Can U.S. Get out of Afghanistan?
The United States faces a number of practical hurdles in getting its forces out of Afghanistan in 2014. But it has found an unlikely ally in its efforts.
The U.S. is facing a number of roadblocks in its effort to secure routes to pull its equipment out of Afghanistan, with erstwhile allies Pakistan and Uzbekistan making it clear that the U.S. can't rely – as it has been until now – heavily on them. But in its effort to diversify its supply routes, it's gaining cooperation from an unlikely source: Russia.
With plans to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan starting in 2014, the Pentagon is busy setting up what it calls "retrograde transit" agreements with countries neighboring Afghanistan. The U.S. already has a number of shipping routes in place, mainly through Pakistan and through the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, a collection of routes known as the Northern Distribution Network.
But in November, an errant NATO airstrike killed more than 20 Pakistani soldiers, and Pakistan immediately cut off all transit to coalition equipment. Those routes, which once carried about a third of the coalition's equipment to Afghanistan, remain closed, though U.S. officials have expressed optimism that they will be able to negotiate to reopen them.
The U.S. had set up the Northern Distribution Network as a strategic hedge against Pakistan's unpredictability, a decision that proved wise when Pakistan implemented its blockade. But the first round of agreements that the U.S. signed with the Central Asian governments didn't provide for taking equipment out of Afghanistan, only bringing it in. Now, the U.S. has signed agreements with all the Central Asian countries for reverse transit, but some of the countries appear to be lagging on the implementation of those deals.
Uzbekistan, in particular, is reportedly raising prices it charges for the transit and creating bureaucratic delays. When one of the major NDN contractors, FMN Logistics, carried out its first retrograde transit shipment on February 29, it notably did so via the so-called KKT route, crossing Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. That route is longer and uses much worse roads than the Uzbekistan route, but those countries are more cooperative. However, the KKT route is still an incomplete solution: during winter, it's all but impassable.
Amid these difficulties, the U.S. is getting assistance from a country many regard as the United States' biggest foe: Russia. Russia had already agreed to allow transit through the country (it is the best way to get to Europe after passing through Central Asia), but is now negotiating with the U.S. over opening a transit hub in the Volga River city of Ulyanovsk.
The Ulyanovsk facility would be used for the U.S. and NATO to fly goods from Afghanistan into Russia, and then by rail onward to Europe. That is more expensive than surface transport all the way to Europe or the U.S., but less expensive than flying the goods the whole way. As such, it provides an acceptable alternative to Uzbekistan and Pakistan.


Purple is the Ninja of the colour world. It's intriguing and scary at the same time. Full purple boots signal serious intent, while purple trims and details have an air of 'crouching tiger hidden dragon' about them. Go Ninja, claim your purple boots today.
Purple will tell you it's about to elbow you in the face, and that there's nothing you can do about it. In dark tones it's a quitely stylish headlock. In lighter shades it's more of a round house kick, but equally as stylish.


