A critical security vulnerability has been discovered in OpenSSL, a library in widespread use across the industry to provide SSL encryption support.
The VMTurbo appliance is based on openSUSE 12.3, which uses OpenSSL, and should therefore be updated to ensure continued security.
Detailed information on the vulnerability is outside of the scope of this document, but from a high level, there was a programming error within OpenSSL which means that a maliciously crafted endpoint could trick the server into sending arbitrary memory contents, which could then be examined for items such as private keys.
NOTE: If your output differs in any way, please do not continue with these instructions because you are likely running an older version and/or older platform of Operations Manager and need to follow this KB Article in order to properly migrate to a supported configuration. IMPORTANT:After following these steps, you will need to come back here to update your version of OpenSSL.
If your output shows a version less than 1.0.1e-1.44.1.x86_64, your system is vulnerable and you should follow the instructions below to update it as soon as possible.
This update contains only the updated OpenSSL libraries. It will not change the build number of your existing Operations Manager.
You will want to start at Step 2 because you've already downloaded this update file.
Your Operations Manager services will restart automatically.
NOTE: The openSUSE project uses slightly different version numbers for OpenSSL. The OpenSSL version for openSUSE that contains the fix is 1.0.1e-1.44.1. You may see posted at various sites including heartbleed.com that all versions up to and including 1.0.1f of OpenSSL are vulnerable and that version 1.0.1g is required for the fix, which do not map exactly to OpenSSL packaged with openSUSE.


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UCLA vs. Utah
Utah at UCLA: Photo Highlights
Photo highlights of the match-up between the visiting Utes of Utah and our UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl
By Telemachus Oct 14, 2012, 2:00pm PDT
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Things were a little shaky early at today's game, but we ended up getting the win.
Damien Thigpen returned the opening kickoff to the 34-yard line.
Brett Hundley scrambled a lot today starting with the opening play.
But he landed a bit awkwardly and after a second down pass that was way off the mark, the Bruins took a timeout to assess his injury.
Hundley was good to go and completed a pass to Thigpen, but it ended up short of the first down.
So in comes our most consistent player.
On our next possession, Hundley completes a pass to Steven Manfro, but it's a two-yard loss.
Jordan James finds a hole and runs for 4 yards.
Shaquelle Evans reaches high for a 5-yard reception.
After catching a pass, Joseph Fauria tries to put a move on the Utah defender...
...going air-born in the process for a 12-yard gain and a first down.
Thigpen gains 7 yards down to the Utah 23.
Johnathan Franklin gets 5 down to the 12 yard line.
And Hundley does the rest, keeping the ball on the zone read...
...as a defender keys on the wrong guy...
...Hundley weaves through the defenders getting great blocks from Torian White (#77) and Xavier Su'a-Filo (#56)...
...as he easily...
...makes it into the end-zone.
Yay Bruins!
After the PAT from Mr. Reliable (under 40-yards) Ka'imi Fairbairn, Bruins lead 7-0.
Utah tied it up on a silly special teams mistake, but on the following possession, the Bruins answered quickly.
The drive began innocently enough with a 1-yard gain by Franklin.
Hundley completed a 10-yard pass play to Jordan Payton for a 1st down.
Then Hundley connected with Shaq Evans on a 64-yard catch and run for a touchdown (while I was fumbling around with my camera). UCLA led 14-7 at the Half.
The lead was extended to 21-7 with a 66-yard drive on the Bruins' first possession of the 3rd quarter.
Franklin started things off with 3-yard gain.
Manfro added 4 yards on a pass play.
Facing 3rd and 3, Hundley scrambled 6 yards for a first down.
An illegal block made it 1st and 21 and Hundley completed a pass play to Fauria for 6 yards to the UCLA 42.
Hundley had to use his legs again, this time for 13 yards to the Utah 45.
JetSki ran 5 yards for a first down.
The Bruins ran the same play and this time JetSki got another 1st down and gained 18 yards.
After two incomplete passes, scrambling again, Hundley gained 9 yards to the Utah 13.
Facing 4th and one, the Mayor came through for 4 yards and a 1st down.
If the Mayor is hot, give him the ball! Showing incredible balance, Franklin gains another 6 yards down to the 3 yard line.
You'd think the Utes would figure it out, but Franklin leaves defenders in his wake on the way to the end-zone.
With the PAT the Bruins are up 21-7 and hang on to win 21-14.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Aston Villa can confirm defender Jordan Amavi has been ruled out for the rest of the 2015/16 Premier League season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
The 21-year-old suffered the injury on Thursday night playing for France U21s against Northern Ireland in a European qualifying fixture.
Everyone at the Club wishes Jordan a speedy recovery and we look forward to seeing him back on a football pitch as soon as possible.


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Chris Stapleton and H.E.R. Team Up for Soulful Holiday Collab to Celebrate National Christmas Tree Lighting
Chris Stapleton and H.E.R.; Photo Courtesy Mary Kouw/CBS
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee LL COOL J will ring in the holiday season as host of THE NATIONAL CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING, which will be broadcast for the first time on the CBS Television Network, Sunday, Dec. 5 (8:30-9:30 PM, ET/8:00-9:00 PM, PT). Chris Stapleton and H.E.R.; Photo Courtesy Mary Kouw/CBS
Chris Stapleton and H.E.R. joined forces for an epic collaboration during Sunday evening's (Dec. 5) National Christmas Tree Lighting special.
Pretaped from the Nation's Capitol, the GRAMMY award winners performed Donny Hathaway's 1970 holiday hit, "This Christmas."
The R&B songstress traded her signature guitar for the piano, while Stapleton riffed an electric guitar throughout their performance alongside the U.S. Army Band Downrange. Surrounded by festive decorations, the superstars performed the holiday classic as President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden watched from afar.
Watch their performance below.
TONIGHT! Watch my performance with @ChrisStapleton at The 99th National Christmas Tree Lighting happening at 8:30PM ET/8:00PM PT on @CBS. #NationalTreeLighting pic.twitter.com/4XWpSAZx1n
— H.E.R. (@HERMusicx) December 5, 2021
Stapleton and H.E.R. previously shared the stage earlier this year for a duet of "Hold On" during the 2021 CMT Music Awards in early June.
The annual holiday special was presented by the National Park Service (NPS) and National Park Foundation (NPF) and featured performances by Billy Porter, Juanes, Keb' Mo', Kristin Chenoweth, Maren Morris and Patti LaBelle.
The star-studded special highlighted the lighting of the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse in President's Park in Washington, D.C. and also showcased performances by the U.S. Army Band Downrange and the Howard Gospel Choir.
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Kip Moore; Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Kip Moore Plots Two Tours
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Music, News
Roman Alexander Drops Seductive New Song, 'Cocktail Conversations'


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Junglee is a former online shopping service provided by Amazon that enabled customers to search for products from online and offline retailers in India. Junglee started off as a virtual database that was used to extract information off the internet and deliver it to enterprise applications. As it progressed, Junglee started to use its database technology to create a single window marketplace on the internet by making every item from every supplier available for purchase. Web shoppers could locate, compare and transact millions of products from across the Internet shopping mall through one window.[114]
Treat yourself to the perfect nights sleep every night with the outstanding collection of ultra-comfy mattresses at Overstock.com. Our carefully curated collection features an endless variety of mattress size and style options that are sure to meet any sleepers needs or preference with ease. Weve partnered with premium name brands like Serta, Simmons, Sealy, Tempur-Pedic, Select Luxury, Linenspa, and more to help you find the perfect mattress at the perfect price. Whether youre a back sleeper who loves firm support or a side sleeper with a taste for ultra-plush comfort, Overstock.com has hundreds of spring, memory foam, adjustable, and even water-based mattresses that offer reliable, long-lasting comfort night after night, for years to come. Dont forget to shop our selection of folding beds to make sure your guests feel right at home.
"Search Inside the Book" is a feature which allows customers to search for keywords in the full text of many books in the catalog.[126][127] The feature started with 120,000 titles (or 33 million pages of text) on October 23, 2003.[128] There are about 300,000 books in the program. Amazon has cooperated with around 130 publishers to allow users to perform these searches.[citation needed]
The company was founded as a result of what Jeff Bezos called his "regret minimization framework," which described his efforts to fend off any regrets for not participating sooner in the Internet business boom during that time.[19] In 1994, Bezos left his employment as vice-president of D. E. Shaw & Co., a Wall Street firm, and moved to Seattle, Washington, where he began to work on a business plan[20] for what would become Amazon.com.
Amazon Echo Plus features premium speakers for powerful sound and a built-in Zigbee smart home hub and temperature sensor. Just ask Alexa to play music, answer questions, make calls, and provide information, news, sports scores, weather, and more. With the built-in hub, starting your smart home is easy. Echo Plus has a built-in Zigbee hub to easily setup and control your compatible smart home devices, and an improved sound for streaming music New premium speakers powered by Dolby play 360 degree audio with crisp vocals and dynamic bass response Use your voice to adjust equalizer settings Ask Alexa to play music, answer questions, read the news, check the weather, set alarms, control compatible smart home devices, call almost anyone, and more Set up your smart home without a separate hub... Less
Mevol via Amazon offers its Mevol Stainless Steel Tub Drain Hair Catcher for $12.99. Coupon code "WDLK8SZM" cuts that to $8.96. Plus, Prime members receive free shipping. That's tied with our mention from two weeks ago, $4 off, and the lowest price we could find. It fits drains from 1.5" to 1.8" diameter and comes with four rubber gaskets. Deal ends October 31.
To avoid copyright violations, Amazon does not return the computer-readable text of the book. Instead, it returns a picture of the matching page, instructs the web browser to disable printing and puts limits on the number of pages in a book a single user can access. Additionally, customers can purchase online access to some of the same books via the "Amazon Upgrade" program.[citation needed]
Amazon puts all of its daily deals into a Gold Box. Check the Today's Deals page to access these daily deals and get limited-time savings of up to 80% off select items, coupons to instantly clip and access to Lightning Deals. Lightning Deals are available only for a limited amount of time and have a countdown timer showing how much time is left to get the discount. Shop before the deal expires or the item sells out.
Sign up for the Chase Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card and earn a $500 bonus cash back when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, receive a 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers, after that variable APR of 15.24% - 21.24%. Other card features include earning unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase made for your business. You can redeem your rewards for cash back, gift cards, travel and more through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open.* Plus, there's no annual fee and employee cards are available at no additional cost. For more terms and conditions, click here.
The editors at Brad's Deals search the Web daily for the best sale prices, coupons, rebates and store rewards at more than 3,800 retailers. The site is easy to navigate and lets you sort deals by newest or most popular. It recently was redesigned to allow users to set up profiles with their favorite stores, coupons and deals. You also can sign up to receive daily, twice-a-week or weekly emails with deal alerts.
I do not like the security of this apps. By default any one in my home can just open it up and start buying things on my account. I would like it to just add things to my cart on the TV and them buy on "My" Computer or "My" phone. I know you can setup a PIN for "videos, purchasing and certain types of content".But, you then need to enter the PIN for $0 videos. Also, anybody with access to the Fire TV remote can just install the apps and start buying things, no pin, no password, just because you have a Fire TV setup on your account. Amazon you need to have a separate PIN for Buying videos, parental control (ratings), Apps and Shopping. And by default the app should setup a PIN.
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Ronald Kitchen, a Jon Burge police torture survivor and co-founder of the Death Row 10, discusses his newly published memoir -- My Midnight Years -- with journalist Jamie Kalven at the Experimental Station.
This event is free and all are welcome. Light refreshments and a separate play area for children will be provided. Guests should enter the red door on Blackstone Avenue. This event is wheelchair accessible.
Facebook Event for "Enduring Chicago Police Abuse." RSVP here.
Written with passion and defiance, My Midnight Years is more than just a memoir—because Ronald Kitchen's ordeal is not his alone. Kitchen was only one of scores of victims of Jon Burge and his notorious Midnight Crew, a group of rogue police detectives who spent decades terrorizing, brutalizing, and incarcerating men—118 have come forward so far—in Chicago's African American communities.
Overcoming overwhelming difficulties, Kitchen cofounded the Death Row 10 from his maximum security cellblock. Together, these men fought to expose the grave injustices that led to their wrongful convictions. The Death Row 10 appeared on 60 Minutes II, Nightline, Oprah, and Geraldo Rivera and, with the help of lawyers and activists, were instrumental in turning the tide against the death penalty in Illinois. Kitchen was finally exonerated in 2009 and filed a high-profile lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department, Jon Burge, Mayor Richard Daley, and the Cook County state's attorney.
Kitchen's story is outrageous and heartbreaking. Largely absent from social justice narratives are the testimonies of the victims themselves. The atrocities of the Midnight Crew were brought to light through Kitchen's actions, and he is a rare survivor who has turned his suffering into a public cause. He is poised to become a powerful spokesperson who will play a major part in the ongoing discussion of institutional racism.


