The All-Inclusive Girls Getaway to Three Forks Ranch. Colorado ...

Have you ever had one of those ?pinch me, I must be dreaming? moments? That is the only way I can describe my experience visiting Three Forks Ranch & Spa.

I?ve heard the term ?all-inclusive? bantered around resorts in the United States, but there are always many things that come under the banner of what is really included. I expected that to be the case when I actually arrived at Three Forks with my friend Lynn. It couldn?t have been further from the truth.

Lodge Manager Jennifer Brenneman picked us up from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, airport and drove us to the ranch, which straddles the borders of both Wyoming and Colorado. We were welcomed by more staff and told that we were the only ones staying during these four days (the lodge never has more than 30 people anyway). We had this tremendous mansion, 200,000 acres and a full staff to cater to all our needs and it was hard to stop smiling!

Our trip was at the end of the winter, a season which includes unlimited, complimentary skiing (on their own private mountain), snowmobiling, sledding, and practically any other winter activity you could think of. In the summertime, you can do all the fishing, hiking, horseback riding, biking, swimming and wildlife tours you?d like. There is also a working cattle ranch to check out. And, in both seasons, you can partake at no charge in one of my favorite activities ? spa-ing!

The relaxing spa at Three Forks Ranch has an indoor/outdoor pool, Jacuzzis and treatment rooms. It was in that sanctuary that I enjoyed some of the most relaxing time I?d have in years. During my trip, I had a Swedish massage, Chocolate Scrub, Aromatherapy Wrap and a Hot Stone Massage. Lynn did most of the same, but chose a reflexology treatment instead of the scrub and called it ?heavenly.?

As if the spa and exploration of the grounds (we took a snowcat up the mountain and a sleigh ride) wasn?t heaven enough, there was also the food. The meals were all gourmet and delicious and, of course, all included, as were the wine and cocktails. One of my favorite parts of the trip was actually the cocktail hour we had each evening with the staff. We got to know them, the ranch and discuss what we wanted to do the next day.

We also sampled some delicious hors d?oeuvres before dinners such as eggplant lasagna, seared lamb chops and chicken scampi in a formal dining room filled with beautiful art. Lunches were also good, with adjustments made to give us the perfect salad or sandwich, followed by fresh from the oven cookies. Breakfast was a treat of whatever you could think of for your morning plate and the staff was more than happy to provide coffee, tea or nibbles any time of day or night between the meals.

The rooms in the lodge contained everything you could want. Lynn and I had two of the largest and they came with fireplaces, a hot tub on the deck, and a bathroom that had heated floors that led to the Jacuzzi. The views from my large circular window were breathtaking and suite was always stocked with wine, soft drinks, water and snacks. There was also an IPad 2 loaded with information about the ranch for my personal use.

Each day, upon my request, I would receive an early morning tray of coffee and scrumptious freshly baked bakery items to hold me over until my full breakfast with Lynn later on. It was one of the personal touches that made this place so special. Everything was truly ?all-inclusive? with the only exceptions being a few clothing items sold in the small lodge store and some high end wine and champagne available to purchase.

On our final evening, Lynn and I heard a storm was coming in and both voiced our thoughts that we could get stuck at Three Forks a few more days. Unfortunately, that didn?t happen, but I hope to get back there again for what was definitely ultimate girls getaway experience.

After many years as one of the top tennis writers in the country, Marcia Frost now devoting most of her time to travel writing, with a focus on food, wine and spirits. She has her own blog at WineAndSpiritsTravel.com and does weekly columns for Inspirato on Sonoma and Paris (two locations she visits often). Marcia also freelances for many other outlets, including Yahoo!; AOL; Michigan Avenue; Rum Bum; Los Angeles Confidential; Travel, Food & Drink; and Air Tran?s Go! Magazine. She has been contributing to Girls? Getaway since 2010. For more information on Marcia, visit her website MarciaFrost.com.

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Mystery of monarch butterfly migration takes new turn

ScienceDaily (May 31, 2012) ? During the fall, hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies living in eastern North America fly up to 1,500 miles to the volcanic forests of Mexico to spend the winter, while monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains fly to the California coast. The phenomenon is both spectacular and mysterious: How do the insects learn these particular routes and why do they stick to them?

A prevailing theory contends that eastern and western monarchs are genetically distinct, and that genetic mechanisms trigger their divergent migratory paths.

An analysis led by Emory University biologists, however, finds that the two groups of monarchs are genetically mixed. Their research, published in the journal Molecular Ecology, suggests that environmental factors may be the key to the butterflies' choice of winter homes, and to where they wind up in the spring.

"Our data gives the strongest signal yet that the eastern and western monarchs belong to a single genetic population," says Emory biologist Jaap de Roode, who led the research. "This distinction is important to help us better understand the behavior of the organism, and to conserve the monarch flyways."

In addition to researchers in the de Roode lab, the study involved a scientist from the Institute of Integrative Biology in Zurich, Switzerland.

Biologists have long been fascinated by the innate and learned behaviors underlying animal migrations. When monarchs are breeding, for instance, they can live up to four weeks, but when they are migrating, they can live as long as six months.

"As the day length gets shorter, their sexual organs do not fully mature and they don't put energy into reproduction. That enables them to fly long distances to warmer zones, and survive the winter," de Roode says. "It's one of the basic lessons in biology: Reproduction is very costly, and if you don't use it, you can live much longer."

Mass movements of animals have huge ecological impacts. They are also visually arresting, from the spectacle of giant herds of wildebeest trekking across the Serengeti to hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes flocking along the banks of Nebraska's Platte River.

In the case of long-lived mammals and birds, the younger animals may learn some of the behaviors associated with migration. That's not the case with the monarchs, notes Amanda Pierce, a graduate student in Emory's Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution program, and a co-author of the study.

"We know there is no learning component for the butterflies, because each migration is separated by two to three generations," Pierce says. "To me, that makes the problem even more interesting. How can these small, delicate animals travel thousands of kilometers and arrive at the same destination as their great-great grandparents?"

The question of whether eastern and western monarchs are genetically the same has been hotly debated, and may be an essential piece to the puzzle of their divergent migration patterns.

The researchers used 11 genetic markers to compare the genetic structures of eastern and western monarchs, as well as non-migratory monarch populations in Hawaii and New Zealand. The results showed extensive gene flow between the eastern and western monarchs, and a genetic divergence between these North American butterflies and those from Hawaii and New Zealand.

"In a sense, the genetic markers provide a DNA 'fingerprint' for the butterflies," de Roode says. "Just by looking at this fingerprint, you can easily separate the butterflies of North America from those in Hawaii and New Zealand, but you can't tell the difference between the eastern and western monarchs."

The Emory researchers have now joined a project headed by Harvard, which also involves the University of Georgia and the University of Massachusetts, to sequence the full genomes of monarch butterflies from places around the world. That data should rule out genetic differences between the eastern and western monarchs, or reveal whether any smaller genetic differences, beyond the 11 markers used in the study, may be at play between the two groups.

