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Russia warns Venezuela's Juan Guaido against inviting U.S. invasion
Moscow, February 21 (RHC)-- Russia has warned Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido against "inviting foreign intervention" under the cover of aid shipments, reiterating Moscow's call for dialogue between the Caracas government and the opposition.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday expressed Russia's concern about "threats from the U.S. that are actively supported... by Venezuela's opposition, essentially inviting foreign intervention." He added that "whether direct or under cover of humanitarian aid," such an intervention is "unlikely to bring the result (Guaido) seeks."
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said on Tuesday that the military was on alert on the country's frontiers after Guaido vowed to bring the alleged aid in from various points on Saturday "one way or another."
On Thursday, Venezuela announced that its border with Brazil would be closed indefinitely to prevent any incursions.
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro Maduro has denounced the aid, saying U.S. President Donald Trump is using Venezuela's humanitarian crisis as a cover-up for his military plans in the country. The defense minister says the army will remain alert to prevent any territorial violations.
Padrino's remarks came after Trump warned that members of the country's military would be risking their future and their lives by remaining loyal to Maduro and refusing to allow in the so-called humanitarian aid blocked at the Colombian border.
Lavrov denounced the U.S. threats as "unquestionably a violation of the UN charter and direct meddling in domestic affairs of an independent country." Russia's top diplomat also reiterated his country's call for dialogue in Venezuela, and expressed hope that Guaido "would respond to initiatives that suggest inclusive dialogue between all of Venezuela's political forces."
"Results can only come from inclusive political dialogue," he said.
The Latin American country has been in political turmoil since last month, when Guaido, a lawmaker who leads the defunct National Assembly, disputed last year's reelection of Maduro and proclaimed himself the "interim president" of the country.
Russia and the US representatives agree to disagree on Venezuela
Juan Guaido says he may call for U.S. military intervention in Venezuela
Venezuela bars Juan Guaido from holding public office for 15 years
Venezuela carries out investigation of Juan Guaido
Nicolas Maduro will welcome delegation of EU-backed International Contact Group to Venezuela
Antonio Guterres says days of foreign military intervention in Latin America are over
Washington calls on Venezuelan military to back 'interim president' Juan Guaidó
Juan Guaidó returns to Venezuela after illegal exit
Italian government rejects self-proclaimed president of Venezuela, recognizes Maduro


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BH & EU
BH TOURISM
Interview: Exclusive Interview with H.E. Ambassador of France Guillaume Rousson
Post Tagged with: "Ferrari"
Citizens of BiH spent 3 Million BAM on Luxurious Cars in only Three Months!
Statistic data shows that caviar, whiskey, exotic nuts, as well as luxury cars worth several tens of millions of BAM are imported in BiH on an annual level. On the other side, around half a million unemployed citizens live on the very edge of existence. Experts noted that the gap […]
What is the Price of the most expensive Car in BiH?
Citizens of BiH are great lovers of fast cars, and drivers who have the money are gladly purchasing some of the best vehicles in the world. The proof for that is the official data on the top 10 most expensive cars for each year in the period between 2014 and […]
How many used and new Cars were imported to BiH in 2017?
According to the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) data, last year 60.079 used and 10.897 new cars with a total value of more than 836 million BAM were imported into BiH, and 184 million BAM of toll was paid for these cars. In 2017, the number of […]
Who bought a Car worth 386.200 BAM in BiH?
In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), 64.816 cars with a total value of more than 771.864.745.54 BAM were imported in the period from January to November 2017. According to the Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) data of BiH, out of mentioned number of cars, 10.072 were imported new and 54.744 were used. […]
Omer Halilhodzic: Bosnian who designed Skoda Superb
The world's public heard about Omer Halilhodzic, BH automotive designer, at the beginning of this millennium. This Bosnian from Mostar, with his address in Mainz, became the head of the European department of Mitsubishi back then and he made "Japanese diamonds" recognizable in a short period of time. "I gladly […]
Sarajevo Times interview:
Interview with Mrs. Kulenovic, Author of "The Siege of Sarajevo" Book, a Story on Separation, Struggle and Strength
Mrs. Sanja Kulenovic is the author of "The Siege of Sarajevo" book, a story on separation, struggle and strength. Together with her husband, back in 1992, they were celebrating the honeymoon in Pasadena, California, when they turned on CNN to discover that their hometown, Sarajevo, is being devastated by bombing. "It » read more
Miralem Pjanic reveals His Life Story in an Exclusive Interview with Sarajevo Times
Fahrudin Pjanic was certain that the war was coming to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and as a footballer of football
Exclusive Interview with H.E. Ambassador of France Guillaume Rousson
The Ambassador of the Republic of France to Bosnia and Herzegovina Guillaume Rousson has been on this duty since June
Dodik congratulated newly-elected European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
Chairman of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency Milorad Dodik has congratulated the newly-elected European
Seventy-Five Percent of People in BiH are looking for Job for more than a Year
According to data from the Labor Force Survey in 2019, the unemployment rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina was 15.7 percent
Rebuilding of Church united Residents of different Religious Affiliations in Central Bosnia
A local church in central Bosnia, whose construction was terminated by Bosnian war of the early 1990s, has resumed
Declaration by HR Mogherini on the Occasion of the Day of International Criminal Justice
As we mark the International Criminal Justice Day, the European Union reaffirms its longstanding support towards the
Manufacturers from BiH prepare for Eggs export on the Market of EU Countries
Director of Veterinary Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ljubomir Kalaba said that all companies that express their
Health-care Institutions from BiH participated in Conference in Sarajevo
At a conference recently held in Sarajevo, participating health-care institutions from Bosnia and Herzegovina had a
BiH's Prime Minister extended Congratulations to Ursula von der Leyen
Chairman of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic extended congratulations to
Seven Membered Family poisoned with Food in Sarajevo
Seven people in the afternoon arrived to the Clinic for Infectious Diseases at the Clinical Center of the University of
Republika Srpska Entity indebts for additional 150 Million BAM
The Republika Srpska (RS) National Assembly endorsed the 150-million-euro debit of this BiH entity for the construction
BiH forbids Walnut Imports due to increased Aflatoxins
The phytosanitary inspection of Republika Srpska (RS), one of the entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), has
"Interio" and the first "Gast Fest" to be held in Skenderija in March
"Pitching your Product" Workshop successfully held
#WikiGapBiH edit-a-thon: Closing the Wikipedia gender gap Today in Sarajevo
15 years of experience: SPARK hosted Gillian Downey
2.3 million EUR of Funds available for Innovative Ideas
Dodik congratulated newly-elected European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen https://t.co/ncYFymzY7U
Seventy-Five Percent of People in BiH are looking for Job for more than a Year https://t.co/d6zQFtfJRB
Rebuilding of Church united Residents of different Religious Affiliations in Central Bosnia https://t.co/rNE9HozR6B
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Last week for one of my classes, I underwent a media deprivation experiment. The goal was no TV, Internet, or news media (except for what was necessary), for four days. When the experiment was over, I realized something profound about today's American culture.
We are a hot mess politically, and it's driving us crazy.
It seems that in modern day society, if you're not following the crowd on certain political stances or ideologies, then there's something wrong with you. Just look at the Golden Globes and the Grammy Awards from this year. Everyone's making a statement–to the point where it's no longer about movies or music at all.
Now I'm not writing this to tell you what to believe, lovely reader. You can decide for yourself. And I'm certainly not suggesting that we stay silent on important political issues. On the contrary, Christians should be outspoken on issues such as abortion, sexual assault, and racism.
So how can Christian women find balance in this secular political climate? Here are 3 points to consider.
Everyone believes in something. And as Christian women, we believe that Jesus Christ is God and has died for our sins to save us from hell. He came as a man to usher in the greatest rescue mission the world has ever seen, so we can have eternal life with Him!
This should be our core foundation when we ask ourselves why we stand for a certain political party or ideology.
There are a lot of people who are "rebelling" against traditional values…to the point where they are becoming conformists! Most people are lukewarm about their beliefs because they are afraid of stirring the pot. But that's not how Christians should be. It's one thing to think critically on certain issues, however, our values must always be clear.
Another reason to know the why behind your beliefs is so that you can defend them. If I say I'm pro-life but do not have any reason for it, then no one will care. Our why should be spiritual, as well as logical. Our beliefs about this world should reflect our belief in the hope of Jesus Christ.
Although we must understand the reason for our beliefs and be able to defend them, we must do so with kindness. This world is full of division and hatred, even among Christians. However, we are called to gentleness and maturity in our conduct.
We must realize that no political party or ideology is perfect. We are human beings, so we tend to mess things up…a lot. Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, or something in between, please don't fall into political idolatry.
It isn't wise to enter a conversation with people of different political beliefs to try to change their minds (it doesn't work anyway). Seek to understand them and their background. Ask God to help you empathize with them as you politely state your views. This will glorify God.
The Internet and cable news is filled to the brim with information trying to sway our beliefs. How on earth do we make a wise decision?
What an amazing gift! I think we tend to forget that God is our Father, and that we can climb into His lap and ask for His love and wisdom. Don't put God into a box. He will guide you in all areas of life, including political beliefs.
One of the best ways to find wisdom is by reading the Bible. Scripture is full of wisdom on how to live a Godly life. Don't know where to start? Try the book of Proverbs. Even if you read one chapter a day, in just a month you will gain a lot of Godly wisdom.
This world is full of ideas and beliefs–many of which are totally against God. Although we might not be able to disconnect from all media and news, we can find balance in politics. A woman of faith must walk in values, kindness, and Godly wisdom. If you strive for this, then you will not only survive politics, you'll thrive.
Excellent thoughts, Emily! It is so true that our political climate is a mess right now. I can't even go on Twitter without seeing some crazy news headline or controversial issue. I also love how you said that we should know what we believe and our 'why' should be "spiritual as well as logical". It is so important to know why we have the beliefs and views that we do so we can have a solidified worldview.
