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Which Country has the Best Food?
We love to write about food. We love to celebrate the good stuff and lambaste the bad. This is our take on some of the best food cultures, but of course it's subjective. It's time to find out once and for all, which cuisine is king.
10. United States
This may be because most of the popular American foods originate in some other country. The pizza slice is Italian. Fries are Belgium or Dutch. Hamburgers and frankfurters? Likely German. But in the kitchens of the United States, they have been improved and added to, to become global icons for food lovers everywhere. Don't neglect the homegrown dishes either. There's the traditional stuff like clam chowder, key lime pie and Cobb salad, and most importantly the locavore movement of modern American food started by Alice Waters. This promotion of eco-awareness in food culture is carried on today by Michelle Obama.
Cheeseburger — a perfect example of making good things greater.
Chocolate chip cookie — the world would be a little less habitable without this Americana classic.
All overly processed foods such as Twinkies, Hostess cakes and KFC.
If you were only allowed to eat one type of food for the rest of your life, it would be smart to make it Mexican. The cuisine of the Mesoamerican country has a little bit of everything — you'll never get bored. Amongst the enchiladas and the tacos and the helados and the quesadillas you'll find the zestiness of Greek salads and the richness of an Indian curry; the heat of Thai food and the use-your-hands snackiness of tapas. It is also central station for nutritional superfoods. All that avocado, tomato, lime and garlic with beans and chocolates and chilies to boot, is rich with antioxidants and good healthful things. It doesn't taste healthy though. It tastes like a fiesta in your mouth.
Mole — ancient sauce made of chili peppers, spices, chocolate and magic incantations.
Tacos al pastor — the spit-roast pork taco, a blend of the pre- and post-Colombian.
Tamales — an ancient Mayan food of masa cooked in a leaf wrapping.
Tostadas — basically the same as a taco or burrito but served in a crispy fried tortilla which breaks into pieces as soon as you bite into it. Impossible to eat.
8. Thailand
Street eats are a Thai attraction. Flip through a Thai cook book and you'll be hard pressed to find an ingredient list that doesn't run a page long. The combination of so many herbs and spices in each dish produces complex flavors that somehow come together like orchestral music. Thais fit spicy, sour, salty, sweet, chewy, crunchy and slippery into one dish. With influences from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and a royal culinary tradition, Thai cuisine is the best of many worlds. The best part about eating Thai food in Thailand though is the hospitality. Sun, beach, service with a smile and a plastic bag full of som tam — that's the good life.
Tom yam kung — a rave party for the mouth. The floral notes of lemongrass, the earthy galangal, freshness of kaffir lime leaves and the heat of the chilies.
Massaman curry — a Thai curry with Islamic roots. Topped our list of the world's 50 most delicious foods.
Som tam — the popular green papaya salad is sour, extra spicy, sweet and salty. It's the best of Thai tastes.
Pla som — a fermented fish eaten uncooked is popular in Lawa, Thailand and reported to be responsible for bile duct cancer.
7. Greece
Traveling and eating in Greece feels like a glossy magazine spread come to life, but without the Photoshopping. Like the blue seas and white buildings, the kalamata olives, feta cheese, the colorful salads and roast meats are all postcard perfect by default. The secret? Lashings of glistening olive oil. Gift of the gods, olive oil is arguably Greece's greatest export, influencing the way people around the world think about food and nutritional health. Eating in Greece is also a way of consuming history. A bite of dolma or a slurp of lentil soup gives a small taste of life in ancient Greece, when they were invented.
Olive oil — drizzled on other food, or soaked up by bread, is almost as varied as wine in its flavors.
Spanakopita — makes spinach palatable with its feta cheese mixture and flaky pastry cover.
Gyros — late-night drunk eating wouldn't be the same without the pita bread sandwich of roast meat and tzatziki.
Lachanorizo — basically cabbage and onion cooked to death then mixed with rice. Filling, but one-dimensional.
6. India
When a cuisine uses spices in such abundance that the meat and vegetables seem like an afterthought, you know you're dealing with cooks dedicated to flavor. There are no rules for spice usage as long as it results in something delicious. The same spice can add zest to savory and sweet dishes, or can sometimes be eaten on its own — fennel seed is enjoyed as a breath-freshening digestive aid at the end of meals. And any country that manages to make vegetarian food taste consistently great certainly deserves some kind of Nobel prize. The regional varieties are vast. There's Goa's seafood, there's the wazwan of Kashmir and there's the coconutty richness of Kerala.
Dal — India has managed to make boiled lentils exciting.
Dosa — a pancake filled with anything from cheese to spicy vegetables, perfect for lunch or dinner.
Chai — not everyone likes coffee and not everyone likes plain tea, but it's hard to resist chai.
Balti chicken — an invention for the British palate, should probably have died out with colonialism.
5. Japan
Japanese apply the same precision to their food as they do to their engineering. This is the place that spawned tyrannical sushi masters and ramen bullies who make their staff and customers tremble with a glare. You can get a lavish multi-course kaiseki meal that presents the seasons in a spread of visual and culinary poetry. Or grab a seat at a revolving sushi conveyor for a solo feast. Or pick up something random and previously unknown in your gastronomic lexicon from the refrigerated shelves of a convenience store. It's impossible to eat badly in Japan.
Miso soup — showcases some of the fundamental flavors of Japanese food, simple and wholesome.
Sushi and sashimi — who knew that raw fish on rice could become so popular?
Tempura — the perfection of deep-frying. Never greasy, the batter is thin and light like a crisp tissue.
Fugu — is anything really that delicious that it's worth risking your life to eat? The poisonous blowfish recently killed diners in Egypt, but is becoming more available in Japan.
4. Spain
