Reader Q & A: How To Deal With Picky Eaters ? The Gluten and ...

Dear Whitney,

My cousin has lactose and gluten intolerance so my aunt is also wondering if you have suggestions for child friendly dishes, both alternatives to bread because sometimes she is tired of gluten free bread, and also dinner alternatives. Of course she usually cooks normal food using gluten-free substitutes such as gluten free pasta. But she would like some other alternatives that don't require substitutes. I don't think my cousin is particularly picky, but he is quite young, only 3 years old, so he might not enjoy very "advanced" gastronomic experiences. Lactosed Out and Gluten Fed Up? Dear Lactosed Out and Gluten Fed Up, Thank you so much for your email. I?d love to help you and your aunt out with some tips on navigating a lactose and gluten free lifestyle for families with small children. While I am not gluten allergic, I was lactose intolerant as a child and remember the hassle my parents faced trying to keep me fed and happy. I?d offer your aunt some of the same advice I passed along in my blog post about dealing with picky children at mealtimes?from a few weeks ago.
Know Your Audience - Consider what your child already likes and adapt your food strategy accordingly. Give Them What They Want (But Control the Choices They Choose From) - Prepare foods or dishes that your children are already familiar with but make gluten & lactose free versions. Good examples of this are vegan lasagna and my vegan chocolate banana peanut ?ice cream?. Fruit smoothies are a good way to ?hide? healthy foods if your cousin doesn?t like vegetables and fruits on their own. Some gluten and lactose free options out there can be expensive, so make your own if you can. Ketchup and the One Spoonful Rule ? Use a portion control rule and limit your child?s intake of condiments to one teaspoon per meal or use a bigger spoon for other foods. One can also use this rule to help introduce new foods and dishes to children. Avoid Guilt, Begging or other Forms Of Bribery ? In a phrase, just don?t do it. Use positive reinforcements to help motivate behavioral changes. When Needed Seek Help ? And Early ? Ask friends, family and others such as food bloggers for their advice, tips and recipes. Plan Ahead ? Plan ahead using tools like meal planners and schedules, but only if they work for you and your family. Experiment a little to see what works. When All Else Fails, Use Humor or aka Be Sneaky ? Using a little humor to get to your goal never hurt anyone! Try mixing in goodies like spinach or squash puree into dishes when you can instead of cream, or using flour for thickening.

??

Here are my other tips for your aunt - Try bread alternatives such as:

• quinoa based crackers
• rice cakes
• boiled rice
• boiled quinoa
• gluten free oatmeal porridge
• lettuce or cabbage for wraps
• Vietnamese spring roll wraps

Try gluten and lactose free child friendly dinner options such as:

• Consider maintaining a gluten and dairy free diet for the entire family, too. This makes meal planning a lot easier and means that you can enjoy meals as a family with less hassle.

• Buy a rice cooker. Rice cookers can be bought from 200 NOK and up online or in electronic stores. Asian food stores also stock a few models too. These are normally of higher quality but more expensive than the ones bought in electronic stores.

• Crock-pots aka slow cookers are now sold in Norway, and offer you a way to get gluten and dairy free meals on the table fast (and save LOTS of money along the way). One of my favorite food bloggers Stephanie O?Dea has a GREAT blog called A Year of Slow Cooking?about the year she spent cooking in a slow cooker every single day. All of her recipes are gluten free and many have optional dairy ingredients.

• Coconut milk is my favorite substitute for cow?s milk. It can be bought in cans in most stores in Norway and in powdered form in most Asian and African food stores in Norway. Use coconut milk as you would cow?s milk in sweet and savory dishes.?

• Some lactose intolerant people find success with raw (non-pasteurized) cow?s milk, sheep milk or goat?s milk cheeses. These are more commonly found in health food and organic stores.

Good luck!

Do you have a question you?d like answered? Do you want an A to your Q? Email me at and have your question featured on TFTF.

This post is for non-commercial, personal use only. Copyright ?2012 by Whitney @ Thanks For The Food. Be sure to check out my Useful Links Page and More Useful Links Page or read more about me on the About Page. You can also find TFTF on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and You Tube.

Source: http://thanksforthefood.blogspot.com/2012/10/reader-q-how-to-deal-with-picky-eaters_30.html

ivan rodriguez planetary resources mothers day gift ideas natalee holloway scotty mccreery megan fox pregnant metta world peace suspension

Barbecue Champ ? Barbecue Sauce Recipe ? BBQ Sauce Recipe ...

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWS

Click Image To Visit SiteStop what you?re doing and listen very closely? ? because everything you?ve been told about championship barbecue recipes is about to be proven wrong?

? dead wrong. You probably don?t believe that right now, and that?s fine. In just a moment you?ll see completely and utterly undeniable PROOF.

I Didn?t Use Old Family Secrets, bribe the judges, have inside connections, or use the Techniques Everyone Else Is Talking About! I use real tactics that real champions use and I win practically every time!

A ?Teenage Kid? With NO Prior Skills Or Experience Applied The SAME secrets I?m about to reveal to you And Went On To Win 5 first place trophies and 2 second place trophies his first year!

And Once You Download my book your mind will do flips at the things you never knew about real competition barbecue recipes, you will kick yourself in the butt for using your old basic methods all of these years and grilling average barbecue!

If you?re ?trying? to make championship quality barbecue? grass-root, beginner, intermediate or advanced ? throw away ALL those old basic cookbooks you?ve bought over the years and read very carefully. I can?t help you if you want the latest fad tips.

But what I can do for you today is ? reveal a system in ?absolute? detail, ? that once you apply, you will never go back to the traditional ways of grilling ever again. With this system, there are NO RULES, red tape and hardly anybody that can compete?

Because once you start using THIS system ? the championship barbecue trophies are going to add up so fast you?re going to have to build a set of showpiece shelves just to house the massive beauties!

If you?re up to your eye balls with all those false promises and generic cookbooks? then just imagine the look on your face when you win your first barbecue championship. Do you think you?ll be smiling?

Date: March 19, 2011 From the backyard of Jason Jones

Is it really worth your time to read this page? Will you finally get the secret answer you?ve been searching high and low for?

Well let me be frank with you ? to be successful and win barbecue championships? all you really need is My System and Will Power. PERIOD!!

So, I?m not going to sit here and talk to you like a child ? you?re already smart enough to figure out, you need some inside tips. I?m not talking about a measly recipe, 10 or even 20. No. I?m talking about the kind of stuff that people keep in the family and never tell no matter what.

No matter what stage you are at with your barbecue skills, whether you?re an absolute beginner or have 50 trophies sitting around your fireplace? you need to read every word on this page.

As what I?m about to unleash right before your very eyes will win you a lot of barbecue contests if you actually use it, and it?s unlike anything you have ever seen before. This is the REAL deal!

I will reveal ONE SIMPLE ?SECRET? that will literally make ALL the problems you?ve encountered while barbecuing to this very day Vanish.

I?m going to reveal a ?detailed?, step-by-step systematic solution that will bring YOU a LOT of BARBECUE CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHIES which in effect will bring you alot of RESPECT and BRAGGING RIGHTS too. I will take you from the position you are at right now to a level where you once thought was an impossible dream.

I?m 100% certain that once you apply MY SYSTEM you will never turn back to any ?traditional? methods ever again.

Oh yeah, and one other huge benefit is? there is SERIOUS cash to be Won and Made with Killer Barbecue, and for it to happen you NEED MY SYSTEM.

There?s no question about it. To win barbecue championships you need to know my secrets and after you apply my system?

That wasn?t a misprint as I have won over 70 barbecue trophies across the United States in the last 2 years. I?ve won barbecue contests in the South, the East, the West, the Midwest, you name it.