Furthermore, I love how you urged people to be kind and stated that no political ideology is perfect. Too often, Christians side hard-core with one side or the other and become blinded to the flaws of the party, defending things and behaviors they really shouldn't standing by.
Thank you for reading Penny! And yes, no matter what His Word remains true and relevant.
Amen and Amen!! We cannot conform, the Word doesn't change and we shouldn't try to change it. We should definitely grow in Godly wisdom, not worldly concepts. Be kinder than necessary – absolutely! My preacher says that we shouldn't get so 'offended' if the worldly people act like the world but we should be the hope that they want to see a that could lead them to Christ! Good post!
Thank you for sharing! It's so true that Jesus was even the rock of offense…yet He walked in love. We must stay true to the Word of God no matter what happens in culture/politics. Be blessed!
I really like these thoughts, especially as I was fuming last night about a politically charged Facebook post from a friend. You're right, we need to know our whys for what we believe and those whys need to be based on biblical principals. I think it okay for us to disagree to what we think the solutions to problems are, but we should do so kindly and with great respect. There's not much of that going around in politics these days. There definitely aren't enough of us that are looking to the Bible and the Holy Spirit to help give us wisdom in today's political climate (and I'm one of those that could do better on that front). Thanks for your thoughts on this. I needed to hear this today.
Thank you for sharing Ashleigh! I know how hard it can be to not get mad at someone's opinion. 😅 That's part of being human. But you're right, we do need to walk in respect and kindness. That is how Jesus would walk. I'm glad I could help point you to God's wisdom!


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Herbs and Alternative Medicine
10 Natural Herbs and Supplements to Help Calm Anxiety
Yael Grauerupdated on September 27, 2017
Yael Grauer
Yael Grauer is a freelance health and fitness writer based in Phoenix. She also covers cybersecurity and digital freedom.
credit: martinedoucet/Vetta/Getty Images
Daily pressures at work and home can sometimes quickly reach a boiling point, and too much stress can wreak havoc on your immune system and lead to headaches, digestion problems, stomachaches, insomnia, depression and other problems. But don't fret! Eating a healthy diet, getting plenty of exercise, meditating and having a good social support network can help take the edge off, and these following plants and supplements may help too. Just make sure to check with your doctor before starting any supplement that might negatively interact with other medications.
1. Hops
credit: Verity E. Milligan/Moment/Getty Images
This age-old sedative is used in beer production, and the perennial twining vine can reduce nervous tension. Hops appears "to have a sedative effect paired with anxiety reduction" in rodents, "and at least one human study has found that even nonalcoholic beer has a sedative effect in humans, thought to be due to the inclusion of hops," says Kurtis Frank, B.A.Sc. in Applied Human Dietetics. Just avoid it if you're pregnant or nursing, and be aware that taking hops with alcohol or with other sedatives can cause a greater level of drowsiness than you may be looking for.
Read more: 18 Healthy Beers
2. Lemon Balm
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Not only is lemon balm delicious, it's also great for calming frayed nerves and lifting one's spirits. Lemon balm, which is in the mint family, can be easily grown in your garden. There is one catch, though: It might reduce your attention and even make you lethargic. "While not overly potent, [the plant] should not be taken at times when focus and attention is required," says Kurtis Frank, B.A.Sc. in Applied Human Dietetics.
Listen now: How to Keep Your House Clean – Even When You're a Mess
3. Lavender
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You may have used lavender essential oil for headaches or just for its soothing scent. So it's not surprising that it can help with stress. "Lavender is a surprisingly potent calming agent in one particular instance, generalized anxiety disorder, where numerous studies have arisen showing oral administration of lavender can help reduce symptoms in these subjects and improve their state of calm," says Kurtis Frank, B.A.Sc. in Applied Human Dietetics. And while lavender can help you sleep better, it won't make you tired if you take it during the day. Another bonus: If you're on hormonal birth control, you can still use it because it's been found not to have negative interactions. Use the essential oil for its scent, or lavender-filled pillows and eye packs for instant calm. Just be careful mixing lavender with other sedatives, which could make you a little too sleepy.
4. Folic Acid
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"Folic acid supplementation is associated with improved mood," says Melissa Baker, M.H.Sc.(c), RD. And because it's required very early in pregnancy -- so early that once women find out that they're pregnant it's too late -- Baker recommends that any woman of child-bearing age take 400 micrograms of folic acid as a matter of course. Low levels of folic acid have been linked to depression, so it's possible that the supplement could help lift one's spirit. Foods high in folate include dark-green veggies, lentils, peas and dried beans.
5. L-Theanine
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L-theanine is a relaxing and anxiety-relieving amino acid found in green tea leaves. "It seems to have a minor calming effect that may not be perceivable alone, but shines when taken with caffeine. It is well-known to work synergistically with caffeine in improving attention and curbing the jitters one may feel," says Kurtis Frank. Check with a doctor before taking L-theanine if you're on medication for high blood pressure, cancer or high cholesterol, or to find out about possible interactions with sedatives or stimulants.
Read more: The 12 Most Overrated Supplements
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"If you're an athlete or undergoing prolonged stress, that can reduce the levels of magnesium in your body," says Melissa Baker, M.H.Sc.(c), RD. "A magnesium deficiency is associated with agitation and anxiety as well as reduced serotonin levels," adds Baker. Minor deficiencies of this dietary mineral are possible with poor nutrition. The mineral is naturally found in beans, legumes and dairy products, or it can be taken in supplement form. Antibiotics, muscle relaxants, water pills and high blood pressure medications can interact negatively with magnesium, so check with your doctor first if you're on these medications.
7. Passionflower
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Research on this beautiful vining plant has been mixed, but passionflower has traditionally been used as a sedative, to relieve anxiety and tension and to alleviate sleepless nights. It's typically consumed as a supplement or as a tea. "Passionflower is one of the major herbs, alongside valerian, that are used for the treatment of insomnia and sleep disorders. Similar to valerian, the evidence base is all over the place and bounces between seeming effective and not having any more effect than a placebo. It is uncertain why this difference occurs and under what instances passionflower would reliably work," says Kurtis Frank. The long-term effects are also unknown. It's contraindicated during pregnancy and should not be mixed with other sedative or anti-anxiety medications.
Read more: The 10 Best Supplements
8. Vitamin D
credit: Don Mason/Blend Images/Getty Images
"Vitamin D has been associated with improved mood and may help fight depression," says Melissa Baker, M.H.Sc.(c), RD. This fat-soluble vitamin, along with phosphorus and calcium, is used to build bones. It's difficult to find vitamin D in foods, though some foods are fortified with it, and your body is able to produce it when your skin is exposed to the sun. Consider getting tested for a vitamin D deficiency, especially during the winter months, and check with a doctor before supplementing with it if you are on medications.
9. Ashwagandha
credit: Paul Bradbury/Caiaimage/Getty Images
Known as one of the most powerful herbs in Ayurveda, ashwagandha literally means "the smell of a horse" in Sanskrit, perhaps because of its horse-like scent or due to the traditional belief that the plant will impart the strength and vigor of a stallion. Ashwagandha is known as an adaptogen, which helps you adapt to stressors. Although there is limited research on this claim, it is thought to help improve sleep quality. Avoid ashwagandha if you're pregnant or are taking immunosuppressants, sedatives or thyroid hormone medication.
Read more: 8 Things to Consider When Choosing a Protein Powder and Our 5 Top Picks
10. Chamomile
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Chamomile is one of the most popular calming teas. "It does not have sedative properties inherently, but it may provide a state of calm in anxious subjects," says Kurtis Frank, B.A.Sc. in Applied Human Dietetics, although more research needs to be done. It may also have modest benefits with mild to moderate generalized anxiety disorder. Anyone who has an allergy to ragweed or other plants in the sunflower family may be allergic to it as well. Chamomile may also have interactions with birth-control pills, warfarin, tamoxifen and some immunosuppressants and sedatives.
credit: Klaus Tiedge/Blend Images/Getty Images
There are a plethora of herbs, nutrients and supplements to research when looking for something soothing. What have you taken to help you relax? Leave your favorites in the comments.
Read more: 43 Supplements Exposed: Which Ones to Consider, Which Ones to Avoid
Rhodiola Interactions
Maca & Anxiety
Lavender Tea & Pregnancy
Passionflower Side Effects
Is Valerian Root Safe During Pregnancy?


It's almost reminiscent of when famed director Alfred Hitchcock gave himself brief cameo non-speaking roles in his movies and it was your job, as a viewer, to spot him. If you blinked, you missed him, and there were no rewind or reverse functions on a remote to use in the search.
North Colorado Medical Center nurse Beth Meglin was pictured in pool shots from media photographers as the Greeley resident stood among U.S. Supreme Court justices and close to members of Congress in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday evening, Dec. 3. Initially, they awaited the arrival of the body of former President George H.W. Bush to lie in state, in advance of his funeral two days later at the Washington National Cathedral.
Meglin, 56, was within a few feet of the two newest Supreme Court justices, Colorado native Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, and also near U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo. "That was my little head, standing behind the Supreme Court," Meglin told me recently when we chatted in an NCMC office.
After the former president's family and the casket arrived, a service of slightly more than one hour commenced. Attendees stood several deep along the Rotunda wall, encircling the flag-draped casket and military honor guard. Governors, former Cabinet officials and Navy admirals also were among those honoring the former World War II Navy pilot. The public viewing of Bush's casket began that night, shortly after the service, with those wishing to salute Bush waiting in line and filing through the Rotunda around the clock until the body was transported on Wednesday morning to the National Cathedral for the funeral.
So when Bush's casket arrived, why was a Greeley nurse there?