Let's eat and drink, then sleep, then work for two hours, then eat and drink. Viva Espana, that country whose hedonistic food culture we all secretly wish was our own. All that bar-hopping and tapas-eating, the minimal working, the 9 p.m. dinners, the endless porron challenges — this is a culture based on, around and sometimes even inside food. The Spaniards gourmandize the way they flamenco dance, with unbridled passion. They munch on snacks throughout the day with intervals of big meals. From the fruits of the Mediterranean Sea to the spoils of the Pyrenees, from the saffron and cumin notes of the Moors to the insane molecular experiments of Ferran Adria, Spanish food is timeless yet avant garde.
Jamon Iberico — a whole cured ham hock usually carved by clamping it down in a wooden stand like some medieval ritual.
Churros — the world's best version of sweet fried dough.
Gazpacho — it's refreshing and all, but it's basically liquid salad.
If you're one of those people who doesn't like to eat because "there's more to life than food" — visit Paris. It's a city notorious for its curmudgeonly denizens, but they all believe in the importance of good food. Two-hour lunch breaks for three-course meals are de rigeur. Entire two-week vacations are centered on exploring combinations of wines and cheeses around the country. Down-to-earth cooking will surprise those who thought of the French as the world's food snobs (it is the birthplace of the Michelin Guide after all). Cassoulet, pot au feu, steak frites are revelatory when had in the right bistro.
Escargot — credit the French for turning slimey, garden-dwelling pests into a delicacy. Massive respect for making them taste amazing too.
Macarons — like unicorn food. In fact anything from a patisserie in France seems to have been conjured out of sugar, fairy dust and the dinner wishes of little girls.
Baguette — the first and last thing that you'll want to eat in France. The first bite is transformational; the last will be full of longing.
Foie gras — it tastes like 10,000 ducks roasted in butter then reduced to a velvet pudding, but some animal advocates decry the cruelty of force-feeding fowl to fatten their livers.
2. China
The people who greet each other with "Have you eaten yet?" are arguably the most food-obsessed in the world. Food has been a form of escapism for the Chinese throughout its tumultuous history. The Chinese entrepreneurial spirit and appreciation for the finer points of frugality — the folks are cheap, crafty and food-crazed — results in one of the bravest tribes of eaters in the world. But the Chinese don't just cook and sell anything, they also make it taste great. China is the place to go to get food shock a dozen times a day. "You can eat that?" will become the intrepid food traveler's daily refrain. China's regional cuisines are so varied it's hard to believe they're from the same nation. It's not a food culture you can easily summarize, except to say you'll invariably want seconds.
Sweet and sour pork — a guilty pleasure that has taken on different forms.
Dim sum — a grand tradition from Hong Kong to New York.
Roast suckling pig and Peking duck — wonders of different styles of ovens adopted by Chinese chefs.
Xiaolongbao — incredible soup-filled surprises. How do they get that dumpling skin to hold all that hot broth?
Shark's fin soup — rallying for Chinese restaurants to ban the dish has been a pet issue of green campaigners in recent years.
Italian food has enslaved tastebuds around the globe for centuries, with its zesty tomato sauces, those clever things they do with wheat flour and desserts that are basically vehicles for cream. It's all so simple. Get some noodles, get some olive oil, get some garlic, maybe a tomato or a slice of bacon. Bam, you have a party on a plate. And it is all so easy to cook and eat. From the cheesy risottos to the crisp fried meats, Italian cuisine is a compendium of crowd-pleasing comfort food. Many people have welcomed it into their homes, especially novice cooks. Therein lies the real genius — Italian food has become everyman's food.
Ragu alla bolognese (spaghetti bolognaise) — the world's go-to "can't decide what to have" food.
Pizza — mind-bogglingly simple yet satisfying dish. Staple diet of bachelors and college students.
Italian-style salami — second only to cigarettes as a source of addiction.
Coffee — cappuccino is for breakfast? Forget it. We want it all day and all night.
Buffalo mozzarella — those balls of spongy, off-white, subtly flavored cheeses of water buffalo milk. The flavor's so subtle you have to imagine it.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/world-best-food-cultures/index.html
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Just a short note today to relate my experiences of making my ebook permafree on Amazon via Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). I tried, at first, to follow everyone's advice and clicked on the 'Tell us about a lower price' link on the product page, and then linked to Kobo, B&N and Smashwords. I put out an appeal on this blog and on my social media, asking for other kind souls to do the same if they could spare the time.
I have made my ebook free on Barnes & Noble and Kobo and I'd be grateful if you could pricematch this for me on all Amazon sites.
The purpose of this, is to encourage sales of other books in the series which will be on sale with Amazon. Book 2 is already on Amazon and I hope to launch a 3rd book next month.
Details below and thank you for your help.
If there are any other details you'd like, please let me know.
I hope this email finds you well. Thank you for contacting us.
From your email I understand that you'd like to have your book for free. I'll be happy to help make this happen for you.
From time to time, we may match prices elsewhere online, including free promotions. However, we retain discretion over our retail prices.
In the future, you can let us know about lower prices through our website by clicking the link to "Tell us about a lower price" under the "Product Details" section for your title. Please be sure to specify all of the websites, which are selling the book at a lower price.
And Bob's your mother's brother, my ebook was free – at least on amazon.com, and my friends in the USA were already downloading, and I hope enjoying, my novella.
I've asked KDP about making it free on all their marketplaces and I'll let you all know how that goes.
In the meantime, I hope that my experience helps someone else.
Have you had a good or bad experience with making your ebook permafree?
There's a comment box down there – shove your thoughts into it for all to see.


