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Poll: Americans Remain Staunchly in Israel's Corner - Lydia Saad (Gallup)
Americans' stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is as strongly pro-Israel as at any time in Gallup's three-decade trend.
In a poll taken Feb. 1-10, 64% say their sympathies in the dispute lie more with the Israelis, tying the high previously recorded in 2013 and 1991.
Just 19% of Americans sympathize more with the Palestinians, slightly higher than the 15% in Gallup's initial 1988 measurement.
Currently, 74% of U.S. adults view Israel favorably and 23% view it unfavorably, whereas 21% view the Palestinian Authority favorably and 71% unfavorably.
This results in a strong tendency for Americans to sympathize with Israel in the conflict and to call for greater diplomatic pressure on the Palestinians.
Israel in Touch with Russia on Removal of Shiite Forces from Southern Syria (Sputnik-Russia)
Israel is in touch with Russia to achieve the withdrawal of Shia forces from the southern de-escalation zone in Syria, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Harry Koren told Sputnik.
"Any cooperation with the international community including Russia and the United States, which could lead to withdrawal of Shia and Iranian forces from Syria, is important for us," he said.
Koren added that Iran's attempts to deploy units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the Israel-Syria border "can lead to a dangerous strategic escalation."
Israel to Broadcast 2018 Soccer World Cup to Arab States for Free (i24News)
One of the most watched events in the world, the FIFA World Cup, will be broadcast via satellite in Arabic for free by the Israel Broadcasting Authority.
The Israel Foreign Ministry called the move "a historic step that confirms the status of the Arabic language and Israel's respect for it."
The IBA paid $7.8 million to purchase the rights to broadcast the 2018 World Cup.
For millions of soccer fans in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, to watch the World Cup costs $45 per household through Qatar's beIN Sports channel.
Israel Donates 40 Generators to Papua after Earthquake - Abigail Klein Leichman (Israel21c)
Following a devastating earthquake that struck Papua New Guinea's highlands region on Feb. 26, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV) delivered 40 generators to affected communities on March 8.
With 150,000 people in desperate need of emergency supplies, Israel was one of the first countries to send aid.
Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neill said his "government and the people of Papua New Guinea appreciate the support and friendship of Israel during these challenging times."
IDF Blocks Uniforms Being Smuggled into Gaza (Times of Israel)
A shipment of IDF uniforms headed into Gaza was stopped at the Kerem Shalom border crossing Tuesday.
Officials suspect the uniforms were meant to be used in an attack against Israel by Gazan terror groups.
White House Hosts Meeting on Gaza without Palestinians - James Oliphant
The White House on Tuesday hosted 19 nations, including Israel and Arab Gulf states, to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but the Palestinian Authority boycotted the meeting. "Fixing Gaza is necessary to achieve a peace agreement," a senior administration official said.
Presidential advisor Jared Kushner gave a two-hour presentation to the attending countries, which included Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and the UAE, as well as several European nations. Potential electricity, water, sewage, and health projects were discussed. (Reuters)
See also Greenblatt: Hamas Bears Responsibility for Gaza's Suffering
Jason Greenblatt, the President's Special Representative for International Negotiations, told a conference at the White House on Gaza on Tuesday: "We regret that the Palestinian Authority is not here with us today. This is not about politics. This is about the health, safety and happiness of the people of Gaza."
"Everything we do must be done in a way that ensures we do not put the security of Israelis and Egyptians at risk - and that we do not inadvertently empower Hamas, which bears responsibility for Gaza's suffering....I have...seen the terror attack tunnels built by Hamas, and the remnants of the rockets used to murder Israelis - all built using money belonging to the international community, the Palestinian Authority and the people of Gaza." (State Department)
U.S., Israeli Troops Train Together in Mock Mideast Village - Amir Cohen
The Israeli military hosted U.S. Marines this week for an urban combat drill in a mock-up of a generic Middle East village, sharing know-how and signaling the allies' shared interests as their leaders close ranks on a host of regional issues. The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit joined Israeli special forces to practice battle formation, helicopter deployment and medical evacuations. The maneuvers were part of a wider, biennial joint air defense exercise known as Juniper Cobra. (Reuters)
See also IDF Helps Prepare U.S. Troops for Tunnel Combat - Shai Ben-Ari
The U.S. Marine Corps is learning the finer points of bitter tunnel combat from the Israeli military during a joint infantry drill currently underway. The exercise kicked off with beach landings at Palmachim on the southern Israeli coast, executed by American hovercraft vehicles, and later featured training for urban and desert warfare. (i24News)
The Real Casualties of the Bomb Attack in Gaza - Pinhas Inbari
On March 13, 2018, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah's convoy entered Gaza to inaugurate a water purification plant and an explosive device was detonated against the convoy. Also in the procession was senior Palestinian security official Majid Faraj, considered by some to be Mahmoud Abbas' successor. It is obvious why Faraj was targeted. He just returned from a prolonged medical visit to the U.S., but his trip has clear political implications. Hamas is concerned that Faraj is planning with the Americans to push them out of Gaza.
Now he will understand that both Fatah and Hamas are opposed to his candidacy to become Abbas' heir, and the succession struggle has moved onto violent lines. It's very possible that the next attack on him will occur in Ramallah rather than in Gaza.
With regard to internal Palestinian "reconciliation," it never existed, nor will it. It's fake news from start to finish. The writer is a veteran Arab affairs correspondent for Israel Radio. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
See also Hamas and PA Say Israel to Blame for Attack on Palestinian PM in Gaza - Jack Khoury (Ha'aretz)
Gaza Bombing Dealt a Mortal Blow to Palestinian Reconciliation - Amos Harel
Even though PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, and the head of the PA intelligence services, Gen. Majid Faraj, escaped Tuesday's blast in Gaza without injury, the efforts led by Egypt to effect a reconciliation between the Fatah-led PA and Hamas have suffered a mortal blow. It is unlikely that Hamdallah will come to Gaza for another visit anytime soon. And the Hamas leadership have now earned an even more determined rival in Faraj, who is arguably the most powerful person in the West Bank today. (Ha'aretz)
Lessons from the Fight Against the Islamic State - Michael P. Dempsey
There are several lessons the U.S. and its allies can discern from the Islamic State's meteoric rise in 2015 and the loss of its physical caliphate last year. Absent its control of territory in Iraq and Syria, ISIS is now focusing primarily on trying to grow its eight overseas branches and inspire lone wolf operations abroad. Denying it control of physical terrain anywhere in the world should be job number one for those who want to see this group defeated decisively.
In light of recent setbacks, ISIS fighters are increasingly focusing on suicide attacks and hit-and-run operations. Yet its reliance on extreme violence continues to alienate virtually the entire Muslim community. Moreover, its practice of entrusting only high-level foreign fighters with key leadership positions continues to alienate local communities.
While ISIS is clearly on its heels, it remains a wily and determined foe capable of inflicting grievous harm if given the chance, and of reconstituting itself if the underlying conditions that fueled its rise are not addressed. What is required now is to maintain steady military pressure on ISIS remnants in both Iraq and Syria; prioritize the fight against its most important nodes, especially in the Sinai and Libya; and increase financial investment and loans to help rebuild shattered communities (especially vulnerable Sunni ones) in Iraq and Syria. The writer, former acting director of national intelligence, is the national intelligence fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. (War on the Rocks)
Is Favoring Israel an American National Security Interest? - Eric R. Mandel
The State Department, over the years, has been reluctant to "take sides" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, this has magnified Palestinian intransigence, while draining American taxpayer dollars, propping up a corrupt Palestinian Authority without demanding anything substantial of it.
For the U.S., there is no better source of reliable information in the Middle East than Israel. The Israelis live in this bad neighborhood and understand the realities better than those on the outside. It was Israel that discovered the North Korean-built Syrian nuclear reactor and destroyed it. Can you imagine if there were loose nukes in today's Syria?
Today the U.S. has a reliable naval port in Haifa, joint military exercises preparing its soldiers, American troops manning the X-band anti-missile system in Israel to protect Europe, Israeli security technology for U.S. homeland security, and Israel's advances in drone technology to benefit our military.
You need only to look at Erdogan's Turkey, the eastern flank of NATO, to know how important Israel has become to American long-term security interests in the region. Favoring Israel is an American national security interest. The writer is director of the Middle East Political and Information Network. (The Hill)
"National Security Leaders" Adopt the Palestinian Narrative - Elliott Abrams (Council on Foreign Relations)
On March 2, seventeen "National Security Leaders" published an ad in the New York Times about Israel-Palestinian peace and U.S. policy that offers a fairly radical departure from what has been U.S. policy for decades. The statement is radical in embracing the Palestinian view that only Israel is to blame for the failure of peace negotiations.
Nowhere does it note that for nine years running now, the PLO has refused to come to the table and negotiate. If, as it states, Abbas is committed to the path of negotiations, why did he not take it - especially in the years when Secretary of State Kerry was energetically trying to make that happen.
As Martin Indyk, who was part of the American team under Obama, noted: while PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas "checked out of the negotiations," Israeli prime minister Netanyahu "moved into the zone of a possible agreement."
I suggest the signers travel in the Arab world, where the main topic is Iran. There they will find, as I have, that the sense of emerging calamity because Israel and the PLO have not made peace is missing.
No one is demanding vast conferences or is seeking to exclude the U.S. They will find no sense that America's relationship with Israel requires that the "International Community" push us aside and take over, nor any belief that America is to blame for "prolonging" the Palestinians' problems.
Their statement, like so many of its intellectual predecessors, infantilizes the Palestinians: they are victims and little else. But the past suggests, to me at least, that only when Palestinians take responsibility for their politics, their civic culture, their society, and their future can peace really be possible.
The writer, a senior fellow at the CFR, handled Middle East affairs at the U.S. National Security Council from 2001 to 2009.


