeal in this matter and or presidential intervention on humanitarian grounds, as if her account of arrest is right, she has already spent nearly 10 years equivalent of her sentence counting day and nights in a prison cell (pre trial). US system of justice is able to dispense justice and Dr Afia Siddiqui needs justice which must be seen to be done and no better but through US courts which must show its inherited powers and allow her a fair hearing on appeal meeting the norms of the Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 which allows any person to have a fair trial.
If court decisions are allowed to be dictated by fears or through prejudices, then I am afraid the future of our multi religious & cultural societies is bleak and onus falls on American administration to either grant presidential pardon, release her to allow her to go home freely or USA's criminal justice system who are at a crossroad to produce some tangible results in their system through its institutions assuring minority community of justice and fair play.
APL is of the view that looking at the past and the case of Brown v Board of Education, 347 US 483 (1954) where so rightly Supreme Court gave decision against segregation of white and Black children in the public state school solely on the basis of race because that segregation was against the principle of equal protection of law guaranteeing Fourteenth Amendment, and at this juncture based on the past knowledge, APL is of the view that US justice system can ensure justice with Muslim minorities in USA similarly as they did with the black minorities during the race war in the past, and they need to prove it by action(s) not words.
APL is also of the view that political administration is also fairly capable to separate the chaff from grain and Dr Afia's case is a fine example where political administration must exercise their judgment call to ensure administrative fairness with the 'Grey lady of Bagram' who has been in detention for years before trial could take place.
APL with that hope jointly has decided to approach your kind intervention on this very sensitive issue pertaining to Pakistani community here in UK, USA and abroad, and has the following resolution(s);
Resolution of Demand:
1. Govt of United States must consider withdrawing charges against Dr Afia Siddiqui and her repatriation to Pakistan forthwith; or alternately;
2. Govt of United States must consider Presidential pardon for Dr Afia Siddiqui as she has been missing and or confined allegedly since 2003 and there is no account of her missing time in Bagram airfield and her conviction is unsafe considering the state of mind and or issues of serious allegation(s) of torture and maltreatment; or
3. Govt of United States must consider appealing this decision as it is an unsafe judgemnet as post 9/11 putting people of New York in a position of jurors to find a question of guilty/not guilty of a person who is highly publicised as allegedly associated with internationally notorious outfit (AL-Qaeda) is unreasonable and rules of natural justice and norms of Art.6 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 has not been met. looking at the case of Brown v Board of Education, 347 US 483 (1954) where so rightly Supreme Court gave decision against segregation of white and Black children in the public state school solely on the basis of race because that segregation was against the principle of equal protection of law guaranteeing Fourteenth Amendment, at this juncture based on the past knowledge, I am sure, USA can ensure justice with Muslim minorities (its a test case in that scenario); There is overwhelming evidence of making this conviction unsafe i.e lack of DNA / finger prints evidence of her linking to the rifle, her unlawful presence at Bagram as the account of her arrest is not credible, discrepancies between the accounts of Interpreter, and other two witnesses, and no empty shells of the bullets fired were presented at court all makes the conviction unsafe; and these questions must be put to rest which questions the prosperity of US criminal justice system to be fair to Muslims post 9/11 as is the case in UK where many convictions were overturned by superior courts declaring them unsafe and excessive;
4. Govt of United States must consider prisoner exchange with the Govt of Pakistan as in the past many prisoners from Pakistan has been shifted to USA without judicial oversight, and on the similar approach Dr Afia Siddiqui must be returned to Pakistan to remain in Pakistani custody whilst the issue of her case (withdrawal/appeal and or pardon) are considered at home in USA as she has already spent many years in confinement and her return would ease her sufferings and will avoid hampering United States effort to increase people to people contact and efforts to winning the hearts and minds of the Pakistani people.
5. Govt of United States must consider setting up a commission to adjudicate the questions of true facts surrounding Dr Afia's arrest, allegations of torture and mal treatment at Bagram airfield, and the issue of extra judicial and extra territorial confinement and imprisonment at Bagram where there are allegations that CIA paid huge monies to Pak officials for making successful arrests and Gen. Musharraf accepted that fact in his book, (in the line of fire). Dr Afia is a female, Muslim lady from Pakistan who is a highly educated (PhD from Brandeis University 2001) and has been either bought via CIA and or arrested in dubious circumstances at Pakistan and or Afghanistan; she has been strip searched, allegedly maltreated, interrogated mostly without lawyers , proper examination of a female doctor, and or consulate access at Afghanistan and has been shifted to USA without her consent. How come she was shown to be at Bagram in 2008 when people had knowledge of her whereabouts as prisoner no 650 prior to that date makes it desirable to settle the facts once for all to ease the people of Pakistan as this is the kind of material if remain uncertain acts as prima facie fodder for radicalisation which needs to be put at rest through proper enquiry. Incidents like Abu Gharib force APL to say that the allegation of such nature may not be easily refuted without an independent oversight or an enquiry. Enquiry into findings of fact will pave way for clarity and dispensation of fair trial ensuring justice which is seen to be done in future.
We hope our representations are given due weight in the interest of public in order to promote rule of law, justice and true accountability of the forces and in order to fill the gaps between ancient civilizations who are at a crossroad to mend fences and be friends for the greater good of mankind and for the sake of humanity.
U.S. judge orders release of Guantanamo detainee
A federal judge ordered on Monday that a man accused of having ties to some of the hijackers in the September 11, 2001, attacks, be released from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
A guard tower of Camp Delta is seen at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba September 4, 2007.
Mohamedou Ould Slahi of Mauritania was described in the report of the 9/11 Commission that investigated the hijacked plane attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon as "a significant al Qaeda operative" who helped arrange for the Hamburg cell members to travel to Afghanistan for training.
The ruling by Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordering Slahi's release from the controversial prison for foreign terrorism suspects, was classified.
A declassified version, with details of the judge's decision, is expected to be released later. Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said the agency "was reviewing the decision."
The ruling came as President Barack Obama's administration has been struggling to close the Guantanamo prison. Obama has argued that anti-American militants have used it as a recruiting tool for their causes.
Some detainees are expected to be prosecuted, while others have been cleared for release, although the administration has had some trouble finding places to send them.
Obama officials have said that detainees who still pose a threat but win release through the courts could still be held under the Authorization of Use of Military Force that the U.S. Congress approved in 2001. The administration could also appeal the ruling.
In his habeas corpus petition in 2008 seeking release from the Guantanamo prison, his lawyers argued Slahi had been subject to harsh interrogation techniques authorized by then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
In 1999, Slahi was well known to U.S. and German intelligence officials, although they did not know he was in Germany at the time, according to the 9/11 report.
He was approached by a few individuals interested in fighting in Chechnya, including two of the hijackers on September 11, and Ramzi Binalshibh, the roommate of a third hijacker, Mohamed Atta, the report said.
Instead, Slahi recommended they go to Afghanistan for training. They took his advice, met various al Qaeda members there and the plot began to take shape, the report said, citing intelligence and interrogations.
Slahi said he turned himself in to authorities in Mauritania weeks after the 2001 attacks and was taken to Jordan where he was interrogated for several months before being sent to Afghanistan and then to the U.S. prison in Cuba, according to transcripts of his American military tribunal proceedings.
During those proceedings, he also said he had been to Afghanistan in the early 1990s, received weapons training, and had been a member of al Qaeda, although he said he broke ties when he left the country in 1992, according to the transcript.
A fatal attraction
By: Momin Iftikhar Momin
The February 26 attack by a suicide team on a guest room and hotel complex, frequented by Indian officials and workers in the fashionable quarters of Kabul has brought into full glare the dilemmas confronted by the Indian strategic planners overseeing the Afghanistan operations. The issues at stake are the raising of the Indian military profile in Afghanistan and rationalising the political cost for civilian and military casualties that are inevitable to rise as the strategy is proceeded with in earnest. Opportunities beckon; the US is set on a deadline of rolling back its military deployment within five years starting from 2011 and its allies would be dashing for the exit door in an even shorter timeframe. Filling the military vacuum by sending in forces fulfils the ultimate Indian desire of landing a pincer on Pakistan's western flank but the costs, such an investment could incur, could be staggering.
A measure of the pain that may be confronted was starkly laid out by the Indian military casualties sustained during the latest Kabul attack. Among the total 17 deaths Indian share stood at six; a toll that included two Indian officers of the major rank, an Indo-Tibetan Border Police constable and an embassy staffer from Kandahar Consulate, who, despite attempts to conceal his identity was in all probability a senior RAW operator. That is not all!
In addition to the four casualties inflicted upon the Indian military establishment in Afghanistan, there were six injured military men of unspecified rank that were carried home by the IAF's Boeing 737-200 aircraft, expeditiously dispatched in the wake of attack. There are no details in the media regarding the identity of these injured army persons or the tasks they were performing in the risk-laden environs of Kabul, but it is manifest that the threat to Indian military-intelligence presence in Afghanistan is escalating. The latest attack was third in a series of bombings targeting the Indian presence in Kabul. In July 2008, a suicide bomber rammed a car full of explosive into the entrance to the Indian Embassy killing more than 50 people including the Defence Attaché. In October 2009, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the Indian Embassy extracting a toll of 17.
The perception that the threat to the security of Indian presence in Afghanistan is mounting, is not lost on the planners in the South Block. The hard reality of a strategic failure in Afghanistan, after an investment of almost a decade following the 9/11, is beginning to stare India in the face.
The terrorism card, so successfully played by India in defining the terms of negotiations with Pakistan has failed to stick in Afghanistan. Credibility of the Indian vision of a politico-military balance in Afghanistan has come to be frequently questioned by the US military commanders. There is a growing awareness that dependence on India has been a major reason for landing the US in the quagmire of Afghanistan by clouding its judgment with faulty premises and engineered intelligence. The US commanding general in Afghanistan has obliquely pointed out to the folly of following the Indian urgings. In his assessment of the situation submitted to President Barack Obama in August 2009, General Stanley McChrystal warned that India's growing influence in the country could "exacerbate regional tensions" and encourage "counter measures" by Pakistan.
Afghanistan has become a test case for India in its attempts at power projection in the region. To circumvent the geographical barriers imposed by the Pakistani landmass, India has invested heavily in building the 218km Zaranj-Delaram Highway to link Southern Afghanistan with the Iranian port city of Chah Bahar. This enables India to bypass Pakistan and transport goods and equipment from Iran to Kabul and across Afghanistan. By committing $1.2 billion towards building infrastructure, India has become a major donor in a war ravaged Afghanistan. There are around 5,000 Indian personnel who have arrived in Afghanistan to engage in the reconstruction effort. Following up the Indian significant presence and taking advantage of the excuse provided by their security concerns, India has inducted around a battalion of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel in Afghanistan. Moreover, to test waters for enhancing the military profile, India has started sending military doctors and education instructors in Afghanistan. The two Indian Army majors killed in the latest Kabul blasts belonged to these two categories.
Despite setbacks, the ambition of placing boots on ground has not lost traction with the hawkish strategic quarters in India. Former Indian Army Chief, General Shankar Roy Chaudhry, has described the military involvement in Afghanistan as "a war of necessity." General Deepak Kapoor, too, has argued that that the Indian military presence in Afghanistan could give it some strategic depth against Pakistan; saying the Indian military presence in Afghanistan could be used to squeeze Pakistan. C Raja Mohan, a prominent Indian analyst, has expressed similar thoughts. "Why is India's contribution to Afghan security so low? If countries so far from Afghanistan – like Canada and Australia – have deployed troops there, what is holding back Delhi, such an important neighbour and economic partner of Kabul?" he argues. Sushant K Singh, editor of a strategic affairs journal Pragati, recently wrote: "An Indian military involvement in Afghanistan will shift the battle ground away from Kashmir and the Indian mainland" recommending that the Indian military should operate independently in Afghanistan.
But much lies betwixt the cup and the lip. The envisioned Indian strategy to curtail the Pakistani influence in Afghanistan, envelop it (Pakistan) from the west and find ingress into the energy rich Central Asian Republics lies in tatters. Indian perspective and the intelligence upon which the US has relied so much stands discredited and discarded. It has taken eight long years for the US to know the ropes and finally acknowledge that Indian presence and ambitions, particularly those dreaming of a military presence in Afghanistan are a recipe for grand chaos and disaster.
The Indian developmental work in Afghanistan stands out as a masquerade to screen her naked ambition for dominance in Afghanistan which is unacceptable to the Pashtun majority. Indian presence, seeking to alter the flow of history and tradition, is bound to result into a backlash. In case the Indian administration dares to land a military contingent into Afghanistan, its disastrous foray into Sri Lanka with Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1987 shall certainly appear to be much milder in comparison.


