Fellers, who also seems to have shaped his ideology. Given that del Valle and Fellers were both involved with the Defenders of the American Constitution it would certainly seem both had an interest in establishing a paramilitary network even before they met Gale.

Then there's SOSJ member Charles Willoughby, who would have been Gale's commanding officer during World War II. Russell seems to strongly indicate that Willoughby himself was also actively engaged in this bid by former military officers to create an underground force, a most ominous sign. As noted in the third installment of this series, Willoughby had run a highly effective terror campaign in postwar Japan that so thoroughly crushed dissidents that the party he and MacArthur backed, the Liberal Democratic Party, has remained the ruling partyit helps to make sense of why this feels somewhat like a Russian conspiracy with Oswald's trips to Russia, the White Russian involvement in Texas. Because there IS a Russian element.. but that Russian element seems on closer inspection to be Solidarist, Czarist, and Fascist (not communist) and was working with American Fascists and German Nazis to frame up a lone American far right patsy named Oswald, and if that failed then things could be manipulated into being a Soviet Commie plot....

(MORE) It is also interesting how lefty Tom Hartmann would be pushing a Mafia killed JFK book while at the same time being courted by Russia Today TV. Russia Today's take on everything conspiracy related is to put the blame squarely and fully on the U.S. government.


spends its time blaming Obama rather than asking why the Oklahoma City bombing, the World Trade Center 1993 bombing, Pan Am bombing, 9/11 and other events all have ties to Germany(also why did Seung-Hui Cho shoot up a German class at VTech?). It's because for over half a century THEY haven't really been working for American interests but for the interest of multinational corporates. Go read up on the double-dealing history of Allen Dulles in Switzerland if you want to understand that. It is also why the FBI under Catholic Louis Freeh blamed the Oklahoma City Bombing essentially only on Tim McVeigh and domestic extremists and let the German Andreas Strassmeir escape back to Germany and as far as I know did not punish Canadian Robert G. Millarhere too. The world is waking up to this small gang of closely tied extremists that have been causing a disproportionate amount of the problems and suffering in this world. Having done some research on this myself I have a few ideas where you might be going with the “Holy Grail” regarding conspiracies and SOSJ. The foreign(German/Polish), and Catholic connections around Manson might be hint.

Here is a parting thought to think about regarding 9/11... a guy named Joseph Kasputys had connections in the twin towers before they fell. He had an office in WTC 2 in the area of the impact floors. Kasputys had worked both for McGraw Hill(which the guys over on Emory's spitfire have been speculating on recently) and Data Resources Inc. McGraw had owned DRI.


was necessarily co-opted by an outside force. The Vatican was in point of fact at the forefront of reactionary forces in Europe when the age of democracy began to take hold. In many ways the nadir for the Vatican was the mid-19th century all the way up to the rise of fascism in the 1920s (Mussolini was the one who granted the Vatican statehood after it had be subjugated by a united Italy in the 19th century). I suspect that there are elements within the Vatican who never fully gave up on the dream of a return of feudalism.

The White Russians were likely very important to the history of the twentieth century in the Western world, but especially in the US. They forged close ties with America's fledglingintelligence services in the 1920s and continued this relationship for decades, even through several generations.

Beyond this, a certain element of the fascist underground became enamored with the Soviet Union after Stalin began to crack down on the Jews after WWII. Some, most notably Francis Parker Yockey, believed that this was the beginning of what would become a nationalist revolution in Russia. Yockey himself forges ties Soviet-aligned intelligence services as did other members of the fascist underground.

I suspect that they as well as the White Russian émigré community likely played a significant role in the transformation of Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. Putin's Russia is very much in keeping with Yockey's vision of its future (aside from Putin's embrace of the Orthodox Church).

In this context it's


hardly surprising that Russia has become the darling of the conspiratorial right of late.

I also suspect that Nichols' trip to the Philippines was related to Golden Lilly funds. For decades the Philippines has been something of a playground for the American as well as international far right.

In general the international element of the Reich wing is one of it's most ironic features. The American conspiratorial right has long tried to portray liberalism as a foreign ideology despite the fact that the American far right has long been supported by European and Japanese fascists/Nazis, White Russians, "Overseas" Chinese (who likely played a role similar in the transformation of modern China as did their White Russian counterparts), Latin American oligarchs, Arab fundamentalists, and even the Israelis from time to time.

ReAlphonso Taft was U.S. Ambassador to Imperial Czarist Russia from 1884 to 1885. The Skull and Bones symbol was used both by German Nazis SS and also Czarist imperial Russian soldiers for what its worth. Russell was said to be involved with the Opium trade.

Skull and Bonesman W. Averell Harriman was Ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1945. He lived in the Russian Spaso house which was found to be bugged. The device was called "The Thing" and was given to Harriman as a gift by Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union. This group was a Soviet scout group for 10-15 year olds. So it is said that "The Thing" hung on the wall of the U.S. Ambassadors Spaso House undetected by the U.S. from 1945-1952. The


U.S. Ambassadors to Russia during this time were W. Averell Harriman, Walter Bedell Smith, Alan G. Kirk, George F. Kennan. Check out the history on those characters if you want a real eye opener as to what may be going on.

A bit of Wiki cut and paste on Harriman:Using money from his father he established W.A. Harriman & Co banking business in 1922. In 1927 his brother Roland joined the business and the name was changed to Harriman Brothers & Company. In 1931, it merged with Brown Bros. & Co. to create the highly successful Wall Street firm Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Notable employees included George Herbert Walker and his son-in-law Prescott Bush.

And the damage done to the USA with the aid of the Bush Klan eversince has been incalculable. Trading with the Nazis, tangential involvement in the death of JFK and two expensive Iraq Wars and the War on Terror. It's what happens when an entire nation of people fall asleep.

Alex Brown and Sons from Wiki:Brown's sons eventually started related businesses in various locations, beginning with William. William founded William Brown and Company in Liverpool, England, which later became Brown, Shipley & Co. In 1818, John and James started Brown Bros. & Co. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. James subsequently opened a branch in New York City in 1825, a predecessor to Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

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Alex Brown and Sons was acquired by Bankers Trust in 1997 to form BT Alex. Brown and ultimately integrated into Deutsche Bank following its acquisition in 1999.

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At the time


the oldest privately held bank in the U.S., Alex. Brown & Sons was bought by Bankers Trust in 1997 to form BT Alex. Brown. Two years later, in 1999, BT Alex. Brown was acquired by Deutsche Bank. BT paid $1.7 billion in a stock acquisition of Alex. Brown.

The Alex Brown name initially survived as Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown, the brokerage services division of Deutsche Bank Securities, but is now a part of Deutsche Bank AG.

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Alex. Brown's chairman in 1998 was A. B. "Buzzy" Krongard, who was appointed Executive Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2001.

Pennsylvania was also the home of the Sovereign Order of Saint John's headquarters for years in Shickshinny (hence the reason the Order was sometimes referred to as the Shickshinny Knights of Malta).Pennsylvania has long been home to the Mellon klan, one of the richest and least talked about American "dynasties." Richard Mellon Scaife is a major backer of the modern right (especially the pro-life movement) in addition to being a member of Bohemian Groves (he reportedly initiated Barry Goldwater into the club around the time of his presidential bid).

The Taft family was also at the forefront of the non-interventionist/Nazi appeasement movement prior to WWII as well.

In general, the opium trade seems to be a scarlet thread that connects various individuals and groups involved in this saga.

Good catch on Czarist Russian forces also using the skull and bones image.

Little known fact about The Winnipeg Airport Incident observed by Richard Giesbrecht which involved Anastase Vonsiatsky of the Order of St. John,


Rev. Gerald L K Smith from Christian Identity, and The Nazi Silver Shirts, Ronald Gostick from NARWACL (North American Regional World Anti-Communist League), Eric D. Butler from The Australian League of Rights, and Patrick J. Walsh of The Liberty Lobby. The getaway plane for the attendees was emblazoned with the "World Airways" logo, which was General Clare Chennault's private air transport and cargo operation. This would assure that the passenger manifest would never be disclosed to anyone. The meeting attendees flew into Winnipeg, held the meeting and then flew back, after discussing the payoffs for the JFK hit set for Wichita, Kansas the home of the Koch brothers.

Check out The Suvarov Union from South America which Gen. Pedro A. del Valle was deeply involved with when he workedfor ITT in Chile and Argentina. It provided South American Death Squad training for anyone who hired them. And they were involved with the overthrow of Salvador Allende of Chile and the murder of the Chilean Ambassador to the United States carried out by the Novo brothers and Frank Sturgis in Washington, D.C.. While del Valle was Puerto Rican, he worked hard to hide his Hispanic background while hob-knobbing with the Aryan White Supremacy movement membership who would probably have avoided him if they knew the facts of his ancestry. And delValle once invited an unrepentant Nazi to speak at the U.S. Naval Academy at a conference he had organized. Some of the attendees had lost parents, friends and other relatives to the Nazis during World War II


and objected strenuously to the pending invitation which went through regardless of their objections. Pedro A. del Valle looms as one of the least analyzed of the turncoat Generals in the U.S. Armed Forces like Bonner Fellers, Charles Willoughby, George Stratemeyer and Albert Wedemeyer who have been fairly thoroughly exposed and are now almost universal pariahs except among the diehard Nazis who support them to this day. - J.B.

Bruce Cumings in The Origins of The Korean War Part I and II reveals exactly how Charles Willoughy (with or without the knowledge of MacArthur) managed to stage the incident which led to the outbreak of the Korean War. He dressed up dozens of South Koreans in North Korean uniforms and then had them murdered on the spot as ifthey were actually invading North Korean insurgents. What was their motivation? To profit illegally from their advanced purchasesof Soybean Futures contracts. Both Willoughby, the Hunt family and possibly even Douglas MacArthur made millions when the supply of Soybeans from Korea was essentially curtailed when farmers turned into soldiers on both sides and dropped their plough shares and joined their respective military forces to fight the war which lasted several years. Suppplies were cut in half in very short order and prices soared for the remaining available crops which for the most part were never exported.