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Home › Biographies › Joseph Smith Cazier
Joseph Smith Cazier
Joseph Smith Cazier Autobiography (PDF)
I was born in North Ogden, Weber County, Utah on April 12, 1869, the year that the Southern Pacific-Continental line was finished across the continent. I was raised to manhood without much event. I never had much schooling. I went to school 2 or 3 months in the winter time, until I was probably 15 years old, when I discontinued school. I never really completed a school education , though I had accomplished reading and writing quite well. A school education was not compulsory in those days. In fact, the parents had to pay tuition for their children then. I did attend school at the age of 28 at the Weber State Academy at Ogden. I was active in dramatics from the age of 10, belonging to the North Ogden Dramatic Company after age 18. At one time in my school days I had trouble with the teachers, and I broke and ran for the door. I declared to my mother I would never go back, but mother took me back the next morning, and shoved me in the door. The school master, Lorenzo Waldron, said he would tend to me later, but never did take any action.
I did tell my father and mother I would rather stay out of school and work on the farm, and they let me do that after Christmas. My chief occupation was working on the farm. My father was a merchant, and from the time I was 13 years old, I would do the farming while my brothers freighted on the Montana Railroad.
My mother was born in Canada, later living in Farmington, Iowa, and migrated to Utah across the plains as a girl of 13 in 1850. Her family were Mormons, and they joined the Church, I think, in Canada. Her mother had a small baby which she had to tend, and my mother did the cooking for a large family at the time they were crossing the plains. Later, when they arrived in Utah, they settled in North Ogden.
One event I remember was Bill Montgomery telling of his going with his father, Robert Montgomery, to drive the Indians off his meadow land where there was a large encampment. Uncle Bill wen t with him and Grandfather ordered the Indians off his land, and they just laughed at him. Finally, he went to kicking fires out, and the Indians yelled at him"Stout Heap, Stout Man". Finally the old Chief said to them, "You say this your land. Whose land was this before white man come? Ail this land, these mountains, these waters, all belong to Injuns. Not so, you say ….you lie, you cheat, you kill Injun!!" Grandfather Mongomery hung his head and walked slowly away. The Indians those days were not dangerous, but there were a lot of Indian raids south of there, there was a little talk that they might attack some day, although one never did occur.
I think that my father's first wife died at the youngest son's(Benjamin) birth. Some 3 years after the death of his first wife, he married my mother, Isabelle Montgomery, and she raised his first family besides her own children: namely, William, Mary, Deserett, Joseph, Alexander, besides two, Alma and Grace, who died when they were babies.
In 1886, when I was 17 years old, I went with my uncle, Bill Bailey, into eastern Colorado. He was a sub-contractor, building railroads. I did his freighting from the main contractor's headquarters, which was 20 miles from the camp. We were out on the plains with no habitation in the country.
One day, when I was driving through the headquarters to get a load of freight, I saw a man walking along the railroad right-of-way, and I asked him if he would like to ride. He stopped, and looked at me and in an instant said, "Yes, I will ride with you". It wasn't long before I could see that he was crazy. So, we went on into headquarters, and just before I was ready to start back, he came and asked me when I was ready to go back. He said he was out of patience with me. I told him, "Oh, before long", but I thought, "you crazy devil, you're not going with me". I didn't see anything of him until I got around a point a short distance from the headquarters. He had gone there, and was waiting for me. What I should have done was found some excuse, and taken him back, and had the men take care of him, but I didn't. I let him get in, and took a chance. On the way, he got mean, and somewhat abusive, and I sat there with the reins in my left hand, and ready to knock him out with my right. I did this for 20 miles. But he didn't get violent, and we arrived in camp all right. The Irishmen in camp got after him, and he took out and we never saw him anymore.
As I stated before, we were out on the plains with no habitation as far as we knew. There was good grass there, and we didn't have to feed hay. We turned the horses and mules out to graze with a night-herder. One night, there came a heavy fog, and the night-herder lost part of our animals. When he came in, he told my uncle that he had lost part of the animals, and Uncle Bill asked me if I would go out and hunt them. The fog was still very heavy, as I often could not see over 50 yards. There were very few landmarks in the country, even if I could have seen them. I had started out just after breakfast, and rode all day until towards evening. Somehow, I had kept my bearings. Along about 4:00 PM, the fog lifted, and I found the animals near a deserted old ranch. As I said, I had kept my bearings to some extent, and just before I arrived at camp, I saw a fire blazing upon a little butte near camp. My brother had gone up, and lit a fire to guide me, so I got in with the animals alright.
In the fall, we traveled with wagons and drove the animals overland back to Ogden, Utah. It was understood when we went that each one of us would stand our share of the expenses, but I furnished the outfit pretty well with meat, that is, with antelope meat, and sage hens, which were very plentiful in those days. I was later told by my uncle that I had furnished my share of the expenses that way, and that I didn't owe anything.
One night, I was night-herding the animals in uninhabited country. I had a small fire, and was lying dozing, near my fire, with a long lariat attached to my horse. I was in a box canyon with towering cliffs around. When the morning star came up , I was awakened by the howls of the coyotes. They did not startle me, but soon the big wolves began to howl. Then I got active, and replenished my fire, and pulled my saddle horse in close to the fire. Wolves were dangerous when they got in large packs.
Later, we came through on the creek called Big Sandy. There were the remains of the hub bands and wagons where Lot Smith had destroyed the wagons which had become detached from the regular army. Lot Smith had but few men with him, but he had them maneuver around, and appear at different points so it looked like he had a large number of men with him. Then he rode down to the wagons, and ordered the men with him to set them on fire, which they did, burning up their freight with the wagons, but he did allow the teamsters with 4horse teams and wagons to get back and join the army again.
When I was 18 years old, I went to work on a railroad in Washington, which was then a territory. In the fall, my uncle left 6 of us boys to bring the horses and mules. We traveled on without event until we arrived at Vale, Oregon, on the Malheur River. As we had a desert of about 30 miles to cross, and it was afternoon when we arrived, we decided to lay over until morning. During the afternoon, a cowboy rode into our camp, and asked us a good many questions as to where we were going, etc. We turned our horses and mules out, and In the morning when we went to round them up, we were missing about 10 horses and mules out of our herd. Instead of hunting for sight of the horses, my best friend, Hiram Bailey, and I went tooking for tracks. We knew the track of each horse, so we soon found where they had been driven from the herd during the night, and also, we got track of a saddle horse. You soon learn to track when you are herding. We tracked them for about 10 miles up country back west, and we saw some horses and mules in the field about 1/2 mile away. Just then, we met the cowboy we had met the day before, and he said, "Hello, how are you doing?" We told him we thought those were our horses and he said, "No, they belonged to that rancher," and we said that we would go over and look at them anyway. We found that they were the horses and mules that we had lost. We never saw the cowboy again.
The next morning, we traveled on down to the Snake River, and ferried our wagons, and swam our horses across at Darks Ferry and Glens Ferry. This event and another took us so long on the road that we got out of grub. 1 tried to sell my saddle horse to buy food at Oakley, and even though horses were ordinarily selling for $40 to $60 at that time, I couldn't even sell him for $15. They thought I had stolen the horse, because, no doubt, I looked pretty bad myself. I couldn't sell my horse, so we had to finally steal and butcher a calf in order to live. They were about ready to send out after us when we finally got home.
I belonged to the baseball team of the 1890's. That was before professional ball playing was admitted to Utah, and we were considered as good a team as there was in Utah at that time. We played ball in pastures and different places around, and were finally the prime movers in buying a park at North Ogden. We were the ones that made the bargain, and got the community to go in, and it still exists there. In the fail of 1898, I went on my misssion and never belonged to the team again. Later, when I was about 25 years old, I was elected Road Supervisor of the North Ogden District. I was also elected Justice of the Peace, and was called to be President of the YMMIA while there.
I was sent on a Mission in November of 1898 to Kentucky, where my father was born. Later, because of ill health, I was transferred to Ohio. There was one man who wanted me to baptize him, and when I asked my companion about it, he said that he was not ready for baptism yet, but I never was able to convert anyone else. Later, there was a young man named Hightower, who wrote after I was married, and mentioned the church as the only true church on earth. There were bashful boys who peeked through the door when we went, but never really attended our meetings.
The conditions under which we labored were hard, and the people were not very hospitable as a whole. Sometimes, we would go until nearly midnight to get a room, but never in Kentucky did we have to sleep out in the open. The only exception was in Warren County, Kentucky, and that was considered the worse county as far as tolerating the elders. We were told different times if we didn't leave, we would be mauled, but no mob ever developed, although we were used to being cussed, etc.
Once we were supposed to stay all night with a very kindly man, and we were told later he had company, and he couldn't keep us. It was raining at the time, so we went to a house where there was an old man milking his cows. We had umbrellas, so we waited while he milked the cows, and he said he would ask his wife about it. She kept us standing out there a while, but finally let us in. We hadn't had anything to eat, and she kept on complaining until she set us down to bread and milk. I told my companion that that was the best bread I had eaten in Kentucky, and after that she was kind as could be. The next morning, however, she was just as bitter as ever. She said Joe Smith was such a wicked man. To get back to the man who said he couldn't let us stay, he told his neighbors that night after we left, he thought that we were out in front of his
house sitting on a stump singing he would go back and look, and nobody was there, and it kept up all during the night, and he told his neighbors about it and said he never would turn down another Mormon Elder; and, whenever we went to the neighbors around there, we were never turned away. I returned home in the fall of 1900 somewhat broken in health from the effects of malaria. After returning home, I married Edna Moselle Wade in April of 1902 in the Salt Lake Temple.
In 1903, we moved to Fremont County, Idaho, where I worked a dry farm on the praire. After struggling there for about 20 years, owing to light crops and low prices, we were compelled to give up our holdings. Florence, who was born in Pleasant View, Utah, was about 6 months old when we moved to Idaho. The next was Isabelle, born at Pleasant View on October 21, 1904. Ruth was born August 16, 1906, in Pleasant View. When Florence was born, I wanted to name her Ruth, but somebody told my wife I was trying to get her named after one of my old girl friends so I was happy when we chose this name for Ruth.