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Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997)
Tales from the Crypt
Title of several horror Comic books.
1. Published by EC Comics, and formerly titled Crypt of Terror. As TFTC it ran from #20 (1950) to #46 (1955). It was remarkable for its high-quality writing and art and the goriness of some of the tales, which were used as examples in the Senate hearings investigating the unwholesomeness of horror comics.
2. Published by Gladstone Publishing (6 issues 1990-1991), and reprinting several of the EC strips.
3. Featuring short horror tales and published (1992-current) by Russ Cochran. The title was also used on a giant-size one-off comic book by Cochran in 1992 and a b/w horror magazine published by Eerie Publications, of which only one issue (#10 1968) appeared.
1 spawned the movie Tales from the Crypt (1972), and also a long-running 1980s tv series. [RT]
This entry is taken from the Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997) edited by John Clute and John Grant. It is provided as a reference and resource for users of the SF Encyclopedia, but apart from possible small corrections has not been updated.

subset: commoncrawl


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Sound Waves SCIO
Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation No. SC044935.
- Marita Crawley
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A wedding at St. John's of Lattingtown celebrates Christian marriage and seeks God's blessing on a couple's life-long union by making vows before God and the church. Couples are prepared through a series of conversations with the clergy to explore the christian understanding of marriage and to plan the service.
Please contact Mary Savin at firstname.lastname@example.com to begin a conversation about scheduling a wedding at St. John's.