Great catch about the Koch's being from Kansas. That had not occurred to me when i wrote this, though I believe old man Koch was a member of the JBS by this time. If


Abd ar-Rahman III (′Abd ar-Rahmān ibn Muhammad ibn ′Abd Allāh ibn Muhammad ibn ′abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Hakam ar-Rabdi ibn Hisham ibn ′abd ar-Rahman ad-Dakhil;[6]Arabic: عبد الرحمن الثالث; 11 January 889/91[14] – 15 October 961) was an ArabEmir and Caliph of Córdoba (912–961) of the Umayyad dynasty in al-Andalus. Called al-Nasir li-Din Allah ("the Defender of God's Faith"), he ascended the throne in his early 20s and reigned for half a century as the most powerful prince of Iberia.[15] Although people of all creeds enjoyed tolerance and freedom of religion under his rule, he repelled the Fatimids, partly by supporting their Maghrawa enemies in North Africa, and partly by claiming the title Caliph (ruler of the Islamic world) for himself.

Abd ar-Rahman was born in Córdoba, the grandson of Abdullahibn Muhammad al-Umawi, seventh independent Umayyad emir of al-Andalus. His parents were Abdullah's son Muhammad and Muzna (or Muzayna), a Christian concubine.[16] His paternal grandmother was also a Christian, the royal infanta Onneca Fortúnez, daughter of the captive king Fortún Garcés of Pamplona. Abd ar-Rahman was thus nephew in the half-blood of queen Toda of Pamplona. He is described as having "white skin, blue eyes and attractive face; good looking, although somewhat sturdy and stout. His legs were short, to the point that the stirrups of his saddle were mounted just one palm under it. When mounted, he looked tall, but on his feet he was quite short. He dyed his beard black.[17]

Muhammad was assassinated by his brother Al-Mutarrif, who had allegedly grown jealous of the favour Muhammad


had gained in the eyes of their father Abdallah. Al-Mutarrif had accused Muhammad of plotting with the rebel Umar ibn Hafsun, and Muhammad had been imprisoned. According to some sources, the emir himself was behind Muhammad's fall, as well as Al-Mutarrif's death in 895. Abd ar-Rahman spent his youth in his mother's harem. Al-Mutarrif's sister, known as al-Sayyida ("the Lady"), was entrusted with his education. She made sure that Abd ar-Rahman's education was conducted with some rigor.[citation needed][18]

Emir Abdallah died at the age of 72. Despite the fact that four of his sons (Aban, Abd al Rahman, Muhammad and Ahmad) were alive at the time of his death, all of them were passed over for succession. Abdallah instead chose as his successor his grandson, Abd al-Rahman III (theson of his first son). This came as no surprise, since Abdallah had already demonstrated his affection for his grandson in many ways, namely by allowing him to live in his own tower (something he did not allow for any of his sons), and allowing him to sit on the throne on some festive occasions. Most importantly Abdallah gave Abd al-Rahman his ring, the symbol of power, when Abdallah fell ill prior to his death. Abd al-Rahman succeeded Abdallah the day after his death, 16 October 912.[6] Historiographers of the time, such as Al-Bayan al-Mughrib and the Crónica anónima de Abd al-Rahman III, state that his succession was "without incident". At the time, Abd al-Rahman was about 21 or 22 years old. He inherited an emirate on the


verge of dissolution, his power extending not far beyond the vicinity of Córdoba.[6] To the north, the Christian Kingdom of Asturias was continuing its program of Reconquista in the Douro valley. To the south in Ifriqiya, the Fatimids had created an independent caliphate that threatened to attract the allegiance of the Muslim population, who had suffered under the harsh rule of Abdullah. On the internal front the discontented Muladi families (Muslims of Iberian origin) represented a constant danger for the Córdoban emir. The most powerful of the latter was Umar ibn Hafsun, who, from his impregnable fortress of Umar ibn Hafsun, controlled much of eastern Al-Andalus.

From the very early stages of his reign, Abd ar-Rahman showed a firm resolve to quash the rebels of al-Andalus, consolidate centralized power,and reestablish internal order within the emirate. Within 10 days of taking the throne, he exhibited the head of a rebel leader in Cordoba.[6] From this point on he led annual expeditions against the northern and southern tribes to maintain control over them. To accomplish his aims he introduced into the court the saqalibah, slaves of East European origin. The saqalibah represented a third ethnic group that could neutralize the endless strife between his subjects of Muslim Arab heritage, and those of Muslim Berber heritage.

Hasdai ibn Shaprut, a Jewish courtier of the king's court who served as financier to the king, wrote of the king's revenues on this wise:

The revenue of the king [Abd ar-Rahman] amounts annually to 100,000 florins, this arising only from the income derived from


the numerous merchants who come hither from various countries and isles. All their commerce and affairs must be subjected to my guidance, praised be the Almighty, who bestows his mercy upon me! The kings of the world no sooner perceive of the greatness of my monarch, than they hasten to convey to him presents in abundance. It is myself who am appointed to receive such presents, and at the same time to return rewards awarded to them.[19]

During the first 20 years of his rule, Abd ar-Rahman avoided military action against the northern Christian kingdoms, Asturias and the Kingdom of Navarre. The Muladi rebels were the first problem he confronted. Those powerful families were supported by Iberians who were openly or secretly Christians and had acted with the rebels.These elements, which formed the bulk of the population, were not averse to supporting a strong ruler who would protect them against the Arab aristocracy.[20] Abd ar-Rahman moved to subdue them by means of a mercenary army that included Christians.

He first had to suppress the rebel Umar ibn Hafsun. On 1 January 913 an army, led by the eunuch Badr, conquered the fortress of Écija, at some 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the capital. All the city's fortifications were destroyed, aside from the citadel, which was left as residence of the governor and a garrison for the emiral troops. In the following spring, after sixty-five days of meticulous preparations, Abd ar-Rahman personally led an expedition to the south of his realm. His troops were able to recover the


coras (provinces) of Jaén and Granada, while a cavalry detachment was sent to free Málaga from ibn Hafsun's siege. He also obtained the capitulation of Fiñana (in the modern province of Almería), after setting fire to its suburbs. Subsequently, he moved against the castle of Juviles in the Alpujarras. After devastating its countryside to deprive it of any resource, he encircled it. Finding it difficult to bombard with catapults, he ordered the construction of a platform where his siege engines could be mounted to greater effect, and cut the water supply. The Muladi defenders surrendered after a few days: their lives, apart from fifty-five die-hards who were beheaded, were spared in exchange of their allegiance to the emir. The campaign continued in a similar vein, lasting for atotal of ninety days. Abd ar-Rahman forced the defeated Muladi to send hostages and treasures to Córdoba, in order to secure their continued submission.

In the first year of his reign, Abd ar-Rahman took advantage of the rivalries between the Banu Hayyay lords of Seville and Carmona to force them to submit. He initially sent a special corps (hasam) under Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hudayr, governor of Écija, to Seville, to obtain their submission. This attempt failed, but gained him the support of Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Hayyay, lord of Carmona, and a cousin of the Sevillan lord, Ahmad ibn Maslama. When the latter was surrounded by Umayyad troops, he sued for help to Ibn Hafsun, but the latter was defeated by the besiegers and returned to Bobastro. He


next went after the forts in the provinces of Elvira, Granada, and Jaen, all of which were either directly or indirectly controlled by Hafsun.[6] Seville finally capitulated on 20 December 913. Ibn al-Mundir al-Qurays, a member of the royal family, was named governor of the city, while the Lord of Carmona obtained the title of vizier. Muhammad ibn Ibrahim enjoyed his office for only a single day, for Abd ar-Rahman soon discovered his collusion with the rebel governor of Carmona. Muhammad was sent to prison, where he later met his death.

Abd ar-Rahman's next objective was to quash the longstanding rebellion of Umar ibn Hafsun.

His troops left Córdoba on 7 May 914 and, after a few days, encamped before the walls of Balda (identified with today's Cuevas de SanMarcos). His cavalry ravaged the nearby woods and the countryside, while the rest of the troopes moved to Turrus, a castle located in the present municipality of Algarinejo, which was surrounded within five days, while its environs were also devastated.

The Umayyad army then moved to the citadel of Umar ibn Hafsun, while the cavalry was sent to the castle of Sant Batir, which was abandoned by the defenders, allowing Abd ar-Rahman's troops to secure a large booty. Then it was the turn of the castles of Olías and Reina. The latter fell after a violent fight, leaving the road open to the major city and provincial capital of Málaga, which he captured after one day. Abd ar-Rahman then turned and followed the coast by Montemayor, near Benahavís, Suhayl


(Fuengirola) and another castle called Turrus or Turrus Jusayn (identified by Évariste Lévi-Provençal as Ojén). He finally arrived at Algeciras on 1 June 914. He ordered a patrol of the coast to destroy the boats that supplied the citadel of Umar ibn Hafsun from the Maghreb. Many of them were captured and set afire in front of the emir. The rebellious castles near Algeciras surrendered as soon as the Cordoban army manifested itself.

Abd ar-Rahman launched three different campaigns against Ibn Hafsun (who died in 917) and his sons. Among them, Jafar ibn Hafsun held the stronghold of Toledo. Abd ar-Rahman ordered ravaged the city's countryside. Jafar, after two years of siege, escaped the city to ask for help in the northern Christian kingdoms. In the meantime Abd ar-Rahmanobtained the surrender of the city from its population, after promising them immunity, although 4,000 rebel men escaped in a night sally. The city surrendered on 2 August 932, after a siege of two years.