The Washington work was part of Meglin's side gig, serving as a member of a national disaster medical service team through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
At the Bush funeral week in Washington, Meglin's six-person team was part of a deployment of 60, a mix of nurses, nurse practitioners, paramedics and physicians.
Meglin and other members of the program are on call three months a year. They are immediately summonable to areas coping with natural disasters or to be on site of national-oriented events expected to draw huge crowds. The parameters also are flexible. If an individual on a medical service team isn't officially on call, he or she still could be summoned if something calls for their specific medical skill sets. For a lot of reasons, the team members' regular hospitals are cooperative with the program.
Meglin is certified both as a burn nurse and a critical care nurse. In her first few years in the national disaster medical service team program, she intermittently was on call, but wasn't summoned. Then the system was tweaked to bring specialities more into play, and she has been called on three times in a little over a year. She was deployed to Puerto Rico in late 2017 following Hurricane Maria; to Charlotte, N.C. after Hurricane Florence late in the summer of 2018; and then to Washington last month.
The summons to the Bush funeral week gave her 12 hours notice to get to the nation's capital … and the Capitol.
She made it on time.
For three days of 15-hour shifts, her six-person team was stationed in the Capitol building. Rather than their usual khaki-type uniforms, which would have made them stand out, they were ordered to wear dark business suits.
The Rotunda ceremony was moving. One of the pool pictures showed Meglin in the background as Bush's son, former President George W. Bush, and his wife, Laura, walked away from the casket as they were the first to exit after the ceremony. In another photo, she is in the background as the eight Supreme Court justices present — minus the ill Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who later underwent cancer surgery on Dec. 21 — paid their respects at the casket.
There was a minor medical crisis when a woman suffered an asthma attack.
The team took her to the nearby private conference room of Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the Senate minority leader.
Within a few minutes, Meglin returned to the Rotunda. And within a few days, she was back in Greeley, on duty at NCMC. She has worked at the Greeley hospital since 2006, and now she also is entering her final semester before obtaining her Master's degree from Regis University online.
She recently started new duties as community outreach coordinator at the NCMC's Western States Burn Center.
Amid all that, she'll do what amounts to an internship with Margot Karsten, president of Banner Health's Western Region and Northern Colorado CEO. And, finally, Meglin also is heading to Florida International University on Jan. 27 for five days of air medical transport training, to become certified in critical care in the air.
Meglin and her husband, Werner, have four children, and the youngest, Matthew, is a sophomore at Greeley Central.
Meglin's involvement with the federal program dates back to when NCMC burn surgeon Cleon Goodwin said the call had gone out for burn nurses, and he recommended Meglin and two others. She began the very thorough vetting process at the American Burn Association Conference at Seattle in 2010, and was the only one of the three to stick with it and join the program.
After Hurricane Maria, Meglin was part of the teams that set up in a Ponce, Puerto Rico arena, Auditorio Juan Pachin Vicens. There, they used a generator to power the medical equipment of patients on such things as oxygen and CPAP machines. "They should have been in a nursing home, but they'd all been destroyed," Meglin said.
Her deployment to Charlotte after Hurricane Florence was uneventful because the major problems involved displacement, not physical issues.
Then came the call to the Bush funeral week.


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We went to Ocean Shores last weekend for a spur-of-the-moment one-night getaway. We stayed at a "resort-condominium" called "The Polynesian." It was on the beach. We enjoyed it--even the greasy Sunday morning buffet. I just have one question: what happened to the "concept" of Ocean Shores?
Sure, they have the mandatory upscale Native American casino at the edge of town, but besides that and the new convention center, very little looked post-1975. This was supposed to be the last word in planned communities, the model for the state of Washington. I remember hearing about Ocean Shores when I was a kid and all these lots that were being platted on the ocean and on the miles and miles of inland freshwater canals. The town itself was going to be the centerpiece, with wide right of ways for streets with fancy medians in between, underground utilities and a grand arched entrance to let you know that you've arrived someplace special.
Undeniably parts of the development have been a big success with lush estates, beautiful weekend getaways on the canal system and plenty of very pleasant homes sprinkled throughout.
The problem is the town, which looks like it is stuck in a timewarp. Where is the vision that created other planned resort communities like Whistler and Bend and that is producing the spectacular Suncadia Resort in Eastern Washington? The town of Ocean Shores has no intimacy largely due to the extreme width of the streets, which in some places is close to 150 feet. The intersections are poorly planned with lanes going every which way and one seems constantly in a state of confusion as tourists and locals try to avoid each other.
There is not a decent restaurant in the entire town. For entertainment, you better like bowling or renting mopeds or riding the legendarily lethargic horses. The locals walk around like zombies. There are no trees to speak of and no town parks. No brew pubs nor intimate places for a romantic dinner. The streets are in need of repair, the medians are tedious strips of grass and garbage. The low-slung buildings in the commercial district are a hodge-podge of pedestrian design, mostly made on the cheap. Where are the architectural standards or the landscaping covenants that have made other communities so distinctive and user-friendly?
The potential for a fully-realized and built-out planned community like Ocean Shores could have been is unfathomable. Still, most would call the current state of affairs a success. The hotels, motels, shops and fast food joints are packed solid in the spring and summer. The wide and sandy, though non-descript, beaches are the area's raison d'etre and draw in thousands of fishermen, kite-flyers, beach-combers and clammers when the weather gets good and storm-watchers and those who just want to get cozy or out of the city when the weather is bad.
It's interesting to see that picture of Savi on this post because the last time Sue and I were in Ocean Shores was the week of Savi's birth, so it's coming up on 13 years. You've neatly summarized what I remember my feelings being at the time. I'll pile on a bit about the restaurants. We chose a Chinese place for dinner. It seemed the best at the time but I think we knew we were in trouble when our waitress turned out to be Thelma Jo.
But you know what? We had a pretty good time. Worth doing again in another 13 years. The development concept sure is from another era, though.


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Home Main Cameron decides to leave Downing Street as 'Divided' Kingdom leaves EU
Cameron decides to leave Downing Street as 'Divided' Kingdom leaves EU
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron speaks after Britain voted to leave the European Union, outside 10, Downing Street in London on Friday.
10, Downing Street in London on Friday. After Brexit, Prime Minister has announced his decision to quit.
A man in a vehicle sporting a Vote Leave logo blows a kiss as he drives through Parliament Square in London on Friday.
Ballots are sorted into trays during the E.U. referendum vote count for Westminster and the City of London at the Lindley Hall in London on Friday.
People in Hong Kong watch as top anti-E.U. campaigner Nigel Farage (on screen), leader of the U.K. Indendence Party is seen, during a live broadcast of the Brexit vote, effectively declaring a victory for the Leave campaign on Friday.
U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage speaks to journalists at the 'Leave' party at Millbank Tower in central London after polls closed and counting underway in the referendum on whether the U.K. will remain or stay in the European Union.
'Leave' supporters wave Union flags and cheer as the results come in at the Leave E.U. referendum party at Millbank Tower in central London on Friday morning.
Supporters of the 'Stronger In' Campaign react as results of the E.U. referendum are announced at a results party at the Royal Festival Hall in London early Friday morning.
Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves after voting in the E.U. referendum at a polling station in Islington, London on Thursday.
An illuminated "In or Out" sign is pictured outside a house in Hangleton near Brighton in southern England on Thursday, as Britain holds a referendum on wether to stay with or leave the European Union.
British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha leave after voting in the E.U. referendum at Central Methodist Hall, Wesminster on Thursday in London.
A woman carries an umbrell past a polling station for the Referendum on the European Union in north London on Thursday.
A poll card for voting in the U.K.'s referendum on Europe, is arranged for a photograph in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Wednesday.
Britain's former Prime Minister Gordon Brown takes part in a Britain Stronger In Europe rally event campaigning for people to vote to remain in the EU in Birmingham, on Wednesday.
DAVID CAMERON SAYS HE IS NOT THE "CAPTAIN" WHO WILL STEER THE COUNTRY THROUGH NEGOTIATIONS.
Britain has voted to leave the European Union to take greater control of its economy and its borders, shattering the stability of the continental unity forged after World War II.
The decision launches what will be years of negotiations over trade, business and political links with the E.U., which will shrink to a 27-nation bloc.
Official results released early Friday show the 'Leave' side prevailed 52 per cent to 48 per cent in Thursday's vote, which had a turnout of 72 per cent.
The U.K. is the first major country to decide to leave the bloc, which evolved from the ashes of the war as the region's leaders sought to build links and avert future hostility.
Financial authorities around the world have warned that a British exit will reverberate through a delicate global economy.
Live updates (time in IST):
1.31 p.m.: Bank of England chief Mark Carney says bank can provide liquidity in foreign currency if needed.
1.14 p.m.: The British government has a "democratic imperative" to call a referendum on whether Northern Ireland should leave the United Kingdom and unite with the Irish Republic, the Province's Irish nationalist Deputy First Minister says.
"The British government now has no democratic mandate to represent the views of the North in any future negotiations with the European Union and I do believe that there is a democratic imperative for a 'border poll' to be held," Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness told national Irish broadcaster RTE.
"We are now in unchartered waters, nobody really knows what is going to happen. The implications for all of us on the island of Ireland are absolutely massive. This could have very profound implications for our economy
1.06 p.m.: Matteo Salvini, Italy's most prominent far-right politician, also hails the Brexit vote as an example his country should follow. "Cheers to the bravery of free citizens," the leader of the anti-immigration, anti-E.U. Northern League wrote on Twitter. "Heart, head and pride beat lies, threats and blackmail. THANKS UK, now it is our turn #Brexit".
12.55 p.m.: "The cabinet will meet on Monday, the governor of the Bank of England is making a statement about the steps it is taking."