Gets or sets a Boolean value that specifies whether multiple values can be used in the lookup field.
true to specify that multiple values can be used in the field; otherwise, false. The default is false.
You cannot set a deletion constraint on a lookup field that allows multiple values.


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Home > Featured > Money And Ocasek Become Rock's Latest Casualties
Money And Ocasek Become Rock's Latest Casualties
Rock Music lost two of its iconic figures over the weekend with the deaths of Cars' vocalist/guitarist Rick Ocasek and solo artist Eddie Money. Ocasek was found deceased (cause of death, natural causes) Sunday morning September 16th in his New York apartment by ex-wife and former supermodel, Paulina Poritzkova, while Money passed away Thursday, September 13th from esophageal cancer, Ocasek was 75 and Money was 70.
Ocasek's Cars was one of the music industry's top New Wave bands, their 1978 self-titled debut featuring three top singles; "You're Just What I Needed", "My Best Friend's Girl" and Good Times Roll" and they would release 13 top 40 singles and four top 10 albums, their last release being their 2011 `More Like This' reunion effort. The band's last official performance was at their 2018 Rock Music Hall Of Fame Induction with Weezer's Scott Shriner filling in on bass for Benjamin Orr who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2000.
From Ric's Sons
Our dad was a prolific doodler.
The only time Music Express interviewed Ocasek was in 1979 when he did a phone interview with Vancouver correspondent Tom Harrison and this writer chatted with Benjamin Orr in 1985 after the band's song "Drive" proved to be a pivotal song at the London Live Aid concert.
Music Express did have more contact with Eddie Money. This writer and Music Express publisher Conny Kunz had the pleasure of socializing with the Brooklyn NY artist when he performed at the Edmonton Summer Rock Cirkus August 26th, 1979. The festival staged by Martin Melhuish and Doug Pringle to launch local FM rock station K-97, featured the likes of Heart, Peter Frampton, Trooper and Streetheart with Money featuring early in the afternoon after opener Dixon House Band.
Eddie Money Album
Money freely floated around backstage after his gig, which featured his current hits "Two Tickets To Paradise" and "Baby Hold On" and he came across as a totally unpretentious character as he chatted with Conny and I. "I can't take this business of being a rock star too seriously," noted the former NY police officer. "Unlike him" as he pointed at Heart bassist Howard Leese who was flaunting a gaudy pair of velvet bell-bottom pants. Leese, stung by the criticism, sprinted back to the safe confines of Heart's trailer while Money laughed at Leese's obvious discomfort.
Money was also the life of the party backstage during the after-show soiree but unfortunately, his penchant for drinking and smoking sparked future health problems which plagued his music career. Diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer, Money was able to complete his last album, `Brand New Day' which was held back until July of this year, due to his failing health.
Featured News Video
Correcting A CARAS Travesty
The Evolution Of A Classic Rock Band


This paper reports on some of the findings of a study undertaken within a vulnerable residential area of an inner-city in the north-west of England. As a location, it has been marked as vulnerable due to its abnormally high crime rate. As such, it continues to attract police and local authority concern, who commissioned research to examine the motivations, opportunities of, and technical knowledge for undertaking one of its common crimes in the locale, that is theft from or of a motor vehicle (TMV). In using qualitative research methods with a sample of ex-offenders, victims of theft, and, users of the stolen goods market, several key factors were identified as relevant in the undertaking and consequences of TMV. Here, the role of the built environment in terms of urban disorganisation, the lack of community cohesion between the varying residential groups, problematic police-community relationships and attitudes, and the marked income inequalities within such a residential population, were all highlighted as significant. These factors intertwined with one another to create a space where the occurrence of a particular type of crime was viewed as necessary and for some, an acceptable response to their State allocated position of neglect and marginalisation. In reporting on the findings of some of this data, this paper discusses the reasons presented by exoffenders (n=18) for their taking part in the offence of TMV, and their assessments of offender punishment and rehabilitation support services. To do so, the paper uses direct narratives from exoffenders to offer a criminological commentary on why TMV occurs and the assessment that those who undertake this crime, make of support services, and the impact that this is likely to have on re-offending rates.