The idea that eastern and western monarchs are distinct populations has been bolstered by tagging-and-tracking efforts based in the United States. That data, gathered through citizen science, indicates that the butterflies stay on separate sides of the Rocky Mountains -- a formidable high-altitude barrier.

De Roode, however, theorizes that when spring signals the eastern monarchs to leave the overwintering grounds in Mexico, they may simply keep radiating out, reproducing and expanding as long as they find milkweed plants, the food for their caterpillars.

"Few people have tagged the monarchs within Mexico to see where they go," he says, "because Mexico doesn't have as much citizen science as the U.S."

If the theory is correct, some of the monarchs leaving Mexico each spring may wind up in western North America, while others may filter into the eastern United States. This influx to the western U.S. could be crucial to survival of monarchs on that side of the continental divide.

"There are far fewer monarchs west of the Rockies," de Roode says. He notes that all of the overwintering monarchs on a typical overwintering site along the California coast consist of about the same number clustered onto a single big tree in Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, where hundreds of millions of monarchs blanket the landscape in the winter.

The monarch butterfly migration has been called an endangered phenomenon, due to the loss of habitat along the routes. The Mexican overwintering sites, located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt region northwest of Mexico City, particularly suffer from deforestation. Drug trafficking in the region has decimated eco-tourism and hampered efforts to protect the trees.

"We hope our research can aid in the conservation of the monarch flyways," de Roode says.

Raising monarchs for release at weddings, memorials and other events is a growing industry, but U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations restrict shipping the butterflies across state lines.

De Roode stresses that this regulation should remain in force, even if further research confirms that eastern and western monarchs are genetically identical, because parasites that the butterflies carry can differ by region. "It's not a good idea to be shipping parasites around," he says.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Emory University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Justine I. Lyons, Amanda A. Pierce, Seth M. Barribeau, Eleanore D. Sternberg, Andrew J. Mongue, Jacobus C. De Roode. Lack of genetic differentiation between monarch butterflies with divergent migration destinations. Molecular Ecology, 2012; DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05613.x

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Six Easy Steps for Writing a Personal Wedding Song to Your Wife ...

Husbands ??n ?r??t? a loving environment ?nd successful marriage b? ?h?w?ng th??r wives h?w much th?? ?r? l???d ?nd cherished. In h?? ground-breaking book, ?Women ?r? fr?m Venus ?nd Men ?r? fr?m Mars,? John Gray outlined th? ?m??rt?nt differences between men ?nd women. One ?f h?? key findings ?? th?t wives l??? t? b? touched ?nd held. Wives l??? t? b? t?ld, ?n a gentle ?nd humble way, h?w ?m??rt?nt th?? ?r? t? th??r husbands. One ?f th? m??t touching ways th?t a husband ??n ?h?w honor ?nd respect t? h?? wife ?? t? write a personal wedding song f?r h?r. N? matter ?f a husband h?? b??n married f?r a month ?r longer th?n 50 years, h? ??n renew h?? marriage ???r? day w?th a personal wedding song.

?Wh?t m? sing? N? way!? m??t husbands m?? ???. ?I ??n?t carry a tune, l?t alone d? a solo.? Wh?l? ?t m?? seem challenging, a personal wedding song ?? simply a l??? poem set t? music. I know fr?m personal experience ?f writing, recording ?nd singing a wedding song t? m? wife, th?t ?t ??n b? done. Wh?n I ?t?rt?d, I h?d n? guidance, ???t a gut intuition. All ?t takes t? g?t ?t?rt?d ?? t? know wh?t steps t? take ?nd th?n take th? first step. Here ?r? six steps ???r? husband ??n take t? ?h?w h?? wife wh?t a treasure ?h? ??.

Step One.? Acknowledge Y??r Wife

Write down five attributes th?t ??? l??? ?b??t ???r wife ?nd admire h?r f?r. Wh?t five w??ld ??? ?h????? I? ?h?, ?n ????ll?nt listener, ???r best friend? D??? ?h? h??? a friendly ?nd warm smile ?r a hilarious sense ?f humor? D??? ?h? l??? t? surprise ????? If ??? ??n list ten ?r more things, ?ll th? better.

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Step Two:? Write Down th? Special Things Sh? L????

Wh?t d??? ???r wife treasure?? M? wife Cheryl l???? purple, ?h? l???? t? hold hands ?nd b? hugged, ?h? ?? very action oriented, ?h? ?? ?? thoughtful, ?h? never forgets a family member?s birthday. Sh? l???? greeting cards, music, plays, going out t? dinner. Sh? ?? very wise ?b??t relationships. A personal wedding song ?h??ld focus ?n wh?t ?? unique ?nd special t? ???r wife ?nd ???r relationship.
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Step Three:? P?t Yourself ?nd Y??r Feelings ?nt? th? Song

I wrote a personal wedding song f?r m? wife ?ft?r 14 years ?f marriage. I titled ?t ?Song ?f O?r Marriage.? I wrote a touching refrain th?t honored h?r w?th a title, h?r role ?n m? life ?nd wh?t th?t h?? done f?r m?. Th? lyrics t? th? refrain g? l?k? th??:?

?Teacher ?f wisdom, ????ve shown m? God?s face, ???r strength ?? gentle ?nd fine ?? white lace. Y?? listen w?th heart strings th?t sing out a song, ?t?s ???r l??? th?t m?k?? m? feel strong.?

Using ???r list ?n Step 2, ?h???? several ?f ???r wife?s best traits ?nd write down wh?t th?? mean t? ???. If ??? need h?l? w?th rhyming, ??? ??n g?t a Rhyming Dictionary. Or ??? ??n read books ?f poems ?r search th? Internet through a Google Search t? g?t a starter ?d??. M?k? sure t? personalize ???r words, though, ?? th?t th?? come fr?m ???r heart. Y?? want t? b? authentic; a cheap copy ?f someone ?l?? passed ?ff ?? ???r ?wn m?? work against ???.

Step Four:? M?k? It Simple: Two Verses ?nd a Refrain (more ?f ??? ??n)

M?k? ???r personal wedding song easy t? sing, b?t unique t? ???r wife. F?r example, remember th? poems th?t ?t?rt, ?Roses ?r? red, violets ?r? blue?? Y?? ??n expand th?t phrase ?nt? a verse, l?k?:

?Roses ?r? red, violets ?r? blue,
I ??n?t see myself living without ???.
Y?? ?r? m? wife, th? crown ?f m? life,
m? life w??ld b? empty without ???.?
?
Step Five: U?? a Familiar Tune f?r th? Music

D?d ??? know th?t ?? acceptable t? ?borrow? a melody (?? long ?? ??? don?t sell ?t ?r claim ?t ?? ???r ?wn) f?r ???r personal wedding song? In fact, ?f ???r wife h?? a special song th?t ?h? l?k??, ??? m?ght learn h?w t? write lyrics th?t g? along w?th ?t. If ??? g?t serious, ??? ???ld find a musician ?r studio t? h?l?. Wh?n I wrote ?Song ?f O?r Marriage,? I figured out th? melody b? humming ?t, plunking out th? keys ?n a piano ?nd th?n finding a studio th?t produced th? accompaniment. U?? th? Internet t? find someone wh? ??n h?l?. W?th downloadable MP3 files, ??? ??n actually produce a song ?n ???r PC.

