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Inspired by a post on Sepia Mutiny titled Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens, we're taking a look at Pakistan. Suddenly after September 11, the most important fact about Pakistan was that it was an ally. Discover a ring trafficking nuclear material? Pakistan is an ally. Al Quaeda hiding out in the mountains? Pakistan is an ally.
Not that Pakistan isn't an ally, but what's going on? Pakistan is implicated in bombings in London and Egypt; President Pervez Musharraf appears in a press conference and tells the world that Al Quaeda no longer exists in Pakistan. Doesn't it sound like the president is protesting too much?
And then, today, the BBC reports that Pakistan is expelling foreign students from its madrassas. Housecleaning or power consolidation?
Update, 1/19/05, 12:38 pm
Robin here. We're picking up this show again after last week's air strike , which killed as many as 18 people (who may or may not have been civilians). One of our potential guests pointed out that this airstrike marks an unusual occurance – military action inside the borders of an ally. It raises a lot of questions we hope to answer in the show, including, why didn't we ask Musharraf to take out these guys, as we might have of another ally?
Ambassador Husain Haqqani
Author, Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military
Director, Center for IR, Boston University
Christine Fair
Program Officer, US Institute of Peace
Beena Sarwar
Op-Ed and Features Edtor for the Pakistani daily News International
Current Fellow, Neimann Foundation for Journalism, Harvard University
Chris's Interview with Pakistani Blogger Omer Alvie (6.7 mb mp3)
Pakistan-born Omer Alvie studied in the US and now lives in Dubai. He plans to return to Pakistan –- for good — eventually. Alvie has been turning a critical eye on the American media in his blog The Olive Ream.
I am critical of America because I love it. I'm angry that there are American soldiers dying. You export your culture — we wear your clothes, we speak your language, we watch your Hollywood films — we are part of the scene. I am part of the US scene and so I have a right to criticize the US —- to demand something of it.
Omer Alvie, in a phone interview with Chris Lydon, 1/19/06
Alvie suggests a couple of blogs to understand Pakistan:
The Fountainhead
Teeth Maestro
What we're reading for this
Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military, Husain Haqqani
Beena Sarwar's articles at Chowk
Global Voices: Pakistan
Global Voices: World Blog Aggregator
Wikipedia entry explaining Madrassa
Wikipedia entry on Pakistan and General Musharraf
Pakistan for Beginners: 3, with Omer Alvie
Click to listen to Chris's conversation with Omer Alvie (17 minutes, 8 MB MP3) But suppose this were a realistic novel! Just think what else I might have to put...
Pakistan 2.0
Click to listen to Chris's conversation with Sabahat Ashraf (35 minutes, 17 MB MP3) Pakistan is different, as you remember. Usually, we speak of a country having an army. ...
26 thoughts on "Pakistan"
Ben Sen Dan Foley says:
These countries have distinct histories that need to be taken into account. I was in Pakastan back in the old Hippie Days when we used to travel from India through the Kyber Pass to Central Asia–as were thousands of young Americans at the time. Of all those Moslem countries, i.e. Pakastan, Afganistan, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey–Pakistan was by far the most corrupt, lawless, and rapacious. It had little civil order. A vast number of the population were the result of the partition with India, which formed a displaced sub-caste with little allegiance to the country. For instance, if you didn't protect your women, ever minute of every day, they would literally be attacked by the men who simply thought all Western Women were 'whores.' They all had equal access to the information that would tell them otherwise–do it wasn't just a Moslem thing. By contrast, Afganistan was the most 'civilized,' even though they were the only nation in Central Asia that wasn't colonized. Go figure.
CyberNaz says:
The angle on Pakistan is wrong. These paragraphs above are not a invitation for discussion but a promotion of some propoganda.
Pakistan has its own internal problems and only its people know how to fix those. Expelling foreign students or not is nobody's business. Do not try to find excuses and lump unrelated issues to fabricate non-existing matters.
President of Pakistan is not protesting nor he has to. You are trying to discuss issues without context and half-assed knowledge. Its rigjht for President to say that Al-Qaeda doesn't exist in Pakistan, it went back to its home country – Washington DC, in Pentagon.
The corruption in Pakistan and India are the left overs of the British occupation – Thank you bastards ! And the post by Ben Sen Dan Foley here about Pakistani men protecting their women is an absolute exageration – again knowledge coming out of the ignorants – something comon in the US main stream media and propogandists.
US used Pakistan to destroy Russia and also maneuvered to hold secret meetings with Chinese leader using the good offices of Pakistan way back in 1969. Hey, they help turn the undeserving cowards into a world power for now… yet you ask this question??? Shame on you – ummmm cowards!
Shaman says:
Pakistan, like Iran, is much too myterious for our own good.
It is the country, lest we forget, where the first of many internet beheadings (Daniel Pearl) began. Also it is the apparently somewhat comfortable home of "Osama bin hidin'"
I wonder. What was the general direction of Pakistan prior to 9-11 ? More dictatorship or more liberalism?
And how has the 'war against terrorists' affected the likely course of this important country?
Also how would a repeat attack the size of 9-11 by bin Laden affect our relationship with Pakistan? Would the US invade in order to find him?
Such are the Bizarre times we are living in.
I am looking forward to the discussion.
Syed says:
The headlines of articles about Musharraf's comments were misleading. He didn't say Al-Qaeda had been destroyed, just that its command-and-control communications network had been "shattered" and reduced to a "courier network"
He was doubtful that the blast in Egypt was the work of Pakistanis, and he turned out to be right. http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/pakistan-cleared-of-links-to-blasts/2005/07/27/1122143906449.html?oneclick=true
To Shaman, who said
>"Pakistan, like Iran, is much too myterious [sic] for our own good."
It's a surprise that we're so mysterious to you. Pakistan's official language is English. There are online Pakistani newspapers that you can read. You can find thousands of articles in English, written by Pakistanis of all stripes. Government websites are in English. It's all there waiting for your perusal.
The internet was supposed to open us up and bring us all closer together. Instead it seems to have created a means for opinionated people to find other people like themselves, and ideological echo-chambers, to confirm whatever prejudices they may have. Speaking for myself, I don't feel that people outside Pakistan are now more understanding of us. Quite the opposite.
>"It is the country, lest we forget, where the first of many internet beheadings (Daniel Pearl) began. Also it is the apparently somewhat comfortable home of "Osama bin hidin'�"
We're a country of over 160 million people. The one-in-a-million gruesome incident shouldn't define us.
It's like saying that "the USA is *the* country of serial killers, like the homosexual pedophile cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer. A country where the post office working conditions are so harsh, every now and then a postal worker goes berserk, bringing automatic weapons to work and going on a homicidal shooting spree. "
See how misleading and prejudiced that is? That's how I feel when people talk about my country.
>"What was the general direction of Pakistan prior to 9-11 ? More dictatorship or more liberalism?"
More liberalism, a trend that is continuing, silly media sensationalism notwithstanding.
>"how has the 'war against terrorists' affected ..?"
The Pakistani people didn't like Musharraf giving the US the use of Pakistani airbases. Musharraf's approval rating fell to 51% in October 1999. People were mostly opposed to the US invasion of Afghanistan, especially after the anti-Pakistan "Northern Alliance" took power instead of the pro-Pakistan "Eastern Alliance" which collapsed when its leader Abdul Haq was killed by the Taliban. The "Northern Alliance" was perceived to be dominated by anti-Pashtun groups, leading to the rise of the anti-US MMA party in the Pashtun-majority North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. That feeling has subsided somewhat since the Afghan elections, which resulted in greater Pashtun representation in the Afghan government. More recent independent polls show that Musharraf's approval rating has recovered.
>"how would a repeat attack the size of 9-11 by bin Laden affect our relationship with Pakistan?"
We're increasingly angry at these religious-heretic militants who claim to berepresenting Islam while killing innocents. On the other hand, there's many people in Pakistan in denial about Bin Laden and think he didn't do 9/11. The government isn't protecting him, it's going after him and his fighters. They've turned over about 700 Al-Qaeda to the USA. If they ever find out exactly where he is, they'll get him. But how do you find him if he's in somebody's basement? It took you guys a long time to find Christian terrorist Eric Rudolph.
>" Would the US invade in order to find him?"
If you can take him out surgically, without killing innocent Pakistanis, I think many Pakistanis citizens, and the authorities might say: go for it. Or there might be a combined US-Pakistan op. How will you find him, though?
As for invasion, Pakistan has over a hundred nukes, mostly uranium-based, miniaturized warheads, which means they're undetectable and you don't know where they may be. A catastrophically irrational escalation cannot be ruled out. So, no invasion is likely.
Oops. I meant to put quotes around "Christian terrorist." I didn't mean to say that Eric Rudolph was representative of, or normative for, as a Christians or Christianity.
"It's a surprise that we're so mysterious to you. …It's all there waiting for your perusal…I don't feel that people outside Pakistan are now more understanding of us. Quite the opposite. "
And my mistake was to ask a series of questions?
C'mon. You can't mean that.
Peel the onion a few more layers … go beyond blaming the media and Pakistani websites.
Pakistan is in an unbearably precarious position.
And with any number of sinister moves by certain terrorists it could topple tomorrow.
"[…] blaming the media and Pakistani websites"
Huh? where did I blame the media and Pakistani websites?
"And my mistake was to ask a series of questions? […] C'mon. You can't mean that."
Of course I don't fault you for merely asking questions. I'm just expressing what most Pakistanis feel: we're sick of the subject of terrorism. We're the world's sixth most-populous country. There's a lot more, vastly more, going on in Pakistan than would be implied by the questions you asked. Questions frame the discourse, and while I did answer all your questions, I'd like to say that I prefer talking about all the good things happening in Pakistan.
Did you know, for example, that Pakistan grew at a rate of nearly 8.4% in the last fiscal year, making it the second-fastest growing economy (after China) among the ten most populous nations of the world? That it's the first Muslim country to elect a woman as head of government?
I'm in my mid-forties. Ever since I started reading non-Pakistani newspapers, about thirty years ago, I've been reading that the sky is falling in Pakistan, or that the country is precariously teetering on a precipice. When the sky doesn't fall, there doesn't seem to be much reflection on the failed doom-and-gloom predictions of yesteryear. Perhaps the sky isn't as fragile as they say it is?.
Consider that Pakistan's GDP has grown every year since the recession of 1951. Fifty-four consecutive years of positive economic growth! True, it was an extremely poor country when it was born in 1947, and one could almost say that there was nowhere to go but up. However, many other poor countries did slump, while Pakistan's economy kept growing. Of the top hundred stock markets in the world, Pakistan's has been the best-performing market of this century. Large-scale manufacturing growth has been in double-digit territory recently. Ten years ago, most of Pakistan's villages didn't have electricity. Now about 85% do.
Revolutions happen when there's a widespread feeling that no progress is possible without a violent overthrow of the existing establishment. I'm not seeing that in Pakistan. People are talking not about revolution but about evolutionary changes and improvements.
The word "topple" implies that Pakistan is a precariously balanced object. It also evokes the "teetering on a precipice" imagery that I mentioned earlier. I think, however, that Pakistan is quite securely grounded.
Unless you know the country well, you might be surprised that it hasn't collapsed already. It just came through a 4-year drought, the severest in recorded history. Before 9/11, it was, in the words of Colin Powell, "sanctioned to the eyeballs" after its nuclear tests. Its exports were affected by the Asian financial crisis. A million-man troop buildup on the Indo-Pakistan border threatened, according to foreign observers, to erupt into a war that could go nuclear. There's a saying in finance that it's only when the tide goes out that you find out who's swimming naked. Well, the tide went out in a big way for Pakistan, and it turned out it wasn't naked after all. Despite all the economic shocks, Pakistan's economy, far from collapsing, proved to be resilient and even managed to grow a little, defying adversity.
Is Pakistan about "topple"? How many ways can I say this? Nope. Don't think so. Notgonnahappen.
umkumar says:
I think the whole issue of Pakistan is complex. Indians, who probably will have more opinions about Pakistan than any one else outside Pakis themselves, see Pakistan thru jaundiced eyes. There is just too much history between the two nations, joined at the hip till 1947.
For them, the very idea of Pakistan was traitorous, severing the country into two. From then on, India and Pakistan have always been at loggerheads. The Kashmir problem has worsened things and charges of terrorism fly back and forth.
Yet, the undeniable fact is that the two countrie share common cultures, including a common language.
They also have a very feudal system, like India, which breeds corruption and nepotism.
Yet, I cannot just tar the whole country with the same brush. I think it needs looking into: what the country thinks of itself, how it would like to present itself to the world.
This is crucial because the way Pakistan functions has repercussions on the behavior of India and we must remember these are nuclear-arms-ready nations. Also, it would be a shame that when India is making strides economically, Pakistan slips into the morass of religious fundamentalism.
iFaqeer says:
It would be nice to see ROO (may I call you that?) tackle Pakistan in a deeper way than usual. I have followed Chris's work both here and before this and he (and the team, I guess) seems to have a good handle on things in terms of what to ask etc.
As has been discussed above, Pakistan has sides to it that can seem mysterious–or just plain flabbergasting–but in my humble and not-so-unbiased opinion, the fact that Pakistan is where the rubber meets the road in the interaction between Islam and other faiths; between the rest of the world and Central Asia; and so on. Just as it is the place at the top of the news when the Soviet Union (or the Russian Empire, if you will) meets its limits of expansio; or when Fundamentalist Islam decides to take on The Far Enemy (you could even go back to the limits of how far The British Empire and Alexander were able to take their empires), in the same way and for the same reasons, it also has the potential be to be where the rest of the world engages in a positive way with Islam, with Central and South Asia and so on.
One effort I have been involved with precisely to help demystify Pakistan and help it engage with the rest of the world and vice versa is WikiPakistan (http://pakistan.wikicities.com , hosted by Wikia/WikiCities, a sister organization to the one that runs the WikiPedia). That project was not moving too fast till the earthquake hit. And then,…well, take a look:
http://pakistan.wikicities.com/wiki/Talk:Earthquake_10-05#History_of_this_Page
Will try to check in here once in a while.
Brendan's rhythmically clever tease got me wonderin' how a government that can't find within the borders it purports to rule the tall, charismatic Arab wanted for the mass murder of American civilians and surrounded by god-knows how many AK-47 wielding bodyguards can be called an ally.