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How to Avoid Bad Investments in Good Ideas
Michael Schrage proposes a fast, cheap, experiment-driven approach to boosting the bottom line in The Innovator's Hypothesis.
by Theodore Kinni
In late 1999, while it was still the 800-lb gorilla in the video rental market, Blockbuster Video called in some outside help to address its biggest customer complaint: late fees. One of the calls was to Michael Schrage, then a research associate at MIT Media Lab, whose book, Serious Play: How the World's Best Companies Simulate to Innovate, had been recently published by Harvard Business School Press.
Schrage's brief, as he explains it in his new book, The Innovator's Hypothesis: How Cheap Experiments are Worth More Than Good Ideas (MIT Press, 2014), was simple: "Help Blockbuster transform late fees from a primary pain point into a marginal concern for the company and its customers." So he did some poking around in Blockbuster's databases and stores.
Schrage found that the hapless customers who were paying the most in late fees were also the company's most prolific renters. And even as they continued to patronize the company, these customers were venting their frustration to Blockbuster employees, as well as to other existing and potential customers. Several of them sued the company. (One of them, Reed Hastings, turned out to be something less than hapless. After being charged US$40 in late fees on Apollo 13, he founded Netflix, which had no late fees and played an instrumental role in driving Blockbuster into bankruptcy in 2010.)
"But," writes Schrage, who has also contributed to s+b, "this seething 'renters' rebellion' coexisted with an irrefutable business fact: The money was great." In those pre-streaming days, analysts estimated that that 20 percent or more of Blockbuster's pretax profit came from customers who couldn't get it together to return rentals on time.
Blockbuster was considering several costly and complicated solutions to the conundrum, but Schrage thought that the company didn't know enough about its late-fee customers to undertake a major initiative. Instead, in a meeting with management, he proposed a simple, inexpensive experiment in which a dozen or fewer Blockbuster stores would send reminders to customers to return movies before late fees were incurred. "I went down in flames," recalls Schrage.
Blockbuster wanted to eat its cake and have it, too. The company was looking for a big, strategic-level solution that would eliminate the customer service problem without putting its revenues at risk. The one it adopted—an extended rental period after which the customer was charged the full price of the movie—proved not only unpopular, but illegal. The plan was abandoned, the company reinstituted its original late fee policy, and the downward spiral continued.
In rejecting his proposal, Schrage claims that Blockbuster misunderstood the true nature of innovation: He cites economist Joseph Schumpeter who called successful innovation a feat of will, not intellect. Further, he says the company missed the importance of uncomplicated, cheap, and fast experimentation.
Schrage's thesis in The Innovator's Hypothesis is that "creative experimentation, with and within constraints, makes high-impact innovation a safer, smarter, simpler, and more successful investment." Experimentation weeds out otherwise seductive ideas that can't be implemented, like the plan Blockbuster adopted . It brings to light insights that lead to unanticipated solutions. It also creates a bias for action: When you run an experiment, you're actually doing something, not just talking about it.
Experimentation weeds out those seductive ideas that can't be implemented.
Accordingly, half of Schrage's new book is devoted to an innovation methodology called 5x5 that captures the benefits of experimentation. In the 5x5 approach, writes Schrage, "A minimum of 5 teams of 5 people each are given no more than 5 days to come up with a portfolio of 5 'business experiments' that should take no longer than 5 weeks to run and cost no more than 5,000 euros to conduct. Each experiment should have a business case attached that explains how running the experiment gives tremendous insight into a possible savings of 5 million euros or a 5-million-euro growth opportunity for the firm."
Schrage says that he's been facilitating these 5x5 exercises in companies, under the auspices of MIT's Sloan School of Management and the Moscow School of Management since 2009. The results: "There are always—without exception—at least three or four experiments that make top management sit up straight, their eyes widening (or narrowing, dependent on temperament), and incredulously ask, 'We can do that!?'"
At a time when fast-track innovation is invariably pegged as a prerequisite of corporate success, 5x5 sounds like it might make a pretty interesting business experiment in and of itself.
Topics: innovation, media, stores, success, leaders
Theodore Kinni
Theodore Kinni is a contributing editor of strategy+business. He also blogs at Reading, Writing re: Management and is @TedKinni on Twitter.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I like the word 'Zen'. It has a distinct energy to it. I can imagine only flowing with this word. It exudes an upbeat feeling, something constantly on the move. So when I saw this book amongst Osho's several other books at his Commune, I chose to make 'Zen – living the fire of life' my first Osho read.
As adolescents, maybe we grew up with a negative notion of sorts about Osho. Perhaps that prompted me more to explore his teachings at the Commune in Pune. And lead me to his fabulous variety of active meditations.
This was in abundance in all his discourses as well as meditations. Moving with the constant flow of life and in full awareness of the present moment is broadly the essence of Osho's teachings.
There are three L's of my philosophy: life, love, laughter. Life is only a seed, love is a flower, laughter is a fragrance.
'Zen' encompasses his beliefs in a question and answer format with his disciples. The caption sums up the core of this book beautifully: Living the fire of life with zest, zip, zap and zing. Not the one to conform to any tradition, scriptures, religion or political grounds, his views are bold and revolutionary. With my own built up of courage over the years and experience with the unconventional, it is easier to make sense of Osho's philosophy –now.
Some souls are God's chosen ones to touch upon other lives in the most wonderful ways. Their life's calling is to spread the light that enlightens their very being. The cosmos works itself in a way by beautifully connecting these souls to the ones that truly need them. I am blessed to know and have one such soul in my life –Shilpa, founding owner of Yogshakti and my spiritual mentor!
Yogshakti is an integrative yoga centre based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. What differentiates this centre from other yoga centres I have known is their holistic approach towards all facets of health and well-being. Their courses and workshops include various modalities of asanas, breathing, mindfulness, relaxation, diet, meditation and more. Yogshakti is driven by a passion to help students find their inherent power and unleash their full potential. The centre exudes a sense of personal warmth and calm amidst the beautiful environs.
Shilpa has been teaching yoga since 1993 locally and internationally. Over the last 26 years, she studied different styles of Yoga to include Iyengar, Ashtanga, Anusara, Yin and Scaraveli Inspired Yoga and delved deep into the practices of Meditation, Mindfulness, Pranayama, the Buteyko method, Yoga Nidra & Advaita Vedanta philosophy. She has studied directly with masters such as Thich Nhat Hanh, Swami Veda Bharati and Advaita sage Ramesh Balsekar.
Personally for me, Shilpa has been instrumental in my own journey of spiritual pursuits. Her wisdom and clarity of thought has had a strong influence on the way I have perceived and dealt with my innumerable challenges. It is not very often that you find someone who inspires and resonates with your core so powerfully. I am truly blessed to have Shilpa as my guiding spiritual force. I dedicate this blogpost to convey my gratitude to her and my best wishes to Yogshakti. Stay blessed!
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk fondly referred to as Thay, is a world-renowned Zen master, spiritual leader and author. I first heard of him when I received his book 'Peace is every step' as a gift from my then husband (life and it's ironies). It was the first time I got introduced to the word 'mindfulness'. Until then I knew of only the 'mind' being 'full' of noises.
Thay's key teaching is to inculcate the practice of mindfulness through which we can learn to live in peace and happiness. We are so busy getting an education and a job and material possessions, that we forget living the present moment – the only moment there is for us to be alive. He highlights some of the ways we can learn to be mindful through conscious breathing, thinking less, meditating and nourishing our awareness of the moment.
There is nothing to chase after. We can go back to ourselves, enjoy our breathing, our smiling, ourselves and our beautiful environment.
His teachings are not just theoretical but they highlight the simple ways we can be mindful and aware in our daily activities – while walking, while eating, while driving or even while washing the dishes. We don't have to be sitting only in a meditation hall to feel peace and happiness. It is available to us at every given moment.
Being passionate about calligraphy, I also enjoy his calligraphic works and how effortlessly they flow through his hands. It a mindful art of Nhat Hanh that captures and expresses his lifetime of meditative insights, peace and compassion.
Listening to his words of immense wisdom infused with a sense of calm and a bit of humour, has been extremely soothing to the chaotic mind. He is a spiritual leader I truly admire and follow.