Dan was born in Farnham, Idaho, as were Helen, Mark, Bob, and Elaine. The baby
that died was also born in Utah. Farnham was a newly settled country and people were very sociable. At first, we used to meet often together in the old log school house. This was later replaced by a cement block church house. Farnham was homesteaded by poor men, as 1 was without much money to build a home. As a result, many people built log houses and covered the roof with dirt instead of shingles. They used the top soil as a rule instead of getting clay which will shed water. As a result, the water would run through the dirt, and they would have to place dishpans, etc. on their bed and all around in their houses. After each rain, when we would get the people together, they would be lamenting about their roofs leaking muddy water all over their houses. I got to thinking the matter over one day, and finally composed the following lines:
LIVING ON A DRY FARM IN A LEAKY HOUSE
by Joseph Smith Cazier
I can tell you ain't much fun;
You want it to rain, and still you don`t want it to
You're almost glad when it's done.
Your wife will cry and say
"Now if you don't shingle this house before it comes another rain,
You can just take me to town,
and I'll leave here on the train;
I'll go back home …that's what I'll do
And live with Pa and Ma."
And if you say a word to tantalize her,
She'll swing the dishrag on your jaw.
She'll say, "You promised when we moved into this old shack
You'd build another house as soon as you got able;
Put a shingle roof on it,
and use this place for a stable."
But we've lived here for 3 years now,
3 years this coming fall;
And I don't believe you meant to build another house
When you said you would, at all!!!"
A feller gets up and goes out of the house
A-feeling awfully blue
Because he realizes that his wife's
charges are partly true.
He goes and looks at his grain
It's still alooking awful dry;
And he feels just like he could throw up everything
And sit right down and cry.
Then he looks at the coming clouds
And he thinks, "Gosh, if it would only rain all night tonight,
I'd have a splendid crop." And then he thinks of his leaking house,
and his crying wife and his feelings take another drop.
"But I think we better stay here,
and tough it out another year or two
I can tell you, them that does is going to get `well-to-do'.
The railroad's comin up thru here next summer,
And we're going to build a big canal."
And then a feller can look at his wife, and grin, and say,
"Well, what do you think of me now, old gal?"
I belonged to a cattle association at the time and had a few head of cattle left after leaving the ranch. I was hired by my Association to oversee the cattle on the Association's Division of the range in the forest Reserve.This was in 1924 and 1925.
As the season progressed, it was my duty to keep track of the cattle on our division of the range and mark the calves. In July of that year, I worked them up to Wyoming, across the state line on the upper Bitz River. I had a hard time holding cattle in this location. There were lots of big bear tracks in the woods, and I concluded that the bears were intimidating the cattle, and driving them out.
One day, while alone, I went bear hunting. I was riding up the ridge between the middle and south forks when I discovered a bear sitting up, eating service berries. When I stopped and looked at it, and considered awhile what had that bear ever done to me …..and then I thought why I had come here to hunt him; and after watching him a while, I took aim and shot, and it fell, and I rode up cautiously. It hadn't moved over 6 feet. It was down in a kind of ravine, so I hitched a rope onto it, and dragged it up on top of the ridge, and was starting to skin it. I had just skinned one hind leg when I heard a panting noise behind me. I grabbed my gun, wheeled around, and saw a mother and two cubs about 70 yards away charging right at me. I took aim at the old bear and missed. At the time I shot, she stopped, and slapped the two cubs, and they ran up a tree. The old bear kept circling me and the timber was so thick, I could hear her going "whoof-whoof", but I couldn't see her, and I decided to either get on my horse, and get out of there or she might eventually charge me. In order to bring her out in the open, I shot one of her cubs, and that brought her right out about 100 yards in plain sight. I fired and killed her with one shot, and then, in mercy, shot the other cub.
With all the hard times we had, we had much pleasure. My family and I would go up to the mountains in the summer time, and we would have splendid times. We would have several fires, and in the night time, we would gather around the bonfires and sing and tell stories.
My sister-in-law, Myrtle, wrote and told the girls if they would come to California, she could get them good jobs. In 1929, two of the girls were so determined to go …lsabelle and Ruth ….that I finally, very reluctantly, gave my consent. A neighbor said to me, "Joe, you'll never see them again", but that proved untrue. Within a couple of years, they both got married in California, and kept writing to us wanting us to move to California. I finally consented to move, and came on April 19, 1929, on a bus ahead of the family, and landed at Atascadero where Ruth and Earl were living. The girls had been writing that there was a good chance that we could come down and get in the chicken business, but by the time I got down there, the company that was building chicken houses for settlers, went broke, and were not furnishing homes for people anymore.
About a month after 1 arrived, Dan, who was then about 16, brought the rest of the family, except for Florence who was also married, in an old Model-T car, and a two wheel trailer. They arrived at Atascadero, and later in that year, we moved to Escalon, and then we moved to Oakdale, Stanislaus County, where Dan and I worked at whatever we could get. The family was about a week on the road and looked just like Okies when they arrived but I was very glad to see them.
Finally the great depression came along, and I was compelled to work WPA to support the family (The government furnished work to support the families). During that depression, we finally bought a 28 acre tract of land very cheaply ($35per acre) which is located about a mile out of Riverbank, California on Claus Road. Later, the land all around me sold for as high as $1000 per acre. Soon after we moved onto the ranch, while I was still working WPA, we started making adobe bricks, and the next year, began an adobe house. At first, we moved onto the ranch building what we intended to be a garage, and moved into it. We then built another adobe building into a fairly comfortable home, and we then proceeded to go into the dairy business. My wife, Edna, passed away in 1945.
The following was given to me by my grandfather, Joseph Smith Cazier, in November/1956:
Grandpa went to Idaho at the turn of the century and dry-farmed for a few years (20 or so), when the depression came upon us. The Federal Reserve Bank ordered member banks to stop loaning and collect all payments due. As a result, all the farmers had to try to sell all their grain and cattle. The markets became flooded, and many people lost their homes.
They lost their farm in 1924; then, as he belonged to the Cattle Association at the time, he was hired as a rider. As such, he "ran" between 600 to a 1000 head of cattle on the Forest Reserve in the summer months. His own cattle, only 25 to 30 head that were left to him, were with the large bunch. He was hired in 1925, and was the lone man to do this herding for the Cattle Association. He had two camps one cabin just inside the Reserve, and the other was located on the upper range, called Coyote Meadow. One of the camps was quite comfortable as it was a sheep wagon loaned to him by a friend.
It had a nice stove in it for heating and cooking. Grandpa enjoyed making a fire outside when he could, and he used to do it quite often. His family were all scattered now, and this particular night, he was sitting by the fire musing about the loss of their home:
THE DREAM OF MY YOUTH
I am reminded tonight of the dream of my youth
As 1 sit here by my campfire alone
No one is near
No voices I hear
But that of wild life, and my own.
Twas the dream of my youth when I settled for life
To own a home in this land of the free
For which our forefathers fought, faltering not
To gain freedom from over the sea.
So we came to Idaho many years ago
and located a farm on the prairie
Where early and late I tilled the soil
And my wife labored hard in the dairy.
We produced golden grain and dairy products
Which we sold at a price less than cost
But, year after year, we struggled on
Now, all that we owned, we have lost.
They have taken the farm for which I gave my birthright
The house where our children were born
Though humble indeed, it was our home
Now my dream is shattered and torn.
With no home in my country to call our own
I am a lone rider in the Forest Reserve
Our children are scattered
Our home circle is broken
That we tried with our might to preserve.
As I sit alone here by my campfire tonight
Far away from all of my kind
I pray God to hasten the day
When plans for mankind will be outlined.
In which humanity that toils may live in comfort and peace
Unafraid by night and by day
Protected from the sharks who exist in human form
Who are always demanding more pay.
The farmer is forced to mortgage his land and his chattels
To men who live in town.
He lives at their mercy each day
By and through the organizing of commerce and our economic system
He is told just how much he must pay.
While the Board of Trade in Chicago
Fixes a price on his grain
The jobber, a price on his meat
And the money he is force! to borrow to carry on the farm
Is controlled by the wolves on Wall Street.
I am just one of millions
Who have lost their farms
Since the year of 1920
Who, but for that dastardly act of the
Federal Reserve Board Might now be living in their own homes, with plenty.
They forced the farmers onto the market …..all in a day
Deflated the price of their wheat and their meat
While Organized Interests throughout the land
Were not compelled to compete.
I love my country
I revere our flag
It is the emblem of democracy
But the powers that control
Have steered away from the goal
Sought by those who won our liberty.
Now I've told you the story the best that I can
In these lines, of How and Why I failed in that
Dream of My Youth Some will say it is not so
But, there are many who know
That every word I have said is the truth!!
Note: I wished everyone could hear Grandpa say these lines. They are his own, and he utters them with forcefulness, inflection, and emphasis. Standing erect, pacing back and forth in front of the gathered family, he held our interest completely. Though I am 69 years old now, I have never forgotten those moments and memories.
(Larry Galli, grandson).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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File:Saunders Kittiwake flying boat.jpg
Saunders_Kittiwake_flying_boat.jpg (625 × 451 pixels, file size: 56 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
DescriptionSaunders Kittiwake flying boat.jpg
English: Photograph of the Saunders Kittiwake flying boat (G-EAUD), 1920.
Date During or before 1921
Original publication: Unknown
Immediate source: http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac5/ROW%20Europe/G-EAUD.html
Author Unknown authorUnknown author
(Reusing this file) Ed Coates' Civil Aircraft Photograph Collection.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1926.
Public domain works must be out of copyright in both the United States and in the source country of the work in order to be hosted on the Commons. If the work is not a U.S. work, the file must have an additional copyright tag indicating the copyright status in the source country. PD-1923Public domain in the United States//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saunders_Kittiwake_flying_boat.jpg
current 18:22, 13 February 2017 625 × 451 (56 KB) Rstory {{subst:Upload marker added by en.wp UW}} {{Information |Description = {{en|Photograph of the Saunders Kittiwake flying boat (G-EAUD), 1920.}} |Source = '''Original publication''': Unknown<br/> '''Immediate source''': http://www.edcoatescollection.com/...
Saunders Kittiwake
Usage on tg.wikipedia.org
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Saunders_Kittiwake_flying_boat.jpg"