Then, it came to me: YES! Pakistan IS an ally!
How, one might wonder, did I reach such a counterintuitive conclusion? How? Like this:
For starters, governments that tap the phones of internationally famous reporters (C. Amanpour) and persecute feeble news organizations (N.Y.Times, under threat of indictment) for reporting illegal actions by said government have a happy history here in the Western Hemisphere. The famous and charmingly named Banana Republics come to mind, governed so comically (think Woody Allen's BANANAS) by those morally upright entities called 'juntas'.
Now, every self-respecting junta needs a pretext to extend its righteous hold on power. No pretext serves better than: An Enemy Of The People. It doesn't matter whether the Enemy is foreign threat (the USA to Castro), or an internal threat (Allende's socialists to Pinochet's elitist Chile).
And no junta ever had it better than the double whammy of Hitler's Enemies, The Jews, and Stalin's Bolshevik Communism. Such a doubled Enemy is the Hall of Fame, the Livin' End, and, (for the baddest of them): the million-life Perfecta for every aspiring junta.
Enemies Of The People do WONDERS for juntas—like distracting the fearful citizenry from mundane issues like domestic policy. The Junta doesn't want the middle class whose loyalty they cultivate to notice that they'll have to pay more for grandma's health care now that the government has slashed the budget. And the Junta REALLY doesn't want all those sprawling subdivisions to hear the sound seeping over the borders from the 'gated communities'. What sound?
The 'pop' of all the corks from the spouts of all those Moet bottles every time the Junta pushes through another tax cut for their elite brethren.
So, can we not say that in Osama bin Laden's Al Quaida, God, in His infinite wisdom, has provided the Perfecta to G.W.Bush?
An Enemy both internal and external.
An Enemy perfect for television: visually sinister, and yet maddeningly shadowy.
Yea, verily, our Junta NEEDS Osama bin Laden—not in custody, no, never caught—but ever on the run. If Musharraf ever hands the bugger over to the CIA, then the Enemy Perfecta, and the Junta's claim to the Rogue's Hall of Fame collapses.
(A resolutely fearless democracy never did anything good for any junta, after all.)
Yes, Pakistan IS an Ally!
A little yellow bird says:
"Nikos": Yes, indeedy, every junta needs its "Goldstein" (a la "1984"); it needs a bin Laden, Jews, sodomites, an opposition party, migrant workers, an Evil Empire, etc.: any central organizing principle in the form of a bogeyman of some sort, whether partially real or wholly "imagineered", if you will, will serve…… "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." -H. L. Mencken……….Meanwhile, the real enemies are nearly never our fellow earthlings, but war itself; and those who would, and do, foment war. The same ruses work repeatedly through history. BTW, the indefatigable Justin Raimondo over at Antiwar.com today referred to Condi as "Neville Chamberlain in a skirt": hope the meme sticks!
bicyclemark says:
Having watched from behind my computer, as Musharraf went from military dictator to amazingly accepted civilian president… i find the situation quite shameful… specifically on the part of the United States. All the rhetoric about no more dictators and despots, Musharraf is no doubt from that generation and has behaved accordingly. The only difference is that the US and western allies have by convention decided to accept him as a legitimate leader, for whatever political and economic reasons. But no matter if he wears a suit or a uniform or if he shakes the hand of blair or bush… I still see the dictator who overthrew an elected leader and has somehow built a career on that.
avecfrites says:
Pakistan is seemingly an interesting contrast to the situation in many troubling places. In Iraq and North Korea [and maybe the U.S. 🙂 ], e.g., we wonder if the leaders are worse than the people, and what would happen if we could only replace the leadership. Would the freed people create a better life for themselves? In Pakistan, we wonder if the leadership is more enlightened than the people, and to what extent his hands are tied by the country he leads?
Or is this an illusion caused by Musharraf's ability to speak English well and seem reasonable?
More broadly, can Pakistan be fixed or de-fanged without a wholesale change in the prevailing culture?
"avecfrites": Ah, spoken like a true Empire-builder: "…can Pakistan be fixed or de-fanged without a wholesale change in the prevailing culture?" How about if the USA finally stops interfering in the affairs of sovereign nations and peoples all over the globe finally, and stops stirring up hatred for itself? We pay for more dictators and colonizing forces and satrapies and coups d'etat and establish permanent military presences in other lands and assassinate freely, democratically-elected statesmen and then wonder where the blowback comes from. Then we think of those people as savages when they shoot at us and self-detonate and take hostages. How arrogant to decide when or how or if a foreign land is to remake itself in the image of America–God's one true, promised land! Sieg Heil! "Gott Mit Uns" (God is with us in German) is what the Nazis' SS had inscribed on their belt-buckles. Just like Amerikkka has inscribed on its church billboards and its idiot bumperstickers now. F*** America now. It's fascist now.
Looking forward to this show. Impressive line-up of guests. I have watched and read Beena Sarwar over the years and Hussain Haqqani has had a partisan career as well as written unconventional things along the way.
One question that arises is who has their finger on the pulse of the nation itself; what is happening and is being discussed in the drawing rooms and "bait-haks" around the country?
Discussing Pakistan often centers on the discussion on the right of Pakistan. The protests of the airstrikes were labelled as being by "Islamists". But the news story I saw yesterday had a group of people who most definitely are not Islamists was:
http://www.dawn.com/2006/01/16/nat1.htm
Of the people:
"Faraz" [Ahmad Faraz, known just as "Faraz" as a poet] is probably the most well-regarded Urdu poet alive today. And an old-timer on the socialist side of things. Spent most of Gen. Zia (Pakistai military ruler during the Soviet-Afghan war)'s regime in exile.
Mr Minto, in the background in the picture, is the leader of a communist party.
Notice that they are tieing together the activity in the north of the country, which is directly related to the "War on Terror" with what is happening in the south-western province bordering Afghanistan (Balochistan), where Hamid Karzai spent most of his years in exile. My own blog posts on Balochistan over the last year or two have included:
http://ifaqeer.blogspot.com/2005/02/hold-presses-again-feedback-from.html
http://ifaqeer.blogspot.com/2005/02/war-crimes-rape-honor-and-being-pure.html
http://ifaqeer.blogspot.com/2005/03/bland-follow-up-part-deux.html
and most recently:
http://ifaqeer.blogspot.com/2006/01/of-islam-accountable-governments.html
Amongst the things I am looking about attacks is an NPR Talk of the Nation segment with a Clinton advisor:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5159459&ft=1&f=5
And before I forget, a group I work with here in the SF Bay Area, the Friends of South Asia, already have a statement/action going on the Balochistan issue:
http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/
Good description of FATA's legal status by Ms. Fair.
The back story in support for extremist "Islamists" is that BOTH the Pakistani and the American governments backed those extremists during the Soviet period. I mean, come on! Gulbuddin Hekmatyar already had a record of throwing acid in unveiled female faces.
About puppet regimes, everyone's been trying to put puppet regimes in that region going back to the Soviets, the Americans, the British…dare I go back further?
Kudos for Ms. Fair saying that "In Pakistan, one can be anti-Musharraf, anti-US and anti-Islamist" at the same time. And who speaks for them? That's what I meant by asking who would speak for the average Pakistani. Good to see that perspective being brought out.
11%. That's the figure I was waiting to hear. 😀
One thing I have to say is that Christine Fair keeps complimenting Hussain Haqqani, but the one thing that jumped out of listening to the show is her grasp and clarity on Pakistan and its society and politics. Kudos! In particular:
Ms. Fair's point about how many sitting members of the National Assembly are US citizens and Green Card holders needs investigating. Maybe we can put a list together at WikiPakistan [http://Pakistan.WikiCities.com], for example….
"Opposition of choice". Love the phrase Ms. Fair uses for the "Islamists".
Shge even brang up the Uighurs and China. That's actually one thing I'd like to hear more details about how that plays out in the region. Or is that too arcane an issue?
On other issues:
One thing most Pakistanis and people in the diaspora don't realize that Musharraf has appointed a former head of the country's major intelligence agency to head a re-write of educational curriculums. I mean, even if you love the ISI and intelligence agencies, what kind of citizen wants an intelligence agency-type person guide curriculums?
On Omar Alvie: "You don't expect it to happen." Huh? What? Hasn't this happened before? Come on! Let's keep it real here, huh?
His point about the role of government and about America is a necessary point. And bears saying. Good choice on who to quote, there, Chris and team.
Great program! Wow, that went fast!!
tbrucia says:
I find it very weird that (many) Americans are puzzled that Pakistanis are upset about the missile attack in Damadola… Imagine that the Pakistan government discovered a group of Indian extremists in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Imagine that they decided to 'take them out' because this group was planning to assassinate the Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations. And imagine that the Pakistani government decided to use a bomb to kill the 'terrorist cell' in Pennsylvania. Now imagine that it decided not to tell the American government that it was launching this 'preemptive' attack. And, finally, imagine that a dozen kids coming home from grade school, a crossing guard, and several moms standing on their front porches were killed by the Pakistani bomb. Would Americans be upset? I doubt that would even come close to describing the public's feelings. And I doubt reassurances that the kids and moms were just 'collateral damage', accidentally caught up in the destruction of a dangerous terrorist cell would do much to quell the anti-Pakistani clamor. — Yes, I find it very weird that (many) Americans are puzzled that Pakistanis are upset about the missile attack in Damadola.
Potter says:
One "issue" that did not rise much from the "murk" was why Pakistan ( and okay India as well) will not let go of Kashmir, another place on Earth of wondrous beauty threatened by war. Why wouldn't an independent Kashmir be better for all concerned? Training camps set up for fighters to go to Kashmir provide fighters/terrorists for other purposes as well as was mentioned. ( Remember our boy John Walker Lindh was offered the option to go to fight in Kashmir by Bin Laden's men.)
I recommend listening to the clip above of blogger Omer Alvie. I followed the link to his web site where to my astonishment he has issued a long apology about it having to do with his shortcomings that I could not detect. Apparently the interview went on for an hour but here we have only a few minutes of it which are very worthwhile. We need more such bridges,
The exchange above between Shaman and Syed from this summer is good.
If Pakistanis do not hate us only our government's foreign policy, then they are not holding us accountable for putting our government in office. Do they understand the imperfections of our system or are they judging us on the imperfections of their own? It always amazes me to hear how others like us but hate our government.
Perhaps If they hated us all more it might be better for us ( we would care more, ask more questions). Remember after 9/11 all those questions that were being asked and answered, "Why Do They Hate Us?" and serious articles about "empire", in the media? Gone.
sidewalker says:
A couple of comments on the show and the discussion. First I thought this show, like the Sharon show, was too closed sourced. I'm not seeking a left-right type debate, god forbid, but a greater variety of perspectives to open the discussion. In the Pakistan show, it seemed that Christine Fair was mostly an apologist or disciple of Ambassador Husain Haqqani, though she did, in fairness, expand on his ideas. Why was there not an Islamic point of view or two represented (since there are many Islamic discourses)? I could be asking for too much, since I do not know exactly what goes into producing a segment. Also, in a way, this discussion board does allow for additional points of view. Hmmm… Second, since this is an American-based production, it will inevitably be at this time all about the war (of) terror, Osama, and Islam, but there is much more about Pakistan that would be intriguing to explore without having to always come back to US geo-politics.
As for some points raised in the discussion, I would agree with Syed that the "Mysterious East" approach should be a thing of the past. I might suggest that it seems more mysterious that an "informed" US public (not one brainwashed in Islamic schools!) and many of their checked and balanced political representatives rapidly endorsed an illegal war in Iraq with little debate just because the president got on the TV and talked tough. Oops! Sorry for the Occidentalism. Also, Umkumar suggests that the "whole issue of Pakistan is complex." I thought Pakistan was a country, a society, a diaspora, part of the global political economy, etc.; not an issue to be discussed and wrapped up in some nice box.
sidewalker wrote: "I thought this show, like the Sharon show, was too closed sourced".
I could be wrong (wouldn't be the first time, nor the last), but it seems to me that YOU're the 'open source' (as are the rest of us) that Chris, Brendan, Katherine, (and their newbie interns) name in the show's title.
Brendan? (I KNOW you're reading this!) Is this so, or am I mistaken (yet again)?
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I'd been thinking about getting out onto the clear surface of Lake Tahoe for a few weeks. While Tahoe is beautiful all year, in the winter it is sometimes relegated to the lovely background while we are playing on the snow. But lately, while peering through my window at the lake while driving through Tahoe City, I began to make plans to more intimately reunite with my summertime love. When the Sunnyside web cam showed perfectly calm conditions, I quickly dragged the kayak from the basement and got onto the lake.
A mid May kayak on Lake Tahoe is a glorious thing. Sure the water temperature is a brisk 50 degrees, but even late morning on a calm sunny day there are very few boats out on the water. I set out from Sunnyside at about 10:30 am and saw only 3 boats over the next hour and a half of paddling. And never felt a boat wave. Try that when the water temp is 70 degrees in July.
I paddled past some of Tahoe's oldest and most gracious lakefront estates towards Ward Creek and Hurricane Bay. Most of the homes were still ensconced in the slumber of winter, but a few folks were beginning to stir around the grounds, dusting out the cobwebs and getting ready for summer. It was eerily quiet with the only sounds the distant murmur of traffic on West Lake Blvd., and the rhythm of my paddles.
At Ward Creek, I made my way upstream a hundred yards to rapids, then turned around and let the water that was snow on the Pacific Crest a few hours earlier push me swiftly back into the lake. Then I gently floated by more classic estates to the pebbly shoreline at Hurricane Bay, my turn around spot, and another great place to put your kayak in.
Instead of hugging the shore on the way back I headed straight across the deep blue waters of the middle of the bay. There is something about gliding just a few inches above a sheet of several hundred foot deep water to get you a bit confused about which end is up. It was all cerulean blue everywhere I looked and I began to feel like I was at the center of the universe…just another great day at Lake Tahoe.
And speaking of a great day at Tahoe…perhaps plan on kayaking or paddleboarding on the morning of May 25th and then head to Sunnyside in the afternoon for the deck opening party. There you will find live music and a silent auction and raffle benefiting the Sunnyside Scholarship Fund supporting our local college bound North Tahoe High School kids.