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Home > Butterfly Floral
A Helena Kolan Bride for a Colorful, Multicultural Jewish-Hindu Wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA
19/06/2020 by Karen Cinnamon
Get ready to be BLOWN AWAY by the incredible Jewish-Hindu wedding of our beloved Brides Club member Jaime, who has an online fitness business, and Varun, who is CEO of a tech company. These two wanted a one-of-a-kind day that felt larger than life, and did they ever achieve that goal – thanks in no small part to the expertise of their wedding planner, Leora of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Best Bride, who Jaime describes as "the best wedding planner on the planet. Period."
Blending two different faiths and cultures is no small feat, but Leora made it a breeze, working with Jaime and Varun to craft a jam-packed day – and we do mean a full day; this wedding went from noon until midnight! – including two ceremonies (one Hindu, one Jewish), a positively mouthwatering bicultural food experience featuring Israeli and Indian street food, and, of course, a rocking party to end things off.
The results were thoroughly, breathtakingly beautiful – we're equally obsessed with the color and energy of the Hindu ceremony and the romance and drama of the sunset Jewish ceremony. And how beautiful is the couple's floral ketubah, created by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Delicate Brush?! Jaime can't stop raving about her experience working with founder Rachelle to create the perfect design to match the color and décor scheme for her Jewish ceremony.
You really, really don't want to miss the fantastic photos from Clane Gessel and Sanaz Photography. Because their day had so much going on, planner Leora encouraged Jaime and Varun to hire two photography teams to make sure none of the good stuff went undocumented, and Jaime is SO glad she followed that advice. And the trailer by AndHer Visuals is equally unmissable.
Now over to the bride, who had not one, not two, but THREE dresses for the big day – her gorgrous, vibrant dress for the Hindu ceremony was made by Vama Designs, and her gown for the Jewish ceremony was custom made by Israeli designer Helena Kolan (who also created Jaime's reception dress)…
Jaime, the bride: We met on OKCupid in San Francisco when we were both working in the start up scene.
Real Jewish Brides: Jaime Talks About What's Happened in The Past Three Months and What's Next
02/07/2019 by Smashing The Glass
Jaime will be marrying Varun on 26th October 2019 at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, California, USA. Click here to read all Jaime's planning posts to date.
THREE FACTS: (1) Jaime and Varun will be having a Jewish ceremony AND a Hindu ceremony – on the same day! (2) They're planning a swanky but not stuffy wedding at one of our fave California venues, Hummingbird Nest Ranch! (3) Jaime is a member of Smashing The Glass's Brides Club!
What's happened in the past three months
Hey everyone! My goodness it's been such a whirlwind since I last checked in with STG! April, May and June have been full of fun! As I mentioned in my last blog – we had the best time doing our pre wedding shoot with Clane Gessel – our wedding photographer – just check some of these out…
Image by Clane Gessel
An Idan Cohen Bride for a Colorful Modern Rustic Jewish Wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA
What. A. Wedding. We're honestly STILL busy picking our jaws up off the floor from this one. One of our very favorite California venues, a truly breathtaking floral chuppah, colored smoke bombs, a magical, glittering gown from a fab Israeli designer… Jewish weddings don't get much chicer than this.
Shaina and Shahab hit the bullseye when it came to combining their affinity for bold, bright, statement-making colors with the rustic-luxe vibes of the wonderful Hummingbird Nest Ranch. Their vibrant aesthetic really stands out from the pack — this is seriously one for the books! Photographer Katie Beverley did an epic job capturing all the gorgeous details and emotion of the big day.
Lucky Shaina just happens to be BFFs with mega-talented wedding planner Leora Soleymani of Best Bride (who did double duty as a bridesmaid on the day!), and we are totally blown away by how perfectly she pulled the vision for the day together.
Oh, and did we mention they picked the coolest ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com? They chose the beautiful papercut design because it features a gate that reminds them of the one at their venue! Love that.
There's so much more we could say about this exquisite day, but we'll leave it to the bride — who looked oh-so-stunning in the custom sparkly princess gown she worked with Israeli designer Idan Cohen to design — to fill you in on the rest.
Shaina, the bride: We got married at Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Simi Valley. From long before I was even engaged, I knew I wanted to get married there. I wanted something different, something magical, something natural. The ambiance and surroundings made me feel at peace, it had so much to offer.
I had also never been to a wedding there so it was exciting and unique to me. I wanted a blank canvas where I could design from scratch, and that's exactly what Hummingbird gave me the opportunity to do. The entire property is breathtaking, from the mansion to the field, you can create whatever you dream. Shahab knew it would be a lot of work, but wanted a happy bride and went with the idea!
A Monique Lhuillier Bride for an Ultra-Glam Old Hollywood Jewish Wedding at the Four Seasons, Los Angeles, California, USA
We are totally obsessed with the bride, Natasha's fab Monique Lhuillier gown in today's mega-glam Jewish wedding. The lace, the fit, that gorgeous pouf at the bottom… LOVE.
It's no wonder lovely Natasha ended up with such a fab gown — as a buyer for Forever21, she knows a thing or two about fashion. So does dapper groom Ariel, as the CEO of an LA-based clothing manufacturer.
From the stunning outdoor palm-tree lined ceremony space (so LA) to the ever-so-glam reception space, the couple's style is out in full force. And if you needed further evidence of their fantastic taste, they used one of our very own Smash Glass Pouches under the chuppah! Check it out in Wind Productions' fantastic photo just below.
Beyond the aesthetics, we're also super touched by the efforts Natasha made to include her parents, who live all the way on the other side of the world in London, in the planning.
She chose her mega-luxe venue partly because it just happened to be the hotel her parents had stayed at (and adored) on their very first visit to her after she made the big move across the pond, and even let her mum and dad design the wedding invitations!
There's so much more to love about this wedding, but we'll let Natasha fill you in on the rest…
Old School Hollywood
Natasha, the bride: we got married at the Four Seasons, Los Angeles. It's actually funny because 6 years ago when I moved to Los Angeles on my parents' first trip to visit me here they stayed at this hotel. I remember at the time them seeing a wedding while being there and saying what an amazing place to make a wedding… six years later I ended up having my wedding there.
This wasn't the only reason , it's close to where we live and very old school Hollywood with a beautiful outdoor setting… but the fact that my mum and dad loved the venue so much swayed me as I always try and make them happy too. As my dad kept saying to me… this is really our wedding Natasha… when you have a daughter and she gets married – then it will be your wedding!
A Pnina Tornai Bride for a Super Luxe Colorful Jewish Wedding With a Show-Stopping Chuppah at The Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, California USA
Here at Smashing The Glass, we don't use the word "luxe" lightly, but that is the only way to describe Della and Benjamin's divine and decadent colorful Jewish wedding.
Not many brides can say they met the dress before they met the man, but that's exactly what happened to bride Della, who fell in love with her Pnina Tornai gown five years before the pair actually met! It was totally worth the wait – Della looked simply incredible.
And her wedding was as extraordinary as her dress! The celebration was held at the glamorous Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, and was brought together by incredible planner, L'Amour Event,
We've seen many a stunning chuppah in our time, but Della and Benjamin went all out, with a show-stopping garden-themed and foliage-rich chuppah, bursting with pops of color in the couple's 'shades of pink' color palette. Butterfly Floral displayed ridiculous levels of talent in creating the absolute vision, and the complementary arrangements around the venue.
The fabulous floristry was echoed in the couple's sensational seven-tier cake by Joanie and Leigh's Cakes, also an absolute work of art.
All of the magic and dà©cor details were captured with aplomb by photographer John Solano, and in the beautiful, cinematic wedding video below, provided by David Medill.
It's time to pass you over to Della for the full story on her and Ben's magical day – we just know you'll love it as much as we do!
A venue with a beautiful ballroom
Della, the bride: We got married at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA. We choose this place because of the ballroom layout. I liked that it was three levels and everyone was on a higher level than the dance floor, so they would all have a good seat at our wedding.


Mojang's much publicized legal battle with Bethesda has only managed to go from ugly to uglier in recent days, but make no mistake: Bethesda's not playing schoolyard bully to the industry's favorite little guy for fun. Speaking with Kotaku , the Elder Scrolls creator told its side of the sordid story.
"Mojang's public comments have not given a complete picture as it relates to their filings, our trademarks, or events that have taken place," said Bethesda's Pete Hines.
"Failing to protect a trademark could be damaging to an owner's rights," explained Angela Bozzuti, a trademark expert contacted by Kotaku. "Not only could it result in actual consumer confusion, but it could also weaken the strength of the mark in the marketplace. Furthermore, once there is widespread third party use of the term 'Scrolls' as or within a longer game title, it will likely weaken Zenimax's mark and make protection difficult and limited."
As such, Mojang's lack of malicious intent isn't even an issue here. As Zenimax sees it, if it doesn't put its boot of blinding speed down right here and right now, someone else might be able to successfully rip off its brand in the future. Unsurprisingly, Bethesda's not exactly whistling a cheery tune as it marches off to court.
"Nobody here enjoys being forced into this. Hopefully it will all be resolved soon," Hines said.
Meanwhile, PC Gamer Publishing's upcoming epic role-playing golf sim The Older Parchments Fore: Cloudplace is still scheduled for release in late 2013. Or whenever it stops being entirely fictional.