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First Words Home Edition
iOS Universal Education
Does your child like to learn new words while they play? First words for Toddlers and Preschool Children is part of a new series from Kizzu which helps children to learn and recognise key word groups starting with 'action' words.
Action words are taught to toddlers and preschool children at a young age in most educational curricula because they introduce the concept of verbs in a simple and familiar way. Our First Words app will help your child to learn and recognise up to 48 new action words while playing a fun new game.
Through 24 adorable animations, children can interact with various characters by tapping or swiping the screen. Each time the child interacts with the app, the character will perform a surprise action! This encourages little ones to learn new action words while they play. Children are introduced to the sounds of the words through a clear voiceover, which is available in both American and British English. This can be repeated as many times as the child likes so it won't be long before they are recognising and repeating the words themselves!
We know that if you're going to give your child an app to play with, you have to trust it. Our apps are designed to give children the confidence to have fun as they explore and develop their skills.
First words has been tested and approved by our expert panel through each stage of the development process and the interface has been specifically designed with toddlers and small children in mind. This ensures the app meets the expectations of teachers, parents and toddlers everywhere!
- Vocabulary Acquisition
- Speech skills and confidence
- Word recognition
- Fine Motor Skills
What's New
- update app's icon
- added parents section for Big Clever Learning subscribers


text: Others Emoji Smiley Emoticon Yellow Round Cushion Pillow (Smiling) AED 61.95 BUY NOW Zoom × Emoji Smiley Emoticon Yellow Round Cushion Pillow (Smiling) AED 61.95 AED 61.95 https://www.letstango.com/emoji-smiley-emoticon-yellow-round-cushion-pillow-smiling Instock Key Features DELIVERY Order in next -8hrs 5mins and receive it within 3 Working Days Warranty No Warranty Sold by LetsBeeCool.com Share Read Blogs In Stock Buy Now visa mastercard amex cash Free Delivery For AED 200 and above Pay your way Cash On Delivery,Credit Card & more 100% Genuine Vendor sourced & brand new Get Rewards Earn Upto 62 reward points Earn 12 Earn 12 Earn 62 Overview Specification Review Product Details Emoji Smiley Emoticon Yellow Round Cushion Pillow is made of thick plush which is extremely soft and comfortable. They can be used as a cushion, pillow, or purely as a plush toy to express yourself. We have selected the most loved emoji from your phone screen for you! Not only you can send them through chatting app, but also can bring them into your homes, offices, bedrooms and anywhere with you. Specification Manufacturer Others Warranty No Warranty


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Today we created a curated bundle of short stories from Project Gutenberg with the theme of Fairy Tales. These stories are downloadable as stand-alone stories from Project Gutenberg directly, or as a bundle curated for you by Jumbelbook in .ePub or .mobi format.
Hope you enjoy!
A House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde
The Beggar's Purse: A Fairy Tale of Familiar Finance by Samuel Hopkins Adams
Jack and the Check Book by John Kendrick Bangs
Moonshine & Clover by Laurence Housman
Olla Podrida by Frederick Marryat
Fairy Tales bundle .epub [download]
Fairy Tales bundle .mobi [download]
Please let us know in the comments below what you think of this curated short story bundle. You can also sign up for our mailing list and receive custom-made short story bundles.