The last of Ibn Hafsun to fall was Hafs, who commanded his powerful fortress of Umar ibn Hafsun. Surrounded by Abd ar-Rahman's vizier Said ibn al-Mundhir who had ordered the construction of bastions around the city, he resisted the siege for six months,[6] until he surrendered in 928 and had his life spared.[21]

The continued expeditions against the Hafsunids did not distract Abd ad-Rahman III from the situation of other regions in al-Andalus, which recognized him only nominally, if not being in open revolt. Most of the loyal governors of the cities were in a


weak position, such as the governor of Évora, who could not prevent the attack of the king of Galicia (future king of León), Ordoño II, who captured the city in the summer of 913, taking back a sizable booty and 4,000 prisoners and massacring many Muslims.[6]

In much of the eastern and western province, Abd ar-Rahman's authority was completely unrecognized. The lord of Badajoz, Abd Allah ibn Muhammad, grandson of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Marwan al-Yilliqi, not only fortified his city against a possible attack from Ordoño, but also acted in complete independence from Córdoba. To avoid the fall of Évora into the hands of the Berber groups of the region, he ordered the destruction of its defensive towers and lowered the walls, though a year later he decided toreconstruct it, giving its control to his ally Masud ibn Sa' dun al-Surunbaqi. The Algarve was dominated completely by a muladí coalition led by Sa'id ibn Mal, who had expelled the Arabs from Beja, and the lords of Ocsónoba, Yahya ibn Bakr, and of Niebla, Ibn Ufayr. Alcácer do Sal and Lisbon were under control of the Banu Dānis.

The absence of royal authority enabled Ordoño II to easily campaign in this area, his main objective being the city of Mérida, in the summer of 915. Abd ar-Rahman III did not send an army and only several local Berber jefes offered some resistance which was ineffective.

Letter proclaiming Abd ar-Rahman III's assumption of the caliphal title

We are the most worthy to fulfil our right, and the most entitled to complete


our good fortune, and to put on the clothing granted by the nobility of God, because of the favour which He has shown us, and the renown which He has given us, and the power to which He has raised us, because of what He has enabled us to acquire, and because of what He has made easy for us and for our state [? dynasty; Arabic: dawla] to achieve; He has made our name and the greatness of our power celebrated everywhere; and He has made the hopes of the worlds depend on us [Arabic: a‘laqa], and made their errings turn again to us and their rejoicing at good news be (rejoicing at good news) about our dynasty [Arabic: dawla]. And praise be to God, possessed ofhis claim to the caliphate on his Umayyad ancestors who had held undisputed control of the caliphate until they were overthrown by the Abbasids.

Abd ar-Rahman's move made him both the political and the religious leader of all the Muslims in al-Andalus, as well as the protector of his Christian and Jewish subjects. The symbols of his new caliphate power were a scepter (jayzuran) and the throne (sarir). In the mint he had founded in November 928, Abd ar-Rahman started to mint gold dinars[23] and silver dirhams, replacing the "al-Andalus" title with his name.

In his new role of caliph, he achieved the surrender of Ibn Marwan of Badajoz in 930 as well as the surrender of the Banu Dānis of Alcácer do Sal. On the southern front, to counter


the increasing Fatimid power in North Africa, abd ar-Rahmad ordered the construction of a fleet based in Almeria. The caliph helped the Maghrawa Berbers conquer Melilla (927), Ceuta (931)[6] and Tangiers (951), which accepted his suzerainty. However, he was unable to defeat Jawhar al-Siqilli of the Fatamids.[6] In 951 he signed a peace with the new king of León, Ordoño III, in order to have a free hand against the Fatimids whose ships were harassing the caliphate ones in the Mediterranean and had even launched an assault against Almeria. Abd ar-Rahman's force, led by prime minister Ahmad ibn Said, besieged the Fatimid port of Tunis, which bought its safety through paying a huge sum.[24]

In the end he was able to create a protectorate covering the northern and centralMaghreb, supporting the Idrisid dynasty; the caliphate influence in the area disappeared after a Fatimid offensive in 958, after which abd ar-Rahman kept only the strongholds of Ceuta and Tangiers.

Even before al-Andalus was firmly under his rule, he had restarted the war against King Ordoño II of León, who had taken advantage of the previous troublesome situation to capture some boundary areas and menace the Umayyad territory. In 917 the then emir had sent a large army under his general Ahmad ibn Abi Abda against León, but this force was destroyed at the Battle of San Esteban de Gormaz in September of that year.

Recognizing he had underestimated the power of Ordoño II, in 920 Abd ar-Rahman mustered another powerful army to reclaim the territories lost after the previous


campaign. He captured the forts of Osma and San Esteban de Gormaz.[6] After defeating King Sancho Garcés I of Navarre and the king of Leon at Valdejunquera on 26 July,[6] he penetrated into Navarre, overcoming Aragon by the classic route of the invasions from the south. Abd ar-Rahman reached the Basque city of Pamplona, which was sacked and its cathedral church demolished.

In 924 Abd ar-Rahman felt obliged to avenge the massacre of Viguera castle perpetrated by King Sancho Ordóñez of Navarre one year earlier. he launched counter offensive against Sancho in which Abd ar-Rahman devastated a large area of Basque territory.[25]

The succession crisis which struck León after Ordoño II's death in the same year caused hostilities to cease until Ramiro II obtained the throne in 932; a firstattempt by him to assist the besieged rebels in Toledo was repelled in 932, despite the Christian king capturing Madrid and scoring a victory at Osma.

In 934, after reasserting supremacy over Pamplona and Álava, Abd ar-Rahmad forced Ramiro to retreat to Burgos, and forced the Navarrese queen Toda, his aunt, to submit to him as a vassal and withdraw from direct rule as regent for her son García Sánchez I. In 937 Abd ar-Rahmad conquered some thirty castles in León. Next he turned to Muhammad ibn Hashim at-Tugib, governor of Zaragoza, who had allied with Ramiro but was pardoned after the capture of his city.

Despite early defeats, Ramiro and García were able to crush the caliphate army in 939 at the Battle of Simancas, and almost kill Abd


ar-Rahman,[6] due, most likely, to treason by Arab elements in the caliph's army. After this defeat, Abd ar-Rahman stopped taking personal command of his military campaigns. His cause was helped, however, by Fernán González of Castile, one of the Christian leaders at Simancas, who subsequently launched a sustained rebellion against Ramiro. The victory of Simancas enabled the Christian kingdom to maintain the military initiative in the peninsula until the defeat of Ramiro's successor, Ordoño III of León, in 956. However they did not press this advantage as civil war broke out in the Christian territories.

Until 961, the caliphate played an active role in the dynastic strife characterizing the Christian kingdom during the period. Ordoño III's half-brother and successor, Sancho the Fat, had been deposed by his cousin OrdoñoIV. Together with his grandmother Toda of Navarre, Sancho sought an alliance with Córdoba. In exchange for some castles, Abd ar-Rahman helped them to take back Zamora (959) and Oviedo (960) and to overthrow Ordoño IV.

Abd ar-Rahman was accused of having sunk in his later years into the self-indulgent habits of the harem.[20] He is known to have openly kept a male as well as a female harem.[26] This likely influenced the polemical story of his falling in love with a 13-year-old boy (later enshrined as a Christian martyr and canonised as Saint Pelagius of Córdoba) who refused the Caliph's advances. The love story may have been a construct on top of an original tale, however, in which he ordered the boy-slave to convert to Islam. Either way,


enraged, he had the boy tortured and dismembered, thus contributing to the Christian perception of Muslim brutality.[27][28]

Abd ar-Rahman spent the rest of his years in his new palace outside Córdoba. He died in October 961 and was succeeded by his son al-Hakam II.

Abd ar-Rahman was a great humanist and patron of arts, especially architecture. A third of his revenue sufficed for the ordinary expenses of government, a third was hoarded, and a third was spent on buildings.[20] After declaring the caliphate, he had a massive palace complex, known as the Medina Azahara, built some five kilometers north of Córdoba. The Medina Azahara was modeled after the old Umayyad palace in Damascus and served as a symbolic tie between the new caliph and his ancestors. It was said thatpowerful in Mediterranean Europe. Iberian raiders moved up to Galicia, Asturias, and North Africa. The colonizers of Fraxinetum came from al-Andalus as well.

Due to his consolidation of power, Muslim Iberia became a power for a few centuries. It also brought prosperity, and with this he created mints where pure gold and silver coins were created. He renovated and added to the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba.[6]

He was very wary of losing control and kept tight reins in his family. In 949, he executed one of his sons for conspiring against him. He was tolerant of non-Muslims, Jews and Christians who were treated fairly.[29] European nations sent emissaries such as from Otto I of Germany, and the Byzantine emperor.[6]

^Azizur Rahman, Syed (2001). The Story of Islamic Spain(snippet view). New Delhi: Goodword


one-way street, was backing her car out of the driveway on May 11, 1985, she had to hit her brakes to avoid colliding with a car which was going the wrong way down the street. The driver of this car swerved to miss Mrs. Mossa, lost control, and crashed into a fence down the road. Mrs. Mossa saw two men in the car and noted that the driver had "long, dark hair."
Gary Mossa heard the crash and went over to the car. The car was lying on the driver's side with the wheels off the ground. When Mr. Mossa looked into the car, he saw appellant lying along the windows on the driver's side, "more or less under the steering wheel," and another person "laying across his head."This other person was described as having light brown hair.
Dale Banks, appellant's nephew and the other occupant of the crashed car, testified that he and appellant had been drinking whiskey, wine and beer that *1216 day. He stated that appellant was driving when the accident occurred. Appellant's blood alcohol level was .31 within three hours of the collision.
Appellant's defense was identity. Appellant's wife testified that when she spoke to Mr. Banks at the hospital, he stated he could not remember who was driving at the time of the accident. Appellant's father testified that he saw Mr. Banks get into the car on the driver's side when Mr. Banks and appellant left his house shortly before the accident. Joseph Mares, who lives near the Mossa residence, stated that he


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MVHS soccer - September 2009

Mountain View High School senior Craig Lehmeier, right, passes the ball in front of Thompson Valley's Ricardo Apolonio in the first half of their game Monday night at the Loveland Sports Park. Mountain View won, 1-0.

