What Would YOU Say

What Would YOU Say

I just read an
article bythe funny andinsightfulCody Delistratythat blew me away.
But first… I had
coffee last week with a gentleman. He asked me what I thought was my most
attractive feature.
Wait! What would
you say?
Is your first
reaction your hair, your nails, your eyes, your cleavage? Smile, laugh, bubbly
personality? Fierce resolve, courage, loyalty?
Or is your first
reaction one of puzzlement? Uh… I need to lose five pounds, dye my hair, get a
pedi? (Oh, wait, those were my reactions.)
But this guy was
serious. He wasnt looking for a run-down on what was wrong with me. He was
genuinely curious.So I looked him
in the eye, and I told him the truth. “I think my answer will surprise you.”
“Fine. I want to
hear it.”
“My confidence.”
He nodded slowly.
Clearly the answer wasnt what he was expecting. But he agreed that he liked that about me.
Over the last
year, Ive gone through a lot, maybe you have, too, change of jobs, loss of a
relationship, and now, a potential move is on the horizon.
Instead of
allowing the breakup to affect my confidence, I decided that I was one step
closer to living life more fully on my terms. (So, okay, there were plenty of
tears and long-distance calls to my friends and family, but I made it through.)
So, when I read
Delistraty's article, I was dancing around going, YES! Thats it! In his intriguing post, Delistraty talks about the thirteen things men think about women but never
say, and I loved what he had to say.My favorites? “Dont
stress. We think youre hot. Thats why were with you.”

Oh, and,
swoon-worthy words? “Its an odd occurrence, but personality and confidence
make a woman physically sexier.”
So, Im
wondering what would YOU say if asked what your sexiest feature is.Hey, and Cody, thanks,
for number seven, as well.After what you said about how to order a martini, I no longer feel fussy,
but empowered when I walk into Starbucks and say, “Iced grande, six pump, extra
ice chai tea, latte, please.”
I urge you to
read this article and see how real men think. Thanks for the great read!
And my soul
sisters out there? Strut your stuff.Cody's excellent article can be found here.xxoo Sierra

The Good Wife

The Good Wife



Sunday night, CBS' "The Good Wife" was not the worst episode. But that may just be because the episode before last was the all time worst episode of the show.

This one's only real saving grace was Jackie.

And that tells you how bad it was, when we're having to applaud Jackie. (Heads up, next time, Jackie throws a drink in Stockard Channing's face.)

So Peter may appoint this one woman to be a judge.

Jackie doesn't want it to take place.

Why?

The woman slept with Jackie's husband when he was alive.

(She was The Original Good Wife!!!! For heaven's sake, Alicia, moisturize!)

So she blackmails the woman.

She says she'll tell the woman's husband about the ancient affair.

The woman says her husband is dying of cancer.

Jackie doesn't care.

At the end of the epiosde, Will Diane went to Alicia and Carey's offices to . . . snipe.

Alicia excused herself and was asked out -- on the phone -- by the judge of her current case.



Going out with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, November 26, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, assassination
attempts increase, the KRG speaks out against violence against women
while Baghdad is largely silent, more executions are carried out, we
review the Jewish archives, and more.



In 2006 a number of things regarding Iraq became clear. Among them was
that you can't play red-light-green-light with Iraq. You can't dash in
and then dash out, checking out for months at a time. Well you can.
You can do that if you want to look stupid.

Phyllis Bennis looked like the world's biggest idiot going on
CounterSpin and raging over how little the US cared about the deaths of
Iraqis as evidenced by the refusal to do keep a body count. Poor
Phyllis, it had been reported months ago that there was a count. But
she was off on Lebanon and Palestine and she'd checked out on Iraq but
thought she could weigh in with an 'informed opinion.' She couldn't.
She still struggles to this day because she pays damn little attention.

Another lesson that's emerged is people can't just discover Iraq as a
topic. It's starting to become to clear, as an e-mail today noted, why
outlets would assign people to various beats and keep them on it. This
allowed the reporter to be informed and to have some perspective.

What's the alternative?


The garbage Adam Chandler serves up at Tablet. And he references Lisa Leff's earlier 'report' so it's like a foundation of stupidity with a light dusting of ignorance powder.

Lisa Leff's big concern was that some people were calling the trove of
Jewish artifacts discovered wasting in water in 2003 an "archive" and
that's "misleading" because blah, blah, blah. We don't have time to
quote idiots in full. Her definition? That's actually how the trove
was used prior to be it stolen by the Iraqi government. She doesn't
know a damn thing and, if you doubt that, the US National Archives have
digitized every page and created a website for it. What did this US
governent body responsible for archiving call the site? Preserving The Iraqi Jewish Archive. Not creating a new archive, preserving an existing one.

Adam Chandler knows even less. He wants to cite Reuters ("A
National Archives spokeswoman said the materials, whose removal from
Baghdad was agreed in 2003 - when a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam and
the country lurched into widespread sectarian turmoil - would be going
back to Iraq and the decision was made by the U.S. State Department.") and insist this decision was just made.


Let's drop back to the June 21st snapshot -- pay attention, Dunce Chandler and Dunce Leff, if you're capable of learning, you just might -- for the National Archives statement:


Washington, DC…On Friday, October 11, 2013, the National Archives
will unveil a new exhibition, “Discovery and Recovery: Preserving Iraqi
Jewish Heritage.” The exhibit details the dramatic recovery of historic
materials relating to the Jewish community in Iraq from a flooded
basement in Saddam Husseins intelligence headquarters, and the National
Archives ongoing work in support of U.S. Government efforts to
preserve these materials. Located in the Lawrence F. OBrien Gallery of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, “Discovery and Recovery” is free and open to the public and runs through January 5, 2014.
In both English and Arabic, the 2,000 square foot exhibit features 24
recovered items and a “behind the scenes” video of the fascinating yet
painstaking preservation process. This exhibit marks the first time these items have been on public display.