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All my readers are gathered together in San Diego - so if a Moe talks and no one is there to listen and tell her she's funny and her updates are enjoyed, does it make it worth it? I sit here missing them all, but happy that they can be together. I thought that it would be so cool to surprise them - but, alas, I sit here making pies (cause I still try to have as many pies as people, or at least more than two!) and eating the extra pecans, wondering why I don't eat them more, they taste like crunchy butter.
We went to Chuck E. Cheese this week for a friends birthday and everyone loved it. Each one of my kids freaked out individually as they moved on a ride for the first time. I did a fair amount of rescuing, and then they all warmed up and were in love.
Except for this spaceship. This thing went pretty sideways and it was NEVER loved. It was avoided after. Wade played a racing game that he spent the whole time running his car into the wall and yelled at me every time I tired to help - which, he played about as good as me, so I guess the yelling was founded.
The next day we painted. This was the girls second time, it went way better than the first. But still ended up with them in the tub. And I'm calling myself a genius for leaving them in jammies, just peel them off and put all the paint mess in the wash. It proved smart when Jac layed over her paint plate. I looked at Blake painting pink on her eyes like makeup, and I told her that we don't put paint on our faces and she looked at me like "already figured that out, thanks mom."
And Wade in the background on that last one, so good. And this next one of Wade looks stupid, but he's showing the castle he painted - a big, beautiful castle.
We went to IKEA and they tried to adopt all the stuffed elephants. Sheesh, Wade! Open your eyes! Than they all fell asleep on the way home and I drove around and they took the best nap they.v had in a week.
We got out the Christmas stuff this week. I broke when Wade started decorating his room for Christmas, I just knew he'd love pulling out all the stuff! And he did. But not as much as the girls. They found these bells and used them as walkie talkies.
And it's been redecorated with nerf dart light covers.
Also, somehow Christmas decorations for Wade now include the peanut butter always being stolen away and stored on his dresser.
Jac tripped over Stella and said, "sorry Stella!" Look at those two words strung together - and then she went and gave Stella a kiss, and that crappy dog actually let her.
I gave everyone chips while we were in the car and Wade said, "Hey mom, I'm going to use my lap as a table, ok." Makes total sense to an adult, but he came up with that on his own - life as a toddler. He's also been really into Minnesota this week - he keeps saying he wants to go to Minnesota, to go inside and see how tall it is! I guess he thinks it's a place like a cool park?
Tried listening to a Christmas CD this week in the car and found an upside-down CD stuck in there - it still doesn't work, and I'm suspicious that there's another one stuck too. Kids are great.
I made dinner at 3:00 PM this week. No one napped and it was overcast and it felt like it had to be late, so I made dinner without looking at the clock. And I mean, it was done at three, not started at three.
Yes, girls have decided that naps are no longer a daily requirement. It's nice cause they go to bed early, but then they wake up around 11:00 PM thinking that they're nap is over. So....still working on that. Mostly I downloaded a tetris type app and I sit in their room waiting for them to fall asleep. I just set a new high score. I mean, for me...nothing like overall players ever, but give me time, these girls aren't getting better the whole sleeping thing. Course, they are sleeping now. Meaning I probably should too. Crap, just remembered I washed my sheets today and I need to make my bed.