Step Six: Sing th? Song t? Y??r Wife ?nd Frame th? Lyrics

Now comes th? m??t ?m??rt?nt ??rt ? th? delivery. Don?t write a personal wedding song ?nd th?n stick ?t ?n ???r golf bag. Perform ?t f?r ???r wife. Record ?t. Frame th? lyrics ?nd hang th? song ?n ???r bedroom ?r kitchen. F?r ?Song ?f O?r Marriage,? I ?r??t?d even a photo album w?th pictures ?f m? wife ?n Lilac Park, ?n Disney World, w?th h?r friends, ?nd more ?n several sections. Each section ?f th? album reflected th? verse ?nd refrain fr?m th? personal wedding song.

http://music-olipolus.blogspot.com/

Th?r? ??? h??? ?t, six steps t? writing a personal wedding song f?r ???r wife. It takes work. If I ??n d? ?t, ??? ??n d? ?t t??. G? ahead, take a risk. Y??r wife w?ll b? deeply m???d b? ???r touching gift ?nd care f?r h?r.

?

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APNewsbreak: Report details mass shooting in Ariz.

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 2, 2012 file photo, a police officer walks with a man who said he had a child inside of the home where four people were shot and killed by a former neo-Nazi before he turned the gun on himself in Gilbert, Ariz. All four people killed were shot in the head, according to a police report released Tuesday, May 29, 2012 that paints the clearest picture yet of the gruesome crime scene. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 2, 2012 file photo, a police officer walks with a man who said he had a child inside of the home where four people were shot and killed by a former neo-Nazi before he turned the gun on himself in Gilbert, Ariz. All four people killed were shot in the head, according to a police report released Tuesday, May 29, 2012 that paints the clearest picture yet of the gruesome crime scene. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

GILBERT, Ariz. (AP) ? All four people killed by a former neo-Nazi before he turned the gun on himself this month in a quiet Phoenix suburb were shot in the head, according to a police report released Tuesday that paints the clearest picture yet of the gruesome crime scene.

Various Gilbert police officers and detectives wrote about what they saw at the home where they believe Jason Todd "JT" Ready, 39, shot and killed his girlfriend and three others, including a toddler, before killing himself May 2 in a domestic dispute.

Ready was the leader of the U.S. Border Guard, a group of armed civilians that patrols Arizona's desert for illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.

When authorities first arrived at the home, they saw the bodies of Ready, wearing only tan shorts and boots, and another man. Both were dead with pools of blood beneath their heads. A camouflaged gun was near Ready.

When police walked to the home's open front door, they saw the bodies of Ready's girlfriend, Lisa Mederos, her daughter and her granddaughter, a 15-month-old named Lilly.

Mederos had been shot twice, once in the face and once in the back of the head, the report said. Police believe she was first shot while on the phone with a 911 dispatcher, and that the bullet also severed one of her fingers.

Mederos and her daughter Amber Mederos were clearly dead. But when officers checked the toddler, they found signs of life, the report said.

The girl, who was wearing gold earrings and a denim jumper, had been shot once in the area near her left temple and cheek.

"I could see brain tissue and a pooling of blood next to her head," wrote Officer Veronica Roden. "Her arms and neck were still warm to the touch, and we both detected a pulse on the inner part of her upper left arm."

Gilbert firefighters strapped the girl to a backboard and rushed her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

When officers went farther into the home, they heard a woman crying in a locked bedroom and kicked in the door. They found Lisa Mederos' 19-year-old daughter, Brittany Mederos. Because police had to clear the home, they forced Brittany Mederos to walk by the bodies of her mother and sister, and her dying niece.

"Upon entering the hallway, the female observed the bodies on the floor at which time she began crying hysterically," wrote Officer Chris Zamora. "I advised the female to 'Just keep walking' as I continued to escort her, stepping over the body of at least one of the female victims and around the other two victims."

Another officer described having to tell Lilly's father, Jess Boggs, that the toddler was dead. He arrived after the police tape had been put up around the home and surrounding houses.

"Jess showed me a picture of Lilly on his cellphone," wrote Officer Michael Cluff. "I immediately recognized the child as the same child I had observed within the house. Jess seemed to recognize my reaction to seeing the picture, and he began to wail and cry."

The other victim was Amber Mederos' boyfriend, Jim Hiott. Ready lived at the home with Lisa Mederos and Brittany Mederos.

One of Amber Mederos' friends, Cassandra Olivier, told police she thought Ready was angry because Amber Mederos, Hiott and their daughter wanted to move back into Lisa Mederos' home. Olivier said Ready was the one to make them move out in the first place when he moved into the house six months before the shooting.

The FBI already was conducting a domestic terrorism investigation of Ready at the time of the shootings. The probe dated to when Ready was a member of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement and continued into his participation with the border group, The Arizona Republic reported.

Search warrant affidavits obtained by the Republic show federal agents seized numerous computers and munitions from Ready's home. The warrants imply weapons seized at the murder scene were stolen from the U.S. military. Focus on those weapons could trigger a larger federal investigation.

Documents connected to the search warrant show FBI agents seized two computer towers and two laptops, correspondence, cellphones, police and Nazi uniforms, white-supremacist propaganda and bank statements.

Agents also seized two assault-style rifles and multiple rounds of ammunition. The reporting FBI agent focused on "approximately two dozen military ordnance/40 millimeter grenades" loaded with explosives, tear gas, buckshot and smoke.

Recordings of two 911 calls released about a week after the killings revealed the horror just before and after the crime.

The first came from Lisa Mederos, who told the operator in a raised voice: "Oh my God. He's got a gun. No!" before the sounds of two shots.

In another call, a sobbing Brittany Mederos told a dispatcher: "My mom and my niece and my sister are all on the floor. They're hurt pretty bad."

She said that just before the shooting, she heard Ready and her mother "fighting and screaming" so she hid under her bed. "I come out and they're all on the floor and there's blood," Brittany Mederos said.