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Dr. César Cerezo
Dr. Luis Ruilope
Subjects with high-normal BP will or will not receive an aggressive pharmacologic therapy to control BP values, depending on the presence or absence of concomitant comorbidities (diabetes, clustering of cardiovascular risk factors, target organ damage, metabolic syndrome). However the use of pharmacologic therapy from the early stages of BP in these patients will greatly facilitate the achievement of adequate BP control, which will contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular complications.
In 2003, the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC-7) published its last guidelines for hypertension prevention and management (1). One of the main issues was the establishment of definition for a new category of blood pressure (BP) levels, i.e. prehypertension, that included individuals with a systolic BP of 120 to 139 mmHg, or a diastolic of 80 to 89 mmHg. Those patients were proved to show an increased risk for progression to hypertension, especially those included between 130/80 to 139/89 mmHg range, who were at twice the risk of developing hypertension than those with lower values (2). At the same time, the European Society of Hypertension and the European Society of Cardiology (ESH-ESC) published their guidelines for the management of arterial ypertension and, for the same range of BP, two different categories of BP were defined: normal BP (systolic BP of 120 to 129 mmHg, or diastolic BP of 80 to 84 mmHg) and high-normal BP (systolic BP of 130 to 139 mmHg, or diastolic BP of 85 to 89 mmHg) (3). In 2007, the ESH/ESC Committee decided against using the term "prehypertension" for several reasons (4). First, the risk of developing hypertension was unquestionably higher in subjects with high-normal than in those with normal BP (2,5). Second, although lifestyle changes recommended by the 2003 JNC-7 Guidelines as the sole treatment for all prehypertensive patients (1), in fact this group is a highly-differentiated one, as there were subjects with no need of any intervention (e.g. an elderly individual with a BP of 120/80 mmHg), as well as those with a high or a very high-risk profile (e.g. after stroke (6), coronary artery disease (7), or with diabetes (8) or metabolic syndrome), in whom pharmacological treatment is necessary. In the latest reappraisal of European guidelines on hypertension management (9) published recently this year, trial evidence concerning drug treatment in patients with high-normal BP with or without previous cardiovascular events is thus far controversial, and further trials must be completed before firm recommendations can be given. The present review will focus on the benefits of antihypertensive therapy in patients with high or very-high cardiovascular (CV) risk and high-normal BP. Table 1: Recent reports on Hypertension (concerning pre-hypertension or normal-high groups).
Trial evidence in High/Normal BP concerning drug treatment is controversial
Numerous epidemiologic studies have shown that systolic and diastolic BP values have a strong, permanent and graded association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes (10). Although subjects with high-normal BP are expected to have an elevated CV risk, there was a lack of information concerning the real risks of CVD in these patients. Vasan et al. published a prospective assessment of the risk of CVD in men and women with high-normal BP, and proposed to explore the association between BP category and the incidence of CVD during a mean follow-up of 11.1 years among participants in the Framingham Heart Study. Cardiovascular-event rates increased in a stepwise way across the three BP categories (optimal, normal and high-normal BP) (5). In addition, Lewington et al. demonstrated that, among subjects without previous CVD, the standard BP values are definitely associated with the risks of death due to vascular disease, not only among hypertensive or high-normal BP patients, but also among those typically considered normotensive (even down to BP levels of 115/75 mmHg). Given the continuous association observed between BP and risk of death from CVD, the absolute benefits of a lower BP level are expected to be greater for those at highest absolute risk of CVD. Each difference of 20 mmHg usual systolic BP or 10mm Hg usual diastolic BP the study goes on to show, is related with approximately two-fold differences in stroke death rate and in the death rates from ischemic heart disease and other vascular causes, concerning the period of age 40-69 years, with annual absolute differences in risk even greater in old age (80-89 years) (11). Although the association between BP categories and CV risk is powerfully recognized, there is limited evidence concerning the risk of CV events in subjects with normal and high-normal BP, although it is well known that these groups have a substantial risk of developing hypertension over a short-term period. In the Framingham cohort, after a 4-year follow-up, the hypertension incidence rates progressed according to baseline BP category and age, specially in older people (age 65-94 years)(2). Data from the Women's Health Study have shown that 30.1% of women without baseline hypertension progressed to hypertension (12); this increase was proportional across the recognized groups (normal BP, high-normal BP and baseline hypertension). Compared to women with high-normal BP, those with normal BP had a lower risk of a major cardiovascular event and of incident hypertension. Women who progressed to hypertension during the first 48 months of the study had a higher cardiovascular risk than those who remained normotensive. Women with high-normal BP at baseline who progressed to hypertension had similar outcome rates to those with baseline hypertension (12). Recent data confirm that a substantial proportion of CVD is attributable to high BP, even those who are not classified as hypertensive (13). Worldwide, 7.6 million premature deaths (about 13.5% of the global total) and 92 million disability-adjusted life years (6.0% of the global total) were attributed to high BP. About 50% of this burden occurred in subjects previously diagnosed with hypertension, but the rest was in those with lesser degrees of high BP (13). Table 2: High-normal blood pressure and cardiovascular risk study findings.
All BP categories, included normal and high-normal BP, have a continuous association to an elevated CV risk
High incidence of hypertension development amongst women in Framingham cohort, proportional across the referred BP groups
Elevated proportion of CVD is due to high BP, even in those subjects not classified as hypertensive.
A small percentage of the hypertensive population has an elevation of BP alone, with the large mainstream exhibiting added CV risk factors, with an association between the severity of the BP increase and the alterations in glucose and lipid metabolism. Additionally, when they are concurrently present, BP and metabolic risk factors potentiate each other, reaching a total CV risk which is greater than the sum of its individual components (4). Actually, following the algorithm of ESH-ESC to stratify cardiovascular risk, subjects with high-normal BP presenting three additional CV risk factors, target organ damage, metabolic syndrome or diabetes are considered as high-risk patients (4). The Strong Heart Study showed that normal and high-normal BP was more prevalent in diabetic than nondiabetic individuals (59.4% versus 48.2%), with hazard ratios greater for those in the higher group, but there was a significant risk even in those in the lower group. Both groups of BP levels, when added to diabetes, had the highest cumulative incidence of CVD during follow-up (14). The coexistence of impaired glucose tolerance, or impaired fasting glucose and lower degrees of high BP also increased CVD risk significantly compared with normotensive participants with normal glucose tolerance (14).
The recommendation to initiate antihypertensive pharmacological therapy in high CV risk patients o with previous CV events when BP is still in high-normal range is currently supported by European Guidelines (4), although there is no prospective trial evidences (9). Currently, monitoring subclinical organ damage, and particularly microalbuminuria and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), seems to be the best direction to settle on the BP values for treatment beginning as well as treatment goals in this group of patients. Related careful recommendations may be given to diabetic population, for whom present trial data is also contentious relating to both initiation of drug treatment when BP is in the high normal range, and the advantage of aiming at a BP target of less than 130/80mmHg. The recent Lowering Blood Pressure Reduces Renal Events in Type 2 Diabetes trial (ADVANCE) results support these findings. BP-lowering treatment with perindopril-indapamide was administered regularly to individuals with type 2 diabetes, regardless of their BP at entry. In whom systolic BP was brought down to less than 135mmHg, macrovascular and microvascular benefits were obtained (specially in renoprotection, dropping the risk of renal events by 21%, with a reduced risk of developing micro and macroalbuminuria)(15, 16). Attitude directed to treat a high CV risk patient with high-normal BP levels was influenced by clinical evidence obtained from trials designed to identify relevant differences on the final consequences of CV and renal diseases (non fatal events, chronic or terminal renal insufficiency, and cardiovascular mortality). Consequently, premature detection of an elevated CV risk through the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors and/or the presence of target organ damage should be followed by early intervention. In fact, the Losartan Intervention for Endpoint Reduction (LIFE) study clearly demonstrated that regression of electrocardiographic (ECG) LVH, with antihypertensive treatment improved prognosis, independent of BP (17). The Bergamo Nephrologic Diabetes Complications Trial (BENEDICT) was designed to evaluate whether ACE inhibitors and nondihydropyridine calcium-channel blockers prevent microalbuminuria in subjects with hypertension, type 2 DM and normal urinary albumin excretion (18). The results showed that, in subjects with type 2 diabetes and hypertension, normoalbuminuria and normal renal function, these antihypertensive therapies, alone or in combination, prevented the onset of microalbuminuria (18). In this way, Ruggenenti proved recently that ACE inhibition has a protective effect against the establishment of ECG-LVH that is additional to its blood pressure–lowering effect (19). The implementation of guidelines for management of hypertension and CV risk factors facilitates the attainment of similar BP and LDL-cholesterol goals, in patients with and without high CV risk and high-normal BP. In diabetic patients with high-normal BP, the American Diabetes Association recommends lifestyle therapy alone for a maximum of 3 months, and then, if targets are not achieved, patients should be treated with the addition of pharmacological