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ALMUFTAH GROUP EMPLOYEES GRANTED RETIREMENT BENEFITS
Employees and staff from different Almuftah Civil Division have been recently presented their Retirement Benefits package at an awarding formality held September 3 at the company's head office in Al Saad.
This month's awardees include Mr. Mohammad Nawaz Khan who has served with the company for more than 23 years, Mr. Ali Rehman (more than 23 years), Mr. Momin Khan (more than 24 years), and Mr. Basanaraj (more than 25 years).
Present during the awarding are Mr. Rami Yarvas, Manager of Human Resources, and Mr. V.S. Mannangi, Manager of Civil Division. During the awarding Mr. Rami articulated that "we from the management are aware of how you have performed and have been steadfast in your responsibilities for the company. As we bestow you our token of appreciate, please allow us to be part of your new life, as we have been so when you were still starting your amazing careers with us."
The Retirement Benefits package include a Certificate of Appreciation, Gift, and a Monetary Retirement Benefit package and the standard gratuity. Staff who have served from about ten years to 20-plus years are eligible for the said retirement package. Employees who have relatives interested in working for the company are also given the opportunity to work for Almuftah Group.


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L'église Saint-Nicolas est une église grecque-orthodoxe du quartier de Rmeil au nord d'Achrafieh à Beyrouth, capitale du Liban. Consacrée à saint Nicolas, elle dépend de l'archidiocèse grec-orthodoxe de Beyrouth du Patriarcat orthodoxe d'Antioche et a donné son nom au secteur environnant (Mar Nicolas). Le jardin Saint-Nicolas se trouve en face.

Histoire et description

L'église a été construite en 1876 et a donné son nom à la rue Saint-Nicolas et au quartier Saint-Nicolas. Elle de style néobyzantin surmontée d'une coupole. L'église a été fortement endommagée pendant la guerre de 1975-1990.

Le , le métropolite de Beyrouth,  Elias Audi, bénit le début des travaux de reconstruction. L'église comprend deux édifices, celle du rez-de-chaussée qui est la réplique de l'ancienne église tandis que l'autre est plus grande. Son iconostase en marbre est remarquable et l'intérieur présente  de belles icônes byzantines.

Notes et références

Liens externes
Photographie de l'église.

Religion à Beyrouth
Beyrouth Nicolas
Beyrouth Nicolas
Beyrouth Nicolas

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Pink Reveals She Was Pitted Against These Pop Stars Early In Her Career
Taylor Hill/Getty Images
By Paige McBride/May 13, 2021 12:55 pm EST
For those of us who remember the 2000s pop princess battles, you'll likely recall the competition to be the next Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson or Christina Aguilera. In her new Amazon Prime Special, P!nk: All I Know So Far, the 41-year-old rocker gets real about what it was like to come up as a young woman in the public eye under intense media scrutiny.
Speaking with People, Pink explains that she was often pitted against other A-list singers of her day like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. "It was so unfair to all the girls. None of us wanted that," she told the outlet. The mother of two even notes that she was labeled the "anti-Britney" at one point.
"I love Britney — she used to carry around my album, I was like, 'Dude, I'm a street punk, I just skateboard. That doesn't have to be the anti-Britney. I don't want to fight anybody.'"
She also explained how the industry has changed after her two decades in the spotlight. "One of the best things that L.A. Reid ever told me was that this music business is big enough for everybody to win at the same time," she continued. "There's no such thing as competition. I think we navigated through it as good as a 20-year-old girl can. Now I think it's totally different. Girls supporting girls is rad — I love to watch it."
Pink also opened up about her marriage
As if coming of age in the spotlight wasn't hard enough, add in getting married and having children in the public eye. After explaining how difficult it was to be pitted against her fellow female musicians, Pink also discussed what it's like having a long-term relationship while in the music industry. BuzzFeed notes that she and her husband, Carey Hart, recently celebrated her 15th wedding anniversary in January. She told People that the two "grew up together" and explained how things had changed since they started dating in 2001.
"When you first get together, you look at that person as your entire world. One person can't be your entire world," Pink noted. "You have to have your own passions, your own friends, your own time to yourself. I used to be super needy. Now we expect less of each other, and that allows us to give each other more somehow."
She also opened up about the challenges they've faced — including their year-long separation in 2008. Crediting individual and couples therapy as the glue that brought them back together, she explains "I am a huge proponent of counseling in general. We both have therapy, individually, and we do couples counseling."
"Long-term relationships are not easy. It is much easier to stay in the solid days and jump from relationship to relationship, because then you don't have to fix the problems that keep recurring. You have to end up fixing yourself; you can't fix the other person."


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american cool
Joel Dinerstein
writer & professor
race, music & cool
Jazz: To Tell Your Story
December 10, 2014 in Music
Liner Notes to Jazz (Putamayo Records, 2009)
Jazz is an art form of ensemble individuality. A jazz artist has to first develop a unique, identifiable voice, a combination of tone, style, and phrasing that marks an instantly recognizable sound. Just as no one would mistake Billie Holiday's voice for Anita O'Day, Oscar Peterson's piano style is easily distinguished from Hampton Hawes's, Chet Baker's trumpet from Louis Armstrong's, Ray Brown's bass from Percy Heath's. Creating a signature sound is the objective of the jazz apprenticeship.
Jazz is a performer's rather than a composer's music: its musical practices transformed the popular song into a vehicle for musical conversation. Every musician must "tell a story," a phrase of jazz lore often credited to tenor saxophonist Lester Young. A jazz vocalist inhabits a song: she lives in it like a short story unfolding in musical time. The best jazz vocals are short one-act plays told by a first-person narrator as the musical scenery constantly, subtly shifts to mirror the twists and turns of the singer's emotional dynamics. A singer can often move the listener without words — through scatting, melisma, or just a sighed vocable, that expressive moan or sigh like Armstrong's "bleah-yeah-heah" or Holiday's "hmmmm-mmm." Every jazz vocalist must be able "to get tremendous effects out of the most subtle beat manipulations," Will Friedwald writes in Jazz Singing, since "keeping in time, in jazz, is even more important than keeping in tune." The musicians are not up there to support the vocalist but to interact: jazz requires real-time collective artistic creation.
The 1950s was a golden age for jazz vocals and three-quarters of this collection was recorded during the five-year period between 1956-1961. Jazz's popularity peaked in postwar America for many reasons besides the sheer range of talent in every subgenre, from swing to hard bop to modal and soul jazz. There was the shared common musical ground of jazz standards that gave audiences the ability to understand the ground from which solos were launched; there was a social imperative — the relationship of jazz to civil rights activism during the Jim Crow era; and there was jazz's niche as the music of intellectuals and hipsters on the East and West coasts. Finally, to have one's own sound meant being able to project an individuality often denied to African-Americans. As Duke Ellington once said, "The music had to say what we couldn't."
Many of the songs in this collection are gems from the Great American Songbook. This body of work is often considered the achievement of songwriters, but this is only half-true. These songs became "standards" as we know them through a process by which jazz musicians standardized the grooves, textures, melodies, and sonorities into an instrumental balladry to which our ears are now attuned. When these songs were first sung — often crooned — in Broadway musicals or off-Broadway revues, they owed more to the operetta tradition of Gilbert & Sullivan than the African-American traditions of blues, jazz, and gospel. Jazz musicians needed shared musical ground for jam sessions — their training ground, since no schools then taught jazz — and songs became "standards" as particular pieces acquired the grooves, nuance and phrasing infused by a generation of jazz musicians. This also put pressure on singers to create an equally adept instrument out of their voices. "Her voice was like having another horn in the band," the musicians of the Count Basie Orchestra often complimented Billie Holiday. This was how musicians distinguished a vocalist — or "song stylist," as Anita O'Day insisted on calling herself — from "a canary" or a "chick singer," common terms for women who looked rather than sounded good.
Jazz is the only indigenous American art form. It is a creolization of the musical cultures of Africa, Latin America, and Europe and its keynotes are groove and interplay, self-expression and improvisation, flow and flexibility. What jazz has always offered any and all individuals is a method for creating a singular artistic voice and then merging it with others who share common musical ground. As guitarist Jim Hall reflects: "I've played in many countries, and in this music, I can communicate fully with musicians whose native language I can't speak." What's American about jazz? Duke Ellington deserves the last word: "Jazz is a good barometer of freedom. The music is so free that many people ... around the world say that it is the only unhampered, unhindered expression of complete freedom yet produced in this country."
Joel Dinerstein is the author of The Origins of Cool in Postwar America (Chicago 2017), American Cool (Prestel 2014), Coach: A Story of NY Cool (Rizzoli 2016), and Swinging the Machine (2003). I am a Professor of English and American Studies at Tulane University and I've taught a course on the history of cool for 20 years. I hold a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Texas @ Austin, and my research focuses on the intersections of race, music, and cool, modernity and popular culture, literature and ethnicity.
American Cool was an acclaimed exhibit of 100 cool icons and 100 photographs at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery co-curated with Frank Goodyear in 2014. My first book was an award-winning cultural history of popular music and technology, Swinging the Machine: Technology, Modernity, and African-American Culture.
I have served as a consultant on popular music for the NEH, HBO's Boardwalk Empire, and Putumayo Records. I was the primary architect of Tulane's academic website on New Orleans music and culture, Music Rising at Tulane, http://musicrising.tulane.edu.