Mountain View High School's Tony Fabian, left, and Thompson Valley's Seth Rickard track down the ball in the first half of their game Monday night at the Loveland Sports Park. Mountian View won, 1-0.

Mountain View High School goalie Quinn Benson makes a stop in front of teammate Corey Muse (18) and Thompson Valley's Jesaja Lemke in the first half of their game Monday night at the Loveland Sports Park. The Mountain Lions won, 1-0.

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Mountain View High School junior Chris Lydon, right, tracks down the ball in front of Northridge'sTopics

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Young minds are still hungry for activity and discovery when the school bell rings at the end of the school day. “Spread a Little Love this Lenten Season for those Who Love to Learn.”

The Espwa afterschool program is in its early stages of development. After evaluating and recognizing the children remain eager to learn at the end of each school day, Espwa began planning structured activites to keep them engaged. The program will allow the children to participate in intellectually, physically, and spiritually stimulating opportunities.

The afterschool program fills the time period between the end of the school day and dinner. It is a time to keep their energetic minds and bodies active with positive reinforcement of existing skills, and development of new abilities and concepts within a safe


and healthy environment. These skills, which will help them succeed when they leave Espwa, include age appropriate lessons of home economics, financial literacy, personal health, religious education, and cultural activities of art, music and dance.

“They learn to trust each other and what it takes to become independent. They also learn to respect others and their opinions, to be part of a team, to learn from others and develop their potential,” stated Catia Delva, Social Worker at Pwoje Espwa with a Master in Population and Development and a graduate of Social Work and Legal Sciences at the State University of Haiti.

Laurent Ronique, a 23 year old former student of Espwa who has studied computer graphics and taken courses in craft creations, is now responsible for the arts workshop at1871 Ulysses S. Grant

December 4, 1871

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

In addressing my third annual message to the law-making branch of the Government it is gratifying to be able to state that during the past year success has generally attended the effort to execute all laws found upon the statute books. The policy has been not to inquire into the wisdom of laws already enacted, but to learn their spirit and intent and to enforce them accordingly.

The past year has, under a wise Providence, been one of general prosperity to the nation. It has, however, been attended with more than usual chastisements in the loss of life and property by storm and fire. These disasters have served to call forth the best elements of human nature in


our country and to develop a friendship for us on the part of foreign nations which goes far toward alleviating the distresses occasioned by these calamities. The benevolent, who have so generously shared their means with the victims of these misfortunes, will reap their reward in the consciousness of having performed a noble act and in receiving the grateful thanks of men, women, and children whose sufferings they have relieved.

The relations of the United States with foreign powers continue to be friendly. The year has been an eventful one in witnessing two great nations, speaking one language and having one lineage, settling by peaceful arbitration disputes of long standing and liable at any time to bring those nations into bloody and costly conflict. An example has thus beenset which, if successful in its final issue, may be followed by other civilized nations, and finally be the means of returning to productive industry millions of men now maintained to settle the disputes of nations by the bayonet and the broadside.

I transmit herewith a copy of the treaty alluded to, which has been concluded since the adjournment of Congress with Her Britannic Majesty, and a copy of the protocols of the conferences of the commissioners by whom it was negotiated. This treaty provides methods for adjusting the questions pending between the two nations.

Various questions are to be adjusted by arbitration. I recommend Congress at an early day to make the necessary provision for the tribunal at Geneva and for the several commissioners on the part of the


United States called for by the treaty.

His Majesty the King of Italy, the President of the Swiss Confederation, and His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil have each consented, on the joint request of the two powers, to name an arbiter for the tribunal at Geneva. I have caused my thanks to be suitably expressed for the readiness with which the joint request has been complied with, by the appointment of gentlemen of eminence and learning to these important positions.

His Majesty the Emperor of Germany has been pleased to comply with the joint request of the two Governments, and has consented to act as the arbitrator of the disputed water boundary between the United States and Great Britain.

The contracting parties in the treaty have undertaken to regard as betweenthemselves certain principles of public law, for which the United States have contended from the commencement of their history. They have also agreed to bring those principles to the knowledge of the other maritime powers and to invite them to accede to them. Negotiations are going on as to the form of the note by which the invitation is to be extended to the other powers.

I recommend the legislation necessary on the part of the United States to bring into operation the articles of the treaty relating to the fisheries and to the other matters touching the relations of the United States toward the British North American possessions, to become operative so soon as the proper legislation shall be had on the part of Great Britain and its


possessions. It is much to be desired that this legislation may become operative before the fishermen of the United States begin to make their arrangements for the coming season.

I have addressed a communication, of which a copy is transmitted herewith, to the governors of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin, urging upon the governments of those States, respectively, the necessary action on their part to carry into effect the object of the article of the treaty which contemplates the use of the canals, on either side, connected with the navigation of the lakes and rivers forming the boundary, on terms of equality, by the inhabitants of both countries. It is hoped that the importance of the object and the benefits to flow therefrom will securethe speedy approval and legislative sanction of the States concerned.

I renew the recommendation for an appropriation for determining the true position of the forty-ninth parallel of latitude where it forms the boundary between the United States and the British North American possessions, between the Lake of the Woods and the summit of the Rocky Mountains. The early action of Congress on this recommendation would put it in the power of the War Department to place a force in the field during the next summer.

The resumption of diplomatic relations between France and Germany has enabled me to give directions for the withdrawal of the protection extended to Germans in France by the diplomatic and consular representatives of the United States in that country. It is just to add that


the delicate duty of this protection has been performed by the minister and the consul-general at Paris, and the various consuls in France under the supervision of the latter, with great kindness as well as with prudence and tact. Their course has received the commendation of the German Government, and has wounded no susceptibility of the French.

The Government of the Emperor of Germany continues to manifest a friendly feeling toward the United States, and a desire to harmonize with the moderate and just policy which this Government maintains in its relations with Asiatic powers, as well as with the South American Republics. I have given assurances that the friendly feelings of that Government are fully shared by the United States.

The ratifications of the consular and naturalization conventions withthe Austro-Hungarian Empire have been exchanged.

I have been officially informed of the annexation of the States of the Church to the Kingdom of Italy, and the removal of the capital of that Kingdom to Rome. In conformity with the established policy of the United States, I have recognized this change. The ratifications of the new treaty of commerce between the United States and Italy have been exchanged. The two powers have agreed in this treaty that private property at sea shall be exempt from capture in case of war between the two powers. The United States have spared no opportunity of incorporating this rule into the obligation of nations.

The Forty-first Congress, at its third session, made an appropriation for the organization of a mixed commission for adjudicating upon


the claims of citizens of the United States against Spain growing out of the insurrection in Cuba. That commission has since been organized. I transmit herewith the correspondence relating to its formation and its jurisdiction. It is to be hoped that this commission will afford the claimants a complete remedy for their injuries.

It has been made the agreeable duty of the United States to preside over a conference at Washington between the plenipotentiaries of Spain and the allied South American Republics, which has resulted in an armistice, with the reasonable assurance of a permanent peace.

The intimate friendly relations which have so long existed between the United States and Russia continue undisturbed. The visit of the third son of the Emperor is a proof that there is no desireon the part of his Government to diminish the cordiality of those relations. The hospitable reception which has been given to the Grand Duke is a proof that on our side we share the wishes of that Government. The inexcusable course of the Russian minister at Washington rendered it necessary to ask his recall and to decline to longer receive that functionary as a diplomatic representative. It was impossible, with self-respect or with a just regard to the dignity of the country, to permit Mr. Catacazy to continue to hold intercourse with this Government after his personal abuse of Government officials, and during his persistent interferences, through various means, with the relations between the United States and other powers. In accordance with my wishes, this Government has been


relieved of further intercourse with Mr. Catacazy, and the management of the affairs of the imperial legation has passed into the hands of a gentleman entirely unobjectionable.

With Japan we continue to maintain intimate relations. The cabinet of the Mikado has since the close of the last session of Congress selected citizens of the United States to serve in offices of importance in several departments of Government. I have reason to think that this selection is due to an appreciation of the disinterestedness of the policy which the United States have pursued toward Japan. It is our desire to continue to maintain this disinterested and just policy with China as well as Japan. The correspondence transmitted herewith shows that there is no disposition on the part of this Governmentto swerve from its established course.

Prompted by a desire to put an end to the barbarous treatment of our shipwrecked sailors on the Korean coast, I instructed our minister at Peking to endeavor to conclude a convention with Korea for securing the safety and humane treatment of such mariners.

Admiral Rodgers was instructed to accompany him with a sufficient force to protect him in case of need.

A small surveying party sent out, on reaching the coast was treacherously attacked at a disadvantage. Ample opportunity was given for explanation and apology for the insult. Neither came. A force was then landed. After an arduous march over a rugged and difficult country, the forts from which the outrages had been committed were reduced by a gallant assault and were destroyed. Having


Republics of Central and South America continue, with one exception, to be cordial and friendly.

I recommend some action by Congress regarding the overdue installments under the award of the Venezuelan Claims Commission of 1866. The internal dissensions of this Government present no justification for the absence of effort to meet their solemn treaty obligations.