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The recent celebration of Thanksgiving that occurred in the USA on November 27th gave the area of the Mississippi Delta another excuse to do what it does best and get creative with its culinary skills. In the run up to the festive season it seems that good food and dining play a big part in southern culture all year round, with fresh seafood on its doorstep and the unique French – Cajun delicacies all being found on local menus.
Food is something greatly associated with the USA in general but in a recent report featured on the MHRA (Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association) website and in the New York publication 'Reuters Life!' things are also changing in the way that the USA 'do' food. With the old slogan "big is best" being put to one side in favour of the meze or tapas style of eating being adopted by many restaurants it seems that the little things are making the biggest difference.
Chef John Kinsella, president of the American Culinary Federation and senior chef instructor at Midwest Culinary Institute in Cincinnati says: "The trend of small plates is definitely hot, including offering tasting menus of small portions of food, wine or other alcohol beverages. The trend I have seen as the fastest growing of 2008 is the alternative-source ingredients — local produce, organics, sustainable seafood, grass-fed and free-range items."
Chef John Kinsella's comments echo that of our very own Jamie Oliver who has just returned from New Orleans following a whistle stop tour of some of the areas most prolific restaurants including Café Du Monde, an original French Market coffee stand that is over 100 years old.
A recent post on Jamie Oliver's website says: "I had a chance to meet Jamie at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans while he was filming a new show for British TV.
The Jamie Oliver team can reveal that filming was being undertaken for Channel 4 but have no further information to release at this time.
Whether it is Brad Pitt and his ongoing support of the regeneration of the GO Zone, the area that was directly affected by hurricanes Rita and Katrina or Jamie Oliver, our very own national treasure, drawing our attention to the area, it is good to see that interest in a region still recovering from the hurricanes that caused so much damage has not waned.
For more information on the Go Zone and how you can invest in this area please contact Property Direct America on 0207 043 0792 or visit www.propertydirectamerica.com.
The old adage 'an Englishman's home is his castle' is not just country-specific, with the home in all cultures typically being a place of security and refuge but also something to be proud of and even a representation of who we are as people. Outwardly, we employ all manner of different techniques to make our homes look the very best – wallpaper, paint techniques, stencilling, unusual furniture and furnishings for example – but underneath this bold exterior, the question remains: how healthy is your home?
This is clearly a question that is important to many homeowners, with programmes like Channel 4's 'How Clean is Your House?' making stars of presenters Kim and Aggie and in turn raising awareness of the issue of the healthiness of houses. Through such popular programmes it has come to be realised that a home needs to be not just outwardly beautiful, it has to be healthy too, and certainly not have a negative effect on occupants' health. With illnesses such as eczema and asthma being linked to environmental factors such as dust, detergents and mold, it is important to dig beneath the surface of a house to eliminate any potential factors that could be contributing to household illnesses and to try and make the home once again the bastion of wellbeing that it once was.
This is an issue that has become very relevant in the southern state of Mississippi in the USA. Following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 which brought devastation to many parts of this region, especially along coastal stretches, the government body FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) issued around 100,000 trailers to people displaced from their homes in the aftermath of the storms. Only meant as a temporary measure and built to last approximately a year, three years on around 15,000 of these homes remain due to a lack of built and affordable housing. Not only a problem because these families, often with young children, do not have a permanent dwelling to call home, these trailer-properties are also at the centre of a growing public health concern.
"Based on what we found and on scientific reports about health effects linked with formaldehyde exposure, CDC recommended that FEMA move residents of the Gulf Coast area displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita out of travel trailers and mobile homes". This is due to findings of average levels of formaldehyde in the trailers some four times higher than usual: readings of 77 ppb (parts per billion) compared to a normal home reading of 10-20 ppb, all of those studied having some readings that would have an effect on sensitive people and around 5% having levels of an extent to make a healthy adult ill.
These results combined with government-set rules including a limit on formaldehyde releases for mobile homes but not trailers, has lead to a lawsuit being brought against both the trailer manufacturers and FEMA. Not only this but a recently released report by the Children's Health Fund looking at the medical records of 261 children living in a Gulf Coast trailer park has found that 42% had been diagnosed with allergic rhinitis or upper respiratory infection and 24% had a cluster of upper respiratory, allergic and skin problems, thus adding to the case.
It remains to be seen if Republican Henry Waxman is true to say that "no one was looking out for the interests of displaced families living in FEMA trailers," but in the meantime it is hard to ignore the evidence being put forward. However, in true juxtaposition to the findings relating to FEMA trailers, BusinessWeek has recently named Biloxi – home to high numbers of displaced families – as Mississippi's best place to raise children. Based on various factors including affordability, safety, local parks and recreational facilities, being voted family-safe, the city is now is in need of safe and permanent homes for returning residents and those desperate to escape the temporary FEMA trailers.
The building of new homes in the Mississippi area is increasingly more eco-focused as A-list celebrity and charity ambassador Brad Pitt has shown through his commitment to the building of 150 sustainable homes for the citizens of Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans through his Make it Right charity; he visited the neighbourhood on 2nd December where six families have moved into their new homes.
This green-focus on rebuilding the Mississippi area is also being shown in Bayside Park, Biloxi where 75% recycled steel-framed homes are being built with energy efficiency in mind – water purification systems and the most energy efficient laundry systems that eliminate the need for hot water within wash cycles for example. Foreign investment in these permanent homes is being encouraged, and properties for rent to the local community can be purchased from as little as £88,000 / $159,900.
For more information on investing in Bayside Park please contact Property Direct America on 0207 043 0792 or visit www.propertydirectamerica.com.
The US is still a great draw for Brits looking to invest in property overseas, according to overseas property investment portal www.themovechannel.com. The site releases a 'Top of the Props' poll monthly based on the number of enquiries on the website for different countries and it was found that in October 2008 the US held the top spot, ahead of popular destinations including Portugal and Italy, and this for a second successive month.
As themovechannel.com have shown, the US continues to be a popular choice with Britons looking to buy both holiday homes and investment properties overseas and this was confirmed further still by the release of the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Profile of International Home Buying Activity 2008. From surveying 4,000 US realtors, this report showed that buyers from the UK accounted for 12.5% of foreign buyers in the country, ranking in second place only to bordering Canada.
The run-up to the new presidency and the optimism generated in response to Obama's election campaign could have been one reason for this popularity but the high rental potential of certain areas of the US is also a great appeal to those looking to buy overseas, especially for investment. And according to Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the US' popularity with foreign buyers is set to continue for the foreseeable future. He estimates that within the next 10 years the number of foreign purchasers buying on American shores may well double to make up 6% of all US property purchases.
One such project is Bayside Park in Biloxi, where steel framed, energy-efficient homes are available from as little as £88,000 / $159,900 with attractive rental returns. Excellent 90% loan to value mortgages are also available (subject to status) and for more information on joining the growing number of Britons investing in the US property market, contact Property Direct America on 0207 043 0792 or visit www.propertydirectamerica.com.
Will President-elect Obama mean all change for the US housing market?
With Barak Obama celebrating his victory as the 44th President-elect of the United States, it has been announced that the US remains the most popular choice for Brits when buying an investment property abroad, according to data from themovechannel.com. The overseas property investment portal ranked the US top in their latest 'Top of the Props' poll for September 2008, ahead of both Portugal and the UAE. This could be due to a number of factors, the high rental potential of many properties in the country and the weakening of the dollar against the pound to name but two.
And this is not the only good news to befall the country of late. The Commerce Department has also announced that September 2008 saw the sale of new homes in the US rise by 2.7% on average when compared to August 2008 figures. With the dawn of a new presidential era in the US it will be interesting to see, once the initial hysteria has died down, whether these positive statistics remain. With a new president, and a new-found confidence, the dollar is known to 'bounce' or strengthen for a short period (a show of consumer confidence), but once this initial euphoria has relinquished, what is the effect that Obama will have on the US housing market or this confidence in the long term?
Barak Obama's pre-election policies distinctly showed a view to realistically turning around the housing market, with guidelines for simplifying the mortgage procedure including a universal mortgage credit as well as his clear policy on fraudulent mortgage providers – close down the loopholes exploited and encourage industry insiders to report any suspicious activity. And with the government playing a larger role in the nation's property industry, hopes are high for the stabilisation of the market, with 58% of Americans having been reported as thinking pre-election that Barak would do a better job with the country's property market than McCain, according to a survey carried out by Harris Interactive on behalf of Zillow.com.
The southern US is one region that presents opportunity for positive investment with recent figures showing that new home sales rose by around 1% in September (according to the National Association of Realtors) and with excellent mortgages also on offer. One such project proving attractive to foreign investors is Bayside Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. Here, Brits can invest in steel framed energy-efficient homes in high demand by the local population with 90% loan to value mortgages available (subject to status), from as little as £88,000/ $159,900. For more information contact Property Direct America on 0207 043 0792 or visit www.propertydirectamerica.com.
Will the new President bring change to America and the housing market?
Without knowing who the next President is yet it is hard to say what effects there will be, but with the US elections finally taking place on Tuesday 4th November, it is a potentially pivotal and exciting time for the USA.
Our property experts are on hand to offer you insight into possible effects on the property market post-election. If you are looking for comment on the US real estate market both nationally as well as regionally (North Carolina, Mississippi and Florida) then please do get in touch.
The Mississippi State Port Authority has announce the go-ahead of a $1.6 billion plan to expand the local Port of Gulfport to become one of the largest container ports in the US. This plan is expected to elevate the port a further 15 feet to a height of 25 feet above sea level and also encompass the construction of a new port to the south of the current site, reached by an raised bridge, meaning that a large portion of the area can be converted into a promenade, with restaurants and shopping facilities.
Having an undeniable effect on the local community, before the final decision was made the proposed port expansion was opened up for public scrutiny, with the Mississippi Development Authority and the port authorities holding various public meetings, backed up by a website which asked for public input on the plans. As Port Executive Director Don Allee explains, eventually the plans were finalized, "I think that adopting this particular master plan reflects that we did pay a considerable amount of attention to the community".
Following the destruction of the current port by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and with the Mississippi Development Authority announcing that the expansion will create around 6,000 jobs initially, it is easy to see why Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr has claimed that this is "a new beginning… it´s about the biggest thing that´s happened in this city in last 100 years." Not only this but Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi has announced that this would be only the beginning for the new port, with Gulfport Mississippi eventually able to "employ thousands and thousands of people".
This exciting future expansion of the port is set to also have a knock-on effect on the area's housing market, with rental properties already in relatively short supply. Gulf Coast Housing Director Gerald Blessey has previously announced that the region needs 25,000 new homes if they are to reach the levels of housing stock pre Hurricane Katrina and therefore this fact combined with the port expansion will mean that large numbers of local people will be in need of housing.
For more information on investing in Bayside Park, with prices from as little as £88,000/ $159,900, please contact Property Direct America on 0207 043 0792 or visit www.propertydirectamerica.com.
According to Gozonegateway.com, "with more customers leaving Louisiana for Mississippi's casino strip, this length of coast is expected to topple Atlantic City as the second largest gaming market in the US", so if you were betting on a growth industry for the Mississippi it is bound to be casinos and gaming. Even before the hurricanes of 2005 that hit the area with force, Mississippi's power in the gaming industry was on the rise and it is now determined to win the title Gozonegateway.com talks of. Mississippi is however spreading its bets with a more unexpected jackpot, golf, and the gamble is paying off. Often overshadowed by the bright lights of the casinos – Mississippi is now also emerging as a golfing hotspot.
Mississippi's temperatures are one great draw for golfers, with a semi-tropical climate that boasts warm, sunny weather for most of the year, good visibility and cool breezes that add to the challenge of a round in this southern region. Not only this but the draw of the casinos, along with local entertainment, white sanded beaches and an area history that includes the Mississippi Blues Trail, mean that Mississippi offers a rounded tourist experience for those visiting to play golf – and this is what state governor Haley Barbour, on visitMississippi.org, calls the "magic of Mississippi".
Of the 140 or more on offer, Mississippi's golf courses themselves benefit from the region's fertile soil, which makes for stunning established fairways, and many of the local courses are designed by top golf celebrities. One such example is the Grand Bear, Saucier, a course designed by golfing legend Jack Nicklaus and just a 30 minute drive from Biloxi's casinos. Voted the 'Best Public Course in Mississippi' by Golfweek Magazine and one of Golf Digest's "Top 40 Casino Courses" 2007, Grand Bear is a great draw for golfers who appreciate its rolling fairways and the surroundings of the DeSoto National Forest that edges the course.
A golf course that exemplifies Mississippi's regeneration following the hurricanes is The Bridges in Bay St Louis, designed by Arnold Palmer. A course that boasts 21 bridges and 17 lakes to its name, The Bridges found itself in 2005 also home to a stranded dolphin. Since it was rescued and released back into the wild, The Bridges has turned itself around and in 2007 was also named one of Golf Digest's "Top 40 Casino Courses".
A newer golf course that is becoming popular with tourists is Fallen Oak, Biloxi – one of the winners of the GOLF Magazine's 2007 "Top Ten New Courses You Can Play". In its replanting of around 1,000 established trees to fit with the exacting design, Fallen Oak (designed by Tom Fazio) highlights the quality of courses in the area and proves that the attention to detail in Mississippi golf courses is second to none.
With such high quality courses on offer, it is easy to see why the Mississippi tourism industry has so much potential. Recent figures from the Mississippi Development Authority have shown a 4.1% increase in estimated tourism employment on golf courses in the region from 2006 to 2007. This is being helped by local courses hosting top golf tournaments, such as the Adams Golf Pro Tour at the Windance Country Club in Gulfport and the Viking Classic at the Annadale Golf Club in Madison, as well as tournaments that tourists can take part in, such as Golf Week's Biloxi Golf & Poker Tournament, an event that combines the area's two favourite pastimes.
Those looking to cash in on the growing success of the area can invest in Bayside Park, Hancock County, where 3 bedroom steel framed energy efficient homes can be purchased from as little as £88,000 with a 90% LTV mortgage available. Falling within the 'Gulf Opportunity Zone' (or 'Go-Zone') foreign investment is being actively encouraged as part of the regeneration and for more information contact Property Direct America on 0207 043 0792 or visit www.propertydirectamerica.com.
The SRAP (Small Rental Assistance Program) set up by the US government to encourage foreign investment in property in the Mississippi region following the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 will soon be coming to an end – meaning the last chance for investors to secure the very best investment.
Post-hurricanes, the US government recognised that they needed the help of investors from overseas to rebuild this successful region, with a great immediate demand for housing for those displaced and living in FEMA trailers. The setting up of SRAP meant that foreign investors could be incentivised not only with a 5 year forgivable loan which entitles them to interest free repayments with no penalties and within a staggered schedule, but also a $73,000 cash back when they commit to the scheme.
The US government had allocated a set amount of money to this cash back scheme and it is this that will soon be coming to an end. This is therefore the best time to invest in the Go (Gulf Opportunity) Zone as there have been no announcements by the US government of the cash back scheme being reignited after this date. The scheme does have certain limitations that must be met, however, for example investors need to meet credit checks and criminal record checks as well as rents within the scheme being set within certain caps, but this is an excellent opportunity that not only helps local communities but also a firm investment choice for the overseas buyer.
Although the cash back scheme will be ending shortly, 90% loan to value mortgages are still available as well as 50% Tax Depreciation from the Federal IRS (Internal Revenue Service), making this an excellent investment project. Prices in Bayside Park start at £88,000/ $159,900 and for more information on properties available as well as SRAP, please contact Property Direct America on 0207 043 0792 or visit www.propertydirectamerica.com.
Three years on from one of the most devastating natural disasters in United States history and, according to the National Hurricane Center, the costliest hurricane to ever hit the US, the region severely hit by Hurricane Katrina is recovering and once again returning to prosperity.
The latest data from Gulfport Biloxi Airport located in the Mississippi Delta which was affected by the hurricane of 2005, show that numbers passing through the airport are increasing with 83,524 passengers using Gulfport Biloxi Airport in June 2008, up 2.6% on the 2007 figure of 81,428 according to flygpt.com.
Well-situated to serve a diverse customer base of business, tourist and military personnel, Gulfport Biloxi Airport has even greater plans for the future with a major €51 million expansion project set to complete later this year. This expansion will increase the airport's square footage by 80% and allow a further two airlines to use the airport, in turn increasing passenger handling capabilities.
Not only this but the regeneration and further expansion of the area's famous casinos, now that a new ruling has allowed them to be built on land, means that the number of people relocating to the region for the newly generated jobs is likely to increase, subsequently growing Gulfport Biloxi Airport passenger figures further as well as the need for accommodation.
And it is not only the airport that is set for expansion. The local port in Gulfport has also been highlighted for growth, with the Mississippi State Port Authority proposing development that would expand the current port to five times its size. This growth, also taking in new road and rail developments and retail projects, could take up to ten years to complete but in the words of Mayor Brent Warr, is an "unbelievable opportunity".
One example of such a real estate investment project is in Biloxi itself: Bayside Park is a new development attracting overseas investors who see the potential for capital gains. 90% loan to value mortgages are available as well as excellent financial and tax incentives being offered with government support. This means that foreign investors can invest in sturdy and energy efficient homes from as little as £88,000/ $159,900. For more information please contact Property Direct America on 0207 043 0792 or visit www.propertydirectamerica.com.
Housingpredictor.com, a site that provides independent real estate market forecasts in the US, has put Biloxi, Mississippi in poll position when it comes to the Hottest Buyers Markets 2008.
The city was ranked top out of 250 markets across the 50 US states, with its growth in house prices predicted at 4.9% for the current year. According to the site, this ranks Biloxi highest of 'regional economies that are healthy and have strong potential for being exceptionally prosperous through the end of the year' and is therefore excellent news for property investors.
Following the severe hurricanes that hit the region in 2005, Biloxi needed a complete regeneration programme to be put in place, as Biloxi spokesman Vincent Creel highlighted "We lost 6,000 homes and businesses. That's a fourth of our stock" and this has meant that in turn foreign investment has been encouraged. Government initiatives and tax incentives have allowed foreigners to see the projects designed to recover the area as solid investments, with excellent benefits both financially and morally, and these recent figures have only confirmed this.
Not only is the demand for housing still incredibly high due to the displacement caused by Katrina and Rita – with Haley Barbour, governor for Mississippi pointing out that the region needs at least 100,000 affordable homes immediately and 300,000 within the next three to five years – but the planned regeneration of the region to become, once again, the second largest centre for casinos in the US means that more and more people will need homes to rent in the future.
"We have already seen a growth in the values of our homes this year and within the context of the regeneration of the area it is easy to see why Bayside Park is a good investment for overseas buyers. Not only this but government initiatives as part of the Gulf Opportunity Zone mean that investors have access to LTV mortgages of up to 90% as well as tax breaks that make this an even better investment chance".
For more information on investing in Bayside Park, please contact Property Direct America on 0207 043 0792 or visit www.propertydirectamerica.com.