Associated Press

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Papa Don?t Preach

Its chief pain, meanwhile, concerns a lot of monkeying with the visual texture of things. Hemingway & Gellhorn constantly slips from color to black-and-white to sepia tones and skips among illusions of various film stocks. There has been an attempt to match the actors? scenes with file footage of loyalists on the march in Madrid and pedestrians out for a stroll in Manhattan, and you may be offended, late in a movie so generally trifling, to see that Gellhorn?s visit to Dachau includes film of the prisoners? corpses. The actors, via special effects, frequently walk through repurposed newsreels like so many Zeligs and Gumps. The technique proves most memorably risible when combined with recontextualized quotes?when, for instance, Hemingway, admiring a soldier, turns to Gellhorn and says, ?Look at that fucking grace under pressure.? When Hemingway is in conversation with someone who has been on the cover of Time, it is extremely likely that said cover will appear in the scene, and when he settles in to binge on Hemingway daiquiris, he recites the recipe very clearly. It is certain that the filmmakers have done their homework and no less certain that they?ve constructed an awkward digital diorama.

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Friendships influence kids' activity levels | Health X Pert Articles ...

While children do not make or break friendships based on physical activity, a new study suggests?their?social network of friends can greatly influence how much they move. The research was published in?the journal Pediatrics on Monday. "We tend to think of teenagers as being very influential amongst their peers, but now we're seeing this in a younger age group as well," said study author Sabina Gesell, assistant professor of Pediatrics at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. "So with that influence, friends can bring each other up in their activity level or can bring them down to become more sedentary, depending on what they are doing themselves," she added. Gesell and colleagues studied 81 children between the ages of 5 and 12 during a 12-week after-school program.? They interviewed the children about?who they were hanging?out?with the most.? Children were equipped with devices called accelerometers to measure their levels of activity. When given the choice to keep their activity levels the same or change them to match those of their pals, children were six times more likely to choose the latter. They became more active or more sedentary, depending on the activity levels of their closest friends.? Many maintained their current levels of activity. Gesell called the notion of using social networks to form interventions in the fight against childhood obesity "novel" and "promising." She suggested that rearranging who plays with whom during playgroups in after-school programs could make impact. "If we have groups who are typically sedentary, if we can sort of splinter them off and insert those kids into groups of active children, then those sedentary kids should become more active," she said. "We should be able to see this change within 12 weeks." Dr. William Stratbucker, a?pediatrician and the medical director of the Healthy Weight Center at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, agreed that this study highlights a?scenario that could?impact obesity prevention. He noted that, "some kids chose to sit around and play games and other kids chose to run around and play on the playground." Stratbucker said, "One big take-home message is that parents have to be aware of where their kids spend time during the day and if they're spending time in an after-school care program, which is very common, they need to be aware of what the environment's like there and what opportunities there are for the kids to be active." Filed under: Children?s Health , Diet and Fitness Tagged: Georgiann Caruso ? CNN Medical Associate Producer

Read more:
Friendships influence kids? activity levels

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Lebanese Hostages In Syria Could Spark Tensions

BEIRUT -- The mysterious case of 11 Lebanese Shiites who were taken hostage in Syria last week is raising fears of renewed street battles in Beirut as Lebanon increasingly gets drawn into the swirling chaos next door.

The Syrian crisis already has spilled across the border into Lebanon over the past three weeks, sparking deadly violence in a country that remains deeply divided over the 15-month-old uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

But the Shiites' abduction is potentially explosive, in part because it enflames Lebanon's fragile Sunni-Shiite fault line. It could also spark retaliatory attacks against the thousands of Syrians in Lebanon.

In recent days, members of Lebanon's powerful Shiite militant group, Hezbollah, have deployed at the entrances of Beirut's southern suburbs, a heavily Shiite area, to prevent any moves by angry protesters.

Hezbollah is a staunch ally of the Syrian regime, where a predominantly Sunni uprising is trying to oust the Assad family dynasty. The families of the kidnapped Shiites blame Syria's Sunni rebels for abducting the men.

"The kidnapping is clearly intended to drag Hezbollah into the Syrian quagmire," said Ziad Baalbaki, a 37-year-old Lebanese insurance broker in Beirut. "The whole thing is fishy, everyone is worried what will happen if they are not released or they turn out to be dead."

The Lebanese men were on their way back from a pilgrimage in Iran on May 22 when gunmen intercepted their buses in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, according to the women on the pilgrimage who were allowed to go free and arrived in Lebanon hours later.

Since then, no one has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. There were reports Friday that the hostages were about to be released, prompting a rush on the airport by family members. But the men never arrived, and it became clear the release plans went awry.

One opposition figure who said he spoke to the kidnappers told The Associated Press that the hostage takers decided not to release the men after Syrian forces began attacking rebel areas in Aleppo. Now, he said, the kidnappers are demanding Syrian authorities release 500 opposition detainees, including Lt. Col. Hussein Harmoush, one of the first officers to defect after the uprising began. Harmoush was later arrested by authorities during a special operation.

The opposition figure spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Lebanese officials and Syrian activists have said the men are being held in an area near the Turkish border, but there is little credible information about their fate. Shiite leaders in Lebanon have scrambled to deny various rumors that might aggravate the situation ? including reports that one of the hostages is related to Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah.

"The information indicates that they are alive and in good health. This is what the Syrian opposition and Turkish officials confirm," Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told An-Nahar daily Monday.

Shortly after news of the abduction broke last Tuesday, dozens of angry protesters blocked major roads with burning tires and threatened to kidnap Syrians in Lebanon as a form of retaliation. The protesters went home only after Nasrallah went on TV, calling for calm and saying no Syrians in Lebanon should be harmed.

"They were kidnapped because they are Shiite, not for any other reason," said Mohammed Mir, a Lebanese Shiite. "Had they been returning from Haj in Saudi Arabia (a Sunni country) would anyone have dared to kidnap them?"

In the Bir el-Abed district south of Beirut on Monday, five female relatives of the kidnapped men sat silently inside the office of the religious tour agency Badr al-Kubra, which organized the pilgrimage.

The room was decorated with large posters of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Nasrallah, and the group's late military commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated in a car bomb in Damascus in 2008.

The women refused to be interviewed, saying they were worried it would hurt the negotiations taking place for the hostages' release.

The case has the potential to inflame sectarian tensions in Lebanon and trigger retaliatory attacks against tens of thousands of Syrians nationals now in Lebanon. The overwhelming majority of rebels fighting Assad's regime are Sunni Muslims, while Assad and the ruling elite in Syria belong to the tiny Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Tensions from Syria have already spilled into Lebanon and clashes between Alawites and anti-Assad Lebanese Sunni groups in Lebanon's second largest city of Tripoli killed eight people earlier this month.

Aleppo-based activist Mohammed Saeed said the kidnappers have "impossible demands" from the regime in return for the release of the hostages, such as setting free all Aleppo province detainees and the withdrawal of the Syrian army from some areas.

"They are dealing with them (hostages) as if they are members of the regime," Saeed said.

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the feminist librarian: household economies [wedding post the second]

One of the first things Hanna and I did after we became a couple was go out and open a joint checking account.