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Posts Tagged 'Philippines'
Maria the Witch on the Rise of Bolsonaro, Brazil's Fascist Candidate
This is a mirror on Kevin Logan's channel of a piece by Maria the Witch warning and explaining about the rise of Jair Bolsonaro, the Far-Right, Fascist candidate in the Brazilian elections. From what she says about herself at the beginning of the video, Maria is a Brazilian who studied in the US. However, Bolsonaro's dangerous ascent to power has pushed her into making this video so that when the time came, she 'wouldn't be laughing like an Anglo'.
At the moment, Bolsonaro is only a few votes away from the Brazilian presidency, at 46 per cent he's just shy of the 50% + 1 required for him to take power. At a 49 per cent approval rating, he's way ahead in the polls.
As for who he is, the video has a clip of Democracy Now's Amy Goodman explaining that he's a former army officer, who has openly praised the country's military dictatorship, which last from 1964 to '85. He has a long history of making racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments, and encouraging police to kill suspected drug dealers.
Glenn Greenwalt of the Intercept explains that he's been called Brazil's Donald Trump, which radically understates the case. He's much closer to Duterte in the Philippines or General Sisi in Egypt. He is far more dangerous than Trump, as democracy in Brazil is far more fragile. It lacks the political infrastructure that America and the UK have to limit the power of the president. He is likely to win against Lula's successor – Lula da Silva was Brazil's previous, left-wing president – because of the animus built up by the media and the business class against PT, the Workers' Party.
As for his bigoted comments, he once said in an interview that he'd rather hear that his son died in a car accident than was gay. He defended torture and rape during the dictatorship, and when a member of Brazil's lower house confronted him about it he told her she needn't worry, because she didn't deserve to be raped by him – meaning that she was too ugly for him to rape her. He's made a whole slew of similar comments about Blacks and the indigenous peoples. More worrying are his models for dealing with crime. They're taken from the world's worst dictators like Pinochet. As in the Philippines, he wants to send in the army and police to slaughter indiscriminately anyone they consider to be a drug dealer or criminal without trial. He believes in military rule. He does not regard the military coup of 1964 as a coup, and wishes to replicate it. And he has the entire top level of the military supporting him.
The institutions that would constrain Bolsonaro or somebody like him in the US – a strong supreme court, the CIA or the FBI, and other political parties, don't exist. Due to his popularity, there is a sizable part of the Brazilian population that fears he will bring back the worse elements of dictatorships, such as the summary execution of dissidents, shut down media outlets, and closed congresses.
Maria then asks how this is possible in a country that has been ruled for 14 years by the centre left PT. Back to Greenwald.
Greenwald explains that it's similar to what is happening in America, the UK and Europe where this kind of extremism is spreading, and the media outlets that have aided its rise refuse to take any responsibility for it. The media is very oligarchical, and in the hands of a small number of very rich families. The journalists themselves are afraid of Bolsonaro and don't support him, but continue to create the narrative that supports him: that Bolsonaro and PT are simply two sides of the same coin. PT are a left-wing dictatorship, like Bolsonaro represents a rightwing dictatorship, and both are equally bad. Greenwald makes the point that during the 14 years PT governed the country, there was a very free and open press that constantly attacked them. they impeached one of their presidents and put the other in prison, so the idea that it's a dictatorship like that to which Bolsonaro aspires is grotesque. But this is what is normalizing Bolsonaro.
As for Lula da Silva, he was thrown in prison just as he was leading in the polls and banned all of the media from interviewing him. The Intercept/em> has tried, as have others, but there are prevented by a prior restraint order issued by the Supreme Court. He states that Brazilian institutions carry much of the blame for the rise of Bolsonaro, just as American institutions do for Trump and British for Brexit, and European globalization policies for the rise of the extreme Right on the continent.
Maria also explains that there have also been a series of events that have weakened Brazilian democracy, aimed not just at PT but also at other left-wing parties. Earlier this year councilwoman Marielly Franco was murdered, PT president Dilma Rousseff was impeached and then Lula was arrested.
There is then a segment from a report by Amy Goodman explaining that Franco was a member of Rio de Janeiro's council, a human rights activist. She and her driver were assassinated as they returned from an event on empowering Black women. Franco was a Black lesbian, who was fiercely critical of the police's killing of people in the favela neighbourhoods. The night before her death she had Tweeted 'How many more must die before this war ends?' In January alone 154 people were killed by the cops in Rio State. Goodman goes on to say that last month President Temer ordered the military to assume control of police duties in Rio. Dilma Rousseff was impeached three years ago by the Brazilian senate in a move she denounced as a coup. Lula was leading in the polls, but had been convicted of corruption and money-laundering, charges many believe were trumped up. Rousseff stated that this was the second part of the coup, after her impeachment.
The British human rights lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson, told The New Internationalist 'Extraordinarily aggressive measures are being taken to put Lula in jail by the judiciary, by the media, by the great sinews of wealth and power in Brazil'.
Maria then goes to a Brazilian academic at King's College, London, Anthony Pereira, the professor and director of the Brazil institute there, who explains that this is nothing new but a relapse into Brazil's 'fashy disease' from the 1960s, which was never properly cured.
Pereira explains that the transition from dictatorship to democracy was unique in that it was very slow and gradual, and unlike the Chilean transition, informal. It was managed by the regime itself, which changed the rules when it feared instability, dividing the opposition and making a lot of deals. Tancredo Hernandez was the first civilian candidate to win the presidency indirectly in 1985. After he won the election, Hernandez talked to the military and many other politicians and promised that there would be no revenge, no trials for human rights abuses, and that he would make sure that the political elite could make a smooth transition from the military to the civilian. There was a church report organized by the diocese of Sao Paolo on the human rights abuses, and people knew there had been torture, but these revelations were not state policy. This informal transition kept things very much as they had been. This explains why Bolsonaro's discourse – his rhetoric – sounds very much like what was said in 1964, talking about the unity of the Brazilian family, how the left cannot divide the country, it cannot allow women to be against men, Afro-Brazilians to be against Whites, for homosexuals to be against heterosexuals. It's a bit like One Nation Conservatism in Britain where there is a view of an organic, hierarchical society, patriarchal, dominated by the social elite. It has a place for everyone, but it rejects what it calls 'activism', associated with subversion and not being really Brazilian. And it rejects the Left, because of its association with Communism, Socialism and Venezuela. It's a unity which excludes an awful lot of people.
Maria goes on to recommend that people watch the full pieces by Pereira and Greenwald explaining the country's relationship with the workers' party, PT. She also recommends that people look at the videos by the Intercept and Democracy Now. She states that people should be interested in this, not just because one of the world's largest countries is going full Fascist, not just because the US and Britain have both had a hand in Brazil's dictatorship, but also if they don't want her to be silence or, worse, hunted down. She also recommends another female left-wing YouTuber from Brazil for those of her viewers who speak Portuguese. The videos and links to them are shown at the end of Maria's video.
I've put this up as it seems that every Fascism in one guise or another is on the rise again. And the Fascist in one part of the world embolden and strengthen the stormtroopers in others. It's also important to know that Britain also was involved in supporting the Brazilian dictatorship.
And Greenwald is right in that the forces that are enabling the rise of Bolsonaro are the same as those aiding the rise of the extreme right over here: globalism – not just confined to the Continent, but also a part of British economic policy – and an oligarchic media that is heavily biased against the Left.
And I was talking a few weeks ago to a left-wing minister at my local church, who wondered if Corbyn would ever be allowed to take power if he was elected. If his fears are justified, then what has happened to Lula da Silva will be repeated over here to stop Jeremy Corbyn and a genuine reforming, Socialist Labour government.
Tags:'Maria the Witch', Amy Goodman, Anthony Pereira, Armed Forces, Assassination, Australian Labor Party, Blacks, Brexit, CIA, Corruption, Coups, Death Squads, Democracy Now, Dilma Rousseff, Donald Trump, Drugs, Duterte, el-Sisi, FBI, Gays, General Pinochet, Geoffrey Robertson, Glenn Greenwald, Globalism, Homophobia, Human Rights, Jair Bolsonaro, Jeremy Corbyn, Kevin Logan, KIng's College, Labour Party, London, Lula da Silva, Marielly Franco, Media, Military Dictatorship, Misogyny, Money Laundering, Philippines, Police, Portuguese Language, President Temer, PT, racism, Rape, Rio de Janeiro, Supreme Court, The Intercept, The Queen, Torture, Women
Posted in America, Australia, Chile, communism, Crime, Democracy, Education, England, European Union, Fascism, History, Justice, Persecution, Politics, Radio, Socialism, Television, The Press | 1 Comment »
Blum's List of Country In Which US Has Interfered with their Elections
A few days ago I posted up a list of the nations in William Blum's Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower where the US had interfered in its politics to block the election of a left-wing or liberal candidate, have them overthrown, or colluding and gave material assistance to a Fascist dictator and their death squads. As well as outright invasions, such as that of Grenada and Panama under Reagan and Bush in the 1980s, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq under George Dubya.
Blum also has a list of countries, where the US has interfered with their domestic politics to pervert their elections. These include
The Philippines 1950s
Setting up by the CIA of a front organisation, the National Movement for Free Elections to promote its favoured politicians and policies, giving finance and other assistance to those candidates, disinformation, and drugging and plotting to assassinate their opponents.
Italy 1948-1970s
Long-running campaigns against the Communist party and to assist the conservative Christian Democrats.
Lebanon 1950s
CIA funding of President Camille Chamoun and other pro-American politicians; sabotaging of campaigns of politicos sceptical of American interference in their country.
Indonesia 1955
CIA donated a million dollars to Centrist Coalition to attack the electoral chances of President Sukarno and the Communist party.
British Guiana/Guyana 1953-64
Campaign to oust prime minister Cheddi Jagan, using general strikes, terrorism, disinformation and legal challenges by Britain.
Japan 1958-1970s
CIA funding of conservative Liberal Democratic Party against the Japanese Socialist Party, allowing the Liberal Democrats to stay in power continuously for 38 years.
CIA operation to help B.P. Koirala's Nepali Congress Party to win the country's first ever election.
CIA arranged for massive fraudulent voting to ensure electoral victor of local dictator Phoumi Nosavan.
CIA and Agency for International Development funded politicos opposed to President Joao Goulart, as well as other dirty tricks against various other candidates.
Dominican Republic 1962
US ambassador John Bartlow Martin instructs the heads of the two major parties before general election that the loser would call on his supporters to support the winner, and that the winner would offer seats to the loser's party. Also worked with the government to deport 125 people, including supporters of previous dictator Trujillo and Cuba.
Overthrow of General Miguel Ydigoras, as they feared he was about to step down and call a general election, which would be won by previous reforming president and opponent of American foreign policy, Juan Jose Arevalo.
Funding by CIA and Gulf Oil of campaign of president Rene Barrientos. The CIA also funded other rightwing parties.
Chile 1964-70
Interference in the 1964 and 1970s elections to prevent the election of Salvador Allende, democratic Marxist, to the presidency.
Portugal 1974-5
CIA funded moderates, including Mario Soares and the Socialist Party, and persuaded the other democratic socialist parties of Europe to fund them in order to block radical programme of generals, who had overthrown Fascist dictator Salazar.
Australia 1974-5
CIA funding of opposition parties and use of legal methods to arrange overthrow of prime minister Gough Whitlam because he opposed Vietnam War.
Long CIA campaign, including economic destabilisation, industrial unrest, supplying armaments to his opponent and attempted assassination to prevent re-election of Prime Minister Michael Manley.
Panama 1984, 1989
CIA-funded campaigns first of all to support Noriega, and then against him in 1989, when the CIA also used secret radio and TV broadcasts.
Nicaragua 1984, 1990
1984: Attempt to discredit the Sandinista government by CIA. The opposition coalition was persuaded not to take part in the elections. Other opposition parties also encouraged to drop out; attempts to split Sandinistas once in power.
1990: Funding and partial organisation of opposition coalition, UNO, and its constituent groups by National Endowment for Democracy to prevent election of Sandinistas under Daniel Ortega; Nicaraguans also made aware that US intended to continue proxy war waged by Contras if they elected him.
Haiti 1987-88
CIA supported for selected candidates after end of Duvalier dictatorship. Country's main trade union leader claimed US aid organisations were smearing left-wing candidates as Communists and trying to persuade rural people not to vote for them.
Bulgaria 1990-1, Albania 1991-2
Interference in both countries election to prevent re-election of Communists.
Extensive backing and support to Yeltsin to defeat Communists.
National Endowment for Democracy funded and helped form the opposition National Democratic Union, and drafted its platform, a Contract with the Mongolian Voter, based Newt Gingrich's Contract with America. The goal here was to accelerate the regime's privatisation programme and create government favourable to the establishment of American corporations and intelligence agencies in the country.
US turns country into 'American protectorate' by appointing Carlos Westendorp as high representative in 1995 Dayton Peace Accords. Before 1998 elections Westendorp removed 14 Bosnian Croatian candidates, claiming reporting by Croatian television biased. After election removes president of Bosnia Serb republic on grounds that he was causing instability.
In 2001 and 2005 high representative also removed one of the three joint presidents of the country. In 2005 high representative Paddy Ashdown, who sacked Dragan Covic.
US smears against Sandinista leader, Daniel Ortega, accused of human rights violations and terrorism. US ambassador openly campaigned for Ortega's opponent, Enrique Bolanos. US also pressurised Conservative party to withdraw from the elections so as not to split right-wing vote. There were also adds in the papers signed by Jeb Bush, claiming that Dubya supported Bolanos. Bolanos himself also stated that the Americans had told him that if Ortega won, they would cease all aid to the country.
Extensive campaign against socialist candidate Evo Morales because he was against neoliberalism and big business, as well as the attempts to eradicate the coca plant, the source of cocaine.
US ambassador smeared him with accusations of connections to drug cartels and terrorism. US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere also said America could cut off aid if Morales elected. Meetings between US ambassador and officials and leading figures in rival parties to support Morales' rival, Sanchez de Lozada.
Warnings by US ambassador to the country and the US ambassador to NATO that if they elected Vladimir Meciar, former president running on anti-globalisation campaign, this would damage chances of their country entering EU and NATO. Also interference by National Endowment for Democracy against Meciar.
Campaigning by US ambassador and three US Republican members of congress, including Thomas Tancredo of California, threatening cessations of aid and work permits for the countries' people to work in America, in order to prevent election of FMLN candidate Schafik Handal and win victory of Tony Saca of the Arena party. FMLN former guerilla group. Handal stated he would withdraw Salvadorean troops from Iraq, re-examination privatisations and renew diplomatic contacts with Cuba. Arena extreme rightwing party, pro-US, free market, responsible for death squads and the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero.
Afghanistan 2004
Pressure placed by US ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, on political candidates to withdraw in favour of Washington's preferred candidate, Hamid Karzai.
Palestine 2005-6
Massive pressure by the Americans to prevent the election of Hamas, including funding of the Palestinian Authority by the National Endowment for Democracy.
This last country is my own suggestion, not Blum's.
Great Britain?
Go and read various articles in Lobster, which describe the way the US and its various front organisations collaborated with the right-wing of the Labour party to stop possible Communist influence. In the 1980s Reagan also created the British-American Project for the Successor Generation, alias BAP, to cultivate rising politicians of both the left and the right, and make them more favourable towards America and the Atlantic alliance. These included Tony Blair and Ed Balls, but you won't read about it in the Times, because it's editor was also a BAP alumnus.
Tags:'Contract With America', 'Contract with the Mongolian Voter', 'Invasion', 'Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower', Agency for International Development, Albania, Arena Party, Arms Trade, Assassination, B.P. Koirala, Big Business, Bolivia, Bosnia, Bosnia Croats, Bosnia Serbs, Britain, British American Project for the Successor Generation, British Guiana, California, Camille Chamoun, Carlos Westendorp, Cheddi Jagan, Christian Democrats (Italy), CIA, Conservative Party (Nicaragua), Contras, Coups, Daniel Ortega, Death Squads, Dominican Republic, Dragan Covic, Drugs, Duvalier, Economic Destabilisation, Ed Balls, Elections, Enrique Bolano, Evo Morales, FMLN, Free Market, General Miguel Ydigoras, General Noriega, General Salazar, George Bush senior, George Dubya, Globalisation, Gough Whitlam, Gulf Oil, Guyana, Haiti, Hamas, Hamid Karzai, Human Rights, Industrial Unrest, Intelligence Agencies, International Aid, Iraq Invasion, jamaica, Jeb Bush, Joao Goulart, John Bartlow Martin, Juan Jose Arevalo, Labour Party, Laos, Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Lobster, Mario Soares, marxism, Michael Manley, National Democratic Union, National Endowment for Democracy, National Movement for Free Elections, NATO, Neoliberalism, Nepal, Nepali Congress Party, Newt Gingrich, Oscar Romero, Paddy Ashdown, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Panama, Philippines, Phoumi Nosavan, President Sukarno, Privatisation, Rene Barrientos, Republican Party, Ronald Reagan, Salvador Allende, Sanchez de Lozada, Sandinistas, Schafik Handal, Slovakia, Socialist Party (Japan), Socialist Party (Portugal), The Times, Thomas Tancredo, tony blair, Tony Saca, Trujillo, UNO, US Ambassador, US Congress, Vietnam War, Vladimir Meciar, Vote-Rigging, William Blum, Yeltsin, Zalmay Khalilzad
Posted in Afghanistan, America, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, communism, Cuba, Democracy, Economics, El Salvador, European Union, Fascism, Guatemala, Indonesia, Industry, Iraq, Islam, Japan, Lebanon, Liberals, LIterature, Nicaragua, Portugal, Radio, Russia, Socialism, Television, The Press, Yugoslavia | 4 Comments »
William Blum's List of American Foreign Interventions: Part 2
Various attempts to defeat Prime Minister Michael Manley.
Honduras 1980s
Arming, equipping, training and funding of Fascist government against dissidents, also supporting Contras in Nicaragua and Fascist forces in El Salvador and Guatemala.
Civil War with the Contras against left-wing Sandinistas after the overthrow of the Somoza dictatorship.
Philippines 1970s-1990
Support of brutal dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos
Seychelles 1979-81
Attempts to overthrow country's leader, France Albert Rene, because he tried to turn his nation and the Indian Ocean into nuclear free zone.
Diego Garcia late 196-0s to Present
People of the largest of the Chagos islands forcibly relocated Mauritius and Seychelles so that Americans could build massive complex of military bases.
South Yemen, 1979-84
CIA backing of paramilitary forces during war between North and South Yemen, as South Yemen government appeared to be backed by Russia. In fact, the Russians backed North and South Yemen at different times.
Support for military dictator, Chun Doo Hwan, in brutal suppression of workers' and students' uprising in Kwangju.
Chad 1981-2
Political manipulation of Chad government to force Libyan forces of Colonel Gaddafy to leave, aided Chadian forces in the Sudan to invade and overthrow Chadian government installing Hissen Habre as the 'African General Pinochet'.
Grenada 1979-83
Operations against government of Maurice Bishop, and then invasion when Bishop government overthrown by ultra-leftist faction.
Suriname 1982-4
Abortive plot to overthrow Surinamese government for supporting Cuba.
Libya 1981-89
Attempts to overthrow Colonel Gaddafy.
Fiji 1987
Prime Minister Timoci Bavrada of the Labour Party overthrown as neutral in Cold War and wanted to make Fiji nuclear free zone.
Overthrow of Manuel Noriega, long-term American ally in Central America for drug trafficking. The real reason to was intimidate Nicaragua, whose people were going to the elections two months later and stop them from voting for the Sandinistas.
Afghanistan 1979-92
Backing of Mujahideen rebels against Soviet-aligned government then Soviet forces.
El Salvador 1980-92
Backing of right-wing dictator and death squads in country's civil war against dissidents, after first making sure the dissidents got nowhere through democratic means.
US government opposed reformist priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, aiding Haiti government and its death squads against him. However, after he won the 1991, they were forced to allow him back in. They then extracted a promise from him that he would not aid poor at expense of the rich and would follow free trade economics. Kept army there for the rest of his term.
Bulgaria 1990-1
Massive campaign by the US through the National Endowment for Democracy and Agency for International Development to aid the Union of Democratic Forces against the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the successor to the Communists.
Another campaign to keep the Communists out, in which the Americans supported the Democratic Party.
Somalia 1993
Attempts to kill Mohamed Aidid. The motive was probably less to feed the starving Somali people, and more likely because four oil companies wished to exploit the country and wanted to end the chaos there.
Iraq 1991-2003
American attempts to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
Colombia 1990s to Present
Aid by US to suppress left-wing guerillas.
Yugoslavia 1995-99
Campaigns against Serbia government during break up of the former Yugoslavia.
Suppression of mass peaceful uprising by indigenous people of Quito, including trade unionists and junior military officers on orders from Washington, as this threatened neoliberalism.
Afghanistan 2001-to Present
Invasion and occupation of country after 9/11.
Venezuela 2001-4
Operations to oust Chavez.
Iraq 2003-to Present
Invasion and occupation.
Haiti 2004
President Aristide forced to resign by Americans because of his opposition to globalisation and the free market.
For much more information, see the chapter 'A Concise History of United State Global Interventions, 1945 to the Present' in William Blum's Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower, pp. 162-220. I realise that many of the Communist regimes Washington sought to overthrow were hardly models of virtue themselves, and often responsible for horrific acts of repression. However, the US has also sought to overthrow liberal and Socialist governments for no better reason than that they sought to improve conditions for their own peoples against the wishes of the American multinationals. And the regimes Washington has backed have been truly horrific, particularly in Latin America.
So it's actually a very good question whether America has ever really supported democracy, despite the passionate beliefs of its people and media, since the War.