(PhysOrg.com) -- UCI researchers find the neurodegenerative combo of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases accelerates dementia.
On their own, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease cause the slow regression of mental and physical abilities. But when the proteins behind these neurodegenerative disorders join forces, a dramatic decline in cognition often results, researchers with UC Irvine's Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders have found.
Little has been known about how these disease-inducing proteins interact and influence mental processes, but a group headed by Frank LaFerla, Chancellor's Professor of neurobiology & behavior and UCI MIND director, is beginning to change that.
Their work is generating hope for people with the Lewy body variant of Alzheimer's, in which Parkinson's symptoms are also present. Nearly half of all Alzheimer's patients have this variant, and about 1.3 million of them in the U.S. suffer from Lewy body dementia.
To learn more about this Alzheimer's-Parkinson's phenomenon, the LaFerla group created the first genetically modified, or "transgenic," mouse model of this Lewy body variant of Alzheimer's. As with affected patients, this model develops the beta-amyloid protein plaques and tau protein tangles typical of Alzheimer's while also accumulating Parkinson's-related alpha-synuclein proteins. These proteins aggregate into what are called Lewy bodies, named after Friederich H. Lewy, the scientist who discovered them.
Using the new mouse model, he and UCI researchers Lani Clinton, Mathew Blurton-Jones and Kristoffer Myczek examined the interaction among these three proteins to determine how they influence cognition. The results of their study appear in the May 26 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.
This aggregation, he says, led to a more rapid decline in the mice's memory performance, similar to that in people with the Lewy body variant of Alzheimer's.
LaFerla and his UCI colleagues are on the forefront of utilizing genetically modified mice to study neurodegenerative diseases. In 2003, LaFerla created the first mouse model to accumulate beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles, believed to be the pathological agents of Alzheimer's disease.
With the model, LaFerla has shown that beta-amyloid in particular may be the initiating factor in both kinds of Alzheimer's - the "sporadic" type that seems to randomly attack the elderly and the early-onset "familial" version.
Last year, experiments by Blurton-Jones and LaFerla demonstrated that neural stem cells can partially reverse cognitive impairment in these genetically altered mice. The two subsequently received a $3.6-million California Institute for Regenerative Medicine grant toward the development of an Alzheimer's therapy involving human neural stem cells.