12.54 p.m.: "There is no need for a precise timetable today, but we should aim to have a new prime minister in place by the start of Conservative conference in October," Mr. Cameron says choking back tears.
12.54 p.m.: "I will do everything I can as prime minister to steady the ship in coming months, but I do not think it would be right for me to captain that ship."
12.53 p.m.: "This is not a decision I've taken lightly but I do believe it is in the national interest to have a period of stability and then the new leadership required," he said.
12.53 p.m.: Cameron announces resignation.
12.52 p.m.: I fought this campaign with head, heart and soul, says Cameron.
12.51 p.m.: We must prepare for full negoatiations with E.U. with the involvement the Scottish, Weslsh and Irish, says Cameron.
12.50 p.m.: David Cameron says, "We trust the people with big decisions."
12:40 p.m: Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn says British Prime Minister David Cameron must move urgently to stabilize the pound, which was trading around $1.3706 Friday morning after plummeting to a 31—year low.
Mr. Corbyn also says Britain's main opposition party will oppose any emergency budget or expansion of Britain's austerity program resulting from the Thursday vote to leave the European Union.
The Bank of England says it's ready to take "all necessary steps" to help keep Britain stable after voters chose to leave the 28—nation bloc.
Mr. Corbyn says British manufacturing depends on trade with the EU and called for careful steps to preserve British trade. He and other senior Labour figures had urged voters to remain in the EU.
12:35 p.m: "Today on behalf of the 27 leaders, I can say that we are determined to keep our unity as 27," says European Union president Donald Tusk.
12:26 p.m.: Dutch parliamentary party leader Geert Weilders calls for Netherlands to hold referendum on its EU membership
12.07 p.m.: UKIP leader Nigel Farage says the European Union is dying after Britain votes to leave.
12.01 p.m.: U.K. Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn says Britons feel very angry at way marginalised by successive governments
11.55 a.m.: U.K. Electoral Commission declares Britain has voted to leave European Union.
11.45 a.m.: Official results show the 'Leave' won by 12,69, 501 votes (52 per cent).
11.40 a.m.: RBI watching all markets, including currencies, and will provide liquidity wherever necessary: RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Brexit impact.
11.40 a.m.: Top European Union officials are hunkering down in Brussels trying to work out what to do next after the shock decision by British voters to leave the bloc.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is hosting talks on Friday with the leaders of the European Council and Parliament, along with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country holds the E.U.'s rotating presidency.
The four will try to agree on a European position on the vote, which could see a member country leave the bloc for the first time ever, ahead of a summit of E.U. leaders in Brussels starting on Tuesday.
Parliamentary leaders were meeting separately, and European commissioners the E.U.'s executive body could hold separate talks later.
11.30 a.m.: French far-right leader Marine Le Pen says there should be a similar referendum about E.U. membership in France after Britons voted to leave the 28-nation bloc.
"A victory for Freedom," Ms. Le Pen tweeted. "We now need the same referendum in France and in EU nations."
11.20 a.m.: India well prepared to deal with short and medium-term consequences of Brexit, says Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
"Aim will be to smoothen volatility and minimise Brexit impact on the economy in the short-term, the FM says.
11.05 a.m.: Now that voters have chosen exit, will more referendums follow suit? Social media averse on this:
10.56 a.m.: Tally by the BBC shows Britain has voted to leave the 28-nation European Union.
10.40 p.m.: Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says he regrets Britain's decision to leave the E.U., calls it a "sad day for Europe".
"The early morning news from #GreatBritain are truly sobering. It looks like a sad day for #Europe +the #UnitedKingdom," Mr. Steinmeier tweeted.
10:36 a.m.: Voters in Wales and the English shires have backed Britan's exit in large numbers.
10:35 a.m.: London and Scotland voted strongly to stay in the EU but the remain vote has been undermined by poor results in the north of England.
10.30 a.m.: Dutch anti-immigration leader Geert Wilders has called for a referendum on the Netherlands' membership in the European Union after Britain voted to leave the 28-member bloc.
"We want be in charge of our own country, our own money, our own borders, and our own immigration policy," he said in a statement.
Hurrah for the British! Now it is our turn. Time for a Dutch referendum!
10.21 a.m.: 93 per cent of the vote counted, 'Leave' lead is impossible to reverse.
10.15 a.m.: Indian govt. prepared for all eventualities; stock market down on initial spontaneous reaction, says Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das on Brexit.
10.10 a.m.: Don't think Brexit will impact India in medium or long term, says Banking Secretary Anjuly Duggal.
10.05 a.m.: After Brexit vote, Downing Street aide says "we're in unchartered territory".
10 a.m.: The head of the British conservative party in the European Parliament said on Friday that the British people had voted to leave the European Union and it was time to move on.
"It's the democratic will of the British people. The British people have voted to leave. I think we now have to come together, have to move on," Syed Kamall, a conservative member of parliament for London, tells Reuters.
9.57 a.m.: 'Remain' on 14.584 million votes, 'Leave' on 15.705 million after more than 90 per cent of votes counted, says ITV
9.54 a.m.: Sinn Fein chairman says if UK leaves the EU then the British government has "forfeited any mandate" to represent interests of the Northern Ireland people.
9.49 a.m.: Govt., RBI ready with measures to curb volatility: Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa on Brexit.
9.45 a.m.: With 329 of 382 counting centers reporting results, the 'Leave' side is ahead by over 900,000 votes.
9.42 a.m.: RBI intervenes in forex market with liquidity support: Sources.
9.40 a.m.: As 'Leave' votes pour in from Britain's historic vote on European Union membership, post-mortems are already being produced. One expert says the 'Remain' side had suffered from "a degree of complacency".
Tim Oliver, a fellow at the London School of Economics' IDEAS foreign policy think tank says "the campaign failed to connect to ordinary people, seemed too much of an elite and London-based one."
Mr. Oliver says the vote wasn't just about Europe but also about a popular British backlash against the capital and its elites. He says "the E.U. was one of the things kicked by this, but there were lots of other things such as a general anti—establishment feeling, anti-London feeling."
9.35 a.m.: Scotland has made clear that it sees its future as part of the European Union, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Friday, after it voted to remain while most of the United Kingdom voted to leave.
"The vote here makes clear that the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union," Ms. Sturgeon said in a statement.
"We await the final UK-wide result, but Scotland has spoken – and spoken decisively."
9.10 a.m.: BBC predicts 'Leave' win, U.K. votes to leave European Union with 309 out of 382 results declared, says the Beeb.
9.06 a.m.: Reuters reports — ITV says 'Leave' to win
8.46 a.m.: 'Leave' leader Nigel Farage says June 23 will be Britain's independence day. "The dawn is breaking on an independent United Kingdom," U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said to loud cheers at a "leave" campaign party. "Let June 23 go down in our history as our independence day!"
8.41 a.m.: British pound tumbles to 31-year low as E.U. vote results show 'Leave' side in lead.
8.30 a.m.: Sky News says its election analyst predicts 'Leave' will win referendum with 53 per cent — Reuters
8.25 a.m.: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley declines to comment on the current trends of 'Brexit', says he would prefer to wait till the full results are out. "I think when the counting is on and you have close margin of results coming in you can not expect me to comment at this state," he said, adding that he would rather wait for the full results.
Mr. Jaitley was replying to a question on how concerned India is about the 'Brexit' results at a business seminar.
8.22 a.m.: Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage tweets he now "dares to dream" of independent U.K.
The top anti-E.U. campaigner said he was increasingly confident of victory on Friday after early results from Britain's E.U. referendum put the 'Leave' camp ahead.
'I now dare to dream that the dawn is coming up on an independent United Kingdom," he said on Twitter, hours after coming close to conceding defeat.
With 200 of 382 results declared, Brexit leads 51.7%: Pound at $1.36 on Brexit fears, lowest levels since 2009 — AFP reports
8.20 a.m.: With about half of the 382 results declared here's a round-up of what happened so far:
First results suggest an extremely tight race, with swathes of northern England backing 'Leave' but parts of London and Scotland coming out strongly for 'Remain'.
Some of the major results:
'Remain'
Gibraltar: 95.9% Remain, 4.1% Leave. The tiny overseas territory, which shares a land border with Spain, was always expected to back the E.U.
City of London – 75.3% Remain, 24.7% Leave. Home of the financial services industry, again this is no surprise.
Glasgow City – 66.6% Remain, 33.4% Leave. This is a boost for the Remain camp although the turnout was lower than elsewhere, at just 56.2 percent. All of Scotland that has declared has voted Remain.
London – Several heavily populated boroughs have declared strong support for Remain, including Wandsworth (75%) and Lambeth (78.6%).
'Leave'
Sunderland – 61.3% Leave, 38.7% Remain. This early result, showing much stronger than expected support for the Brexit camp, sent the pound plunging.
Wales – Polling experts were not sure which way Wales would go but its second city Swansea declared 51.5% Leave, 48.5% Remain, while several other areas followed.
Nuneaton – 66% Leave, 34% Remain. This town in central England is seen as a bellweather of opinion in general elections.
Blackpool – 67.5% Leave, 32.5%. This northwestern seaside resort reflects wider gains for the Brexit camp across the north of England.
8.17 a.m.: Pound's wild ride continues, tumbles to 5-month low after hitting 2016 high. Tokyo stocks plunged more than 3 per cent in volatile trade on Friday morning. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 3.05 percent, or 495.95 points, to 15,742.40 by the break, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares slumped 3.17 percent, or 41.18 points, to 1,257.53.
8.15 a.m.: Reuters reports: 'Remain' on 48.7%, 'Leave' on 51.3% after half of of 382 counting areas plus partial BBC Northern Irish figures.
8.10 a.m.: Stomach-churning night for 'Remain' side
The close vote in the referendum made for stomach-churning twists and turns as the 'Remain'and 'Leave' camps traded the lead in the official count. At a 'Remain' party in East London, Labour Party councilor Andrew Cregan said he and his guests had been through "a bit of a roller-coaster ride."