Well, okay, it wasn't one of the first?things -- but it was within a couple of months. And even though we'd been living together and sharing household expenses for a year and a half at that point, the shared account somehow seemed more possible, more right, to establish once we were in a sexually-intimate relationship.

Yeah, I know it doesn't make any rational sense when I put it like that. But at the time, that's how it felt. We were a couple, my logic went, and couples share material resources without keeping score. And the best, most efficient, way of doing that was an account to which we both had equal access.

And it's worked for us since then. So much so that, as we move toward our wedding in the fall, Hanna raised the question of consolidating finances further -- perhaps pooling our (frighteningly modest) savings, and more actively planning for a future down-payment or international travel. I agreed this sounded like a good move.

I got thinking about this last week when blogger blue milk?put up a post about money and relationships, riffing on a New York Times?piece on money-sharing in marriage. The comments on the blue milk post reveal a diversity of arrangements, and -- to my mind -- a surprising number of long-term couples whose financial resources are still fairly separate, or at least kept distinct.

It's not that I haven't known other options are out there for household finances, besides the single-financial-profile Hanna and I seem to be trending toward, but it's fascinating to me how many people (women particularly?) feel strongly?about maintaining their financial independence even within stable, long-term relationships.

Generally-speaking, there seems to be a lot of angst and anxiety these days about establishing household economies.?Which (me being me) makes me reflect on why I don't feel that level of angst and anxiety incorporating another person's financial expectations and spending habits into my life (and trusting another person with my own income). Was it weird, at first? A little. It's impossible to keep as tight a grip on the pulse of household spending when there are two of us -- unless either of us were willing to spend a lot more time tracking trends (we aren't). And I had to get used to Hanna making decisions with "my" money that I wouldn't necessarily make vis a vis?discretionary spending ... but then again, she's had to do the same. For the past three years, my paychecks have been automatically deposited into an account that Hanna has full access to, and that's never really bothered me.

So the question becomes: Why? Why don't I worry??

I think it has something to do with how material resources and respect for individual decision-making and personal property (the things?of our lives) were handled in my family of origin.

I grew up in a family where there was one main source of income: my father's salary. My mother had done wage-work before we were born, and has picked up work-for-hire since we grew up and moved on, but didn't work for pay while we were growing up. Yet regardless of the source of income, financial resources were consolidated: there was one checking account out of which bills were paid and daily expenses withdrawn. It had both my parents' names on it. Their financial assets were theirs?never "his" and "hers."

Us kids all got spending money when we were small, and were taken to the bank to open savings accounts once we were earning pocket money (and later more significant income). So as kids, we had money that was separate from the family economy. We were also, correspondingly, expected to take responsibility for our own discretionary spending as we were able.

And I think almost more important than the specific, technical, details concerning the flow of cash, is the fact that we had confidence in one another to be financially responsible. My parents have confidence in each other as financial decision-makers, and helped us kids gain a basic understanding of our own finances so that as we moved from familial inter-dependence into adult fiscal independence (contrary to mythology, a gradual and far-from-decisive process) we were able to communicate about economic needs and desires without moral judgment. Resources were finite, true, but decisions about how to work within those material realities was always pursued collaboratively

Perhaps because of this model, I felt little discomfort in pooling our financial resources.?

Neither Hanna nor I enjoy book-keeping. So it's way?easier to have a single account for joint spending (virtually all our spending now) than it is to keep track of who's paying what bills, buying what groceries, or who should be responsible for paying the tab for the rental car. Or, as I've seen some couples do, pay one another back via the monthly rent check or something similar.

OH MY GOD THAT WOULD DRIVE ME INSANE. Actually, it drove me a little bananas when we were?doing that, or trying to, for the first year and a half of our relationship. The endless "Who's turn is it to ..." and "How much do I owe ..." and "If I pay for, then you can get ..." At which point pooling finances seemed like a simple expedient to cut out all the white noise of negotiation and haggling.

Would I worry more about protecting my financial independence if I were in a heterosexual relationship? To some extent, perhaps. Like with marriage itself, I worry less about falling into heteronormative sand traps because our relationship is by definition already non-normative. I don't have the fear, for example, that my husband will just fall into handling the finances because social expectation and pressure encourages him to do so. In a relationship with two women, there is no "obvious" partner to coordinate the household economy. Rather than having social forces relentlessly pushing us toward integration, we have to move forward with deliberate insistence that, yes, this is what we wish to do. This is how we wish to live.

Which is not to suggest that hetero couples aren't making deliberate decisions. Just that the social pressure to fit heteronormative marriage ideals (male breadwinner, female home-maker) isn't applied so heavily when it comes to people who aren't in hetero relationships. We have to argue for?the chance to engage in activities straight couples are pressured to do. So the experience of choice and agency is qualitatively different there.

Is part of my ease due to the fact that I am (though by a thin margin at this point) the primary wage-earner in our household? I don't have a complete answer to this. When I wrote in comments at?blue milk about the fact that I don't resent the inequality in wage-earning because things even out overall in terms of domestic responsibilities, another commenter got on my case about the "regressive" nature of such an arrangement. She assumed that I was somehow implying that my wage-work was more valuable than Hanna's, when in fact I'd been trying to argue that wage- and non-wage work that contributes to the running of our household counts equally as far as I'm concerned, and as I said in my response to the critique:

With two (or more) adults in a family, you spread both wage-earning and other responsibilities around according to who is available to do what, who has what skills, and what feels fair to all people concerned. Too often, mainstream media reduces equality (and power) in household relationships to income and ignores all of the other aspects of running a household to which everyone in a family contributes.

To my mind, part of being in a marriage (or non-marital long-term relationship) is the luxury of not keeping financial score, as it were. Obviously you still keep your fingers on the pulse of basic fairness, in the sense that you speak up if it starts feeling like you always?end up stopping for groceries or your partner always?gets to pick the Friday-night movie. But?I felt very strongly, going into our relationship, that I wanted our household to be?ours?not "hers" and "hers" in a nit-picky material way.

We share books, clothes, food, bath and body products, we co-care for Geraldine.?Psychologically and emotionally, I didn't want to get into a situation where I started resenting that Hanna's physical therapy bills were a significant monthly expense, or to start stressing about whether her decision to prioritize buying a new season of?Supernatural?was less justified than my decision to pre-order the latest Diana Gabaldon in hardcover.

Do I catch myself doing it sometimes? Sure. I'm as fallible as the next person. But I want to work toward a place where mutual confidence and trust is so normal that it's unremarkable -- dare I say nigh invisible?

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South Africa Churches Protest Building Moratorium

---

May 23, 2012 11:21AM

South Africa Churches Protest Building Moratorium

Cape Town congregations face shortage of worship buildings.

Morgan Feddes

Pastors in Cape Town, South Africa, want the city to take a second look at a moratorium on building new churches that both parties signed two years ago.