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The Black Tower by Louis Bayard
The Black Tower by Louis Bayard (2008)
Twenty years after the horrors of the French Revolution, sometimes medical student Hector Carpenter is minding his own, rather aimless, business, when the mysterious Vidocq involves him in the search for the missing (or dead) lost Dauphin. Vidocq, a real life police detective and founder of the Brigade de Sûreté, leads his young friend through dangerous escapades through the French countryside and Paris until they find the truth about the lost Dauphin. Or do they?
Visit the author's website, read reviews at Amazon.com and check out the reading guide for the book.
historical fiction literary fiction suspense/thriller DebbieW
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (1997)
There are many good books about this painful time in human history but there are some books that have a profound impact on us because they present the real toll of the Holocaust. This is one of those books. The Reader is a work of psychological complexity; an exploration of the painful and difficult process of guilt and atonement. It is also a love story. The story is told in three parts by the main character, Michael Berg. Each part takes place in a different time period in the past.
When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover—then she disappears without explanation. When he sees her again, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a terrible crime. As he watches her refuse to defend herself, Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder. The final part the book is about truth and reconciliation.
Read an excerpt from this Oprah's book club selection and view the reading group guide.
Livability by Jon Raymond
Livability by Jon Raymond (2009)
This short story collection is set in and around Portland, Oregon, and follows characters at transition points in life. Two of the nine stories have been adapted into independent feature films directed by Kelly Reichardt.
Listen to the author read from Livability and check out the Amazon.com reviews.
fiction literary fiction short stories
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (1943)
Many of us read about Francie Nolan and her life 100 years ago growing up poor in Brooklyn when we were young ourselves. Try it now as an adult. Although the writing is at times a little stilted and too often we are told things instead of shown them, the spirit of Francie and her practical and hardworking mother and her dreamer of a never-do-well father comes through. Some scenes are absolutely delightful: Papa taking Francie and her brother on a fishing trip or Aunt Sissy finally finding a way to get herself a baby. Other parts are poignant beyond words: Six-year-old Francie having to take her younger brother for their vaccinations before starting school or Francie finding that she must work instead of going to high school.
Preview this American classic and check out the reading group guide.
fiction historical fiction literary fiction DebbieW
Guernica by David Boling
Guernica by David Boling (2008)
David Boling's first novel is the tale of Justo Ansotegui, the strongest man in Guernica and a successful farmer; and Miguel Navarro, a fisherman's son too prone to seasickness to be of much use on a boat. In a broader sense, it's about Guernica during the Spanish Civil War and beginning of World War II, and the Basque who proudly held onto their traditions at a time when their language and customs were outlawed by the Spanish government.
Boling tells the story of Guernica and her people while telling the story of human suffering, heroism, and amazing fortitude. He draws a wonderful picture of the Basque culture and describes the countryside of Spain so well that you can see, hear, taste, and smell it. The bombing of Guernica on the eve of World War II was a devastating experiment in total warfare by the German Luftwaffe. Boling, along with many historians, sees the bombing of Guernica as an act of terrorism. Perhaps, as I did, you will make a connection between that long-ago atrocity and the modern world. And perhaps as I did, you will finish this novel with a sense of hope.
Learn more about the bombing of Guernica at PBS.org. Visit the author's website for reviews and his bio.
Winter in Madrid by C. J. Sansom
Winter in Madrid by C. J. Sansom (2008)
Set in 1940-41, this is a political novel in the very best sense. It offers a taste of the hardship and fear gripping Madrid under its new Fascist dictator, Francisco Franco. It is a novel that thoughtfully considers what can happen to an ordinarily decent man in wartime. Harry Brett, Sandy Forsyth and Bernie Piper who were together at school are the players. The underlying question of Spain's neutrality has the British worried. While Spain considers its options Harry Brett is recruited by British intelligence to discover if Sandy Forsyth has found gold reserves that will strengthen Franco's hand. Bernie Piper vanished on the bloody battlefields of the Jarama. An attempt to rescue him becomes a dangerous game which draws the strands of this saga together. A first rate thriller.
Check out the book discussion and read reviews at Amazon.com.
The Minotaur by Barbara Vine
The Minotaur by Barbara Vine (2005)
The Minotaur is classic Barbara Vine – an enthralling gothic-creepy tale. It has a 1960s family living in an ancient house with mysterious rooms and neurotic relatives. Set in rural Essex, it is the story of the dysfunctional Cosway family, who are locked in a power struggle. The story is narrated by the young Swedish nurse hired to care for the only son, John who suffers from what we now know as autism. True to her style, Vine tells the story in flashback, which has a dramatic impact.
Preview the book before you visit the library and read a review at Mystery Ink.com.
fiction literary fiction suspense/thriller
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway (2008)
It's a really touching story that makes you feel like you are in Sarajevo during the 1992 siege. You become very closely involved with four individuals and their high points and low points. Expected human nature is sometimes not there. At other times, individuals participate in unimaginable acts of kindness.
Listen to Joseph Planta's interview with the author and read more about the book at RandomHouse.ca.
fiction literary fiction
Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier
Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier (2008)
Raimund Gregorius teaches classical languages at a Swiss college. After a chance encounter with a mysterious Portuguese woman and the discovery of an extraordinary book by Amadeu de Prado, he begins to question his life. Carrying with him the book by Prado, he takes the night train to Lisbon in the hope that he will begin to comprehend the author's life. Prado turns out to be a doctor whose practice and principles led him into confrontation with Salazar's dictatorship, and a man whose intelligence and magnetism left a mark on everyone who met him. Gregorius becomes obsessed by what he reads and his investigations lead him all over the city of Lisbon, as he speaks to those who were a part of Prado's life. Gradually, the picture of an extraordinary man emerges.
It may take a while to get involved with the story, but once there it is easy to be drawn into the events that unfolded. It is worth the effort as you begin to appreciate the thoughts that are being expressed by both Gregorious and Prado. For those who want a good, intelligent read that's an excellent analysis of character and poses some fascinating questions about life and love, you won't go wrong with Night Train to Lisbon.
Read the reviews at Amazon.com.
The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani (2007)
In a literal way, the title of this book refers to the dye that carpet makers make from the petals of flowers. In another more poetic way, our heroine does give her life's blood to learn the secret of carpet making in 17th century Persia. Eventually her talented persistence permits her a spiritual rebirth and a decent life. The journey from abject poverty and helplessness to self-respect is a beautifully conceived and artfully written story. I recommend this book for its absorbing content and rich character development.
Find a reading guide, author information and reviews at Book Browse. Go to the book's website for additional interviews, reviews and related links.
The Condition by Jennifer Haigh
The Condition by Jennifer Haigh (2008)
This story of pain, beauty, sickness and health, love and betrayal revolves around the McKotch family, a flawed but very real New England family dealing with the realities of life. The characters are so well developed in this book you can feel their pain and hope they make it even when you can barely stand the choices they make. The family dynamics are palpable and "the condition" of being human draws you in. This would be a good book discussion choice. The author, Jennifer Haigh, is an exceptional writer and I have enjoyed her previous two books (Mrs. Kimble and Baker Towers) and would recommend them too.
Browse the book before you visit the library and read the New York Times review.
Eva Moves the Furniture by Margot Livesey
Eva Moves the Furniture by Margot Livesey (2001)
Different in tone from her alarming psychological tales (Homework, The Missing World), this novel is a deceptively simple coming-of-age story set in Scotland in the early 1900s. Eva's mother dies giving birth to her and she is raised by her father and her practical Aunt Lily. Eva is a woman whose life is accompanied by invisible "companions" whose "guidance" is both helpful and harmful. Eva's relationship with them is colored by both humor and melancholy. This isn't a ghost story, but rather a love story of the best kind.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (2005)
This book reveals more about Chinese culture in the 19th century than any book I've ever read. As the story unfolds, the friendship of the two main characters, Snow Flower and Lily, reflect the needs of women everywhere. We sigh with empathy for both of these women.
Visit the author's website to learn about the story behind the book, read an excerpt, or view book discussion questions.
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson (1994)
A courtroom drama provides the framework for this tale of the legacy of racism following WWII in the northwestern United States.
The reading group guide for the winner of the 1995 PEN/Faulkner Award contains historical background for the novel, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading. You can also compare the novel to the 1999 movie starring Ethan Hawke.
Run by Ann Patchett
Jamie A.
Run by Ann Patchett (2007)
A beautifully written story that proves several themes tied around relationships. A prominent man has raised his son and two adopted African-American sons since his wife's death years ago. His relationship with his oldest son is lacking and his plans for his adopted sons are at odds with what they want for their lives. The tangle of feelings within the family, including the hole left in their lives when the mother died, are brought into focus when an accident brings new people into their world. In fact, their world is turned upside down. The characterizations are wonderful. I didn't want the book to end.
African American fiction literary fiction
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


deltapectoral crests.  Not the sort of animal you'd want to arm wrestle!
averages, although the total number of T. rex specimens is rising fast).
trophic elements in the skull.
adaptations of the tyrant dinosaurs).
>2) Epanterias or not?  'Nuff said.
name for the tyrannosaur-sized allosaurid from the Morrison.


Would anybody help me? I don't understand Ubuntu, Linux, and any open source, etc. I can't programming. I am only a user.
I would like to add hungarian language and a custom background image to my mediaplayer's OSD system.
I have a WD TV LIVE (WDBAAP0000NBK) mediaplayer, and I flashed it with the new official firmware (Release 1.06.43).
Can anybody unpack the firmware, replace the language files and background image, and repack the firmware?
Can anybody create a firmware what based on official firmware (Release 1.06.43)?