Tags:'Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower', 9/11, Agency for International Development, Albania, Amerindians, Army Officers, Bulgarian Socialist Party, Chad, Chagos Islands, Chun Doo Hwan, Civil War, Cold War, Colonel Gaddafy, Contras, Coups, Democratic Party (Albania), Diego Garcia, Dissidents, Drugs, Ecuador, Ferdinand Marcos, France Albert Rene, Free Trade, General Pinochet, Grenada, Guerillas, Haiti, Hissen Habre, Honduras, Hugo Chavez, Indian Ocean, jamaica, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Kwangju, Labour Party, Manuel Noriega, Maurice Bishop, Michael Manley, Military Bases, Mohamed Aidid, Mujahideen, National Endowment for Democracy, North Yemen, Nuclear Weapons, Oil Companies, Panama, Philippines, Saddam Hussein, Sandinistas, Serbia, Seychelles, Somalia, Somoza Dictatorship, South Korea, South Yemen, Starvation, Students, Suriname, the Poor, the Rich, Timoci Bavrada, Union of Democratic Forces, USSR, Warlords, Washington D.C., William Blum, Workers
Posted in Afghanistan, America, Bulgaria, Caribbean, Central America, Colombia, communism, Democracy, Economics, El Salvador, Fascism, Fiji, Guatemala, Iraq, Liberals, Libya, LIterature, Nicaragua, OIl, Persecution, Politics, Poverty, Socialism, South America, Venezuela, Y:emen, Yugoslavia | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday I put up a piece about American hypocrisy in the allegations that Putin was blackmailing Donald Trump, when the Americans themselves interfered in the Russian elections in 1996 in order to secure Boris Yeltsin's election as Russian president. This was, however, hardly the first time America had intervened in the domestic politics of a foreign country. William Blum devotes two chapters to this in his book, Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower. In one he lists the various interventions America has made in other countries, including invasions and military coups, and in the other cases where America has interfered with the conduct of elections in order to secure a win for their favoured candidates.
Both of these are very long and ignominious lists. Here's part 1 of a list of foreign interventions by the US.
American Interventions
China 1945-51
Aiding Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang against Mao's Communists.
Backing French Socialist party against the Communists, using Corsican mobsters to attack Communist party and Communist-aligned trade unionists.
Marshall Islands 1946-58
Indigenous people of Bikini Atoll removed from the island in order to make way for nuclear tests.
Backing Conservative Christian Democrats to keep the Socialists and Communists out of power.
Greece 1947-9
Backing neo-Fascists and creating intelligence unit for them in the civil war against the Communists.
Philippines 1945-53
Military actions against the left-wing Huk forces.
Korea 1945-53
Korean War. However, afterwards US backed Conservatives, who had collaborated with the Japanese, and Fascist dictators, also committed atrocities against fleeing civilians.
Albania 1949-53
Backing anti-Communist guerillas, most of whom were collaborators with the Nazis and Italian Fascists.
Eastern Europe 1948-1956
Head of CIA Allen Dulles deliberately heightened paranoia in the eastern bloc, causing hundreds of thousands of imprisonments, purge trials and murders by the Communist regimes.
Germany 1950s
Lengthy campaign of terrorism, dirty tricks and sabotage against East Germany.
Prime Minister Mossadegh overthrown by CIA and British led coup, as dared nationalise what is now British Petroleum oilfields.
Guatemala 1953-1990s
CIA backed Fascist coup against democratic socialist Jacobo Arbenz for nationalising plantations owned by American company, United Fruit. Result: forty years of terror, with 200,000 people murdered.
Costa Rica mid-1950s and 1970-1
Attempted assassination of liberal democratic president, Jose Figueres, because considered too soft on the left, and for making his nation the first in Central America to establish diplomatic links with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and questioning American foreign policy, like the invasion of Cuba.
Middle East 1956-58
Attempts to overthrow the Syrian government, shows of force in Mediterranean against opposition to US-backed governments in Jordan and Lebanon, landing of 14,000 troops in Lebanon, and attempts to overthrow and assassinate Egyptian president Gamal Nasser.
Indonesia 1957-8
Attempts to manipulate elections, assassinate, blackmail and start a civil war to overthrow President Sukarno. Sukarno neutral in Cold War, went on trips to China and USSR, nationalised private property of Dutch colonialists, and did not crack down on the Communist party, which was then engaged on electoral path to power.
Trained troops of notorious dicator Papa Doc Duvalier, and destroy attempted coup against him by Haitians, Cubans and other Latin Americans.
Western Europe 1950s-1960s
Granting of American money through charities and so on to various groups and organisations in pursuit of American anti-Communist, anti-Socialist policies.
Attempts to force out of office democratically elected socialist premier, Cheddi Jagan by America and Britain.
Iraq 1958-63
Long campaign against nationalist leader General Abdul Karim Kassem after he overthrew the monarchy and established a republic. USA and Turkey drew up plan to invade; this dropped in favour of arming Kurds, as well as assassination attempts. Kassem helped set up OPEC and created nationalised oil company. Kassem was finally overthrown in a Ba'ath coup, which also led to a clampdown on the Communist party, which was backed by both America and Britain.
Soviet Union 1940s-1960s
Cold War campaigns of espionage, propaganda and sabotage, backing of resistance movements against USSR.
Vietnam 1945-73
Vietnam War.
Cambodia 1945-73
Overthrow of Prince Sihanouk enabling Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge to gain power.
Laos 1957-73
Armed insurrection and bombing against reformist left, led by Pathet Lao party.
Thailand 1965-73
Armed forced against insurgents.
Ecuador 1960-63
Overthrow of president Jose Maria Velasco for not clamping down on left and not following US policy against Cuba.
Congo/Zaire, 1960-65, 1977-8
Overthrow of Patrice Lumumba in favour of dictator and mass-murderer Mobutu Sese Seko.
France/Algeria 1960s
Backed French military coup in Algeria to stop country becoming independent. Also hoped repercussions would overthrow De Gaulle, who was blocking American attempts to dominate NATO.
Brazil, 1961-64
Backed military dictatorship which overthrew President Joao Goulart for being too independent and friendly towards Communists, despite the fact that Goulart millionaire devout Roman Catholic.
Military action against leftist guerillas
Dominican Republic 1963-5
Overthrow of liberal president, Juan Bosch.
Cuba 1959-Present
Attempts to overthrow Communist regime.
Overthrow of Sukarno and bloody suppression of Communists by successor, General Suharto.
Overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah
Uruguay 1969-72
Dirty War against Tupamaro leftists guerillas.
Long campaign against democratic Communist, Salvador Allende, culminating in Fascist coup of General Pinochet.
Greece 1967-74
Intervention against liberal Greek president George Papandreou, as he wanted to take Greece out of NATO and declare Greek neutrality in Cold War. Overthrown in the Fascist coup that inaugurated the rule of the Colonels.
South Africa 1960s-1980s
Assistance to South African apartheid government against African Nationalist Congress, which, amongst other things, led to the arrest and imprisonment of Nelson Mandela.
Bolivia 1964-75
Military campaign against President Victor Paz for supporting Cuba.
Operations to have Gough Whitlam, the leader of the Aussie Labor party, removed by America and British, 'cause he was opposed to Vietnam.
Iraq 1972-5
CIA backed Kurds, not for them to get autonomy, but to distract Iraqi army and make sure they didn't overthrow the Shah of Iran.
Portugal 1974-76
comprehensive series of measures, including shows of force by NATO warships, against radical policies proposed by the army officers, who overthrew the previous Fascist dictatorship of General Salazar.
East Timor 1975-99
Backing of Indonesian invasion, which killed 1/3 of the island's population.
Angola 1975-1980s
Angolan civil war, which was basically proxy war between US, China and South Africa on one hand and USSR and Cuba on the other.
Tags:'Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower', Abdul Karim Kassem, African National Congress, Albania, Allen Dulles, Angola, Assassinations, Bikini Atoll, Boris Yeltsin, British Guiana, British Petroleum, Cambodia, Chairman Mao, Cheddi Jagan, Chiang Kai-shek, Christian Democrats, CIA, Cold War, Colonialism, Congo, Corsica, Costa Rica, Coups, De Gaulle, Dictatorships, Donald Trump, Doninican Republic, East Timor, Eastern Bloc, Espionage, Gangsters, General Pinochet, General Suharto, George Papandreou, Ghana, Gough Whitlam, Guyan, Huk, Jacobo Arbenz, Joao Goulart, Jordan, Jose Figueres, Jose Maria Velasco, Juan Bosch, Khmer Rouge, Korea, Korean War, Kuomintang, Kurds, Kwame Nkrumah, Marshall Islands, Middle East, Mobutu Sese Seko, Mossadegh, NATO, Nelson Mandela, Nuclear Bombs, OPEC, Pathet Lao, Patrice Lumumba, Philippines, Pol Pot, Prince Sihanouk, Purges, Rule of the Colonels, Sabotage, Salvador Allende, Shah of Iran, Sukarno, Tupamaros, United Fruit, Uruguay, Vietnam, Vietnam War, Vladimir Putin, William Blum, Zaire
Posted in Africa, Algeria, America, Arabs, Australia, Brazil, Central America, Chile, China, communism, Cuba, Democracy, East Germany, Egypt, Fascism, France, Greece, Guatemala, History, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Lebanon, Liberals, LIterature, Nazis, OIl, Persecution, Peru, Politics, Roman Catholicism, Socialism, South Africa, South America, Terrorism, Thailand, Turkey | Leave a Comment »
Utah Mormons Placing Alternative Conservative Candidate against Trump
This is a very interesting piece from TYT Politics, which is part of The Young Turks series of shows. In this brief report, Michael Shure talks to people from Utah about why that state has put its own, alternative candidate, Evan McMullin, up against Donald Trump. Utah's a very Conservative state, and this is the first in a very long time that it isn't automatically voting Republican. McMullin himself is deeply Conservative, but he's standing as an independent, and when this report was broadcast was standing neck and neck with the Fascist orang-utan in the polls.
The people Shure interviews make it clear this is because Trump's hardline stance against Muslims violates their principles as members of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints. One young woman states that Mormons greatly value freedom of religion, because of the way they were persecuted when the Church began in the 19th century. Trump's demand to end Muslim immigration violates their belief in freedom of worship and conscience. Shure also makes the case that many of those backing McMullin also do so because they have had personal contact with Muslims through missionary work. He talks to a young man, who was a Mormon missionary in the Philippines. He states that he knew many Muslims, and had them in his house. They were decent people, and he opposes Trump and supports McMullin because of Trump's attack on Muslims.
I am very definitely not a Mormon, though a friend of mine has Mormon friends, and obviously they're decent people. I don't share the Conservative politics of the people of Utah, but I do respect their commitment to their faith and their determination to uphold religious freedom and the demonization of Muslims as the terrible Other. I think we need far more people like them.
Tags:Donald Trump, Evan McMullin, Freedom of Religion, Immigration, Michael Shure, Mormons, Muslims, Philippines, Republican Party, The Young Turks, TYT Politics, Utah
Posted in America, Asia, Islam, Persecution, Politics | 1 Comment »
Democracy Now on Muhammad Ali's 1966 Anti-Vietnam Speech
On Saturday, the world mourned the passing of one of the all-time greatest boxers and sports personalities, Muhammad Ali. Not only was Ali a superb boxer, he was also intelligent and witty. He was known for his trademark rhyme about being Muhammad Ali, 'dance like a butterfly, sting like a bee'. Parkinson was justifiably proud at having him on his show, along with many other talented, respected and beloved celebrities. Ali was a convert to the Nation of Islam, a Black Muslim religion begun in the 1920s by W.D. Fard, a Syrian immigrant to the US, and notorious a few years ago for what some would consider to be the extreme, anti-White racism of its leader, Louis Farrakhan. The Nation of Islam's best known representative and Black civil rights leader is Malcolm X, but Ali was certainly one of those, who took part in his people's struggle for social improvement, respect and equality. He said in an interview that he wanted to give his people a hero. After his boxing career ended, he starred in a film about a Black slave fighting for his freedom during the American Civil War. His last years were marred by Parkinson's disease, though he was still able to make an appearance at one of the Olympics to light the flame at the beginning of the games.
Mike put up on his site the text of Ali's speech, in which he refused to go to Vietnam to help the White slave masters oppress another 'coloured' people. He stated firmly that if he believed that the War would help the 22 million of his people in America improve their position, he'd volunteer like a shot. But it wasn't. See: http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2016/06/04/say-what-you-like-about-muhammad-ali-he-stood-up-for-what-he-believed/
In this piece from Democracy Now, the musician John Legend reads Ali's speech in a clip from The People Speak, based on the book Voices from a People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn and Arnold Arnove. The show's anchor, Amy Goodwin, also talks to Ishmael Reed, the author of The Complete Ali, about the effect the speech and his subsequent prosecution had on Ali's career. Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title, and then dragged through the courts as the authorities tried to prosecute him for his refusal to enlist. Eventually the case reached the high court, and the sentence of five years in prison was overturned. However, three years had passed, and Ali had also aged. He was passed his peak. Before, his opponents had been unable to hit him. Not they could.
Reed and Goodwin also talk about the 'Rumble in the Jungle', the fight between Ali and George Forman, staged by the dictator of Zaire, General Mobutu, which Mobutu himself didn't attend, probably from fears of assassination. Ishmael points out that Ali played 'footsie' with dictators. He fight in Manila is credited with bringing the Philippines into the 20th century, and giving the country and its people a new respect and dignity. While this certainly enhanced the prestige of the country's dictator, General Marcos, to the chagrin of the Aquino family, Ali himself took a break from the fight to go and meet the country's rebels during Ramadan.
Rest in Peace, big man.
Tags:'Rumble in the Jungle', 'The People Speak', 'Voices from a People's History of the United States', American Civil War, Aquino, Arnold Arnove, Blacks, Boxing, Civil Rights, General Marcos, General Mobutu, George Forman, Howard Zinn, Ishmael Reed, John Legend, Malcolm X, Manila, Muhammad Ali, Nation of Islam, Philippines, racism, Vietnam War, W.D. Fard, Zaire
Posted in Africa, America, Film, Justice, Law, LIterature, Music, Politics, Popular Music, Slavery, Sport | Leave a Comment »
Pax Christi and Christian Anti-War Groups
Several of my relatives are Roman Catholics. I was at their parish church yesterday, as I'd been invited to join them for a special family service. Looking around one of the stalls in their church carrying the church's religious and devotional literature, I found several newsletters from Pax Christi. They're the official Roman Catholic peace movement, and are part of a broader Christian organisation, the Network of Christian Peace Organisations. The other Christian peace groups in the Network include the following:
Anglican Pacifist Fellowship
Baptist Peace Fellowship
Campaign Against Arms Trade Christian Network
Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Christian International Peace Service
Church and Peace
Community of Reconciliation
Congregational Peace Fellowship
Fellowship of Reconciliation England
Franciscan Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation
Martin Luther King Peace Committee
Methodist Peace Fellowship
Northern Friends Peace Board
Quaker Peace and Social Witness
Student Christian Movement
United Reformed Church Peace Fellowship.
Pax Christi in Britain publishes a monthly newsletter, Justpeace. The April 2015 edition gives a brief history of Pax Christi International and an overview of their activities across the world. According to the newsletter, it was
founded in France in March 1945 as Catholic movement for peace and reconciliation following World War II, Pax Christi International is now a network of 115 member organisations on five continents with over a hundred thousand members worldwide.
Recognised by Pope Pius XII as the official Catholic peace movement, Pax Christi has also always been autonomous, with members of the hierarchy, clergy and laypeople working together as equals for peace and reconciliation in situations of violence and war around the world. The presidency of Pax Christi International, for example, is shared by a bishop, Bishop Kevin Dowling from South Africa, and a lay woman, Marie Dennis from the United States, both of whom were elected by Pax Christi member organisations.
Pax Christi International has held consultative status at the United Nations since 1979 and is working at the UN in Geneva, New York, Vienna and Paris. It is also officially represented at the African Union and the Council of Europe and has regular access to the European Parliament, the European Commission and NATO.
Among its activities across the world, Pax Christi is involved in
* a multi-year strategy to address deep-seated racism in the United States
* dynamic 'sports for peace' programs in South Sudan and Haiti
* strategies to integrate former combatants back into their own communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo
* courses in preventive reconciliation using the principles of haikido in the Philippines.
* efforts to address destructive mining practices in Colombia and Peru;
* advocacy and campaigning at a national and international level for the abolition of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons; for a meaningful arms trade treaty; for an end to the use of depleted uranium in weapons.
* 'peace week' initiatives, many of them annual, in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, the African Great Lakes region, Kosovo, Russia, Croatia, the Philippines and Colombia.
* collaboration with local partners to support active nonviolence in southern Mexico.
* excellent grassroots peace education programs in Lebanon and Philippines.
* exchanges of experience between civil society from the Middle East and from Central Europe on their role in bringing about nonviolent social change
* work with the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), our partner in Brazil, in response to growing conflict over land – and
* ongoing work with civil society groups in Syria, Iraq and Palestine.
The Network of Christian Peace Organisations and Trident at the General Election
The NCPO also produced a General Election Briefing for this last year's election in order to promote disarmament and specifically to tackle the government's intention to introduce Trident. Their very short – four page! – pamphlet outlined the way Christians and church groups could work to promote peace, and had short sections on the issues of Military Spending and Human Security, Renewal of Trident, the UK Arms Trade , the UK Armed Drones Programme and Britain's Role in the World. It included questions and requests that should be asked of politicians respecting these issues. The pamphlet also carried details of other organisations dealing with those specific issues and their websites.
Pax Christi and Atomic Weapons
Pax Christi also produced a little pamphlet outlining their opposition to nuclear weapons. This included statements by the Church, including papacy, condemning them. Pope Francis last year (2014) declared that 'Nuclear deterrence cannot be the basis for an ethics of solidarity and peaceful coexistence among people and states'.
His predecessor, Benedict XVI, in 2007 was much stronger in his condemnation. He said, 'What can be said, too, about those governments which count on nuclear arms as a means of ensuring the security of their countries?… that nuclear weapons have any place in civilised society, is not only baneful but also completely fallacious. In a nuclear war there would be no victors, only victims'.
The Vatican II Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World in 1965 states in article 80 that
Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities and or extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and humanity. It merits unequivocal and unhesitating condemnation.
This is all enough to have Pat Robertson and the right-wing American evangelicals start screaming 'Social gospel! Social gospel!' at the top of their lungs, before launching into a long tirade about how 'cultural Marxism' is undermining society. And just to show you how 'Christian' some of these right-wingers are, a few of them flew into a rage this past year when Pope Francis said something rather left-wing. They like Christianity, but only when it appears to support their prejudices and policies.
I'm not a member of Pax Christi or any of the other organisations. But if you're a Christian and would like to join their witness for peace, their address is:
NCPO, c/o Pax Christi,
St Joseph's, Watford Way,
London NW4 4TY
and their website is http://www.ncpo.org.uk
Pax Christi is also on the web. Their address is http://www.paxchristi.net.
May God bless them and their work.
Tags:'Justpeace', African Union, Anglican Pacifist Fellowship, anti-racism, Arms Trade, Baptist Peace Fellowship, Benedict XVI, Biological Weapons, Bishop Kevin Dowling, Campaign Against Arms Trade Christian Network, Central Europe, Chemical Weapons, Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Christian International Peace Service, Christianity, Church and Peace, Community of Reconciliation, Congregational Peace Fellowship, Croatia, Cultural Marxism, Democratic Republic of Congo, Depleted Uranium, Drones, European Commission, European Parliament, Fellowship of Reconciliation England, Franciscan Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation, Geneva, haikido, Haiti, Kosovo, London, Marie Dennis, Martin Luther King Peace Committee, Methodist Peace Fellowship, Middle East, NATO, Network of Christian Peace Organisations, New York, Northern Friends Peace Board, Nuclear Weapons, Palestine, Paris, Pastoral Land Commission, Pat Robertson, Pax Christi, Pax Christi International, Philippines, Pius II, Pope Francis, Quaker Peace and Social Witness, racism, Social Gospel, South Sudan, Student Christian Movement, Trident, United Reformed Church Peace Fellowship., Vatican II Pastoral Constitution, Vienna, World War II
Posted in Africa, America, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, England, European Union, France, Germany, History, Iraq, Lebanon, Mexico, Peru, Politics, Poverty, Roman Catholicism, Russia, South Africa, South America, Sport, Syria, United Nations, Yugoslavia | 3 Comments »
Mark Twain: American Anti-Imperialist
Mark Twain is truly one of the giants of American literature. Millions of children throughout the world have been brought up on Tow Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, though he wrote much, much more, all with his warm, dry wit. I can remember reading his travel book, The Innocents Abroad, at college, which describes his adventures touring Europe, with its wry observations of the countries, ships and hotels he journey through. His folksy style has become one of the fundamental characteristics of America's image. Way back in the 1980s, for example, the cartoon strip, Bloom County, had two of its characters, Milo and Owen Wendelle Jones lying down, looking up at the night's sky and arguing whether the universe was created or 'just made', just like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
What is less well known is that Twain was a fierce critic of American imperialism. At the end of the 19th century the doctrine of 'Manifest Destiny' led America into a war with Spain for the remains of the latter's possessions in the New World. Spain was defeated, and a victorious America took over the former colonies of Guam, Cuban, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. These conquered territories were not colonies, however, but designated as 'protectorates'.
Twain was appalled at his country's transformation into an imperial power, and formed the Anti-Imperialist League of the United States to protest this. He used his characteristic dry wit to satirise the US' new status of imperial overlord and oppressor. Of the changes to be made to the Philippine flag, he said
it is easily managed. We can have a special one – our states do it: we can just have our usual flag, with the white stripes painted black and the stars replaced by the skull and cross-bones.
There's an attitude in parts of the American Right that sees any criticism of America and its global imperial power as coming from a deep-seated hatred of America, ignoring the fact that some of the greatest figures of American history and literature, like Twain, have been sharply critical of such policies.
Tags:Bloom County, Cuba, Guam, Huckleberry Finn, Imperialism, Mark Twain, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Spanish-American War, The Innocents Abroad, Tom Sawyer
Posted in America, Caribbean, Comics, History, LIterature, Politics, Spain | 1 Comment »