The moratorium ended a crackdown on churches illegally built on city land; city administrators agreed to stop demolishing illegal churches as long as no more churches were built without approval.

But now the Western Cape Christian Ministers Forum (WCCMF) alleges that many of the 2,000 churches it represents are using houses for church services because the city is not providing land agreements for new churches in a timely manner, The West Cape News reported.

?There is land available,? WCCMF coordinator Derrick Mtsolo told the newspaper. ?[But] the city takes too long to give the land to our churches.?

However, the City of Cape Town Property Management Directorate says it has worked regularly with the WCCMF to identify viable sites for church structures.

Posted by Morgan Feddes on May 23, 2012 11:21AM

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Straight answers rare in Tennessee's 3rd District GOP primary debate

Republican candidates for the 3rd Congressional District, from left, Weston Wamp, Ron Bhalla and current U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann participate in the 3rd Congressional District Republican Debate held on Monday, May 21, 2012, at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Roland Hayes Concert Hall in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn.

• Third Congressional District candidates vow to debate after Aug. 2 primary

  Third Congressional District candidates Weston Wamp, Ron Bhalla, and incumbent U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., each committed to debate their Democratic opponent if they win the Aug. 2 primary during a debate Monday night at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Roland Hayes Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Center.

Poll

Who do you now support for Tennessee's 3rd district?

Yes-or-no questions don't always get an easy answer from U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and his Republican challengers.

At Monday night's 3rd District GOP primary debate, WRCB-TV anchor David Carroll asked Fleischmann, Ron Bhalla and Weston Wamp to assume they had won the Republican nomination. Would they debate the Democratic nominee?

Bhalla and Wamp said yes. Fleischmann praised "the debate process," described it as "very, very informative" and said it was "what our Founding Fathers wanted."

Carroll swiveled to a clearly confused Wamp.

"Did he commit to debate?" Wamp asked.

"I believe he did. You have committed to it?" Carroll asked Fleischmann.

The congressman nodded "yes" 45 seconds after the question was asked, setting the dominant trend in a debate that often lacked clarity.

---

Since he entered the race last year, Wamp, the 25-year-old son of former U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, has accused Fleischmann of bending to "pay-to-play expectations" from industry-backed political action committees, also known as PACs.

The younger Wamp turned up the heat Monday night after Carroll asked Fleischmann to square his $363,000 in PAC donations with a campaign pledge from 2010 in which he said "special interest groups in Washington will not find a door in my congressional office."

"I think you're naive if you don't understand that PACs have an expectation when they give you money," Wamp said. "That's a basic relationship that I think we all understand."

But Wamp said he would accept donations from PACs "whose principles and values are aligned with mine."

"Any expectations that I would vote in favor of them because they give me money -- I will not do that," Wamp said. "That's business as usual in Washington."

Bhalla said he would not take PAC money under any circumstances.

---

The candidates later eluded questions on term limits and federal spending.

Asked if he would serve a set number of years, Fleischmann immediately expressed his love for "the United States Constitution," saying a constitutional amendment should be employed "if we're going to change any process in America," congressional term limits included.

Pressed to clarify his own stance on term limits, Fleischmann effectively declined to discuss it. "I'm going to stick with the United States Constitution and the people," he said.

When Chattanooga Times Free Press business editor Dave Flessner introduced local issues, Wamp praised improvements at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and work to establish Chattanooga's gigabit Internet speed.

Federal stimulus money funded both projects, which Wamp acknowledged. Later he described the stimulus as "a terrible idea."

"I certainly would have voted against it," he said.

Scottie Mayfield, the fourth Republican candidate, declined to debate Monday.

Mary Headrick and Bill Taylor are the Democrats in the race, while independent Matthew Deniston also is running.

Contact staff writer Chris Carroll at ccarroll@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6610.

about Chris Carroll...

Chris Carroll covers politics for the Times Free Press. A Chattanooga native, he graduated from Red Bank High School in 2005 and earned a bachelor?s degree in history from East Tennessee State University in 2009. Chris has investigated violent crime, hospitals, Red Bank politics and East Ridge politics since joining the newspaper in January 2010. For a jailhouse interview story with accused murderer Antonio Henry, he won a third place Tennessee Associated Press Managing Editors ...

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Simple Key Points For Your Business Endeavor | The Secret & the ...

Fixing problems is probably the hardest task to deal with in any business, and problems seem to crop up all too often. However online businesses are different because of the low start up costs. One of the affects of that produces people of all ages and backgrounds starting a business on the net. Because there are so many people it?s inevitable that many of them are not prepared to run a business due to them lacking lots of skills. Also, each person brings the sum total of who they are which includes all the things that work to make business life more difficult. This is the reason why you must be at least willing to examine and take action on those challenges. One thing I do to improve myself much better is to take certain supplements or low calorie meal replacement shakes that contain proteins and energy that is good for my endurance.

?

Lots of people will find it hard to see flaws in themselves and accept them. In many people there is an inner resistance to ignore those notions. So the very first step is to accept that imperfections and even undesirable characteristics exist. Once that step is out of the way you will be able to really open the doors to growth, so long as the graft is put in. Dealing with these sorts of problems becomes a lot more easier when you have an open mind. Once you stop resisting the truth and you accept it you will be able to move forward. Dealing this type of issue is quite upsetting and sometimes stress causes eating problems. If you encounter this certain dilemma, try meal replacement shakes for weight loss and delight in its awesome health benefits. Because it is powerful armament, we talk about awareness now and in previous articles. Becoming aware personally will help you to see more clearly. You can ascertain true motives if your awareness is high enough. Listening to what your thought process is the beginning avenue to awareness. Give care to them, and then you will start to envision a pattern clearly if you don?t give up. Zone in on personal patterns because they are big evidence. Individuals enjoy habits and these encompass how we view all things.

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If you have noticed a pattern of behavior that interferes with your business success, then that is the first important step to have taken. To be able to achieve everything you want in life, you need to become aware of, and understand, the personal issues that may be holding you back. The key is finally understanding what these obstacles are and finding a way to get around them. Once you identify these problems, be ready to spend a considerable amount of time finding a way to conquer these issues. To perform at levels that will help you achieve your objectives, you need to first limit the inner conflict that is affecting you the most. Understanding and awareness as well as persistent effort comprise just a few elements that will allow you to move forward. New online marketers are usually thinking about obtaining success, not thinking about self improvement. But looking at and addressing your inner problems and issues can help lead to greater success.