The ratification of an extradition treaty with Nicaragua has been exchanged.

It is a subject for congratulation that the great Empire of Brazil has taken the initiatory step toward the abolition of slavery. Our relations with that Empire, always cordial, will naturally be made more so by this act. It is not too much to hope that the Government of Brazil may hereafter find it for its interest, as well as intrinsically right, to advance towardentire emancipation more rapidly than the present act contemplates.

The true prosperity and greatness of a nation is to be found in the elevation and education of its laborers.

It is a subject for regret that the reforms in this direction which were voluntarily promised by the statesmen of Spain have not been carried out in its West India colonies. The laws and regulations for the apparent abolition of slavery in Cuba and Porto Rico leave most of the laborers in bondage, with no hope of release until their lives become a burden to their employers.

I desire to direct your attention to the fact that citizens of the United States, or persons claiming to be citizens of the United States, are large holders in foreign lands of this species of


of peace, liberty, and the blessings of free institutions.

Our naval commanders in Cuban waters have been instructed, in case it should become necessary, to spare no effort to protect the lives and property of bona fide American citizens and to maintain the dignity of the flag.

It is hoped that all pending questions with Spain growing out of the affairs in Cuba may be adjusted in the spirit of peace and conciliation which has hitherto guided the two powers in their treatment of such questions.

To give importance to and to add to the efficiency of our diplomatic relations with Japan and China, and to further aid in retaining the good opinion of those peoples, and to secure to the United States its share of the commerce destined to flowthat the number of officers in each grade in the staff corps be fixed, and that whenever the number in any one grade falls below the number so fixed, that the vacancy may be filled by promotion from the grade below. I also recommend that when the office of chief of a corps becomes vacant the place may be filled by selection from the corps in which the vacancy exists.

The report of the Secretary of the Navy shows an improvement in the number and efficiency of the naval force, without material increase in the expense of supporting it. This is due to the policy which has been adopted, and is being extended as fast as our material will admit, of using smaller vessels as cruisers on the several


stations. By this means we have been enabled to occupy at once a larger extent of cruising grounds, to visit more frequently the ports where the presence of our flag is desirable, and generally to discharge more efficiently the appropriate duties of the Navy in time of peace, without exceeding the number of men or the expenditure authorized by law.

During the past year the Navy has, in addition to its regular service, supplied the men and officers for the vessels of the Coast Survey, and has completed the surveys authorized by Congress of the isthmuses of Darien and Tehuantepec, and, under like authority, has sent out an expedition, completely furnished and equipped, to explore the unknown ocean of the north.

The suggestions of the report as to the necessityfor increasing and improving the materiel of the Navy, and the plan recommended for reducing the personnel of the service to a peace standard, by the gradual abolition of certain grades of officers, the reduction of others, and the employment of some in the service of the commercial marine, are well considered and deserve the thoughtful attention of Congress.

I also recommend that all promotions in the Navy above the rank of captain be by selection instead of by seniority. This course will secure in the higher grades greater efficiency and hold out an incentive to young officers to improve themselves in the knowledge of their profession.

The present cost of maintaining the Navy, its cost compared with that of the preceding year, and the estimates for the ensuing year


are contained in the accompanying report of the Secretary of the Navy.

The enlarged receipts of the Post-Office Department, as shown by the accompanying report of the Postmaster-General, exhibit a gratifying increase in that branch of the public service. It is the index of the growth of education and of the prosperity of the people, two elements highly conducive to the vigor and stability of republics. With a vast territory like ours, much of it sparsely populated, but all requiring the services of the mail, it is not at present to be expected that this Department can be made self-sustaining. But a gradual approach to this end from year to year is confidently relied on, and the day is not far distant when the Post-Office Department of the GovernmentEducation, the groundwork of republican institutions, is encouraged by increasing the facilities to gather speedy news from all parts of the country. The desire to reap the benefit of such improvements will stimulate education. I refer you to the report of the Postmaster-General for full details of the operations of last year and for comparative statements of results with former years.

There has been imposed upon the executive branch of the Government the execution of the act of Congress approved April 20, 1871, and commonly known as the Kuklux law, in a portion of the State of South Carolina. The necessity of the course pursued will be demonstrated by the report of the Committee to Investigate Southern Outrages. Under the provisions of the above act I issued a proclamation


calling the attention of the people of the United States to the same, and declaring my reluctance to exercise any of the extraordinary powers thereby conferred upon me, except in case of imperative necessity, but making known my purpose to exercise such powers whenever it should become necessary to do so for the purpose of securing to all citizens of the United States the peaceful enjoyment of the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution and the laws.

After the passage of this law information was received from time to time that combinations of the character referred to in this law existed and were powerful in many parts of the Southern States, particularly in certain counties in the State of South Carolina.

Careful investigation was made, and it was ascertainedproclamation was issued, in terms of the law, calling upon the members of those combinations to disperse within five days and to deliver to the marshal or military officers of the United States all arms, ammunition, uniforms, disguises, and other means and implements used by them for carrying out their unlawful purposes.

This warning not having been heeded, on the 17th of October another proclamation was issued, suspending the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus in nine counties in that State.

Direction was given that within the counties so designated persons supposed, upon creditable information, to be members of such unlawful combinations should be arrested by the military forces of the United States and delivered to the marshal, to be dealt with according to law. In two of said


counties, York and Spartanburg, many arrests have been made. At the last account the number of persons thus arrested was 168. Several hundred, whose criminality was ascertained to be of an inferior degree, were released for the present. These have generally made confessions of their guilt.

Great caution has been exercised in making these arrests, and, notwithstanding the large number, it is believed that no innocent person is now in custody. The prisoners will be held for regular trial in the judicial tribunals of the United States.

As soon as it appeared that the authorities of the United States were about to take vigorous measures to enforce the law, many persons absconded, and there is good ground for supposing that all of such persons have violated the law. A fullreport of what has been done under this law will be submitted to Congress by the Attorney-General.

In Utah there still remains a remnant of barbarism, repugnant to civilization, to decency, and to the laws of the United States. Territorial officers, however, have been found who are willing to perform their duty in a spirit of equity and with a due sense of the necessity of sustaining the majesty of the law. Neither polygamy nor any other violation of existing statutes will be permitted within the territory of the United States. It is not with the religion of the self-styled Saints that we are now dealing, but with their practices. They will be protected in the worship of God according to the dictates of their consciences, but they will


not be permitted to violate the laws under the cloak of religion.

It may be advisable for Congress to consider what, in the execution of the laws against polygamy, is to be the status of plural wives and their offspring. The propriety of Congress passing an enabling act authorizing the Territorial legislature of Utah to legitimize all children born prior to a time fixed in the act might be justified by its humanity to these innocent children. This is a suggestion only, and not a recommendation.

The policy pursued toward the Indians has resulted favorably, so far as can be judged from the limited time during which it has been in operation. Through the exertions of the various societies of Christians to whom has been intrusted the execution of theof them, but caution should be exercised even in attaining so desirable an object.

Educational interest may well be served by the grant of the proceeds of the sale of public lands to settlers. I do not wish to be understood as recommending in the least degree a curtailment of what is being done by the General Government for the encouragement of education.

The report of the Secretary of the Interior submitted with this will give you all the information collected and prepared for publication in regard to the census taken during the year 1870; the operations of the Bureau of Education for the year; the Patent Office; the Pension Office; the Land Office, and the Indian Bureau.

The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture gives the operations of his Department


been inaugurated by means of which Washington is rapidly becoming a city worthy of the nation’s capital. The citizens of the District having voluntarily taxed themselves to a large amount for the purpose of contributing to the adornment of the seat of Government, I recommend liberal appropriations on the part of Congress, in order that the Government may bear its just share of the expense of carrying out a judicious system of improvements.

By the great fire in Chicago the most important of the Government buildings in that city were consumed. Those burned had already become inadequate to the wants of the Government in that growing city, and, looking to the near future, were totally inadequate. I recommend, therefore, that an appropriation be made immediately to purchase the remainderto public office none but those who possess the confidence of the honest and the virtuous, who, it will always be found, comprise the majority of the community in which they live.

In my message to Congress one year ago I urgently recommended a reform in the civil service of the country. In conformity with that recommendation Congress, in the ninth section of “An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government, and for other purposes,” approved March 3, 1871, gave the necessary authority to the Executive to inaugurate a civil-service reform, and placed upon him the responsibility of doing so. Under the authority of said act I convened a board of gentlemen eminently qualified for the work to devise rules and regulations to effect the needed


elites are subjected to criminal accountability for their wrongful acts, but wholly indifferent -- if not supportive -- when ordinary Americans are mercilessly prosecuted for far less serious wrongdoing.

And it's not just Post Editors, but their stable of Op-Ed columnists, who reflexively defend political elites when they break the law. The late Dean of the Washington Press Corps, David Broder, was one of the first and most vocal advocates of one of the earliest expressions of elite immunity: Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon, and Broder repeated that defense in 2006 upon Ford's death ("I thought and wrote at the time that he was well justified to spare the country further struggling with the Nixon legacy"). The Post's Broder also vigorously defended President Obama's decision to oppose prosecutionof Bush officials: "he was just as right to declare that there should be no prosecution of those who carried out what had been the policy of the United States government. And he was right when he sent out his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, to declare that the same amnesty should apply to the lawyers and bureaucrats who devised and justified the Bush administration practices."

Further

With the toxic Bibi circus in town - cue talk of "tentacles of terror" - find hope in the extraordinary Combatants For Peace, a joint effort by weary Israeli and Palestinian veterans of violence who've laid down their guns to fight for peace. Led by a former IDF soldier and Fatah militant who both lost daughters to the conflict's "unrightable wrongs," they insist


Independent League baseball in 2005 and probably 2006. Holding out twice would be an absolute absurdity. Their price will simply have to come down.