Background
On May 6, 2003, just days after the Coalition forces took over
Baghdad, 16 American soldiers from Mobile Exploitation Team Alpha, a
group assigned to search for nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons,
entered Saddam Husseins flooded intelligence building. In the basement,
under four feet of water, they found thousands of books and documents
relating to the Jewish community of Iraq – materials that had belonged
to synagogues and Jewish organizations in Baghdad.
The water-logged materials quickly became moldy in Baghdads intense
heat and humidity. Seeking guidance, the Coalition Provisional Authority
placed an urgent call to the nations foremost conservation experts at
the National Archives. Just a week later, National Archives Director of
Preservation Programs Doris Hamburg and Conservation Chief Mary Lynn
Ritzenthaler arrived in Baghdad via military transport to assess the
damage and make recommendations for preservation of the materials. Both
experts share this extraordinary story and take you “behind the scenes”
in this brief video
[http://tinyurl.com/IraqiJA]. This video is in the public domain and
not subject to any copyright restrictions. The National Archives
encourages its use and free distribution.
Given limited treatment options in Baghdad, and with the agreement of
Iraqi representatives, the materials were shipped to the United States
for preservation and exhibition. Since then, these materials have been
vacuum freeze-dried, preserved and photographed under the direction of
the National Archives. The collection includes more than 2,700 Jewish
books and tens of thousands of documents in Hebrew, Arabic, Judeo-Arabic
and English, dating from 1540 to the 1970s. A special website to launch
this fall will make these historic materials freely available to all
online as they are digitized and catalogued. This work was made
possible through the assistance of the Department of State, National
Endowment for the Humanities, and Center for Jewish History.
The Jews of Iraq have a rich past, extending back to Babylonia. These
materials provide a tangible link to this community that flourished
there, but in the second half of the twentieth century dispersed
throughout the world. Today, fewer than five Jews remain.
Display highlights include:
A Hebrew Bible with Commentaries from 1568 – one of the oldest books in the trove;
A Babylonian Talmud from 1793;
A Torah scroll fragment from Genesis - one of the 48 Torah scroll fragments found;
A Zohar from 1815 – a text for the mystical and spiritual Jewish movement known as “Kabbalah”;
An official 1918 letter to the Chief Rabbi regarding the allotment of sheep for Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year);
Materials from Jewish schools in Baghdad, including exam grades and
a letter to the College Entrance Examination Board in Princeton
regarding SAT scores;
A Haggadah (Passover script) from 1902, hand lettered and decorated by an Iraqi Jewish youth ; and
A lunar calendar in both Hebrew and Arabic from the Jewish year
5732 (1972-1973) - one of the last examples of Hebrew printed items
produced in Baghdad.“Discovery and Recovery” is divided into six sections:
Discovery: The dramatic story of how these materials
were found, rescued and preserved is one worthy of a Hollywood
blockbuster. A short film captures these heroic efforts. The section
includes actual metal foot lockers used to ship the documents to the
United States.
Text and Heritage: This section explores Iraqi
Jewish history and tradition through recovered texts, including a Torah
scroll fragment, a Hebrew Bible with Commentaries from 1568, and a
Babylonian Talmud from 1793.
Iraqi Jewish Life: Constancy and Change: Using
recovered texts, this section explores the pattern of Jewish life in
Iraq. Highlights include a Haggadah (Passover script), siddur (prayer
book) and an illustrated lunar calendar in both Hebrew and Arabic (one
of about 20 found, dating from 1959-1973).
Personal and Communal Life: Selected correspondence
and publications illustrate the range and complexity of Iraqi Jewish
life in the 19th and 20th centuries. Original documents and facsimiles
in flipbooks range from school primers to international business
correspondence from the Sassoon family.
After the Millennia: Iraqi Jewish life unraveled in
the mid-20th century, with the rise of Nazism and proliferation of
anti-Jewish propaganda. In June 1941, 180 Jews were killed and hundreds
injured in an anti-Jewish attack in Baghdad. Persecution increased when
Iraq entered the war against the new State of Israel in 1948. In 1950
and 1951, many Iraqi Jews were stripped of their citizenship and assets
and the community fled the county en masse. This section includes the
1951 law freezing assets of Iraqi Jews.
Preserving the Past: It is not surprising that the
Coalition Forces turned to National Archives conservators for help.
Learn about transformation of these materials from moldy, water-logged
masses to a carefully preserved, enduring historic legacy. View the
National Archives state-of-the-art treatment, preservation, and
digitization of these materials.
The Fall issue of Prologue Magazine, the Archives flagship publication, will feature two articles on “Discovery and Recovery.” Prologue is available in the Archives Shop.
National Archives Preservation and Conservation
The Conservation Department cares for the Constitution, the
Declaration of Independence and other founding documents, as well as
billions of other records. In state-of-the-art preservation labs, staff
assess the condition of records and identify their composition. Experts
stabilize and treat documents to prepare them for digitization,
exhibition, and use by researchers. A “conservator-on-call” team is
ready to provide guidance for any records emergency at National Archives
facilities nationwide. National Archives conservation experts also
serve as “first preservers” and provide aid to other agencies and
offices following disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.
View the conservation and re-encasement of the original Declaration of Independence [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9ovu0a6pL8]
See astounding conservation work on the 1297 Magna Carta
as staff use ultra-violet photography to reveal previously illegible
writing, remove old repairs, fill areas of loss with conservation paper,
and humidify and flatten the document
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqQVY1Zn0oM]Go behind-the-scenes to see the state-of-the-art preservation lab at the new National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO.
A fire in the former facility in 1973 destroyed millions of military
personnel files. Watch preservation technicians arduously treat records
for damage and mold, piece together burnt paper fragments, and see how
text seemingly lost to fire damage can be restored to legibility
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xNvAudiRwU]The National Archives is located on the National Mall on Constitution Avenue at 9th Street, NW. Hours are 10 AM-5 PM.
# # #
For more information on or to obtain images of items included in the
exhibition, call the National Archives Public Affairs staff at
202-357-5300.
Connect with Us on:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@USNatArchives
Facebook: USNationalArchives
Tumblr: http://usnatarchives.tumblr.com




Lisa Leff is deeply stupid. So caught up in word use, she doesn't even
realize she doesn't know a damn thing she's talking about.

The Jews of Iraq did not abandon those documents, they were stolen by
the Iraqi government in 1984. The 'wave' Leff thinks she knows about?
These documents were left in a Baghdad synagogue (on the second floor).
This was not an abandoned synagogue but a temple for Jews who chose to
remain in Iraq. It was from this active synagogue that the documents
were stolen.


It was the Iraqi government that stashed them in a basement. Jews were still in Iraq in the 80s. Since 2003, most have fled. AP reported last month that the last rabbi left Iraq in 2006. They didn't name him, but it was Rabbi Emad Levy. By 2008, there were nine remaining Jews in Iraq (read this WikiLeaks published State Dept cable).
The whispered number is 3 Jews remain in Iraq (in Baghdad) but that
comes from a 'religious leader' (non-Iraqi) who was caught lying in
testimony by IPS (he'd testified in '06 that there were no Jews left in
Iraq when there were -- and he got angry at the IPS reporter insisting
his public testimony wasn't supposed to be public so IPS shouldn't
report on it). I'm not even in the mood to mention that British liar's
name. We ignore him and have due to his lying. Most Iraqis in and
around Baghdad consider him a snitch and have throughout the illegal
war. So he's got bad reputation pretty much everywhere he goes.

This is stolen property. It was stolen in 1984. The government of
Saddam Hussein is no more. That doesn't mean, legally or ethically,
that Nouri or Iraq has a claim on these documents.

Adam Chandler, the plan has always been that the documents would be
returned. There is serious objection to this, as their should be.

The US government should have determined ownership before entering into a contract.

However, the US government being left red-faced with embarrassment?
That doesn't override the owners' rights to the property in question.

It belongs to the Jewish community. Since 2003, Iraq's worked overtime
to kill Jews and run them off. Now they want to insist that Jewish
property belongs to the Iraqi government?

In what world?


Not in the world of Congress. November 13th, Brett McGurk, the State Dept's Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Iraq and Iran Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, appeared
Wednesday before the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the
Middle
East
and North Africa (see the Nov. 15th "Iraq snapshot," the Nov. 14th "Iraq snapshot" and the Nov. 13th "Iraq snapshot"). The Subcommittee made clear, repeatedly, their position. Here are a few examples.





Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: Before we begin this afternoon's hearing I
will hand Deputy Assistant Secretary McGurk an envelope and ask that he
please deliver it to Secretary [of State John] Kerry. These are my
previous letters to Kerry pleading for the United States to help the
residents of Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty and to prevent another deadly
attack like the one from September at Camp Ashraf which left 52 dead and
7 hostages who are still missing. There's also a video taken by the
residents of Camp Ashraf during the last assault that I urge Secretary
Kerry and all members of this Subcommittee to view. And finally, a
letter to Secretary Kerry regarding the return of Iraqi-Jewish community
artifacts that are now on display at The National Archives. In 2003,
US and coalition forces found a trove of Iraqi-Jewish cultural
artifacts being warehoused in the basement of Saddam Hussein's secret
police headquarters. And the US subsequently brought them here, to The
National Archives, for restoration, preservation and display; however,
these artifacts are scheduled to be returned to Iraq where the
government will claim possession of these artifacts which were unjustly
taken from the Iraqi-Jewish community. The US government must not
return those stolen treasures to the Iraqi government but instead should
facilitate their return to their rightful owners or descendants.
Therefore, on behalf of me, Congressman Steve Israel and over 40 of our
House colleagues, we ask you, Deputy Secretary McGurk, to personally
deliver this letter to Secretary Kerry and the Dept of State ensures
that the Iraqi-Jewish community does not get robbed again of its
collective memory and treasures.


[. . .]

Ranking Member Ted Deutch: I'd actually like to get back to the
issue of the archives. And you said that you're "open to discussions."
And these are just a couple of observations -- and I appreciate the
attention that you've paid to this issue already. Iraq, Babylon, was
the center of Judaism for a thousand years and-and these documents,
tattered as they were, found a decade ago are -- according to the
agreement that was reached with the -- with the Coalition Provisional
Authority were supposed to be sent -- were supposed to be sent back to a
place where the number of Jews, the number is perhaps in the single
digits. The documents -- many of the documents are very personal in
nature, records of the community, things that are of real value to the
members of the community and their descendants who simply aren't there.
So help me. I understand what the agreement was. You've also said
you're now open to discussions. And can we explore that a little bit?
Can we explore that a little bit? And if you could just continue where
you left off? What discussion can we have? And what can we do? What
-- what would be the hold up to ensure that these items are so, so
personal to the community that is no longer living in the country can
actually reside with the community?

[. . .]US House Rep Grace Meng: Regarding the issue of Iraqi Jewish
artifacts that are currently on display in The National Archives, I want
to especially acknowledge and thank Congresswoman [Ileanna]
Ros-Lehtinen, Congressman [Steve] Israel and Senator [Chuck] Schumer for
their leadership on this issue. Rescued from Baghdad in 2003, the
collection of ancient artifacts include letters, books and personal
photos that were left behind by Jews after WWII who experienced extreme
anti-Semiticsm including harassment and violence. It is imperative that
these artifacts are returned to the descendents of the Jewish community
from which they were wrongly confiscated and not the Iraqi government.
We must ensure that justice for the Iraqi Jewish community.




That's just three examples, we can provide more. US House Rep Grace
Meng thanked Senator Chuck Schumer, Subcommittee Chair Illeanna
Ros-Lehtinen and US House Rep Steve Israel because they had sent open
letters to the White House calling for the trove, artifacts, archive not
to be handed over to Iraq.

This is not a minor issue. Cultural heritage is not minor. If it were, the US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) would not work so hard to track down stolen Iraqi artifacts and return them to Iraq,


Today, Sylvia Westall and Jonathan Saul (Reuters) quote
the World Organisation of Jews from Iraq's Cynthia Kaplan Shamash
stating, "Returning the collection to a Jewish-free Iraq in the current
conditions is incomprehensible and unacceptable." And they quote Edwin
Shuker, whose school certificate is pat of the documents set to be
returned, stating, "It is not a sectarian issue. Nothing is safe, no
shrine or holy place let alone a site where Jewish artefacts are stored.
There is a complete breakdown in safety and security in Iraq now."

That is correct. Iraq is still neither safe nor secure. That's why Iraqis continue to flee the country. Al Rafidayn reports
the kingdom of Jordan has issued an apology for the treatment of some
Iraqis crossing the border -- the article says Iraqis have been harassed
(it does not define how) -- and declaring that this is not the policy
of Jordan.

Here's what should happen right this minute. The World Organisation of
Jews from Iraq should filed in federal court on behalf of Shuker for his
document -- it clearly belongs to him. In addition, they should argue
that other artifacts can be traced and, even if they can't, Shuker and
others would have legal claim -- especially if they were making a
community claim and not a singular one. It should be argued that those
living today whose family names can be found within the trove have more
of a claim on the collection than does anyone in the Iraqi government.
This would delay any transfer to Iraq and they could win the case.
They could win on legal grounds or they could win on electoral grounds.
Electoral grounds? 2014 is an election year. Would the White House
go up against so many Americans?


Doubtful.

Saad Eskander is the head of the Iraq National Library and Archive. Eric Tucker and Randy Herschaft (AP) quoted
Eskander earlier this month stating, "Now, Iraqis have no problem in
accepting the fact that the Jews are true Iraqi patriots who can
live with their culture in a multicultural society, "

Now they do?

After the last Iraqis are run out of the country?

As for the ridiculous claim of a multicultural society -- the government
out of Baghdad doesn't recognize that. At the start of 2007, Nouri
al-Maliki signed off on the White House benchmarks for success in Iraq.
The Council on Foreign Relations has a write up here, the benchmark we're referring to is this one:


Reversal of de-Baathification laws. The Iraqi
parliament passed the Justice and Accountability Law on January 12,
2008, clearing the way for an estimated thirty-thousand low-ranking
ex-Baathists to return to public life. The law also allowed some party
members to collect pensions. But some Sunnis argue the law has made
matters worse for them by opening the door to federal prosecution,
barring top-ranking officials from regaining jobs, and restricting
former Saddam security forces from reintegration. The drive to rescind
de-Baathification laws was part of a larger effort to make
constitutional concessions to minority groups like Sunni Arabs.



That's still not happened. Nouri's targeting Sunnis. That's no longer even debatable. AsTim Arango (New York Times) reported last September, Nouri has armed Shi'ite militias to kill Sunnis in Iraq:


In supporting Asaib al-Haq, Mr. Maliki has apparently made the risky
calculation that by backing some Shiite militias, even in secret, he can
maintain control over the countrys restive Shiite population and,
ultimately, retain power after the next national elections, which are
scheduled for next year. Militiamen and residents of Shiite areas say
members of Asaib al-Haq are given government badges and weapons and
allowed freedom of movement by the security forces.


Not only that, but Aswat al-Iraq reported last week,
"Parliamentary Deputy Sepaker Aref Taifour called the federal
government to submit an apology for the Kurdish people for the
atrocities of the previous governments. He pointed out that 'some are
still believing that the Kurds are second-[class] citizens,' calling
Iraqi officials to follow the Turkish type in their apology to the
Kurds."