agents (20). Latest reappraisal of ESH-ESC guidelines recommend lifestyle changes plus drug treatment at the outset (9). Pharmacological treatment should be always initiated when BP is 140/90mmHg or more. In high-normal BP population, initiation of treatment is at the moment not suitably supported by outcome evidence from trials. It can, however, be recommended, particularly when microalbuminuria is onset, based on the evidence of its positive effect on regression and progression of this subclinical organ damage (9). Subjects with a high CV risk, due to factors other than diabetes, and BP in high-normal range, should be also advised to implement intense lifestyle measures, and BP might be strictly monitored because of the high probability these patients have of developing hypertension, which would then require pharmacological treatment (9). However, antihypertensive drugs may sometimes be considered, particularly those more effective in protecting against organ damage, new onset hypertension and new onset diabetes (4). In effect, pharmacologic treatment of prehypertension may prevent or postpone the development of hypertension. The TROPHY (Trial of Preventing Hypertension) showed a significant reduction in incident hypertension in participants with prehypertension who had received candesartan, up to a 26.5%. (21). Chronic blockade of the renin-angiotensin system appears to be particularly effective in preventing renal and CV events in hypertensive patients, who are at increased CV risk, which is amplified by the co-existence of type 2 diabetes. It appears, consequently, extremely attractive to block the renin-angiotensin system in all patients with hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes, not only because of the BP lowering obtained, but also due to the underlying contribution of angiotensin II to the pathogenesis of these conditions and, possibly, of their renal and cardiovascular complications. Ideally, this should be done promptly during the course of the disease, as blockers of the renin-angiotensin system are effective in reducing abnormalities that may be encountered before the existence of structural vascular damage (22). In addition, blockers of the renin-angiotensin system have clear advantages compared with other classes of antihypertensive agents, specially beta-blockers and diuretics, as they improve insulin sensitivity and may protect against the progressive impairment of beta-cell secretory function observed in patients with type 2 diabetes (23), decreasing, also, the risk of new onset diabetes in prediabetic patients (24). Table 3: Latest trials referred to the antihypertensive drug treatment in high-normal BP
Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that systolic and diastolic BP values have a strong, continuous, graded and etiologically significant positive association with CVD outcomes. This is especially relevant among subjects with high-normal BP, considering that most will or will not receive a more aggressive pharmacologic therapy to control BP values, depending on the presence or absence of concomitant comorbidities (diabetes, clustering of cardiovascular risk factors, target organ damage, metabolic syndrome). It is well established that the use of pharmacologic therapy from the early stages of BP in these patients will greatly facilitate the achievement of adequate BP control, which will contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular complications.
1. Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, Cushman WC, Green LA, Izzo JL Jr, Jones DW, Materson BJ, Oparil S, Wright JT Jr, Roccella EJ; Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National High Blood Pressure Education Program Coordinating Committee: Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Hypertension 2003;42:1206-1252. 2. Vasan RS, Larson MG, Leip EP, Kannel WB, Levy D: Assessment of frequency of progression to hypertension in non-hypertensive participants in the Framingham Heart Study: a cohort study. Lancet 2001;358:1682-1686. 3. European Society of Hypertension-European Society of Cardiology Guidelines Committee: 2003 European Society of Hypertension-European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension. J Hypertens 2003;21:1011-1053. 4. Mancia G, De Backer G, Dominiczak A, Cifkova R, Fagard R, Germano G, Grassi G, Heagerty AM, Kjeldsen SE, Laurent S, Narkiewicz K, Ruilope L, Rynkiewicz A, Schmieder RE, Boudier HA, Zanchetti A, Vahanian A, Camm J, De Caterina R, Dean V, Dickstein K, Filippatos G, Funck-Brentano C, Hellemans I, Kristensen SD, McGregor K, Sechtem U, Silber S, Tendera M, Widimsky P, Zamorano JL, Erdine S, Kiowski W, Agabiti-Rosei E, Ambrosioni E, Lindholm LH, Viigimaa M, Adamopoulos S, Agabiti-Rosei E, Ambrosioni E, Bertomeu V, Clement D, Erdine S, Farsang C, Gaita D, Lip G, Mallion JM, Manolis AJ, Nilsson PM, O'Brien E, Ponikowski P, Redon J, Ruschitzka F, Tamargo J, van Zwieten P, Waeber B, Williams B: Management of Arterial Hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension; European Society of Cardiology: 2007 Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension: The Task Force for the Management of Arterial Hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). J Hypertens 2007;25:1105–1187. 5. Vasan RS, Larson MG, Leip EP, Evans JC, O'Donnell CJ, Kannel WB, Levy D: Impact of high-normal blood pressure on the risk of cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med 2001; 45:1291-1297. 6. PROGRESS Collaborative Study Group: Randomised trial of perindopril based blood pressure-lowering regimen among 6108 individuals with previous stroke or transient ischaemic attack. Lancet 2001;358:1033–1041. 7. Yusuf S, Sleight P, Pogue J, Bosch J, Davies R, Dagenais G: Effects of an angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor, ramipril, on cardiovascular events in high-risk patients. The Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation Study Investigators. N Engl J Med 2000;342:145–153. 8. Schrier RW, Estacio RO, Esler A, Mehler P: Effects of aggressive blood pressure control in normotensive type 2 diabetic patients on albuminuria, retinopathy and stroke. Kidney Int 2002;61:1086–1097. 9. Mancia G, Laurent S, Agabiti-Rosei E, Ambrosioni E, Burnier M, Caulfield MJ, Cifkova R, Clément D, Coca A, Dominiczak A, Erdine S, Fagard R, Farsang C, Grassi G, Haller H, Heagerty A, Kjeldsen SE, Kiowski W, Mallion JM, Manolis A, Narkiewicz K, Nilsson P, Olsen MH, Rahn KH, Redon J, Rodicio J, Ruilope L, Schmieder RE, Struijker-Boudier H, van Zwieten PA, Viigimaa M and Zanchetti A. Reappraisal of European guidelines on hypertension management: a European Society of Hypertension Task Force document. J Hypertens 2009, 27:2121-2158. 10. Stamler J, Stamler R, Neaton JD: Blood pressure, systolic and diastolic, and cardiovascular risks: US population data. Arch Intern Med 1993;153:598-615. 11. Lewington S, Clarke R, Qizilbash N, Peto R, Collins R: Prospective Studies Collaboration: Age-specific relevance of usual blood pressure to vascular mortality: a meta-analysis of individual data for one million adults in 61 prospective studies. Lancet 2002;360:1903-1913. 12. Conen D, Ridker PM, Buring JE, Glynn RJ: Risk of cardiovascular events among women with high normal blood pressure or blood pressure progression: prospective cohort study. BMJ 2007;335:432-440. 13. Lawes CM, Van der Hoorn S, Rodgers A, for the International Society of Hypertension: Global burden of blood-pressure-related disease, 2001. Lancet 2008;371:1515-1518. 14. Zhang Y, Lee ET, Devereux RB, Yeh J, Best LG, Fabsitz RR, Howard BV: Prehypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease risk in a population-Based Sample: The Strong Heart Study. Hypertension 2006;47:410-414. 15. de Galan BE, Perkovic V, Ninomiya T, Pillai A, Patel A, Cass A, Neal B, Poulter N, Harrap S, Mogensen CE, Cooper M, Marre M, Williams B, Hamet P, Mancia G, Woodward M, Glasziou P, Grobbee DE, MacMahon S, and Chalmers J on behalf of the ADVANCE Collaborative Group. Lowering Blood Pressure Reduces Renal Events in Type 2 Diabetes. J Am Soc Nephrology. 2009;20(4):883-92. 16.Ninomiya T., Perkovic V., de Galan B., Zoungas S, Pillai A, Meg J., Patel A., Cass A., Neal B., Poulter N., Mogensen CE, Cooper M., Marre M., Williams B., Hamet P. Mancia G., Woodward M., MacMahon S. and Chalmers J., on behalf of the ADVANCE Collaborative Group. Albuminuria and Kidney Function Independently Predict Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes in Diabetes. J Am Soc Nephrology. 2009;20(8):1813-21. 17.Devereux RB, Wachtell K, Gerdts E, Boman K, Nieminen MS, Papademitriou V, Rokkedal J, Harris K, Aurup P, Dahlöf B: Prognostic significance of left ventricular mass change during treatment of hypertension. JAMA 292:2350-2356, 2004 18. Ruggenenti P, Fassi A, Ilieva AP, Bruno S, Iliev IP, Grusegan V, Rubis N, Gherardi G, Arnoldi F, Ganeva M, Ene-Iordache B, Gaspari F, Perna A, Bossi A, Trevisan R, Dodesini AR, Remuzzi G, Bergamo Nephrologic Diabetes Complications Trial (BENEDICT) Investigators: Preventing microalbuminuria in type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med 351:1941-1951, 2004 19. Ruggenenti P, Iliev I, Costa GM, Parnasova A, Perna A, Giuliano G, Motterlini N, Ene-Iodarche B, Remuzzi G. The BENEDICT Study Group. Preventing left ventricular hypertrophy by ACE inhibition in hypertensive patients with type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care 31:1629-1634. 2008. 20. American Diabetes Association: Executive Summary: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes 2008. Diabetes Care 31 (Suppl 1):S5-S11, 2008 21. Julius S, Nesbitt SD, Egan BM, Weber MA, Michelson EL, Kaciroti N, Black HR, Grimm RH, Messerli FH, Oparil S, Schork MA, Trial of Preventing Hypertension (TROPHY) Study Investigators: Feasibility of treating prehypertension with an angiotensin-receptor blocker. N Engl J Med 354:1685-1697, 2006 22. Duprez DA: Role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in vascular remodeling and inflammation: a clinical review. J Hypertens 24:983-991, 2006 23. Leung PS: Mechanisms of protective effects induced by blockade of the renin-angiotensin system: novel role of the pancreatic islet angiotensin-generating system in Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Med 24:110-116, 2007 24. Elliot WJ, Meyer PM: Incident diabetes in clinical trials of antihypertensive drugs: a network meta-analysis. Lancet 369:201-207, 2007 You may send an e-mail here should you wish to receive pubmed links to abstracts of articles or articles listed in reference.
Vol8 N°13
Treatment of prehypertension in high cardiovascular risk population César Cerezo, MD, Luis M Ruilope, MD Hypertension Unit, Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain Correspondence to: Luis M Ruilope, MD,Hypertension Unit,Hospital 12 de Octubre Av.Córdoba s/n,28041 Madrid,Spain Telephone: +34 91 3908198;Fax: +34 91 3908035;E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Our mission: To reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease.
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© 2020 European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved.