I?ve also tried using the conventional ways of barbecuing, using conventional barbecue recipes and techniques? and EACH ONE wasn?t good enough to consistently win 1st place barbecue trophies without a lot of luck and a lot of hassle.

Do you have any idea how sick and tired I was after months and months on end, using these techniques ?COMBINED?, just to win a couple second and third place barbecue trophies?

But that?s not all? do you know how many hoops you have to jump through, red tape and rules you?re suppose to follow using the typical boring methods? Here?s a small set of problems you?ll encounter?

The number of rules you have to follow and the endless hours of work you have to do is ?unbelievable? to say the least. But what did you expect? An easy route?

I?ve tried all the so called secret bbq recipes with average results. I?ve bought book after book, guide after guide, and watched show after show, and hey I?ve learned a few things here and there, but?

Right up until late 2008, when things quickly began to change for me. My tiring quest for answers finally paid off as I began to uncover the TRUTH behind making the best barbecue recipes in the world? and it had nothing to do with the usual hard work and usual old methods they?ve been shoving down your throat either.

And since that revelation hit me, everything changed. I had a life ?makeover?. I became a new person.

Then I was bombarded ? by every person that had ever heard of me, not just from the barbecue competition crowd, but also from hundreds of backyard cooks, spectators, and even multi-national companies.

They all wanted to know my secrets? how the heck was I able to win competition after competition? How was I able to dominate? Read more?

Related Reading:

NEW, Set of Two (2) 14?-Inch Long, Grill Spatula, Turner Spatula, Barbecue BBQ Spatula, Solid Stainless Steel, Flexible Blades, Riveted Smooth Wood Handle, Commercial Grade, One Perforated Face Spatual and One Solid Face SpatulaThese commercial grade turners feature a stainless steel blade, brass rivets and smooth easy to grip wood handles.

Price reflects a set of TWO.

Length - 14 1/2 Inches
Length (handle) - 4 1/2 Inches
Length (blade) - 10 Inches
Width (blade) - 3 Inches

Source: http://www.womenfavor.com/food-and-drink/bbq-grilling/barbecue-champ-barbecue-sauce-recipe-bbq-sauce-recipe-best-bbq-sauce-recipe.html

equatorial guinea marine helicopter crash chicago weather star jones wheres my refund photo of whitney houston in casket carrot top

Inklings : Top Five Do's And Don'ts Of Power Outages

Home > Opinions > Top Five Do?s And Don?ts Of Power Outages

Claire Lewin, Staff Writer
October 28, 2012
Filed under Opinions

Do:

1.) Shower Before The Storm
Imagine a week or more without hot water to shower in. After a few days without hot water, you?re going to stink. But if shower before the storm you won?t stink as bad.

2.) Carry A Flashlight Around At All Times
The power can go out at any time. Plus, don?t you want to see everyone?s faces when they freak out about having no power?

3.) Charge Your Electronics Before The Storm
Make sure to savor the few hours of battery life you have.

4.) Buy Board Games.
After your electronics die, board games might be your only source of entertainment.

5.) Find A House With Power
This is essential. In fact, make arrangements in advance: You can stay at my house if I can stay at yours! Those few houses will get booked up pretty fast.

Don?t:

1.) Open The Fridge Unnecessarily
You don?t want the good stuff to go bad.

2.) Try To Turn On The TV
It will not turn on. Save yourself from all that frustration.

3.) Walk Or Drive Around After The Storm
Yes, it?s tempting. But down power lines plus water equals electrocution. Be safe; stay home.

4.) Call CLP
Don?t waste your time ? they won?t answer.

5.) Fight With Family
Family harmony is key! You are going to be stuck together for a long time; you might as well get along. No need to throw fake money at each other when playing Monopoly.

Source: http://www.inklingsnews.com/c/2012/10/28/top-five-dos-and-donts-of-power-outages/

times square 2012 predictions new years eve ball drop new years eve times square 2012 2012 holidays prosperity japan earthquake

Reader Uses Real Apple to Create MRI Image of Apple Logo

You've never seen an Apple logo quite like this before.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/hO7Vt842mRw/

east west shrine game haywire underworld awakening dog the bounty hunter tacoma narrows bridge weather nyc open marriage

Sales contracts to buy US homes rose last month

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes rose only slightly, suggesting sales may level off in the coming months after solid gains in the past year.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements rose in September to a reading of 99.5. That's up from August's reading of 99.2 but below a two-year high of 101.9 reached in July. Contracts are up 14.5 percent from a year ago.

An index reading above 100 is considered healthy. The index bottomed at 75.88 in June 2010 after a homebuyer's tax credit expired.

The pending home sales index is a measure of the number of signed contracts to purchase homes. The index can signal where the housing market is headed because a signed contract usually results in a final sale one or two months later.

The housing market has been recovering this year, helped by the lowest mortgage rates in decades, a limited supply of homes for sale and steady price increases.

Some economists said the rising trend in home sales will likely continue, despite a few weaker months this fall.

The figures "suggest that existing home sales are likely to flatten over the next month or two," Joseph LaVorgna, an economist at Deusche Bank, said in an email. "Looking beyond then, we expect sales to resume their uptrend as the underlying housing fundamentals continue to improve."

New home sales jumped last month to the highest annual pace in the past two and a half years.

And builders broke ground on new homes and apartments at the fastest pace in more than four years in September. They also requested the most building permits in four years, a sign that many are confident that home sales gains will continue.

The housing recovery could help boost economic growth and hiring at time when manufacturing has weakened sharply. Still, housing makes up a much smaller part of the economy than it did before the bubble. So rising construction and sales may have less of an impact.

And many first-time homebuyers are struggling to qualify for mortgages, since banks have raised credit standards. Many also demand high down payments that many would-be homebuyers can't afford.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sales-contracts-buy-us-homes-rose-last-month-140141564--finance.html

joseph kennedy iii ghost hunters lightsquared david lee honduras prison fire do not call list sports illustrated

Video: Teen suspect in Ridgeway murder to appear in court

>> and more on that startling arrest in the kidnapping and murder of 10-year-old jessica ridgeway . a 17-year-old is behind bars and will be charged in connection with that case. this morning, miguel almaguer is in golden, colorado.

>> reporter: detectives say the suspect is a local boy, a teenager accused and responsible for a horrific crime that rocked this community.

>> reporter: police say the suspect is 17-year-old austin sigg , a teenager accused of kidnapping and murdering 10-year-old jessica ridgeway . she sappeared october 5th . the fifth grader last seen walking to school, her dismembered body discovered days later in a rural open space .

>> we can't give you a lot of information. affidavits in this case have been sealed. that's under a court order . so i'm precluded from giving too much detail.

>> reporter: arrested tuesday night after what police called a tip, nbc denver affiliate kusa reports sigg 's own mother called investigators. i made the phone call and he turned himself in. that's all i have to say, mindy sigg told the "associated press." kusa reports sigg was interrogated for six hours telling detectives, quote, specific details about the crime that only someone intimately involved would know. all day wednesday, investigators were spotted inside sigg 's family home just a mile and a half from jessica ridgeway 's house. inside, law enforcement sources reportedly say they found human remains . meantime, at standley lake high school , classmates say he collected knives and swords and described him as a brilliant student.

>> he was smart as all can be. he knew what he was doing, he had good grades, he was intelligent.

>> friends say sigg was active in online gaming . before his arrest, sigg was enrolled in community college where friends say he was fascinated with mortuary science . he won second place in the crime scene investigation division at a state conference. megan barker was sigg 's lab partner in forensic science and said sigg was interested in how bodies decomposed.

>> he was a really nice kid. he would help us with our projects, help the teacher with the computer. he was friendly.

>> police have linked sigg to an atem attempted kidnapping on a running trail not far from his home. they say he attacked a female jogger on memorial day , the victim saying the suspect tried to cover her face with a chemical-soaked rag. police call sigg 's arrest the start of justice for jessica . but for the little girl 's family and this community, there may never be peace.