Mr. Cregan said the partygoers had mostly gone home but he couldn't sleep until he saw the final result.
"I'm fearful of the result," he said. "This is the most important decision that people are voting on in my lifetime. And I don't think that many people who have cast a vote today understand what they're casting a vote on, or understand what's at stake."
8 a.m.: Reuters reports: 'Remain' on 48.8%, 'Leave' on 51.2% after 160 of 382 counting areas plus partial BBC Northern Irish figures.
7.56 a.m.: Voters seeking a British exit from the E.U. are leading, as one-third of official results have been declared in Britain's historic referendum.
As Friday's vote counting continued overnight, the 'Leave' side led with 50.9 per cent of votes with 'Remain' trailing on 49.1 per cent. The gap between the two sides stood at about 191,000 votes with 144 of the 382 count centers reporting results.
7.50 a.m.: U.K.'s bitterly contested referendum on whether to quit the European Union was too close to call on Friday as early results showed a deeply divided nation while the pound was hammered on financial markets.
7.24 a.m.: Sterling, stocks routed as early Brexit results put 'Leave' ahead
Risk assets routed as early results point to Brexit; Sterling slumps in broad selloff, yen rallies; U.K. and U.S. stock futures skid, Asian shares follow; Oil and commodities swing lower, gold strong — Reuters
7.21 a.m.: South London comes in strong for 'Remain' side
Early results from London are showing strong support for the campaign to keep Britain within the European Union.
A win for the pro-European forces in the cosmopolitan capital was expected, but the high margins of victory in some London areas have given a little confidence to the "remain" camp amid poor results elsewhere.
The key will be turnout in a city that saw massive summer downpours on referendum day Thursday that caused some train and traffic chaos.
The south London boroughs of Wandsworth and Lambeth saw big margins and high turnouts, with 75 per cent and 79 per cent backing the "remain" side respectively.
7.17 a.m.: Bookmakers dramatically reversed the odds on Britain leaving the European Union as early results from a historic referendum pointed to strong support for a Brexit, AFP reports.
Just hours after giving odds that indicated an estimated 90-per cent chance of Britain staying in the E.U, the main betting companies shifted to make a "Leave" vote the strong favourite.
Betting exchange Betfair moved to odds of 8/13, an implied probability of a Brexit of more than 60 per cent. Ladbrokes had odds of 4/7, an implied probability of 63 per cent.
7.06 a.m.: A slew of new voting results from England, Wales and London are supporting the campaign to pull Britain out of Europe and that means warning signs for the "Remain" camp.
The first four results from Wales have shown majorities for the "leave" camp, even in Swansea, an urban area where "remain" had been expected to perform well.
The "leave" campaign also appeared to be doing better-than-expected in northeast England, where voters overwhelmingly chose to leave the E.U.
Early indications showed high turnout in London, where the "remain" side is expected to dominate, but some commentators said turnout would have to be even higher to counterbalance the "leave" vote elsewhere.
6.45 a.m.: Though no exit polls had been commissioned, an "on the day" survey by YouGov late last night predicted a 52 per cent vote share for the Remain camp as opposed to 48 per cent for 'Brexit' or Britain's exit from the economic bloc.
The final national result is to be officially declared by U.K. Electoral Commission's chief counting officer Jenny Watson from Manchester Town Hall.
6.20 a.m.: Google: Spike in searches about U.K. 'Leave' win
The results from the British referendum on European Union membership are still far too incomplete to draw any solid conclusions.
Google Trends says there has been a 250 per cent spike in searches for the phrase "what happens if we leave the EU" in the past hour.
6.05 a.m.: The neck-and-neck nature of the British referendum vote count had politicians and pollsters predicting an all-nighter for a nervous nation.
Senior Labour official John McDonnell is predicting a final result which will put both sides within one or two percentage points of each other.
One pollster described the vote as hanging "on a knife edge".
Former Labour leader Ed Milliband told Sky News that the vote would be very close, saying "I think this is going to be a long night."
5.31 a.m.: British pound drops sharply as votes come in
The British pound is getting whipsawed by volatile trading as initial results from the vote on whether the U.K. should remain in the European Union showed the race is too close to call.
The currency surged shortly after the polls closed on Thursday, climbing to a 2016 peak of $1.50 after a leading proponent of the "leave" vote indicated he thought his side was heading for a loss. But the pound sold off falling 4 cents in 5 minutes after counts from cities including Newcastle and Sunderland showed the result was far from certain.
The pound was trading at about $1.453.
5.45 a.m: Opinion polls suggest that Britons have voted in a referendum to stay in the European Union, but the first few official results put the 'Brexit' campaign ahead, prompting wild swings in the value of the pound. – Reuters
4.45 a.m.: The 'Remain' side has scored only a narrow victory in the large northern English city of Newcastle.
Official figures show that 50.7 per cent of voters in Newcastle backed U.K. membership in the European Union and 49.3 per cent wanted to leave.
The odds of a 'Remain' victory fell from almost 90 per cent to 72 per cent on the Betfair exchange, and the pound which had soared after polls suggested a 'Remain' victory fell by 1.5 cents against the dollar to $1.4830.
University of Strathclyde political scientist John Curtice told the BBC "it may be possible that the experts are going to have egg on their face later on tonight. It may be the first sign that the 'remain' side are not going to do as well as those early polls suggested."
4.35 a.m.: The vote counting in the northern England area of Leeds and neighbouring Kirklees was briefly abandoned for a minute's silence in honour of lawmaker Jo Cox, who was stabbed and shot to death in the run-up to the referendum.
The killing of Cox, a parliamentarian with Britain's opposition Labour Party, shocked the country and prompted both the 'Remain' and the "leave" camps to suspend their campaigning.
Television footage showed ballot papers being set aside as counters stood up and bowed their heads late Thursday before resuming their work. Cox's death has loomed large over the vote, darkening the tone of an already fiercely fought campaign.
4.20 a.m.: U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage says "the euroskeptic genie is now out of the bottle and it will not be put back."
Mr. Farage appeared to walk back on his apparent concession after the British polls closed Thursday night on the E.U. referendum, telling reporters in London that "maybe just under half, maybe just over half of the country" had voted to pull Britain out of the E.U.
Still, he struck a downbeat note, saying the government's decision to extend the voter registration deadline before the vote had probably tipped the scales in the 'Remain' camp's favour.
Mr. Farage says "win or lose this battle tonight, we will win this war." He says "we will get our independence back. We will get our country back. We will get our borders back."
4.15 a.m.: Gibraltar, the first British territory to announce its E.U. referendum result, says an overwhelming 95.8 per cent of its voters have backed remaining in the bloc.
Gibraltar's leader, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, says a lopsided pro-E.U. vote was always expected because of the British overseas territory's dependence on maintaining easy cross-border travel and trade with neighbouring E.U. member Spain.
The strategic spot overlooking the western entrance to the Mediterranean was seized by Britain in 1704. Today the territory, barely 7 sq. km in size, is home to more than 30,000 British citizens.
Gibraltar electoral officials say of the 20,172 people who voted, 19,322 chose to remain in the E.U.
4 a.m.: Pollster Ipsos MORI says a survey conducted on Wednesday and Thursday suggests the 'Remain' side will win Britain's E.U. referendum by a margin of 54 per cent to 46 per cent.
Earlier Thursday, the firm released a poll conducted on Wednesday that indicated a 52-48 victory for 'Remain'. That phone poll of 1,592 people had a margin of error of plus or minus three per centage points.
The firm's chief executive, Ben Page, said continued polling on Thursday referendum day suggested a bigger swing to 'Remain' that gave the 54-46 result.
3.55 a.m.: Early reports suggest a very high turnout in Britain's E.U. referendum.
The first area to officially declare its turnout was Gibraltar, a British enclave at the southern tip of Spain that is expected to heavily back a 'Remain' vote. There, almost 84 per cent of eligible voters turned out to cast ballots.
Local counting officers in several areas say turnout was higher than in last year's general election, which was 66 per cent.
The last time Britain had a referendum on its E.U. membership, in 1975, turnout was 65 per cent.
3.25 a.m.: Dozens of Conservative lawmakers who called for Britain to leave the European Union have signed a letter saying Prime Minister David Cameron should stay in office whichever side wins the membership referendum.
The letter signed by 84 legislators says "whatever the British people, decide you have both a mandate and a duty to continue leading the nation implementing our policies."
That leaves more than 60 Brexit-supporting Tory lawmakers who did not sign.
The referendum on the E.U. has deeply split Mr. Cameron's Conservative party. Mr. Cameron led the 'Remain' campaign, but senior figures including Justice Secretary Michael Gove and former London Mayor Boris Johnson backed a 'Leave' vote.
Many observers feel Mr. Cameron will have to resign if Britons vote to leave the 28-nation bloc.
3:15 a.m.: Vote counting begins
British Electoral Commission Chair Jenny Watson says the first stages of the vote counting process are now underway in Britain's referendum on membership in the European Union.
Polling station workers were seen rushing ballot boxes to be counted. – AP
2:45 a.m.: UKIP's Farage says looks like Remain to win EU vote
UKIP leader Nigel Farage, a key figure calling for Britain to leave the European Union, has said it looks like the Remain camp will win Thursday's referendum, the campaigner told Sky News on Thursday.
Sterling rose after Mr. Farage, who has long campaigned to leave the EU, said it "looks like Remain will edge it". Polls have now closed for the vote. – Reuters
2:40 a.m., Friday: Polls close in UK referendum on EU membership
The voting on Thursday was hampered by torrential rain and some flooding in London and parts of southeast England.