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Реологічні властивості гірських порід (, ; ) – сукупність властивостей, які визначають здатність гірських порід змінювати у часі напружено-деформований стан в полі дії механічних сил. До основних Р.в.г.п. належать: пружність, пластичність, міцність, в'язкість, повзучість, релаксація напружень. Р.в.г.п. характеризують зміну (зростання) в часі деформацій в г.п. при постійному напруженні (явище повзучості) або зміну (зменшення) напружень при постійній деформації (явище релаксації). Повзучість і релаксація напружень пов'язані з переходом пружних деформацій в пластичні, незворотні. Прояви Р.в.г.п. значною мірою залежать від типу породи, вологості, тріщинуватості, т-ри, але вирішальним є рівень напруженого стану. Р.в.г.п. і їх параметри широко використовуються при дослідженні механічних процесів у масиві гірських порід, в розрахунках при оцінці міцності і стійкості гірничих виробок, бортів кар'єрів, свердловин, ціликів, гірничотехнічних споруд тощо.

Див. також
 Властивості гірських порід

Література

Характеристики гірських порід

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Google Setting Up Shop In Tempe, For Now Anyway
by David Wallace | Mar 6, 2006
The Business Journal of Phoenix reports today that Google is planning to move into large, temporary office space in Tempe and is expected to end up permanently in either Tempe or South Scottsdale at a newly constructed facility near Arizona State University. News that Google was coming to Arizona originally broke last October.
The Business Journal reports that Google will occupy 100,000 square feet to 120,000 square feet in Tempe while it looks to develop and construct an engineering and office center of its own at a nearby location. The permanent location whether that be Tempe or South Scottsdale will eventually employ about 600 people.
When trying to obtain more detailed information from city officials and Google, all are keeping tight lips.
"We don't kiss and tell," said Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman.
"We have not yet finalized a location and have nothing to announce at this time," said Google spokeswoman Sonya Boralv.
"Both of those suburbs would allow Google to recruit computer science and network engineering graduates from ASU's main campus in Tempe and new high-tech research center — dubbed SkySong," the BJ reports.


"Uber-Parti-Bus": So much more than just getting you from A to B. Everyone got off happier than they got on. We got our passengers to their destinations feeling warm, smiling, and giving off a positive vibe. I don't think Uber will roll out this kind of thing in the future, but you cannot deny the weight and the importance of the human touch. I don't know any other service that guarantees this kind of service. Would you pay for an emotional fix?


Could dreams of a greater Hungary turn into a nightmare?
Miklos Patrubany, the new head of the World Hungarian Congress, started his term in office by providing his own definition of a Hungarian: "A Hungarian," he declared, "is someone who is pained by Trianon." Of course, most non-Hungarians can be forgiven for not being pained by Trianon. In fact, they might wonder what a small château in Versailles, made famous by Marie Antoinette, has to do with being Hungarian.
It turns out that both Versailles and, particularly, Trianon have a lot to do with Hungarian history. At the end of World War I, when the winning powers imposed their solution on the losers, they demanded stiff monetary reparations from Germany at Versailles — and dismembered Hungary at nearby Trianon.
That was an idea advanced by Woodrow Wilson, the U.S. President who, along with British Prime Minister Lloyd George and French Premiere Georges Clemenceau, sought in vain at Versailles to establish a stable and peaceful post-war Europe.
As he brought the United States into "the war to end all wars," Wilson promised that every nation in Europe would live in its own nation-state and would have access to the sea. One result was to split Prussia off from Germany so that Poland could have direct access to the Baltic.
Another was to lope off two thirds of Hungary, stranding some five million Hungarians in Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and, after some additional tailoring of the map, the Soviet Union. Hungarians are fond of complaining that a 100-mile strip beyond their country's borders is populated by Hungarian speakers.
The past decade has seen several brands of nationalism emerge in the Balkans. Serbs dream of Greater Serbia, which would incorporate Kosovo and Monetnegro, as well as parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia. It is likely to remain a pipe dream as long as NATO has dominant air power.
The dream of Greater Croatia, including a large chunk of Bosnia, has fortunately departed feet first with the death of Croatian strongman Franjo Tujman. But such concepts as Greater Albania, comprising Kosovo and parts of Macedonia, and Greater Bulgaria, also with designs on Macedonia, are still on the table.
So, why not Greater Hungary? Remember Bill Clinton's quip during the 1992 U.S. presidential election, "It's the economy, stupid"? That phrase, then directed against President Bush's handling of a mild U.S. recession, still resonates even in remote parts of the world. Nevertheless, a greater Hungary probably has the best chance of building a powerful economy.
These days, the country is already one of the richest post-communist countries. Its per capita GDP is nearly $5,000, three times as high as Romania's — and almost ten times higher than Ukraine's. The rump of former Yugoslavia is an economic basket case and a political upheaval there is only a matter of time.
The gap between Hungary and its pauperized neighbors is only going to grow. Last year, Hungary joined NATO, and in a couple of years it should become a member of the European Union. There is no reason why it should not experience a burst of growth comparable to Ireland's.
Its neighbors, meanwhile, have proved incapable of adapting to the post-communist world. Their economic reforms have lagged behind and their politicians are universally corrupt and incompetent. These countries will be getting poorer, economic crises there will become a way of life, and political unrest and territorial disintegration could easily follow.
But while there is certainly nothing far-fetched about this scenario of a revitalized Hungarian nationalism, it seems unlikely — economically-speaking, at least — that Hungary would imperil its application to join the European Union.
Hungary has everything to gain from closer ties to the EU — and would severely jeopardize its newfound economic success by distancing itself from the EU by giving into nationalist impulses. They need look no further than the EU's chastisement of Austria for institutionalizing Jörg Haider's xenophobic Freedom Party.
So while it may have been Woodrow Wilson's vision that the prerequisite for stability in Eastern Europe was for every nation there to have access to the sea, it now appears that what these countries really need is access to the increasingly sound economies of Western Europe.