>> it was so close to home . and he was just right over there. this is really scary.

>> reporter: austin sigg is expected in front of a judge at 8:00 a.m . local time . he'll be in juvenile court , but prosecutors tell nbc news they have every intent on trying him as an adult. matt?

>> miguel almaguer on this story for us, thank you very

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/49548701/

jay z and beyonce the big chill tony blankley charles barkley beyonce troy polamalu james harrison

Positively Autistic: The Magazine Show 10/26 by Positively Autistic ...

We have Grammy award winning record producer Mr bangladesh for a special 2 hour special promoting his new artist and music career

Marx & Julie chat with British filmmaker Chris Stone, the writer & director of the Victorian vampire web series turned feature film called Blood and Bone China. As if that wasn't enough, we also speak to our featured indie music artist of the week, Birthrite.

Native American Movement founder Russell Means was laid to rest yesterday at his home on Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. He is remembered with comments, stories, and prayers.

Lori Saitz is a nationally recognized expert in using gratitude to boost client retention and increase referral business. She is the founder of Zen Rabbit, which is a concierge type company specializing in helping business professionals ?multiply profits

Gus Speth, author of AMERICA THE POSSIBLE,shares his vision of comprehensive and deep change rooted in a political economy that sustains people, communities and nature. Long time Washington insider, he now is part of the protest movement.

One of Radio One?s top DJs, DJ Kayotik will be on with us to talk about career, current mixtape KAYOTIK KHRONIKLES VOL. 1, and youth organization.

Queen Afua, has been an expert in Wholisitc Health, a lecturer/author for 40 years. She'll discuss the 21 Detoxification Process & the work she's doing in Detroit for the next year. Kilindi Iyi, world renowned lecturer and Master of The African Martial Art

Mothyna James-Brightful-Global freedoms and empowerment campaign for domestic violence awareness-Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation. Dawn-Marie Hanrahan is a #1 Bestselling Author, TranSpirational Speaker and Spiritual Leader, who travels the world educating others

Health & Fitness is on tap when International Fitness Model Charles Flanagan and IFBB Pro Fitness competitor Donna Jones from Australia tackle everything from nutrition & exercise to the psychology of living well, Speaking to callers LIVE

Stacey Monroe welcomes Rico and J-Rod from the group Recognition to E! GEMZ! Radio to speak about their music career and life. How did they two become Recognition? What did they both give up in order to pursue there music career? Tune in to see what they have

Big Blend Radio talks with outdoorsman and naturalist Jay Erskine Leutze about his acclaimed book STAND UP THAT MOUNTAIN: The Battle to Save One Small Community in the Wilderness Along the Appalachian Trail.

Teen Hosts McMillen, Janae, Jackie, Jessica, and Salwa discuss common sex myths. Our guests, Crystal Collette and Caitlin Mcardle from Planned Parenthood, are here to give us the facts.

This week on the BIG show, host Tim Gordon will talk with writer/director Matthew Cherry about his upcoming drama, The Last Fall. The semi-autobiographical tale tell the story of an NFL journeyman who struggles to deal with life's after the game.

Super Role Model, Valerie Jeannis, heralded as ?the Catalyst?, joins the Feminine Soul Radio show and talks about her new book I Am Beautiful: Changing the Way You See Yourself. Valerie will inspire you to say yes to your life and take action on your dreams.

In the dark, driving tasks like looking at other vehicles ahead and reading road signs are more difficult for some drivers. With the end of daylight savings only eight days away, tune into Healthy Vision? with Dr. Val Jones to learn how to take better care of your eyes ? and your car ? to improve your nighttime driving.

Legendary singer, Tony Bennett kicks off our new Storytellers series with a special live interview. Join hosts Eric Olsen (@amhaunted) of America?s Most Haunted and Chitra Agrawal, BlogTalkRadio?s own Director of Marketing, for the premiere.

The Phantom Zone Radio Show welcomes actor, screenwriter, and film editor, Camden Toy. He is best known as a character actor in the series, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and it's spinoff series, Angel.

Join Weigh In Sports as they talk to the CEO of BCS.net Magazine Robin Bayless as they go over the new BCS standings, the founding of the magazine in such a competitive market, the writers and much more.

Source: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/positivelyautistic/2012/10/26/positively-autistic-the-magazine-show

Lilit Avagyan Nashville TV Show VP debate drew brees drew brees sandusky Sam Champion

Brahimi's plan for Syria cease-fire takes two steps forward, one step back

? A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

United Nations special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said today that the government agreed to a cease-fire over the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, but Syrian officials almost immediately dismissed his statement, claiming that it was still considering the proposal.

There are high stakes for the potential cease-fire, which is currently the only proposal on the table for ending the 19-month conflict that has killed between 20,000 and 34,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more. But there seems to be little optimism that the three- or four-day break in violence will bring about a substantial change.

A cease-fire agreement in April (described as ?so fragile it could collapse with a single gunshot,? reported the Associated Press at the time) failed within days, with both rebels and the Army accusing one another of breaking the agreement.

"After the visit I made to Damascus, there is agreement from the Syrian government for a cease-fire during the Eid," Mr. Brahimi told a news conference at the Cairo-based Arab League. Rebel groups have also agreed to the truce ?in principle," Reuters reports.

RELATED ? Why no safe zone in Syria, yet? 5 complications

However, an hour after Brahimi's announcement, the Syrian government said it was still "studying" the proposal and would announce its decision tomorrow.

However, rebel sources earlier told the news agency there was ?little point if it could not be monitored and enforced,? according to a separate Reuters report, and Brahimi?s plan didn?t note the presence of international observers to monitor the cease-fire, according to the first report.

"If this humble initiative succeeds, we hope that we can build on it in order to discuss a longer and more effective cease-fire, and this has to be part of a comprehensive political process," Brahimi said.

Brahimi's announcement follows another bloody day in Syria. One of the few bakeries still operating in Aleppo was shelled yesterday, as about 100 people waited in line for bread, reports the Los Angeles Times. An estimated 20 people were killed and another 50 wounded in the blast in the Masaken Hanano neighborhood.

This was the third day in a row that the opposition-held neighborhood came under Army shelling. Abu al-Hasan, an activist from an Aleppo suburb, told The New York Times that residents in the area were too scared to leave their homes the past few days because of the intense shelling but ?finally took the risk in order to buy food for Eid al-Adha,? the widely celebrated holiday that starts at the end of the week. The N.Y. Times notes how important bakeries have become in the three-month battle over Aleppo, Syria?s largest city:

?[B]akeries in rebel-held areas of Aleppo have emerged as vitally important resources that are clearly potential targets for Syrian forces seeking to starve the insurgents and their sympathizers into submission. Many of the bakeries are run by the insurgents, who have learned how to bake bread as part of the war effort.

Nearly a dozen bakeries have been targeted in Aleppo since fighting broke out there. Abu Firas, a spokesman for the Revolutionary Council for Aleppo and its suburbs, told the L.A. Times that the Assad regime has targeted bakeries because it wants ?life to stop.?

"They are directly targeting the bakeries because many people gather there. Why are they shelling it? There aren't any Free Syrian Army fighters," Abu Firas said, referring to the main rebel fighting force, also known as the FSA.

The Syrian Army is relying more and more on air strikes as it has lost territory to rebel groups.

"Some of the bombs were so big they sucked in the air and everything crashes down, even four-story buildings. We used to have one or two rockets a day, now for the past 10 days it has become constant, we run from one shelter to another. They drop a few bombs and it's like a massacre," a 20-year-old refugee named Nabil told Reuters at a camp in the Syrian town of Atimah, which overlooks the Turkish border.