To produce high quality, accurate, timely and efficient reporting that effectively informs and drives the business.
To work closely with senior management to produce key reporting, track risks, create and report on KPIs.
To work closely with the Head of PMO to create and track project plans for several key projects driving revenue and growth.
To establish MI for MD and Senior Management to track business KPIs ensuring revenues are on track.


How can an author blend a family with paranormal abilities, a post apocalypse world filled with hordes of hungry undead, and beautiful, yet terrifying vampires? You may be skeptical, thinking it would be an awkward, stitched-together story, much like Frankenstein's monster. But you would be wrong. Melanie Karsak blends these elements and genres seamlessly into a fantastic, heart pounding world.
Layla returns to her small hometown after a cryptic call from her grandmother. After stocking up on supplies - some of which are strange requests, but she fulfills all the same - at the request of her grandmother, a zombie apocalypse hits that her grandmother foresaw but would not reveal, perhaps because it was inevitable.
Layla, the bogatyrka, the female warrior, does what needs to be done to help the residents of Hamletville - and all of humanity - survive. Survive not only the zombies, but other creatures content on feeding on humankind.
I thought it beautiful how the zombies and the other creatures are compared, that it simply transforms you to another state of existence, something different from human.
I wish I could write a longer review, but I fear I would spoil the surprises. I highly recommend The Harvesting to anyone who enjoys zombies, paranormal, or supernatural.


Published: Mar 22, 2018 · Modified: Apr 11, 2019 · By Jen Sobjack · This post may contain affiliate links.
Carrot Cake Scones are a fun spin on Easter's classic carrot cake. Shredded carrots, raisins, walnuts and cozy spices speckle the inside of these soft scones for the ultimate comfort breakfast!
I simply can not resist a soft scone. And one that's flavored like carrot cake? Count me in!!
It seems like I have a scone for every season here on the blog. There's honey citrus sweet potato scones for fall, blueberry buttermilk scones for summer, cranberry orange scones for winter, and now carrot cake scones for spring.
If you haven't made my soft scones before, I highly suggest you give them a try. The base is plain so you can flavor them any way you like! It's my number 1 go-to recipe and it has yet to fail me.
I adapted my basic soft scone recipe once again to create today's flavorful scone. I pretty much kept the base the same and added all the essentials for that classic carrot cake taste. I did find that I didn't need to add as much liquid to the dough since shredded carrots kept the scones pretty moist.
A good scone should have a tender interior with crisp edges. It should also be crumbly yet moist and practically melt in your mouth. This is made possible by loads of butter and the use of buttermilk. Buttermilk is key here!
Normally I prefer lemon cream cheese scones with strawberries or chai pear scones but I'm loving this carrot cake version. I couldn't stop reaching for "just one more bite".
I always share my tried and true tips for making scones with each recipe I bring to the blog, so below is a list of the most important things to do in order to make soft, flavorful scones with the best texture.
Cold butter is a must! You want little bits of cold butter throughout the dough in order to create airy pockets inside the scones as they bake.
Use buttermilk in the dough. No other liquid will give the same result. Not heavy cream, milk, or nondairy substitute. You must use buttermilk in order to get soft scones.
Don't overmix the dough. Over mixing will cause gluten to develop in the dough and this can lead to a tough scone. A few dry crumbles in the bottom of the bowl is perfectly okay. You can knead those in later.
Handle the dough as little as possible to prevent the butter from melting in your hands. If the butter melts while you are kneading and shaping the dough, it will not do its job in the oven.
Just before you put the scones in the oven, brush the tops with heavy cream. Milk will work too but I always use heavy cream. This is what gives the scones their gorgeous golden color.
With this recipe, you can get 16 small scones or 8 large scones. I usually cut mine into 8 pieces and the sones end up being about the size of my hand.
And because you can't have carrot cake without cream cheese frosting, I decided to top the scones with a simple cream cheese glaze. Cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream are all you need. Just whisk those ingredients together and spread the glaze over the scones after baking.
My sister-n-law has been living with us and she took a batch of these carrot cake scones to work. She said everyone gobbled them up faster than she could blink. I guess that means everyone loved them!
Have you made any of my scone recipes? I'd love to hear what you think of them!
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, ginger, and cloves together.
Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender, 2 knives, or your fingertips. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the shredded carrots, raisins, and walnuts.


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Mohammed Azeem (Bigg Boss Tamil 6) Wiki, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More
Mohammed Azeem is an Indian actor, VJ, and an anchor, who primarily appears in Tamil television shows. He is well-known for appearing as Arjun in the television show Pagal Nilavu on Star Vijay (May 2016). In October 2022, Azeem participated in the Tamil version of Colors' reality television show Bigg Boss season 6.
Mohammed Azeem was born on Saturday, 15 December 1990 (age 32 years; as of 2022) in Arumbakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius. Azeem attended Asan Memorial Matric Higher Secondary School in Chennai. He pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science at D.G.Vaishnav college in Chennai. After completing his graduation, Azeem enrolled himself at Loyola College in Chennai to earn a Master of Science degree in visual communication.
Body Measurements (approx.): Chest 42″, Waist 33″, Biceps 16″
Mohammed Azeem belongs to a Muslim family.
There is not much information available about Azeem's father. His mother's name is Jannath.
Mohammed Azeem with his mother
Azeem has a brother, Mohammed Aadhil.
Mohammed Azeem with Mohammed Aadhil
In 2018, Mohammed Azeem got married to his girlfriend, Syed Zoya.
Mohammed Azeem with his wife
Together, they have a son, Rayyan Kareem.
Mohammed Azeem with his son Rayyan Kareem
In 2021, due to some unknown reason, Azeem and Zoya parted ways, and they legally got divorced by mutual consent. Azeem, through a post on his Instagram account, shared the news on social media, which read,
Hello All! I wanted to Make it clear that I'm Officially Separated & Divorced by the Court of Mutual concern on Both our sides! Kindly Do not as any Personal Questions Regarding my Marital Status anymore !"
Relationships/Affairs
In 2017, it was rumoured that Mohammed Azeem was in a relationship with his co-star, Shivani Narayanan.
Mohammed Azeem with Shivani Narayanan
Together, they acted in two serials, 'Pagal Nilavu' and 'Kadaikutty Singam,' and they participated as a pair in the dance reality show Jodi Number One: Fun Unlimited. As per sources, it was speculated that the reason behind Azeem's divorce is his proximity to Shivani. However, Azeem denied the rumours, and he clarified that there is not any kind of romantic relationship between the two.
Mohammed Azeem follows Islam.
An Instagram post shared by Mohammed Azeem in which he is seen celebrating Ramadan with his son
During his college days, Azeem started working as a video jockey for Radio One, which is an Indian commercial radio network. In 2008, before pursuing an acting career, Azeem started working as a video jockey (VJ) for a television show on Zee Tamil. In 2010, after working for two years with Zee Tamil, he switched to Moon TV as a producer cum host for a television show. In 2012, Azeem appeared as an anchor for a television show on Sun TV.
Mohammed Azeem anchoring a show on Sun TV
In 2012, Azeem made his acting debut with the television show Maya as Ashwin alongside Vani Bhojan on Jaya TV.
Poster of Mohammed Azeem's debut television show Maya on Jaya TV
In 2013, he appeared in two television shows Pirivom Santhippom as Karthi and Deivam Thandha Veedu as Charan on Star Vijay. In May 2016, Azeem shot to fame when he appeared as Arjun in the television show Pagal Nilavu on Star Vijay.
Mohammed Azeem in a still from the television show Pagal Nilavu
Later, he appeared in a few shows like Niram Maratha Pookkal as Ramakrishnan on Zee Tamil (2019), Kadaikutty Singam as Maruthu on Star Vijay (2019), and Poove Unakkaga as Kathiravan Shivanarayanan on Sun TV (2021).
In 2018, Azeem participated in season 10 of the dance reality show Jodi Number One: Fun Unlimited along with Shivani Narayanan on Star Vijay. The show's contestants, who participated in pairs, were celebrities from the television industry. Azeem and Shivani were the 3rd runner-ups of the show.
Mohammed Azeem and Shivani Narayanan in the dance reality show Jodi Number One: Fun Unlimited
In October 2022, Azeem appeared as a contestant in the sixth season of Bigg Boss Tamil on Star Vijay.
Mohammed Azeem in Big Boss Tamil season 6
2012: Best performer of the Year Award for the television show Maya
2017: Favorite On-Screen Pair along with Shivani Narayanan for the television show Pagal Nilavu
2018: Best & Favorite Budding Pair along with Shivani Narayanan for the television show Pagal Nilavu
2018: Favorite Male Actor for the television show Pagal Nilavu
Mohammed Azeem with his Vijay Award of Favorite Male Actor for the television show Pagal Nilavu
In October 2020, it was speculated that Azeem would enter the reality show Big Boss Tamil season 4, which already had his rumoured girlfriend Shivani Narayanan in the house from the beginning. However, he couldn't make it to the show as he was quarantined for a few days for some unknown reasons. He shared the news with his fans through an Instagram story, which read,
Guys I'm not going to Bigg Boss 4 Due to Pressures & Issues…Thats all i can say now. Sorry to disappoint my Lovable Fans & Friends who i Owe alot. Thanks for all the love &support you guys showered on me."
In July 2021, a 26-year-old woman, a resident of Usilampatti in Tamil Nadu, was tricked of Rs 2.56 lakh by a con man, who connected with the victim by sending her a friend request on Facebook by the name of Mohammed Azeem. The victim was delighted to receive the friend request from her favourite actor. After chatting for a few days, the man started asking for money from the woman on account of some emergency need. The woman, without cross-checking the identity of the man, kept sending a certain amount of money at regular intervals. After she was blocked by the man, the victim soon realized that she has been cheated, and immediately she registered the case with the district police.
Azeem's favourite actor is Ajith.
Soja Soja Chup Lyrics From Sansar [English Translation]
Vikas Sawant Height, Weight, Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More
Kaiyum Kalavum Actors, Cast & Crew
Ek Ankh Marun Toh Lyrics From Tohfa [English Translation]
Kyaa Baat Haii 2.0 Lyrics From Govinda Naam Mera [English Translation]
UNHOLY LYRICS – Sam Smith | Kim Petras
Pyar Ke Rang Se Lyrics From Kasme Vaade [English Translation]