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First Coast Florida 2004 Property Tax Millage Rate
Below is the 2004 millage rate used to calculate property taxes in Jacksonville.
For example: If your taxes total 19.61 mills and your home is assessed at $100,000, your property tax will be 19.61 x 100000/100 = $1,961 per year
Baker County…………………………………19.3329
Macclenny……………………………………….22.9829
Suwannee River………………………………..19.3623
Clay County……………………………………17.7986
Green Cove Springs……………………………20.4096
Keystone Heights………………………………19.7986
Orange Park…………………………………….22.7986
Penney Farms…………………………………..17.7986
Lake Asbury Water…………………………….17.7986 plus $100 per lot
Duval County…………………………………18.7534
(except Beach and Baldwin)
Jacksonville Beach…………………………….19.3698
Atlantic Beach…………………………………..18.5021
Neptune Beach………………………………….18.3627
Baldwin……………………………………………17.6797
Beaches Hospital……………………………….18.7534
Nassau County………………………………..17.2795
Callahan…………………………………………..19.4571
Fernandina Beach………………………………22.6993
Amelia Island…………………………………….22.6993
Amelia Island outside city limits…………….17.4455
Piney Island with mosquito control………..17.4455
Hilliard…………………………………………….17.0131
St. Johns County…………………………….16.2861
Hastings……………………………………………23.0861
Palm Valley & NW county……………………..16.2861
Ponte Vedra Beach………………………………16.6561
St. Augustine Shores……………………………16.2861
South Ponte Vedra & US 1 North area……..16.3537
St. Augustine……………………………………..21.7537
St. Augustine Beach……………………………..15.3537
St. Augustine Beach area outside city limits..16.3537
St. Augustine South lighting (no port)……….16.3921
St. Augustine South lighting (with port)…….16.3921
Marineland Area…………………………………..16.3537
Julington Creek Municipal……………………..16.2861
Julington Creek Plantation Comm. Dev. Dist..16.2861
Marshall Creek Community Dev. Dist. (302)..16.2861
Sampson Creek Community Dev. District…..16.2861
Elkton drainage…………………………………….16.2861
Hastings drainage in city limits………………..23.0861
Hastings drainage outside city limits…………16.2861
Flagler Estates road and draining district…..16.2861
Vilano Beach lighting……………………………..16.3767
Northridge Lakes Community Dev. District…16.3537
Source: Florida Property Appraiser Offices
U.S. Fastest Growing Counties
The 10 fastest growing counties in the United States by percent change from 2003 to 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau:
1) Flagler County, Fla., 10.1%
2) Kendall County, Ill., 8.3%
3) Loudoun County, Va., 8.1%
4) Hanson County, S.D., 7.9%
5) Lincoln County, S.D., 7.5%
6) Lampasas County, Texas, 7.3%
7) Lyon County, Nev., 7.2%
8) Camden County, N.C., 7.2%
9) St. Johns County, Fla., 6.7%
10) Dallas County, Iowa, 6.6%
Flagler County, Florida is the fastest-growing county in the United States, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. Its population grew by 10.1 percent from July 1, 2003, to July 1, 2004, adding 6,309 residents – the biggest percentage change in the country.
Kendall County, Ill., near Chicago, was second with an 8.3 percent increase.
The county with the highest numerical increase was Maricopa County, Ariz., which added 112,000 residents.
Situated between spring break capital Daytona Beach and the nation's oldest city, St. Augustine, Flagler County's population was 69,005 on July 1, 2004. That's more than double the 2000 population of 32,732, according to the Census.
The county's laid-back lifestyle, weather and golf courses have made it a Mecca for sun-starved retirees from the North.
While county officials are gleeful about the ranking and believe it will bring more businesses and industry to the area, local citizens are more circumspect about the downside of growth: traffic, urban sprawl, inadequate number of good jobs and a school system bursting at the seams.
Stephen Marro, executive director of Enterprise Flagler, a public-private economic development group, doesn't see any slowing of the boom, noting that the labor force has increased from 18,000 to 27,000 in the past 18 months.
Huge projects are on the horizon, including a $230 million golf course and resort, gated housing projects, condominiums and a new shopping mall. An elementary school and high school are being built and will open at full capacity.
Florida led all states with 14 counties among the nation's 100 fastest growing, according to the Census Bureau.
Other fast-growing counties were in the South or West. Loudoun, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C., ranked third in growth with rate of 8.1 percent. Two South Dakota counties, Hanson and Lincoln near Sioux Falls, were fourth and fifth fastest growing at 7.9 and 7.5 percent respectively, the Census Bureau reported.
Los Angles was again the most populous county with 9.9 million residents.
How to link two real estate tax shelters
The federal American Jobs Creation Act enables property owners to avoid paying capital gains taxes on their investment properties. They can use a like-kind exchange, also called a 1031 exchange, to avoid paying taxes when they sell the property, provided that they purchase another rental home within 45 days of the closing date.
To qualify for the capital-gains exemption on principal residences, meanwhile, owners must reside in the dwelling for at least two years during a five-year period. To apply this benefit to an investment property, they can either live in the home for five years themselves, or rent it for three years and live there for the remaining two.
After the five-year period is up, they can sell the residence and exclude $250,000 from their taxes if single or $500,000 if married and filing jointly.
Source: Investor's Business Daily
Building Permits Jumped in April 2005
The city issued 756 building permits for new single-family homes last month, up 31 percent from April 2004 (city's best month in three years.) The city issued an average of 520 permits a month for new single-family homes over the last year. The number for all building permits issued in April — for the new construction and renovation of homes and businesses — is up 11 percent from the same month last year.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Since late February 2003, CDC has been supporting the World Health Organization (WHO) in the investigation of a multicountry outbreak of atypical pneumonia being referred to as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
You are at risk of contracting SARS if you have returned from travel to parts of Asia, including China (Guangdong Province), Hong Kong, Singapore or Vietnam (Hanoi). Symptoms appear within 10 days of exposure. If you have been exposed and have symptoms you should see a doctor immediately.
Based on currently available evidence, close contact with an infected person poses the highest risk of the infective agent spreading from one person to another. To date, the majority of cases have occurred in hospital workers who have cared for SARS patients and close family members and other close contacts of these patients. However, the amount of the infective agent needed to cause an infection has not yet been determined. The SARS virus can live up to 4 days on a toilet seat.
The greatest protection is provided by the use of a surgical mask during any exposure – more effective than the use of a gown, gloves and hand washing combined.
Initial diagnostic testing for suspected SARS patients should include chest radiograph, pulse oximetry, blood cultures, sputum Gram's stain and culture, and testing for viral respiratory pathogens, notably influenza A and B and respiratory syncytial virus. A specimen for Legionella and pneumococcal urinary antigen testing should also be considered. Clinicians should save any available clinical specimens (respiratory, blood, and serum) for additional testing until a specific diagnosis is made. Acute and convalescent (greater than 21 days after onset of symptoms) serum samples should be collected from each patient who meets the SARS case definition. Paired sera and other clinical specimens can be forwarded through State and local health departments for testing at CDC. Specific instructions for collecting specimens from suspected SARS patients are available.
No specific treatment recommendations can be made at this time. Empiric therapy should include coverage for organisms associated with any community-acquired pneumonia of unclear etiology, including agents with activity against both typical and atypical respiratory pathogens. Treatment choices may be influenced by severity of the illness. Infectious disease consultation is recommended.
Patients with SARS may experience muscular stiffness.


Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy has been used extensively for the investigation of the conformation and configuration of chiral molecules, but its use for evaluating the mode of self-assembly in soft materials has been limited. Herein, we report a protocol for the study of such materials by electronic CD spectroscopy using commercial/benchtop instruments and synchrotron radiation (SR) using the B23 beamline available at Diamond Light Source. The use of the B23 beamtime for SRCD was advantageous because of the unique enhanced spatial resolution achieved because of its highly collimated and small beamlight cross section (ca. 250 ?m) and higher photon flux in the far UV region (175-250 nm) enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio relative to benchtop CD instruments. A set of low molecular weight (LMW) hydrogelators, comprising two Fmoc-protected enantiomeric monosaccharides and one Fmoc dipeptide (Fmoc-FF), were studied. The research focused on the optimization of sample preparation and handling, which then enabled the characterization of sample conformational homogeneity and thermal stability. CD spectroscopy, in combination with other spectroscopic techniques and microscopy, will allow a better insight into the self-assembly of chiral building blocks into higher order structural architectures.


Throughout the Hebrew Bible, key characters are often the youngest sons in their families. For example, Moses has two older siblings, Miriam and Aaron. David is the youngest of six brothers and is chastised by his eldest brother, Eliab, for leaving the family's sheep and coming to watch the battle with the Philistines (1Sam 17). However, it is in the book of Genesis that a recurrent motif of the younger son prevailing over his older siblings is set up as a dynamic plot device, driving the narrative forward. In a number of stories, the youngest son usurps the elder for the twin prizes of the father's blessing and a double portion of the "birthright" or inheritance. Although some texts suggest that primogeniture (that is, the passing on of an estate or title to the eldest son) is the traditional practice (see Deut 21:15-17), Genesis offers some intriguing perspectives on what factors might be at play in choosing one son over another.
Within the narratives of Genesis, this sibling-conflict motif results in the first murder (Gen 4). Eve's first son is Cain ("a tiller of the ground"), and Abel ("a keeper of sheep") soon follows. It is when the brothers make sacrificial offerings of their respective firstfruits (Hebrew bekhor) that the trouble starts: God has "regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard" (Gen 4:4-5). Cain is so angry that he leads Abel out to the fields and kills him.
The Hebrew word bekhor can signify a number of things: "firstborn," "firstfruits," or, as a qualitative noun, "birthright." When Cain and Abel offer their firstfruits, there is also an echo of a claim for priority or birthright over one another. So, within the first chapters of Genesis, divine favor plays a role in the countercultural prevailing of a younger son over his older sibling (even though Abel is killed because of it).
Coming much later in Genesis and after the struggles between other foundational sibling rivals (Isaac and Ishmael; Jacob and Esau), the story of Joseph and his brothers is a more complex and literary tale. Although Joseph is the eleventh son of Jacob (Israel), he is Rachel's firstborn, so in a sense he is both firstborn and favored. The text specifically notes that "Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him" (Gen 37:3-4). The jealousy of his elder brothers results in Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt, a nation that functions as a traditional archetypal enemy in ancient Israelite narrative.
As Joseph rises through the ranks in the Egyptian court (after some canny dream interpretation), his brothers come from Canaan, where there is a famine, to beg for food. Here, we begin to see how the folk motif of "the elder serving the younger" serves a larger political and theological purpose. Because the tiny kingdoms of Judah and Israel were vulnerable to much larger ancient Near Eastern powers such as the Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Persians, this folk motif portrays God as supporting the more unlikely heroes, the "younger sons." The implication, as Frederick Greenspahn writes, is "that the success of Israel's ancestors was neither easy or expected, making Israel's status both surprising and suspect." The younger and weaker are still significant.
In a nice literary twist, toward the end of the Joseph narrative, Joseph brings his sons Ephraim and Manasseh for a blessing from Jacob. Jacob places his left hand on the eldest son's head (Manasseh) and his right (the hand of blessing) on the youngest (Ephraim). Joseph is displeased that Jacob is not blessing his firstborn and tries to get him to switch hands, thinking that Jacob, in his blindness, is mistaken. Jacob responds, "I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations" (Gen 48:19). The cycle continues.
(tribe, not king) One of the "Joseph tribes" of the northern kingdom of Israel, the other being Ephraim. All the other tribes are named after the sons of Jacob, but Ephraim and Manasseh, geographically the largest of the tribes, are named after his grandsons, the two sons of Joseph.