text:
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The Master in Fine Arts (MFA) in Writing welcomes writers of all genres—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and playwriting—as well as visual artists who work with language as an integral component of their practice. The two-year program provides a rigorous yet flexible curriculum to challenge and accommodate individual explorations of process and form.
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Wednesday, August 7, 6:00 - 8:00 pm.
Join us at the historic Roger Brown Study Collection in Chicago to meet with SAIC Graduate Admissions and learn more about our graduate programs.
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Application Deadline: January 10
If you are ready to apply to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's (SAIC) Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Writing, you will need to first submit SAIC's Graduate Application form and then a corresponding ePortfolio for the Writing department. ePortfolios are required for each additional program to which you wish to apply. All submissions happen via the software SlideRoom. Admission to SAIC is for the Fall term only.
Completed Online Application
SAIC requires applicants to apply online. Filing an online application requires a valid credit card and a current email address. You may apply to up to three programs with one application and fee. If you are applying to either the MFA in Studio or the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Studio you may select up to three departments of entry. Applications must be submitted prior to 11:00 p.m. (CST) on the appropriate deadline.
Start your application here: SAIC Graduate Application
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When you click the "submit" button on your the Graduate Application form, you will be prompted to enter credit card information to pay the application fee. Your application form is not fully submitted until you have entered your credit card information. Under no circumstances will an application fee be waived or refunded. After you submit the application form you will be directed to a dashboard where you can begin working on your ePortfolio(s).
Application fee: $90
Application fees will be discounted by 50% through December 1.
Official College Transcripts
During the application process an unofficial transcript is acceptable for review pending an Admissions decision. Official transcripts are required upon admission. Include transcripts both official and unofficial from all universities/colleges from which a degree was obtained or prerequisites were fulfilled. You can attach unofficial transcripts as .pdf or .jpg files in the Educational History section of the application form. If you are in the process of completing a bachelor's degree when you apply, a transcript showing your first three years of study is acceptable.
Transcripts are considered official if sent directly from the degree- or credit-granting institution to the SAIC Graduate Admissions Office. Hard copy transcripts are considered official if the documents remain in the registrar's original signed and sealed envelopes.
Official transcripts can be sent both in digital and hard-copy format. Digital transcripts can be sent from the degree- or credit-granting institution to gradmiss@saic.edu. Hard copy transcripts can be mailed to:
SAIC Graduate Admissions
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You must upload a 500- to 700-word statement of purpose that describes your writing or research. Discuss how you came to focus on writing at the graduate level, as well as why you are interested in SAIC for your graduate education and what you hope to gain from your time here. Please include a short description of your reading practice and interests. Upload your statement of purpose via your ePortfolio.
You are responsible for securing two letters of recommendation from persons who are qualified to write about your potential for success at SAIC. If you are currently a student or are a recent graduate, we recommend you request letters of recommendation from current or former instructors.
Letters of recommendation should be submitted electronically via the References section of the application form. In this section you will be asked to provide an email address for each of your references. Once you click "send request," an email will be sent from SlideRoom to your references with instructions on how to submit their recommendations online.
If your references are unable to provide an online recommendation please contact the Graduate Admissions office at gradmiss@saic.edu.
Applicants are required to submit an ePortfolio. You must submit a separate ePortfolio for each program or studio department to which you apply. After you pay the application fee and submit the application form, an ePortfolio for each of the programs you selected in the application form will automatically appear in your SlideRoom dashboard.
Your portfolio should include a sample of your recent writing from at least one of the following genres (in .pdf format up to 10 MB each):
8–10 poems OR
2 short stories OR
1 excerpt from a novel OR
1 play or performance text OR
1 hybrid text from multi-genres OR
1–2 short works of nonfiction
If your work incorporates other media—images, video, sound, comics or performance—you can upload video, audio recordings, or digital files to supplement your writing sample in one of the following formats:
Images: .jpg, .gif, .pdf (up to 5 MB each)
Videos: .flv, .wv, .mov (up to 60 MB each)
Audio: .mp3 (up to 10 MB each)
The Writing department conducts interviews by invitation only. Applicants who pass the preliminary review will be invited to schedule an on-campus interview in February. Notification will be sent by late January.
A current résumé is optional. You may upload your résumé to the Attachments section in your ePortfolio.
International applicants are required to submit evidence of English language proficiency. You are waived from this requirement if you meet any of the following conditions:
Your native language is English
You have an undergraduate degree conferred by a U.S. accredited university
You have an undergraduate degree conferred by a university whose primary language of instruction is English
If you do not meet one of these conditions, you must submit official English language proficiency test scores. You are strongly encouraged to schedule a language proficiency test appointment as early as possible in order to receive official test scores prior to the application deadline. SAIC accepts official scores from both Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The TOEFL Institution Code for SAIC is 1713. Please upload an unofficial copy of your test score results to the International Requirements section of the application form.
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TOEFL: 100
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For more information about the TOEFL, please visit here.
For more information about the IELTS, please visit here.
Official test scores that meet the minimum requirement must be received by the application deadline.
Transcripts are records of your studies that list the courses you completed, the grades received, and provide evidence of degree conferral. They may include grade sheets, exam results, final diplomas, degrees, or graduation certificates. Official copies are issued in the original language directly by your university. Copies must bear the official stamp or seal of the institution, as well as the signature of the appropriate official such as the dean, rector, registrar, controller of examinations, or office of teaching affairs. Photos, notarized copies, facsimiles, or email transmissions are not acceptable.
Official translations are expected for all educational documents issued in a language other than English. A translation agency or university language department should issue official translations typed on official stationary and the translator must attest proficiency in the original language and indicate their translations are accurate word-for-word.
A conferred four-year baccalaureate degree or its equivalent is required for admission to all graduate programs at SAIC.
WRIT 5001 Writing Workshop 12
WRIT 5500 Topics in Writing Seminar 12
MFA 6009 Graduate Projects
(minimum of 12 credits with writing advisors) 24
Courses at the 3000 level or above. Art History courses must be at the 4000 level or above. 12
Participation in four graduate critiques
Inclusion in graduate publication or participation in the Graduate Exhibition or equivalent
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Students may elect internships to satisfy up to 6 hours of elective credit.
Degree requirements and specifications
Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of four years to complete the degree (this includes time off for leaves-of-absence).
Transfer credits: A minimum of 45 credit hours must be completed at SAIC. Up to 15 transfer credits may be requested at the time of application for admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.
Thesis requirement: During their final semester, students are required to submit a thesis of appropriate length in any genre.
Exhibition requirements: MFAW students planning to participate in the Graduate Thesis Exhibition or Time Arts events are required to complete at least 6 studio credits by the end of the third semester AND to advise with a studio faculty member in their final semester.
Studio space: Individual studio space is not provided automatically to students in the MFA in Writing; however, Writing students with a visual arts practice in addition to their writing may apply for a space through the Administrative Director, Graduate Division, at gradstudio@saic.edu.
Graduate Projects: MFA 6009 Graduate Projects enrollments must be in increments of 3 credit hours. No more than two advisors and a total of 6 credit hours may be scheduled for a given semester. The number of credits earned by the student has no correlation with length or frequency of the advising sessions or to faculty assessment of student work.
Full-time status minimum requirement: 12 credit hours
Curriculum includes:
Graduate Projects are the heart of the MFAW. Modeled on the tradition of artists' studio visits, MFAW students meet one-on-one with faculty advisors who offer intensive, focused insight and feedback on independently driven projects. Students may work with advisors from both within the Writing Program and across the School to expand the critical vocabularies that are pertinent to their practice.
Workshops might focus on process, or on a specific topic or literary theme, for example, Process/Project, Narrative Design, Text in Space and Literary Animals. Workshops may include interdisciplinary participants who help to foster creative workshop methodology and innovative in-class exercises.
Seminars stretch across genre to present models and histories of literary practice and frequently include a generative, creative component. Current seminars include Code Switch & Reclaim, Systems of Writing, and Literature of the Senses, among others.
Electives offer students an opportunity to engage with interdisciplinary study in the context of an acclaimed school of art and design. MFAW students are encouraged to work with their advisors to develop a plan that takes advantage of adjacent fields of study, such as performance, film, sculpture, arts journalism and art history, as well as many other possibilities, to best support their continued growth.
Thesis is the major creative project that all MFAW students submit during their final semester. There are no restrictions on genre or content--for some, it reflects an overall plan and design of a finished book; for others, it's a means of documenting their graduate work and/or process; yet others use it as an opportunity to put together a collection that adopts variant strategies in relationship to their engagement with interdisciplinary work. Please visit the SAIC Thesis Repository at the Flaxman Library to view recent MFAW thesis abstracts.
For more than 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world's most influential artists, designers, and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program consistently ranking among the top programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC's undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world—as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O'Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, Jeff Koons, and LeRoy Neiman.
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Barcelona have agreed a deal to sign Borussia Dortmund forward Ousmane Dembele for a fee that could rise to 147m euros (£135.5m), making him the world's second most expensive player.
The deal is eclipsed only by Neymar's recent £200m move to Paris St-Germain.
Barca revealed that his deal will contain a release clause of 400m euros.
With regard to the fee now agreed, Dortmund said in a statement that the payment of add-ons "was agreed up to a maximum total amount of approximately 40% of the fixed transfer fee".
Barca have failed with three bids for Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho, with their most recent offer of £114m turned down last Friday.
Luis Suarez's transfer from Liverpool in 2014 is officially their most expensive purchase, at £75m.
However, Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu has previously that said "the overall cost of the operation" to sign Neymar from Brazilian club Santos in 2013 was "over 100m euros (£92m)", despite the transfer fee having been disclosed as £48.6m.
Of course the transfer fee is astonishing but former team-mates and former coaches will tell you that Ousmane Dembele has the potential to be a Ballon d'Or winner.
They mention his extraordinary acceleration on the ball, they rave about how two-footed he is (his right foot is supposed to be stronger than his left but it's very close) and they talk about his extraordinary skills, touch and close control.
His former manager at Rennes, Rolland Courbis, actually claims that Dembele could have joined Barcelona last summer but turned them down. He says they offered more money than Borussia Dortmund but the French youngster chose to go to Germany.


text:
Loyola Claims MVC Tournament Championship, Earns Automatic Bid to Big Dance
Latest sports, SportsBy ktrs March 4, 2018 Leave a comment
A thrilling 2018 Missouri Valley Tournament came to a close Sunday afternoon at the Scottrade Center between No. 1 seeded Loyola and No. 3 seeded Illinois State. It ended with the Ramblers doing their usual thing, and that is winning basketball games. For the first time since 1985, Loyola is heading to the NCAA Tournament…
More Early Voting Sites Opening For Illinois' Primary
Home - Local, Home Slider FeatureBy News March 4, 2018 Leave a comment
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Additional voting sites are opening across Illinois for people who want to cast an early ballot for the March 20 primary. Some early voting locations opened last month. Many more are set to open Monday, offering voting during mornings, evenings and weekends in addition to regular business hours. Voters will choose…
'M.A.S.H.' Actor David Ogden Stiers Dies At Age Of 75
Home - National, Home Slider Feature, NationalBy News March 4, 2018 Leave a comment
LOS ANGELES (AP) — David Ogden Stiers, a prolific actor best known for playing a surgeon on the "M.A.S.H." television series, has died. He was 75. The actor's agent Mitchell Stubbs confirmed Saturday night in an email that Stiers died after battling bladder cancer. No additional details were provided, but Stubbs' agency tweeted that Stiers…
Illinois State heads back to MVC Tournament Championship Game in Win Over Southern Illinois
By: Sammy Stava @StavaOnSTL No. 3 seeded Illinois State was looking to get back to the MVC Tournament Championship game from a season ago. The Redbirds needed one more win, but first they had to get past No. 2 seeded Southern Illinois. Just like every game in this year's Arch Madness, it has been tough…
Loyola Continues to Make NCAA Tournament Case in Win Over Bradley
By: Sammy Stava @StavaOnSTL The last team to beat No. 1 seeded Loyola was No 5 seeded Bradley back on January 31st. The two teams met again for an MVC Semifinal clash Saturday afternoon at the Scottrade Center, the first of two games between all Illinois schools. There was a different outcome this time around,…
Authorities Say Man Shoots Himself To Death Near White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Secret Service says a man shot himself to death Saturday as he stood near the fence along the north side of the White House. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were in Florida at the time. The White House says Trump has been briefed on the shooting. Authorities are…
Child Shot On I-70 In St. Louis
St. Louis, MO (KTRS) A two-year-old girl is recovering after being shot while traveling in a vehicle on I-70 in St. Louis. Police say the child was shot in the leg on Saturday afternoon on westbound I-70 near Union Boulevard. Police were called to a gas station on Union Boulevard near I-70. The child was…


text:
Die FMA I.A. 50 Guarani II war ein zweimotoriges Reise-, Zubringer- und Transportflugzeug der Fabrica Militar de Aviones.