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and most of them were
vv1122365
#1 by vv1122365
SHANGHAI - Shanghai Masters winner Roger Federer was so rusty in his first match back this week after a month-long break that he was close to packing his bags and heading home.The Swiss star had racked up 57 unforced errors against Leonardo Mayer in the second round and fought off five match points before finally pulling through well after midnight.Four days after his narrow escape, however, he captured his fourth title of the year with a 7-6 (6), 7-6 (2) win over Frances Gilles Simon in Sundays final.I got very, very lucky, Federer said. I know what a privilege it is to be here today.Its been a banner year for Federer despite the fact hes fallen just short at the majors, including a heart-breaking loss to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. Federer leads the tour this season in match wins (61), top-10 wins (13) and final appearances (nine). And on Monday, he will leap past Rafael Nadal to No. 2 in the rankings for the first time in more than a year.Though Djokovic is still far ahead in No. 1, Federer also got his third win of the year against the Serb in the semifinals. He put on such a dominant display that Djokovic said in an unusually brief post-match news conference that it was the best Federer has ever played against him.A year ago, it was a different story. Bothered by back problems, he fell to a number of lower-ranked players and only won one title.The biggest concern was to be healthy this year, Federer said. Thats something Im just so pleased about, to see that the hard work I put in last year is paying off. Not only is it paying off, but Im feeling good, Im waking up normal. Im not half broken like I was last year.Im enjoying myself on the tennis court, he added. Im playing the way I was hoping I could play again.Federer didnt play the cleanest match on Sunday, though, even with the roof on the stadium closed due to the extremely windy conditions.The 17-time major winner finished with 36 unforced errors to 21 winners, but he was the more aggressive player, constantly attacking the net behind crisp approach shots and forcing Simon to try to pass. He won 24 of 35 points at net.He still has the same strengths, this fantastic serve and this huge forehand, Simon said. Now I know him, so Im not scared anymore when I have to play him. But its still so hard to beat him.Federer played a very loose service game to start the match, misfiring badly on his forehand to give Simon an immediate break for 1-0. Before the final, he had only dropped serve three times all week.Simon couldnt capitalize on Federers mistakes, though. Serving for the set at 5-4, his steady baseline game suddenly fell apart and he made several consecutive errors to allow Federer to break back and level the score.The Frenchman had chances to take the match to a third set, getting two break points on Federers serve at 5-6, but he missed a return wide and then hit a forehand well long to squander both.Every time he has an opportunity, hes really good at taking it, Simon said. When you play a close match with him, maybe he just has this feeling that he will somehow survive the match every time.The No. 29-ranked Simon was attempting to become the lowest-ranked player to win a Masters title since No. 50 Tomas Berdych captured the Paris title in 2005.The Frenchman fell out of the top 20 in February for the first time since 2011, but after a solid week in which he defeated two top-10 players — No. 4 Stan Wawrinka and No. 7 Berdych — hell vault back up to No. 19. Cheap Jordan 5 Canada . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. Air Jordan 5 Canada .Y. -- Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff had an opportunity to experience an entire range of emotions in his first trip back to Buffalo to face his former team. http://www.cheapairjordan5canada.com/ . The 28-year-old lefty made his MLB debut in 2013, making 10 starts and going 2-5 with 4.05 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Albers was named the Twins organizations minor league pitcher of the year for 2013. Cheapest Air Jordan 5 . Thats 14 consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over before they even began. Result notwithstanding, Sundays game had a very different feel to it. Air Jordan 5 For Sale Canada . -- The NFL cancelled its Hall of Fame game between St.PHILADELPHIA -- The Braves took advantage of a little help from their opposition. Justin Upton had two hits and three RBIs, and the Atlanta Braves were helped by two straight Ryan Howard errors in a 10-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the first game of a day-night doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. Tommy La Stella hit a three-run triple and Chris Johnson drove in two runs for the Braves, who have won four of five. Atlanta trailed 2-0 before tying it in the fourth on two unearned runs. "You make an error and give teams extra opportunities, and sometimes theyll make you pay for it," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We only got two runs out of those errors, but it got us back in the game. You have to take advantage of those. If you give opportunities to good baseball teams, theyre going to get you." Tony Gwynn Jr. and Ben Revere had a pair of hits for the slumping Phillies, who have lost six of eight. Philadelphia scored three runs or less for the 40th time, dropping to 7-33 in those contests. The Phillies also fell to 18-25 at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, where they entered Saturday batting .229 as a team. While the offence didnt shine, it was the defence that really let Philadelphia down this time. Howard made two costly errors in the fourth inning, resulting in two unearned runs that allowed the Braves to tie the game at 2. Freddie Freemans hard-hit grounder went through Howards legs and the error put runners on second and third. "It was a possible double-play ball and we wouldve been out of the inning," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "It changed the whole game." The next batter, Upton, hit a medium grounder to first but reached safely when Howard bobbled and then lost control of the ball. Simmons scored on that error and Freeman, who went to third on the play, then reached on Jason Heywards groundout to first. Fans gave a sarcastic cheer when Howard made the putout of Heyward. "We have to tighten up on the defensive end," Sandberg said. Atlanta then went ahead in the sixth on Uptons two-run double off the wall in left. The teams were scheduled to play the nightcap at 7:15, with Atlanta right-hander David Hale (3-2, 2.72) facing Phillies right-hander Sean OSullivan, who is making his 2014 debut after being called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the spot start. Ervin Santana (6-5) snapped a four-game winless streak after allowing two runs on seven hiits with five strikeouts and one walk in 6 2/3 innings.dddddddddddd Santana had lost his last three starts with a 5.89 ERA in those outings. But he was strong after the first two innings against the Phillies, retiring nine straight during one stretch and surrendering just three hits after the second inning. "It was a great effort," Gonzalez said. "We were looking for that kind of outing to be able to save the bullpen." Said Santana, "In the first inning, a couple pitches were up. After that, I just made a good adjustment and kept the ball down for the most part." Roberto Hernandez (3-7) didnt allow a hit through 3 1-3 innings and ended up giving up just three hits in seven innings with two strikeouts and three walks. Two of the four runs he allowed were unearned. "His pitching was better than his line," Sandberg said. "The defence let him down in the fourth inning, but he hung in there and pitched pretty well." The Braves broke the game open in the eighth when they scored five runs off Antonio Bastardo, snapping an 11 1-3 inning scoreless streak for the Philadelphia bullpen. La Stella had the big blow, a bases-clearing triple that pushed the Atlanta lead to 8-2. It was the first career triple for the rookie La Stella, who had two hits in his last 30 at-bats prior to the hit. The Phillies jumped in front 2-0. Gwynn Jr. snapped an 0-for-23 skid by tripling with one out in the first and scored on Howards single to left. It was Gwynns first hit since the June 16 death of his Hall of Fame father. Hernandez helped himself in the second inning when he recorded his first career RBI by singling home Koyie Hill. Notes: Hill, a catcher, was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley Friday after Carlos Ruiz was placed on the 7-day DL with concussion-like symptoms. Philadelphias regular backup catcher, Will Nieves, has been on the DL since June 19 with a right quad strain. . Atlanta C Evan Gattis, who left due to back spasms after striking out in the first inning on Friday night, didnt play. His replacement, Gerald Laird, went 0-for-3. . Philadelphia Flyers goalie Steve Mason, in town for the NHL Draft at the Wells Fargo Center Friday and Saturday, was in attendance. . Following the second game of Saturdays doubleheader, the Phillies and Braves will conclude their four-game series at 1:35 Sunday afternoon with Atlanta RHP Aaron Harang (6-6, 3.78) facing Philadelphia RHP David Buchanan (4-3, 4.79). 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Q: Q:span automaticlly changes its shape when it animates to the border of its parent Hey I'm currently building a bullet-comment pen on codepen,everything works fine but there's one problem.
The "bullet" span that contains a text with space in it automaticaly changes its shape when it reaches #screen's left border .
https://i.stack.imgur.com/JGCP6.jpg
I don't know how to fix this problem.
This is my codepen https://codepen.io/NuclearBlast/pen/zzOQEO
HTML:
.container
.row#row1
div.col-md-10#screen
.row#row2
div#control.col-md-10.col-md-offset-1
  input(type="text" placeholder="Say something" )#input
  div#buttons
    button.btn.btn-default#btnshoot(type="button"  disabled) shoot
    button.btn.btn-default#btnclear clear