MALDEN, MA- Thanks to USTA's new youth brand, Net Generation, tennis is now more accessible and affordable than it has ever been. That feeling was palpable throughout Kids Day at Devir Park in Malden on Wednesday, August 7, as USTA New England and the City of Malden introduced 135 kids to tennis for free who may not have otherwise had the opportunity.
Kids and parents from Malden and the surrounding areas flooded the park for what was a carnival-like atmosphere where tennis took center stage. USTA New England staff and volunteers led four hour-long on-court sessions consisting of games and drills intended to teach tennis basics, all chosen from the free Net Generation curriculum. Parents were encouraged to register on site for free on Netgeneration.com to link up with coaches and programs in their local area following the event.
"Our purpose was to introduce as many new players to tennis as we could. Net Generation houses all tennis play opportunities for kids ages 5 to 18 years old, and we hope after a successful day in Malden, parents will be eager to take advantage of this exciting and free opportunity for their kids," said Matt Olson, USTA New England Executive Director and COO.
Kids were joined on court by Malden Mayor Gary Christenson, members of the Malden Police and Fire Departments and special guests, Wonder Woman and Captain America.
Adjacent to the on-court tennis sessions was a plethora of entertainment highlighted by face painting and spin art. In addition, kids enjoyed free pizza and ice cream, a DJ, designing their own tennis balls, competing in ball toss games, and posing with an oversized racquet.
In what was one of the hottest days of the summer according to multiple news sources, USTA New England made it a priority to ensure kids were properly accommodated. They were each provided a cooling towel along with an endless supply of water bottles. In addition, Malden DPW set up water misters and Malden Fire offered a free soaks from the fire hose.
Also present at Kids Day were sponsors, Babolat, CoCo Goods and Allstate Malden, which introduced new products and gave out and demoed free samples.
For more information on youth tennis, visit www.netgeneration.com.
Check back soon for a complete photo gallery from Kids Day.


Grenco Science, the manufacturer of remarkable and ultramodern vaping pens, have released another successful product into the vaping market. The engineering giants keep producing more revolutionary products that are user-friendly. They meet the constant demands of their highly esteemed customers all over the world. The G Pen Pro Vaporizer was specifically designed to use together with dried herbs. This vaporizer is packed with stylish features that make this the crème de la crème.
The G Pen Pro is quite easy to use. The manufacturers have ensured that they do everything within their capabilities to reduce the burden of confusion associated with unboxing new products. You can easily power up the G Pen Pro or turn it off. You can regulate the temperature just as easy.
This portable herbal pen turns on on manually. It has an automatic shut off system that powers it off after 4-5 minutes. LED lights located on the side of the vaporizer tell you the temperature you have selected.
The G Pen Pro vaporizer has a distinctive discreet design. This vaping pen comes in a black color which is not conspicuous, unlike many other vaporizers that are usually eye-catching. Take the temperature to the lowest and take quick draws whenever you are in a public place. You can place it on your desk and it won't look obvious.
The G Pen Pro from Grenco Science is a portable dry herb vaporizer. It boasts a sleeker and stronger version vapes that are compact built. The G Pen herbal vaporizer has color-coded LED display. The large ceramic heating chamber gives vapers the ultimate vaping experience. This makes sure you don't need to load it often.
The G Pen Pro dry herb vaporizer comes in a black cylindrical tube resembling a cologne. This cylindrical tube contains the G Pen Pro and accessories which come with it.
The Pro dry herb vaporizer is very sleek, portable and sturdy. The pen's dimensions are 116mm by 25mm by 24mm which makes it very handy to take along with you anywhere. The exterior part of it is made up of aluminum which makes it unbreakable. It's mouthpiece is made of silicon to prevent it from destruction and also to permit ease of cleaning.
The interior chamber comes from ceramic material which acts as an oven that can take about 0.25g of herbs. There is a stainless steel covering between the mouthpiece and ceramic oven. It prevents dried products from entering your mouth during a vaping session. The set of LED lights also show the percentage of charge on the gadget. The mouthpiece made of silicon is above the ceramic atomizer where the herbs are packed. The battery is placed below the ceramic chamber and other parts of the pen. The base of the device has a port where you can plug the USB charger.
Another unique feature of the G Pen Pro is its convection heating technology. This feature is quite rare on compact built vaporizers. Users can enjoy flavorful taste of their favorite herbs as the G Pen sends the hot air to the chamber to vaporize the materials. The chamber also assures users of safe vaping because it has low conductivity. This means it won't get too hot or burn your herbs.
The G Pen's Pro vaporizer gives an average vapor quality. The device heats up pretty fast even when the temperature setting is at its lowest. The vapor quality and taste do not have any unique quality compared to that of other brands. When using the vaporizer for the first time, it is imperative to allow it run through about two heat cycles before you load your material into it. This will burn off any of the manufacturers oil, if any.
The draw resistance is great. The airflow passage is built below the mouthpiece. If the chamber is loaded to the brim, the draw resistance becomes very poor. Try to pack about 30% of the herbal chamber capacity.
It takes an average of 2-3 hours for the battery of the G Pen Pro to charge. The 2200mAh, 7.77Wh lithium-ion battery has a warranty of 1 year. The set of LED lights located at the side of the device show the battery life. If all four LED lights are on, it signifies a full battery. If only two LED lights are on, it means that the battery is low. To charge, the device should be plugged into a source of electricity.
The mini USB cord connects to a PC to charge or plugged into an adapter connected to a wall socket. A turquoise colored light indicates the device is charging. G Pen pro's battery life is relatively good. It can withstand about 8 sessions at an average of 2 minutes per session. An average session consists of approximately 10 draws. It can last an average of 36 hours after undergoing these sessions.
If you want to load the G Pen Pro dry herb vaporizer with dried herbs, pop off the mouthpiece. Put in your semi-powdery dried herb into the oven chamber. Give the vaporizer a light shake so that the material can settle in properly. Avoid overloading the oven chamber to prevent restriction of airflow.
To power the pen on, press the button five times in a quick succession. The G Pen Pro's default temperature is Blue. If you wish to regulate it to a higher temperature, you can either change it to Green (400°F) or Red (428°F). Press the button until the temperature regulates to your preferred temperature. The LED lights signify the temperature settings you have selected. If it stops blinking at intervals, it means the oven chamber is already heating up to your required temperature setting. When the LED light becomes stable, it means the G Pen pro device has been pre-heated, and you can go ahead to take draws.
The temperature setting which signifies Green (400°F) produces the best vapor with top-notch quality. It takes approximately 30 seconds for the G Pro pen to attain this particular temperature setting. You have to take at least three draws before the dried herbs in the oven chamber become hot enough to produce vapor clouds.
If you love a very clean pen, you will enjoy the G Pen Pro dry herb vaporizer. This vaporizer is very easy to clean. It is important that you clean your vaping pen every day to avoid clogging of the mouthpiece. This will allow you to have amazing sessions. The cleaning brush does the job of cleaning effectively. Open the mouthpiece at the top of the pen and start cleaning. Put the cleaning brush into the chamber and clean gently. Ensure that every leftover herb is wiped away.
Portable and can fit easily into bags or pockets.
Fast heating which remains consistent.
Why Choose the G Pen Pro Vaporizer?
I had the micro g pen for 2 years but was getting tired of vaping wax. I got the G Pen Pro because I like the gpen brand. It's really good and can easily be custom to your liking.


text:
is a Japanese voice actor archer who competed in two Olympic Games.

Career

Sato finished 14th in the women's individual event at the 1976 Summer Olympics
with a score of 2308 points. She came tenth in the women's individual event at the 1984 Summer Olympics with a score of 2481 points.