Entwicklungsgeschichte

Die FMA, die in der Zeit von 1957 bis 1968 als DINFIA firmierte, beschloss 1960 das erste PTL-Flugzeug Lateinamerikas zu bauen. Unter Verwendung von Bauteilen der FMA I.Ae. 35 Huanquero entstand die DINFIA FA 1 Guarani I. Deren Erstflug fand am 6. Februar 1962 statt. Die Weiterentwicklung erhielt den Namen Guarani II. Statt des doppelten Leitwerks erhielt das Flugzeug ein neues, stark gepfeiltes Seitenleitwerk. Außerdem wurde das stärkere Triebwerk Turbomeca Bastan VIa verwendet. Der Erstflug fand am 26. April 1963 statt.

Der Einsatz erfolgte bei der argentinischen Luftwaffe und Marine als Truppentransporter, Regierungsmaschine, Fotoflugzeug und Aufklärer.

Das letzte fliegende Exemplar wurde 2006 bei der II Brigada Aéria in Paraná außer Betrieb genommen. Es ist im Museo Nacional de Aeronàutica in Morón, Buenos Aires, ausgestellt.

Konstruktion

 Rumpf: Leichtmetall-Halbschalenbauweise
 Tragwerk: freitragender Tiefdecker in Ganzmetallbauweise mit einem Holm, Querruder stoffbespannt, Ganzmetall-Landeklappen
 Leitwerk: freitragende Normalbauweise in Ganzmetall, gepfeiltes Seitenruder
 Fahrwerk: hydraulisch betätigtes, einziehbares Bugradfahrwerk mit Zwillingsrädern an beiden Hauptstreben, hydraulisch betätigte Scheibenbremsen

Militärische Nutzer

 Argentinische Luftwaffe
 Argentinische Marine

Technische Daten

Literatur
 Wilfried Kopenhagen und Rolf Neustädt: Das große Flugzeugtypenbuch, Transpress Verlag, Berlin
 John W. R. Taylor: Janes's All The Worlds's Aircraft 1965–66
 The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, Orbis Publishing

Weblinks
 FMA IA 50 Guaraní II at Flickr
 FMA IA 50 Guaraní II at Flickr
 FMA I.A.50 Guarani II bei aviastar.org

Einzelnachweise

Fábrica Argentina de Aviones
Zweimotoriges Turbopropflugzeug
Luftverkehr (Argentinien)
Militärischer Flugzeugtyp
Militärluftfahrzeug (Argentinien)
Verkehrsgeschichte (Argentinien)
Erstflug 1963

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Home FEATURED Oshiomhole Insists Saraki's Time As Senate President Is Over
Oshiomhole Insists Saraki's Time As Senate President Is Over
He spoke on Friday in reaction to Saraki's world press conference in Abuja, owing to the siege at the National Assembly by operatives of DSS.
BigPenngr, Rotterdam
The All Progressive Congress (APC) National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has insisted that Senator Bukola Saraki must vacate the Senate Presidency, declared that "his time as Senate President is over".
He spoke on Friday in reaction to Saraki's world press conference in Abuja, owing to the siege at the National Assembly by operatives of DSS.
Saraki during the briefing had promised to quit as senate presidency if 2/3 of his colleagues ask him to go insisting that he will not be intimidated to resign.
But Oshiomhole insisted: "If he (Saraki) thinks that by saying that he will preempt the APC from having him impeached, he is deceiving himself.
"I think that the time of Saraki is over, the way he has manipulated the politics of Kwara state, he failed to understand that the Nigerian project is far more complicated than being at the mercy of his own dynasty.
"He will not only be impeached, we will work hard to have him defeated as a senator in his own Senatorial zone come 2019 by the people of Kwara state who are fed up with Saraki.
"Go and check the results of the elections that made him a senator and you will find out that the President got more votes from Kwara central than Saraki got for himself. So, he can't claim that the vote the APC got from his Senatorial zone was because of him.
"And that is why his decamping from APC is of no political consequences as far as electoral issues are concerned. We tried to talk to him, not out of fear, but out of conviction that as a presiding officer, there are rules of engagement and we don't want him to get so emotional as to affect those rules of engagements."
"So, when I said he has never put the interest of Nigeria first, I support this statement by reference to the deliberate delay of the budget and deliberate manipulation of the provisions in the budget in a way that will compromise the capacity of the government to address critical infrastructures.
"It is no longer a secret that as senate President, he tried to conspire with others to create a semblance of division within the ruling party having failed to truncate the convention, when they assembled a handful of people who were neither delegates nor contestants for any office at the convention to purport to have formed a political party. There is nothing for me to add to the illegality of this action and the false foundation that Senator Saraki tried to leave than to adopt the well thought out presentation of Femi Falana.
"Between Tuesday and Thursday, the senate was expected to discuss the supplementary budget for INEC. INEC requirement are not things that you buy from the shelf. You have to order them from the manufacturers and so, time is of the essence. But the senate under Saraki adjourned without considering the matters before it including the budget for INEC.
"So, if Saraki adjourned the senate ahead of schedule to resume towards the end of nominations, can that act be said to coincide with national interest? If you decide to frustrate INEC by denying it the funds that it requires, can you be said to be a defender of democracy? If INEC don't get their funds and therefore are unable to conduct a credible election, will that not lead to further consequences for our democracy?", Oshiomohle queried.
Adams Oshiomhole
Bukola Saraki
Previous articleNigerian School Girls Shine At Silicon Valley Pitch Contest
Next articleSaraki Replies Oshiomhole, Says Stop Behaving Like A Rain-beaten Chicken
BigPenngr, Rotterdam - January 29, 2020


The Preserve continues to grow and change in northeast Carlsbad as more homes are being built. The newest homes at CYPRESS, detached single family homes, are now available.
There are 56 2- and 3-story detached single family homes to be built, all with rooftop terraces. Cypress offers 3 floor plans for each of the 2 and 3 story models, from 1887 F up to 2,521 SF of living space. All homes have 3 bedrooms except for an optional 4th bedroom in the 3-story model. Homes have up to 3.5 baths depending on the model, and include 2-car attached garages with private fenced yards.
The Preserve amenities include a residents' recreational complex with a fitness center, a pool and spa, BBQs, and abundant outdoor seating areas and playgrounds.
A huge bonus at The Preserve is the plentiful open space – over half of the total 156 acres of The Preserve – with abundant walking paths that allow you to access the Carlsbad trail system.
Children will attend the Carlsbad Unified Schools, including nearby Hope Elementary School and Calavera Hills Middle School.
The Cypress HOA fees are currently $146 to $193, but we are told to expect the fees to be $195 when the community is completely built. Property taxes and Mello Roos total approximately 1.3%, on par with other Carlsbad communities.
One benefit to the homes at Cypress is that the front yard landscaping is included (this is rare for new home communities); Residents have 9 months to complete the installation of their backyards; as is standard in new home communities, an approval of the backyard plans are required by the Architectural Committee.
If you are interested in the new homes in Carlsbad at The Preserve I recommend you read the 6 things buyers must know about buying new construction. Buying a new home differs from purchasing a resale home, especially with regard to buyer representation, and there are other differences, too. Having a buyer agent with you when you first see the community is important or you will be represented by the sale rep, who works for the builder, not you, and looks out for the builder's interests and not yours!
If you are a buyer interested in new homes, then The Preserve community in Carlsbad may be just right for you. Why not give me a call (760-840-1360) to discuss your housing needs and budget. I am happy to take you on a personal tour so we can talk about how these new homes might work for your lifestyle.
If you like, we can also explore resale options in Carlsbad that fit your budget and criteria.
You can search the complete inventory of Carlsbad homes (single family detached, condos, town homes, and twin homes) n the SEARCH PAGE or give me a call so we can discuss your particular needs and I will customize a home search for you based on your criteria and your budget.