That apology won't be coming anytime soon.

Multicultural Iraq?

Al Rafidayn reports
a young girl was slapped in school for not wearing a veil, slapped by
the teacher, and the uproar has the Ministry of Education investigating
the incident. Earlier this month, the CEO of Thomson Reuters Foundation, Monique Villas, (at Huffington Post) notedviolence against women:



The picture is grim. A perception poll of gender experts by the Thomson Reuters Foundation
shows that the rise of political Islam across Arab Spring countries has
had a real impact on secularism. Almost three years after popular
uprisings toppled autocratic leaders in one of the most conservative
corners of the world, three out of five Arab Spring countries rank among
the bottom five states for women's rights
Many political gains for women have been lost. In fact, women are
struggling to preserve their dignity, and far from progressing, they are
now fighting to preserve the rights they had before the Arab Spring.[. . .]Life is not much better in Iraq, second-worst country for women's rights in the region, according to the survey.
The experts said that radical Islamisation of society, sectarian
violence and a reaction against what many see as western imperialism in
the years after the 2003 invasion were all having a devastating impact
on women.
The "war on terror" has made widows of 1.6 million Iraqi women,
leaving them without income and with few prospects of employment. In
Iraq, only 14.5 percent of the entire female population is employed, and
women have lost their voice in political circles. Mass displacement has
made them vulnerable to trafficking and sexual violence.

The response from Iraq? The Ministry of Human Rights attacked it. So did the Ministry of Women. The latter insisted the report was "inaccurate" and that Reuters had "no clear-cut knowledge of Iraq and its laws."
If you're wondering why the Ministry of Women didn't speak up in
support of the young girl slapped, it's because the Minister has stated
that women have no rights. She's a chauvinist, a sexist and hateful
pig. She
attempted to institute a dress code -- for women only -- and she's done
nothing to speak out or support Iraqi women who don't wear the hijab.We've long noted the gender-traitor Ibithal al-Zaydi (see, for example, the February 3, 2012 snapshot). Mufid Abdlulla (Kurdistan Triune) quoted the gender-traitor's most infamous remarks:I am against the equality between men and woman. If women are equal
to men they are going to lose a lot. Up to now I am with the power of
the man in society: If I go out of my house: I have to tell my husband
where I am going. This does not mean diluting the role of woman in
society but, on the contrary, it will bring more power to the woman as a
mother who looks after their kids and brings up their children.She's in a position of authority and she's arguing against women's
rights. She's also supposed to represent all women and yet she doesn't.
In Iraq, as in every country, there are women who will never have
children (by choice or due to fertility issues -- of the woman or the
man), there are women who will never marry. And Iraq is a land of
widows. Not only is she harming women's rights but she's even rendering
women invisible.Back in March, Rania Khalek (Muftah) noted it wasn't always women under attack in Iraq:Contrary to popular imagination, Iraqi women enjoyed far more freedom
under Saddam Husseins secular Baathist government than women in other
Middle Eastern countries. In fact, equal rights for women were
enshrined in Iraqs Constitution in 1970, including the right to vote,
run for political office, access education and own property. Today,
these rights are all but absent under the U.S.-backed government of
Nouri al-Maliki.
Prior to the devastating economic sanctions of the 1990s, Iraqs
education system was top notch and female literacy rates were the
highest in the region, reaching 87 percent in 1985. Education was a major priority for Saddam Husseins regime, so much so that in 1982 Iraq received
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) award for eradicating illiteracy. But the education system
crumbled from financial decay under the weight of the sanctions pushing
over 20 percent of Iraqi children out of school by 2000 and reversing
decades of literacy gains. Today, a quarter of Iraqi women are illiterate, more than double the rate for Iraqi men (11 percent). Female illiteracy in rural areas alone is as high as 50 percent.
Women were integral to Iraqs economy and held high positions in both
the private and public sectors, thanks in large part to labor and
employment laws that guaranteed equal pay, six months fully paid
maternity leave and protection from sexual harassment. In fact, it can
be argued that some of the conditions enjoyed by working women in Iraq
before the war rivaled those of working women in the United States.BBC News has a photo essay entitled 'In Pictures: Women At Risk In Iraq." Umed Sami (Kirkuk Now) reportedSunday that it is Domestic Violence Awareness Week which actually
lasts two weeks and that there are many different actions because there
are "20 women's rights organizations in Kirkuk." From the article:


No to Violence against Women is a womens rights organization founded
by a group of womens rights activists back in 2010. It is one of the
organizations planning to organize a protest rally on November 25 in
front of the governors office as they protest against the poor
conditions of womens rights and their struggles.
In the meantime, the Kurdistan Womens Union, a womens organization
affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party of Kirkuk
Governor Najmadin Karim, is a member of the political bureau boycotting
the activities of No to Violence against Women and who view their rally
as an “opposition against the governor and not demanding the womens
rights.”
Womens activist Naska Muhammad told Kirkuk Now “The majority of the
womens rights organizations have boycotted the rally as we feel it is
more targeted against the governor and it is politically driven.”The Kurdistan Regional Government noted
the kick off on Monday and that Monday was International Day Against
Violence Against Women (that's a United Nations day around the world).
KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani addressed a large group of men and
women -- including ministers of government, MPs in the Iraqi Parliament
and the Kurdish Parliament, regional official and diplomats -- in
Erbil. Barzani noted that violence against women is violence against
human rights and the issue is not a 'women's issue' but one for the
entire community to work on. He called for justice which means changing
the laws in the KRG so that the light penalities for husbands killing
wives are eliminated (he noted the KRG law currently mirrors the law for
the rest of Iraq). He noted that they need to address the issue of
child brides and the practice of female genital mutilation. He cited
figures finding that reported violence against women had fallen in 2012
but he stated that the gains were not enough and the community needed to
work harder to address the issue.Iraq's Human Rights Ministry also had an event.
Compare the photos. Even if you can't read Arabic, you'll note many
things. For example, the Baghdad turnout? Not that impressive in terms
of numbers. The KRG photo displays ten packed rows of attendees (and
the photo cuts off with the impression that there are rows not displayed
in the photo). In Baghdad, they take up about six rows -- with a lot
of empty spaces. In the KRG, you see shiny, healthy hair on the heads
of men and women. In Baghdad, most women have their hair covered.
(Four brave women on the second row do not cover their hair.) Nouri's
Prime Minister of Iraq. Did he address the gathering?Nope.He couldn't be bothered with the topic. Ibithal al-Zaidi was present. Declaring she (now) believes in equality
between the sexes -- based on the law and religions. Whatever. How important was the event? They don't even bother to finish the press release -- it cuts off before the end of the release.Nouri should have been present. By refusing to show up for the Baghdad
event, let alone speak at it, he made clear that violence against women
does not qualify as a serious issue to him.