Struggling to fall asleep at night? Always tossing and turning around in your bed? There are countless amounts of reasons why you might not be able to fall asleep right away, but we've put together some tips to help you fall asleep faster.
Sleep is an extremely important part of your health, and it's something that shouldn't be neglected. Our bodies need to have a period of time where it can recover from your busy schedule and rest your mind. If you have a physically active lifestyle or mostly sedentary, sleep always plays an integral part in increasing your focus and attention span, ensuring memory retention is kept intact, and improving overall health. There are countless amounts of studies that have proven this. Researchers from Brown University and the University of California, Irvine, found that sleep is especially important in early adolescence for long-term memory. And they are not the only ones. There are countless amounts of studies that show that sleep helps improve memory retention, like this one, or this one, this study, and this article.
Everyone's brain processes memory in different ways, some being more effective than others, but in order to ensure you are getting the best chance to retain all those precious moment, sleep is key. There are a few tricks you can start doing today to help yourself get the most of your sleep.
Surprise! Eating junk food all day won't help you sleep properly at night. Experts all agree that having a healthy balanced diet is the key to living a long and healthy life, and this does not exclude having a better night's rest! Try and cut out sugary items from your diet and have a well-balanced diet across all major food groups.
Keeping a steady exercise regimen not only helps prevent all kinds of diseases, lowers your risk of high blood pressure, and reduce stress, but it also helps you rest a lot better at night. There is no better time to get those legs moving!
Meditation is great for putting your mind at ease. It might not work for everyone, but there is nothing better than relaxing your thoughts and focusing on your health. Yoga is another great way to help your body and mind relax, as it stretches your muscles and provides a sense of calmness. There are numerous apps and websites you can use for free in order to get you started.
Looking at your phone right before bed can do more harm than good. Your body naturally needs darkness to sleep, and when you introduce a light source to your eyes, the brain will try and analyze the new information presented in front of it. Let your mind rest and turn off all electronic devices, including smart phones, tvs and anything else that might have a light source. All of these throw off the circadian rhythm that has been internalized in your body for centuries. Try and avoid screen time right before bed.
Most adults should be getting anywhere from 7-9 hours of sleep per night, which means about 2,555 hours of sleep per year! Researchers at the University of California discovered that there is a rare gene mutation that allows some people to require less hours of sleep per night, but don't think this applies to everyone. This only affects about 3% of the population. For everyone else, adults should be getting 7-9 hours per night.
If you sleep on average for more than 10 hours per night, your body might not be benefiting from the extra hours and you may be doing more harm than good. Excessive consecutive sleep can cause back pain, neck pain, and body sores from the extended amount of time without movement. You can't "catch-up" on missed hours from previous days. There is no cure for that. The only thing you can do is regulate and improve your quality of sleep moving forward.
This is why making choosing a good mattress is one of the ways you can ensure you are getting the best rest possible. Making an investment in a good quality mattress is a sound investment in your health. You spend about 25 years of your life sleeping. Make sure those years are good sleeping years.


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Congress | Immigration
DREAMers still face uncertainty after Senate fails to act
Humberto Sanchez
February 16th, 2018 - 2:05am
The U.S. Capitol at sunset on November 25, 2007. (Courtesy/vgm8383 under Creative Commons)
The fate of the nation's 1.8 million undocumented young people brought to the U.S. as children remained as uncertain as ever after the Senate on Thursday failed to advance any legislation to settle their status, including a plan proposed by President Donald Trump.
Republican Sen. Dean Heller voted for Trump's plan, a sign he's seeking to blunt attacks from GOP primary opponent Danny Tarkanian, who has accused Heller of not supporting Trump in the Senate. Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto opposed Trump's plan.
The DREAMers, as they are known, face a March 5 deadline, when the program—Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)—shielding them from deportation expires. However, legal wrangling over Trump's decision to end DACA could keep it in place for a while longer. Nevada has 13,000 people enrolled in DACA.
Cortez Masto, who took to the Senate floor this week to tout Nevada's DREAMers, said she was disappointed the Senate could not come together after tough negotiations on a compromise bill that was introduced by South Dakota Republican Mike Rounds and Maine independent Angus King, who works with Democrats in the Senate.
"The bipartisan bill to protect DREAMers was a compromise," Cortez Masto said Thursday, adding that she grudgingly voted for the measure, which along with providing a pathway to citizenship for the DREAMers, would also have provided $25 billion to build a wall along the Mexican border.
"That was a hard pill to swallow," she said, but she voted for the bill to protect DREAMers "in my state and across the country and that's what this is about."
The measure failed to win the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate, in part because the White House threatened to veto the measure over the fact that it did not go far enough in overhauling the immigration laws.
One key difference centered on the issue of family unification. The Rounds-King and Trump plans are both aimed at banning parents who brought their children to the U.S. illegally from obtaining citizenship. But the bipartisan plan would mostly preserve the current family-based immigration system, which Trump wants to dramatically limit. He has called for allowing citizens to sponsor only spouses and minor children, cutting out parents, adult children and siblings.
Heller voted against the Rounds-King measure, but supported a bill that came closest to Trump's proposal. That plan also failed to win the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate.
Heller's strategy to flex his conservative muscles ahead of the June GOP primary could complicate his path in the general election, where he will need to win over independents who have been put off by the Trump administration. Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen, who is challenging Heller, was quick to point out his immigration vote.
"@DeanHeller refused to work on a bipartisan solution — instead, he took orders from Trump. As Nevada's next senator, I'll stand up for our Dreamers & immigrant families," Rosen wrote on Twitter.
Along with legalizing the DREAMers, funding the border wall and limiting family-based migration to just spouses and minor children, the Trump-backed measure, which was sponsored by Iowa Republican Charles Grassley, would also have overhauled the diversity visa lottery to make it merit-based.
Heller also voted against another bipartisan amendment, offered by Arizona Republican John McCain and Delaware Democrat Chris Coons, that would have helped the DREAMers and provided some border security funds, but not for the southern border wall. And he voted for a measure that would have withheld federal funds from sanctuary cities, which do not cooperate with federal immigration officials. Cortez Masto voted for the McCain-Coons bipartisan bill and against the sanctuary cities proposal.
The lack of success in the Senate prompted Democratic Rep. Dina Titus to issue a statement urging her colleagues to keep pushing for a solution.
"As the March 5th deadline approaches, we must continue to fight for Nevada's DREAMers and not fall for any more hollow Republican promises," she said.
As the Senate debated immigration this week, House Republicans have said that they are whipping up support for a conservative bill sponsored by Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte, a measure that Republican Rep. Mark Amodei said he does not support.
"We're busy working with Goodlatte on his bill because we have some concerns about that," Amodei said, noting that he leans 'no.'
Amodei said he is concerned with a provision that would require DACA recipients to renew their legal status every three years.
"Why would we create an in-perpetuity sign-up?" he asked, adding that the young immigrants have been sufficiently vetted to receive DACA. "I don't think it's amnesty."
He also is concerned with the H2-A temporary workers visa. "A lot of the sheep industry are bringing people in and they are getting stolen by other industries and no one's doing anything about it," Amodei said. "It makes it real tough to be in the sheep business."
https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/dreamers-still-face-uncertainty-after-senate-fails-to-act-to-address-their-status


NO WONDER Joe Hart described securing third place this season as "essential" for Manchester City.
One look at the teams they could face in the Champions League play-offs in August underlines the perils of finishing fourth and having to pre-qualify.
City have never faced a play-off in Europe's top club competition.
Having finished third, champions, runners-up and champions in the last four seasons, they have always gone straight into the group stage draw.
But if they fail to overtake in-form Arsenal and neighbours United, then fourth place while holding off Liverpool's challenge, then some dangerous opponents await.
City's UEFA coefficient would mean they would be seeded alongside the fourth-placed teams from Spain (currently Valencia) and Germany (Bayer Leverkusen) and the third-placed clubs from Italy (Roma) and Portugal (Sporting Lisbon), who they would then avoid in the draw.
But that group of seeds will be joined by the five teams who made it through from the third qualifying round, a selection possibly containing the runners-up from Holland, Ukraine and Russia plus France's third-best outfit, among others.
At the moment that would mean Ajax, Shakthar Donetsk, Krasnador and Monaco, who were Arsenal's conquerors in the last 16 this season.
There were some tough play-off ties this season with Arsenal paired with Turkish club Besiktas, Napoli facing Athletic Bilbao and Lille drawn against Porto.
The encouraging point for City is that only one English clubs has ever failed to get through the play-offs – Everton, who were knocked out by Villareal in 2005, then managed by City boss Manuel Pellegrini.