As for the Mets, if these two are re-entered into the draft, it virtually assures them in having the opportunity to pick a very polished, close to majors player. Drew is currently batting .410/.459/.705 with eight doubles, three triples, and three homers with fourteen RBIs in his first exposure to a wooden bat. Alex Gordon, Troy Tulowitzki, Mike Pelfrey, Luke Hochevar, Ryan Zimmerman, Craig Hansen, Jeff Clement, and Stephen Drew are all guys that are pegged to be extremely talented and relatively close to the majors. Out of the group, I prefer any one of the those position players or Hansen and though Zimmerman, Gordon,There have been rumblings all off-season about the possibility of the Raiders seeking to move quarterback Terrelle Pryor in a trade. Reggie McKenzie spoke with media today where he said the likelihood of Pryor's time in Oakland coming to an end is becoming very real.

Asked Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie about Terrelle Pryor's future with the team and McKenzie suggested Pryor could be traded or released soon. — Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) March 24, 2014

McKenzie said Pryor's agent has told the Raiders he wants to be a starting QB and McKenzie said that wasn't possible with the Raiders. — Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) March 24, 2014

Reggie McKenzie says Terrelle Pryor has talked with his agent about wanting to be released by the #Raiders. — Marc Sessler (@MarcSesslerNFL) March 24, 2014

Late last


season, Pryor got in some hot water when his agent told local media that Dennis Allen was setting up his client to fail by starting him in the team's season finale. Pryor scrambled to try and do damage control, apologizing for his agent's comments, but even when asked plainly if he agreed with those comments, he didn't deny it.

In what seemed inevitable as an attempt to save face, Pryor eventually fired his agent a month later.

Pryor began last season as the starter after Matt Flynn played poorly enough to lose the starting job out of preseason. Then by midseason, following four games with a passer rating in the low 40's, Pryor was benched in favor of undrafted rookie, Matt McGloin.

Though the team would win just one game underMcGloin the remainder of the season, there was a notable improvement in the play of the offense.

Pryor was given the final game of the season to showcase his talents to the Raiders and the rest of the NFL to try and prove he was worthy of a starting quarterback job.

Now the Raiders have acquired Matt Schaub in trade with the Texans and Dennis Allen has named him the starting quarterback. Pryor was likely thinking it would be an open competition and now knowing it is not, he wants out.

He and his agent think he has done enough to warrant a starting quarterback job in the NFL. We'll soon see if another team thinks so too.

Follow @LeviDamien


profit in the process.

National Center for Public Policy Research analyst Dana Joel Gattuso offered particularly sharp criticism of The Nature Conservancy in a 2008 conservation easement analysis.

She chronicled a deal in which the group bought an easement for $1.26 million, then sold it to the Bureau of Land Management for $1.4 million.

While many of these green organizations rely on individual or foundation donations for operating cash, they also receive millions each year in government grants.

According to foundation records, five major players in conservation easements -- The Nature Conservancy, The Conservation Fund, American Farmland Trust, Ducks Unlimited and The Trust for Public Land -- have received more than $2 billion in government grants since 1998.

The Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited are the biggest recipients, taking $761 million and $718ground. Albeit there are countless there are countless ground wizards who accredit BJJ, however in the meanwhile people seem to neglect other grappling arts such as judo, sambo, jiujitsu and in Ken's case, catch wrestling, which other popular fighters such as Kazushi Sakuraba and Josh Barnett use exclusively. Being a fighter with a catch background, Shamrock has managed to submit 23 out of the 27 opponents he's beaten, yet people still manage to ignore this fact and see Ken incompetent as a grappling coach. The truth is also that with limited time in a house, I would much rather eat right and gain strength than try and revamp my entire ground game withing a few weeks.

Thirdly, people seem to criticize Ken's training methods (which where barely even shown


anyways), and are quick to say that they are "oldschool", and not adapted for today's fighter. Now this does have some bearing, as Ken was a coach in the earlier days of the UFC. His stable known as the Lion's Den is still to this day one of the most successful camps the UFC has ever seen. Aside from Ken winning and defending the first ever belt in the UFC, his adopted brother Frank went on to win and defend (often) the first Middleweight title, Jerry Bohlander and Guy Mezger also went on to win the first Middleweight tournaments at UFC 12 and 13, and Mikey Burnett was robbed in the first ever fight for the Lightweight title against Pat Militech. Needless to say the Lion's Den where2 of Randy's fighters called it quits on the first episode, 2 fighters from Chuck's team had to be added to Randy's during the season to even ou the teams, and one of his two wins was a contraversial split decision between Bonnar and Southworth.

Good research richie. I really enjoyed the Shamrock interview yourecently posted as well.

I do want to add that the records in TUF are pretty insignificant as some fighters seem to come in with more initial talent than others. A poor record could also be seen as bad picks rather than bad coaching.

Also, don't forget TraTelligman on your list of Lions Den fighters. He may not have had great success in the UFC, but he did well for a guy missing a pectoral muscle and


taste Coleman?). I just wanted to keep it simple and straight to the point...

I think the sport has passed Ken by. His Lion's den students are no longer at the tope of the food chain and haven't been for some time. On the other hand plenty of punishment athletics members have become quite competitive in the octagon as of late. Many of PA's members have left PA mainly due to Tito's crunched schedule but his natural ability to coach was undeniable. I don't think anyone saw Tito as a saint but more as a guy that can do wonders as a coach. I really haven't seen that many people call Ken a bad coach but I think when you compare the two, from the perspective of the showtime.

Tito: Kendall GrovesKen: Solomon Hutcherson

Solomon gasses too easy and is easily rocked. Kendall would have won.

Tito: Noah InhaferKen: Mike Nickels

Not sure who is better on the ground but Noah, the guy who was learning stand up with an basket ball, has the much better advantage standing.

Tito: Mike StineKen: Ed Herman

Ken gets that one. Herman would have killed Stine... he did go way too low.

Tito: Josh HaynesKen: Ross Pointon

Even though Ken picked two Middle Weights in a row I'm guessing he was pulling for Ross against Danny, which I guess I'll give the nod to Ross.

Tito: Danny AbaddiKen: Tait Fletcher

I actually thought Tait won his match against Josh but they say Josh won so chalk up another win for Tito.

Ken was beaten on the first day, the rest of


assistant coaches, but for some odd reason people love to nitpick on Ken's choices. Ken Shamrock brought in Roman Pollock as a boxing coach, and Dan Freeman as a strength and nutrition coach. Now the most popular argument I often read is that Ken brought in a bodybuilder instead of a BJJ coach. I don't understand why the average MMA fan hates bodybuilders (and pro-wrestlers), but it seems to be all that people could say, all the while ignoring the fact that strength and nutrition are of the utmost importance when competing in a tournament and being forced to live in a house with other competitors. Dan Freeman has actually been with Ken his entire career, and Ken has almost always been able to out-power his opponents andthat with limited time in a house, I would much rather eat right and gain strength than try and revamp my entire ground game withing a few weeks.

Thirdly, people seem to criticize Ken's training methods (which where barely even shown anyways), and are quick to say that they are "oldschool", and not adapted for today's fighter. Now this does have some bearing, as Ken was a coach in the earlier days of the UFC. His stable known as the Lion's Den is still to this day one of the most successful camps the UFC has ever seen. Aside from Ken winning and defending the first ever belt in the UFC, his adopted brother Frank went on to win and defend (often) the first Middleweight title, Jerry Bohlander and


Jhelum is an ancient city with a number of historical sites which getting out of the site because of they have been neglected over the time and often left abandoned. The "Bhai Karam Singh Gurdawara" is one of those sites.

Riding early morning is best experience one could expect on Sunday. A group of nine individuals set out to explore city of Sharqpur also known as city of saints. During their visit, they passed through villages, gets a boat ride across Ravi River and enjoy amazing foods of Shaqpur. Lets find out how things went when they all get together.(and old ones, too) can direct the chats back to other areas of science. Please let the search function be your friend, too.

Thanks for the link.

Black Hills are great, been there a few times, mostly southern portion. Badlands, Buffalo Gap (south side), Custer, Wind cave (great park), and Iron Mountain! Still haven't seen my first Black footed ferret and only dead rattlers (so far). May take another trip there in August - not for sturgis :)

Re: Welcomes & Introductions

My Father grew up on a Farm and Mother was a big City girl. I was raised in the suburbs. Lived most of my life in SoCal and moving to Tucson in a few months.

Father said I had it easy living 4 blocks from school, while he had to ride


Only 30 per cent of Russian air strikes in Syria target the Islamic State (IS) group while the rest are against opposition forces not affiliated with the jihadists, a senior US official said Wednesday.

"The Russian air strikes in Syria, primarily, are not attacking (IS)," Brett McGurk, US President Barack Obama's special envoy for the anti-IS coalition, told a news conference in Baghdad.

"If you run the numbers, it's about maybe 30 per cent are actually attacking (IS) and the rest of the air strikes are attacking other opposition groups... That are not affiliated" with the jihadists, McGurk said.

Russia began carrying out strikes in Syria on September 30 in support of its longstanding ally President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime is locked in a civil war with fractious opposition forces.

The conflict,Fountain Inn, Ashurst

The Fountain Inn is a 16th-century public house in the village of Ashurst, in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England.  After a period as a farmhouse, it was converted into the village inn and was extended and given a Georgian façade in the 18th century.  English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

History
Ashurst is a small village and civil parish about  north of the town of Steyning.  The parish covers a large area () and consists mostly of well-spaced farms and other scattered buildings, but a small settlement had developed around the Horsham—Steyning road by the early 16th century.  Many of the present buildings are 16th-century, although in some cases they replaced older


region sighted Turkish trains dropping of tanks and ammunition in IS-controlled areas has raised many eyebrows among critical observers of the situation.