We're not done with the KRG yet. Al Mada reports
that KRG President Massoud Barzani issued a statement decrying violence
against women saying it was inhumane and against the basic principals
of humanity. He noted the sacrifices and actions Iraqi women had taken
part in to create a better Iraq and called for rights to live safely and
free from oppression, discrimination and violence.Let's drop back to September for Joel Brinkley's San Francisco Chronicle profile of the Iraq Ambassador to the US, Lukman Faily:Yes, the Middle East is aflame, as Faily put it. And Iraq is in deep
trouble, like most of the region. Almost daily, 20, 30, 50 or more
people die in terrorist attacks that generally involve Sunnis killing
Shiites or vice versa. Eighty-three people died in attacks Sunday
through Tuesday, bringing the total dead so far this year to more than
3,800.
But Faily said his government is not asking the United States to return troops to Iraq. No, he said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
yanked him from his position as ambassador to Japan and sent him to
America a few months ago to carry the message: We need help
withgovernance.Falih Hassan Fezaa (Rudaw) notes the interview today and points out:
Faily stated that Iraq was “sitting on billions of barrels of oil. But no one has clean water.”
He stated in no certain terms that daily life in Iraq is
deteriorating, lacking in clean water, a workable budget, modern
technology and efforts to fight corruption.
Based on Mr Failys statements, I had thought that Baghdads Islamist
rulers had finally realized their failures, and were looking to America
for help.
But then, when Maliki visited Washington earlier this month, he
reportedly asked for more weapons, instead of help with things like
water and electricity. This is a dysfunctional government with no real military capabilities.
More than 10 years since the 2003 fall of Saddam Husseins
dictatorship, the Shiite Islamists in Baghdad have failed to govern,
while the Kurds have succeeded in carving out an autonomous and historic
safe haven for themselves in the midst of Iraqs sea of violence. These
are parallel tales of failure and success.


The editorial board of the Gulf News observes, "It is abundantly clear that the Nouri Al Maliki government has failed
Iraqis miserably. It has done nothing to address the root causes of the
unrest, especially when it comes to complaints of discrimination against
ethnic and religious minorities."

Violence continued today. Al Mada notes there was a wave of assassinations and assassination attempts. National Iraqi News Agency reports 1 person shot dead in Khalis, preacher and Iman Rakan Hussein al-Naimi was injured by gunfire in a Rilkaif assassination attempt. Sheikh Ghadanfar al-Mahdawi survived (without injury) an attempted assassination "between Baqbua and Muqdadiyah," a Falluja sticky bombing claimed the life of 1 police officer, 1 police officer was shot dead in Baghdad, a Falluja roadside bombing claimed the life of 1 police officer and left two more injured, and the corpses of Sheikh Adnan al-Ghanem and Sheikh Kadhim al-Jubouri were discovered in Basra. All Iraq News adds that the Mayor of Shuqiara Sufla Village, Jasim Mohammed al-Jubouri, was assassinated.


Executions also made the news cycle today. Dropping back to the November 18th snapshot for some numbers:


Ammar Karim (AFP) reports that Nouri's government boasted today that they had executed 12 more 'terrorists' today. By October 10,
the number executed was at least 132 so that brings the total to 144.
In their yearly high, Iraq executed at least 130 people in 2012. 2013
will continue their yearly increase. Kitabat reports
that the official making the announcement today refused to provide his
name. Kitabat's count is 144 for the year as well. Here are the
figures for the previous three years, as offered by Kitabat:

2010 18 executions
2011 67 executions
2012 123 executions


November 22nd came an announcement of 7 more deaths bringing the total to 151. Salam Faraj (AFP) reports
11 more executions were announced today -- the eleven were hanged on
Sunday. Faraj notes Sunday's executions bring the total number to 162.



In 2012, Iraq came in third for most executions. (The US was fifth.)
It is known to have executed 129 which placed it behind Iran with 314
and behind China with no provided number. Figures are from Amnesty
International's [PDF format warning] Death Sentences And Executions 2012.





iraq
reuters
the new york times
tim arrango
aswat al-iraq
al rafidayn
bbc news
joel brinkley
the san francisco chronicle
gulf news
national iraq news agency
all iraq news
amnesty international
afp
salam faraj

ammar karim

Questions which the Brotherhood and Islamist Apologists will never Answer

Questions which the Brotherhood and Islamist Apologists will never Answer


Brotherhood and Islamist apologists forget that the first pillar of democracy is Rule of Law - something a Clandestine International Crime Organization will never talk about. We wish they will answer these questions:  How can they legitimize their secret organization? This organization has been engaged in clandestine operations working outside the realm of the law for 65 years, ever since the government decree to dissolve the Brotherhood in 1948.  How will they deal with their vast illegitimate assets, companies and secret accounts? Will they surrender them to the government? When will they disband their militias and hand over the weapons that they have stored in the Sinai and throughout the country? Or do they expect Egyptians to settle for a Libya- or Syria-style state, ruled by militias? What steps will they take to free their party and affiliated civil society organizations from being controlled and manipulated by an illegitimate secret organization? What will they do in order to become an independent and purely Egyptian political party, free from overlapping interests with the global Muslim Brotherhood organization and in compliance with Egyptian laws requiring all political parties to be independent?   How will they disassociate themselves from manipulating syndicates and unions looting their finances?How can they rewrite their political manifesto in a way that respects the sovereignty of Egypt, integrity of its soil and independence of its political will? What ideological changes will they adopt in order to protect the national security of Egypt since they currently do not recognize the concept of a nation-state? When will they disassociate themselves from earlier alliances with international terrorist organizations and end the "good terrorist vs. bad terrorist" act? And most importantly:When will they apologize to the Egyptian people and show sincere remorse, away from hypocrisy, lies and deceit? How can they apologize to the Brotherhood's youth and their supporters and admit to the catastrophic mistakes the Brotherhood leaders have committed, which led to the current situation? How can they convince the Egyptian people once again that they are their compatriots and that the Brotherhood is not a superior entity that claims to monopolize godliness? Seeking to establish political competition between law-abiding political parties on the one hand, and some illegal, covert organization on the other, is pointless. In the past, this was a part of a theatrical competition that the regime allowed to serve its own purposes, but is no longer tolerable.