text:
Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
2007: Sonia Sanchez
2008: Bernice Johnson Reagon
2009: Dr. Robert D. Bullard
2010: Dr. Jason G. Irizarry
2011: Geoffrey Canada
2012: Nilda Perichi
2013: Shakti Butler
2014: Tim Wise
2015: Panel
2016: Dorceta Taylor
2017: Theodore M. Shaw
2018: Dr. Joi Lewis
2019: Dr. Bettina Love
2020: Bree Newsome
Landmarks of the Civil Rights Movement
$linktext
In Celebration of the Life of
Friday, January 31st at 12:15pm, Crowell Concert Hall
Keynote Address by:
Bree Newsome
At the start of every Spring semester we come together as a community to honor the civil rights legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year's MLK Commemoration will be held on Friday, January 31st from 12:15 pm -1:15pm in Crowell Concert Hall. This year our keynote speaker will be writer, producer, and activist, Bree Newsome.
Bree Newsome is an artist who drew national attention in 2015 when she climbed the flagpole in front of the South Carolina Capitol building and removed a confederate battle flag that was originally raised in 1961 as a racist statement of opposition to the Civil Rights Movement and lunch counter sit-ins occurring at the time. The massacre of nine black parishioners by a white supremacist at Emanuel AME Zion Church in Charleston reignited controversy over South Carolina's continued endorsement of a hate symbol. Newsome's act of defiance against the culture of white supremacy has been memorialized in photographs, artwork and film and has become a symbol of resistance and the empowerment of women.
Her roots as an artist and activist were planted early. Her father – who served as the Dean of the Howard University School of Divinity, and the President of both Shaw University and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center – is a nationally recognized scholar of African American religious history and how it has impacted social justice movements. Her mother spent her career as an educator addressing the achievement gap and disparities of education.
In 2011, while an artist in residence at Saatchi and Saatchi in New York, she marched with Occupy Wall Street. In 2013, she was briefly involved with the Moral Monday movement organized by Rev. William Barber, III and the North Carolina state chapter of the NAACP. Newsome volunteered to be arrested as part of a sit-in at the North Carolina statehouse protesting legislation designed to disenfranchise Black voters. The legislation was later overturned by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which found that North Carolina had "target[ed] African Americans with almost surgical precision."
Much of Newsome's activism has focused upon incidents of young black people being unjustly killed and issues related to structural racism. She traveled with a group of youth activists from North Carolina to Florida during the Dream Defenders' occupation of the statehouse as a protest against the killing of Trayvon Martin. She also participated in an 11-mile march from the Beavercreek, OH Wal-Mart where John Crawford was killed by police to the courthouse in Xenia, OH, demanding release of the footage showing the killing.
If you have any questions about the event, please don't hesitate to contact Demetrius Colvin at dcolvin@wesleyan.edu.


a flow of electrons emanating from a cathode in a vacuum tube and focused into a narrow beam.
A stream of electrons emitted by the cathode in electrical discharge tubes.
One of the electrons that is emitted in a stream from a cathode-ray tube.
A beam of electrons streaming from the negatively charged end of a vacuum tube (the cathode) toward a positively charged plate (the anode).


The following is excerpted from the foreword to Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s, which includes five of the decade's most famous crime novels—House Without a Key, The Benson Murder Case, The Roman Hat Mystery, Red Harvest, and Little Caesar.
Earl Derr Biggers (1884–1933) was the first to buck that tide. A graduate of Harvard University, he would not have seemed a likely candidate to reinvigorate American crime fiction. He began his career as a journalist for the Boston Traveler, writing humorous columns and theatrical criticism. In 1913, however, he tried his hand at a mystery novel, Seven Keys to Baldpate, which won an immediate following and became an immensely successful stage play, starring George M. Cohan, was filmed seven times, and was adapted for radio and television. Several other of his novels published in the 1910s also had elements of mystery. Biggers also wrote a stream of short stories between 1913 and 1920 for The Saturday Evening Post, The American Magazine, and Ladies' Home Journal, though none were of any particular note.
For decades, the Chinese had been reviled in popular culture, especially in America. As early as 1880, P. W. Dooner wrote a little-known novel titled Last Days of the Republic, published in California—a hotbed of anti-Asian sentiment—depicting a United States under Chinese rule. The 'evil Oriental genius' first appeared in Western literature in 1892. Tom Edison Jr.'s Electric Sea Spider, or, The Wizard of the Submarine World, a "dime novel" published by the Nugget Library, features Kiang Ho, a Mongolian or Chinese (there is some confusion in the tale) Harvard-educated pirate-warlord. Ho, defeated by young Edison, was succeeded in 1896 by Yue-Laou, an evil Chinese sorcerer-ruler featured in The Maker of Moons series by the American writer Robert Chambers.
In 1898, English novelist M. P. Shiel wrote his most popular book, The Yellow Danger. The story tells of Dr. Yen How, who is half-Japanese/half-Chinese ("he combined these antagonistic races in one man") and rises to power in China and fosters war with the West. Yen How is described as a physician educated at Heidelberg and was probably loosely based on the Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat Sen (also a physician). Yen How is defeated by the West in the person of Admiral John Hardy, a consumptive who overcomes his frailties to turn back the Yellow Danger.
Sax Rohmer's short story "The Zayat Kiss" appeared in October 1912 in The Story-Teller, a popular magazine. It was well-received, and Rohmer wrote nine more stories in the initial series. In 1913, the series was collected in book form as The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu (published as The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu in America). Fu Manchu appeared in two more series of stories before the end of the Great War, collected as The Devil Doctor (1916) (The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu in America) and Si-Fan Mysteries (1917) (The Hand of Fu Manchu in America).
By 1924, anti-Asian sentiments were at their peak when, with overwhelming support, the United States Congress passed, and President Calvin Coolidge signed, the Immigration Act (also known as the Johnson-Reed Act). The new law adopted the concept of national-origin quotas, limiting overall immigration to 150,000 persons per year, restricting immigration to 2 percent of the quantity of those nationals already present in the United States (according to the 1890 census), and completely prohibiting the immigration of those ineligible for U.S. citizenship. This last standard effectively barred half the world's population and lumped Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Indians, Thais, Indonesians, and others into the category of "Asiatic." Those Asiatics already living in the United States would be barred from citizenship and prevented from bringing other family members into the country.
Biggers was no racial crusader, and he certainly had no intention of creating a Chinese character who would fly in the face of American stereotypes or alter the public view of foreigners. Chan is decidedly different: He is described as a fat man, with the chubby cheeks of a baby; yet he walks with the dainty step of a woman. He has ivory skin, short black hair, and amber slanted eyes. He does not speak pidgin-English (as do several of the Japanese characters in the book); rather, he speaks his own brand of English, replete with aphorisms. In this respect, he is as foreign as Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, whose speech is as distinctive as Chan's. Chan also regularly displays his animosity toward the Japanese—a sentiment common in Hawaii in the 1920s and throughout America. In The House Without a Key, though he eventually appreciates Chan's talents, the young Bostonian protagonist cannot erase his sense of a marked gulf between Chan and himself. In this, Biggers accurately reflected the realities facing the American people: Notwithstanding harsh policies such as the Immigration Act, the ethnic populations of America were here to stay.
[T]he adventures of Charlie Chan struck a chord with the Post's readership. Here, at last, was an American crime writer worth reading, even if his tales were of a slightly less-than-American detective.
First serialized in The Saturday Evening Post between January 24 and March 7, 1925, the adventures of Charlie Chan struck a chord with the Post's readership. Here, at last, was an American crime writer worth reading, even if his tales were of a slightly less-than-American detective. The book publication of The House Without a Key occurred later in 1925, and over the next seven years, five more Chan novels appeared (all first serialized in The Saturday Evening Post): The Chinese Parrot (1926), Behind the Curtain (1928), The Black Camel (1929), Charlie Chan Carries On (1930), and Keeper of the Keys (1932). The novels were extremely popular and were adapted into films, cartoons, comic strips, and radio programs. The last Chan film was in 1947, and a cartoon series ran in 1972–73.
By 1930, declared J. K. Van Dover, "Philo Vance was the American detective." S. S. Van Dine's books were consistent successes until, after publication of The Scarab Murder Case in 1930, the inevitable decline began. Who was this American phenomenon, the subject of twelve novels and seventeen films, yet barely remembered today? Between 1923 and 1924, Willard Huntington Wright (1888–1939), former editor of The Smart Set and a well-regarded art critic, became ill and read widely in crime fiction. Determined to make his fortune at fiction but anxious to preserve his "high-brow" reputation, he adopted the pseudonym "S. S. Van Dine" (based, he said, probably facetiously, on an old family name and the convenient initials of a steamship). He conceived of the central figure and three plots, summarized them, and presented them to the acclaimed editor Maxwell Perkins, whose other authors included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, and John P. Marquand. Perkins was impressed and immediately bought them for the Scribner's house. The rest was publishing history.
Van Dine had devised his own "rules" for crime fiction and set out to create a detective with a unique style. Some suggest that the character was intended to out-Holmes Holmes, with a deeper erudition and knowledge of useful trivia. A more likely model is Dorothy Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey, complete with the affected speech of an upper-class Englishman, a pince-nez, a robust collection of wine and modern art, and a butler. In either case, Philo Vance was established as a New York bachelor, with an inherited fortune and the taste to spend it wisely. Accompanied by his attorney, himself "S. S. Van Dine," Vance partnered with New York District Attorney John F.-X. Markham to solve murders—and only murders. The Vance novels are long by the standards of Agatha Christie and are paced slowly, and they include numerous details about the panoply of suspects and the settings.
Vance insists that physical evidence is of much less importance than understanding "the exact psychological nature of the deed." He maintains that understanding the deep-seated urges of seemingly respectable individuals and recognizing their unique psychological signatures is enough to identify a murderer. Vance frequently makes fun of Markham and the police for the logical conclusions they draw from "clues" and circumstantial evidence. Yet despite Van Dine's ignorance of ballistics and other burgeoning forensic sciences and Vance's disdain for police investigations, there are masses of physical evidence in each book; in The Benson Murder Case, for example, Vance relies heavily on tracing the path of the murderous bullet to demonstrate the height of the killer as well as astutely reasoning out the killer's hiding place for the murder weapon.
Hammett's own time would come in only a few years, but for the time being, in the late 1920s and through the mid-1930s, the European style of puzzle-mystery dominated American crime fiction, and Willard Huntington Wright was the golden child of publishing and the king of American crime writers. Howard Haycraft credited Van Dine with bringing the American detective story to "a new peak of excellence and popularity," but observed that he did so by doing nothing more than mimic the well-established English tradition. In the end, the pretentiousness and lack of humor of the novels would outweigh readers' initial fascination. Vance's erudition became displayed more and more in large and often gratuitous segments that slowed down the tales, and the snob appeal wore thin. By 1939, when Wright died, both he and Vance had worn out their welcome, and except for the long-lived Ellery Queen mysteries, Van Dine–style stories had been largely replaced by the "hard-boiled" realism of Hammett and others.
Excerpted from Leslie S. Klinger's foreword to Classic American Fiction of the 1920s. Copyright © 2018. Excerpted by permission of Pegasus Books. All rights reserved.