Bakeries aren?t the only targets. The BBC reports from the town of Marea near the Turkish border, about 20 miles north of Aleppo, that funeral processions, the weekly market, and other quotidian activities seem just as likely to be targeted by bombs.

Almost everyone we meet has lost someone to the enemy in the sky ? here, a boy was shot dead from the air as he rode his motor bike ? there, a group of teenage lads were blown to pieces by a bomb dropped from a MiG fighter as they loaded potatoes onto a truck.

There seems to be no object to the random bombing, other than to sow terror.

"It's revenge," says Yasser al-Haji, a businessman from Marea who moved abroad, then returned last year to join the revolution. "Marea was one of first cities to demonstrate.

"It's an economic war, too. Above all, they want to humiliate us for rising up against the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad," he adds.

The bakery hit yesterday in Aleppo was housed in a large warehouse, according to Abu al-Hasan who spoke to the N.Y. Times. He says it?s actually unclear whether the bakery was the target.

?The problem is those kinds of missiles are not guided to their intended targets,? he said. ?They?re not precise. They fall on random buildings.?

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reports that there are now more than 358,000 Syrian refugees in the region, according to the L.A. Times. Last week alone more than 5,500 Syrians registered with UNHCR.

?The longer Syrians remain in exile, the more likely they are to seek help as their savings are depleted. Many refugees fled home with few resources because work has been disrupted for more than a year in some areas of Syria,? the LA Times reports.

With a potential cease-fire on the horizon, many are speculating about the future of Syria and President Bashar al-Assad. James Van de Velde, a lecturer at the Center for Advanced Studies at Johns Hopkins University writes in a commentary for The Jerusalem Post that no regime that follows Assad could be worse, ?though it may not be much better in the near term.?

Mr. Van de Velde lays out five potential outcomes in Syria, none of which he expects will include Assad:

1. Assad flees and those Alawite members of the regime who remain pledge to join and cooperate with the new (Sunni-dominated) Free Syrian Army (FSA) government (the optimal, ideal, Western-driven future, although sadly there is no evidence the United States is pursuing such an outcome)?.

2. Assad resigns at the direction of Russia, which creates a new Syrian government (a Russian-driven future). A UN-Russian plan creates a transitional government made up of FSA members and current regime elements, made possible and heavily influenced by Russia, which wishes to maintain a favored-nation status with the new Syrian government, which affords Russia special influence for pulling Assad. The United States is largely shut out of the new government, given the perception that the United States was indifferent to the opposition?.

3. Assad flees at the direction of Iran (an Iran-driven future). A UN plan creates a transitional government made up of FSA members and current regime elements, but one that is heavily influenced behind the scenes in Syria by Iran, which wishes to keep Syria a client state and to continue to support Lebanese Hezbollah through Syria. The United States is largely shut out, given the perception that the United States was indifferent to the opposition.

4. Assad flees or is killed and leaves behind chaos (a ?no one is driving? future). The FSA takes over the country; the Alawites are purged from the new government. There is a scramble among the FSA, al-Qaida in Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran to secure and control Syrian chemical and biological weapons and shape the new government. The outcome of such violence is uncertain. here is no sympathy for the United States, given the perception that the United States was indifferent to the opposition.

5. Assad flees or is killed and Alawite members of the SSRC, the Republican Guard and former regime elements ? including thousands of private Alawite militia, retreat to the Latakia Province and create a defensive enclave, armed with Syrian regime weapons, perhaps including chemical and biological weapons (a sectarian-driven future) ? perhaps the most likely future now....

RELATED ? Why no safe zone in Syria, yet? 5 complications

Related stories

Read this story at csmonitor.com

Become a part of the Monitor community

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brahimis-plan-syria-cease-fire-takes-two-steps-131047334.html

chicago cubs split pea soup recipe the client list yahoo.com/mail baylor april 9 albatross

Apple Announces Updated Mac Mini, $599, Shipping Today

Apple has just updated the Mac Mini to a new, faster configuration with Intel Core i5 or i7 with Ivy Bridge as well as up to a terabyte of hard drive space. The Mini also comes in a server configuration for $999 with a faster processor.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/E5P8QUC6vqM/

justin timberlake michael dyer bachmann bachmann iowa caucus results sickle cell trait sugar bowl

Informant: NYPD paid me to 'bait' Muslims - KWQC-TV6 News and ...

By ADAM GOLDMAN and MATT APUZZO
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - A paid informant for the New York Police Department's intelligence unit was under orders to "bait" Muslims into saying inflammatory things as he lived a double life, snapping pictures inside mosques and collecting the names of innocent people attending study groups on Islam, he told The Associated Press.

Shamiur Rahman, a 19-year-old American of Bangladeshi descent who has now denounced his work as an informant, said police told him to embrace a strategy called "create and capture." He said it involved creating a conversation about jihad or terrorism, then capturing the response to send to the NYPD. For his work, he earned as much as $1,000 a month and goodwill from the police after a string of minor marijuana arrests.

"We need you to pretend to be one of them," Rahman recalled the police telling him. "It's street theater."

Rahman said he now believes his work as an informant against Muslims in New York was "detrimental to the Constitution." After he disclosed to friends details about his work for the police - and after he told the police that he had been contacted by the AP - he stopped receiving text messages from his NYPD handler, "Steve," and his handler's NYPD phone number was disconnected.

Rahman's account shows how the NYPD unleashed informants on Muslim neighborhoods, often without specific targets or criminal leads. Much of what Rahman said represents a tactic the NYPD has denied using.

The AP corroborated Rahman's account through arrest records and weeks of text messages between Rahman and his police handler. The AP also reviewed the photos Rahman sent to police. Friends confirmed Rahman was at certain events when he said he was there, and former NYPD officials, while not personally familiar with Rahman, said the tactics he described were used by informants.

Informants like Rahman are a central component of the NYPD's wide-ranging programs to monitor life in Muslim neighborhoods since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Police officers have eavesdropped inside Muslim businesses, trained video cameras on mosques and collected license plates of worshippers. Informants who trawl the mosques - known informally as "mosque crawlers" - tell police what the imam says at sermons and provide police lists of attendees, even when there's no evidence they committed a crime.

The programs were built with unprecedented help from the CIA.

Police recruited Rahman in late January, after his third arrest on misdemeanor drug charges, which Rahman believed would lead to serious legal consequences. An NYPD plainclothes officer approached him in a Queens jail and asked whether he wanted to turn his life around.

The next month, Rahman said, he was on the NYPD's payroll.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne did not immediately return a message seeking comment about Tuesday. He has denied widespread NYPD spying, saying police only follow leads.

In an Oct. 15 interview with the AP, however, Rahman said he received little training and spied on "everything and anyone." He took pictures inside the many mosques he visited and eavesdropped on imams. By his own measure, he said he was very good at his job and his handler never once told him he was collecting too much, no matter whom he was spying on.

Rahman said he thought he was doing important work protecting New York City and considered himself a hero.

One of his earliest assignments was to spy on a lecture at the Muslim Student Association at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan. The speaker was Ali Abdul Karim, the head of security at the Masjid At-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn. The NYPD had been concerned about Karim for years and already had infiltrated the mosque, according to NYPD documents obtained by the AP.

Rahman also was instructed to monitor the student group itself, though he wasn't told to target anyone specifically. His NYPD handler, Steve, told him to take pictures of people at the events, determine who belonged to the student association and identify its leadership.

On Feb. 23, Rahman attended the event with Karim and listened, ready to catch what he called a "speaker's gaffe." The NYPD was interested in buzz words such as "jihad" and "revolution," he said. Any radical rhetoric, the NYPD told him, needed to be reported.

John Jay president Jeremy Travis said Tuesday that police had not told the school about the surveillance. He did not say whether he believed the tactic was appropriate.