Counting will begin immediately with results expected Friday morning. Final polls suggested a close race. – AP
6:30 p.m.: Parvati Menon, Our London Correspondent gives a mid-day (at 1300 GMT) round up
Torrential rain and flooding in parts of southeast Britain, including London, saw polling get off on Referendum day to a sluggish start with momentum picking up towards midday. The prediction that bad weather will deter voters from getting to their polling booths was proven wrong as by midday reports of long queues outside polling stations had started coming in.
Around 4.5 million citizens are eligible to vote in the Referendum on the question "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or should it leave the European Union." The referendum outcome is crucial for Britain's future. If a majority vote to leave, Prime Minister David Cameron is predicted to step down, leaving to his successor – former London Mayor Boris Johnson most likely, to begin the process of extricating the country from the elaborate web of links to the EU.
Much will depend on how the undecided 10 per cent vote. The very last poll opinion poll, conducted by Ipsos Mori and released today puts Remain at 52 per cent and Leave at 48 per cent. Polling booths are open for voting from 7 am to 10 am, after which counting begins. The results will come in through the night, with the final result known by the morning of July 24.
There are strict guidelines on how media can report the voting process. While they can report factual developments, they are not allowed to publish/broadcast anything that could be interpreted as supporting either side. Exit polls are not allowed in the referendum.
A member of Parliament from a constituency in west London, and who did not wish to be named, told the Hindu that the turnout appears to be marginally higher in that particular constituency than it had been for the general elections last year. (For the UK voter turnout was 66 per cent in the 2015 elections).
3.48 p.m.: New EU referendum poll puts 'Remain' at 52% – AFP
2.05 p.m.: Voters in parts of Britain are facing floods and torrential downpours as they cast their ballots in the referendum. London is expecting a month's rainfall in a few hours. Overnight thunderstorms flooded some streets, homes and businesses. Commuters also suffered disruptions. The Environment Agency has issued four flood warnings and 22 flood alerts across the southeastern part of the country. Sunny weather is predicted for much of the rest of the country.
Pollsters say turnout will be a critical factor in the vote. A large turnout will favour the 'Remain' campaign as those who waver at the end tend to go for the status quo.
1.50 p.m.: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn votes at a polling station in Islington.
1.30 p.m.: British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha vote in the E.U. referendum at Central Methodist Hall, Wesminster.
1.20 p.m.: After the voting closes at 9 p.m. GMT, sealed ballot boxes will be collected and transported to the count venue for each of the 382 local counting areas. These represent all 380 local government areas in England, Scotland and Wales, plus one each for Northern Ireland and Gibraltar.
1.11 p.m.: What happens after the polls? The referendum's outcome is hard to predict, because there is little precedent Britain hasn't had a referendum on Europe since 1975. Opinion polls were notoriously inaccurate about Britain's 2015 election, and vary widely. Some show a lead for the "remain" side, while others put "leave" ahead.
Once the results are in, they will be announced by region rather than by constituency.
12.31 p.m.: Turnout is considered critical in the vote, as polling suggested there were a number of undecided voters. Those who waver at the end tend to go for the status quo, which would favour the 'Remain' campaign.
It was raining heavily in some parts of the country, which could have an effect on turnout. Downpours and flooding swamped parts of London and southeastern Britain. London's Fire Brigade received hundreds of calls of weather-related incidents early Thursday, including some reports of flooding and lighting strikes.
12.12 p.m.: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says there will be a big impact on the global economy if Britain votes to leave the European Union.
"It would be a very big shock, there is no doubt about that. … There will be obviously be great efforts to ensure that the consequences of that shock are minimized," Turnbull told reporters.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters it is in Australia's "national interest for a strong Britain, an indispensable friend and ally of ours, to remain within the European Union."
12.05 p.m.: With no exit polls under way, the result is unlikely to begin emerging before about 8.30 a.m. IST (3 a.m. GMT) on Friday. On the eve of the historic referendum, two polls — both conducted over the Internet — put the 'Leave' camp ahead by one or two percentage points, well within the margin of error.
In one telephone poll, however, 'Remain' took a notable lead of 48 per cent, ahead of 'Leave' on 42 per cent with the rest undecided, according a survey by ComRes for the Daily Mail and ITV News.
11.50 p.m.: The often acrimonious, deeply-emotional campaign has exposed a gulf among Britons on membership of Europe. The Thursday editions of British newspapers captured the drama of voting day. "Independence day" was the headline of the pro-BrexitSun, while The Times called it a "Day of reckoning".
11.35 a.m.:
Polling stations remain open until 9 p.m. GMT (2.30 a.m. IST, Friday) and an indication of the overall outcome could emerge around 3 a.m. GMT on Friday (8.30 a.m. IST).
Watch video: The Brexit question
'Independence Day'
The often acrimonious, deeply-emotional campaign has exposed a gulf among Britons on membership of Europe.
The Thursday editions of British newspapers captured the drama of voting day. "Independence day" was the headline of the pro-Brexit Sun, while The Times called it a "Day of reckoning".
Leading Brexit backer Boris Johnson, a former London mayor, who is widely touted as a future Prime Minister, insisted the 'Leave' campaign was on the brink of victory.
"I do think that we are on the verge, possibly, of an extraordinary event in the history of our country and indeed in the whole of Europe," Mr. Johnson said in eastern England in a final scramble for support on Wednesday.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who has staked his political legacy on the referendum, implored people to vote to stay in the bloc at a final rally in Birmingham on the eve of voting.
"Winston Churchill didn't give up on European democracy… and we shouldn't walk away," he said.
"Our economy will suffer if we leave," he warned.
'Out is out'
"If you jump out of the aeroplane, you cannot clamber back through the cockpit hatch. That is why anyone in any doubt should vote remain tomorrow."
EU leaders warned Britons that there would be no turning back from a vote to quit.
"Out is out," European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said in Brussels on Wednesday, dismissing any talk of a post-vote renegotiation of Britain's membership terms.
French President Francois Hollande warned an exit would be "irreversible".
A British withdrawal from the E.U. would trigger a lengthy exit negotiation, leading to the loss of unfettered access to its partners in the E.U.'s single market and forcing the country to strike its own trade accords across the world.
In Europe, the referendum has raised concerns of a domino effect of exit votes that would imperil the integrity of the bloc, already buffeted by the eurozone and migration crises.
Though many voters fret over the financial consequences of a Brexit, others relish the prospect of taking back power from Brussels and reining in high levels of immigration.
The referendum battle had paused for three days to honour the brutal murder of Jo Cox, a pro-'Remain' British lawmaker and mother of two who was stabbed, shot and left bleeding to death on the pavement a week ahead of the vote.
"Jo's killing was political. It was an act of terror," her husband Brendan Cox told around 5,000 people gathered in London's Trafalgar Square on Wednesday on what would have been her 42nd birthday.
Thomas Mair, 52, has been charged with Cox's murder.
On his first appearance in court on Saturday, he gave his name as "Death to traitors, freedom for Britain".
A psychiatric report was requested.
E.U. leaders will open a two-day summit in Brussels on Tuesday to deal with the result and decide how to cope with the risk of similar referendums on the continent that could threaten the bloc's integrity.
(With inputs from news agencies)
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You are here: Home › Oilers return to Olean
Oilers return to Olean
By Kevin Reichard on June 5, 2012 in College Baseball, News
After 60 years, the Olean (N.Y.) Oilers (summer collegiate; NYCBL) are back on the field, not as an MiLB affiliate but as a summer-collegiate squad.
The original Olean Oilers played in the the Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York (PONY) League from 1939 to 1951 and 1955 to 1956, and in the New York-Pennsylvania League from 1957 to 1958.
The new summer-collegiate team is owned by a local nonprofit — the same nonprofit working to restore Bradner Stadium, the team's original home, as the new home of the Oilers. (The team is playing this season at a local college field.) Bradner Stadium is one of the more interesting venues in baseball: opening in 1928, the triangle-shaped facility put a diamond in one corner, leading to short fences in right and faraway fences in left. The current renovation plan looks like it's more suited for football and soccer than for baseball, so we'll see if fundraising efforts are successful.
The Oilers, by the way, dropped a 5-2 decision to the Hornell Dodgers.
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Casper Cutthroats open season; will it be a short tenure?
Updated: Duck Pond, Madison Mallards


Have you seen our new Information board?!
We have now gone live with Engage Consult.
If you would like to ask a question to the GP, Nurse or even if it is something you wish to talk to the Admin Team about, you can now ask those questions online and send us a message directly.
Just click on this picture on the home screen to get started.
Tina will be retiring from post in March 2019.
We would all like to wish Tina a very happy (and peaceful) retirement.
We would also like to thank Tina for her many years of service in the NHS and with the Hallgate Surgery team.
Tina will be greatly missed.
Dr Hancocks has worked for the NHS for many years and came to work as a GP in Cottingham in 1988 taking over the Hallgate Surgery from the previous GP.
His last day at the practice will be Monday 14th January 2019 and it is with a heavy heart that we will be saying goodbye to him. However, I am sure you will all agree with us that after many years of dedication to his patients and the NHS he deserves a long and happy retirement.
Zoe has been a vital part to the practice team leading on palliative care for the surgery.
We wish Zoe all the best in her endeavours in the future, she will be missed.
We will be open as normal Monday 26th February at the new site.
For further information please talk to reception.
It's the end of an era but as a practice we are all excited for the future and look forward to you all sharing this journey with us!
FLU VACCINATIONS NOW AVAILABLE TO ALL- PLEASE GET IN TOUCH!
We are pleased to announce that Dr Lindsay Guest is now doing two sessions a week, so is available to see patients on a Tuesday and Thursday morning.
We are looking for patient's from all demographics to sign up to our Patient Participation Group. The aim of the Group is to help us find out from you what we do well and what we can do better to ensure we continue to maintain a high level of service. Being part of this group may involve us contacting you via telephone or email or you may need to attendance at a regular meeting.If you are interested in joining our PPG, please get in touch with a member of our Reception team for more information.