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Home / Biographies / Samuel F. B. Morse
Samuel F. B. Morse
by John Hudson Tiner
The world-famous artist, Samuel Morse, boarded the packet ship Sully in France to sail for New York. He listened as other passengers tossed ideas back and forth. One man asked, "Is the flow of electricity slowed by the length of a wire?" Someone else responded, "No."
The thought captured Samuel's imagination. Could signals be sent instantly anywhere along a wire by electricity? Could newspapers in America carry news of events that had taken place that very morning in Europe?
But an idea is not enough. It must be expressed in terms of wire, magnets, and batteries. He filled his notebook with dozens of drawings - diagrams of wire circuits, electromagnets, levers, switches, a moving strip of paper.
When Samuel disembarked in New York, he immediately announced to his brothers, "During the voyage, I made an important invention that will astonish the world. The telegraph is a way to communicate by means of electricity. The dots and spaces make it possible—"
"But what of your career as an artist?" his brother interrupted. Samuel said, "I could earn a good living as a painter. But for my invention to succeed, I should give full time to it." And that's what Samuel did — for the next twelve years!
Publisher: Mott Media
Product: MM400
Bully for You,Teddy Roosevelt
Daniel Boone, Frontiersman
Eric Liddell: Pure Gold
Laura Ingalls Wilder: Young Pioneer
Samuel Francis Smith


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The InstantKon SF70 is a Modern Reimagining of the Polaroid SX-70
The MiNT InstantKon SF70 is a new instant analog film camera from MiNT that seeks to take the best parts of the Polaroid SX-70 and advance them for the modern photographer.
The foldable, portable nature of the Polaroid SX-70 along with its classic design and square film format was the company's starting point. MiNT says that it didn't just want to re-release the Polaroid, though. Anything that was made today would have to improve in key areas in order to justify its existence.
With a few changes, MiNT believes that has been accomplished in the InstantKon SF70.
The InstantKon SF70 is an analog split-image rangefinder like a vintage Leica or old Polaroid camera and features a "genuine bellows" that the company says is hand made by artisans.
That bellows retracts into the body of the camera for a compact profile when not in use. The benefit of the bellows is that the longer back focus means a shallower depth of field at the same f-stop.
The SF70 adds a few features not found on the SX-70: a built-in flash as well as shutter speed and aperture control. The company claims that through six aperture selections you can obtain images with a surprising depth of field.
"At the closest distance 75cm and f/5.6, SF70 can give you an incredibly shallow 4.9cm depth-of-field," the company claims.
The camera can be set to f/5.6, f/6.7, f/8, f/11, f/16, and f/22.
There are fourteen shutter speed levels and includes a bulb setting (for up to a 10 minute exposure), while still maintaining an "Auto" setting for those who prefer to let the camera do the thinking.
The SF70 also allows for an unlimited number of multiple exposures. The larger front element allows for the use of ND filters as well.
Speaking of the lens, it is a 3-element lens the company says is made of glass and features aspherical lenses and has the 35mm equivalent focal length of 50mm.
Below are a few sample photos taken with the SX-70:
The camera accepts the easily-obtainable Fujifilm Instax Square instant film. The company also is offering an unusual program to provide free film for life after receiving the camera, the details of which you can read about here.
The MiNT Instakon SF70 is currently fully-backed on Kickstarter with multiple pledge options, with the most affordable currently available for around $720 (converted from Hong Kong dollars). The company expects to deliver finished products to backers by May of 2021.
As always, remember that Kickstarter is not a pre-order platform, and this is MiNT's first Kickstarter project (though it has been in existence producing modern takes on analog cameras for some time). Do your research, and pledge with caution.
analog analoginstantfilm crowdfunding Equipment filmcamera instantfilm instantfilmphotography instantkon instantkonsf70 kickstarter mintcamera News PetaPixel poaroidsx70 polaroid TodayPic
How to photograph ruins
DJI Blocked by the United States, Added to 'Economic Blacklist'


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The Flash 4x03 Review: "Luck Be a Lady" (Murphy's Law) [Contributor: Deborah MacArthur]
12:53 PM contributor: deborah macarthur, s04.03, the flash review No comments
"Luck Be a Lady"
Original Airdate: October 24, 2017
The Flash continues its winning streak of light-hearted episodes with "Luck Be a Lady." The dialogue was wonderful (thanks in no small part to the return of Harry, whose semi-confrontational relationship with Cisco always leads to some great lines) and the situations were funny, bordering on slapstick — much like the hijinks associated with Barry's malfunctioning, techy suit last episode. If they continue down the path set by the past two weeks, I think The Flash might actually be able to recover from last season's failed attempt at "darker and edgier" storytelling.
Unfortunately, "Luck Be a Lady" fumbles a character exit (whether that exit be permanent or temporary), which makes for a real downer ending for what was otherwise a fun, engaging episode.
GET (UN)LUCKY
In a switch from the Thinker codas of the previous two episodes, this episode actually begins with the Thinker... thinking out loud, I guess? He's narrating some of the grand scheme he's got going on and giving us a little bit more information about what's happening (or will be happening) in this season's main arc. Thankfully, the show has learned from its bad habit of trying to plant huge, critical mysteries into the identities of its villains: The Thinker is enigmatic but his identity is less important than what he's doing with the new metahumans, and Team Flash and the viewers are pretty much on pace together with big reveals regarding him. Eobard "I'd Forgotten How Terrible This Name Is" Thawne, Zoom, and Savitar all had identity mysteries injected into their very character, which made things boring when we figured out who they actually were, but it looks like the Thinker might just be... a villain. Just, doin' nefarious things for capital-R Reasons.
"Subject was born in Sarasota, Florida," says the Thinker, "the first indignity in a life full of unfortunate circumstances." Wow, serious burn on Sarasota out of nowhere, The Flash! Anyway, he's talking about our metahuman of the week, Becky, who has had bad luck her entire life — until that bad luck suddenly turned around three weeks ago, when she caught a bus with a bunch of other people and ended up blasted by a bright light. Now Becky is so lucky she can just walk into a bank and walk out with bags full of cash and no one will stop her. Mostly because they're all tripping over stuff, falling off ladders, so on and so on. Even Barry falls into Becky's bad luck field when he goes after her, tripping on a bunch of marbles "like a cartoon."
Basically, Becky is doing whatever she wants, the lives of the people around her be darned, and Team Flash can't get near her without being subjected to the same terrible luck as everyone else. Also, it seems like bad luck is contagious, as even things unrelated to Becky start going wrong. Barry and Iris lose their wedding venue, Joe's house is falling apart, Wally got dumped, and here's the real kicker: Team Flash made Becky ("Hazard," as Cisco has dubbed her) in the first place. That bright light outside the bus Becky was on? That was Barry returning from the Speed Force, bringing a wave of dark matter with him and creating at least twelve new metas.
It's only the third episode of the season and the biggest mystery (where new metas like last week's Kilg%re came from) is already getting solved. I'm happy that the show is being straightforward about what's going on, because this is, for some reason, more fun than dragging out a pointless mystery. The Samuroid from the season opener? Sent by the Thinker so the team would need Barry back. The Thinker needed Barry back to create the new metas. Now all that's left to figure out is why he wanted to create new metas in the first place.
But first: the Becky problem. It seems that the quantum field causing the bad luck around Becky is expanding in proportion to the amount of good luck she's having, pulling in a large radius of the city that includes Joe's house going from some leaky pipes to a full-on danger to life and limb, an airplane getting a bird to the turbine, and the particle accelerator... which is going to explode. Again.
The team rushes to fight against everything that's going wrong, but they know that whatever they do to stop Becky will only increase her good luck and thereby increase their bad luck. Harry, taking refuge from Earth-2 where he'd been kicked off his own daughter's superhero team, is actually the one who figures out how to stop Becky by just letting the particle accelerator explode. Why'd that work? Well, blah blah technobabble blah, negated Becky's quantum field and stopped her luck. Barry slaps her in cuffs, ships her off to Iron Heights, and the day is saved.
WHERE THEY WENT WRONG
Let's rewind back to the beginning of the episode, when Team Flash (minus Wally) got a Breach Alert on all their phones while they were out for a family lunch (minus Wally). It turned out that the alert was because Wally had a date scheduled with Jesse from Earth-2, but — as he stood there, giant teddy bear and flowers in his arms and an adorable, adorable grin on his face — Harry ends up stepping through the portal instead, in order to deliver a Breakup Cube. The name of the cube speaks for itself. We get a very weak excuse from Harry on behalf of Jesse, whose recorded hologram fuzzes out so she can't even deliver the breakup in person, and it's all just the beginning of this episode dealing Wally West one bad hand after another.
During the climax of the episode, pretty much everyone tapped into The Flash on Twitter noticed a curious lack of Wally as everything around Team Flash fell apart. There were three different crises happening at once: Barry trapped in the casino with Bad Luck Becky, Harry and Cisco dealing with the explosion, and Cecile and Joe getting attacked by the West house. Wally was absent for all of them. Furthermore, Wally's name wasn't even mentioned — not so much as a "Where's Wally?" was uttered by any of the characters despite the fact that Wally is a speedster with abilities comparable to the metahuman leader of the team.
And that, I suppose, is the problem: The Flash can't find something for two speedsters to do in every episode. When the big final battle happens, Barry must be the one to save the day, so Wally must be incapacitated or completely ignored, or else there's no tension for the viewers. Aren't there ways for The Flash writers to write themselves out of this corner without sidelining Wally? I mean yeah, it is kind of understandable that this show is called The Flash, so the Flash shouldn't have to share the spotlight with someone of similar power, intelligence, and even, in some ways, personality — but writing off Wally by ignoring him, and then making that part of the reason he's going? That's a bit ridiculous.
Because yes, Wally confronts his friends and family about no one noticing his absence during the Becky battle. How freaking sad is that? He went to go see Jesse on Earth-2 and get a better breakup message than a fuzzy hologram and a stuttered explanation from her dad, then comes back to find an entire episode climax happened while he was gone and no one cared enough to notice his absence. With this revelation, Wally decides to leave Central City and stay in Blue Valley (holy smokes, a city that doesn't have the word "city" in the name!) for the foreseeable future. Everyone makes sad faces at the idea, but no one fights him on it. Hugs all around.
Wally deserved a lot better than this.
Other Things:
Becky has a MySpace page? Really?
There are so many little things I adored in this episode that have been noticeably absent in previous seasons. The team hanging out outside of work, having fun, for one.
Iris trying to speed-marry Barry right after a funeral had me cackling. "I love this coffin, is that cedar?" Candice Patton's comedy skills are absolutely stellar.
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Southlands: a national resource or a national disgrace?
Why can't Bermuda do this?
Is it time to call time on representative democracy?
Priorities: Christmas trees or road safety?
Is Bermuda ready for gaming?
Experiences, observations, and opinions of a young progressive entrepreneur. Articles will mostly surround my passions of politics, business, education, and sustainability.
It'll bring out the billy in you !
Wandering Photographer - A Tad Aimless For The Nonce.
Information and opinion on business and construction issues in Bermuda.