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Charity: Widow of pilot of United Flight 93 dies

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Visualized: Samsungs PIN pop up stores take London

Samsung deflated a few enthusiast tires when its "one more thing" Galaxy S III reveal turned out to be a pop-up retail plan. No matter now, as those great mobile expectations have shifted to the device's imminent launch, a debut the company's only too happy to showcase. Starting May 29th, PIN glass housings, like the one you see above, will begin to populate commercial centers in and around London, letting eager consumers gets hands-on with the ICS handset's nature-made design. Westfield's Shepherd's Bush and Old Spitalfields Market will be the first two UK locations for this temporary retail presence, with larger 7-by 7-meter versions, as well as a smattering of overseas appearances to follow in the coming months. In the meantime, check out our full review to get yourself well-acquainted with this flagship follow-up.
tags: Design, Galaxy, Samsung filed under: Phones source: Engadget published: at 21:22, Saturday, May 26, 2012 viewed: 69 times

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Curriculum Specialist - Job Registry - NAFSA

Title: Curriculum Specialist

Department: Academic Affairs

Salary: Commensurate with experience.

Reports to: Executive Vice President, Academic Affairs

The responsibilities of the Curriculum Specialist include:

1. Working with the Academic VP and Curriculum Oversight Director on the continuing development and implementation of strategies for maximizing participants? intercultural competence and language learning. Further develop and implement ISA?s Intercultural Development Course.

2. Managing and coordinating ISA?s efforts to reach out to academic departments at U.S. universities. These efforts include the continuing development of official ISA field-specific recommendations for U.S. faculty who advise their majors/minors on study abroad opportunities appropriate to their field.

3. Managing all Academic Affairs? systems for reviewing and assessing the academic quality of all ISA programs.

4. Managing all internal protocols, policies and projects related to language proficiency testing for participants prior to departure and upon completion of ISA programs.

5. Working with ISA host institutions on the development and expansion of curriculum at existing ISA sites.

6. Contributing to the ISA program development process by carrying out assessments of academic offerings at prospective ISA host institutions.

7. Traveling to ISA sites as deemed necessary by ISA management to perform academic reviews, assist with management of programs, teach, or lead ISA site visits & faculty seminars.

8. Assisting ISA?s Curriculum Oversight Director with the continuous improvement of systems related to classification and description of courses.

9. Traveling as necessary to U.S. campuses to meet with faculty and study abroad office personnel regarding ISA academic matters.

10. Working with University Relations department and other ISA departments to respond to the academic needs of U.S. university faculty and advisors.

11. Managing and further developing ISA?s web-based Academic Guide.

12. Writing and editing ISA?s Academic Update Newsletter three times per year.

13. Periodically representing ISA at international education conferences.

14. Periodically traveling to U.S. universities to represent ISA, primarily for the purpose of meeting with faculty and academic officials, but also to participate in study abroad fairs and other recruitment activities as deemed necessary by ISA management.

Minimum skills and qualifications: - Master?s degree with at least 4 years of teaching experience at the college/university level. - At least one year of experience studying, living or working abroad. Preference will be given to candidates who have led study abroad programs or who have taught U.S. students in a cross-cultural context. - Exceptional writing and speaking abilities and organizational skills. - Ability to oversee projects and multi-task in a high-paced environment. - Ability to work both independently and as part of a team. - Advanced proficiency in at least one language other than English.

Preferred qualifications:

- Ph.D. with at least 4 years of teaching experience at the college/university level. - At least 2 years of experience studying, living or working abroad, preferably in a country where ISA currently has a program. - Familiarity with benchmarks for language proficiency and working with curriculum to identify and articulate divisions in language levels in multiple languages. - Proven ability to write policy or publish scholarly articles or books. - Public-speaking experience. - Native or near-native fluency in at least one language other than English, with the ability to write at a scholarly level in that language. - Experience with the administration of language proficiency assessment.

Interested applicants should stop by the ISA booth (1518) in the NAFSA exhibit hall and/or complete the online application at http://studiesabroad.com/about/document/careers

All applications should include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and a list of three references.

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Chris Matthews a little tired of ?horse?s ass right-wingers? mocking the thrill up his leg (Michellemalkin)

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Gunman still inside real estate office in Valparaiso, Indiana ...

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Iran, big powers extend talks despite split over sanctions

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iran accused world powers on Thursday of creating "a difficult atmosphere" in talks on its atomic energy program, signaling a setback in efforts to reach an agreement that would allay their fears that Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear bombs.

The nub of the dispute appeared to be Iran's demand for fast relief from economic sanctions as part of any deal for it to stop higher-grade uranium enrichment, a pathway to nuclear arms, whereas Western powers insisted Tehran must first shut down enrichment activities.

But there was no sign of breakdown in the talks, which European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, acting for the six world powers, and Iranian chief negotiator Saeed Jalili extended well into an unscheduled second day and on into the evening.

Both sides had powerful reasons not to abandon diplomacy. The powers want to head off the danger of a new Middle East war raised by Israeli threats to bomb Iran, while Tehran is scrambling to avert a looming Western ban on its oil exports.

Iranian media close to Tehran's delegation said it was insisting on a "principle of reciprocity" of concessions they said was promised by the powers in preparatory talks in Istanbul last month but missing from their approach in Baghdad.

"What we heard in Istanbul was more interesting," an Iranian delegate who asked not to be named said on Thursday.

"We believe the reason (the powers) are not able to reach a result is America. (They) came to Baghdad without a clear mandate so we think the atmosphere is difficult."

But the official Iranian news agency IRNA said later that "in comparison with the morning, the atmosphere is improving", hinting there would be scope for further, nitty-gritty negotiations even if the Baghdad talks ended inconclusively.

Western diplomats expressed hope on Wednesday that Iran, after years of rejecting any discussions on the nature and extent of its nuclear work, was finally engaging the powers on detailed ways of proving it was peaceful purposes only.

PROPOSALS, COUNTER-PROPOSALS

Atop the wish list in the powers' proposal to Iran is for it to stop enriching uranium to a fissile purity of 20 percent.

That is the nuclear advance most worrying to the West since it clears technical obstacles to reaching 90 percent, or bomb-grade, enrichment. Iran says it will not exceed 20 percent and the material will be made into fuel for a research reactor.

Iranian officials hinted at flexibility on higher-grade enrichment but Iranian media said it would not give away its most potent bargaining chip without significant concessions on sanctions.

The powers also want Iran to send its stockpile of higher-refined uranium abroad and close an underground plant devoted to 20 percent enrichment and largely invulnerable to air strikes.

In return, the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany have offered fuel to keep Iran's medical isotope reactor running, assistance in nuclear safety and an end to an embargo on spare parts for Iran's ageing civilian aircraft.

Jalili countered with his own five-point package of initiatives on nuclear and non-nuclear cooperation, and called for explicit recognition by the powers of Iran's right to enrich uranium, according to Iranian media.

But Western diplomats said Jalili's package lacked practical details and included elements irrelevant to resolving doubts about the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions.

"They are pushing back on enrichment and asking us to engage their plan," another Western diplomat said. "It is pretty tough going, but I don't think anyone ever expected anything else. We are moving forward, we are talking about the substance, we are looking for areas of common ground."