We are pleased to announce that we currently accepting new patients. If you would like to join our Practice, please call 01482 845832 for more information.


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The heart of Hezbollah's people's army
The Lebanese civil war in Syria
While part of Western opinion is lobbying for a military intervention in Syria, everyone seems to be distracted from the real targets: the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran. MO* reporter Pieter Stockmans penetrated the fog of war and travelled for a month through the source of mobilization of the Syrian regime and Iran: the three "Hezbollah states" in Lebanon.
Pieter Stockmans . 9 January 2014
Jamal Jeshi keeps his prayer mat and Koran in a tree on the terrace. Overlooking the valley shrouded in olive trees, he is praying for the faith of the Shia population and the soul of his son, Ali. The living room is decorated with a life-sized poster of Ali depicting a winged coffin and the Hezbollah logo, and a poster of the Shiite cleric Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Secretary General since 1992. He and the Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei are the only ones authorized to call for a holy war and to decide on the use of Hezbollah's arms.
The Jeshi family is dressed in black. Jamal talks freely about his son: 'Ali was the first martyr of Jouayia to fall in Syria. Now he is the son of the entire village. His picture is everywhere.' The houses in southern Lebanon serve as a bulletin board of bearded old leaders and armed young martyrs. Yellow flags of the Islamic resistance color the large grey expanse of building blocks on the mountainside behind Tyre.
As a mother who lost two sons, Rabaab is dying on the inside, but religious doctrine is filling her with new strength: 'Our suffering pales in comparison to imam Hussein's, who lost his family in the massacre of Karbala. We are proud to sacrifice for the Shia community, following their example.' (The Prophet did not appoint a successor. Following consultation, his best friend Abu Bakr was chosen. However, a group of Muslims disagreed and wanted to keep the leadership within the family. They elected the Prophet's nephew and son-in-law, Ali, as their leader. This group of followers of Ali became the Shias, the others the Sunnis. The insurrection of Ali's son Hussein was repressed in 680 in Karbala, Iraq.)
Ali Jeshi had already been to Syria nine times. Every time he had left a video message in which he explained his motives. 'In the name of God, Imam Ali and our homeland I am going to protect our religion against the enemy. If I would not go there, they would come here.' Ali was echoing the discourse of his leaders, Hassan Nasrallah and the Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei. In early 2013 they called for a holy war against the Syrian rebels.
Jamal's eyes are glowing with pride looking at his son in military uniform on the computer screen. His blind faith in Nasrallah is solid as a rock, even though his son did not die in his own land against Israel, but against Syrian rebels abroad.
Rabaab is eager to explain the whole story, when a stranger enters the living room. 'If you want to talk about this subject with these people, you are going to need to ask permission from Manar TV', he conveys to us kindly, convincingly playing his role of Hezbollah agent. With a forced smile Rabaab accepts that her mouth is gagged and that Ali's story belongs to the party. Jamal apologizes for the way things work around here.
According to Hazem al-Amin, an independent Shiite journalist from the southern village of Chakra, the Shia-Islamic "Party of God" founded in 1982 by Lebanese and Iranian religious leaders attempted to transform the Shias from a hospitable people into distrustful militants.
'But just ten minutes after the man left, the couple is already breaking the imposed gag order, speaking freely about their son Ali. Little Batoel is looking rather sad. Rabaab denies that Batoel is suffering from her father's absence. 'For the first time she has the highest marks at school. She is trying her very best because her father is watching her from paradise.'
Later she admits: 'Everyday I cry and I do not want Batoel to witness that. She has to see her father's death as a positive thing.'
Instrument of Iran
Picking a martyr from the many street posters is dead simple; entering the house of a fallen Hezbollah fighter on the other hand, is not done. Especially since the popular army is at war. Moreover, Ali Jeshi was a big fish: he was the personal disciple of Imad Moughniyeh, one of the highest military leaders of Hezbollah who was killed in Syria in 2008.
About an hour later we are presented with the bill. 'Cease your inquiries. You are getting caught up in something bigger than yourself', an anonymous voice on the phone threatens. Big brother is watching us.
'The Southern Lebanese are living under totalitarian control. The party is registering every family, where they live, who they are, what their profession is. You better go to Jarjouaa, an ex-communist nest where you can find small cracks in the wall', Nasser Hamoud had advised us.
Nasser Hamoud is the southern coordinator of the anti-Syrian Future Movement of the assassinated prime minister Rafiq Hariri, a Sunni leader who attempted to bring down sectarianism and who still enjoys popularity among Sunnis, Christians and secular Shias. The movement lost much of its influence since the assassination of Hariri.
Jarjouaa is located about 20 kilometers southeast of Sidon, where church bells and muezzins echo through the hills. Hezbollah-posters are constantly recurring elements in the streets of every village - whether they are Shia, Sunni, Christian-Shia or Christian-Sunni (there is no village where Shias and Sunnis are living together).
'Sunnis supporting the Syrian rebels better keep quiet here. But to me too, as a secular Shia, the omnipresence of Hezbollah feels like an occupation', professor Mouhammad Ali Moukallad explains. He's inviting his friends over for dinner. The grey eminences are being silenced since Hezbollah eliminated the communist resistance and then monopolized the anti-Israeli resistance.
'In 1982, as a member of the central committee of the Communist Party, I was living in a flat near the mosque where Hezbollah was secretly set up', Moukallad says. 'After an agreement between Iran and Syria, Hezbollah eliminated the communist resistance leaders. I had to escape to Paris. Until today, Southern Lebanon is a one-party state.'
In 2009, Moukallad ran for parliament. 'It was a symbolic act. I told the voters that I wasn't taking part in the elections in order to get elected, but to demonstrate that there are other ways within the Shia community. However, nobody dared to receive me. Hezbollah had spread rumors that I was a spy for Israel and that everyone who'd vote for me would be considered a traitor to the resistance.'
Moukallad is determined to continue his kamikaze campaign in the 2014 elections. 'This time I really want to oppose', he says. 'Hezbollah is going to self-destruct in Syria, Assad will fall, Iran will weaken, and Hezbollah will turn into a regular Lebanese party instead of the Syrian-Iranian army in Lebanon. That will force them to compromise.'
Sayyed Hani Fahs, one of the few critical Shia voices, is sharing this analysis. He is facilitating talks between Iran and the Syrian opposition. 'I do not consider Hezbollah itself to be the problem, but rather the weapons they possess. Since Israel retreated from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah no longer needs to maintain an armed militia. Fighting alongside Assad is unmasking them as an instrument of Iranian politics. I tell Nasrallah and Khamenei: reason takes you further than muscle power. Strengthen the resistance by engaging all Syrians in an alliance.'
Neither Moukallad nor Fahs are harboring any ambition to address adherents of Hezbollah. 'The religious Shias are not ready for secular politics. They behave like an Iranian diaspora in Lebanon, as subjects of the Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei, rather than Lebanese citizens', Fahs explains. Just like the secular Shias, the secular Sunnis of the Future Movement are anxiously waiting for the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
But they cannot cooperate. 'Everyone willing to cooperate with us is being stigmatized as pro-Israel by Hezbollah', says Nasser Hamoud of the Future Movement. 'Politically we are sidelined, while fundamentalist Sunni imams like Ahmad Assir are heating up our electorate by preaching sectarian hatred against the Shias.'
Hamoud, Moukallah and Fahs share a dream: to solve the conflict between Shias and Sunnis by taking power away from religious leaders and to reduce the influence of Iran and Syria in Lebanon. But the loyalty of Lebanese Shias to the Syrian regime and Iran is strong. There is no place where this is more tangible than in Baalbek.
Assad, president of Baalbek
Driving from Beirut into the Beqaa Valley, one can see Syria in the distance, but the border is little more than a line on a map. Militia and weapons are moving back and forth. The Hezbollah intelligence service is having its hands full. Since the party is fighting alongside the regime in Syria, more security incidents have been occurring in the Beqaa Valley.
Tourists are staying away. Moustafa Ossmans' hotel is as desolated as the Roman temples of Baalbek. Nonetheless he remains confident: 'Tourists will return when we win the war. Nasrallah always keeps his promises. Hezbollah will wipe everything clean. Yesterday they pulled over a car on the speedway in Hermel that was packed with weapons. A couple of weeks ago they intercepted suicide terrorists.'
On the broad avenue where Ali and Sadeq are enjoying the soothing music of an open-air bar, like-minded young guys are demonstrating the noise their sports cars are capable of producing. Ali, a future engineer, and Sadeq, a marketing student, both like fast cars, girls, guns and… Imam Hussein. Sadeq bares his chest, on which the Imam's face is tattooed. 'His father Ali should have succeeded the Prophet', he says.
Then he jumps to present-day Syria as if the current conflict and the one 1,400 years ago are the same. 'In Syria the Sunnis once again started a war against us. They are fighting against the president and they want to wipe out every trace of the Shia faith.'
From a speeding car sounds an impassioned voice. 'People are burning Hassan Nasrallah's speeches on discs and listen to them in their cars. He and the president are defending the Shias. We Shias feel a worldwide connection', Ali explains. The slogan "Together towards freedom" underneath the poster depicting Nasrallah and "the President" Assad suddenly takes on a sectarian connotation.
While Ali as a Lebanese is explaining why the Syrian Bashar al-Assad is his president, the Syrian waiters – Sunnis, sympathizing with the rebels – come to take our order. The waiters: servants today but favored by a dictatorship of the majority tomorrow? Ali and Sadeq: bursting with confidence today but victims of historical revenge of a Sunni majority demanding a bigger piece of the pie tomorrow? Ali looks at the familiar portraits of his leaders. 'I cannot imagine a life without their protection', he says.