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LNK Boxing returned to live action on FightBox once again on 23.03.2019 from the Latvian capital of Riga for "Fight Night 11". The main event featured Latvian superstar Kaspars Kambala who made his return to the ring after several years. The full results for the evening can be found below.
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Kristaps Zutis (Latvia) def. Jevgenijs Vidro (Latvia) by TKO
Kickboxing Rules, WKN Title Fight, 5x3 min
Zaurs Dzavadovs (Latvia) def. Jozef Kolodzej (Slovakia) by TKO
Boxing Rules, 6x3 min
Nikolajs Grisunins (Latvia) def. Mate Kristof (Hungary) by TKO
Boxing Rules, 8x3 min
Ricards Bolotniks (Latvia) def. Patrick Mendy (UK) by decision
Boxing Rules, 4x3 min
Kaspars Kambala (Latvia) def. Aliaksandr Niakhaichyk (Belarus) by KO
To see a list of upcoming live events on FightBox, click here.


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This week is all about simplicity! I am finding that I have drifted, as I often do, into the world of complicated therefor making things unnecessarily difficult for myself. I shared in a previous post some of the things that I do to bring me back to my center but this also sums it up in a nice and neat little package. I feel like I need this taped everywhere in my line of sight! Being analytical can get tricky, but if you remember these tips, you can always find your place back to the simple life!
Until next time 💋


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The spring/summer 2015 campaign images are starting to trickle in and has just revealed Madonna as its face for the new season.
Snapped by Mert Atlas and Marcus Piggott, the photos are a celebration of her as much as the clothes. 'Madonna is one of the true icons of Versace,' says Donatella Versace. 'I am thrilled to have my friend and the most powerful and directional artist as the face of Versace for Spring 2015.'
The love between Madge and Versace runs deep - this is the fourth campaign that she's starred in for the label, released 20 years after she appeared in her first. 'It's always exciting to be dressed head to toe in Versace and experience first-hand Donatella's vivid imagination and passion that she has created for this collection,' she says.
Watch Madonna's ELLE cover film


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Freelance features writer and correspondent based between London and Athens, Greece
'Their ideas had no place here': how Crete kicked out Golden Dawn
Teachers and activists in Heraklion explain how they drove the ultra-nationalist, far-right Greek party from the island
What it takes to be young, Greek and able to pay your bills
Contending with one of the world's worst labour markets, many Greek millennials are ditching dreams of creative, specialised work. Instead, they're making a plan B to get by.
How Crete changed the course of World War Two
The Cretan Resistance caused significant damage to German morale and is likely one of the reasons why Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union was unsuccessful.
Coming home after 130 years
When a Syrian stonemason and his family were granted asylum in Greece last year they immediately made their way to the island of Crete - completing a journey begun by their great-grandparents 130 years ago.
What's fuelling Athens' burgeoning startup scene?
A growing number of tech entrepreneurs are breathing new life into the Greek capital
LGBT activists have a new weapon against Russia's 'gay propaganda' law: YouTube influencers
An activist group is spreading positive messages about the LGBT+ community in Russia with the help of some of the country's YouTubers
The Teen Refugees Starting Their Own Zine From a Squat in Greece
The Plaza Girls describe themselves as "anti-fascist and anti-patriarchy."
When Your iPhone Reinforces Sexism
Tech is created by humans, and it's vulnerable to our biases and stereotypes.
A Muslim-American Therapist on How Islamophobia Affects Her Clients' Lives
The fear of hate crime puts many Muslims on constant alert.
How Greece is reversing brain drain
Could venture capitalists offer Greece's young talent a way to return home?
How Syrians are keeping their culture alive in Berlin
Syria has been shattered by conflict since March 2011; more than 5 million people have been forced to flee the country and rebuild their lives elsewhere. I travelled to Berlin to hear the stories of three Syrian refugees who now call the city home and are working hard to keep their culture alive in the German capital.
The 13 best things to do in Crete
Hike a gorge, eat snails, sip raki and sunbathe on a pink beach—these are just a few of the best things to do in Crete
The 21 best things to do in Greece
Visit ancient ruins, seaside villages and more can't-miss attractions with our guide of the best things to do in Greece
Ireland's abortion referendum has been a long time coming for campaigners
There have been brilliant women working on the issue for decades. Jessica Bateman talked to Ann Rossiter, who has been helping Irish women access abortions since the 1980s
12 Under-the-Radar Greek Islands You Need to Visit Before the Tourists Arrive
While some Greek islands are struggling with overtourism, these hidden gems are still low-key island paradises – for now.


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Culinary Arts Dean to Mentor Local High School Students for National ProStart Invitational | Community Spirit
Title (Max 100 Characters)
Five local high school students from the CS Monroe Technology Center, who will be competing in this year's National ProStart Invitational, are being mentored by Jordan Lichman, the dean of Culinary Arts and Hospitality at Stratford University. The dean, who has helped the students polish their eco-friendly menu, polish their verbal presentation, and adjust the layout their kitchen design, will meet with the students again on the morning of April 25 & 27.
"They are an incredibly dedicated, talented, and astute group of students who are taking their passion for great local, organic, and seasonal foods and designing a very realistic quick casual restaurant concept around it," explains Dean Lichman. "It's been a pleasure working with them because they not only have great ideas, they've dedicated the time and developed the computer and design skills to win."
The mentoring that the students have been receiving will help them in their quest to win the management competition in the National ProStart Invitational. The competition includes creating a restaurant proposal, giving a verbal presentation, and demonstrating how they would address day-to-day challenges in the field. Teams compete for a chance to win awards and scholarships for going on into a foodservice or restaurant industry career. In 2010, the competition provided $1.4 million in scholarships to culinary and management teams.
The National ProStart Invitational is its 10th year, with this years competition being held April 29-May 1, 2011, in Overland Park, Kan. There will be over 40 teams from all over the country competing.
"As someone who has worked in education, early stage venture capital, organic farming, start-up restaurants, and luxury hospitality, I am very confident in the CS Monroe team's ability to win the National Competition later this month," adds Dean Lichman.
Stratford University offers 31 degree and non-degree programs, including non-degree culinary workshops. They also offer a variety of degrees in culinary arts and hospitality management. Degrees offered include advanced culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, hotel and restaurant management, and hospitality management. Many programs are offered completely online.