text:
To Plot Or Not
I'm often asked if it's best to begin your novel by making an outline. It sounds so logical to say that, yes, of course we ought to have an idea where the story is going before deciding how best to execute the work. Blueprints are necessary in the building of any sound structure. People plan everything from dinner party seating to what to plant in flower beds.
Let's say it's a love story. Who is doing the loving and who is being betrayed? Why does this story, of all the millions of similar ones, deserve a telling? What will be the consequences anyway? You could write four-hundred pages and decide there are no consequences, none at all. Joe loves Jan and Jan loves John. Tough luck on Joe, but maybe he's rather partial to Suzie anyway, and so the story reduces to nothing.
(Except, well. I'd probably read that)
Right, it's decided! Settle on the architecture of the plot before going up dozens of blind alleys or plowing through thousands of words a day figuring out where you are. In her entertaining and educational book about the process of novel-writing, Write Away, the mystery writer Elizabeth George expresses her utter bewilderment for people who "write hundreds of pages in search of a plot."
I agree with her—how could I not? There is only one problem with me telling you to take the sensible direction of Elizabeth George, map out the structure of your book, fill out file cards for each of the necessary scenes that will escort the reader through your story, and only then embark on the actual writing.
But…um….no. It's good advice, bt I never do it that way. If someone told me I had to work out where my novel would go before I even began the thing I'd take up pottery. Really, I would. Because I need the freedom to invent as I spin the wheel and if I don't have it, I don't want to go to the trouble.
Do I waste tremendous amounts of time, "writing into" the story that I wish to tell? Sometimes. Does some of my best work take place when I'm sinning that pottery wheel. Yes, the best. Also, the worst. ,
I can spend anywhere from one to four years on a single book, and a lot of that is spent trashing chapters and rewriting others because I'm not sure where I'm going or if it even makes sense to continue. Did I say this was a good career choice?
Do I ever feel lost inside my own book, not even sure this is the novel I wanted to write? At least once or twice during the writing.
So, why don't I plan out the plot of the book? Well, I do. Sort of. I work out a few chapters ahead of where I am. I sometimes work toward a big watershed moment, but I come upon the important aspects of my novels—the tone of the book, the uniqueness of this moment of its telling, the idiosyncrasies of its characters, by allowing myself to play with the work.
Even the notion of progress destroys the fragile nowness of what I am doing, executing story as it is freshly in my mind. But let me assure you that my grasp of narrative structure, even of plot, is not entirely primitive or without influence. I think the three-act structure has been so ingrained in my head from all the books I've read for the past five decades that it isn't an absolutely necessity that I make myself consciously aware of it as I write. I now "naturally" create the rising action you can find in any page-turner in the same manner with which I tell a friend a personal anecdote.
Does this mean I completely ignore what is called "craft"? Not at all. Elizabeth George has a nice statement about craft. She says, "Craft is there to rescue you when the art fails to." That's pretty accurate. And this is part of why I envy people who draw great structures of their novels across taped pages, or work out each scene on a card and then arrange the cards in different orders. People who write out character analyses and backstories. I love all those ideas. I just never do them.
And I am not the only one. In her excellent book on writing, Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott writes, "Everyone I know flails around, kvetching and growing despondent, on the way to finding a plot and structure that work. You are welcome to join the club." She justifies the uneconomic manner with which our club writes as being necessary due to how much we learn from our characters as we work our way through a scene.
Anne Lamott is correct, of course, and she is also correct when she says that, at times, we have to take our already-written draft of a novel and lay it out page for page, or scene for scene, in clumps upon the floor of the biggest room in our house and look at it structurally. For me, and for all of us in the club of inefficiency, this is absolutely fine because we still have the magic of that initial writing, the germ of life that grew into a giant, living thing that wove its way through the whole of the manuscript. Working on it at the revision stage, shaving off this, adding to that, re-working the structure, won't hurt it the way that pre-ordaining its shape often does.
You don't have to sit at the desk like a medium, waiting to hear from the dead. Plan a bit, look for a little horizon with your book, and then make adjustments as you need to. The point is that it is more like being on a long walk through the woods, being able to see just up to an edge of pine, or as far down as a stream, not being able to see beyond that place but knowing, with the confidence of having walked in similar landscapes, that when you get as far as that, there will be more that you can see, and that you can reach if you just keep going.


Educator. Scientist. Consultant. Fundraiser. Organizer. Global Human Rights Advocate. Women's Information Network. Senior Advisor to Obama for America. America's Impact. Citizens Against Nuclear War (CAN). Women for a Meaningful Summit. Seattle Planned Parenthood. Executive Director of NARAL. Consulting Women.
Photo 1. Karen Mulhauser in 1975. Photo 2. Karen organizes a 65th birthday celebration for Gloria Steinem.


A loan for which the parties have agreed to alter the terms, usually to make them more favorable to the borrower. For example, the borrower may restructure a loan to receive a lower interest rate or monthly payment. Restructured loans are most common if the borrower states that he/she can no longer afford payments under the old terms. For example, a borrower may have to accept a new job with less income, forcing a tighter budget.
In addition to NPLs, renegotiated loans in the reported accounts (i.
At the same time, loan-loss reserve coverage together with other asset quality measures such as past due not impaired loans less than 90 days overdue and renegotiated loans remained very sound and among the best in the sector.
Renegotiated loans for house purchase totalled 386 million in August , with variable rate products accounting for the majority of renegotiations.
3% as at December 2011; relevant ratios would be much higher when taking into account the renegotiated loans, which are not classified as impaired.
26% of gross loans) of renegotiated loans, as at 31 December 2010.
The substantial increase seen in renegotiated loans (around RUB300bn) is also worrying.
The financial strength rating bears "negative" outlook due to significant rise of renegotiated loans.
The riskiest assets on the banks' balance sheets include real estate and personal loans extended in 2008, potential losses associated with banks' exposure to Saad, Algosaibi groups and Dubai World, and renegotiated loans.
5% in December 2010), with a low volume of renegotiated loans (2.
It also reflects the bank's weaker reserve coverage of impaired loans compared with peers, higher cost income ratio, high borrower concentration and a significant volume of renegotiated loans.
The Bank also has a low level of renegotiated loans and past due loans less than 90 days old.
The FSR is constrained by high sovereign credit risk, including a weak balance of payments position and vulnerable exchange rate, ongoing economic pressures, considerable asset concentrations combined with elevated credit risk and significant renegotiated loans.


H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, will discuss the role of a united and integrated Africa in the global community at a National Press Club Headliners Luncheon on Wednesday, November 15.
The address at the National Press Club is part of the C hairperson's three-day inaugural visit to Washington, where he is scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and attend the 2017 AU-US High Level Dialogue.
H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat took office as Chairperson of the African Union Commission in March of 2017, after winning a close contest against his Kenyan counterpart, Amina Mohamed. He is the fifth Chairperson of the Commission and the second Central African candidate. Prior to his election as Chairperson, he served as the Foreign Minister of Chad, a position he had held since April 2008. Moussa Faki Mahamat served as the Prime Minister of Chad from June 2003 to February 2005.


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Ras Jebel o Ras El Djebel () és una ciutat de Tunísia a la costa nord, situada uns 20 km a l'est de Bizerta, a la governació homònima. És capçalera d'una delegació que inclou els territoris entre Ras Zebib i la península de Raf Raf. La municipalitat té 25.553 habitants i la delegació 49.100 (2004).

Geografia
La delegació inclou el cap de Ras el Djebel, literalment 'cap de la muntanya', que es considera que és on s'acaba l'Atles.

Economia
L'economia n'és agrícola amb cultius d'horta i fruiters, tot i que en els darrers anys el turisme ha substituït l'agricultura com a primera activitat. També hi ha ramaderia, indústria tèxtil i altres activitats industrials a petit nivell.

Història
La ciutat va ser fundada al  per andalusins expulsats de la península Ibèrica. Els habitants de la ciutat es diuen ghwalbia en referència a la tribu àrab dels Banu Ghàlib, de la regió de Saragossa.

Administració
És el centre de la delegació o mutamadiyya homònima, amb codi geogràfic 17 64 (ISO 3166-2:TN-12), dividida en set sectors o imades:

 Ras El Djebel Nord (17 64 51)
 Ras El Djebel Sud (17 64 52)
 Metline (17 64 53)
 Metline Ouest (17 64 54)
 Sounine (17 64 55)
 Rafraf (17 64 56)
 El Garia (17 64 57)

Al mateix temps, forma una municipalitat o baladiyya (codi geogràfic 17 21).

Referències

Governació de Bizerta