Ali and Sadeq are spending their summer evenings at the house of their rich friend Basjir. They are smoking water pipe, listening to AC/DC and showing off their machine-guns. Every family in Baalbek is armed. Protection of the marijuana fields and resistance against the authorities are a part of the local culture. Armed conflicts between rivalling clans are far from unusual.
According to Ali this might be one of the reasons why a lot of Hezbollah fighters originate in Baalbek: they have a strong sense of honor, they are easily provoked and they know how to handle weapons.
A seat at the negotiation table
Ali shows us a video. A crowd is carrying the coffin of a Hezbollah martyr through the streets of Baalbek, people are shooting their guns in the air. 'We demonstrate our honor and power. Nobody messes with the Shias', he says. Suddenly Sadeq fires his machine gun into the pitch-black night sky; the deafening noise drowns out the muezzin. In this valley, honor and religion are keeping a regime in the saddle protecting a besieged minority by armed militia. Sectarian fear is compelling young men to risk their lives without any perspective of a positive outcome. Their leaders Khamenei, Nasrallah and Assad are awakening the fear sleeping in the hearts of the Lebanese Shias, and building the pride of belonging to the Shia nation, so that they would join the ranks of Hezbollah for the battle in Syria.
Volunteers are plenty. Ali was one of them, but he was not selected because he had to stay at home with his family. One of his childhood friends of his was among the chosen ones. 'Of course I am scared to lose him, but I will be happy for him if he can be a martyr,' Ali says. 'He is willing to talk to you, but during his military training he cannot be seen with foreigners.' One only gets to see Hezbollah fighters once they have died, on the ever-present posters. Through modern technology however, we are able to circumvent this issue.
'Nasrallah said that extremist Sunnis pose an even bigger threat than Israel', the anonymous fighter tells us through WhatsApp. 'We have to stop them in Syria before they gain too much power and we lose ours. They are collaborating with Israel to weaken us. I am not a terrorist. I am defending my religion and my country against Western imperialism. If Assad would fall, yet another domino in the anti-Israeli resistance axis would crumble. We are the last ones still fighting for the liberation of Palestine.'
'Our faith in God is growing with each martyr. We are only getting stronger', are the final words that appear on Ali's iPhone. Is this a hidden message to the West, that in the event of a Western military intervention in Syria, the response will come from Lebanon and Iran?
Journalist Hazem al-Amin is arguing that Hezbollah is not taking care of things in Syria for Assad, but for Iran. 'With Hezbollah's involvement in Syria, Iran is demanding a role in the negotiations about the future of the Middle East. They are defending the results of thirty years of political Shiism against the United States of America. They helped the Shias in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon rise from a marginalized group to a powerful player. With a cocktail of religious, political and socioeconomic fears Hezbollah is mobilizing their Syria fighters '
Lebanon is paying a high price for that. If the intelligence services of Hezbollah declared code red in the Beqaa Valley, they are in complete disarray in the capital. Syrian rebels are hitting Hezbollah in the beating heart of their stronghold Southern Beirut. The once untouchable Hezbollah is vulnerable.
The beating heart of Hezbollah
On 9 July 2013, a car bomb explodes in Bir el-Abed, the heart of the capital of Hezbollah. After this attack, nobody is willing to talk to foreigners anymore. Joined by the famous journalist Diana Moukalled, member of a prominent Shia family from the south, we are driving through Khandak el-Ghamik, a Shia neighborhood in the centre of Beirut.
'What I am doing now is not without risk. In just a few seconds every group of men you see here on the street, for example those standing by that Syrian flag, might start acting as agents of the party', she says. Nervously she scans the area. 'Smuggling a bomb into this neighborhood requires detailed information. Thank God nobody died, but the message could become more deadly if Hezbollah would not withdraw from Syria.'
Hassan Illeik, a pro-Hezbollah journalist from the southern neighborhoods, is arguing that all the dead and injured of Hezbollah, all the dead in Syria and the instability of Lebanon, is the unavoidable collateral damage of a necessary decision. 'If we would not fight in Syria, the price would be even higher: Syria would be gobbled up by Israel. Instinctively people are sensing that the weakening of Hezbollah would be a victory for Israel.'
Ahmed Moussa, a charming taxi driver from Haret Hraik, disagrees. 'Hezbollah is feared, not loved. They are defending a terrible dictator. And if the West would attack Syria, Iran would ask Hezbollah to fire missiles on Israel. And once again we would pay the price. Do you think we would like a new Israeli bombing campaign? People are afraid to say this out loud. If Hezbollah had not kidnapped the Israeli soldiers in 2006, nothing would have happened here. You see all the new building blocks? All of that was destroyed.' In Bir el-Abed we can see traces of more recent destruction: the car wreck is still there.
Ahmed arrived in the south of Beirut in 1983, after working as an usher at the American airbase in Saudi Arabia. 'I love Americans', he laughs. 'Certainly you will find people who do not like foreigners, but they are brainwashed.'
A visit to the southern Beirut neighborhood of Ouzai, in the home of pro-Assad Shia refugees from the Syrian town of Homs, is showing us just how strong the thought police is over here. The sight of a bunch of foreigners in this popular neighborhood is causing a woman to run down hysterically from the fourth flour of a building block and to start shouting at us, 'Spies! Spies!'
It only takes a couple of minutes for an angry mob to surround our car. We are being taken aside for interrogation by undercover Hezbollah agents. 'What are you doing here? What is your profession? Where are you staying? Who is that journalist? Where are you from?' Najaf, a holy Shia city in Iraq. Our translator is Shia, Hezbollah is a Shia movement. You are free to go.
Outside another portrait of the Syrian president is displayed, and yet another one in front of Weam Wahhab's office in Ouzai. Wahhab is a Lebanese ex-minister who founded his own pro-Syria party in 2006.
'The Syrian army and Hezbollah are trying to protect the people against Islamic terrorism', he says, an explanation similar to the one given by the refugee family from Homs, who were pointing fingers at "terrorists" while the missile that turned their house into dust was actually fired by the Syrian Air Force.
On 15 August 2013, a second car bomb explodes in South Beirut. 27 people are killed and another 200 injured. The longer Hezbollah's time in Syria, the higher the price they are paying. That is why the ever-invisible Hezbollah agents are stepping out of the shadows: suddenly they are guarding checkpoints in South Beirut, armed but still in civilian clothes. 23 August 2013: this time two car bombs are detonated next to Sunni mosques in the northern city of Tripoli. 47 people are killed, 800 severely wounded. Inhabitants are blaming Hezbollah, who are denying any responsibility.
Are we returning to the Beirut of the nineties with car wrecks, ruined buildings and armed militia? Lebanon, country of institutionalized division, of the sleeping civil war awoken by the big powers as soon as their regional interests are threatened? I began this research with the central question 'What is the impact of the Syrian civil war on Lebanon?' I end it with the following: 'What is the impact of the Lebanese civil war on Syria?'
See accompanying photography reports by Xander Stockmans here: The South – Baalbek, Beqaa Valley – South Beirut
Pieter Stockmans is an investigative journalist. He realizes a long-term project on the Middle East and North Africa. Follow him through these channels: Between Freedom and Happiness facebookpage, Worldblog MO*, Twitter (in Dutch)
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Pieter Stockmans
Europese Unie en Oost-Europa
Pieter Stockmans volgt het mondiale optreden van de Europese Unie, het Europese vluchtelingenbeleid, de evoluties in Midden-Europa en de regio ten oosten van de EU.
Actieve thema's
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Q: How to reference a cell to the left of active cell in google script Need to reference a cell in an email subject.
Need to reference the cell left to the active cell i.e if cell in column B is changed, reference cell in same row in collumn A.
All of the code works apart from
var productname = range.getvalue("A"+range.getRow);

Would be very grateful if someone can point out as to where I am going wrong! Sure this will be very easy for someone that knows what they are doing.
function onEdit(e) {

      var range = e.range;

      if(range.getValue() < 100) {
        var productname = range.getvalue("A"+range.getRow);
        var message = "Product variant" + productname + "has dropped to " + range.getValue();
        var subject = "Stock Notification";
        var emailAddress = "email@emailaddress.com";
        MailApp.sendEmail(emailAddress, subject, message);

      }
    }

A: Try
var productname = range.offset(0,-1).getValue();

However, you may have to 'limit' the trigger to a certain sheet and even a certain column (col B ?)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Google exhibit lets you explore the Sydney Opera House from your couch
By Christian de Looper	 April 27, 2016
Nadezda Zavitaeva
You can get the full Sydney Opera House experience without even booking a plane ticket. Well, almost. Google has launched a new interactive feature on Google Maps that puts you inside the Opera House, one of the most iconic buildings in the world.
The online exhibit was launched by the Google Cultural Institute, which hosts virtual museums from all over the world, and through it you can check out more than 1,000 of the building's artifacts. These include early architectural designs by Jørn Utzon, rare photos of the building in its early stages, and information about the Opera House's massive mechanical organ, which is the largest in the world.
"The sculptural elegance of the Opera House has made it one of the most recognizable buildings of the 20th century," said Kate Lauterbatch, program manager at the Google Cultural Institute, in a blog post. "In addition to exhibits which tell the stories of the history and development of this architectural masterpiece, today's launch includes a brand new 360-degree experience offering insights into the between-the-acts magic of the House."
The experience offers a 360-degree view of the backstage area, which can be looked at either online or using a virtual reality headset. There's even see a virtual performance on the Opera House stage by Nicole Car and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. You can also wander around the outside of the building, taking in the view using new Street View imagery. All this reportedly took six months to put together.
Of course, the new exhibit isn't the first breathtaking exhibit on offer through the Google Cultural Institute — it's not even the first in Australia. The Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Australian War Memorial have both also been put on display by the institute.
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