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WPSP Hosts Inaugural Student Scholar Day
On Thursday, April 14th the Women in Public Service Project (WPSP) hosted its inaugural Student Scholar Day, an annual competition for students from WPSP partner colleges and universities who have conducted research in the field of women's leadership or political participation.
On Thursday, April 14th the Women in Public Service Project (WPSP) hosted its inaugural Student Scholar Day, an annual competition for students from WPSP partner colleges and universities who have conducted research in the field of women's leadership or political participation. This year's attendees included three students from Wellesley and Mount Holyoke Colleges who presented their findings on topics ranging from women's military history to the African Union's involvement in Burundi.
This annual event aligns with the WPSP's goal of equipping and promoting the next generation of female leaders. The students are invited to the Wilson Center to present their research, engage with scholars, and network with a vast array of DC-based governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The 2016 Student Scholars included: Anna Page from Wellesley College, Erica Carvell from Mt. Holyoke College, and Lisa de Sousa Dias, also from Mt. Holyoke College. Anna Page's presentation entitled, "Hatchets, Muskets, and Grit: American Origins of Women's Service in Direct Ground Combat Positions," analyzed three relatively unknown women in American military history: Hannah Duston, Deborah Sampson, and Sarah R. Wakeman. In her findings, Anna explained how each woman challenged the traditional notion of female "virtue" and the image of the archetypal 'American Girl.'
In Erica Carvell's presentation, "A Precarious Balance: Exploring Sino-U.S. Interplay in Burma/Myanmar," Erica explored Myanmar's ethno-nationalist movements and their impact on national unity. Key questions included Myanmar's relationship with China as Myanmar emerges from 60 years of military rule and opens its doors to Western investment and bilateral relations.
Lisa de Sousa Dias presented on "Understanding the African Union's Non-Intervention in Burundi," which questioned the motives and aspirations behind the African Union's decision not to send peace-keeping troops to Burundi in January of 2016. Lisa also discussed her non-profit, Girls to Summit (GtS), which she co-founder with her sister. Girls to Summit strives to get more girls into politics by creating community-based networks and is active in the US and Tanzania.
Following their individual presentations, each student scholar met with Wilson Center Fellows to discuss their shared research interests and career trajectories. The students also participated in an hour-long "speed networking session" with representatives from the UN Foundation, the Center for Democracy in the Americas, the Women's Learning Partnership and Georgetown University's Institute for Women, Peace and Security. The students were able to ask questions on their career aspirations and receive feedback on potential career opportunities and goals.
The WPSP would like to thank its partners and the 2016 student scholars for a thoughtful and enlightening day of academia and exemplary leadership. Research submissions for the 2017 Student Scholar Day will open on September 19, 2016. The competition is open to all students of WPSP partner schools who have conducted research on women in public service or women's leadership. Paper submissions must be at least 1,000 words, be properly citied and contain a bibliography. Please contact us at email@example.com with any questions regarding this competition.
Related Program
Global Women's Leadership Initiative
The Global Women's Leadership Initiative has hosted the Women in Public Service Project at the Wilson Center since June, 2012. The Women in Public Service Project will accelerate global progress towards women's equal participation in policy and political leadership to create more dynamic and inclusive institutions that leverage the full potential of the world's population to change the way global solutions are forged. Read more


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This is from a virgin install of LM Xfca 18bbaker6212 wrote:Good. At this point it's prob best to get back to a baseline - especially since this may just be a configuration issue. I would focus on searching the Windows forums to try to find out where to get the touchscreen config parameters for the Hi12. Also try the XDA-Developers forum.
Code: Select all
destry@destry-Default-string ~ $ dmesg | grep -i goodix
[ 6.768243] Goodix-TS i2c-GDIX1001:00: ID 9111, version: 1060
[ 6.778790] Goodix-TS i2c-GDIX1001:00: Invalid config, using defaults
[ 6.779116] input: Goodix Capacitive TouchScreen as /devices/pci0000:00/808622C1:05/i2c-13/i2c-GDIX1001:00/input/input8
destry@destry-Default-string ~ $


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Several days a week, Master Gardeners staff the CCMGA Information Center answering horticultural questions from the public. Questions such as . . .
"How can I save my oak tree?"
"What will bloom in shade?"
"What berry varieties can I plant?"
These are just a few of the hundreds of questions answered by Master Gardeners through the CCMGA Information Center of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service – Collin County. These volunteers have received extensive training that enables them to give sound, research-based advice and have access to a library of horticultural reference books that enables them to look up answers to baffling questions. Volunteers are often able to provide PDFs, printed brochures or handouts as well.
Collin County Master Gardeners volunteer thousands of hours researching answers for those who call or email the office at 825 N. McDonald Street in McKinney.
EMAIL YOUR QUESTION: Click here to submit a question to the Information Center.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service – Collin County
825 N. McDonald Street, Suite 150
McKinney, Texas 75069
CALL US ON THE PHONE: (972) 548-4232 or Metro (972) 424-1460, x 4232


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Megan McArdle has a post up on the tax system, but says this in the post:
I'm not angry and bitter; I'm about as mad as I am at the prospect of people who bought homes they can't really afford getting a bailout while I continue renting–which is to say, not very. Life is rather too short to spend it getting angry at remote strangers.
I guess a lot of this was discussed following the famous Santelli rant, but it's worth noting that as yet (Senate vote is pending — who knows what they'll do to it), there are no people who bought homes they can't really afford getting a bailout. In fairness, Megan seems to acknowledge as much ("the prospect of"), but were this prospect to become a reality, it wouldn't change the fact that the two are pretty wildly different. On the one hand, you have financial service firms who were instrumental in magnifying the damage of the housing bubble wistfully dolling out bonuses financed by $300 billion from taxpayers, that in many cases will be larger than whatever "bailout" homeowners receive. Of course, this $300 doesn't include the other ways that people in the financial services have been bailed out, like today's announcement from the Treasury Fed committing $750 billion buying mortgage backed securities (this was in addition to $500 billion already spent).
On the other hand, the so-called "bailout" for homeowners allows bankruptcy judges to alter the terms of a mortgage once the lender and the bank have already tried to adjust the mortgage voluntarily. In other words, the "bailout" results in the decrease of a home's mortgage (and asset value, I'll add) after you go to bankruptcy court. The way people have been describing this, you'd think Barack Obama was going to come strolling down your street with a t-shirt gun loaded with wads of cash to make it rain on your irresponsible neighbors. In reality though, nobody wants to go to bankruptcy court, but I bet there are a lot of people who wouldn't mind receiving "retention" bonuses when they're quite lucky to even have a job. The two aren't even remotely close. (I know people are arguing that there's demand for these AIG workers elsewhere, and that if their departure could bring to bear disaster. To which I would ask, $173 billion isn't disaster?)
I say all this fully understand that there are sound policy reasons to be bailout banks and homeowners, and I think these issues of fairness are secondary, but to suggest the level of unfairness is symmetrical is ludicrous.
UPDATE: Also want to point out the obvious that whatever you might say about owners buying homes they couldn't afford, it's not as if these people bought their homes on a credit card. That is, someone else looked at their finances and decided to give them a loan. Now, whether they were given a loan under the assumption the house could be sold several years later at a higher value, whether the loan officer just didn't care as long as they qualified, or whether the bank legitimately thought their new debtors could afford the home is basically immaterial insofar as the powers that be gave the loan a green light. Of course, this doesn't absolve the homeowner of total responsibility, but it's a bit of a stretch to suggest that this whole operation was the result of homebuyers run amock.