JS:
$("#btnshoot").click(function shootBullet(){
  var cmt=$("#input").val();
  var screen=document.getElementById("screen");
  var bullet = document.createElement("SPAN");
  var textNode=document.createTextNode(cmt);
  bullet.appendChild(textNode);
  $(bullet).css({"max-
height":"30px","right":"-50px","bottom":rdmHeight()+"","width":"auto","font-
size":"2em","position":"absolute"});
 console.log($(bullet).css("bottom"));
 screen.appendChild(bullet);

$(bullet).animate(
{right:$(screen).width()+$(this).width()},5000,"linear",function(){
    $(this).remove();
  });
 $("#input").val("");
  //generate a random css bottom value for the bullet
  function rdmHeight(){
    var scrH=$(screen).height();
    var rdmH=Math.random()*scrH;
    if(rdmH+50>scrH){
       rdmH=scrH-30;
           }
     return rdmH+"px";
      }

A: To prevent the text wrapping to the next line when it hits the side, you can use the CSS white-space property:
span {
    white-space: nowrap;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


At the turn of the century the regional-global security partnership became a key element of peace and security policy-making. This book investigates the impact of the joint effort made by the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to keep the peace and protect civilians in Darfur.
This special issue sets out to analyze—from different epistemological perspectives and based on different case studies—tensions that have arisen in a number of recent security interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. The character of international peace and security missions in the Global South has changed significantly after the end of the Cold War. On the one hand, we witness a greater willingness to engage in order to terminate or prevent violent conflict. This willingness is grounded in a broader understanding of security in which the protection of the population is prioritized over the claim to security of a sovereign state. A state's sovereignty is increasingly interpreted as entailing a responsibility to protect the citizenry. On the other hand, a broadened international will to intervene in conflicts in the Global South raises a number of controversial questions regarding when and how and on whose behalf to intervene. What should be the projected end state of such liberal interventions? What does a responsibility to protect entail, conceptually and in practice? Who are the principal actors in complex and ambitious missions aimed at creating stability, peace, or (human) security? When should a stabilization mission end? What are the consequences when (short-term) security or humanitarian interests and (long-term) state-building or development interest are all legitimized through a discourse of protecting vulnerable populations? And, perhaps most importantly, what stakes do the actors directly affected by the conflict and the international response have? These are some of the questions the contributors address and analyze in this special issue.
The Nordic Africa Institute, the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation and the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs hosted a seminar in Uppsala, Sweden, on 15 and 16 December 2011, that brought together AU, EU and UN officials closely involved in peace operations in Africa. The seminar's purpose was to allow participants to compare their experiences of the different support models that have been used to date in Sudan and Somalia. International support for African peace operations provides opportunities but also poses challenges. This report examines four of these challenges in some detail: the AU Commission's limited capacity to plan and manage peace operations; insufficient political engagement by African member states with AU peace operations; the short-termism and self-interest of some of the AU's partners; and the need for UN Security Council permanent members to value and ensure a shared AU-UN strategic vision. The report also includes policy recommendations for resolving these challenges.
La complexité grandissante des environnements sécuritaires impose unhaut niveau d'exigences vis-à-vis des opérations de paix africaines etcomplique les efforts de long terme pour la consolidation de la paix etle renforcement de l'État. Les expériences de l'Union africaine (UA) etdes sous-régions au cours de la dernière décennie montrent qu'unmodèle africain des opérations de paix a émergé, qui est en contradictionavec les scénarios et les hypothèses multidimensionnelles demission qui sous-tendaient originellement le cadre de la Force africaineen attente (FAA).
An African model of peace operationsIncreasingly complex security environments are placing high demandson African peace operations, and complicating efforts at long-termpeace- and statebuilding. From the experiences of the African Union(AU) and the sub-regions over the last decade, an African model ofpeace operations has emerged that is at odds with the missionscenarios and multi-dimensional assumptions that underpinned theoriginal framework of the African Standby Force (ASF).
With little chance of getting any education or jobs, young slum dwellers in Kenya are easy prey for terrorist recruiters from al-Shabaab and ISIS. Politicians must therefore address the social development of poor neighbourhoods and specifically target the youth. Equally important in order to prevent further radicalisation, this policy note argues, is the fight against corruption.
This Discussion Paper explores the debates, theoretical perspectives and current trends in gender, conflict and post-conflict reconstruction, and security sector reform (SSR) in Africa. It provides a broad overview of and critical insights into the gender-conflict-security nexus, capturing the trends in the discourses, identifying the gaps in the literature and prioritising issues and areas for future research. This Discussion Paper is essential reading for all those with a deep interest in gender, peace, development and security in Africa, particularly gender scholars, students, activists and practitioners.
Fulltext file for free download available here.
Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation. Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Urban Dynamics.
The rebel war in Sierra Leone has been given various characterisations. One of the most commonplace of them brands it a 'senseless war'. In this study the author examines the views of the Sierra Leoneans themselves on this notion, and through a sociological lens he explores the "youthscape" of the war. The study also revisits some of the central works on the Sierra Leonean war by authors such as Paul Richards, Ibrahim Adbdullah and Yusuf Bangura.
While the legality of intervention without Security Council authorisation is still debatablein international law, over-reliance on military intervention increases the risk of too much focus on reactive rather than proactive strategies. If the thresholds for Article 4(h) intervention – like those of the responsibility to protect – are serious international crimes subject to universal jurisdiction, it follows that measures to ensure the observance of the law in prospect, rather than intervention and penalisation of violations in retrospect,are important in preventing violations. Therefore, in order to in a timely manner and effectively implement Article 4(h) and R2P, the missing link is borderless 'persuasive prevention' which aims at enforcing fundamental human rights obligations to prevent mass atrocity crimes stipulated in Article 4(h). To this end, as a minimum, the AU should discharge its responsibility to prevent human rights violations through the 'force of law'. Where atrocities are likely to take place, the African Standby Force (ASF) should be deployedin a timely way, not to defeat a State, but to pursue perpetrators of mass atrocity crimes. To achieve this, the ASF should have the 'capability to protect' to ensure the 'obligationto prosecute or extradite'. Although the AU has taken an interventionist stance, what is needed most is early action to prevent mass atrocity crimes. The AU may need to establish a body to monitor the implementation of obligations whose breach may lead to the heinous crimes in Article 4(h). In addition, the AU needs a legally binding instrument to ensure accountability and end impunity for crimes in Article 4(h). The idea is to influencethe calculus of potential authors of atrocities and ensure compliance with human rights and humanitarian law obligations.
Not long ago, Mali was considered a beacon of stability and a model of democratic evolution in West Africa. The country then experienced a military coup in the capital in March 2012, followed by the usual post-coup volatility and uncertainty. In the immediate aftermath of the coup, armed insurgents swiftly took over half the country. It did not take long to dismantle a country that on the paper appeared to be functioning, stable and democratic. French troops intervened in the conflict in the north. Yet even if this intervention put a stop to the outright threat of the insurgents taking over the south and significantly shifted the balance of forces in the north, it did not end the conflict. The insurgents have dispersed into remote areas in the sub-region, changing their tactics to terrorist-like activities. Different forms of political negotiation and reconciliation are certainly needed in the region. With the current global clash between radical Islam and the Western "War on Terror", northern Mali will probably continue to be contested terrain for a long time. In the meantime, a transition to democratic rule is planned for the country, with elections scheduled for July this year. In all likelihood, this will prove to be only an illusory end to an intense power tussle over state control in Bamako.
This study explores the historical development of the Liberian labor market with a particular focus on young men and women. It asks, what constitutes and shapes the Liberian labour market? By looking at labour mobilization and the structure of the (in)formal labour market – both in peace and war – our understanding of the contemporary Liberian labour marketis substantially enhanced. The study finds that there are many recurring patterns of labor migration, labor mobilization and distribution that have existed in the Liberian pre-war, war and post-war settings. Historical structures of informality and patrimonialism continue to dominate Liberia today. In addition to this, the study's focus on youths provides an insight into how this section of society moves through the labour market. It also examines the idea of unemployed youths as particularly prone to violence.
This Discussion Paper explores the interface between rights and identity in the struggles for land rights and citizenship in Africa. It provides a robust overview of developments in the literature on land rights and citizenship in Africa, poses relevant research questions and sketches the parameters of policy engagement by researchers. By laying emphasis on the priority of mapping the dynamics and impacts of the unfolding struggles, the author provides a critical intervention in ongoing debates on the subject. The paper is a rich source of material on the state of scholarship on land rights and citizenship in Africa and the future directions for research on the subject. Scholars, researchers and policy analysts are bound to benefit from its rich and critical insights.
Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation. Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, USA.