"As an academic institution, we are committed to the free expression of ideas and to creating a safe learning environment for all of our students," he said in a written statement. "We are working closely with our Muslim students to affirm their rights and to reassure them that we support their organization and freedom to assemble."

Talha Shahbaz, then the vice president of the student group, met Rahman at the event. As Karim was finishing his talk on Malcolm X's legacy, Rahman told Shahbaz that he wanted to know more about the student group. They had briefly attended the same high school in Queens.

Rahman said he wanted to turn his life around and stop using drugs, and said he believed Islam could provide a purpose in life. In the following days, Rahman friended him on Facebook and the two exchanged phone numbers. Shahbaz, a Pakistani who came to the U.S. more three years ago, introduced Rahman to other Muslims.

"He was telling us how he loved Islam and it's changing him," said Asad Dandia, who also became friends with Rahman.

Secretly, Rahman was mining his new friends for details about their lives, taking pictures of them when they ate at restaurants and writing down license plates on the orders of the NYPD.

On the NYPD's instructions, he went to more events at John Jay, including when Siraj Wahhaj spoke in May. Wahhaj, 62, is a prominent but controversial New York imam who has attracted the attention of authorities for years. Prosecutors included his name on a 3 ?-page list of people they said "may be alleged as co-conspirators" in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, though he was never charged. In 2004, the NYPD placed Wahhaj on an internal terrorism watch list and noted: "Political ideology moderately radical and anti-American."

That evening at John Jay, a friend took a photograph of Wahhaj with a grinning Rahman.

Rahman said he kept an eye on the MSA and used Shahbaz and his friends to facilitate traveling to events organized by the Islamic Circle of North America and Muslim American Society. The society's annual convention in Hartford, Conn, draws a large number of Muslims and plenty of attention from the NYPD. According to NYPD documents obtained by the AP, the NYPD sent three informants there in 2008 and was keeping tabs on the group's former president.

Rahman was told to spy on the speakers and collect information. The conference was dubbed "Defending Religious Freedom." Shahbaz paid Rahman's travel expenses.

Rahman, who was born in Queens, said he never witnessed any criminal activity or saw anybody do anything wrong.

He said he sometimes intentionally misinterpreted what people had said. For example, Rahman said he would ask people what they thought about the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya, knowing the subject was inflammatory. It was easy to take statements out of context, he said. He said wanted to please his NYPD handler, whom he trusted and liked.

"I was trying to get money," Rahman said. "I was playing the game."

Rahman said police never discussed the activities of the people he was assigned to target for spying. He said police told him once, "We don't think they're doing anything wrong. We just need to be sure."

On some days, Rahman's spent hours and covered miles in his undercover role. On Sept. 16, for example, he made his way in the morning to the Al Farooq Mosque in Brooklyn, snapping photographs of an imam and the sign-up sheet for those attending a regular class on Islamic instruction. He also provided their cell phone numbers to the NYPD. That evening he spied on people at Masjid Al-Ansar, also in Brooklyn.

Text messages on his phone showed that Rahman also took pictures last month of people attending the 27th annual Muslim Day Parade in Manhattan. The parade's grand marshal was New York City Councilman Robert Jackson.

Rahman said he eventually tired of spying on his friends, noting that at times they delivered food to needy Muslim families. He said he once identified another NYPD informant spying on him. He took $200 more from the NYPD and told them he was done as an informant. He said the NYPD offered him more money, which he declined. He told friends on Facebook in early October that he had been a police spy but had quit. He also traded Facebook messages with Shahbaz, admitting he had spied on students at John Jay.

"I was an informant for the NYPD, for a little while, to investigate terrorism," he wrote on Oct. 2. He said he no longer thought it was right. Perhaps he had been hunting terrorists, he said, "but I doubt it."

Shahbaz said he forgave Rahman.

"I hated that I was using people to make money," Rahman said. "I made a mistake."

___

Staff writer David Caruso in New York contributed to this story.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.kwqc.com/story/19890978/informant-nypd-paid-me-to-bait-muslims

best superbowl commercials 2012 best super bowl ads chrysler super bowl commercial madonna half time show fiat 500 abarth madonna halftime m i a

Gazans blast Israel with rockets, draws airstrikes

Medics carry a man wounded by a mortar shell fired from the Gaza Strip, for treatment in Soroka hospital in Beersheba, southern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Rockets and mortars from Gaza have pummeled southern Israel, drawing Israeli airstrikes that killed a Palestinian militant. Israeli police say more than 30 rockets and mortars landed in Israel early Wednesday, following a volley the night before. (AP Photo /Dudu Grunshpan) ISRAEL OUT

Medics carry a man wounded by a mortar shell fired from the Gaza Strip, for treatment in Soroka hospital in Beersheba, southern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Rockets and mortars from Gaza have pummeled southern Israel, drawing Israeli airstrikes that killed a Palestinian militant. Israeli police say more than 30 rockets and mortars landed in Israel early Wednesday, following a volley the night before. (AP Photo /Dudu Grunshpan) ISRAEL OUT

An Israeli military officer surveys the damage of house after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants hit a community along the Israel-Gaza Border, southern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Rockets and mortars from Gaza have pummeled southern Israel, drawing Israeli airstrikes that killed a Palestinian militant. The Israeli military said 60 rockets and mortars were fired by early morning Wednesday, following a volley the night before and that Israeli aircraft struck Gaza three times. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

An Israeli soldier surveys the damage to a house after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza Strip hit a community in southern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Rockets and mortars from Gaza have pummeled southern Israel, drawing Israeli airstrikes that killed a Palestinian militant. The Israeli military said 60 rockets and mortars were fired by early morning Wednesday, following a volley the night before and that Israeli aircraft struck Gaza three times. (AP Photo/ Tsafrir Abayov)

An Israeli woman surveys the damage to a house after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza Strip hit a community in southern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Rockets and mortars from Gaza have pummeled southern Israel, drawing Israeli airstrikes that killed a Palestinian militant. The Israeli military said 60 rockets and mortars were fired by early morning Wednesday, following a volley the night before and that Israeli aircraft struck Gaza three times. (AP Photo/ Tsafrir Abayov)

An Israeli police sapper holds the remains of a rocket rocket fired by Palestinian militants after it hit a community along the Israel Gaza Border, southern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Rockets and mortars from Gaza have pummeled southern Israel, drawing Israeli airstrikes that killed a Palestinian militant. The Israeli military said 60 rockets and mortars were fired early morning Wednesday, following a volley the night before and that Israeli aircraft struck Gaza three times. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip fired dozens of rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel on Wednesday in the heaviest bombardment on the area in months, drawing ominous Israeli threats of retaliation and dangers of escalation.

The violence came a day after a landmark visit to Gaza by the emir of Qatar. Israeli officials suggested the visit, the first by a head of state to the Hamas-ruled territory, emboldened the militant group.

The rocket fire began shortly after the emir left Gaza late Tuesday and continued through the night. Israeli officials said more than 80 projectiles were fired, and Hamas claimed responsibility for many of the attacks.

Israel responded with a series of airstrikes on rocket launchers, killing two Palestinian militants, according to Gaza medical officials.

Three Thai laborers working on an Israeli farm were wounded, two seriously, when a rocket hit a chicken coop. Other rockets badly damaged five houses and broke car windows. Schools in the area were closed.

Many people spent the day indoors, while others stayed in close proximity to the makeshift cement shelters found in the streets of southern Israeli towns. In one farming community, shrapnel covered trees and a children's playhouse in a backyard.

"Sometimes it feels like a scene out of the movie 'Platoon,' something out of the Vietnam war. We can stay at home and just hear the noise of the war," said Tamara Cohen, a resident of the border community of Ein Habesor whose children, ages 9 and 5, spent the night in a fortified "safe room" in their home.