References

External links

 Profile on worldarchery.org

1955 births
Living people
Japanese female archers
Olympic archers of Japan
Archers at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Archers at the 1984 Summer Olympics
20th-century Japanese women

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Broadcast rights holders on both sides of the border are keeping a close eye on an ongoing battle between an online TV streaming service and the big networks, as the case heads to the U.S. Supreme Court, says Toronto lawyer Kevin Fisher.
While both the New York Federal Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts refused an injunction request by a number of TV stations to block the Aereo Internet-based TV streaming service last year, Fisher, litigation partner with Basman Smith LLP, says there have been conflicting decisions in other circuit courts in the United States relating to the injunction, in cases involving Aereo and asimilar service.
Although the New York court ruled that Aereo – which allows subscribers to watch local channels through the Internet and on mobile devices through a number of tiny antennas – does not violate copyright laws, last month, the U.S. District Court in Utah granted the broadcasters' request for a preliminary injunction against Aereo, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Although the law is not completely settled yet, says Fisher, Aereo has been rolling out its service in a number of U.S. cities.
On March 3, the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA), a lobby group for Music Canada, the Society of Music Composers, Authors and Music Publisher of Canada (SOCAN), ACTRA and other similar Canadian professional organizations filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court aligning with their U.S. counterparts.
Fisher says there are a number of big players that take issue with how Aereo works, including in relation to over the air sports broadcasting rights.
"Sports, particularly in the U.S., are available on a number of over-the-air channels – broadcast on CBS, NBC and Fox. And those are digital signals too which are popular content for mobile use which often relate to separate contracts for mobile rights.
"The NFL, for instance, has an agreement with Verizon, for which the NFL presumably receives a significant amount of money to have access to live NFL games for people using Verizon mobile phones or on iPads. Different broadcasters and rights holders often sell these rights separately. The Aereo service would provide a means to allow people access to those over-the-air channels on whatever device they want to use, like a mobile phone or iPad. It's brewing for an interesting battle.
"Many of my clients are commercial rights holders, but they also hold residential rights in the U.S. too – mostly for specialty TV channels, including specialty sports – so they're watching," says Fisher.
The broadcasters' appeal of the New York Federal Court of Appeal's ruling in the case will be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court next month.


We love to reward our patients for keeping their smiles healthy! At each visit, you can earn multiple Marcus Money Tokens. You must have good oral hygiene to participate in the Marcus Money Reward Program.
Wearing your Lowry Orthodontics T-Shirt to your scheduled appointment.
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The high purity EM-Tec sputter targets are compatible with a wide variety of desk top sputter coaters. The sputter coaters are used to sputter a very thin layer of conductive metal on non-conductive sample in order to investigate these samples with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The EM-Tec sputter targets are compatible with the following sputter coaters, ion beam coaters or cryo-SEM preparation systems brands: Agar, Anatech/Technics, Bal-Tec, Bio-Rad, Cressington, Denton, Edwards, Emitech, EMS, Emscope, Fisons, Gatan, Hummer, ISI, JEOL, Leica, Polaron, Quorum, Safematic, SPI, Thermo and VG Microtech. Targets are relatively expensive due to the high purity of the precious metals which require multiple refining steps. A purity of 99.99% or close is desired to avoid any artefacts either in imaging or with EDX analysis. The target material you are using because it is installed in the sputter coater might not be best choice and there are alternatives for many applications. Depending on your application, there is a choice of coating materials, see: Practical Information Selecting Target Material To Coat SEM Samples.
Note 1: Polaran coaters have also been sold under the Bio-Rad, Fisons, VG Microtech, Thermo VG, Emscope and Quorum brand.
Denton Desk II / III / IV /V, Edwards 150B / Scancoat and Emscope SC500.
Ø57mm disc type high purity EM-Tec sputter targets for sputter coaters: Agar Manual / Auto, Cressington 108 / 108auto / 108autoSE / 208HR, Emitech SC7620 / SC7610, ISI 5400, JEOL JFC 1200 / 1300 / 1400 / 1600 / 2300HR / JEC-3000FC, HoYeon HC21, Pelco SC4 / SC5 / SC6 /SC7, Polaron 5000 / 5200 / 5400 / 5800, Quorum Q150 / Q300 / SC7620 and SPI Module.
Anatech/Technics Hummer I / II /III, Fullam EffaCoater / EMS-76, SEC MCM-100 / MCM-200 and SPI Super.
Use the EM-Tec Annular Sputter Target Selection Table to determine the target size for your sputter coater (alternatively measure the target in your sputter coater) or go directly to the Ordering Information.
82mm O.D. X 60mm I.D.
3" O.D. X 2" I.D.
Polaron / Biorad E5100 / E5150 / E5175 /SC510 / SC515 and Polaron / Quorum SC7640 / 7680.
Selection of the optimum coating material depends on the (non-conductive) sample, the application and cost. Most SEM sputter coaters allow for a relatively easy target change. When using different coating (target) materials than Gold, the use of Argon as process gas is paramount. One should be aware that each sample material behaves differently when coated. The coating quality is obviously affected by the target material and by the interaction of the sample material and metal used for the coating. Coating the SEM sample with a (highly conductive) metal makes non-conductive SEM samples conductive. An additional benefit is that most coating materials have a higher secondary electron (SE) yield than the non conductive sample material. Coating material with lower atomic numbers is more suitable for for backscattered electron (imaging) whereas coating with higher atomic numbers is more suitable for SE imaging. Below you will find some pratical guidance information for selecting the target material. The information is only valid when using modern DC magnetron SEM sputter coaters and Argon as process gas.
If EDX analysis of the sample is needed, always choose a coating (target) material which is not present in the sample, creates overlapping peaks in the EDX spectrum or otherwise interferes with the EDX analysis.
Gold is an excellent and most widely used coating material to coat non-conductive samples for standard SEM applications. Due to the low work function it is a very efficient to coat and when using cool sputter coaters and thin layers, there is hardly any heating of the sample surface. The grain size is visible when using high magnifications on modern SEMs. Gold can be used for table top SEMs with air as process gas.
The Au/Pd alloy (60/40) is less efficient to coat than with pure gold, which results in lower sputter rates. Au/Pd is often recommended to achieve a smaller grain size. Au/Pd gives smaller grain sizes when evaporated in high vacuum, but when used in SEM sputter coaters the difference between Au and Au/Pd is hardly visible. Less suitable for heat sensitive specimens and less suitable for EDX analysis due to the extra set of peaks for Pd.
Ag is a most suitable and low cost alternative for Au in many imaging applications for low and medium magnifications ranges. It is a widely underestimated coating material. Ag has the highest conductivity of all metals. When using EDS, Ag is an alternative for Au on many biological samples if P, Cl and S need to be analyzed. Sputtering rate is similar to Au, the SE yield is somewhat lower than for Pt, Au or Ir. The grain sizes is similar or slightly larger than Au, except for samples containing halogens which can cause coarser grains. The Ag coating can tarnish (in the presence of halogens) and are less suitable for long term storage. Excellent low cost coating material for many less demanding imaging applications and table top SEMs.
An additional advantage is that the Ag coating can be dissolved and the sample surface can be studied in the original conditions. Removal of Au, Au/Pd, Pt and Ir coatings is more difficult and involves very harsh chemicals. The Ag coating can be removed with Farmer's reducer (Mixture of Potassium Ferricyanide and Sodium Thiosulfate).
Pt has a finer grain size than Au or Au/Pd and is therefore more suitable for higher magnifications. Excellent SE yield. The higher work function results in slower sputtering than Au. Pt tends to be sensitive for "stress cracking" when oxygen is present (oxygen can come from porous samples). More expensive than Au due to higher fabrication costs.
Ir exhibits a very fine grain size on virtually all materials and is an excellent all-round fine grain coating material for FESEM applications. It is the material of choice for high and ultra-high resolution FESEM imaging. With the added benefit of being a non-oxidising material and a high SE yield, it is replacing Chromium for high resolution sample coating. It requires the use of a high resolution sputter coater and has lower sputtering rates. The targets are thicker due to fabricated constraints, but overall costs are lower than for Pt or Pt/Pd. Ir is also an excellent alternative material for coating samples which have to be analyzed for carbon by EDX or WDX. A thin layer is enough to creat excellent conductivity and since the material is very rare it hardly interferes with EDX or WDX analysis.
Cr has a very fine grain size, especially on semiconductor type materials and has proven to be a useful coating materials for FESEM applications. Cr requires the use of a turbo pumped, high vacuum, high resolution sputter coater with a target shutter since the presence of oxygen (as in standard SEM coaters) causes oxidisation during coating. The Cr on the sample surface will oxidise in air and samples must be viewed immediately after coating. Samples can be stored in high vacuum or in inert gas. Cr has lower sputtering rates and the target tends to heat up. Lower SE yield than Pt, Pt/Pd or Ir. Excellent coating material for high resolution BE imaging of low Z and biological samples.
W is an excellent alternative for ultra-high resolution coating.W has a very fine grain size and tends to be less visible than Cr. W oxidises rapidly, similar to Cr. Low sputtering rates, but due to the high atomic number the SE yield tends to be higher. Samples must be imaged immediately after coating or stored under high vacuum.
Ta is also a candidate for high resolution coating (most refractory and high melting materials exhibit fine grain size). It oxidises quite rapidly, similar to Cr. Low sputtering rates, but due to high atomic number the SE yield tends to be higher. Samples must be imaged immediately after coating or stored under high vacuum.
Pd can be used as a lower cost alternative for low to medium magnification ranges. Gives a lower SE signal than Au. When using EDX analysis, Pd can be an alternative.
Ni is an alternative coating material for EDX applications and BSE imaging. Not ideal for SE imaging, the coating oxidises slowly. It has a (very) low sputtering rate due to the low work function and the fact that as a magnetic materials it "short circuits" the magnet in the DC magnetron sputter head with a less dense plasma as a result. In a standard SEM coater, the coating contains a mixture of Ni and Ni-oxide. The Ni coating layer can enhance elements through X-ray fluorescence. If needed, the Ni coating can be removed if needed with a Hydrochloric acid or Nitric acid.
Cu is an alternative low cost material for EDX applications and BSE imaging. Suitable for low and medium magnification ranges. Lower SE yield. Coatings will slowly oxidize. In a standard SEM coater the coating consists of a mixture of Cu and Cu-oxide. However, it is a low cost alternative for educational applications to demonstrate and to investigate the influence of coating parameters. The Cu coating layer can be used to enhance the analysis of transition materials through X-ray fluorescence. If needed, the copper coating can be removed with Ferricchloride or Nitric Acid.
ITO targets consist of In2O3 / SnO2 with a 90/10 wt% composition. ITO is an interesting material since it is electrically conductive and light transparent. One application for SEM is Cathodeluminescence imaging and/or analyzing of non-conductive samples with a detector/spectrometer. ITO is also useful for coating glass coverslips for correlative microscopy applications.
Ti is seldom used as coating material, but has applications where it is chosen to avoid any interference with EDX analysis. Low atomic number gives less interference with BSE imaging. Ti oxidises quite rapidly and samples need to be imaged directly after coating.
Carbon is the material of choice for coating non-conductive samples to allow for EDX analysis and BE imaging. It is has a low atomic number, is conductive and is inert at room temperature. It can't be sputtered in DC magnetron sputter coaters; high energy is needed and if sputtered it tends to deposit as DLC material which is non-conductive. Carbon can be used as a target in ion-beam coaters such as the Gatan models 681, 682 and 685. Otherwise it is used in carbon evaporaters to coat SEM samples or to produce carbon support films for TEM.
Cobalt is not generally used for SEM coating applications. It has a (very) low sputtering rate due to the low work function and the fact that as a magnetic materials it "short circuits" the magnet in the DC magnetron sputter head with a less dense plasma as a result. In a standard SEM coater, the coating contains a mixture of Co and Co-oxide. The Co coating layer can enhance elements through X-ray fluorescence.
Tin is not generally used for SEM coating applications. It has a (very) low sputtering rate due to the low work function. In a standard SEM coater, the coating contains a mixture of Sn and Sn-oxide. The Sn coating layer can enhance elements through X-ray fluorescence.
Zinc is not generally used for SEM coating applications. It has a (very) low sputtering rate due to the low work function. In a standard SEM coater, the coating contains a mixture of Zn and Zn-oxide. The Zn coating layer can enhance elements through X-ray fluorescence.