Constructions of gender, embodiment and agency among male Hamas youths in the West Bank are discussed in this article through the prism of violence. It focuses on the constructions of uncertain masculinities in a complex interplay of violence, political Islam, suffering and loss, and the importance of analyzing the body in such processes – both as agential and as victimized – is highlighted. To be able to move away from the sensationalist Western media that often portray Middle Eastern Muslim men as "violent," and as terrorists, we need to understand the motivations and the meanings of violence. The method of analysis is to use a discourse-centered approach and to use experience-near ethnography that begins with men's own practices and attends to how they understand themselves, how their bodies are involved, and how they live out norms and ideologies in their everyday lives. Thereby we are able to understand how men's realities and identities are interpreted, negotiated and constructed and how the body is actively involved in these processes. This approach is relevant since it is possible to analyze the singularity of experience, not only as a form of social interaction, but as linked to social structures and discourses, which implies negotiations of tensions, conflicts, and uncertainties.
Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation. New York University, Department of Anthropology.
The percentage of women aged 15-49 in Egypt who have undergone the procedure of female circumcision, or genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) stands at 91%, according to the latest research carried out by UNICEF. Female circumcision has become a global political minefield with 'Western' interventions affecting Egyptian politics and social development, not least in the area of democracy and human rights. Maria Frederika Malmstrom employs an ethnographic approach to this controversial issue, with the aim of understanding how female gender identity is continually created and re-created in Egypt through a number of daily practices, and the central role which female circumcision plays in this process. Viewing the concept of 'agency' as critical to the examination of social and cultural trends in the region, Malmstrom explores the lived experiences and social meanings of circumcision and femininity as narrated by women from Cairo. It is through the examination of the voices of these women that she offers an analysis of gender identity in Egypt and its impact on women's sexuality.
The objective of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C): Accelerating Change is to contribute to the abandonment of FGM/C in 17 African countries within a generation. FGM/C is a deeply embedded in social norm – woven into all aspects of social, cultural and political life. Although the practice is a violation of human rights and causes untold harm to the health and wellbeing of women and girls, it has long been viewed as a cultural necessity. In this context, simply exhorting people to change their beliefs and behaviour is not eff ective and can, in fact, be counterproductive. People must arrive at these decisions on their own; public support and consensus are key to promoting sustainable change. In its work to change such a deeply ingrained cultural practice as FGM/C, from its inception the Joint Programme has supported a holistic, culturally sensitive and participative approach grounded on a firm foundation of human rights. This approach ensures that the principles of human rights guide all programmatic activities and analysis in the target countries. The aim is to create local environments characterized by participation, empowerment, non-discrimination, equity, accountability and the rule of law. This holistic, participative approach has proven to be a most eff ective means for ending FGM/C in a sustainable manner. It also tends to promote wider community empowerment. Similarly, a supportive national environment based on an accurate, country-specific, culturally sensitive understanding of the causes and eff ects of FGM/C is also crucial to accelerating the abandonment of the practice.
At a time when much attention is focused on the Horn of Africa as one of Africa's most war-ravaged regions and a continued source of security concern regionally and globally, this Discussion Paper provides deep insights into the complex dimensions of and linkages between the violent conflicts in the region. Delving into history and the core and contextual factors underpinning these wars in the postcolonial era, the author provides a conceptual framework for grappling with the complex inter- and intra-state conflicts by focusing on the institutional and structural causes of war. He goes on to make a compelling argument that conflict for institutional and democratic state transformation in the Horn of Africa is a fundamental step towards long-term peace and sustainable development.
This Discussion Paper provides the most up-to-date insights into Central Africa's peace and security architecture. Its breath and depth attest to a deep knowledge of the history and politics of regional cooperation in a region that has attracted less attention in the literature than West, East and Southern Africa. It provides readers with first-hand knowledge of regional cooperation and integration, and the expansion of this agenda in Central Africa to include peace and security issues. Dispassionate and clear insights are offered into the intra-regional dynamics of the regional peace and security institutions FOMAC and MICOPAX, the challenges and constraints confronting regional peace in Central Africa and the potential for change. It is essential reading for all those seeking a good grasp of the complex dimensions of peace and security in Central Africa and the prospects for the future.
This Discussion Paper examines the high levels of post-electoral violence that followed the 2007 Kenyan elections. While noting that the conflict was triggered by the incumbent party's abuse of the electoral process with the complicity of certain state agencies, the author traces the background causes to the long pent-up grievances among the majority of Kenyan peoples, alienated from and oppressed by a fractious but predatory ruling elite. The paper provides insights into the roots and nature of Kenya's post-election violence; its manifestations in various regions of the country; and the roles of the ruling Party of National Unity and the opposition Orange Democratic Movement, the police and the international community. Overall, it provides a highly informative and critical account of the unprecedented levels of post-electoral violence in Kenya, exploring its complex ramifications, and the prospects for justice, reconciliation and democratic governance.
Hove, ChenjeraiNordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation.
Many African countries are caught up in perennial or recurrent political conflicts that often culminate in devastating wars. These flaring conflicts and wars create harrowing economic hardships, dire refugee problems, and sustain a sense of despair in such countries. By their nature, these conflicts and wars affect writers in profound and sometimes paradoxical ways. On the one hand, literature—whether fiction, poetry, drama, or even memoirs—is animated by conflict. On the other hand, the sense of dislocation as well as the humanitarian crises unleashed by wars and other kinds of conflicts also constitute grave impediments to artistic exploration and literary expression. Writers and artists are frequently in the frontline of resistance to the kinds of injustices and abuses that precipitate wars and conflicts. Consequently, they are often detained, exiled, and even killed either by agents of state terror or by one faction or another in the tussle for state control. Writers, Writing Conflicts and Wars in Africa is a collection of testimonies by various writers and scholars who have experienced, or explored, the continent's conflicts and woes, including how the disruptions shape artistic and literary production. The book is divided into two broad categories: in one, several writers speak directly, and with rich anecdotal details about the impact wars and conflicts have had in the formation of their experience and work; in the second, a number of scholars articulate how particular writers have assimilated the horrors of wars and conflicts in their literary creations. The result is an invaluable harvest of reflections and perspectives that open the window into an essential, but until now sadly unexplored, facet of the cultural and political experience of African writers. The broad scope of this collection—covering Darfur, the Congolese crisis, Biafra, Zimbabwe, South Africa, among others—is complemented by a certain buoyancy of spirit that runs through most of the essays and anecdotes.
This Discussion Paper draws attention to the often overlooked aspects of the limits, poverty and contradictions embedded in the "unfinished business" of the Zimbabwe nation state project. It is located within the broader context of the crisis of the nation-state in an African continent increasingly buffeted by waves of globalisation. It also revisits the debate on whether postcolonial nationalism can completely avoid reproducing the racial and ethnic discrimination that characterised its colonial past. Zeroing in on Zimbabwe, the paper argues that the nation-state crisis has roots in the legacy of settler colonialism, the ethnic fragmentation that marked the history of the liberation movement and the character of the nationalist elite. Its critique of the politics of the nationalist and political elite, the Lancaster House Agreement, the National Democratic Revolution and the Global Political Agreement makes this paper an important contribution to the debates on the real legacy of the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe and the prospects for a common national identity based on nationalism, social justice, inclusive democracy and development in the country.
The police in DRC are indeed a permanent domestic risk. The lack of policy, service or management regime for the acquisition of equipment explains the deficient, dilapidated, obsolete and very often inappropriate equipment. Moreover, police units have very weak operational capacity and police officers lack self-confidence and pride in their profession. These shabbily dressed men and women in faded uniforms daily develop an indifferent attitude towards their profession and work in general. Inefficient and ineffective, the Congolese policeforce is wholly demoralised and unprofessional. This has negatively affected the relationship between police and population. It has led to the withdrawal of people's cooperation, a must for successful police work and for meeting people's expectations.
In post-conflict societies, elections play several roles. They provide citizens with the opportunity to freely chose their leaders and representatives, and provide countries emerging from civil wars with new opportunities to come to terms with a traumatic past and rebuild their lives and societies in a secure and stable environment. For the international community, post-conflict elections lend credibility to peace agreements and provide an exit strategy. However, when elections are poorly timed or administered, and outstanding issues of justice, participation, national ownership and sustainability of the peace process are not well addressed, there is always a chance that the entire process may unravel. This report based on the debates and discussions of a panel debate on Winners and Losers in Post-Conflict Elections in West Africa, draws on insights from post-conflict elections in the sub-region and provides some crucial policy recommendations as well as areas for further research.
The three articles in this Discussion Paper explore different perspectives to the complex causes of the civil war that broke out in Côte d'Ivoire in September 2002. They are written against the background of the signing of yet another peace agreement between the Ivorian government and the former rebel New Forces (NF) in March 2007. This volume also provides a context where the prospects for post-conflict peace, national reconciliation and democracy in Côte d'Ivoire could be critically analysed.