More on bullion bank reserves, delta hedging and coat checking

More on bullion bank reserves, delta hedging and coat checking

Below is a response to FOFOA's seven part comment to mehereon his Gold as a FOREX currency post.FOFOA: “You can call the slack in the flow their "stock" if you want to, but if there's more flow coming in than going out, then the BBs will accumulate reserves. If there is more going out than coming in, then their reserves will decline.”This statement makes it sound like BBs are benevolent entities that manage the difference in flow for the market. If investors do not want to buy (sell) unallocated, then the BB will not accumulate (divest) reserves. There is also a separate borrow/lend market, and again, the impact on a BBs reserves is driven by client action, not the BB.As you say, the unallocated account holders bear the burden of funding the BBs reserves, from which it logically follows that BB accumulation/divestment of the “flow” is dependent on unallocated account holder willingness to hold unallocated (or futures etc).FOFOA: “unallocated credits are not necessarily lent into existence such that the offsetting asset is automatically a promissory note from a borrow, especially ever since the price of gold started rising in 2001 and it no longer made much sense to borrow in an appreciating unit.”Interesting comment. Certainly the miner hedging has declined over that period, hence the drop in lease rates. I would note that this comment contradicts the goldbug theory that CBs and BBs lend paper gold into existence to supress the price of gold.FOFOA: “So around 32 LBMA bullion banks which maintain ounce-denominated books (the very definition of a bullion bank) have their reserves stored in the vaults of the 6 bullion banks which are both LBMA-recognized custodians and also the clearing members of the LBMA. Talk about pooling reserves!”No, this does not follow at all. The non-clearing BBs only need to hold balances with clearing BBs sufficient to settle their net trading with other non-clearing BBs. No BBs physical or paper (ie on-call liquid) reserves HAS to be held in London with a clearing BB.The point of the non-clearing BBs is that they have competitive advantages and specialisations with certain client bases in different geographical areas and so deal worldwide and hold physical gold outside of London (as do the clearing BBs). Loco swaps, for example, are a common transaction and can be settled without needing any clearing in London. For example, Soc Gen could have metal in a Swiss bonded warehouse but have a client in HK who wants to buy. They could call ANZ, whose strategic focus is the Asian region, and do a loco swap of COMEX gold for gold that ANZ holds in HK. EFPs perform a similar function on futures markets.So non-clearing BBs could hold all their reserves in physical outside of London and only need run some unallocated balances with clearing BBs.FOFOA: “Are Goldman Sachs' gold reserves, which are deposited at JP Morgan, physically allocated to GS or unallocated bookkeeping credits? The answer is that they are obviously unallocated credits. … Why would the reserves of 30+ non-custodial bullion banks be held in allocated storage in the 6 clearing members' vaults? They wouldn't, of course.”I dont see “obviously” and “wouldnt, of course” as arguments. I dont see you explaining why it is obvious. Non-clearing BBs could easily hold allocated with a BB if they have exceeded their credit exposure to that bank. While the limits these banks grant each other are large, and they have netting or set-off arrangements, there are still limits and those limits can be used up by other divisions of the bank. In such situations the bullion division of a bank may therefore have to resort to allocated, as I noted here.FOFOA: “I'm sure you'll dismiss or at least dispute this notion as well, but just think about it. It makes perfect sense, even if it doesn't fit into your limited view of the gold market from your little corner that happens to be mostly physical.”Very condescending: “limited view” and “little corner”. As they say, if you can dish it out: Im sure youll dismiss the notion that it is not obvious that non-clearing BBs reserves are unallocated credits with clearing BBs, but if you think about it, it makes perfect sense, even if it doesnt fit into your limited view of the gold market with no practical experience of working in the industry and sitting in your little blogging corner making theories up from behind a keyboard.FOFOA: “They would be unallocated bank-to-bank credits much the same as domestic commercial bank reserves held at the Fed are unallocated dollar credits. … non-custodial bullion banks are essentially depositors or deposit holders at the 6 LBMA clearing banks just like commercial banks have a reserve account at the Fed.”So I assume that your proof that non-clearing BBs reserves are unallocated credits with clearing BBs is that this is how fiat money works. The problem with the analogy is that Fed reserves system works because the banks know that there can never be a shortage of reserves – the Fed can just digitally print them. That does not hold in bullion banking, as you cant print physical gold. I would suggest that this one significant difference means that bullion banking dynamics and institutional structures will be different to those of fiat banking.My best guess is that bullion banking operates along free banking lines, which I have discussed with costata and Michael H on your blog here. I found it interesting that you never engaged in that discussion, or remember you ever considering the idea elsewhere. Maybe because free banking means the system self regulates the amount of paper gold and thus wont blow up?FOFOA: “the system as a whole could be much more thinly reserved since 84% of the banks' reserves are fractionally reserved on a different level, the LBMA interbank clearing tier, for which we have only very limited insight.”So we have a limited insight into the LBMA interbank clearing tier, but “obvious” insight that the non-clearing BBs must all hold their reserves as unallocated? To the extent that a BB holds unallocated with other BBs instead of physical as reserves, then yes it is tiered and the overall fractionalisation is higher. However we have no idea of how much physical reserves clearing or non-clearing BBs hold.FOFOA: “I don't think I've ever seen you give your explanation for the astonishing volume. I have, in the post above, but I've never heard what you think explains an average of 170 trades per bank, per day, each averaging almost a tonne per trade.”Im surprised you are surprised. Your post just said that paper gold traded in FOREX markets and had carry (and funny in a post about carry trades no mention of GOFO was made, which is the carry rate). What is the big deal, any online FX service lists XAU as a currency to trade, the fact that it has an ISO currency code, these two should tell you gold is part of the FX market. As to volume, I covered that in this 2009 post:“the very fact that gold is no ones liability and cannot be printed means it attracts a disproportionate amount of trading and speculation. Why is it assumed that 12.7% is excessive and unreasonable? Could not the 12.7% figure be proof of the special monetary nature of gold, proof that it is the King of Currencies?”That post and the 12.7% turnover figure was pre-survey, which reported daily turnover of 5,400t a day. Latest GFMS figures have CB stocks at 29,597t and investors holding 34,820t. 5,400t by 64,417 stock gives 8.4%. If you said that half of that stock was long-term holders and thus not traded and should be excluded, it gives a turnover of say 17%. When compared to similar figures for fiat money it is not “astonishing” at all and is a great indicator of golds liquidity.As to the number of trades per bank, well I do consider that astonishing - astonishingly low. Knowing how many trades we do with clearing BBs each day, there is no way that is actual number of trades given the number of counterparties the BB deal with at that top tier. There is some sort of aggregation going on in the LBMA survey to give such a low number. Just another reason I am no so quick to draw conclusions or extrapolations from that survey until I understand the methodology.FOFOA: “such tremendous volume, especially if the BBs are, as Christian says, only leveraged 10:1?”I am not sure I understand the link between turnover and fractional reserve ratio (which is what the 10:1 is referring to). You can have a 100% reserve system and still have many multiples of turnover. Leverage, yes, will increase turnover, but leverage and fractional reserve ratio are different things.FOFOA: “what could possibly be offsetting their net exposure given that the volume is ten times higher than the gold futures markets (and 100 times higher than GLD's daily volume)? Physical?”Again, I dont get the link between turnover and net exposure. Anyone could buy and sell back the same ounce multiple times during a day and be left with no net exposure at the end of the day. The BBs could intermediate (make markets) between FX desk traders all day and have no exposure.I would argue that the greater the leverage employed (and these FX platforms and contracts for difference market themselves on the leverage you can use) the less likely these speculators are to hold a position overnight. They add a lot of turnover and liquidity but at the end of the day do not add the sort of massive net positions you think they leave BBs with which require BBs to “delta hedge”.FOFOA: “Do you even understand how the banks use these? Here's an email from FOREX Trader which I posted back in June of 2012 … The only answer I can think of is that they hedge it by going long correlated (but not identical) assets. What's correlated with paper gold? Silver, copper, euros, crude oil, interest rates, yield curve spreads, whatever.”