It's safe to say that the first annual Fyre Festival was a disaster.
The festival, run by tech entrepreneur Billy McFarland and hip-hop artist Ja Rule, promised a weekend of luxury, with ticket packages costing up to $250,000 per person and musical acts like Blink-182 slated to perform. Now, however, Fyre has reportedly stranded thousands of its visitors on an Island in the Bahamas, without food, water, or functioning electricity.
Needless to say, twitter has had an avalanche of material to work with, many of which have been aimed at the face of the event: Ja Rule. Some have compared the Fyre Festival to Lord of the Flies (1954) and joked that Ja (born Jeffrey Atkins) has lured people to an island to live out the 'man hunts man' scenario of the novel The Most Dangerous Game (1924). Check out this and more of the best Twitter reactions to Fyre Festival, and Ja in particular, below.
Some have also pointed out the odd, cryptic response Ja Rule has had to the festival's location. "Stop asking questions about the island," he writes, "you will not find the island on any map. The island is everywhere and nowhere." With thousands stranded, however, this claim has only led to mockery over much mystique Ja is trying to conjure up.
I would like to thank Ja Rule, for showing everyone what libertarianism really looks like.
Okay. Is it possible that #fyrefestival is a total goth experiment by Ja Rule? If so it's genius.
UPDATE: Ja has since released a statement on his Twitter account, saying: "I truly apologize as this is NOT MY FAULT… but I'm taking responsibility I'm deeply sorry to everyone who was inconvenienced by this.." read the full statement below.
With Fyre Festival turning into a disaster, Twitter has set its sights on the man behind the event: Ja Rule.