New York's Superintendent of Insurance, Gregory V. Serio, announced the arrests of Dorothy Johnson and Twila McKee, both of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on charges of insurance fraud and attempted theft by fraud for submitting fraudulent claims to two life insurance companies falsely stating that Dorothy Johnson had died in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001.
The NYSID conducted the investigation in cooperation with the Manhattan District Attorney's office. It was turned over to the Milwaukee County District Attorney after it was revealed that Ms. Johnson and Ms. McKee lived in Milwaukee and made the claims in Milwaukee. "Ms. Johnson was arrested in Wisconsin on August 15th and Ms. McKee was arrested on August 18th. If convicted of these charges, they each face up to 40 years in state prison in Wisconsin," said the announcement.
McKee was given a joke of a sentence. Wisconsin, especially Milwaukee County, is not tough on insurance fruad.


[origin: WO2005086501A1] In according with the teachings of the present invention, a method and apparatus for performing fast call set-up in a wireless network is presented (Figure 2). A number of efficiencies are implemented to diminish the time required for establishing a call in a packet-based network. For example, call initiation (224) and Base Station Subsystem (BSS-202) resource allocation are performed contemporaneously; radio link resources and packet resources are initiated contemporaneously (242-244); an A10 interface is established immediately after allocating and connecting packet control function (PCF) resources for a packet data session (246); and a service connection request (254) is performed immediately after a channel assignment process (250) is performed.