Kobanê under attack

This is not the first time Kobanê has been under attack from IS. In early July, after IS captured Mosul one month earlier, the jihadists used the heavy arms they seized from the Iraqi army to lay siege to Kobanê. After several days of fighting, and hundreds of losses among IS ranks, the terrorist group had to accept defeat at the hands of the Kurdish defense forces.

The town of Kobanê is important for IS both in strategic and symbolic terms. Situated close to the Turkish border, a mere two-hour drive north of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State, Kobanê has been onthe Islamists’ wish-list for a long time. Seizing Kobanê would mean splitting Rojava — the region in northern Syria predominantly populated by Kurds, also known as “West Kurdistan” — in two, and securing IS control over an important stretch of the border with Turkey, making it even easier for them to receive supplies and foreign jihadists from abroad.

Moreover, the earlier defeat of IS by the Syrian Kurdish forces both in Kobanê and Sinjar has been interpreted as a slap in the face of the jihadists. Especially the fact that almost a third of the Kurdish militias are made up of women has served to shame the radical Islamists who prefer to see women covered in black robes from head to toe, rather than unveiled, independent and empowered with


11 when the terror group overran the city.

In the Turkish media the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and the Foreign Ministry are covered with glory for their roles in the freeing of the hostages. Even though President Erdoğan personally denied any speculations about a deal struck with IS, critical observers have questioned Turkey’s relations with the terrorist organization and their role in the attack on Kobanê.

It is a public secret that Turkey has been a long-time covert supporter of IS, but as one of America’s key allies in the region it got away this support until IS started to stir things up in Iraq. For Turkey and other NATO allies the Islamist organization was initially seen as an important ally in the proxy war to bring down Assad’s regime.buses, where they were allowed to enter Syria by the Turkish military. One local states that: “The gangs [IS] bring personnel and weapons across the border under supervision of the Turkish army. We have witnessed it many times. On this occasion it was a day before the attacks began.”

Autonomy in Rojava

So why would Turkey care about the Kurdish population in Syria? The most likely explanation is that Turkey does not fear the Syrian Kurds as much as it fears what they have achieved. The social revolution of Rojava has served as a beacon of hope for the millions of Kurds in the region, whose traditional homeland had been carved up and divided amongst Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran in the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916.

The Charter of Social Contract,


which serves as a constitution for the three autonomous cantons in Rojava, leaves little room for discussion when it comes to the relationship between people and state: “[The Charter] protects fundamental human rights and liberties and reaffirms the peoples’ right to self-determination.” This, obviously, adds insult to injury for the Turkish state, which has been waging a decades-long war against the formerly separatist PKK, which recently laid down its arms and no longer demands independence for the Kurdish people, but rather a degree of autonomy for the Kurds living within the borders of the Turkish state.

The close links between the PKK and the people of Syrian Kurdistan go way back. It was here that the founder and current leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan had sought refuge inthe late 1990s, and it was the remnants of the PKK in Syria that founded the PYD in 2003. In the eyes of Turkey, the PYD is nothing but a Syrian branch of the PKK, and it continues to treat it as such.

Last year, when Assad pulled his forces from Rojava to reinforce the troops besieging Aleppo and the PYD declared it was ready and able to govern the region, Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan (now President) simply declared that he would not accept the creation of a “terrorist” structure in the region. Claiming that a separatist Kurdish enclave would pose a direct threat to Turkey’s interests and security, he stated: “It is our most natural right to intervene (in northern Syria) since those terrorist formations would disturb our


national peace.”

Öcalan’s call to arms

The close relationship between the Kurds in Syria and Turkey does not only exist in the imagination of Erdoğan, but is very much part of the daily realities of the populations living in the region. The arbitrary borders drawn in the early years of the 20th century divided tribes and families, which suddenly found themselves living on different sides of the newly-established national borders. Nonetheless, due to the rough and inaccessible mountainous frontier regions, the local Kurds with intimate knowledge of secret pathways across the borders continued to live out their lives in what they considered Kurdistan.

For these reasons, the Kurds of southwestern Turkey still feel closely connected to their kin in northern Syria. The solidarity between the two groups of Kurds was alreadyon display when hundreds of young men and women crossed the border into Syria two months ago, during the first IS attack on Kobanê, and the same process has repeated itself in recent days.

To aid the resistance, Öcalan called on the Kurdish people to initiate a mass-mobilization against IS: “In relation to ISIS attacks, all our people should shape their lives in line with the intensified war going on in Kurdistan at the moment. It is not only the people of Rojava but also all the people in the North and other parts of Kurdistan that should act accordingly.”

Unsurprisingly, Kurdish activists who protested at the border against the suspected Turkish involvement with the events in Kobanê were attacked by security forces with tear gas and water cannons.

Support the


Kurds

Despite the fact that the advance of IS appears to have been slowed down, or even halted on several fronts by the forces of YPG/YPJ, Kobanê and the rest of Rojava are still under imminent threat of being run over by the radical Islamist fighters. The recent bombings by the US and its allies of IS positions in Syria may provide some relief for those defending the town, especially after overnight air strikes apparently hit IS-held territory in the vicinity of Kobanê, but what the Kurds really need right now is international recognition of their unique position as an autonomous entity, and the funding and arms supplies that come with it.

As long as the international community remains silent about Turkey’s suspected support for IS, it will be complicitLisa Su landed in New York City in May armed with her plans for the future of Advanced Micro Devices.

Four years into her time with AMD, Su was in her seventh month as president and CEO of a company known for its good technology but an uncertain future.

Over the previous several years, some poor business decisions combined with execution issues, a contracting global PC market, corporate restructuring and fierce competition from larger rival Intel conspired to leave AMD with dwindling market share in PCs and in data center systems, a difficult position in the graphics space against Nvidia and—except for a handful of times—losses in financial quarters.

But there were exceptions to this litany of troubles. The vendor's semi-custom silicon business got its processors into the latest generations of


the top three gaming consoles from Microsoft (Xbox One), Sony (PlayStation 4) and Nintendo (Wii U), which helped fuel a brief return to profitability in 2013 and continues to bring in revenue for the company.

Furthermore, through an effort that began under previous CEO Rory Read, AMD continues to reduce its exposure to the volatile PC industry by growing the percentage of revenue its gets from other businesses, such as semi-custom chips and server products.

In addition, the company has attracted strong chip engineers who were spending their time in the lab developing technologies that will play key roles in AMD's future.

It was with this backdrop that Su and other executives were in New York City standing before a room of financial analysts and journalists outlining an ambitious road mapnow."

However, it won't be easy for AMD, according to Bob O'Donnell, principal analyst with TECHnalysis Research. The company has strong IP and some good products, but it also faces significant competition from the likes of Intel and Nvidia—not to mention ARM and OpenPower in the data center—along with a PC industry that may not see much of an upturn until later next year or early 2017.

"They know what they're up against," O'Donnell told eWEEK. "They're not blind to it."

AMD has been aggressive in building on the plans that Su laid out, particularly in its graphics business.


No guarantees can be given on when the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the ruling party will hold a conference to elect a new provincial executive.

"Unforeseen circumstances" have delayed the work of the ANC's task team in KwaZulu-Natal to facilitate the process of electing a new leadership structure in the province.

The team cannot guarantee that KZN will have a new ANC provincial executive committee by the 2019 elections.

It will now meet with the party's national leadership to extend its tight timelines and map the way forward.

As the ANC prepares to do battle for the lion's share of the vote in 2019, its fatal enemy is itself. Zuma will derail the ANC in his fight to avoid prison. He's angered by the withdrawal of support by the NEC and he remainsAssignment of Business Interest.” Wang

testified that Yao did not provide an interpreter or translator to translate the bills of

sale for Wang and also told Wang that the money he was to pay under the

agreements was a loan and would be repaid. Wang also introduced a check he

received from Yao for $80,000.          Wang claimed the check was meant as a

repayment on the loan, but was returned for insufficient funds.

      Yao testified that Wang did not loan him any money. He pointed out that

the “Loan Agreement and Promissory Note” was signed by him as president of


Three Notre Dame signees played in the Under Armour All-America Game Thursday night and were all on "Team Savage" which lost to "Team Pressure" 30-24.

Drew Pyne was really, really good in the all-star game. Pyne was the best quarterback in the game, whether you're looking at it from a pure numbers standpoint or using the good ole "eye test." Pyne finished the game 9-of-11 passing for 121 yards and a touchdown and added three rushes for 16 yards on the ground.

Pyne was in for just three drives, and all three resulted in scoring drives for Team Savage. The Irish signee had the play of the game when he fired a strike to five-star Ohio State wide receiver signee Julian Fleming for a 42-yard score.

Fleming beat his man downprerogative to review it. But the Philippine government’s position on extra-legal killing I think has been made clear over and over again by the president himself," the presidential spokesman said.

"He stands by the police when they are in the discharge of their official functions; when they commit acts outside their official functions, he will order their arrest," he added.

Last week, the European Parliament issued a resolution urging the Philippines to put an end to the drug-related deaths and expressing concerns over reports that the police is falsifying evidence to justify the crackdown

Malacañang has scored the EU Parliament for issuing the resolution and has accused the legislative chamber of interfering with the Philippines' internal issues.


This invention relates to the storage of combustible gases in pressure vessels, and more particularly to preventing buildup of excessive pressure in the vessel while preventing the emission of the combustible gases into the environment.
It is known to store combustible gases such as hydrogen, methane etc. under pressure in suitable pressure vessels. In some instances, the gases are stored in the gas phase under moderately high pressures. In other instances, the gases may be stored in the liquid phase under higher pressures and lower temperatures.
Pressure vessels have a maximum allowable pressure tolerance, and the gas pressure within the vessel must be kept below that pressure to insure the integrity of the vessel. The pressure within the vessel varies with the amount of heat transferred into the vessel fromBears bucked by Monticello

In a back and forth baseball affair, it was the Monticello Buckaroos that had the last laugh.