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Insights Articles
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Coretelligent continues to focus on strategic growth with investment from VSS
Coretelligent, a provider of information technology support and private cloud service for small and mid-sized businesses, has recently entered into a new partnership with VSS, a private investment firm focused on the information, education, healthcare IT and tech-enabled business services sectors.
This new investment will play a significant role in the rapid growth of Coretelligent, which has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing private companies in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal. Kevin J Routhier, Founder and CEO of Coretelligent said, "We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with a number of very sophisticated investors as we enter the next phase of our company's growth, but VSS's flexibility and value-added approach really stood out. We are very pleased to partner with VSS to continue to provide best in class products and services to our growing client base."
"It is a real honor to partner with Kevin and his outstanding team. We look forward to working closely with them to build upon Coretelligent's already impressive growth story as they continue to expand their product suite, enter new markets and expand into new client verticals," added Trent Hickman, Managing Director at VSS.
About Coretelligent
Coretelligent is a leading provider of comprehensive managed IT and private cloud services, enabling organizations to seamlessly power and successfully grow their businesses. Founded in 2006 and led by world-class experts, Coretelligent's four key services – 360 Support, CoreCloud, CoreBDR and security – are relied on by top-tier organizations in the communications, education, financial services, life sciences, retail and technology industries among others. Coretelligent and its team are recognized as leaders by the Boston Business Journal, CRN, Inc., MSPmentor and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It is headquartered in Westwood, Mass., with offices in New York City, Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay area. For more information, please visit www.coretelligent.com or follow Coretelligent on Twitter @Coretelligent.
by Jen Wallace
« Coretelligent names George Kostakos as new Chief Operating Officer and General CounselCoretelligent Named a Tech Elite Solution Provider by CRN – 2017 »
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PSA/WSA
Gordon Advances to El Gouna Qualifying Finals; Harrity Bows Out in Five
Gordon against Mostafa. (image: Steve Cubbins/squashsite.co.uk)
Team USA's Chris Gordon reached the qualifying finals of the final World Series event of the season—the 2016 El Gouna International Open—Thursday through a three-game victory at Movenpick in El Gouna, Egypt.
Gordon will not be joined by U.S. teammate Todd Harrity, who suffered a narrow five-game defeat against twenty-year-old Egyptian and former world junior champion Karim El Hammamy Friday.
With the first round of qualifying contested over two days, Gordon was in action first Thursday against the local Egyptian nineteen year old. Gordon, world No. 59, dispatched Mostafa 11-8, 11-6, 11-5 in thirty minutes.
Harrity against El Hammamy. (image: Steve Cubbins/squashsite.co.uk)
"I was never able to relax a bit, " Gordon said after the match. "He is very gifted with the racquet, and I had to try and neutralize his shots by making sure my length was as good as possible, and putting him under pressure at the front with a powerful movement."
"Nowadays, wherever you are going in the world, you've got to play extremely gifted players, " Gordon said. "The level is that high, and especially be weary when they are new to the game. And it's never more true than in Egypt.
"The level on the tour is such at the moment, any win I can get is a bonus. I mean, there are so many events now in the US, and so many great players in it. Every win is meaningful for me."
The twenty-nine year old revealed he has been working with former French National Coach, Andre Delhoste, at his home base in New York City.
"I've been now back in NY for the past two years, developing a few nice routines. Luck has wanted that André, now married to an American, lives about one mile away from my house, which is very convenient of course. We have been working on my movement in particular, I'm a pretty big player, and we are trying to make my movement smoother, to cover the court and not being as tired as I used to."
Gordon will face Malaysian world No. 32 Nafiizwan Adnan for a spot in the main draw Saturday.
On Friday, two-time U.S. champion Todd Harrity bowed out of the tournament in his first match, squandering three match balls in the fifth game as twenty-year-old Karim El Hammamy came back to win 11-9, 4-11, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10 in seventy minutes.
"He is a very good player, so fit, and I knew from the start I had to prepare for a marathon, " said El Hammamy, the 2013 world junior champion. "So I made sure I was prepared not only mentally, but also physically, and I drank a lot of water. My game plan was to stay away from his volley, in particular the backhand side, but even when I was trying to pass him on the other side, crosscourt, he would be so good with his volley drop shots. It was really hard to get pass him."
For more information, visit www.elgounasquashopen.com.