“I can think of” – sounds like he is guessing at what it is? If you read through FT Alphavilles articles and associated links it is not clear that it is totally about using correlated assets. A lot of it is using derivatives of the underlying asset to synthesise the underlying assets performance.It is easy for your FX trader to say “I made a quick delta-0.7 using some regression and eyeballing” and another thing to actual implement it for the sort of volumes you are talking about and sustain that without slippage/loss.Indeed, as this Reuters article says: “traders say that much of what happens at "Delta One" desks -- the focus of the UBS loss -- and in other parts of the business is driven by banks betting their capital to make a profit in what is known as proprietary, or "prop," trading.” That is, Delta One desk are no more than speculative trading, gambling. No surprise that UBS and Soc Gens blew up.FOFOA: “This is the age of complex derivatives, and to dismiss them being used in the "gold" market, especially given the incredible volume reported in the LBMA survey, simply because you don't see them being used in your little physical corner of the market, is simply silly.”There you go again with the condescension. The Perth Mint may not deal in this sort of risky stuff, but we have deep contacts into the BB market. Ive asked a BB dealing desk managers about this delta hedging in another context and it was laughed at. He said he had enough trouble getting his middle office (risk) to approve an offset of gold in different locos, let alone something as unstable as complex mix of unrelated but partly correlated assets. You believe your source (by the way, has he/she ever worked on a bullion desk) and Ill believe mine.FOFOA: “this coat-check room view since January of 2011, but I didn't come up with it. … But it is obviously the correct view if you give it proper consideration.”Who cares the source, youve endorsed it and appropriated it as part of your view of the market. And again with the “obvious”, I mean I think what Im saying is obvious but that line of argument doesnt seem to persuade you for some reason.As I said, I can see ETFs (any of them) being drawn upon via stock borrowing, but I dispute that a BB can park reserves in it.FOFOA: “The coat-check room view only applies to GLD, and not to any other ETFs, gold or otherwise. It's not an ETF thing, it's only a GLD thing, because GLD is the LBMA's gold ETF. … because the LBMA is head and shoulders above all other gold selling organizations. And that's very simply why GLD is 10 times larger than other gold ETFs. Not because of marketing (PHYS arguably has better marketing), but because it's the LBMA's gold ETF, and the LBMA had that much gold to put into its ETF!”What do you mean by “GLD is the LBMAs gold ETF”. The WGC is the one who sponsored (funded) GLD and created it. The reason it is the biggest is because it was the first and the WGC had been marketing to institutions well in advance of its launch (indeed, some US and UK money was funnelled into the Australian gold ETF because GLD was delayed). It is crazy to say PHYS has better marketing, you have no idea of the machine that the WGC deployed at the institutional level to sell GLD.And can we please not use “LBMA”. The LBMA does not have any gold, or run vaults or trade. Please be specific. Are you talking about all the BBs, or just the clearing BBs, or only a few of those?FOFOA: “If someone wants to capture a GLD discount-to-NAV arbitrage opportunity, it suffices to buy GLD and sell spot unallocated (XAUUSD). Then you wait until the selling pressure in GLD has abated, and you square your position. No redemption necessary. GLD is so large that, even if institutional investors dump it, someone else, including the bullion banks, will take it instead of allocated if it is cheap enough. But why redeem?”The BBs redeem because they have to pay 0.4% management fee on GLD when holding unallocated with a clearing BB cost them a lot less than that and if you have your own vault, the cost of storing the physical yourself is zero. In that case, why wouldnt they redeem?FOFOA: “It's one way a bullion bank could turn a dead asset (surplus reserves) into a live one. …”You didnt need to go to all that trouble with the T accounts, as steps 1-2 are what DP said and you have answered my question “so you're saying collectively the BBs went naked short 2000t of ETF gold” with a yes, but they delta hedge themselves, which is what I guessed in my response to DP. So the whole coatchecking IN thesis rests on delta hedging. Given I dont think delta hedging is reasonable for that amount of gold and for the time period involved, well just have to disagree.Can you just clarify one thing – how much of GLD are you claiming came from excess reserves, that is, how much of it was delta hedged (at its peak)?FOFOA: “Before GLD, there was a storage cost associated with sitting on excess reserves, but the banks had no choice but to eat that cost.”As I said to DP, “the marginal cost to a bullion bank to hold physical reserves is zero (vaulting is primarily a fixed cost business), there was/is no pressing need to create ETF's to save costs by parking metal in an ETF structure.”FOFOA: “now there was also an opportunity cost in addition to the storage cost of sitting on "excess" reserves.”Not sure what you mean by opportunity cost. Im guessing the fact that you can invest the excess cash from selling GLD shares less the lesser amount needed for that perfect delta hedge. Have you considered as well that under your theory the BBs didnt need GLD to manage any excess reserves as they could have just delta hedged any client long positions rather than accumulating physical (and it is just as easy to borrow physical gold as it is to borrow GLD). GLD coatcheck in theory requires delta hedging, but once you believe in delta hedging you dont need GLD coatcheck in theory.FOFOA: “the LBMA could be using GLD shares in its internal clearing process, only redeeming them when the underlying physical is needed to restock the subterranean stream, that is, for physical allocation or delivery. No need to redeem simply for interbank clearing, just transfer the shares.”No, the LPMCL Clearing software, AURUM, and the associated SWIFT metal instructions do not allow for equity transfers, it is a metal (ounce) system only. FOFOA: “I realize that you're trying to be Bron-the-Debunker, superhero destroyer of precious metals charlatans and defender of rational analysis, but with this GLD drain issue, I sometimes wonder if you really can't see how irrational your physical arbitrage view appears, or if you're just sticking to your guns.”It seems pretty irrational to me for you to stick to your guns about a complex coatcheck/GLD/delta hedging when there exists another Occams razor explanation: after 2008 gold developed a narrative among institutional investors that it was an uncertaintyhedge, lots of money piled in, pushed gold price and ETF holdings up, the narrative changed now that everyone thinks the economy is getting better and the money (and gold) flew out. FOFOA: “And yes, I did see your latest post asserting that PHYS redemptions might be due to an arbitrage opportunity rather than a general shift in preference toward physical.”I said “It is a bit hard to say if it is arbitrage or just a holder(s) from long ago getting out” the latter being a shift in preference toward physical. So it could be either.FOFOA: “PHYS lost what, a little over one tonne in the last 5 months? GLD has lost an average of 46 tonnes per month for the last 10 months. That's well over a third of its holdings in less than a year.”What interests me, is if BBs are desperate for physical and failure the fractional reserve system is imminent as some claim, why are we not seeing much physical redemption from PHYS, especially when a BB is paid to do so?FOFOA: “I must admit, I don't envy you gold sellers right now.”Thankfully the Perth Mint doesnt “sell” gold, so I dont envy them either. Insurance/protect wealth reasons for buying gold are boring and dont attract clicks but are evergreen. Those who went for clicks and dramatic headlines and tried to sell gold on other reasons now face a credibility problem.FOFOA: “in general, what is your argument for buying physical gold right now?”Because even “if you don't expect a financial, economic or currency crisis”, you cant be 100% sure at this time. Nor can you know if Freegold is right. If either happen then you have some protection. If neither happen, then any loss was just your insurance premium.FOFOA: “We can resume the survey discrepancy debate if you want.”Im just going to have to find the time to write it up in an appropriate way and send questions to the LBMA, that is the only way to resolve it.