A video issued by Hamas' military wing showed six rockets peeling off in rapid succession, then later, from what appears to be a different location, eight rockets shoot off, leaving plumes of black smoke behind them. Hamas said the video was made earlier in the day, though it provided no proof.

Hamas officials shuttered schools in border areas. Residents said they worried an escalation of fighting would ruin the upcoming Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha, when Gaza residents feast, visit families, dress their children in new clothes and take them out to play.

Despite the violence, streets in Gaza City were crowded with residents snapping up clothes and food ahead of Friday's start of the holiday. Traffic jams blocked main roads, and prayer leaders chanted songs for the feast.

Israeli leaders threatened tougher action against the rocket fire.

"We didn't ask for this escalation and didn't initiate it," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after touring a missile defense battery. "But if it continues, we are prepared to embark on a far more extensive and penetrating operation." The army said the "Iron Dome" defense system intercepted at least eight rockets.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israel Radio that "if we need a ground operation, there will be a ground operation. We will do whatever necessary to stop this wave" of violence.

Israel carried out a broad military offensive in Gaza nearly four years ago in response to years of rocket fire. Salvos from Gaza have largely subsided since then, though sporadic violence persists.

The territory is home to numerous militant groups, including murky al-Qaida-inspired organizations that do not answer to Hamas. Gaza has also been flooded with weapons in recent years, many of them believed to have been smuggled from northern Africa and into Gaza through tunnels under the Egyptian border.

On Wednesday, the African country of Sudan accused Israel of carrying out airstrikes that blew up a weapons factory in the capital, Khartoum. Israeli officials did not comment, but analysts said that if the reports were true, the airstrike might have attacked a weapons smuggling route. Sudan has accused Israel of being behind a similar attack on an arms convoy in 2009.

Hostilities in Gaza have been simmering for weeks, with militants sporadically firing rockets into Israel and the Israeli air force responding with airstrikes.

Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks, has largely avoided attacks since a devastating Israeli military offensive nearly four years ago. Instead, smaller groups have been behind most rocket fire, sometimes with Hamas' tacit blessing and sometimes against its wishes.

While Hamas remains virulently anti-Israel, it has sought to keep things quiet as it consolidates its control of Gaza. The group violently seized the territory from the rival, Western-backed Fatah movement five years ago.

Tuesday's visit by Qatar's emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, gave a powerful boost of legitimacy to Hamas rule, which is not internationally recognized.

Hamas officials said the emir urged Hamas to do everything possible to avoid violence with Israel. Israel's foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, suggested the visit had the opposite effect.

"I think what we see, especially yesterday, the visit of the emir of Qatar in Gaza, it's clear support for terror and terrorist activity," he said at a news conference with the visiting EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.

In his meeting with Ashton, Israeli President Shimon Peres charged that Qatari money is funding Hamas attacks. "No one in the world could agree to the current situation" of repeated rocket salvos, Peres said.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum accused Israel of trying to raise tensions. He said Israel was upset about the "political and economic gains" reaped from the emir's visit, and wanted to "disrupt the atmosphere ahead of the holiday."

Mukheimar Abu Sada, an independent analyst in Gaza, said Hamas had no interest in clashing with Israel now but likely felt pressured after two of its men were killed in an Israeli strike late Tuesday.

"Hamas is under pressure from the people: 'Where is the resistance that you speak of?' Hamas needed to save face," Abu Sada said.

___

Associated Press writers Ibrahim Barzak and Diaa Hadid in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, and Lauren E. Bohn in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-24-Israel-Palestinians/id-b432032297b143698ccb85fc5651dd2c

lana del rey snl enemy of the state golden globe nominees joe philbin miss america pageant 2012 shipwreck jose aldo vs chad mendes

Timberlake sings to Biel at wedding

Justin Timberlake dedicated a new song to his new bride Jessica Biel as the couple celebrated its nuptials in Italy.

The couple exchanged vows before family members and close friends at the Borgo Egnazia resort and the reception was one hot ticket event.

The Roots drummer Questlove played DJ at the party and the groom hit the stage to croon a new tune.

One party guest tells Us Weekly magazine, "Questlove played a bunch of Justin Timberlake songs... and Justin performed one song at the wedding - it's a new one that he hasn't released yet. He dedicated it to Jessica."

? Copyright WENN.com

Source: http://www.wetmtv.com/entertainment/story/Timberlake-sings-to-Biel-at-wedding/el6r9pgGnkCd4vHJh2NVUw.cspx?rss=133

Rich Kids of Instagram felix hernandez Ron Palillo julia child Texas A&m taylor swift taylor swift

What's Donald Trump's October Surprise?

Trump (Comedy Central)

Donald Trump, the real estate mogul, reality TV star and de facto leader of the "birther" movement, says he is planning a "big announcement" about President Barack Obama.

"I have something very, very big concerning the president of the United States," Trump told "Fox & Friends" on Monday during a phone interview. "I will be announcing it sometime probably Wednesday and it's going to be very big."

"Will it change the election?" co-host Gretchen Carlson asked Trump.

"Possibly," Trump replied. "It's very big?bigger than anybody would know."

Trump?who has been live-tweeting during the presidential debates?said he would likely make the announcement on "the Twitter."

The "Celebrity Apprentice" host was supposed to deliver a "big surprise" at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., but Hurricane Isaac forced the GOP to cut his appearance from the truncated schedule. The "big surprise"? A video featuring an Obama impersonator who Trump predictably fired.

[Hat tip: Mediaite]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/trump-announcement-obama-133419054--election.html

binders of women giants Alexis Wright presidential debates seahawks Felix Baumgartner Little Nemo

President Obama's Comment About Military Horses and Bayonets in ...

Last night, President Obama generated tremendous Internet buzz with his ?horses and bayonets? remark. While the U.S. Armed Forces have of course advanced technologically, the President?s statement is a disservice to the sailors and Marines who rely on our robust fleet every day, and it dramatically oversimplifies the importance of U.S. naval power.

In response to Governor Mitt Romney?s comment that the U.S. is headed for its smallest naval fleet since 1917, the President quipped, ?Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military?s changed.? The President continued in his retort, ?The question is not a game of Battleship where we?re counting ships. It?s?it?s what are our capabilities??

He is correct that we have the most capable Navy in the world, but as the old saying goes, quantity is a quality all its own. In Haiti, the Navy played a critical role in restoring stability and aiding the distressed and injured after the earthquake of 2010. Marines played a critical role in this effort, yet the fleet of amphibious ships they embark from will shrink significantly under Obama?s projected defense budget. Under sequestration, the amphibious fleet will shrink even more.

The President also used aircraft carriers to support his claim that we don?t need more ships. Again, this is an oversimplification. While these vessels do give the U.S. a significant advantage in being able to transport air power to rival that of most nations on each ship, they cannot be everywhere at once. The carrier fleet currently stands at 11?a congressionally mandated requirement. Under defense cuts, the fleet is projected to fall to 10.

One of the most strategic assets the Navy fields is its ballistic missile nuclear submarine fleet. These boats provide key deterrence and present the most survivable leg of the nuclear triad. The replacement for the aging Ohio-class ballistic subs is under development, yet under Obama?s budget?even before factoring in sequestration?the program is delayed by two years. This will cause a critical capability gap in the fleet for 14 years.

As with the carrier fleet, these strategic submarines do not require a fleet in the hundreds?or even in the dozens. The Navy has stated that its minimum requirement for a viable strategic deterrent at sea is 12 ballistic missile submarines.

Those who favor a larger fleet are not arguing for some massive buildup but just a level that the Navy has repeatedly stated is necessary. The capacity to build, sail, and maintain these vessels exists. It is the Administration?s attempts to slash defense that will cause a failure to meet these requirements.