The Utah school scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to retake the lead over Dolores at 7-6.

In the fifth and final inning, Tyler Weir hit a single to represent the game tying run Thursday at McAndrew Field. But the next at bat saw Bears' second baseman Kellen Gatzke strike out to end the game.

The baseball contest was shortened to five innings as part of the Montezuma-Cortez Invitational.

"It was a seesaw game back and forth. I thought that we had them," first-year Bears coach Chris Barry said. "We had a lot of base runners. We just didn't get the key hit that we needed in the


Just Like Being There

An art form that used to be the province of very few creators has exploded into a thriving industry and community─as revealed in this colorful documentary about poster art. Focusing on the explosion of innovative "gig posters" for musical acts and the resurgence of collectible, unique movie posters, the film features appearances by artists Daniel Danger and Jay Ryan, as well as by bands Spoon, Tokyo Police, Archers of Loaf, and others. 83 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English; deleted scenes; interviews; more.

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An art form that used to be the province of very few creators has exploded into a thriving industry and community─as revealed in this colorful documentary about poster art. Focusing on the explosion of innovative "gig posters" for musical acts and theVisiting New York was seriously a dream......and getting to experience the life of the city and what it felt like to be a "newyorker" was so fun. New York truly has so much to offer and taking part in that IRL rather than through movies and TV shows was so amazing. One of my favorite parts every day was walking along the sidewalk in all the different neighborhoods, especially ours.
Our Air bnb was in the Upper East side and each street had something special about it. The avenues had markets and bagel places, coffee shops and restaurants, while the streets themselves were lined with tall historic apartment buildings, all different in their own way.
I have always admired the architecture of New York, especially the neighborhoods themselves, and getting


College to play key role

Buy photos »
Principal Stuart Laverick is confident the Heart of Worcestershire College will provide more opportunities for its students. (s)

THE PRINCIPAL of the newly-formed Heart of Worcestershire College believes it can play a key role in making the county ‘a more desirable place’ for businesses to grow.

North East Worcestershire (NEW) College started a new era last Friday (August 1) when it officially merged with Worcester College of Technology.

The move sees Stuart Laverick head up the Heart of Worcestershire (HOW) College which will be based at the Peakman Street site with further campuses in Bromsgrove and Worcester.

Speaking to The Standard, the 50-year-old described the partnership as a ‘match made in heaven’ as he said he and former NEW College principal John Callaghan had the sameA more aggressive US strategy in Afghanistan has put the Taliban on the back foot, soldiers and police say, but recent, bloody attacks in Kabul show the group remains potent and a prolonged stalemate looms.

President Donald Trump in August unveiled a more hawkish military approach, including a surge in air attacks, aimed at forcing the Taliban to the negotiating table.

While Afghan security forces say the effect has been significant, the Taliban are still mobile in huge swaths of the country and, with foreign troop levels at about 15,000 compared with 140,000 in 2014, there appears little hope of outright military victory.

"The American air attacks have broken their back," said Nasrullah, a soldier in Kunar province on the Pakistani border. "They don't dare attack in large numbers because they


know they'd all get killed. Without air support, we'd be struggling."

The Taliban made gains after NATO withdrew most of its combat troops in late 2014. Two years later, they were threatening several district centres and even two provincial capitals, including Kunduz, in the north, which was briefly captured.

Now the fighters no longer threaten the city, said Kunduz police chief Abul Hameed Hamidi.

Air attacks had been a "game changer", he said, along with a revived campaign of "night raids" aimed at capturing fighter leaders, which previous President Hamid Karzai banned because they were so unpopular.

Soldiers and police in districts outside Kunduz that were contested a year ago said the war had tilted in their favour.

"They can't face us and instead hide among civilians, plant roadside bombs and carry outsuicide attacks," said soldier Abdul Karim.

Changed the picture

In Helmand province in the south, the Taliban have been pushed back 30 km from the provincial capital, Lashkar Gar, said governor Hayatullah Hayat, who also credited air attacks.

There were fears last year that the town could fall.

Helmand policeman Baz Gul said the air attacks had "changed the picture completely" and morale was high.

The US air attacks in Afghanistan in 2017 shot up to 4,361, according to US data, compared with 1,337 the previous year.

NATO's Resolute Support mission said on Tuesday the air campaign had been expanded in the north, with B-52 bombers striking Taliban positions.

The mission commander, General John Nicholson, said that the Taliban fighters could not win on the battlefield.

A Taliban spokesman denied that air attacks had forced fighters


and Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) in Afghanistan forced 360,000 people from their homes in 2017, with more than 2,600 civilians killed, according to the United Nations.

"No end"

Trump rejected talks with the Taliban after a January 27 bomb in Kabul killed 103 people, a week after a Taliban attack on a hotel killed four Americans and some 26 Afghans. But the long-term US aim remains to force the Taliban into a settlement, a top US official said later.

The Afghan government has also taken a tougher stand on talks, while the Taliban say negotiations depend on foreign troops leaving. They said the Kabul attacks were a response to Trump's aggression and threatened more.

The International Crisis Group think-tank said that, while US officials say their diplomatic and military effortsThe Drug Enforcement Administration maintains a database that tracks the path of every single pain pill sold in the United States. The Washington Post and HD Media, publisher of the Charleston Gazette-Mail in West Virginia, gained access to these records from 2006 to 2012 as a result of a court order. We have made the data publicly accessible, and you can find the data for your community here.

The records show extreme disparities between the number of pills distributed per person in each county. In towns and counties inundated with pills, death rates soared. Rural communities in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia were some of the hardest hit, with the highest rates of death per capita. While the national death rate for opioids stands at 4.6 deaths per 100,000


Security officers patrol the area near to the site where gunmen abducted German archaeologists professor Peter Breunig and his associate Johannes Behringer in Janjala Village, Nigeria. Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. Kidnappers are demanding a ransom of 60 million naira (about Dlrs 200,000 US) for the two captives abducted this week from Janjala village in northern Nigeria, the excavation site where the German archaeologists was working. Two villagers were shot and killed in the kidnapping, police confirmed Friday. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi )

Security officers patrol the area near to the site where gunmen abducted German archaeologists professor Peter Breunig and his associate Johannes Behringer in Janjala Village, Nigeria. Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. Kidnappers are demanding a ransom of 60 million naira (about Dlrs 200,000 US) for the two captives abductedthis week from Janjala village in northern Nigeria, the excavation site where the German archaeologists was working. Two villagers were shot and killed in the kidnapping, police confirmed Friday. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi )

KADUNA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian security agents have freed two German archaeologists kidnapped by gunmen at a remote dig, the governor of northern Kaduna state said Sunday.

The two academics are now at the German embassy in Abuja and are doing well considering the circumstances, according to the German Foreign Ministry.

Governo Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai “commended the security agencies for their efforts in securing the release of the Germans,” said a statement. It did it say whether anyone has been arrested for the kidnapping.

Gunmen had been demanding a ransom of 60 million naira (about $200,000) for the release


of Professor Peter Breunig and his assistant, Johannes Behringer. The two were abducted at gunpoint Wednesday and walked into the bush from an archaeological dig near Jenjela village in Kaduna state. Two villagers who tried to help the Germans were shot and killed by the kidnappers, the police said.

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Breunig, 65, and Behringer, in his 20s, are part of a four-person team from Frankfurt’s Goethe University. The other two members, women, were not touched by the kidnappers. The Germans were collaborating with Nigeria’s National Commission for Museum and Monuments to recover relics of the Nok culture. The early Iron Age people, considered the earliest ancient civilization of the West African region that is now Nigeria, are famous for their terracotta sculptures.

Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria, with ordinaryEl Vino de la Cobardía. He died on October 16, 2016 at the age of 79.

Themes and style
Radrigán's plays vary little in subject matter or dramatic technique. His characters are those living on the margins, outcast from society; substance addicts, prostitutes, the unemployed. (until his first play was performed in 1980, Radrigan himself had been an unemployed textile worker since 1973). The majority of these individuals occupy grey and depressed urban worlds, e.g. a crumbling block of flats in La Felicidad de los Garcia (1983) and a filthy, dilapidated brothel in El Toro por las Astas (1982). Others exist in further marginalised spheres, deserted dumps on the outskirts of Santiago (Hechos Consumados, 1981), and withering farmlands far from civilisation (Las Brutas, 1980). In each instance, Radrigán illustrates the


it stands as a moment one will not soon forget : a giant , green ogre flips through the pages of a cliche fairy tale , narrating it with every bit of dull inspiration that the story holds .
this leads one to believe that this serves as the prologue to shrek , dreamworks' second computer animated feature , but in a pricelessly hilarious bit of cinema , a page of this tale serves as that ogre's toilet paper .
from this opening moment , one can infer shrek's defying of all expectations regarding it as a standard , disney-esque fairy tale .
although rampant moments of hilarity dot shrek , the true charm of the film lies in the bold elements of friendship , courage , andacceptance , excelled by outstanding direction , stunning actor voice work , and most importantly , a witty screenplay with more going on than meets the eye .
while shrek features an abundance of humor related directly toward adults , positive friendship values aimed at younger children fulfill the storyline : shrek , the previously mentioned ogre , holds a position of absolute nothingness within his community .
the jolly green giant meets a fellow outsider , known only as the donkey ( his species ) who talks , and although he remains reluctant to warm up to him for a good portion of time , shrek eventually comes to a mutual understanding with him by acknowledging their common state as outcasts of the world .
the pair