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Q: what should I write on server.conf when try create VPN on CentOS 7? I use CentOS 7 . I want to create VPN server on my machine. I am following perfect VPN tutorial until I get to this part, editing /etc/openvpn/server.conf:
local x.x.x.x
port 1194
proto udp
dev tun
tun-mtu 1500
tun-mtu-extra 32
mssfix 1450
ca /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/2.0/keys/ca.crt
cert /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/2.0/keys/server.crt
key /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/2.0/keys/server.key
dh /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/2.0/keys/dh2048.pem
plugin /usr/lib64/openvpn/plugins/openvpn-plugin-auth-pam.so /etc/pam.d/login
client-cert-not-required
username-as-common-name
server ?  ?
push "redirect-gateway def1"
push "dhcp-option DNS ?"
push "dhcp-option DNS ?"
keepalive 5 30
comp-lzo
persist-key
persist-tun
status server-tcp.log
verb 3

There are a few parts I don't understand.  Please explain for me how it works.  There are a lot of tutorials on the internet, but they just type their own network so I don't understand anything.
This is my local network information: http://imgur.com/a/cgJkW.
What should I type for the ?s ?

*

*Where i can find DNS to type on push "dhcp-option?

*Where I can find the IP to type on server?

Am I doing it right? What do I have to fix?

A: The "server" line is only needed on the client config; it tells the client what server to talk to.
The DNS entries are the IP address of the DNS servers you want the client to use.  If you don't need to use specific DNS entries (eg no "internal DNS" on your network) then you don't need to push any DNS values at all.

A: Write for example:
server 10.8.0.0 255.255.255.0

This is where you define the subnet for your OpenVPN network. You can't find it somewhere, you choose it. The above will serve a /24 subnet, the vpn server's IP will be 10.8.0.1, the first client 10.8.0.2. Check out the manpage for more information. This directive will expand as shown on the manpage:

--server network netmask ['nopool'] A helper directive designed to simplify the configuration of OpenVPN's server mode. This directive
  will set up an OpenVPN server which will allocate addresses to clients
  out of the given network/netmask. The server itself will take the ".1"
  address of the given network for use as the server-side endpoint of
  the local TUN/TAP interface. For example, --server 10.8.0.0
  255.255.255.0 expands as follows:
 mode server
 tls-server
 push "topology [topology]"

 if dev tun AND (topology == net30 OR topology == p2p):
   ifconfig 10.8.0.1 10.8.0.2
   if !nopool:
     ifconfig-pool 10.8.0.4 10.8.0.251
   route 10.8.0.0 255.255.255.0
   if client-to-client:
     push "route 10.8.0.0 255.255.255.0"
   else if topology == net30:
     push "route 10.8.0.1"

 if dev tap OR (dev tun AND topology == subnet):
   ifconfig 10.8.0.1 255.255.255.0
   if !nopool:
     ifconfig-pool 10.8.0.2 10.8.0.254 255.255.255.0
   push "route-gateway 10.8.0.1"
   if route-gateway unset:
     route-gateway 10.8.0.2

To push dns server configuration to your clients write for example:
push "dhcp-option DNS 10.8.0.1"

Or for example if you decide that you want your clients to use the google's dns servers:
push "dhcp-option DNS 8.8.8.8"
push "dhcp-option DNS 8.8.4.4"

A basic example server.conf file without any special configuration will look like this (I removed all optional directives, which should not be required in a very basic setup):
port 1194
proto udp
dev tun
ca /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/2.0/keys/ca.crt
cert /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/2.0/keys/server.crt
key /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/2.0/keys/server.key
dh /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/2.0/keys/dh2048.pem
server 10.8.0.0 255.255.255.0
keepalive 10 60
comp-lzo
persist-key
persist-tun
status server-status.log
verb 3

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Carnival Spirit Rescues Two From Superyacht
John Stansfield October 4, 2016	, Accidents
Two female travelers were rescued by a passing cruise liner following a distress signal sent from a superyacht in waters off NSW mid-north coast.
The nation's marine safety authority was told after 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 4, the Masteka 2, with 6 on board, had lost steering and was taking on water 280 nautical miles north east of Sydney.
The cruise ship Carnival Spirit, which was en route to New Caledonia, responded after the alert came in.
Two female passengers on the 37-metre multi-million dollar yacht came onboard and underwent medical checks.
The remaining four male crew members chose to remain on the yacht and were able to get the leak under control after the Australian Maritime Safety Authority organised an air drop of two de-watering pumps.
Tug boats are en route from Sydney but aren't expected to reach the yacht until 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
The cruise ship stayed at the scene for several hours before continuing on to the Isle of Pines. The rescued women could stay onboard until it docks in the New Caledonia capital of Noumea.
The Masteka 2 ship cruise hire is USD 3000 an hour. The ship has 3 decks, top-deck hot tub, and sleeps up to 12 guests.
accidentCarnival Spirit