America?s military capabilities have certainly evolved since World War I. But so have the threats America faces, the area our fleet must cover, and the global economy our Navy sustains by protecting freedom of navigation.

The President can dismiss calls for a more robust fleet, but that accomplishes nothing more than weakening America?s position in the world and undermining the sailors and Marines who protect the nation every day.

Source: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/10/23/horses-and-bayonets-remark-is-a-disrespectful-oversimplification/

bill maher seabiscuit dingo nba all star weekend malin akerman jeff carter chomp

Dealing With Death | The Arkansas Traveler

By Emily Jones 3 hours ago

About 1,800 people die each?year in Washington County. Six hundred have already died in 2012, and Roger Morris, the Washington County Coroner expects about two-hundred more deaths this year than in the past ten years. More people die at night and in the winter than any other time because it?s easier to give up during the early hours of the morning, when everyone else is asleep and no one is thinking about the dying, except Morris.

The Washington County Coroner is a full time position, even before he was officially declared that in 2009. Morris deals with all the deaths that happen in Washington County. That includes unattended deaths, nursing home deaths, hospital deaths, homicides, suicides, car accidents and prison deaths. On a daily basis Morris will get ?one or two calls when it?s slow, and midnight to five it?s nothing to get nine to 15 calls.? He doesn?t sleep, there?s no time, people are always dying. He works more than 80 hours a week, of which half is spent with the dead, and he is always on call. Our first meeting was delayed three hours because he was getting his first sleep of the week, on a Thursday.

But Morris is used to the sleep deprivation, though he?s not used to the medical ailments like high blood pressure, and the early onset of gray hairs that come along with the job. After ten years as the county coroner and a certified embalmer for 27 years, his insomnia comes from dedication to the job rather than nightmares that might come from dealing with the dead, not the open-casket-style presentation of the dead, the newly dead.

Morris is good. He can tell if a death seems suspicious because of his experience. His father was the coroner of Madison County. Morris said he remembers watching his father pull a body out of a bushhog when he was five while he sat on the ground Indian style.

Morris? son Hayden is interested too, but he wants his son to focus more in the FBI crime scene field. Hayden is comfortable around the dead like Morris was at his age. ?I was embalming a body one time in our funeral home and Hayden, who was about seven, was sitting on a chair and he asked ?Daddy, what are you doing to that man??? And Morris has also found a way to use his job for teaching lessons to Hayden. His son kept running across the highway without looking. One day at the grocery store Hayden found pictures of a decapitated man that Morris had photographed from a crime scene. ?What happened to him?? Hayden asked. ?He didn?t look before crossing the road.?

In his office in the Washington County South Campus, right across from the county jail, he reenacted a scene from the night before. He stood behind his office chair. A lady had been found dead in her recliner the night before. He mimed checking for any irregularities. He opened where her hypothetical eyes were, shined a flashlight in them. He looked for broken blood vessels in the lower eyelid?a sign of asphyxiation, ?I didn?t see anything, they were as clear as yours or mine.? The pupils were bilateral, so it wasn?t a stroke.? ?Her body temperature was high, so she had just died, and she showed no signs of struggle on her palms and feet.? When I came back to his office later that day he had 11 bottles of prescription medicine scattered around his desk that were confiscated from the woman?s home. He looked up and smiled. Turns out Metamorphin is medication for Type 2 diabetes and ?that individual had not been taking hers.? With the case closed, Morris gets to declare the death a ?natural cause.?

Whenever Morris goes to a crime scene, he?s got a checklist to determine cause of death. ?We look for signs of lividity because if the police say the body was on its face and stomach, but there is lividity is on their back, it means they?ve been moved.? Lividity occurs whenever the heart stops pumping blood through the body. The stagnant blood will settle with gravity or around pressure points and the skin will take shape of the surface it?s on. After that he checks for knots and bruising, signs of struggle, then heads to the medicine cabinet because that will usually indicate their cause of death.

Morris shut off the lights to show me how to clear a crime scene. Wednesday was a very sunny day and there is a large window on one wall, so he didn?t achieve the dramatic effect we were both hoping for. Morris turned on a flashlight, but decided to go find some better batteries for it. His digressions keep him moving. If he stopped for a moment he would probably fall asleep. He came back and showed me one area at a time on the floor. ?This is why we never turn the lights on at a crime scene. You see a lot more with a flashlight.? The brain takes in everything through the sensory register. It discards things that don?t seem important, but in a crime scene everything is important. He sipped from his 24 oz. Diet Mountain Dew, one of 12 he will drink in a day, and sat down. ?You find a lot more that way.?

The eyes start to dry out four to six hours after death, but until that point, a licensed eye inoculator, like Morris, can take them from the body for organ donation. ?It?s actually pretty neat,? he said. But to donate most other organs, you have to be on life support. Except the skin. Morris explained that hospitals use lots of skin grafts, so having a surplus is important. They don?t take it all though, he drew a line across his wrist with his finger, ?they cut off your hands here.? He pointed at his collarbone area, they leave that skin too. But everything else is used. He described the replacement of PVC pipe to restructure the arm if the radius and ulna are removed for donation, but wished he knew the medical term for PVC pipe.

Morris became animated when he talked about the postmortem stages of the body, talking fast, as one does when passionate for his job. He explained that after 12 hours, rigor mortis sets in. He clenched his fist and tried to open it to no avail. The joints become stiff in the phalanges, Morris said, and after two days it will recede. But then there is skin-slippage. Morris pointed at his knuckles. ?Any skin that holds moisture will begin skin slipping first, think of it as a blister.? He drew a line back to his forearm. That?s how far the skin stretches after day three. From then on it is decomposition.

Some of the bodies in Washington County aren?t found for a couple of weeks if the deceased has no relatives. ?We put a chemical agent in them called STOP about an ounce in and it will kill every maggot in there. It?s cleared by the Arkansas state law for toxicology reports.? But the only thing that stops actual ?decomp,? as Morris calls it, is refrigeration.

?We keep our cooler right above freezing at 40 degrees,? said Randall Gallaway, one of the deputy coroners. ?It?s the optimum temperature to preserve a body.?

The refrigerator is in the back, behind the three offices in the modern architecture style building. It?s spotless, something that remains a priority for Morris because of airborne diseases that bodies can emit during decomposition. The lab is a vast square room. A large metal gurney is the only thing on the floor. Biohazard signs adorn the walls and tabletops like artwork. There are two industrial sinks and no windows. Morris turns off the lights leaving only the ultraviolet light above the gurney to arrange the space. Morris uses this to find particles on clothing and also to see if there are any strangulation marks. The blood disappears from the skin when it has been stressed, so he can see marks that might not appear for hours.

The cooler holds the blood for toxicology and the bodies that are waiting for Morris? transport to Little Rock, or waiting to be claimed by family members. ?One body we?ve had for over a year,? he said, but time is running out. The coroners office cremates unclaimed bodies when they can?t locate family members. Morris pulled out a drawer I had thought was another file cabinet. Four boxes bearing four names were cluttered on the left side. ?Four bodies in 10 years isn?t so bad if you ask me,? he said. Sometimes families come out of the woodwork after a while to claim the body. The deceased has already been cremated with the Coroner?s budget. Cremations cost between $900 and $1,500, Morris said. ?All we can do is hope they reimburse us for the costs.?

To objectively balance dealing with the dead, Morris uses jargon through his thick southern drawl. He calls the bodies ?individuals,? not by their names, he says the acronyms for organizations, calls death certificates ?DC?s?, tells me that they always use a Form 7 to close a case. A Form 7 is the coroner?s consent to destroy tissues gathered for investigation. But through all this formality, he remembers the names of most of the deaths he?s investigated and recalls in detail the crime scenes.