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Tag: Gyeonggi
Coach of S. Korea Want 'balance' on World Cup U-20 Final Roster
When the coach of South Korea, Chung Jung-Yong announced his final lineup for the U-20 FIFA World Cup this week, the situation will be "balanced". Since April 22, Chung has been operating a training camp at the Paju National Football Center (NFC), which is present in north Seoul and in Gyeonggi Province. After playing a tune-up game opposite K League club 1, Suwon Samsung Bluewings on Wednesday, here Chung will reveal his 21-man roster on the next day.
The scheduled date of youth tournament is from 23 May to 15 June and it will take place in Poland. South Korea and it has been twinned with Argentina, South Africa, and Portugal in the Group F. In an interview, Chung said that he has the desire to get the right balance within his alignment.
Continue reading "Coach of S. Korea Want 'balance' on World Cup U-20 Final Roster"


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The Oscars Can Still Matter
On the joy — and possibility — of a 'Moonlight' victory
By K. Austin Collins Feb 27, 2017, 4:11am EST
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I feel like I won Best Picture.
I didn't, of course: Barry Jenkins's movie Moonlight did — somehow, shockingly, despite what had been considered long odds, and despite an envelope mishap for the ages. Sunday night was supposed to belong to Damien Chazelle's beloved, profitable contemporary musical, La La Land, with its record 14 nominations. And actually, it sort of did. La La Land still won Best Actress (Emma Stone) and Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Score, and Best Original Song ("City of Stars"), despite losing a few assumed categories to films like Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea and Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge. It won six awards total, the most of the night — and three more than Moonlight.
I had nothing to do with Moonlight's writerly lyricism or its heat and color-saturated vision of coming of age in Liberty City, Miami. I didn't breathe life and experience into its performances or make them cohere with razor-sharp specificity in the editing room. But this is the joy of inclusion: You feel like it's yours. The long road, from falling in love with Moonlight at the New York Film Festival last fall to looking on Sunday as it won the movie industry's highest honor, has made me feel like I'm a part of something. Movie history, yes, but something larger.
The Night the Oscars Woke Up
It's not just a matter of identity — though so what if it were? I happen to be a gay black dude, and Moonlight happens to be about someone like me. But an equally important factor is that I tend to think the Oscars are low-key trash, and I usually end the ceremony a little bit disappointed for the movies I love. You don't hope movies will win because they need the recognition. You hope they'll win because you want that for them, because you understand firsthand the particular joy of being recognized by one's peers, and because you want your own taste to align with what the industry deems worthy of its highest honors.
I, of course, love being entertained at the movies. And I love movies that do so in the classical Hollywood fashion, with discernible arcs and straightforward, pleasurable storytelling, as much as the next person. But most of all, I like movies that challenge us: with their ideas and their substance, and their images, and the consequences of their makers' visions. Those latter movies aren't the kinds that win Best Picture; Moonlight is the first to do so in a number of years. Against my finer instincts, I feel vindicated.
Whether that sense of validation amounts to anything substantive or real is the question from here on. In January, New Yorker critic Richard Brody declared: "The only good thing about this year's political events is that, as far as the Oscars go, nobody with a brain, a heart, or some courage actually gives a shit." It isn't the movies that don't matter, Brody clarifies: It's that, in the midst of a world on the seeming brink of collapse, the Oscars themselves don't matter. On Twitter, action director (and previous Oscar nominee for live-action short) Lexi Alexander, reflecting the same sentiment, wrote: "Oscars tonight! Folks who made Islamophobic movies & never hire women, Arabs, Muslims will make great anti-Trump/anti-xenophobia speeches."
For much of this awards season, which has neatly coalesced with a wildly fraught new political era, it's been difficult to justify caring about an award that, so far as most winners are concerned, will amount to a bathroom or desk ornament and a really great story should the winner go bankrupt and get caught trying to sell it on eBay. All season, friends would remind me that the Oscars are a pageantry that any politically minded adult has no time to care about right now — arguing, even, that they should be canceled. And I, knowing it would potentially be a year for black artists, kept thinking, "Couldn't you guys have pulled this 'Cancel the Oscars' shit during a whiter year? I want to hear Viola."
The Radical Intimacy of 'Moonlight'
The Oscars are weird in that way. They matter and they don't — they're more self-important than important. Watching clips of the nominees for best documentary feature or short flash by, you'd think the Oscars were all politics and history, full of insight about and concern for Syria, black lives, and victims of atrocity everywhere. And then someone reminds you that Khaled Khatib, Syrian cinematographer of the Oscar-nominated documentary short The White Helmets, was barred from traveling to the U.S. to attend the ceremony, and that Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian director of The Salesman (which won Best Foreign Film) refused to attend the ceremony on similar grounds.
Do the Oscars matter? Never more, or less, than when a president prevents your attendance. The great disappointment of the night was that after months of speculation over whether the ceremony would "get political" (did anyone ever figure out what that meant?), it seemed the overt grandstanding that has defined every other awards show to date left the attendees nowhere to go but toward fluff. Or maybe toward their ballots. Someone somewhere will inevitably speculate that Moonlight won for exactly this reason, that it's really a corrective to the political revelations of the last year. The Oscars don't matter, the theory goes, but they could — if Oscar voters back the right movies. Blacker and browner movies, more movies by women, more movies by and about the oppressed.
I love that theory. And tonight, if only for a night, I'm willing to buy it. Awards give you a chance to root for people, rather than merely their products. You get to see the faces, and hear of the lives, of all those creators who labored on the Hollywood productions we love. But if that's the case — if it's stories and people and inclusion that matter — the Oscars are only as good or important as the stories still not told, and only as inclusive as the legions of people still not there. It isn't a question of whether the honors bestowed by the academy already, as of today, matter. It's a question of whether the academy knows how much they eventually could.
More Oscars Coverage
The Winners and Losers of the Oscars Debacle
Breaking Down the Madness of the Oscars' Best Picture Blunder
The Oscars' 'Moonlight' Surprise
The Oscars Played It Safe
Uncovering the Oscars Conspiracy
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