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The McMillan is housed in the historic bank hotel building, built in 1886. It used to be an old Wells Fargo downstairs and upstairs a hotel for travelers. We maintained much of the original structure inside. It is now the oldest standing building in historic downtown Flagstaff. Drink in the history…
We host an eclectic mix of DJs, bands, and performance artists for your auditory and dancing pleasure. From soulful funk and house music, elevated drum and bass, to live performances from rock bands and emcees, you'll never miss a beat!
(928) 774-3840
2 Historic Rte. 66
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Genuine Concepts gives back
monthly to local charities. That's
every 30 days!
Tell us a little about your organization and apply now.
We take pride in setting the table, pouring the drinks and most importantly… waiting on you.
View catering menu and venue


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15 March 2008
Detroit Landscape with Cement Silos, SOLD
click here to bid on eBay
Detroit Landscape with Cement Silos, oil on linen panel, 7"x5"
click on image to enlarge.
A classic Detroit landscape with Industrial Cement Silos. The trees give a sense of scale to the scene.
2 comments:
- craigstephens said...
Beautiful! I love the power pole.
Funny, we both painted silos today. The ones I did are rice silos.
- 16.3.08
- Stephen Magsig said...
Thanks Craig, Really like what you have been doing lately. Your landscapes are so strong remind me of Marsden Hartley. I didn't realize
you had been doing the daily painting so long!
- 17.3.08
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Colours available – Yellow / Blue / Red / Black
If you've ever dealt with a harness that doesn't fit properly, hurts your back, rides up too high, shifts from side to side, squeezes your waist under load or inhibits your range of motion, Ride Engine's hard-shell harness is your problem solver.
The magic lies in Ride Engine's innovative hard-shell design that locks firmly into your lumbar and spreads load evenly across your back and sides. Based on hundreds of custom molds taken from riders' backs, the shell provides unrivaled ergonomics and allows for a low-profile, high-performance fit that will literally change your entire kiteboarding experience.
The Hex Core model is made from injection honeycomb core technology. This creates the super strong but light weight shell that the rest of the harness is built around. When compared to the Carbon Elite model, the Hex Core is slightly more flexible. For freestyle and unhooked riding, pair the Hex Core harness with our standard fixed-hook spreader bar. For surfing and general hooked-in freeriding, pair it with our metal or carbon slider bar.
2017 Updates:
• Improved waist belt with reworked spreader bar integration system
• Upgraded backplate stitching for increased durability
• Neoprene added to the interior of the waistbelt for added comfort and cushion
• Kite knife pocket added
• New sizes added: XS through XXL now available
• Hard-shell construction
• Precision fit
• Lumbar Lock
• Low profile
• Fusion foam
• Integrated waist belt
• Speed-loop closure
• Kite knife pouch


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Participant selection & pre-training
Today, over 5 million people are living with some form of paralysis due to injury to the nervous system. The importance of selecting a particular SCI subject population for specific treatment strategies was highlighted early as an important step in targeting paralysis. This strategy emphasized the need to determine which subpopulation of people living with SCI might benefit the most from personalized regenerative therapies including cellular transplantation trials. Even at that time, it was clear that the SCI subject population was heterogeneous and the use of specific interventions targeting selective therapeutic targets might be critical when considering treatment strategies. Also, the need for various training and rehabilitation strategies specifically for those with chronic injuries was emphasized to ensure significant cardiovascular or skeletal integrities supporting increased function. Today, our educational and clinical trial programs have accumulated a listing of over 1400 persons living with paralysis due to SCI whom are interested in clinical trials. This secured registry contains information about injury characteristics that is useful for selecting specific subgroups of SCI for different studies. The ability to identify specific SCI groups to participate in clinical studies allows the Miami Project to conduct hypothesis driven research that provides a platform for future multicenter clinical trial with colleagues throughout the world. We acknowledge and thank all of our volunteers for participating in our research studies.
With these goals in mind, The Miami Project initiated a conditioning rehabilitation program on the first floor of the Lois Pope LIFE Center which prepares subjects for potential cell therapies including Schwann cell transplantation. The important topic of aging with paralysis has also been recently emphasized and stresses the need for good dietary and exercise programs to inhibit or reduce established co-morbidities associated with SCI including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes. On any given day of the week, individuals are working out in our 1st floor facility using specialized equipment under the supervision of our expert staff and scientists. Conditioning strategies have already been reported to improve several indicators of cardiovascular function, strength, endurance, and metabolic function. Neurorehabilitation strategies to promote locomotor and arm and hand function have been implemented using cutting edge approaches as well as state-of-the-art robotic systems. Thus, individuals can undergo a variety of multimodal tasks to enhance function that will help prepare them for the intensive rehabilitation strategies that will be required to promote healthy aging or enhance cellular and molecular processes including circuit plasticity with cellular transplantation approaches.
In this regard, a special program called "The Miami Boot Camp" has been initiated that is assessing multimodal training paradigms for future candidates for cellular transplantation treatments. Over several weeks, individuals that meet specific inclusion criteria are put through a concentrated program to monitor and improve specific outcomes such as motor function, sensory dysfunction, and endurance. It is also envisioned that similar training and neurorehabilitation approaches will be used after the transplantation procedures to enhance regenerative processes and ultimately increase treatment potential. The combining of multimodal rehabilitation approaches including a pre-and post-surgery training strategy is now a reality as we continue to move our FDA approved cell therapy programs forward.


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Are you considering selling it? Don't spend your own time advertising and showing your aircraft when you can have Moyer Aviation's professional staff sell it for you. In most cases, we can get a better price for your aircraft without the aggravation of trying to do it yourself. We handle everything, from advertising and caring for your aircraft like it is our own while it is in our care.
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Jun 24, 2016
On this week's Three Guys, the Beards talk with Ted Adams, the creator and publisher of IDW Comics (and games, and TV and more.) We also discuss Game of Thrones' The Battle of the Bastards, the end of Penny Dreadful and the life and talent of Darwyn Co...
Jun 1, 2016
The beards talk with up and comic comic artist Ashley A. Woods about cases of mistaken identity, Captain America, Black Panther, gender and race in comics and movies, and about her work on Niobe, a comic that YOU should be reading. :)


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An easy way to make Docky Themes(noob friendly)
Do you love docky?but yeah you can't find a theme that suits you tastes.Hre is a Tutorial for making Docky Themes-
1)Press Alt+F2 or fire up the terminal
2)Enter this command-gksu nautilus /usr/share/docky/themes
3)Enter your password
4)Copy the theme's folder that you want as base.e.g. I chose the HUD Theme
5)Paste it there
6)Rename it to whatever you like.e.g.I renamed HUD(2) to Trans
7)Open the folder and modify the contents with GIMP or Inkscape(I prefer it because it is easy)
8)Do Compress it as a .tar.gz and post it on Gnome-Look so others can use it.
Let me know the Theme you have created(with links please) and your thoughts on this article in the Comments.
Here is a theme I created with this technique-