Jacob's 9th Birthday

Jacob's 9th Birthday


My little turkey had another birthday. He is 9!(Wearing the last turkey on our traditional turkey count down.)
When I asked him what he wanted to do for his party he was excited about doing a mad scientist party with a bon-fire. We decided the best time for a party around the holidays was before his birthday, this way his birthday lasted for several days.

We had 12 kids total. We played the MM game as everyone came and then I did a treasure hunt that ended with home made lab-coats for the scientists. I planned several science experiments, two of which went as planned. We had a floating egg, swirling colored milk, exploding sandwich bags, and exploding soda/mentos. I was the only one to witness the exploding bag as I was cleaning up and the mentos didn't all make it into the soda can in time for a high powered explosion. But the boys loved it. Jake loved it. Dan built a big bon-fire and we roasted hot dogs and had s'more cupcakes. Note to self and any other mom planning a party for 9 year old boys: just do the bon-fire. I was so busy with the party that I didn't have a chance to take pictures until the end.





Dan lit his birthday candle with the bon-fire.


For breakfast Jake wanted ice cream. Surprised? NO. I had to remind Dan to leave a couple spoonfuls for Jacob!


He had a half day of school because of parent teacher conferences and then we went out to eat at Red Robin for dinner. I think he felt special, especially since he didn't have to scoop poop on his birthday thanks to our no chore birthday rule.



Jacob continues to be a very responsible, dependable kid. He has made some really good choices recently at school as he's dealt with inappropriate behavior. I got a phone call one day from the school counselor who called to tell me how wonderful my boy was. His teacher, Mrs. Mills, told me it was an "honor" to teach Jacob. He is a good kid!
Jacob loves to read and is a fast reader. The latest fad these days are loom bracelets/necklaces. Jacob has become a pro at making them.He is no longer a wolf cub scout and won't be in with Dan anymore, sad. His new den leader as a Bear is his Uncle. He and Tess stay up talking long into the night and are good friends most of the time.

Happy Birthday Jacob.

First Prosecutor Jailed for Deliberately Convicting Innocent Man

First Prosecutor Jailed for Deliberately Convicting Innocent Man





For the first time ever, according to legal experts focused on the subject, a prosecutor who deliberately sent an innocent man to prison by withholding evidence is himself going to be jailed.

MORE:
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/17018-first-prosecutor-jailed-for-deliberately-convicting-innocent-man

Community Impact

Community Impact



I love Sunday's. Its a guilt free day to stay in your jammies and do whatever you want---or don't want to do..I slept in, made coffee, stepped over the dogs who sleep in Sundays too and now Im sitting here, in my animal print jammies rambling about doing nothing. I haven't had a morning like this in a while. I tend to not be very good at doing nothing, so I usuallyget up, feed the dogs/the cat/make coffee and instantly jump into what needs to get done...but today, I have gifted myself the day off and do not plan to leave my houseunless itisrequired of me to do sofor my ownpersonal wellbeing andsafety.I dropped off some bags of food at the Fire Hall yesterdayforthe town'sfood drive and they were kind enough, in thanks and appreciation, to offer me my first rescue for free...*laugh* Hopefully I wont have to cash it in on my day off.

Thank you ALL for your votes and emails of congratulations' for my nomination in Small Business of BC award in "People's Choice".....last week I opened my email and was shocked and humbled and excited and overwhelmed by another nomination.. This one is for "Community Impact." so, Ill again shamelessly ask for you to consider casting your sole internet vote in my direction..I'm so grateful I didn't listen to the voice in my head the first time I received my "do you accept this nomination" email, foolishly thinking it was spam and hovering my mouseover the delete button. I was hopeful and excited enough to take the risk ofa virus imploding my laptop toclick the link. Thank you!Voting ends November 30th.

This way to Vote!

When we chose to move, it was for many reasons.I remember when my gears revved right up and the flame to leave the citywas lit...Near our old house,there was this open space.Across the street from it was Home Depot, next to that Superstore, then Wal-Mart Super Center, Safeway, Canadian Tire...all in a 3 city block span. When construction started on the open space, excitement and apprehension...I hoped andpleaded with the Universe withwhat was going to be built there...something my littlecommunity in thishuge city was in dire need of. Something that would be a gathering place for families besides a checkout line...Like: a library, a swimming pool, a community center, a recreation center. Any oneof these would clearly be the perfect choice, because obviously we were well stocked in our shopping options. Call me old fashioned, but the idea of buying winter tires, paint, hamburger patties, underwearand apples all at the same place has never appealed to me anyways....and when the Lowes sign was lit on that construction site. I completely checked out of planting my roots there and started planting the seed in my own family to leave. Lack of communitymore often than not happens in large cities. Its hard to maintain when people come and go so frequently that people just tend to not thinkmuch beyond themselves anymore. We lived in our house for 9 years and watched our neighbours houseonone sideturn over7 times..house across the street 5, eventually all of them..even westopped introducing ourselves when we ran into anyone at the mailbox...just a friendly wave and off we went. Having both me and my husband grow up in small communities in southern Alberta, we knewthe power of them andthat was what we wanted for our daughter.A good life takes a village,for supporting each other, recognizing each other and looking out for one another..my neighbor texted me the other day to let me know my garage door was wide open....whoops... I truly appreciated herdoing that for me..especially since my garage is the holy grailof my furniture stash of soon to be revived awesomepieces Ive hunted the world and many barns and alleys for. The Mister did it....I thought "accidently" but he confessed that he was kinda hoping to park in there this winter *grin* (Bahahaha!) When I was working late at the shop one night, unloading pallets of paint with Liam and Vicfrom van Gogh and the Mister, there helping meprep for a huge workshop I had going on the next day,someone called the RCMP to drive by and check on thingssince it wasn't normalto haveaction in there at that time...I really wasso grateful..because what if right?Casual conversations always ends with "and what was your name" so the next timewe're inline at the post office together,we'll remember each other.The support I get at the shop means more than just people coming into shop,joining me at a workshop or buyinga piece of myfurniture. Some just pop in to visit. To have tea and see what I'm working on,to let me know they just saw my daughter over at the skate parkorto ask about my husbands new job. I had a couple come in to tell me about a doctor in town who was accepting new patients, allbecause in casual conversationa few monthsearlier, I mentioned we didn't have one. I am being supported by a community who reallyrallys behind itself to *be* a community and when you get supported, you feel the need to thengo outand support--to pay it forward--to take the time for someone else and that's the grease---that's how communities work and isn't that awesome?! ReVived Vintage was my dream...yes..and Im blessed and grateful every single day to go there and live it...but so was living ina place just like this, to have my daughter grow up here with the values being lived and taughteveryday outside of our home, that are so similar to what we teach her inside,and I'm gratefulevery single day that, on whim, we came to this island, found this lil town and chose to plant our roots here.