The 2018/2019 NHL season has been an impressive one for Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly, and with the regular season winding down, I think Rielly is the team's most valuable player this season.
Lets examine things to understand why I think Rielly is the team's MVP, when Toronto has superstars like Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and goaltender Frederik Andersen. I think we should start with what he brings to the locker room. Rielly is the third longest serving active Maple Leaf, behind only Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner for time spent with the team. He brings experience to this young roster, but also leadership, as he is the only one of those three long time Leafs to wear an 'A' on his jersey this season, as an alternate captain. The Leafs have two other alternate captains, they are Tavares and Patrick Marleau. Toronto media have been speculating all season long about who should be Toronto's next captain, and Rielly's name has come up on more than one occasion.
He also leads the team in total time on ice as of press time, and his average time on ice is over 23 minutes per game, which tops the team stat list as well. Obviously, this shows the coach trusts Rielly to play in any situation in a game.
With a team that sometimes struggles with defence, Rielly is one of the most responsible players, as he is second on the team in the plus/minus stat, sitting at a plus 28, and has only taken 12 minutes in penalties.
Offensively, Rielly also recently became the third defenceman in Maple Leafs history to record 20 goals in one season. The other two were Al Iafrate and Ian Turnbull. As of press time, Rielly is tied for third on the team in points with 68, and is fourth on the team in goals. Looking at the stats across the league, Rielly is the third highest point producing defenceman in the NHL, behind only Brent Burns of San Jose and Mark Giordano of Calgary.
I don't think the Leafs would be having the success they've had this season without Rielly, and that is why I think he is the team's MVP.


Last year our real GDP grew 2.4 percent primarily driven by personal consumption and fixed investments by both residential and non-residential fixed investments. However, markets in 2015 ended up flat; that also means corporations have added one-year worth of retained earnings in their balance sheets without any market price gains. As end of the last week, markets further declined by this year by 9 percent. You can also say markets are approximately 11 percent cheaper than beginning of the last year.
There are number if unknown fears and concerns spooked the investors lately. In our opinion many of these fears are caused by the faulty reasoning and improper processing of the market data.
Biggest of all the fears is drop in oil prices: When prices go up against the fundamentals they fall as rapidly as they grow. It was evident in the year 2000 market crash due to overpriced internet stocks and in 2008 crash after overpriced housing sector. That is what exactly happened in the oil industry. There was abundant supply of oil from shale producers in the US, happens to be US is the biggest oil consumer in the world. We have warned about oil price bubbles in the last two annual reports here at Covestor. Other oil producers at OPEC never realized how much glut of oil in the market or re-entry of Iran into the oil market. At one-point barrel of oil went up to $140 encouraged more and more drilling. There is no room to store the excess oil produced in the US; all those oil tankers are full and floating in the gulf. Due to this over (abundant) supply, prices plunged and opened the door to export oil from US for the first time after Arab oil embargo.
Naturally Oil firms started cutting drilling and slowing the capital expenditure; sure it has some impact on the economy since energy sector weighs 6.6% of S&P 500. What about rest of the sectors? Every sector in S&P is benefiting either directly or indirectly due to lower oil prices. Chemical companies, fertilizer firms, agricultural sector and biggest of all, the transportation firms such as airline industries, consumer discretionary and staples sectors. Energy sectors loss is everyone's benefit. Last year alone US consumers benefited approximately $129 billion on fuel savings that is $960 per household. If you add industrial and transportation sector savings the benefits are enormous. It is the biggest economic stimulus both domestically and also abroad like India and China.
Fear of market multiples: As of last week S&P 500 Price to earnings ratio is at approximately 20.5 that means 4.86% in earning yield. When compared to 10 year treasuries yield of 1.75%, stock market looks reasonably priced. Many pundits measure market averages with cyclically adjusted ten-year average earnings. The biggest flaw in this comparison is outlier corporate earnings in the great recession year 2008. If the year 2008 earnings excluded and extend it to one more year in the past, then the average goes down to very reasonable multiples (No offense Dr. Shiller). There is no way we can say market expansion stops at PE multiples of 20, the average PE ratio in the internet bubble days were at 30 range. We don't see the irrational prices in the market or we have not noticed over enthusiasm by novice investors yet.
Fed's increase in interest rates: Market wild swings started right after Fed raised interest rates from zero to 0.25% after prolonged period of zero interest rates. Our economy is in excellent condition to handle normalization of the interest rates. Normalization of the interest rates are not a bad omen. Due to lower interest rate environment banks could not take risk of lending money to the borrowers and is also not encouraging savers to add more to their savings accounts.
Other end Fed cannot take unilateral decision of raising interest rates too far and over heat dollar value since rest of the developed countries in the Europe and Japan kept their interest rates below zero. Now Fed has to watch not only the domestic inflation but also interest rates at our trading partners and value of the dollar.
Slowing Chinese Economy: Chinese economy slowed a bit this year but still growing at healthy pace of 6.8% rate. Chinese equity market is isolated, not open for all foreign investors. It is different beast all together. Irrational trading, Euphoria took over their markets. Shanghai index returned 61% in Renminbi terms and single digit return last year even with the correction. China is celebrating Y2K moment for the past couple of months. Though China's equity market is a closed market but had some impact on the global markets. The Ripple effect is we are having tremors while earth is shaking in China.
Even though 2016 market started with losses, we believe this year US GDP even advance little over two percent and do not see recession on the horizon. Unlike the last two years' unusual warm weather will help first quarter GDP to grow better than the past. Savings from energy is evident in the consumer discretionary spending such as automobile sales. Airline industry is benefiting dearly from lower energy prices and also uptick in the consumer spending. We have recommended Southwest Airlines couple of years back in our annual letter.
In our view there are number of signs indicate harbinger of the recession such as flattening yield curve both at US and in other western countries. Employers prepare downsizing the workforce.
Unemployment is so low now a days creating a wage inflation which is a positive sign of healthy growth. Average weekly hours in the manufacturing sector are improving, seasonally adjusted unemployment insurance claims are in declining, building permits for new homes are slightly improved, and globally in all major economies Yield curve is steep. These are all good indicators of future economy.
So far wild swings in the markets caused so much volatility; it was not a great market for the faint hearts. People respond more for losses than pleasure of the gains. Irrespective of the early market losses this year we see calm after the storm. In our view probably it is good time to keeping your feet wet in the market and keep a long term perspective according to your individual needs.
Finally, our Lakeland Wealth Management's Long term value covestor portfolio returned gross of 1.3% last year or 0.7% net return compared to 1.38% return of S&P 500 (including dividends). Last year was not so satisfying except we did not lose money. For a long term value investor December 31st is another day for the tax purpose. We think in the year 2016 markets will bounce back and roll forward.


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# albirex niigata
// 171 results
FAS response to media query on Albirex Niigata appeal
"While the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) did receive an appeal from Albirex Niigata FC (S) regarding the attribution of one of the goals scored during its Singapore Premier League (SPL) match with Tampines Rovers FC on 15 October 2022,
Albirex Niigata FC (S) are 2022 AIA Singapore Premier League champions!
The Japanese side won their fifth league crown with two matches left by trumping holders Lion City Sailors FC in a title-decider SINGAPORE, 7 OCTOBER 2022 – Albirex Niigata FC (S) clinched the 2022 AIA Singapore Premier League
Albirex Niigata FC (S)
FAS response to media query on Albirex Niigata's pre-season preparation
"The FAS are aware of the circumstances surrounding Albirex Niigata's Japanese players and are working closely with the club to facilitate any assistance they require.
Albirex Niigata FC (S) are 2020 AIA Singapore Premier League champions
The Japanese side won their fourth league title, while Tampines Rovers FC settled for second place as Geylang International FC took the final AFC Cup qualification slot SINGAPORE, 5 DECEMBER 2020 – Albirex Niigata FC (S) clinched the 2020 AIA Singapore Premier League (SPL) title on Saturday night as a thrilling
Postponement of SPL fixture between Brunei DPMM FC and Albirex Niigata (S) FC
SINGAPORE, 12 MARCH 2020 – The Football Association of Singapore has been notified today by Brunei DPMM FC that in light of the current COVID-19 situation in Brunei Darussalam, the fixture between Brunei DPMM FC and Albirex Niigata (S) FC
Albirex Niigata FC (S) U15
Albirex Niigata FC (S) Crowned 2018 Singapore Premier League Champions
SINGAPORE, 22 JULY 2018: Albirex Niigata FC (S) sealed the 2018 Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League (SPL) title on Sunday night after a 1-1 draw with Balestier Khalsa FC.
Statement by FAS President on the Signing of Local Footballers by Albirex Niigata FC (S)
Demonstrating the shared belief they have with the FAS that youth development is a collaborative effort amongst all stakeholders, Albirex Niigata FC (S) today announced that they have signed local footballers Adam Swandi and Shahul Rayyan.