He has had to embalm his grandmother and visit crime scenes of his close friends. ?Every body is the same.? After death they become his job. They no longer have personalities and to Morris, a body is a body. But he?s not allowed to investigate the scenes of people he knows because it would be a conflict of interest. ?I wish I could though, because I do the job right.?

A death certificate categorizes five ways to die: accident, homicide, suicide, natural, and unknown. Morris signs off every death certificate in the county. The only way Morris classifies a death as a suicide is when there is a note. An accident has to be a car accident, slipping and falling, or death because of a past injury. Natural is strokes, heart attacks, and usually infant deaths. Unknown deaths are always sent to Little Rock for an autopsy. And ?you know pretty quickly when it?s a homicide.?

Morris can amend the death certificates if new evidence arises. Last Thursday Gary Conner came to the office looking for the file of McDowell. Conner also recalls every death in the same vivid description that Morris does. ?His autopsy came back undetermined because he was so badly decomposed, we had to ID him from his dental records? he said. ?It was September 2010 I believe.? McDowell?s friend had a journal that Conner said ?reflects distinct suicidal ideologies.? One Wednesday, Morris said he would get to change the death certificate to ?suicide.?

There aren?t many homicides in Fayetteville, but Morris said there have been more this year, than last year within the same months. If doors are locked or the body is up against a door then it ?s probably not homicide.

?Death has its own smell.? Morris claims that people emit the smell right before they die, if they are already dying. And he?s found a comfort in death. ?Every time someone dies, usually within a month a baby in that family is born. I call them guardian angels.?

Most people couldn?t handle Morris? job because of the smells, the horrific homicide scenes, the overtime and the taboo of the last moments of death.

But to Morris the taboo can?t exist. It?s 80 hours of his week, but the afterlife is still unexplainable to him. There is an explanation for the reasons people die. Morris is Baptist. ?I believe in God, but I also believe in facts,? said Morris, and I believe I?m going to heaven. ?I see a lot of peaceful deaths. Dying in your sleep isn?t such a bad way to go.?

?

?

?

?

Source: http://www.uatrav.com/2012/10/21/dealing-with-death/

nate mcmillan clooney arrested southern miss rod blagojevich rod blagojevich uconn ncaa march madness

Tailored Cover Letter, Yes - Quintessential Resumes and Cover ...

More from a posting on the RecruitingBlogs site from corporate recruiter Bill Meiers:

Cover letters should always be tailored to the individual job and employer. Generic cover letter are pointless. But, as Meiers suggests, you can make the job of tailoring your letters easier by developing boilerplate letters for various kinds of jobs. Then, it?s a simple matter to pick the right boilerplate for a given job posting and tailor the boilerplate to that posting:

I would suggest a short investment of time ? probably less than an hour, to write 3 or 4 cover letter templates based on the types of jobs you are looking for. For example, one for inside sales, one for outside sales/new business development, one for pre-sales, one for account management, etc. This way, when you see a job you like, it is just a matter of a couple of small tweaks to personalize it, and you are on your way.

Future entries will look at more of Meiers?s thoughts on cover letters ? as well as some of the comments his blog posting got from other recruiters.

Source: http://www.resumesandcoverletters.com/tips_blog/2012/10/tailored-cover-letter-yes-but.html

shrimp scampi kate upton si cover lobster recipes hearts roses flower delivery e cards

Dead man found at Calif. shooting wearing armor

Inglewood emergency personnel respond to the scene where a man, wearing a mask, set a duplex on fire and then shot five members of a family on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 in Inglewood, Calif. A father and his 4-year-old son were killed and a woman and two other young children were wounded by the gunman, authorities said. A 6-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl were in critical condition, Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta said. The woman, said to be the children's mother, was being treated for gunshot wounds to the knee and pelvis. An 8-year-old boy was uninjured. (AP Photo/The Daily Breeze, Chuck Bennett) MAGS OUT; NO SALES MBO

Inglewood emergency personnel respond to the scene where a man, wearing a mask, set a duplex on fire and then shot five members of a family on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 in Inglewood, Calif. A father and his 4-year-old son were killed and a woman and two other young children were wounded by the gunman, authorities said. A 6-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl were in critical condition, Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta said. The woman, said to be the children's mother, was being treated for gunshot wounds to the knee and pelvis. An 8-year-old boy was uninjured. (AP Photo/The Daily Breeze, Chuck Bennett) MAGS OUT; NO SALES MBO

Police officers respond to the scene where a man, wearing a mask, set a duplex on fire and then shot five members of a family on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 in Inglewood, Calif. A father and his 4-year-old son were killed and a woman and two other young children were wounded by the gunman, authorities said. A 6-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl were in critical condition, Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta said. The woman, said to be the children's mother, was being treated for gunshot wounds to the knee and pelvis. An 8-year-old boy was uninjured. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Katie Falkenberg) NO FORNS; NO SALES; MAGS OUT; ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER OUT; LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS OUT; VENTURA COUNTY STAR OUT; INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT, TV OUT

This photo provided by the Inglewood (Calif.) Police Dept. shows Desmond John Moses. Police say Moses, a masked gunman who set fire to his home before shooting five members of a Southern California family was in a dispute with the victims, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012. Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta said a manhunt continues for 55-year-old Desmond John Moses after early Saturday's shooting rampage, which left a father and his 4-year-old son dead and three others wounded. (AP Photo/ Inglewood (Calif.) Police Dept.)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) ? Police were nearly certain Sunday that a man found dead at the property where five members of a Southern California family were shot ? two fatally ? was the killer because he was wearing body armor, clutching a handgun and had a bullet hole in his head.

The loaded handgun was a .38 caliber revolver registered to 55-year-old Desmond John Moses. Inglewood police say he set his bungalow ablaze before firing at his neighbors because he blamed them for an eviction notice he had received from their landlord.

The body, burned beyond recognition, was found inside the bungalow late Saturday and an autopsy will determine whether it is Moses.

The dead man had "what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head," wore body armor and carried additional ammunition in his pockets, a statement said.

While police couldn't conclude that the body is that of Moses until the autopsy is concluded, "the evidence suggests this is the case," the statement added.

The shooting rampage before dawn Saturday killed 33-year-old Filimon Lamas and his 4-year-old son. The father was shielding three of his children when he was shot, Police Chief Mark Fronterotta said. Lamas' 28-year-old wife, Gloria Jiminez, was shot in both legs but managed to carry the wounded 4-year-old out of the house.

Paramedics found her collapsed on the street. The child, who was shot in the head, died at a hospital.

Investigators believe Moses entered the family's home around 4 a.m. wearing a dark cap and a white painter's mask.

Authorities said he fired 10 times. In addition to the deaths of the father and child and injury to the mother, a 7-year-old girl was wounded in the chest and a 6-year-old boy suffered a bullet wound in the pelvis. An 8-year-old boy escaped injury.

The mother and daughter remained hospitalized in stable condition, Lt. James Madia said. The 6-year-old boy was released.

Relatives said Lamas and Jiminez were high school sweethearts who recently got approval for a home loan, and were looking to buy a bigger house for their tight-knit family.

Authorities launched a manhunt and evacuated surrounding homes after the shooting rampage, but it wasn't until hours later that they found the charred body because it was hidden under layers of debris.

"He was kind of a hoarder or pack rat," Madia said.

Moses lived in the bungalow for 17 years, while the family lived in the front house for 8 years, he said.

The landlord told the Los Angeles Times that Moses had been fighting an eviction notice and recently lost his case in court.

The newspaper reported Sunday that Moses has held a security guard registration with the California Department of Consumer Affairs since 1984. However, police said they did not know whether he was working as a security guard.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-10-22-Family%20Attacked/id-36a4adb73d344941a338b2a2c833bde9

adrienne bailon yelp stock honda classic news channel 5 nashville weather jason varitek andrew breitbart dead