Tehran wants any nuclear deal to spare it from an EU embargo on its oil exports to be phased in fully by July 1. It also wants an end to trade and diplomatic sanctions imposed since 2006.

"The West can forgo further sanctions only if Iran forgoes further progress towards a nuclear weapons capability," said Mark Fitzpatrick, non-proliferation scholar at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and a former senior U.S. official.

This would entail installing no more centrifuges, no more work on advanced models of the enrichment machines, and more intrusive monitoring by U.N. inspectors, he said, outlining the small print Western powers are likely to insist on.

On the contrary, Iran has been putting more nuclear "facts on the ground" to boost its leverage, diplomats familiar with findings of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors said.

They said a report by the U.N. watchdog due in coming days is expected to show Iran has installed more centrifuges in the underground Fordow site, potentially boosting output capacity of nuclear work that the powers want it to cease.

WORRIES ABOUT WAR

Rising tension over the past year has sent global oil prices upward as the West has broadened sanctions to bar Iran's crude exports and the specter of Middle East war has increased with the threat of possible Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear installations.

Israel is believed to be the only Middle East country with nuclear weapons but regards Iran's nuclear aspirations as a mortal threat given its calls for the demise of the Jewish state.

Iran, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, says it is enriching uranium only in order to generate electricity to serve the needs of a burgeoning population, and for a medical research reactor.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly ruled out suspending all enrichment as called for by several U.N. Security Council resolutions, saying nuclear energy is a matter of national sovereignty and pride in technological progress.

(Additional reporting by Patrick Markey and William Maclean in Baghdad, Marcus George and Isabel Coles in Dubai, Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Writing by Mark Heinrich; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Giles Elgood)

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Before shooting, Zimmerman called cops 'disgusting'

Gary W. Green / Epa File / EPA

George Zimmerman critized Sanford, Fla., police as lazy at a public forum in January 2011.

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By msnbc.com staff and news services

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A year before he shot Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman criticized Sanford, Fla., police as lazy, saying at a public forum that he saw ?disgusting? behavior by officers on ride-alongs.

He also contended the department covered up the beating of a black homeless man by the son of a white officer.

"I would just like to state that the law is written in black and white," Zimmerman said during a 90-second statement to city commissioners at a community forum. "It should not and cannot be enforced in the gray for those that are in the thin blue line."

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The forum took place on Jan. 8, 2011, days after a video of the beating went viral on the Internet and then-Sanford Police Chief Brian Tooley was forced to retire. Tooley's department faced criticism for dragging its feet in arresting Justin Collison, the son of a police lieutenant, in the beating.

The Miami Herald?obtained a clip of a recording of the meeting and first reported details from the community forum Wednesday. The Associated Press also obtained a copy of the tape and reported details.

Zimmerman's public comments could be important because Martin?s parents and supporters contend the neighborhood watch volunteer singled Martin out because he was black. Zimmerman has a Peruvian mother and a white father. His supporters have said he is not racist.

Miami Herald: Listen to Zimmerman's January 2011 comments at community forum

At the community forum, Zimmerman said he witnessed "disgusting" behavior by officers when he was part of a ride-along program.

Security camera video just minutes before the confrontation with George Zimmerman

?The officer showed me his favorite hiding spots for taking naps, explained to me that he doesn?t carry a long gun in his vehicle because, in his words, ?anything that requires a long gun requires a lot of paperwork, and you?re going to find me as far away from it.?

?He took two lunch breaks and attended a going-away party for one of his fellow officers.?

Zimmerman also said Tooley should be denied a pension.

?I would like to know what actions the commission is taking to repeal Mr. Tooley?s pension. I am not asking you to repeal his pension. I believe he has already forfeited his pension by his illegal cover-up, corruption and what happened in his department.?

Report: 4 Martin shooting witnesses change story

Mark O?Mara, Zimmerman?s lawyer in the Martin shooting, said his client was concerned about fairness.

?I think he was upset with the cops, because they treated the homeless guy poorly and treated Collison very well,? O?Mara told the Miami Herald on Wednesday. ?At the [community] meeting, he was like, ?Hey, what are you doing????

Sanford Interim Police Chief Richard Myers said in a statement Wednesday it would be ?inappropriate? to draw any conclusions from Zimmerman?s January 2011 comments at the forum.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder for shooting Martin on Feb. 26 in Sanford. The 17-year-old Martin was walking back to a townhome where he was staying when he got into a confrontation with Zimmerman, who shot him in the chest at close range.

Zimmerman, who claims the shooting was self-defense, was initially not arrested. But after protests around the country and an investigation by a state prosecutor, he was charged.

Tooley's successor, Bill Lee, temporarily resigned his post following a no-confidence vote by city commissioners.

Lee offered to resign permanently, but commissioners turned down his request. He is on paid leave.

Prosecutors handling the case against Zimmerman on Wednesday asked a judge to keep some evidence from the public, including the results of an unspecified? test police conducted on Zimmerman the day after the shooting and the identities and phone numbers of 22 witnesses.

The Associated Press and msnbc.com's James Eng contributed to this report.

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Broadway stars to come out for Drama Desk Awards

FILE - In this May 7, 2012 file photo, actress Brooke Shields arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute gala benefit, celebrating Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada in New York. Shields will be a presenter at The Drama Desk Awards on Sunday, June 3, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, file)

FILE - In this May 7, 2012 file photo, actress Brooke Shields arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute gala benefit, celebrating Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada in New York. Shields will be a presenter at The Drama Desk Awards on Sunday, June 3, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, file)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones and Bernadette Peters will be on hand to help present the Drama Desk Awards next month.

Producers announced on Thursday a list of stars who will help hosts Brooke Shields and Brian d'Arcy James hand out trophies at the event, which honors both Broadway and off-Broadway productions.

The slate of presenters also includes actors Martha Plimpton and John Larroquette, playwright Doug Wright, and directors Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, who collaborated on "Peter and the Starcatcher."

This year's Drama Desk show will take place June 3 at The Town Hall on 43th Street in Manhattan. The musicals "Death Takes a Holiday" and "Follies" received the most nominations, with 10 each.

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Online: http://www.dramadeskawards.com

Associated Press

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The Talent Scout Engage Apprentice Automotive Technician In ...

Job Title : Apprentice Automotive Technician
Company : The Talent Scout
City : Brantford
State : Ontario
Country : CA
Location : Brantford, ON
Date : 2012-05-23 20:13:47
latitude : 43.131866
longitude : -80.26373
Status Active
Job key 8aeeb14624f044f0

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Are you looking for a career in the automotive industry? Interested in a challenging opportunity with a stable, growing and dynamic organization? Beverly Tire and Auto is currently recruiting a 2nd or 3rd year Apprentice Automotive Technician with an excellent mechanical aptitude and strong team spirit to join our team of service professionals in our Brantford location. Our Employees enjoy...

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